Alright everyone! This is a newer version of my Circle of the Tamer subclass https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/class-forums/druid/10947-custom-druid-subclass-old-version-circle-of-the inspired by username ScottySkid who helped me iron out this version of the subclass. Rather than focusing around the Druid's Wild Shape, this gives the Druid a new feature to summon creatures and is a bit more toned down for balancing sake. As always, comments and feedback are appreciated and will help me make this a better entry.
Circle of the Tamer
"Druids of the Circle of the Tamer are typically adventurous by nature, wanting to explore and catalogue various different species and new life forms created by nature or even man. Druids who follow this circle tend to fall into two camps. The first are those that are more focused on science, finding all the species and subspecies of creatures and using this knowledge to teach others and show that anyone can calm even the most fowl beast through learning and understanding. The second are those who see the defensive and offensive capabilities of creatures and use their knowledge and wit to increase the size of their arsenal to become the very best, like no one ever was."
Bonus Proficiency: Starting at 2nd level when you choose this circle, you gain proficiency with the Animal Handling skill, if you do not already have it. Nature Bond: At 2nd level, your unique tie with nature allows you to summon creatures that you have studied to your aid. Starting out, you gain the knowledge of two beast creatures with a CR of 1/2 or below. When you learn about new creatures, you can use this feature to summon them as an action on your turn. The summoned creature can be a Challenge Rating as high as 1/2. Starting at 6th level, you can summon a creature with a Challenge Rating as high as your druid level divided by 4, rounded down (For example, if you are an 8th level druid, you can summon a creature with a CR of 2 or lower). The summoned creature is considered a physical creature, is friendly to you and your companions, will not attack anyone you do not designate unless otherwise provoked, although it must obey your commands unless they would directly cause harm to the creature. The summoned creature goes immediately after you in the initiative order and is considered a separate entity from you. They obey any verbal commands that you issue to it (no action required by you), but if you don't issue any commands to them, they defend themselves from hostile creatures, but otherwise take no actions. The summoned creature stays around for 1 hour or until you dismiss it as a bonus action, you fall unconscious, or the creature drops to 0 Hit Points. You can only have one summoned creature at a time and you cannot use your Wild Shape feature while a creature is summoned, nor can you summon a creature if you are in your Wild Shape form already. You can summon two creatures with this feature per long rest. As you learn about new creatures, you will only be able to remember so many at one time. Much like your druid spells, you can only prepare so many creatures that you can summon at a time. You can prepare a number of creatures to summon equal to your Wisdom modifier and can change them at the end of a long rest.
Unparalleled Tamer: At 2nd level, you gain the ability to study and further expand your repertoire of creatures to use with you Nature Bond feature. While you are exploring the world, and discover a new creature, you can learn about and potentially summon that creature with your Nature Bond feature. The studied creature must be a Monstrosity, Ooze, Plant, or Beast creature, must abide by the CR rules of your Nature Bond feature, cannot have an Intelligence score higher than 6, or be a Huge or larger creature. To add a creature with this ability to your repertoire, you can use the two following methods:
Observation: After observing the behavior of the creature for at least 1 hour, which can be done over the course of a short rest, and succeed on an Animal Handling check with a DC equal to 10 + the creature's Challenge Rating, you gain access to the creature. For this observation period, your vantage point—whether physical or magical— must be within 150 ft of the creature. If you previously spent at least 1 hour reading a scholarly work about the creature, you have advantage on the check
Interaction: You can learn about the creature after interacting with it peacefully for 10 minutes and succeeding on an Animal Handling check with a DC equal to 10 + the creature's Challenge Rating. For this interaction period, you must be within 15 ft of the beast, and if you spend at least a minute petting or playing with it, you have advantage on the check
You cannot use your Wild Shape feature to transform into creatures you have studied, other than Beasts.
