Another kind of Fey druid: Circle of the Silver Moon

[Beechgnome]

Before I dabbled in more druid circles, I wanted to see what the UA would put out, and sure enough they did make a 'Fey Druid' in the College of Dreams, but it was more a Healer druid than what I had in mind.

Following up on my Circle of the Many swarm druid, I wanted to add another in a series I'll just call 'Wilder Shapes': druids that have shapeshifting powers that work a little differently than your standard Wild Shape. So here is my Fey Shape druid.

When trying to imagine it in battle, it may help to think of the Monty Python and the Holy Grail.


Circle of the Silver Moon

At the places and portals where the Feywild intersects with the Material Plane, the druids of the Circle of the Silver Moon keep watch.

Though the circle's origins trace their roots to the Feywild, their motives are unclear. Do they protect the fey from humanoid armies and greedy adventurers, or are they guarding our world from the unwanted incursions of meddling fey? Members of the secretive circle are rarely forthcoming.

Members of the circle learn to retain some of their spellcasting when they wild shape as tiny creatures, such as squirrels or rabbits. This often gives them the element of surprise, and all too often those who blunder into their path will fight each other before realizing the true cause of their woe.

Though rare, some members of the circle take up adventuring, perhaps in search of an eldritch item, to spy on some enemy of the order or to deal with a great threat to a crossing or portal. Druids who chose this circle often have the acolyte, hermit or sage background.

Fey speech
When you join this circle at 2nd level, you learn the Sylvan language if you do not already know it. You may also cast the spell Speak with Animals as a ritual, even if you do not have it prepared.

Feywild Shape
When you join this circle at 2nd level, you gain the ability to use Wild Shape on your turn as a bonus action to transform into a special Tiny CR 0 beast that is your Feywild Shape.

See the list below for available forms. You may also, at the DM’s discretion, choose any Tiny CR 0 beast in the Monster Manual.

Your Feywild Shape is still bound by the restrictions for swimming and flying for all druids.

Spoiler: Circle of the Silver Moon unique wild shapes

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Circle of the Silver Moon unique wild shapes

Rabbit
Avail at level: 2
AC 12
Speed: 20', burrow 5'
Str 2
Dex 15
Con 10
Senses, skills: Perception, Stealth, Keen hearing, Standing leap

Prairie dog
Avail at level: 2
AC 12
Speed: 20', burrow 5'
Str 3
Dex 14
Con 9
Senses, skills: Perception, Darkvision 30', Keen smell

Squirrel
Avail at level: 2
AC 12
Speed: 20', climb 20'
Str 2
Dex 14
Con 9
Senses, skills: Stealth, Darkvision 30', Keen smell

Turtle
Avail at level: 4
AC 12
Speed 10', swim 30'
Str 4
Dex 10
Con 12
Senses, skills: Darkvision 30', Amphibious

Hummingbird
Avail at level: 8
AC 12
Speed 5', fly 40'
STR 1
DEX 14
CON 8
Senses, skills: Perception, Keen smell

Your hit points in this form = 10 + (your druid level x 2), while your AC = the beast’s AC + your Wisdom bonus.

Even if the beast does not have an effective attack, your attack bonus is your proficiency bonus plus the beast’s dexterity bonus, and you do 1 point of piercing damage.

Wild casting
At 2nd level, when you are in your Feywild Shape, you retain your ability to speak Sylvan, and you retain some of your spellcasting ability. You may cast any enchantment or abjuration cantrip or spell you have prepared, provided you have the appropriate spell slot available.

You don't need to perform the somatic components, but your druidic focus or material component must be on your person and you must still be able to speak.

Spoiler: Druid spells available in Feywild Shape

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Spells available in Feywild Shape

A single-class druid would have the following spells they could cast in Feywild Shape form, assuming they are of the level to cast the spells:

Cantrips Resistance
1st Absorb elements, animal friendship, charm person
2nd Animal messenger, hold person, lesser restoration, pass without trace, protection from poison
3rd Dispel magic, protection from energy
4th Confusion, dominate beast, freedom of movement, stoneskin
5th Antilife shell, geas, greater restoration, planar binding
6th Primordial ward
7th none
8th Antipathy/sympathy, feeblemind
9th none

Elusive beast
At 6th level, you may use the hide, disengage or dash action as a bonus action when you are in your Feywild Shape. When in this form you can also attempt to hide even if you are obscured only by a creature at least one size larger than you.

