Circle of Starvation (Remastered)

Druids who fall under the Circle of Starvation are those who channel the perverse magic of hungering spirits. These druids are cursed to never ending hunger for one reason or another, may it be the power they draw from or a more literal curse upon their grove. Outsiders who encounter a druid from this circle are rarely seen again, and even in their own circles cannibalism is common.

Members of this circle may go out and adventure to seek a way to end this cycle of starvation, or simply to hunt and feed on the unsuspecting. Druids who fall under the Circle of Starvation are cursed beings whose existence is inextricably bound to an insatiable hunger, one that transcends mere physical need and becomes a maddening, all-consuming force. The origin of this hunger varies from one druid to another, often tied to the perverse magic they wield or the darker bargains they’ve struck with ancient, ravenous spirits that lurk in the forgotten corners of the world. Some of these druids were once protectors of the land, their deep connection to nature giving them power, but their grove or sacred space became tainted, the life force of the earth itself warped by a sinister force. Others may have been cursed by a malevolent entity, their bodies and souls forever yearning for sustenance that can never be sated. No matter the cause, this hunger is a constant, gnawing companion, a reminder of the twisted magic they wield.

For these druids, the act of feeding is not merely to stave off weakness, but a desperate, primal need that drives their every action. Outsiders who encounter a member of the Circle of Starvation rarely live to tell the tale. The hunger that these druids experience isn't simply physical but spiritual, a monstrous force that compels them to seek sustenance in the most horrific of ways. This often leads to violent encounters with innocents who find themselves in the druids' path. Entire villages have been left desolate after these druids have come through, consuming any and all in their wake—human, animal, and even other druids, when the hunger grows particularly fierce.

Within the Circle of Starvation, members often find themselves embroiled in a vicious cycle of cannibalism. As they lose themselves more to their curse, the line between hunger for sustenance and hunger for power begins to blur. To feed upon the flesh of their own kind is to reclaim some semblance of control, but it comes at a price. Consuming the flesh of others grants them fleeting moments of satisfaction, but it is always temporary. The hunger never fully abates, and each consumption only intensifies the need for more. Those who succumb completely to the Circle’s curse are lost to the world, becoming monstrous shadows of the druids they once were.

Circle of Starvation Quirk Table

At your choice you may pick or roll on the Circle of Starvation Quirks table to create a quirk for your character.

 

Circle of Starvation Quirk Table

D6	Quirk
1	You have a foreign voice inside your head. It screams to feed it.
2	Druidic Runes cover your body. All of them are unique but mean the same thing. “Hunger.”
3	Antlers and horns cover a random spot of your body. Their origin is unknown to you.
4	Your blood is thick as petroleum, cold as the winter, and black as night.
5	You carry with you a ward that’s supposed to keep tame the beast within. The effectiveness of this ward is up for debate.
6	The taste of human food is lost to you. Your sclera turn black and tongue sharpens like a dagger.

Extra Cantrip

Your connection to hungering spirits alters your magic, giving you access to certain spells. At 2nd level you learn the primal savagery cantrip.

Eater of Flesh

Starting at 2nd level, when you Wildshape into a creature, you may undergo a ritual and give control over to the hungering spirit you draw your power from. It grants you supernatural speed, focus and strength.

When you expend a Wildshape charge to take the form of a creature, you may also choose to begin your Unending Feast, which lasts until your Wildshape ends. It ends early if you're incapacitated or if you come into contact with silver. Additionally, you gain access to Morsels of Starvation. Morsels of Starvation are dropped by a creature whenever they fail a saving throw against your Druid spells, when you critically hit them, or when you hit them with a cantrip. You may hold a number of Morsels equal to your proficiency bonus, and they go away at the end of a long rest.

While under the Unending Feast form, you may speak Druidic whilst Wildshaped and gain the following benefits. You may use this feature twice per long rest.

•  Your walking speed increases by 10 feet, and you gain a climbing speed equivalent to your walking speed if you did not already have one.

•  You may cast Druid cantrips whilst Wildshaped. After a successful attack with a Druid cantrip on a hostile creature, you may immediately move 5 feet.

•  Additionally whilst transformed, you gain a natural melee weapon that inflicts 1d8 + your Wisdom modifier necrotic or cold damage to a target. You choose the damage type every time you transform, and can freely change it by consuming a Morsel. This weapon uses your Wisdom modifier for your attacks made with it, and you may replace any one attack made with the Multiattack feature with this weapon.
  

