Circle of Symbiosis

Druids of the Circle of Symbiosis focus their teachings on the complex mutual symbiotic relationships between organisms. These druids bind themselves to a fey familiar who offer their animalistic abilities in order to help the druid fulfil their druidic vow.

Rather than focusing on protecting a particular aspect of nature, Circle of Symbiosis druids are often wayfarers and vagabonds, travelling the world and providing aid when needed.

Circle of Symbiosis druids consider their familiar as apart of themselves, and will often hold their familiar’s wellbeing over their own.

Symbiont

At 2nd level, you gain the ability to cast Find Familiar.

You also gain the ability to alter your familiar in an instant. If your familiar is conscious and within 60ft of you, you can use a bonus action and a Wildshape charge to change the form of your familiar.

The lists of animals you can choose from are; bat, cat, crab, frog (toad), hawk, lizard, octopus, owl, poisonous snake, fish (quipper), rat, raven, sea horse, spider, or weasel

Familiar Symbiosis

At 3rd level, you and your familiar enter into a symbiotic relationship with one another. As an action and by expending a Wildshape charge you can merge with your familiar and gain unique benefits based off of your familiar’s form.

Your familiar must be conscious and within 5 feet of you in order to merge. You can stay merged for a number of hours equal to half your druid level.

When you merge with your familiar you retain your humanoid form, gear and stats, but gain characteristics from your familiar, for example; Gills, fur, large eyes, feathers, etc.

Symbiosis Table

Familiar	Bonus
Bat	Echolocation: As a bonus action, you can make a loud sound and gain 30ft blindsight for one round.
Cat / Weasel	Nimble Figure: As a bonus action, you can disengage. After you disengage, your walking speed increases by 5ft for one round.
Crab	Crustacean Shell: while you aren’t wearing armour, your Armor Class is increased by 2. Amphibious: You can breathe both air and water.
Frog / Toad	Cleft Tongue: As an action you extend your tongue to grab and pull an object towards you. Your tongue has a range of 30ft and can pull objects up to 15 pounds. As apart of the same action, you can swallow the object and hold it in your stomach, the object must be smaller than 3ft by 3ft. It requires an action to regurgitate the object.
Hawk / Owl	Graceful Landing: Using your reaction you can reduce damage taken from falling by 4 times your druid level.
Lizard / Poison Snake	Shedding Skin: After taking damage, you can use your reaction to shed your skin and reduce the damage taken by an amount equal to your druid level. You can only use this feature once per short rest.
Fish (quipper) / Sea Horse / Octopus	Gills and Fins: You gain a swim speed equal to your walking speed. You also trade your lungs for gills so you can only breathe in water.
Rat	Zoonosis: You gain advantage on Constitution saving throws against disease. Rodent Retina: You gain darkvision up to 60ft.
Raven	Mimicry: You can mimic simple sounds you have heard, such as a person whispering, a baby crying, or an animal chittering. A creature that hears the sounds can tell they are imitations with a successful Wisdom (Insight) check.
Spider	Spinneret Glands: You gain the ability to cast Web without requiring any material components or expending a spell slot. You can only do this once per long rest.

 

Any attacks or saving throws listed in this table use your spell casting modifier + proficiency or your spell save DC.

Your familiar separates from you if; the maximum time has been reached, you cast find familiar, use Wildshape to assume the shape of a beast, or you use a bonus action to end the effect early.

Mutualism

Starting at 6th level, when your familiar is killed or knocked unconscious within 60ft of you, you can use your reaction and a Wildshape charge to absorb your familiar and gain the benefits of your Familiar Symbiosis feature. If you remain in your Symbiosis form for the full duration, your familiar is resurrected.

Endosymbiosis

You can now alter your familiar to suit your needs more easily. You can alter the form of your familiar and use the Familiar Symbiosis feature as a part of the same action. When you do this, you only expend one Wildshape charge, instead of two.

Improved Symbiosis

Your bond with your familiar has extended and they now provide you with additional Improvements. You retain your original bonuses, as well as recieve the new bonuses listed below.

Symbiosis Table

Familiar	Bonus
Bat	Improved Echolocation: You gain 60ft blindsight as well as sunlight sensitivity.
Cat / Weasel	Pounce: You can spend 10ft of movement to pounce 20ft horizontally towards an ally or an enemy. The target must be on the same elevation as you. Pouncing triggers opportunity attacks.
Crab	Pincer: As an action you attack a creature within 5ft of you. Make an attack roll, if it hits, the target takes 1d10 bludgeoning damage and must succeed on a Strength saving throw or become grappled.
Frog / Toad	Elongated Legs: Your long jump is up to 30 feet and high jump is up to 20 feet, with or without a running start.
Hawk / Owl	Birds of Prey: You gain a flight speed equal to your walking speed.
Lizard / Poison Snake	Venomous Bite: As an action you bite a target within 5ft of you. Make an attack roll, if it hits, the target takes 2d6 poison damage and must succeed on a constitution saving throw or become poisoned for 1 hour.
Fish (quipper) / Sea Horse / Octopus	Caudal Fin: While underwater you can use your bonus action to dash.
Rat	Pliable Body: You shrink to 3ft tall and your size is small. You can move through the space of any creature that is of a size larger than yours.
Raven	Natural Trickster: You learn the Silent Image and can cast it at will without expending a spell slot.
Spider	Spider Climb: You gain a climbing speed equal to your walking speed. You can also climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.

 

Any attacks or saving throws listed in this table use your spell casting modifier + proficiency or your spell save DC.

Co-Evolutionary Relationships

Your relationship with your Symbiont has altered both of your bodies to more easily bond with one another. Starting at level 14, you gain the ability to use your Familiar Symbiosis feature as a bonus action instead of an action.