Nurtured Fury: At 6th level, you can summon one additional creature with your Nature Bond feature per long rest, for a total of 3. Additionally, any creature summoned by your Nature Bond feature gains the following benefits:
Its Hit Point maximum increases by your druid level
The damage from their natural weapons are considered magical for the purpose of overcoming immunity and resistance to non-magical attacks and damage
Animal Whisperer: At 10th level, your taming skills have linked your creature to you on an almost supernatural level and they can act as a catalyst for your druid spells. Over the course of an hour, which can be done during a short rest, you can expend a number of spell slots equal to half of your druid level (rounded down), but none of them can be higher than 3rd level. While you have a creature summoned with your Nature Bond feature, it can use its action to cast a druid spell at its original level that you have prepared using the spent spell slots without having to provide verbal, somatic, or material components. Your summoned creatures cannot cast spells that require longer than 1 action to cast, cannot cast spells that require a monetary cost or a spell that consumes materials. Your creature cannot concentrate on a spell but it can cast a spell that requires concentration, but the concentration is dropped at the end of its turn. Once a spell slot is used, it is lost. These spell slots are lost when you finish your next long rest and your creatures cannot cast your druid spells unless you use this feature to give them more spell slots. Specialized Trainer: Starting at 10th level, choose one of the following options. You cannot change this choice. Whenever you summon a creature with your Nature Bond feature, it gains the chosen benefit:
Damaging Elementalist: When you summon a creature, choose one of the following damage types acid, cold, fire, lightning, poison, or psychic. The summoned creature gains resistance to the damage type chosen and all of its melee attacks deal additional damage equal to your proficiency bonus of the chosen damage type. Additionally, each type has a weakness, which your creatures gain a vulnerability to when they gain resistance to it:
Acid creatures gain vulnerability to thunder damage
Cold creatures gain vulnerability to fire damage
Fire creatures gain vulnerability to force damage
Lightning creatures gain vulnerability to bludgeoning damage
Poison creatures gain vulnerability to radiant damage
Psychic creatures gain vulnerability to necrotic damage
Heavyweight Defense: Whenever a summoned creature is attacked or subjected to an effect that requires it to make a saving throw, it can use its reaction to gain a bonus to its AC or saving throw equal to your Wisdom modifier until the end of the current turn
Shielding Fortitude: Whenever a creature is first summoned, it gains temporary Hit Points equal to your druid level + double your Wisdom modifier
Almanac of Creatures: At 14th level, you can summon one additional creature with your Nature Bond feature per long rest, for a total of 4. Additionally, you can learn about more powerful creatures with your Unparalleled Tamer feature. Although creatures must still abide by any relevant rules of your Nature Bond and Unparalleled Tamer features, they can be an Elemental, Construct, or Undead creature, can have an Intelligence score up to 8 or lower, and can be a Huge or smaller creature. In addition, whenever you cast a spell that targets only you, you can have the spell also affect your summoned creatures, if the creature is currently summoned and within 30 ft of you. If it moves more than 30 ft away from you, it loses any bonus(es) you have but regains them when within 30 ft of you.
This looks much less game breaking from my opinion, potentially could be a few places where you could actually add a bit of power back into it but I would advise playtesting this version first and seeing how it plays.
I like that added bit to Almanac of Creatures, I could potentially see some spells that could abuse it but the cast on only you stipulation covers most of what I can think of.
I would, however, absolutely flesh out "You can only prepare a number of creatures to summon equal to your proficiency bonus." that is the only time it is mentioned and doesn't provide details about what it is how to change them and what 'preparing' means in this context. I would also look at changing it from proficiency to Wis Mod, this means they will most likely have less by the time they are level 17 but it will give them more earlier in the game.
I would also look into clearing up the wording of Animal Whisperer a bit more. A few notes below on things i think should be cleared up:
You say use an action but there are many spells that can be cast at different rates, i would make sure they still have to follow the casting time of a spell to use it.
I would also clarify about Verbal and Somatic components in that some animals may not be able to actually cast a spell because they cant perform them. Maybe just clarify that they can ignore those or some other condition
And for Material components, i would say they cannot cast any spell that has material components that require a cost or are consumed by the spell
I might also change that the number of spell you can transfer are limited by your Wis mod rather than half druid level
Really liking the feel of this, i would look into adding some flavor text at the start describing more about what the class is and why and how it does what it does
I made the changes you suggested except for one. The Wisdom modifier instead of half the druid level for the spell slots that can be expended using the Animal Whisperer feature. At most, its 10 levels of spell slots which I believe is fair since they have to spend an hour and the spell slots in order to use them with their creatures. With the Wisdom modifier, its 5 levels and at most 6 with the right magic items.
Also how goes this work for the correction regarding your last bullet points for Animal Whisperer?
