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View Full Version : D&D 5e/Next Druidic Circles [WIP] Help me flesh these out!



KoyukiTei13
2018-12-05, 02:10 AM
Circle of Blood
This druidic circle is focused around the lifeblood of humanoids, beasts, monstrosities, and dragons. Oftentimes, rituals of sacrifice (of blood, bones, and flesh) are offered to various deities or spirits for protection, power, and guidance.

Sacrifice
When you join this circle at 2nd level, you can choose to sacrifice one of your Hit Dice and use it to heal one of your allies or deal damage to an enemy. The dice cannot be gained through your Wild Shape feature to sacrifice.
Half of the Hit Dice used in this way recharge on a long rest.
Additionally, at 10th level, you may sacrifice four Hit Dice to regain a single use of your Wild Shape feature. Once you use this feature in this way, you must complete a long rest before you can use it again.

Circle Spells
Your mystical connection to vitality infuses you with the ability to cast certain spells. At 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th level you gain access to circle spells.
Once you gain access to a circle spell, you always have it prepared, and it doesn’t count against the number of spells you can prepare each day. If you gain access to a spell that doesn’t appear on the druid spell list, the spell is nonetheless a druid spell for you.

Druid Level Spells
3rd false life, inflict wounds
5th hold person, spike growth
7th life transference, vampiric touch
9th blight, death ward

Cast the Bones
Starting at 6th level, you can use the remains of your enemies to illuminate a query. If you gather some bones from a type of creature, you are able gain the following benefits based on the type of creature. If the effect is a spell, some or all of the bones act as the material component and are consumed.
Beast: you can cast locate object, using at least three medium bones.
Dragon: you can cast legend lore, using a medium dragon bone. If you use a dragon’s skull, you can ask the deceased to cast the spell for you (the DM should decide whether the dragon complies). If the deceased complies, the skull is not consumed; however if it does not, it is consumed and does not cast the spell.
Humanoid: you gain the effects of identify, comprehend languages, or detect magic, and requires a full humanoid skeleton.
Monstrosity: you cast hunter’s mark, requiring a handful of small bones. If using several medium bones, you can cast it as if it were at 3rd or 4th level. If using several large bones, you can cast it as if it were at 5th level or higher.

Fleshrending
At 10th level, when you reduce an enemy within 30 feet of you to 0 hit points, you gain temporary hit points equal to half your Wisdom modifier (minimum 1 temporary hit point).

Exsanguination
Starting at 14th level, whenever you strike a critical hit against an enemy, you may siphon the damage dealt and heal yourself or an ally.
If the damage is reduced due to resistances, the amount siphoned is also reduced.
Additionally, when you cast blight on a creature that has blood, you can choose to expend two Hit Dice to force the creature to make the saving throw with disadvantage. When you expend Hit Dice in this way, you also gain the effects of your Sacrifice feature.

Circle of Paganism
Druids following the Old Ways are part of the Circle of Paganism. They worship not specific aspects of nature, but the glory of nature in its entirety. Ritual is a large part of their lifestyle.

Book of Shadows
When you join this circle at 2nd level, you begin keeping notes on the world around you. These notes are collected within a journal of your preference, but it is always called a “book of shadows” or “grimoire”.
It has the following properties:
*Counts as a druid focus for your spellcasting
*Grants advantage on Arcana and Nature checks regarding plants and animals you have encountered and written notes on
*You gain one metamagic augmentation and 2 sorcery points

Drawing Down the Moon
Starting at 6th level, you have a number of spells you can cast ritually. Choose one of the following classes: bard, cleric, sorcerer, warlock, wizard. You choose your spells from that class’s spell list, and the spells you choose must have the ritual tag. This number of spells initially on this list is equal to half your druid level (rounded up) + your Wisdom modifier. Wisdom is your spellcasting modifier for these spells.
You prepare these spells similarly to but separately from your druid spells.
If you come across a spell in written form, such as a magical spell scroll, a wizard’s spellbook, or another book of shadows, you might be able to add it to your book of shadows. The spell must be on the spell list for the class you chose, the spell's level can be no higher than half your level (rounded up), and it must have the ritual tag. The process of copying the spell into your ritual book takes 2 hours per level of the spell, and costs 50 gp per level. The cost represents material components you expend as you experiment with the spell to master it, as well as the fine inks you need to record it.

