D&D 5E 5E Survivor - Subclasses (Part V: Druids)

[niklinna]

Spoiler

I have no problem with there being other subclasses that address this. For example, the Circle of the Tides for an aquatic-focused version, perhaps one that has some kind of mechanic to represent the push-and-pull effects thereof. I don't think I would go for a companion creature for that sort of Druid--rather, I'd give it some ability to tinker with its wildshape forms, reflecting the enormous variety of ocean-going life. Jellyfish regeneration and crustacean armor and mollusk intelligence, etc. Although it pains me to say it, technically the Circle of the Land is probably meant to be the "mountain"/earth druid, in the sense that it's linked to terrain and physical structure. I'd personally prefer to make a subclass that gets superior defenses and such, perhaps even the ability to give yourself "earthen armor" as a substitute for metal armor. Wind is trickier; back in 4e you had the Eagle or "Watcher" Shaman who was good at supporting ranged abilities and physical movement around the battlefield, so perhaps features that hook into that would be functional--not sure, would want to dwell on it more.

This, incidentally, is part of why I balked at someone else's suggestion of "improving" the flavor of Wildfire by making it "choose your element": that actually makes the subclass even blander. If you actually make them different, e.g. "well you have the Earth package, which gives its set of features at level 2, 6, 10, and 14, and the Water package, which gives genuinely different features at those levels," then you've already made four different subclasses and you're just pretending they're one subclass. If you don't do that, then all you're doing is making it "Insert Element Here," which must inherently be more bland than element-specific stuff.

Spoiler

This already shows that a merely-elemental approach wouldn't be that great with druids anyhow. For water you have coastal/tidal, riverine, lake, and sea, at minimum. For air you really have sky and any phenomena associated with it: wind, weather, rain/snow, lightning. Earth could be the mountains or the fertile forest soils or a variety of other things. And then consider seasons adding into the mix. It gets dizzying fast! If Circld of the Land weren't so generic outside the added spells, I'd agree with you about that—those terrain/biome spells really are flavorful to themes relevant to druids. To be more thematic, though, would require up to 8 different subclass features for levels 2, 6, 10, and 14. That's...a lot.

 

[Aldarc]

Circle of the Land 14
Circle of the Shepherd
Circle of Stars 12+1 = 13 - stars and druidism is a thematically amazing and I love it when I see it
Circle of Wildfire 13-2 = 11 - nah

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Circle of the Land 12
Circle of the Shepherd ?
Circle of Stars 14 - I created a renaissance astrologer/anime character with this. It makes a change from the generic hippy cliche
Circle of Wildfire 11

 

[EzekielRaiden]

Just posting this to keep numbers correct--looks like Aldarc just accidentally left the Shepherd numbers out.

Circle of the Land 12
Circle of the Shepherd 14
Circle of Stars 14
Circle of Wildfire 11

 

[EzekielRaiden]

And now my own votes.

Circle of the Land 12 - 2 = 10
Circle of the Shepherd 14
Circle of Stars 14
Circle of Wildfire 11 + 1 = 12

 

[Ogre Mage]

Circle of the Land 8
Circle of the Shepherd 14
Circle of Stars 15
Circle of Wildfire 12

 

[Plaguescarred]

Circle of the Land 6
Circle of the Shepherd 14
Circle of Stars 16
Circle of Wildfire 12

 

[DND_Reborn]

Circle of the Land 6 (since Land seems doomed just like Moon...)
Circle of the Shepherd 15
Circle of Stars 14
Circle of Wildfire 12

 

[ezo]

Land is the only one left I know anything about... Looks to be over by the time I get home, so one last ditch effort!

Circle of the Land 7 (GO LAND GO!!!)
Circle of the Shepherd 15
Circle of Stars 14
Circle of Wildfire 10 (I can't let Smokey the Bear down!)

 

[fluffybunbunkittens]

Circle of the Land 5 omg we may yet get rid of it
Circle of the Shepherd 15
Circle of Stars 14
Circle of Wildfire 11 top 3 you can do it little flame spirit!