•  Whilst under this form, while injured there is a chance you may enter a Bloodlust state. If you start your turn with fewer hit points than half your hit point maximum, you must succeed on a wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC or move directly to the nearest creature and use the Attack action against that creature. If you are under an effect that stops you from concentrating (such as the Barbarians Rage feature) you automatically fail this saving throw.
  
  
  

Circle Spells

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Your connection to hungering spirits alters your magic, giving you access to certain spells. At 2nd level you learn the primal savagery cantrip.

When you reach certain druid levels, you gain access to the spells below. These spells count as druid spells for you, and you always have them prepared, but they don’t count against the number of spells you prepare each day.

Due to limitations in dndbeyond, the following spells must be manually added to your Spellbook: Hunger of Hadar, Shadow of Moil, Wrath of Nature.

 

DRUID LEVEL	SPELLS
3rd	blur, mirror image
5th	hunger of hadar, hypnotic pattern
7th	phantasmal killer, shadow of moil
9th	mislead, wrath of nature

Swallower of Hope

Beginning at 6th level, your ferocity is increased. You can attack twice, instead of once whenever you take the Attack action on your turn if you are not wildshaped. Moreover, you may consume one Morsel of Starvation to cast one of your cantrips in place of any attack or two Morsels of Starvation to make one additional attack. If you are Wildshaped, you may consume one Morsel of Starvation to instead cast a Cantrip as a bonus action.

Your mind becomes closer to your hungering spirit, fundamentally altering the way through which you see the world and its inhabitants. You have advantage on Wisdom checks but disadvantage on Charisma checks whilst outside of combat, and may now Wildshape into Monstrosities of a CR equal to half your Druid level. If you transform into a creature with spellcasting, you must still follow the restrictions of Wildshape. If you transform into a creature with legendary actions or resistances, these are not usable.

Drinker of Minds

 Beginning at 10th level, the hungering spirit you have begins to distort your own natural body. Your appearance changes to accommodate one of three mutations occurring as the spirit overwrites parts of your mind and soul

Whilst in your Unending Feast form, you gain one of three benefits. These benefits can be changed after a short or long rest, or alternatively by consuming a Morsel of Starvation. Only 1 of these benefits may be active at a time, and any previous effects are undone when you change your mutation.

Greed

• Taking this mutation sharpens your teeth and alters your legs into a more goat-like form. If you move at least 20 feet straight towards a creature and then hit it with a melee attack on the same turn, that target must succeed on a Strength saving throw (DC 8 + Proficiency Bonus + Your Wisdom Modifier) or be knocked prone. If the target is knocked prone, you may cast primal savagery targeting them as a bonus action on this turn.
  To adapt to this way of the hunt, your Unending Feast form melds unnaturally to give you subsequent bursts of supernatural speed. Your movement speed is increased by 10 feet whilst under your Unending Feast form after taking this mutation.

Lust

•  The form you take becomes larger, longer... more prepared to swallow. To devour whole. Your Unending Feast forms size increases by one size. When you attempt to grapple a creature, you may use Wisdom instead of Strength for the grapple check. Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained and takes 2d6 Bludgeoning damage at the start of your subsequent turns. You may have one creature grappled at a time.
  Taking this mutation lowers your speed by 10 feet whilst within your Unending Feast form as the alterations to your body become more severe to accommodate for this change in hunting style.
  

Wrath

• Thin white hairs grow across your body. You gain advantage on attack rolls if you have an ally within 5 feet of you. Additionally when you make a Constitution saving throw to maintain concentration on a spell, you gain a bonus to the save equal to your Wisdom modifier (Minimum of +1.)
  The brutal hunt for blood leaves your mind fragmented and fundamentally altered, violence reigning at the forefront of your rabid psyche. Saving throws made to resist your Bloodlust state are always made at disadvantage.
  

Devourer of Souls

At 14th level, your hunger reaches its apex and has taken full control of you. This hunger manifests in several changes to the way in which you assume beast forms. You gain one of the following benefits while Wildshaped for each Morsel of Starvation consumed before you Wildshape.

• Your Size is increased by one category.

• You become resistant to Cold and Fire damage.

• You are always considered under the effects of the Pass Without Trace spell.