Balm of the Summer Court. The temp HP it gives is really bad. If you upped that, you could add some beef to your other party members.
Instead of this:
The target also gains 1 temporary hit point per die spent.
Use this:
The target also gains a number of temporary hit points equal to your wisdom modifier per die spent.
Instantly your a much better support caster. At third level with a wisdom score of 16, you could spend 3d6 to heal your ally for an average of 10 hit points and grant them 9 temp HP.
Balm of the Summer Court. The temp HP it gives is really bad. If you upped that, you could add some beef to your other party members.
Instead of this:
The target also gains 1 temporary hit point per die spent.
Use this:
The target also gains a number of temporary hit points equal to your wisdom modifier per die spent.
Instantly your a much better support caster. At third level with a wisdom score of 16, you could spend 3d6 to heal your ally for an average of 10 hit points and grant them 9 temp HP.
Why do you think this feature needs buffing?
As a second level feature you're getting basically a Paladin's Lay On Hands feature, except you can use it as a bonus action at range, so it's vastly superior for in-combat healing. It doesn't matter that the temporary hit-points aren't that much, because you're adding them on top of the average 3.5 hit-points restored per dice rolled, giving you a total of 4.5 damage mitigation per Druid Level (compared to the paladin's 5). I think this is already a very, very solid feature, as even a handful of temporary hit-points still means less damage taken.
Overall I think the sub-class has a lot of solid features; Hidden Paths is great, it's basically a number of free misty steps but with even better range for yourself, or usable on an ally. Walker in Dreams is a nice feature, though for a single use per long rest how much you get out of it may vary, but they're all really good options when you can find a way to use them. Hearth of Moonlight and Shadow is probably the weakest feature; it's not bad by any means, it's like a mini private sanctum, but how much use it will be is highly variable and campaign/DM dependent.
It just seems to me Dreams reads a far less effective support class in normal situations.
The Shepherd Druid's Unicorn and Bear Spirit just seem far more effective at supporting the party.
The Shepard auras are good but they're not necessarily better.
Keep in mind that they're limited to one minute per rest; while you can get a lot of healing done in that time with the unicorn aura, you're having to spend spell slots on healing to do it, and what are you going to do the rest of the time? Also keep in mind the potential issues with action economy; while it's a good sized aura and you can move it as a bonus action, if you also want to heal on the same turn that's your entire turn gone. Unless you know you're going to be using the rider effects, or can keep a combat contained to within the aura, you might find you end up saving them for out of combat healing or pre-combat buffing, at least until you start combining them with better summons.
Balm of the Summer Court gives you a pool of healing you can use whenever, delivered via what is essentially healing word on steroids but costing you no spell slots, ever. It only conflicts with other bonus action abilities, so you can otherwise do whatever you want with your action. You can even use it while Wildshaped at earlier levels, whereas unicorn can't be triggered as you can't cast a healing spell when Wildshaped.
It's hard to say that one is always better, as they're going to each be superior depending upon when you use them. In general Balm of the Summer Court is far more flexible, and lets you still do whatever you want to do even while you use it, whereas the Shepard totem is something you have to plan around and focus on if you want to get maximum value out of them.
I think the stance that most of are coming off of is the flexibility of Balm is where it shines in comparison to what the Shepard and other healer types have. The healing number/HP is NOT something to focus, it's the action economy and versatility of being able to use a Spell Slot as an action, in addition to using Balm.
Balm is one of the strongest of Dream's features and doesn't really need any buffs. Its power comes from its versatility. If you wanted to buff Dreams I think it'd be better to put more power into or change some of its weaker / more niche features, like Hearth of Moonlight and Shadow or Walker in Dreams.
