Circle of the Beast

[Yakk]

This is an attempt to generate a "beast companion" druid.

Circle of the Beast

Primal Companion

When you choose this circle at 2nd level, a Primal Spirit finds you. It takes the form of an animal companion. Choose Beast of the Air or Beast of the Sea from the UA-ClassFeatureVariants for the Ranger Beast Companion (https://media.wizards.com/2019/dnd/d...ssFeatures.pdf), but use your Druid level instead of your Ranger level, and otherwise use the Beastmaster Animal Companion and Companion's Bond from the Beastmaster Ranger.

Additionally, you can use a bonus action to expend one spell slot to heal your companion 1d8 hit points per level of the spell slot expended.

Primal Attack

Starting at 6th level, when you cast any spell as an action, or make an attack, your companion can also expend its reaction to make an attack. In addition, your companion's attacks count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.

Elemental Smite

At 10th level, when your companion hits with a melee attack, you can expend a spell slot as a reaction. The attack deals an additional 1d8 damage, plus 1d8 damage per level of the spell slot (max 5d8). The additional damage is either fire, cold, or lightning damage. Until the end of your next turn, any creature that hits your companion and is within 15' takes 1d8 damage of the same type.

Companion Form

At 14th level, as an action you can expend a use of your wild shape in order to become a Beast of the Land or Beast of the Air, as if it was your companion. While in this Beast form, you can use Elemental Smite on your own melee attacks (including the damage if you are hit), and use a bonus action to heal yourself by expending a spell slot, and regaining 1d8 HP per level of the slot expended.

Spoiler

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This was something I threw together quick when someone asked "how can I have a druid with an animal companion". I mashed together the Moon Circle and Beast Conclave druid and ranger subclasses, then added Elemental Smite as a way to make the pet more central.

[Segev]

This doesn't look too bad, to me; I don't know enough about ranger's beast conclave to make definitive judgment, but the only big question I have is whether turning into a Beast of the [whatever] is all that much of an upgrade over Wild Shape's normal options. ...then I recall that not being a Moon Druid means you're limited to sub-CR-1. (Does Elemental Shape lift that restriction?)


I will point out, for your friend's sake if nothing else, that animal friendship is what 3.0 gave druids, and the 3.5 druid's animal companion was an attempt to reign in the flexibility of that. Beasts go way, way up in CR in 5e, and there's no caster level limits; just Intelligence-of-the-Beast limits. So you can get a "beastmaster" druid with this spell, and maybe Handle Animal or Persuasion proficiency (depending on what the DM demands you roll to get animals to cooperate with you, since the Charmed condition only gives you Advantage on the Charsima checks to get them to work for you rather than making them directly inclined to do so).

[Yakk]

So, a non-moon druid is limited to CR 1. This caps out as a Giant Vulture. 10 AC, 22 HP, +4 to hit for a total of 16 damage, pack tactics. The Beast of the Air is a large upgrade.

[Segev]

So, a non-moon druid is limited to CR 1. This caps out as a Giant Vulture. 10 AC, 22 HP, +4 to hit for a total of 16 damage, pack tactics. The Beast of the Air is a large upgrade.

Right, sorry, that's what I was getting at with my self-correction. I see what you're doing there. Still not a Moon Druid, but its own sort of power. Not bad.