RustyDemiGod
2024-01-23, 06:08 PM
Recently I’ve been working on Druid subclasses for the fae courts of summer, winter, autumn, and spring. Druid circles that have solid connections to the fae.
Each court has elements to it other than the season itself. For we have fear and occult lore.
Circle of the Autumn Court
Druids bound in service to the Fae of the Autumn Court are as cryptic and feared as their patron Fae. Unlike most Druidic orders, Autumn Courtiers pursue eldritch arcana above all else. These scholars are often mistaken for wizards or warlocks, but few understand their deep connection to the true nature of Autumn. Autumn is the season of fear, both of the coming dark, and the slow dying of the light leading to the winter of death. Binding themselves to this court gives them a firm understanding of fear, and how to harness it or defy it, to find forgotten lore.
-Circle Spells: When you join this circle at 2nd level, you gain access to the ancient arcana of darkness and curses. Once you gain access to a circle spell, you always have it prepared, and it does not count against the number of spells that you can prepare each day. If you gain access to a spell that does not appear on the Druid spell list, the spell is nonetheless a Druid spell for you.
Druid Level Spells
2nd Witch Bolt, Hex
3rd Darkness, Blindness/Deafness
5th Fear, Bestow Curse
7th Greater Invisibility, Phantasmal Killer
9th Scrying, Contagion
-Antiquarian: Starting at 2nd level, you gain proficiency in two of the following skills: Arcana, History, Nature, Religion, or Investigation.
-Eldritch Arcana: Also at 2nd level, you learn 2 Cantrips of your choice, regardless of which spell list they originate from. These Cantrips count as Druid Cantrips for you, and do not count against the number of Cantrips that you know.
-Grimoire of Elden Lore: At 6th level, you begin to transcribe your research and discoveries into a collective tome. In order to transcribe a discovered spell into your Grimoire it must have the Ritual tag, be of a spell level that you can prepare, and you must have the time and materials to transcribe it. You may discover and scribe ritual spells from any spell list. Additionally, you may learn to record and cast any spell of the conjuration school containing the key word Summon or Conjure in it’s name. These spells acquire the Ritual tag.
Copying a Spell into the Book: When you find a ritual spell of 1st level or higher, you can add it to your grimoire if it is of a spell level you can prepare and if you can spare the time to decipher and copy it.
Copying a ritual into your grimoire involves reproducing the basic form of the spell, then deciphering the unique system of notation used by the caster who wrote it. You must practice the spell until you understand the sounds or gestures required, then transcribe it into your grimoire using your own notation.
For each level of the spell, the process takes 2 hours and costs 50 gp. 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. Once you have spent this time and money, you can prepare the spell just like your other spells.
Replacing the Book: You can copy a spell from your own grimoire into another book-for example, if you want to make a backup copy of your grimoire. This is just like copying a new spell into your grimoire , but faster and easier, since you understand your own notation and already know how to cast the spell. You need spend only 1 hour and 10 gp for each level of the copied spell.
If you lose your grimoire, you can use the same procedure to transcribe the spells that you have prepared into a new grimoire. Filling out the remainder of your grimoire requires you to find new spells to do so, as normal. For this reason, many Autumn Courtiers keep backup grimoires in a safe place.
The Book's Appearance: Your grimoire is a unique compilation of rituals, with its own decorative flourishes. Like a Wizard’s spell book, your Grimoire may appear to be be a loose collection of notes, a bound collection of metallic sheets, a finely gilded tome, or a multitude of other things.
-Perceive the Hidden: At 10th level, you gain the ability to gaze into places once invisible to your mortal eyes. As an action, you can expend one use of your Wildshape feature to alter your eyes and activate one of the following effects:
-Artificer’s Eye: Your eyes are constantly under the effect of the Detect Magic spell. Additionally, you may cast Identify at will. This effect lasts for a number of hours equal to half your Druid level (rounded down). You can revert your eyes to their normal form as a Bonus action. This effect also ends if you fall unconscious, drop to 0 hit points, you expend another use of your Wildshape feature, or you die.
-Hag’s Eye: Your eyes are under the effect of the True Seeing spell. This ability lasts for 1 hour. This effect also ends if you fall unconscious, drop to 0 hit points, you expend another use of your Wildshape feature, or you die.
You may only have one of these effects active at one time. Activating another visual power, or using Wildshape, ends the previous ability. The spells conferred by this feature do not require components. These spells count as Druid spells for you, and do not count against the number of spells that you know.
-Autumn Lord’s Cloak: At 14th level, your exposure to the arcane imprints a kind of mystical ward on your flesh. You gain advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects. When you are subjected to an effect that allows you to make a saving throw to take only half damage, you instead take no damage if you succeed on the saving throw, and only half damage if you fail.
This effect can sometimes have a visual manifestation such as a wall of protective force or a cloak of Autumn leaves.
-Autumn Wild Shape: (Optional) When an Autumn Courtier assumes the form of a beast it is very rarely natural looking. When the Druid shifts their beast form is often comprised of wicker, paper, runes, and an eerily cold bale fire.