If you gave CoD a good circle spell list with some interesting non-druid spells (maybe witch bolt, sleep, flock of familiars, magic circle, etc) that would go a long way towards making it desirable.
was of the same opinion but have tried this subclass as part of my play every druid in the game initiative and its suprisingly good.
lv2: I think its mostly due to its lvl2 BotSC but its almost game breaking as you are getting double spell economy per turn, you no longer have to choose to cast offensively or get your overconfident barbarian out of death saves this means you get to maximize your use of a very potent druid spell list every round and as anyone knows in 5e the amount of healing per spell isn't whats important it's action economy and range witch ontop of being not being vulnerable to a dick DM counterspell or silencing puts this as one of the best combat heals in the game and great at all levels of play.
lvl6: why complain about having a free +5 to perception and stealth pluss concealment of fires? everyone likes to bring up spells like hut and rope trick but 1rst that makes the assumption anybody has taken a class with those spells and prepared them and its giving your druid an ability that was lacking from its spell list as efectively a free cantrip while sparing your wizard or poor sorcerer from neading to take the spell instead of something else they want like fireball. and I have seen this actualy twice turn an attempted night raid on it's head.
overall its a rock solid subclass it isn't ultra flashy and plays much better than it looks on paper and it rounds out gaps in a druids spell list in ways that provide substantive party utility and support without comprimising on the druids offensive powers in summary Circle of Dreams is one of the best balanced subclasses of druid and a far far cry from the Purple Dragon Knight, or Four elements monk.
People do pick on hearth of moonlight and shadow, but total cover blocks it; which means you're party is un-targetable. Moreover, you could put a tiny hut inside of it, which cannot now be dispelled (because that hut can't be targeted either). It makes rests almost perfectly secure now -- even more than just a tiny hut.
People do pick on hearth of moonlight and shadow, but total cover blocks it; which means you're party is un-targetable. Moreover, you could put a tiny hut inside of it, which cannot now be dispelled (because that hut can't be targeted either). It makes rests almost perfectly secure now -- even more than just a tiny hut.
I think you might have misinterpreted part of the effect; the sphere does not provide total cover, it is blocked by total cover, i.e- if you use the 30 foot radius sphere while inside a 20 foot cube room, then the sphere fills the cube and goes no further. If you have access to leomund's tiny hut then it will almost always be superior for a long rest unless you're out of spell slots to cast it with.
It's not a bad feature to have, making all of your rests moderately safer, but it's quite a situational ability; unless your DM is heavily into ambushes during rest etc. This is the same problem that many Ranger features can face, and why Tasha's Cauldron's optional class features gave us alternatives, as a feature you only rarely get to use (if at all) is going to pale when compared to something that another sub-class gets and can use regularly.
IMO the feature isn't a bad one, but it should have been a secondary feature alongside some other small bonus you can use a lot more reliably (anything combat related, something skill related since you can usually engineer your own skill checks etc.).
You might be right, but I’d still interpret things slightly differently: If you use the ability next to a wall, it doesn’t pass the wall instead, it doesn’t shrink in size, like other area effects.
Yeah, I'd say if there was one problem with Dreams, it's that the level 6 feature ends up being irrelevant in a lot of campaigns if the DM isn't interested in making dangerous rests a regular part of play.
So if we were trying to 'fix' the archetype, might be worth homebrewing an entirely new 6th level feature for those types of campaigns.
I feel like the OP's assessment of the second level feature in particular is a bit backwards. Less 'easily replaced by healing word' and more... hey slotless better-than-healing word that ignores the normal bonus action spell restrictions because you're not actually casting a spell.
Do kind of wish it had a subclass spell list, but that's mostly just because I think subclass spell lists are a really good thing to make subclasses feel more flavorful in general.
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I have an idea to boost the subclass a bit.
Balm of the Summer Court. The temp HP it gives is really bad. If you upped that, you could add some beef to your other party members.
Instead of this:
The target also gains 1 temporary hit point per die spent.
Use this:
The target also gains a number of temporary hit points equal to your wisdom modifier per die spent.
Instantly your a much better support caster. At third level with a wisdom score of 16, you could spend 3d6 to heal your ally for an average of 10 hit points and grant them 9 temp HP.