Wary senses
When you reach 10th level, your connection to fey makes you harder to trick or sway. You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed and on Intelligence (Investigation) checks or saving throws against illusions.

Banishing strike
When you reach 14th level and you hit an opponent with a melee attack in either your druid or Feywild Shape, you may attempt to banish the target to another plane or far away. The target must make a Charisma saving throw against your spell save DC or be banished to its home plane. If it is already on its home plane, then it is teleported up to one mile away. (The caster cannot be specific about where exactly the opponent is teleported). Once you have used this ability you must finish a long rest before you can use it again.

Spoiler: Does Beast spells at 18th level make Feywild Shape obsolete?

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Does Beast Spells at 18th level make class obsolete?

No, I don’t think so. The Fey Shape still has a few advantages over the regular Beast Spells shape.

One, at 18th level, your tiny Fey Shape will have 46 hit points but still be able to hide and dash effectively, making it sneaky, tough and a potent caster.

Two, you will be able to cast some spells that Beast Spells doesn’t grant (since it doesn’t allow material component spells). Those spells in your Fey repertoire are: animal friendship, animal messenger, hold person, pass without trace, confusion, freedom of movement, stoneskin, greater restoration, planar binding, antipathy/sympathy and feeblemind. So more than half your spells.

Also, getting spells early in wildshape may make you want to multi-class three levels of something else, but that’s another matter.

Spoiler: Is multi-classing a good idea?

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Is multi-classing a good idea?

If you expect to be at 20th level, then the Archdruid capstone probably means you should never multiclass a druid, ever.

But if you do want to dip, there are a number of options to greatly improve your Feywild Shape casting versatility.

Warlock
Warlocks gets Friends and Blade Ward cantrips. They also get Hex, Armor of Agathys and Charm Person at first level, all excellent choices for our fuzzy little Fey Shape.

The thematically appropriate Feylock also gets Sleep, while the Great Old One warlock gets the even better Dissonant Whispers and Tasha’s Hideous Laughter. The Feylock Fey Presence and GOOlock Awakened Mind are also both very useful in Fey Shape.

Taking three levels would let you have a Pact (Chain, yes?), allow for the enchantment invocation Thief of Five Fates and give access to second level spells like Crown of Madness, Enthrall, Suggestion and, for Feylocks, Calm Emotions. If you took Chain and then picked a Sprite familiar, it would also be cool to get Voice of the Chain Master. Who is talking, the Sprite or the Rabbit?

Bard
Bards get a host of enchantment spells, including many of the above plus Heroism and Bane at first level and Zone of Truth at 3rd level. Throw in Bardic Inspiration and later Jack of All Trades and whatever 3rd level path you take. Oh, did I mention Vicious Mockery as a cantrip? Go for UA College of Glamour for maximum theme, or Whispers if your DM lets your bite be a weapon attack.

Cleric
Bane, Bless, Command, Protection from Evil/Good, Sanctuary, Shield of Faith...many good first level options.

Life, Knowledge, Tempest and Trickery all seem like thematic and useful choices. The Wisdom as spellcasting class obviously helps make this painless.

Sorcerer/Wizard

Shield is a great spell, of course.

Sorcerers don’t have much that can’t be found elsewhere, but if you take 3 levels you could get useful metamagic like Subtle, Twinned or Quicken, albeit with a limited pool of sorcery points.

Wizards get a good array of spells, and get Arcane Lock, but Intelligence is not likely to be your strength. Enchantment and Divination both seem like useful schools at 2nd level.

[Ninja_Prawn]

What's this? Ninja_Prawn is commenting on a fey thread? Who'd have thought it?

I like this a lot, only have one comment really.

Feywild Shape
When you join this circle at 2nd level, you gain the ability to use Wild Shape on your turn as a bonus action to transform into a special Tiny CR 0 beast that is your Feywild Shape.

See the list below for available forms. You may also, at the DM’s discretion, choose any Tiny CR 0 beast in the Monster Manual.