"it can use its action to cast a druid spell at its original level that you have prepared using the spent spell slots without having to provide verbal, somatic, or material components. Your summoned creatures cannot cast spells that require longer than 1 action to cast, cannot cast spells that require a monetary cost or a spell that consumes materials. Your creature cannot concentrate on a spell but it can cast a spell that requires concentration, but the concentration is dropped at the end of its turn."
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"Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid." Proverbs 12:1
Oh yea totally for druid half level, I totally miss read it as total spell slots not levels of spell slots so half level is fine
I like the rewording of the spell its good, I would consider dropping the concentration requirement, but it also might be needed for something like call lighting but I don't think it will be too much of an issue as they will have to be making a bunch of con saves to keep concentration if they are in the front lines
I would also potentially look at rather than making it you can change prepared creatures after a long rest to you can change creatures at any time if you are at your maximum number but you must complete either the observation or interaction method of the new creature to change. But that is up to you, that way they don't have to track all the creatures they could potentially prepare. But either could work.
I think that the 2nd level features could be combined into 1 feature, given that the second one just adds to the first. You could then put in some fancy language proficiencies like in XGTE circle of the shepherd.
I would do that but I have noticed that many players (including myself) react poorly to large walls of text when it comes to rules and its better to seperate them into 'more manageable' pieces.
What languages would you suggest cause all I can maybe think of is Sylvan, unless you mean something like the Speech of the Woods(?) where they can communicate with beasts easily? I feel it doesn't really fit in this subclass as this is more about the summoned creatures and you can already communicate with them, much like a captured Pokemon.
Anything else that you would suggest?
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"Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid." Proverbs 12:1
I would add to the Bonus Proficiency feature that if you already have proficiency in Animal Handling, you instead double your proficiency bonus for checks you make with it.
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"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -- allegedly Benjamin Franklin
"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
I would add to the Bonus Proficiency feature that if you already have proficiency in Animal Handling, you instead double your proficiency bonus for checks you make with it.
I would but since a lot of the later abilities kinda revolve around using this skill I feel it would be a bit much to add, meaning you can do anything within this subclass with little to no failure which doesn't seem all that fun to me. But if someone were to add your suggestion to their iteration of this, I wouldn't mind it
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"Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid." Proverbs 12:1
Nature Bond: At 2nd level, your unique tie with nature allows you to summon creatures that you have studied to your aid. Starting out, you gain the knowledge of two beast creatures with a CR of 1/2 or below.
When you learn about new creatures, you can use this feature to summon them as an action on your turn. The summoned creature can be a Challenge Rating as high as 1/2. Starting at 6th level, you can summon a creature with a Challenge Rating as high as your druid level divided by 4, rounded down (For example, if you are an 8th level druid, you can summon a creature with a CR of 2 or lower).
The summoned creature is considered a physical creature, is friendly to you and your companions, will not attack anyone you do not designate unless otherwise provoked, although it must obey your commands unless they would directly cause harm to the creature. The summoned creature goes immediately after you in the initiative order and is considered a separate entity from you. They obey any verbal commands that you issue to it (no action required by you), but if you don't issue any commands to them, they defend themselves from hostile creatures, but otherwise take no actions. The summoned creature stays around for 1 hour or until you dismiss it as a bonus action, you fall unconscious, or the creature drops to 0 Hit Points.
You can only have one summoned creature at a time and you cannot use your Wild Shape feature while a creature is summoned, nor can you summon a creature if you are in your Wild Shape form already. You can summon two creatures with this feature per long rest. As you learn about new creatures, you will only be able to remember so many at one time. Much like your druid spells, you can only prepare so many creatures that you can summon at a time. You can prepare a number of creatures to summon equal to your Wisdom modifier and can change them at the end of a long rest.
Unparalleled Tamer: At 2nd level, you gain the ability to study and further expand your repertoire of creatures to use with you Nature Bond feature. While you are exploring the world, and discover a new creature, you can learn about and potentially summon that creature with your Nature Bond feature. The studied creature must be a Monstrosity, Ooze, Plant, or Beast creature, must abide by the CR rules of your Nature Bond feature, cannot have an Intelligence score higher than 6, or be a Huge or larger creature.
