Locals know them as wise people, but overly suspicious and secretive. Powerful villains give them a wide berth – their eyes and ears are everywhere, and they can quite literally turn a walk in the woods into a suicide mission. Quiet, subtle, and powerful, these druids are more than just woodsy hermits.

 

Read on below for more on the Circle of the Forest!

-Druid- Circle of the Forest v1

You can also find the PDF version here.

 

A druid of the Circle of the Forest is a protector, but foremost a watcher. She observes nature, and those who pass through it, relying on knowledge and magical power to ensure the safety of her domain. Where others might shift into mighty animal forms, these druids prefer sleeker forms – foxes and sparrows, to name a few.

 

FEATURES:

• Pass without a trace! As animals!
• Casting a spell could give away your position, but who’d suspect a rustling of leaves?
• Years of traversing the ancient woods has made your steps sure and precise… and your knowledge of magic can make sure your enemies find no such sure footing!
• Finally, why walk at all? Step from place to place with the greatest ease!

 

DESIGN NOTES:

• You can actually find more on this subclass in my upcoming discussion of druids and Wild Shape – which will be coming later this week. This subclass is the first of many fruits to be borne from my time spent thinking about druids, and even more is yet to come.
• The central idea here was to make the quintessential druid – something that could serve as a suitable replacement for the Circle of the Land. To that end, this druid focuses hard on spellcasting. In combat, you’re a spellcaster, not a fighter in a bear costume.
• However, as is detailed in the post above, you can’t just make a druid subclass that doesn’t touch Wild Shape. So this subclass gets features to emphasize non-combat usages of Wild Shape.
• I’m pretty happy with this, all told. I think it’s a solid subclass, it feels tight thematically, and I’m happy with the mechanics. However, this is also the first druid Circle I’ve done in a while… and only the second Circle I’ve done ever. Druid is not one of my strong points.

 

Thanks for reading!