Your Feywild Shape is still bound by the restrictions for swimming and flying for all druids.

Spoiler: Circle of the Silver Moon unique wild shapes

Show

Circle of the Silver Moon unique wild shapes

Rabbit
Avail at level: 2
AC 12
Speed: 20', burrow 5'
Str 2
Dex 15
Con 10
Senses, skills: Perception, Stealth, Keen hearing, Standing leap

Prairie dog
Avail at level: 2
AC 12
Speed: 20', burrow 5'
Str 3
Dex 14
Con 9
Senses, skills: Perception, Darkvision 30', Keen smell

Squirrel
Avail at level: 2
AC 12
Speed: 20', climb 20'
Str 2
Dex 14
Con 9
Senses, skills: Stealth, Darkvision 30', Keen smell

Turtle
Avail at level: 4
AC 12
Speed 10', swim 30'
Str 4
Dex 10
Con 12
Senses, skills: Darkvision 30', Amphibious

Hummingbird
Avail at level: 8
AC 12
Speed 5', fly 40'
STR 1
DEX 14
CON 8
Senses, skills: Perception, Keen smell

Your hit points in this form = 10 + (your druid level x 2), while your AC = the beast’s AC + your Wisdom bonus.

Even if the beast does not have an effective attack, your attack bonus is your proficiency bonus plus the beast’s dexterity bonus, and you do 1 point of piercing damage.

Wild casting
At 2nd level, when you are in your Feywild Shape, you retain your ability to speak Sylvan, and you retain some of your spellcasting ability. You may cast any enchantment or abjuration cantrip or spell you have prepared, provided you have the appropriate spell slot available.

You don't need to perform the somatic components, but your druidic focus or material component must be on your person and you must still be able to speak.

See, I'm wondering what the point of the extra forms is. They don't give you anything that a factory-standard druid can't already do. If it were me, I'd be tempted to drop the Feywild Shape feature and just redefine any CR 0 tiny beast form as a 'Feywild shape'. That would also mean you don't have three named features at level 2.

[Beechgnome]

See, I'm wondering what the point of the extra forms is. They don't give you anything that a factory-standard druid can't already do. If it were me, I'd be tempted to drop the Feywild Shape feature and just redefine any CR 0 tiny beast form as a 'Feywild shape'. That would also mean you don't have three named features at level 2.

Yeah the extra forms themselves are just a way to add some extra tiny beasts that are more theme-friendly. They don't, in and of themselves, add anything special. So my intention was that any CR 0 tiny beast was a Feywild Shape.

But I think you still need the three named features.

The first, Fey Speech, is really a ribbon, since for casting purposes I could have just allowed casting without a verbal component. Basically you get speak with animals as a ritual and an extra language, but with the requirement that you can't cast silently. If I did away with anything, it would be this, but I don't it puts anything out of whack.

The second, Feywild Shape, allows for all the boosts when turning into a tiny CR 0 beast: shifting as a bonus action, the extra hit points, the AC bonus, and the attack bonus.

The third, Wild Casting, naturally, governs the rules of spellcasting in the form.

Is that more clear?

[Ninja_Prawn]

Yeah the extra forms themselves are just a way to add some extra tiny beasts that are more theme-friendly. They don't, in and of themselves, add anything special. So my intention was that any CR 0 tiny beast was a Feywild Shape.

But I think you still need the three named features.

The first, Fey Speech, is really a ribbon, since for casting purposes I could have just allowed casting without a verbal component. Basically you get speak with animals as a ritual and an extra language, but with the requirement that you can't cast silently. If I did away with anything, it would be this, but I don't it puts anything out of whack.

The second, Feywild Shape, allows for all the boosts when turning into a tiny CR 0 beast: shifting as a bonus action, the extra hit points, the AC bonus, and the attack bonus.

The third, Wild Casting, naturally, governs the rules of spellcasting in the form.

Is that more clear?

Then maybe it would be neater to roll Wild Casting into Feywild Shape, since that's also a boost to the form?

[Beechgnome]

Then maybe it would be neater to roll Wild Casting into Feywild Shape, since that's also a boost to the form?

Yeah, I can do that bookkeeping if it is clearer.