Sunday, July 25, 2021

Druid Subclasses - Xanathar's

 Druids only got two subclasses in the Player's Handbook, and they only get two in Xanathar's Guide to Everything. But with the fairly simple divide between Circle of the Land's "You're a spellcaster" and Circle of the Moon's "You're a shapeshifter" out of the way, we start to get more interesting takes and emphases.

Circle of Dreams:

The Circle of Dreams is tied to the Feywild, focused on guarding the natural world but also mending wounds both physical and emotional. Druids and the Feywild have always had this kind of implied connection, and with Circle of Dreams, that connection is explicit.

At level 2, you get Balm of the Summer Court. You have a pool of d6s equal to your druid level. As a bonus action, you can spend a number of those d6s equal to half your druid level or less, choosing a creature within 120 feet of you that you can see. The target regains hit points equal to the total rolled and also gains a temporary hit point for each die spent. You get these dice back on a long rest. So, a bit of bonus-action healing that exists outside of your spell slots is really nice. The temporary hit points on top are likely just going to be a tiny buffer, but every bit counts. While Clerics are typically seen as the primary healing class, I think Druids fit that role as well, and it's nice to see subclasses that emphasize that.

At level 6, you get Hearth of Moonlight and Shadow. During a long or short rest, you can invoke the power of the Gloaming Court (because you apparently play both sides) to create a 30-foot-radius magical sphere around a point you touch in space (total cover blocks the sphere.) Within the sphere, you and your allies get a +5 bonus to Dexterity (Stealth) and Wisdom (Perception) checks, and any light or open flames in the sphere is not visible outside of it. If you leave the sphere, it vanishes.

This isn't quite an automatic Leomund's Tiny Hut, but it is a very nice feature to make it far less likely for threats to attack you in the middle of the night. I think there's also a ton you can play with here to flavor this - I imagine that if you're inside the sphere, the colors shift to become more vibrant even as you become harder to detect.

At level 10, you get Hidden Paths. As a bonus action, you can teleport up to 60 feet to an unoccupied space you can see. Or, you can teleport one willing creature you touch 30 feet. You can do this a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum once) per long rest. So, it's basically several free Misty Steps that go twice as far, or you can bamf a friend away (a great way to rescue a squishy person, or a way to shoot the group's tank at an enemy.) Again, there's great flavor to this, as you're using hidden, magical paths that the fey use.

Finally, at level 14, you get Walker in Dreams. When you finish a short rest, you can cast one of the following spells without expending a spell slot or needing material components: dream (with you as the dream-messenger,) scrying, or teleportation circle. The teleportation circle works differently, though, opening a portal only to the last place you took a long rest on your current plane of existence (if you haven't rested on that plane you can just choose one of the other spells.) Once you do this, you can't use the feature again until you finish a long rest.

While the utility of these spells varies widely, I love the flavor behind this. Likewise, I think that the teleportation circle thing is a great "hey, we beat the boss of the dungeon. Let's shoot back to that nice place we camped last night."

Circle of Dreams may not be a powerhouse in terms of mechanics, but I give it full marks for flavor, and thus think it's a fine choice.

Circle of Shepherds:

Let's talk summoning spells. They are a giant pain in the ass because of all the different stat blocks you have to track. That's half the reason why I adore the Tasha's "Summon X" spells, which streamline the summoning process. Yes, you can't run 8 different creatures on the map, but other people want to play, folks. Shepherd Druids are at least partially themed around conjuring creatures, so, for the sake of your DMs and other players, please take a look at those new spells.

At level 2, you get Speech of the Woods. You can read, write, and speak Sylvan, the language of the Fey (wouldn't that make more sense for Dream Druids?) Additionally, beasts can understand your speech, and you can decipher their noises and motions. Beasts typically don't have the intelligence to convey complex ideas, but they can relay what they have seen or heard recently. While this doesn't automatically make beasts friendly, it does open the opportunity to earn their friendship and trust in a more direct way. This is both fantastic flavor and also can potentially be very useful, as you can use nearby animals as sources of information and scouts.

Also at level 2, you get Spirit Totem. As a bonus action, you can summon an incorporeal spirit at a point within 60 feet that you can see. The totem radiates an aura in a 30-foot radius, but is neither an object nor a creature. You can also move the totem as a bonus action up to 60 feet.

The spirit lasts 1 minute or until you're incapacitated, and you can only use it once per short or long rest.

There are three spirits to choose from.

The Bear Spirit grants temporary hit points equal to 5 + your druid level to every creature of your choice within the aura when you summon it. Then, you and your allies get advantage on Strength checks and saving throws while they're in the aura.

The Hawk Spirit lets you use a reaction to give creatures advantage on an attack roll if they make it when in the aura. Additionally, you and your allies have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks while in the aura.

The Unicorn Spirit gives advantage to you and your allies on any ability checks to detect creatures that are within the aura. Additionally, if you spend a spell slot on a spell that restores hit points to any creature inside or outside the aura, each creature of your choice that is in the aura also regains hit points equal to your druid level.

So, this is a pretty cool feature, and each totem is certainly useful. The splash-healing of the Unicorn totem might be the one I find most impressive, though the Bear's big burst of temp hit points is also very nice. (On Dimension 20's The Unsleeping City, the Druid Kugrash re-skins the Bear spirit as "The Juiciest Cockroach," and I believe has the Hawk appear as a pigeon, given that the campaign takes place in New York, and I love that.)

At level 6, you get Mighty Summoner. Any beast or fey you summon or create with a spell gets the following benefits: it gets 2 extra hit points for each hit die it has. Also, its damage from natural weapons becomes magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance or immunity.

This is huge, as it overcomes the biggest issue with summoned creatures. The limitation on creature types is something I'd forgotten about, and actually seems like it would make Summon Beast the most powerful option between the three Tasha's "Summon" spells druids get, given that it doesn't include elementals, and the Fey Spirit you summon is using a rapier, which is not a natural weapon. (Those summoned spirits also don't strictly have hit dice, so you might need to futz with this a bit.) Anyway, as usual, that "the damage is magical" thing is crucial.

At level 10, you get Guardian Spirit. Beasts and Fey you've summoned that end their turn within your totem's aura regain hit points equal to your druid level. This actually really favors summoning spells that conjure multiple creatures, but even with a single one, that's still some nice passive healing.

Finally, at 14, you get Faithful Summons. If you are reduced to 0 hit points or are incapacitated against your will, you can immediately gain the benefits of conjure animals as if it were cast at 9th level: four beasts of your choice that are CR 2 or lower will appear within 20 feet of you and will protect your from harm and attack your foes. The spell lasts 1 hour, requiring no concentration, though you can end it if you wish (no action required.) Once this is used, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.

So, basically, if you get in real trouble, a bunch of animals will show up to defend you. I love the concept here, while at the same time I don't know if four CR 2 beasts will be able to put much of a dent into something that took down a level 14 druid. That being said, there's a lot to be said for just having things blocking a foe from advancing. While I give most of the credit to our Battlemaster Fighter/Cleric, in one campaign I held off Yeenoghu from getting to the ranged people in the group by creating a wall of zombies using Dance Macabre (and one even survived a hit from his flail thanks to Undead Fortitude.)

I think there's a bit more of a mechanical cohesiveness to the Shepherd Druid here than the Dreams one, but both are dripping with flavor, which is very nice to see. Neither really makes more interesting use of Wild Shape, but I believe we'll be seeing that with all three of the remaining subclasses from Tasha's Cauldron of Everything (/Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica, where the Circle of Spores was first published.)

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