Each court has elements to it other than the season itself. For we have fear and occult lore.
Circle of the Autumn Court
Druids bound in service to the Fae of the Autumn Court are as cryptic and feared as their patron Fae. Unlike most Druidic orders, Autumn Courtiers pursue eldritch arcana above all else. These scholars are often mistaken for wizards or warlocks, but few understand their deep connection to the true nature of Autumn. Autumn is the season of fear, both of the coming dark, and the slow dying of the light leading to the winter of death. Binding themselves to this court gives them a firm understanding of fear, and how to harness it or defy it, to find forgotten lore.
-Circle Spells: When you join this circle at 2nd level, you gain access to the ancient arcana of darkness and curses. Once you gain access to a circle spell, you always have it prepared, and it does not count against the number of spells that you can prepare each day. If you gain access to a spell that does not appear on the Druid spell list, the spell is nonetheless a Druid spell for you.
Druid Level Spells
2nd Witch Bolt, Hex
3rd Darkness, Blindness/Deafness
5th Fear, Bestow Curse
7th Greater Invisibility, Phantasmal Killer
9th Scrying, Contagion
-Antiquarian: Starting at 2nd level, you gain proficiency in two of the following skills: Arcana, History, Nature, Religion, or Investigation.
-Eldritch Arcana: Also at 2nd level, you learn 2 Cantrips of your choice, regardless of which spell list they originate from. These Cantrips count as Druid Cantrips for you, and do not count against the number of Cantrips that you know.
-Grimoire of Elden Lore: At 6th level, you begin to transcribe your research and discoveries into a collective tome. In order to transcribe a discovered spell into your Grimoire it must have the Ritual tag, be of a spell level that you can prepare, and you must have the time and materials to transcribe it. You may discover and scribe ritual spells from any spell list. Additionally, you may learn to record and cast any spell of the conjuration school containing the key word Summon or Conjure in it’s name. These spells acquire the Ritual tag.
Copying a Spell into the Book: When you find a ritual spell of 1st level or higher, you can add it to your grimoire if it is of a spell level you can prepare and if you can spare the time to decipher and copy it.
Copying a ritual into your grimoire involves reproducing the basic form of the spell, then deciphering the unique system of notation used by the caster who wrote it. You must practice the spell until you understand the sounds or gestures required, then transcribe it into your grimoire using your own notation.
For each level of the spell, the process takes 2 hours and costs 50 gp. 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. Once you have spent this time and money, you can prepare the spell just like your other spells.
Replacing the Book: You can copy a spell from your own grimoire into another book-for example, if you want to make a backup copy of your grimoire. This is just like copying a new spell into your grimoire , but faster and easier, since you understand your own notation and already know how to cast the spell. You need spend only 1 hour and 10 gp for each level of the copied spell.
If you lose your grimoire, you can use the same procedure to transcribe the spells that you have prepared into a new grimoire. Filling out the remainder of your grimoire requires you to find new spells to do so, as normal. For this reason, many Autumn Courtiers keep backup grimoires in a safe place.
The Book's Appearance: Your grimoire is a unique compilation of rituals, with its own decorative flourishes. Like a Wizard’s spell book, your Grimoire may appear to be be a loose collection of notes, a bound collection of metallic sheets, a finely gilded tome, or a multitude of other things.
-Perceive the Hidden: At 10th level, you gain the ability to gaze into places once invisible to your mortal eyes. As an action, you can expend one use of your Wildshape feature to alter your eyes and activate one of the following effects:
-Artificer’s Eye: Your eyes are constantly under the effect of the Detect Magic spell. Additionally, you may cast Identify at will. This effect lasts for a number of hours equal to half your Druid level (rounded down). You can revert your eyes to their normal form as a Bonus action. This effect also ends if you fall unconscious, drop to 0 hit points, you expend another use of your Wildshape feature, or you die.
-Hag’s Eye: Your eyes are under the effect of the True Seeing spell. This ability lasts for 1 hour. This effect also ends if you fall unconscious, drop to 0 hit points, you expend another use of your Wildshape feature, or you die.
You may only have one of these effects active at one time. Activating another visual power, or using Wildshape, ends the previous ability. The spells conferred by this feature do not require components. These spells count as Druid spells for you, and do not count against the number of spells that you know.
-Autumn Lord’s Cloak: At 14th level, your exposure to the arcane imprints a kind of mystical ward on your flesh. You gain advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects. When you are subjected to an effect that allows you to make a saving throw to take only half damage, you instead take no damage if you succeed on the saving throw, and only half damage if you fail.
This effect can sometimes have a visual manifestation such as a wall of protective force or a cloak of Autumn leaves.
-Autumn Wild Shape: (Optional) When an Autumn Courtier assumes the form of a beast it is very rarely natural looking. When the Druid shifts their beast form is often comprised of wicker, paper, runes, and an eerily cold bale fire.