Why do you think this feature needs buffing?
As a second level feature you're getting basically a Paladin's Lay On Hands feature, except you can use it as a bonus action at range, so it's vastly superior for in-combat healing. It doesn't matter that the temporary hit-points aren't that much, because you're adding them on top of the average 3.5 hit-points restored per dice rolled, giving you a total of 4.5 damage mitigation per Druid Level (compared to the paladin's 5). I think this is already a very, very solid feature, as even a handful of temporary hit-points still means less damage taken.
Overall I think the sub-class has a lot of solid features; Hidden Paths is great, it's basically a number of free misty steps but with even better range for yourself, or usable on an ally. Walker in Dreams is a nice feature, though for a single use per long rest how much you get out of it may vary, but they're all really good options when you can find a way to use them. Hearth of Moonlight and Shadow is probably the weakest feature; it's not bad by any means, it's like a mini private sanctum, but how much use it will be is highly variable and campaign/DM dependent.
Characters: Bullette, Chortle, Dracarys Noir, Edward Merryspell, Habard Ashery, Legion, Peregrine
My Homebrew: Feats | Items | Monsters | Spells | Subclasses | Races
Guides: Creating Sub-Races Using Trait Options
WIP (feedback needed): Blood Mage, Chromatic Sorcerers, Summoner, Trickster Domain, Unlucky, Way of the Daoist (Drunken Master), Weapon Smith
Please don't reply to my posts unless you've read what they actually say.
It just seems to me Dreams reads a far less effective support class in normal situations.
The Shepherd Druid's Unicorn and Bear Spirit just seem far more effective at supporting the party.
The Shepard auras are good but they're not necessarily better.
Keep in mind that they're limited to one minute per rest; while you can get a lot of healing done in that time with the unicorn aura, you're having to spend spell slots on healing to do it, and what are you going to do the rest of the time? Also keep in mind the potential issues with action economy; while it's a good sized aura and you can move it as a bonus action, if you also want to heal on the same turn that's your entire turn gone. Unless you know you're going to be using the rider effects, or can keep a combat contained to within the aura, you might find you end up saving them for out of combat healing or pre-combat buffing, at least until you start combining them with better summons.
Balm of the Summer Court gives you a pool of healing you can use whenever, delivered via what is essentially healing word on steroids but costing you no spell slots, ever. It only conflicts with other bonus action abilities, so you can otherwise do whatever you want with your action. You can even use it while Wildshaped at earlier levels, whereas unicorn can't be triggered as you can't cast a healing spell when Wildshaped.
It's hard to say that one is always better, as they're going to each be superior depending upon when you use them. In general Balm of the Summer Court is far more flexible, and lets you still do whatever you want to do even while you use it, whereas the Shepard totem is something you have to plan around and focus on if you want to get maximum value out of them.
Characters: Bullette, Chortle, Dracarys Noir, Edward Merryspell, Habard Ashery, Legion, Peregrine
My Homebrew: Feats | Items | Monsters | Spells | Subclasses | Races
Guides: Creating Sub-Races Using Trait Options
WIP (feedback needed): Blood Mage, Chromatic Sorcerers, Summoner, Trickster Domain, Unlucky, Way of the Daoist (Drunken Master), Weapon Smith
Please don't reply to my posts unless you've read what they actually say.
I think the stance that most of are coming off of is the flexibility of Balm is where it shines in comparison to what the Shepard and other healer types have. The healing number/HP is NOT something to focus, it's the action economy and versatility of being able to use a Spell Slot as an action, in addition to using Balm.
Balm is one of the strongest of Dream's features and doesn't really need any buffs. Its power comes from its versatility. If you wanted to buff Dreams I think it'd be better to put more power into or change some of its weaker / more niche features, like Hearth of Moonlight and Shadow or Walker in Dreams.
