Druid

Druidism is the 2nd oldest of the organized magics of Quartus. Druids, like clerics, channel their magic from other entities instead of creating the resonant patterns themselves. Unlike clerics, druids aren’t beholden to the gods or to powers of the Astral. They negotiate with, befriend, and sometimes bully the ihimen, called the “little gods” or “kami” or “spirits of nature”, the collective entities who are in and through everything. In exchange for experiences not available to these bodiless beings and a small piece of the druid’s aether, they perform “tricks” in the form of spells and other effects. Their signature is the wildshape, a trick where the druid channels an animal spirit to create an aetheric “shell” as a body, dissolving their real body into the border shadow (in effect). The ihimen merges with the druid’s spirit and handles the mechanics of the new body but gets to experience corporeality. This is why the druid is unharmed when the animal body takes blows; it isn’t really their body.

Druids are most common in Byssia, with the druids of the Dreamgrove actively participating in that nation’s government (although they have stepped back somewhat since the Red Plague and the involvement of the Circle of Purging Flame, which had substantial support in the Dreamgrove community). Crisial has the Lady’s Grove, a much more civilization-friendly grove where the dryad of the ancient oak at the center (the titular Lady) still mourns her mate, Safrir of the Catalysts, who sacrificed himself in 254 AC to prevent the veil into Shadow from tearing completely at the start of the Time of Troubles. The other of the large groves is at Pactum in the central-northern Sea of Grass, which centers around an ancient tree and the spirit of that tree, Maevea and her husband Kantorell. Of the groves, Pactum Grove has the least dealings with civilization. Its primary focus is on the balance between life and death.

This section introduces one new druid subclass: The Circle of Wrathful Seasons, which uses Wild Shape uses to instead summon spirit companions.

The Circle of Wrathful Seasons

The Circle of Wrathful Seasons teaches that the elemental cycle of the seasons drives the cycles in nature, and demands that its adherents pay special homage and attention to the elemental forces of the world. Unlike many other circles, the followers of Wrathful Seasons focus on the wild and destructive aspects of those seasons. While they can still heal and encourage growth, their specialty is on bringing nature’s wrath to those that defile the world. They bond to elemental spirits drawn from these seasonal aspects and in tandem burn, freeze, entangle, and blast their foes with natural wrath.

Familiar Spirit

When you take this subclass at 2nd level, you learn to summon an elemental companion spirit as an action, expending one use of Wild Shape. When you do so, choose one of the forms below. The spirit manifests in a space you can see within 60 feet. It does not occupy its space and is immune to all damage and effects other than dispel magic and similar effects. It lasts for a number of hours equal to half your druid level or until you are incapacitated. You can only have one summoned at a time. For the purpose of dispel magic and other such effects, it counts as a spell of level equal to the maximum spell level you can cast.

As a bonus action on your turn, you can move the spirit up to 30 feet in any direction and activate its ability. It uses your spell save DC and spell attack modifier.

  • Blazing Summer Spirit. This spirit arises from the scorching heat of the summer sun. When summoned, all creatures within 10 feet of its location must make a Dexterity saving throw against your spell save DC, taking fire damage equal to your level on a failed saving throw or half as much on a success. Creatures that fail their saving throw are frightened of you for one minute and can make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC at the end of each of their turns, ending the fear on a success.
  • Bonus Action: All creatures within 10 feet of the spirit must make a Dexterity saving throw against your spell save DC, taking 1d8 + your Wisdom modifier fire damage on a failure or half as much on a success. This damage increases by 1d8 at each of 6th, 10th, and 14th levels.
  • Bleak Winter Spirit. This spirit arises from the cold dark of winter. When summoned, all creatures within 10 feet of its location must make a Constitution saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failed save, targets take cold damage equal to your level and are staggered for one minute; on a success, their speed is reduced by half until the end of their next turn. Staggered creatures have their speed reduced to half and can take either an action or a bonus action and cannot take reactions. If they make an attack with their action, they can only make a single attack regardless of how many they normally could with that action. Staggered creatures can attempt the saving throw at the end of each of their turns, ending the effect on a success.
  • Bonus Action: One creature of your choice within 10 feet of the spirit must make a Constitution saving throw, taking 1d8 + your Wisdom modifier cold damage on a failure or half as much on a success. Creatures that fail their saving throw have their speed reduced by 10 feet until the start of your next turn. This damage increases by 1d8 at each of 6th, 10th, and 14th levels.
  • Entangling Spring Spirit. This spirit arises from the uncontrolled spring growth. When summoned, all creatures within 10 feet of its location must make a Strength saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failed save, they take magical bludgeoning damage equal to your level and become restrained by rapidly growing plants for one minutes On a success, they take half as much damage and are not restrained. Restrained creatures can attempt the saving throw again at the end of each of their turns, ending the effect on a success. The area remains difficult terrain for 10 minutes, after which the plants wither.
  • Bonus Action: Make a melee spell attack using your spell attack modifier against one creature of your choice within 30 feet of the spirit. On a hit, the creature takes 1d8 + your Wisdom modifier magical bludgeoning damage and you can pull it 10 feet closer to the spirit. The damage increases by 1d8 at each of 6th, 10th, and 14th level.
  • Tempestuous Autumn Spirit. This spirit arises from the roaring storms of autumn in a flash of lightning and crash of thunder. When summoned, all creatures within 10 feet of its location must make a Constitution saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failed save, they take thunder or lightning damage (your choice) equal to your level and are blinded and deafened for one minutes On a success, they take half damage and are not blinded or deafened. Blinded or deafened creatures can attempt the saving throw at the end of each of their turns, ending the effect on a success.
  • Bonus Action: One creature of your choice within 10 feet of the spirit must make a Strength saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failed save, they take 1d8 + your Wisdom modifier thunder damage and are pushed 10 feet away from the spirit. On a success they take half damage and are not pushed. This damage increases by 1d8 at each of 6th, 10th, and 14th level.

Spirit Translocation

Starting at level 6, as a bonus action on your turn, you can swap your location and your spirit’s location.

Spirit Sight

Starting at level 6, your connection to the spirits gives you insight into the unseen world. You can cast detect magic and detect evil and good at will.

Renewed Emergence

Starting at level 10, while you have a spirit out, you can re-trigger its emergence effect once as an action. You cannot do so again until you expend another use of Wild Shape to re-summon your Familiar Spirit (whether of the same type or another).

Spirit Unity

Starting at level 14, when you summon your familiar spirit, you can instead choose to summon any two of them. If you do so, they only last 1 minute but you only expend a single use of Wild Shape and can command both of them with the same bonus action; if you use Spirit Translocation you can choose which one you swap with, and Renewed Emergence affects either or both of them as you choose. Once you use this ability, you cannot do so again until you finish a long rest.