To add a creature with this ability to your repertoire, you can use the two following methods:
Nurtured Fury: At 6th level, you can summon one additional creature with your Nature Bond feature per long rest, for a total of 3. Additionally, any creature summoned by your Nature Bond feature gains the following benefits:
Specialized Trainer: Starting at 10th level, choose one of the following options. You cannot change this choice. Whenever you summon a creature with your Nature Bond feature, it gains the chosen benefit:
Additionally, you can learn about more powerful creatures with your Unparalleled Tamer feature. Although creatures must still abide by any relevant rules of your Nature Bond and Unparalleled Tamer features, they can be an Elemental, Construct, or Undead creature, can have an Intelligence score up to 8 or lower, and can be a Huge or smaller creature.
In addition, whenever you cast a spell that targets only you, you can have the spell also affect your summoned creatures, if the creature is currently summoned and within 30 ft of you. If it moves more than 30 ft away from you, it loses any bonus(es) you have but regains them when within 30 ft of you.
"Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid." Proverbs 12:1
This looks awesome!
This looks much less game breaking from my opinion, potentially could be a few places where you could actually add a bit of power back into it but I would advise playtesting this version first and seeing how it plays.
I like that added bit to Almanac of Creatures, I could potentially see some spells that could abuse it but the cast on only you stipulation covers most of what I can think of.
I would, however, absolutely flesh out "You can only prepare a number of creatures to summon equal to your proficiency bonus." that is the only time it is mentioned and doesn't provide details about what it is how to change them and what 'preparing' means in this context. I would also look at changing it from proficiency to Wis Mod, this means they will most likely have less by the time they are level 17 but it will give them more earlier in the game.
I would also look into clearing up the wording of Animal Whisperer a bit more. A few notes below on things i think should be cleared up:
I might also change that the number of spell you can transfer are limited by your Wis mod rather than half druid level
Really liking the feel of this, i would look into adding some flavor text at the start describing more about what the class is and why and how it does what it does
Mega Threads - Staff Quotes - Useful Resources - Homebrew FAQ - Pricing FAQ
I made the changes you suggested except for one. The Wisdom modifier instead of half the druid level for the spell slots that can be expended using the Animal Whisperer feature. At most, its 10 levels of spell slots which I believe is fair since they have to spend an hour and the spell slots in order to use them with their creatures. With the Wisdom modifier, its 5 levels and at most 6 with the right magic items.
Also how goes this work for the correction regarding your last bullet points for Animal Whisperer?
"it can use its action to cast a druid spell at its original level that you have prepared using the spent spell slots without having to provide verbal, somatic, or material components. Your summoned creatures cannot cast spells that require longer than 1 action to cast, cannot cast spells that require a monetary cost or a spell that consumes materials. Your creature cannot concentrate on a spell but it can cast a spell that requires concentration, but the concentration is dropped at the end of its turn."
"Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid." Proverbs 12:1
Oh yea totally for druid half level, I totally miss read it as total spell slots not levels of spell slots so half level is fine
I like the rewording of the spell its good, I would consider dropping the concentration requirement, but it also might be needed for something like call lighting but I don't think it will be too much of an issue as they will have to be making a bunch of con saves to keep concentration if they are in the front lines
I would also potentially look at rather than making it you can change prepared creatures after a long rest to you can change creatures at any time if you are at your maximum number but you must complete either the observation or interaction method of the new creature to change. But that is up to you, that way they don't have to track all the creatures they could potentially prepare. But either could work.
Mega Threads - Staff Quotes - Useful Resources - Homebrew FAQ - Pricing FAQ
I think that the 2nd level features could be combined into 1 feature, given that the second one just adds to the first. You could then put in some fancy language proficiencies like in XGTE circle of the shepherd.
I would do that but I have noticed that many players (including myself) react poorly to large walls of text when it comes to rules and its better to seperate them into 'more manageable' pieces.
What languages would you suggest cause all I can maybe think of is Sylvan, unless you mean something like the Speech of the Woods(?) where they can communicate with beasts easily? I feel it doesn't really fit in this subclass as this is more about the summoned creatures and you can already communicate with them, much like a captured Pokemon.
Anything else that you would suggest?
"Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid." Proverbs 12:1
I would add to the Bonus Proficiency feature that if you already have proficiency in Animal Handling, you instead double your proficiency bonus for checks you make with it.
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -- allegedly Benjamin Franklin
Tooltips (Help/aid)
Cool to see a finished idea!
"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
"Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid." Proverbs 12:1
"Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid." Proverbs 12:1
Awesome!!!