If you gave CoD a good circle spell list with some interesting non-druid spells (maybe witch bolt, sleep, flock of familiars, magic circle, etc) that would go a long way towards making it desirable.
was of the same opinion but have tried this subclass as part of my play every druid in the game initiative and its suprisingly good.
lv2: I think its mostly due to its lvl2 BotSC but its almost game breaking as you are getting double spell economy per turn, you no longer have to choose to cast offensively or get your overconfident barbarian out of death saves this means you get to maximize your use of a very potent druid spell list every round and as anyone knows in 5e the amount of healing per spell isn't whats important it's action economy and range witch ontop of being not being vulnerable to a dick DM counterspell or silencing puts this as one of the best combat heals in the game and great at all levels of play.
lvl6: why complain about having a free +5 to perception and stealth pluss concealment of fires? everyone likes to bring up spells like hut and rope trick but 1rst that makes the assumption anybody has taken a class with those spells and prepared them and its giving your druid an ability that was lacking from its spell list as efectively a free cantrip while sparing your wizard or poor sorcerer from neading to take the spell instead of something else they want like fireball. and I have seen this actualy twice turn an attempted night raid on it's head.
overall its a rock solid subclass it isn't ultra flashy and plays much better than it looks on paper and it rounds out gaps in a druids spell list in ways that provide substantive party utility and support without comprimising on the druids offensive powers in summary Circle of Dreams is one of the best balanced subclasses of druid and a far far cry from the Purple Dragon Knight, or Four elements monk.
People do pick on hearth of moonlight and shadow, but total cover blocks it; which means you're party is un-targetable. Moreover, you could put a tiny hut inside of it, which cannot now be dispelled (because that hut can't be targeted either). It makes rests almost perfectly secure now -- even more than just a tiny hut.
I think you might have misinterpreted part of the effect; the sphere does not provide total cover, it is blocked by total cover, i.e- if you use the 30 foot radius sphere while inside a 20 foot cube room, then the sphere fills the cube and goes no further. If you have access to leomund's tiny hut then it will almost always be superior for a long rest unless you're out of spell slots to cast it with.
It's not a bad feature to have, making all of your rests moderately safer, but it's quite a situational ability; unless your DM is heavily into ambushes during rest etc. This is the same problem that many Ranger features can face, and why Tasha's Cauldron's optional class features gave us alternatives, as a feature you only rarely get to use (if at all) is going to pale when compared to something that another sub-class gets and can use regularly.
IMO the feature isn't a bad one, but it should have been a secondary feature alongside some other small bonus you can use a lot more reliably (anything combat related, something skill related since you can usually engineer your own skill checks etc.).
Characters: Bullette, Chortle, Dracarys Noir, Edward Merryspell, Habard Ashery, Legion, Peregrine
My Homebrew: Feats | Items | Monsters | Spells | Subclasses | Races
Guides: Creating Sub-Races Using Trait Options
WIP (feedback needed): Blood Mage, Chromatic Sorcerers, Summoner, Trickster Domain, Unlucky, Way of the Daoist (Drunken Master), Weapon Smith
Please don't reply to my posts unless you've read what they actually say.
You might be right, but I’d still interpret things slightly differently: If you use the ability next to a wall, it doesn’t pass the wall instead, it doesn’t shrink in size, like other area effects.
Yeah, I'd say if there was one problem with Dreams, it's that the level 6 feature ends up being irrelevant in a lot of campaigns if the DM isn't interested in making dangerous rests a regular part of play.
So if we were trying to 'fix' the archetype, might be worth homebrewing an entirely new 6th level feature for those types of campaigns.
I feel like the OP's assessment of the second level feature in particular is a bit backwards. Less 'easily replaced by healing word' and more... hey slotless better-than-healing word that ignores the normal bonus action spell restrictions because you're not actually casting a spell.
Do kind of wish it had a subclass spell list, but that's mostly just because I think subclass spell lists are a really good thing to make subclasses feel more flavorful in general.