Guardian Towers
At 10th level, you are blessed by one of the elements. Choose one of the guardian towers from the list below:
Anima: You gain resistance to psychic damage. Additionally, you gain telepathy out to 30 feet.
Aqua: You gain resistance to cold damage. You gain a swimming speed equal to your walking speed.
Caeli:You gain resistance to nonmagical slashing damage. Additionally, your high jump height is doubled and your long jump distance is tripled; you don’t need a running start to make a long jump.
Ignis: You gain resistance to fire damage. Additionally, you gain the ability to illuminate dim light out to 10 feet.
Terra: You gain resistance to nonmagical bludgeoning damage. You gain the ability to resist nonmagical difficult terrain.

Blessed Be
When you reach 14th level, you become imbued with raw magical energy. Any time you have to make a spell attack roll and get a 20, you follow the critical rules as typical and add an additional ...



Circle of Weather
Many druids are extremely in tune with the progression of the sun, stars, and moon across the sky, other druids look to the sky for the blessings of rain or the grace of cloudy shade.

Bonus Cantrips
When you join this circle at 2nd level, you gain the following cantrips: conjure rain.

Nature’s Embrace
At 2nd level, you are warded from the elements. Excessive heat or cold doesn’t incur any ill effects.

Circle Spells
Your mystical connection to weather patterns infuses you with the ability to cast certain spells. At 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th level you gain access to circle spells.
Once you gain access to a circle spell, you always have it prepared, and it doesn’t count against the number of spells you can prepare each day. If you gain access to a spell that doesn’t appear on the druid spell list, the spell is nonetheless a druid spell for you.

[U]Druid Level Spell Level
3rd witch bolt, zephyr strike
5th snilloc’s snowball swarm, warding wind
7th call lightning, sleet storm
9th ice storm, storm sphere

Forecast
Starting at 6th level, you are not only able to forecast the weather, but the fates of your friends and foes.
You can take 10 minutes to stare into the sky and observe the patterns of the aether. Depending on what you see, the DM can choose to have you roll a d20 or will select the applicable outcome:
* X
* X
[unfinished]

Inclement Weather
At 10th level, [unfinished]

Stormbringer
When you reach 14th level, you are infused with the essence of a raging stormfront. This manifests in various physical and emotional changes; roiling temperament with violent and loud outbursts; staticky hair and a tendency to shock creatures upon contact.
Any melee attack you make against a creature or metallic object and/or construct deals additional thunder and lightning damage equal to the damage die of the weapon used. For example, a punch would deal 1 bludgeoning, thunder, and lightning damage each for a total of 3 damage before modifiers, while a dagger would deal 1d4 bludgeoning, thunder, and lightning damage for a total of 3d4 before modifiers.

sandmote
2018-12-05, 02:39 PM
It might help if you explained what theme you are trying to achieve with each subclass. That would make it easier to suggest appropriate abilities for each of them.

My initial notes:

The Circle of Blood has a lot in common with the AU Circle of Twilight.
I would simplify Sacrifice to only deal with the healing and damaging dice, and recommend having a separate pool of dice for this (the way Circle of Dreams and Circle of Twilight do), but with an amount equal to half your druid level (given you can both heal and deal damage).
Maybe replace the 10th level ability and bonus wildshape with the ability to spend two uses of wildshape into thematically appropriate creatures?

The Circle of Paganism doesn't really seem to have any kind of identity. I'm guessing the subclass is meant to be tied to that book, but it doesn't seem like you can actually do much with it.

The Circle of Weather seems to have significant overlap with the Circle of Land, given a lot of weather themed spells are tied to an environment. With Stormbringer, it might be worth simply granting 1d8 of each type of damage, matching what Clerics get from Divine Strike.