Druid Subclass: Circle of Ruin

[The Zoat]

Circle of Ruin

Druids who align themselves with the Circle of Ruin recognise the immense destructive power of the natural world, and seek to channel it into their very beings. While many among them use this power to further noble ends, as a forest fire heralds the outpouring of new life, there are those who follow instead the unthinking destruction of a tsunami or volcanic eruption, wreaking havoc on the civilised world for its own sake. In battle. druids of the Circle of Ruin can adopt a form well-suited to their role as destroyers, mixing elemental essence with mortal flesh to enhance their strength and defence, thus complementing their powerful spells with competence in close-quarters.

Features
(2nd Level) Ruinous Form, Weapons of Ruin
(6th Level) Elemental Impact
(10th Level) Storm’s Rage
(14th Level) Primordial Attunement

Ruinous Form:
Starting at 2nd level, you can expend a use of Wild Shape to adopt your Ruinous Form as a bonus action, which confers the following benefits and drawbacks until you end the effect as a free action after at least one round:
- Your Ruinous Form is far more durable than mere flesh and bone, and allows you to leverage your mystic might to further enhance your defences. Your Armor Class is calculated as 14 + your Wisdom modifier, and you have resistance to fire, lightning, thunder, and cold damage.

- Your Ruinous Form is a terror to behold, but its coursing energies are quite noisy and distracting. You have advantage on Intimidation rolls and immunity to the frightened condition, but disadvantage on Persuasion and Stealth rolls, as well as Intelligence checks.

- Your Ruinous Form pulses with sheer destructive power, enhancing the damaging effect of your spells. You add twice your Wisdom modifier to the damage rolls of your spells and cantrips.

- The elemental forces that empower your Ruinous Form take their toll on your body, even as they allow you to push your magic to the very limit. At the end of your turn, you take irresistible damage equal to your Wisdom modifier.



Weapons of Ruin
Starting at 2nd level, you can imbue your weapon with the essence of elemental destruction. When you hit with a melee weapon attack, you deal an additional 1d4 fire/lightning/thunder damage, chosen when the attack hits. At 6th level, this damage increases to 1d6, and at 14th, 1d8.

Elemental Impact
Starting at 6th level, your Ruinous Form can force even more destructive energy into your attacks by exerting magical effort. When you hit with a weapon attack while in Ruinous Form, you can expend a spell slot to deal an additional 1d6 fire/lightning/thunder damage, plus another 1d6 per level of the spell slot.

Storm’s Rage
Starting at 10th level, your Ruinous Form confers upon you a vicious celerity in combat. In Ruinous Form, when you deal damage with a cantrip or weapon attack, you may make a weapon attack as a bonus action.

Primordial Attunement
Starting at 14th level, your spirit has become almost as elemental as the power you channel. You can now adopt your Ruinous Form as a free action, and no longer expend a use of Wild Shape to do so. Additionally, while in Ruinous Form, you have resistance to non-magical bludgeoning, slashing, and piercing damage.


Notes:
The thing I'm most concerned about is the end-of-turn health drain. As it stands, it stops scaling at level 8 with 20 WIS, means that from level 8 as you gain levels and hit points your Ruinous form becomes more and more available. Maybe have it = Proficiency bonus or 1 1/2 x Proficiency Bonus?

[Vogie]

It's very interesting.

I think it's odd that it gives magic resistance early on, then mundane resistance later... I would've expected those to be switched, sort of like Rage.

I would make the player choose when they don the Ruinous form to EITHER get +damage to weapon attacks OR +Wisdom to cantrips. Double wisdom to Cantrips at level 2 seems too powerful. I'd spread the levels out on the + damage to weapons as well - 2, 6, 14 seems really janky on a class that cannot receive a 2nd attack.

I'm also concerned with the post-health drain, because it's too much of a downside, nearly unusable at early levels (doubly so in melee), but too little of a downside at higher value. If you'd like it to scale a bit smoother, maybe make the self-damage scale at half druid level, rounded down?

[ChaoticHarmony]

I would make the player choose when they don the Ruinous form to EITHER get +damage to weapon attacks OR +Wisdom to cantrips. Double wisdom to Cantrips at level 2 seems too powerful. I'd spread the levels out on the + damage to weapons as well - 2, 6, 14 seems really janky on a class that cannot receive a 2nd attack.



Storm’s Rage
Starting at 10th level, your Ruinous Form confers upon you a vicious celerity in combat. In Ruinous Form, when you deal damage with a cantrip or weapon attack, you may make a weapon attack as a bonus action.


I may be mistaken, but I think this counts as a second attack. In fact, by the way its written, I'm pretty sure this counts as quasi-infinite attacks. Since there is no restriction on how many times you can use Storm's Rage in a turn, as long as you keep causing damage with your bonus weapon attacks, you can keep attacking. Even chip damage against the BBEG will eventually kill it if it doesn't get the chance to stop it

[JNAProductions]

I may be mistaken, but I think this counts as a second attack. In fact, by the way its written, I'm pretty sure this counts as quasi-infinite attacks. Since there is no restriction on how many times you can use Storm's Rage in a turn, as long as you keep causing damage with your bonus weapon attacks, you can keep attacking. Even chip damage against the BBEG will eventually kill it if it doesn't get the chance to stop it

It takes a bonus action. You get only one of those a turn.

[Vogie]

I may be mistaken, but I think this counts as a second attack.

You're right on this aspect - it does indeed give a second attack without the Extra Attack (TM) feature.

It also fits in that level 10 hole I was missing in my comment.

But no, there are not chaining of bonus actions unless the campaign is based on Street Fighter. It is effectively the second attack that a War Priest gets (or third attack a 'zerker barbarian gets).

Although, you may consider, OP, just having it be the War Magic effect as the level 10 bonus - if you're going to give both +Wis to cantrips and +damage to attacks, having the level 10 ribbon be "you get to cast both a cantrip, then make an attack as a bonus action" isn't a bad thing.

The only other subclass to have that feature is the Eldritch Knight, although Sorcerers can actually Quicken their cantrips to Bonus actions to be used after an attack, at the cost of Sorc Points.

[The Zoat]

It's very interesting.

I think it's odd that it gives magic resistance early on, then mundane resistance later... I would've expected those to be switched, sort of like Rage.

Double wisdom to Cantrips at level 2 seems too powerful.

I'm also concerned with the post-health drain, because it's too much of a downside, nearly unusable at early levels (doubly so in melee), but too little of a downside at higher value. If you'd like it to scale a bit smoother, maybe make the self-damage scale at half druid level, rounded down?


To start off, the reason I give Ruinous Form elemental resistances before non-magical weapon resistances is firstly that non-magical weapon resistances are very powerful at level 2 and would probably result in adopting Ruinous Form nearly always being a net health gain, and secondly that flavour-wise Ruinous Form is elemental before being durable.

Secondly, yes, the health drain is high, but the extra spell/cantrip damage is intended to compensate. Assuming you deal damage with a cantrip/spell approximately once/turn, your net health difference is equal to your Wisdom modifier. As your health increases with your wisdom modifier staying stagnant, the damage you get out of the +twice Wisdom modifier increases only with the number of times you can make damage rolls with spells. This results in Ruinous Form being very efficient against mobs of enemies, but its effectiveness against single foes changes very little over time after the damage each turn stops increasing.