I love the idea of a spellcaster who harnesses energies and gains power from the Natural world. Manipulating plant life, bending the elements, communing with spirits and animals. But nothing really fits my vision of this. Druids looked perfect... until I realized they're primarily focused on shapechanging (a mechanic I've never ben a fan of in D&D). The Way of the Four Elements Monk was my next option, I liked the 'Last Airbender' vibe... but it was just too underpowered to use. Nature-domain Cleric was next... but I wanted to pull my power from nature ITSELF, not ask a deity to do it for me. (This is more a flavor problem than mechanics, I'll admit) Then it hit me: a Sorceror! Their power is RAW MAGIC flowing from the caster, it was perfect... until I realized that WotC hadn't had the same idea as me and never made a nature-based Sorceror. Time to take matters into my (and your) own hands. I have found some ideas through the usual suspects: a few post from the UA forum (https://tinyurl.com/y9oscq3p) (it's a reskinned version of the Favored Soul Origin, but the idea was on the right track) and a topic on the D&D Subreddit (https://tinyurl.com/ya862jzw) (An Origin where the PC is of Fey Ancestry. I wish I'd thought of it) The only idea I contributed was adding Timeless Body as the capstone feature. (Almost all of the Divine classes have a version of it, including Druid. It felt appropriate.) So time to do what I always do: link other people's ideas and hope they give OTHER people ideas that I can work with. Any ideas? Let's get all Pamala Isley up in here!
I've given that one a thumb-through and, yeah, some of them are on the right track. My idea of 'Nature' has always been forests, jungles, gardens, though. Greenery and avian/mammalian creatures. The sea's always felt distinct from that, to me. And, yeah, Reskinning the Favored Soul was one of the earlier ideas I found.
You can also take one of the UA sorcerer (stone sorcerer maybe is more appropriate for you) and simply homebrew this way: for this sorcerer you dont use the sorcerer spell list, but the druid spell list.
Out of curiosity, why not simply reskin the nature cleric? If it's a flavor problem, all you have to do is change the flavor text and work from there. Some of the abilities might need to be tweaked, but that might be less work and more balanced than reworking a sorcerous origin.
Also, it may not be ideal, but the Land Druid is indeed focused on spellcasting. Their wildshape never gets to be greater than CR 1, so it's never very useful in combat. You might even be able to ignore the feature entirely and still be a completely viable character.
Edit: There's also the Ancients Paladin, although that's a half-caster and might not be what you are looking for.
Eh, Land Druid might work and it'd work for AL and stuff, too. Or I could roll Arch-Fey Warlock, maybe. I'd still prefer a pure nature caster without deities or shapechanging and using the Sorcery Points and Metamagic systems. Come on WotC, this is an obvious one, you don't even have to credit me for it.
I've been doing my best to devise a replacement for Wild Shape for the sake of running druids in a Magic: the Gathering 5E DnD campaign(s). (besides the extremely few exceptions, druids in MTG are known for being attuned with nature and accessing mana from natural sources more deeply than most spellcasters)
So my initial conclusion IS to replace Wild Shape with a version of Font of Magic (but use the additional sorcery point costs for 6th - 9th level spells in the DMG, and exclude Metamagic) but kind of unsure about Beast Spells and Archdruid. Perhaps simply don't get a second 18th level class feature? (Timeless Body is enough) and replace Archdruid with a version of Sorcerous Restoration?
You might like the Spell Point Variant found in the Dungeon Master's Guide. It's a variant available for all spellcasters that converts spell slots into a mana pool. Note that it is generally seen as a buff to spellcasters and is a better version of Flexible Casting, so be wary when using it.
You might like the Spell Point Variant found in the Dungeon Master's Guide. It's a variant available for all spellcasters that converts spell slots into a mana pool. Note that it is generally seen as a buff to spellcasters and is a better version of Flexible Casting, so be wary when using it.
I said this. However, instead of using the variant, merely use Font of Magic + Flexible Casting but allow the use of points to cast 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th level spells presented in the variant. Good balance between the two.
Step one: Preliminary balancing. Sorcerers have very good subclass features, so I shouldn't be able to accidentally break it very easily.
Step two: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. For a nature-based sorcerer, we have the Nature Domain and the druid.
1st level. Druidic (see druid); you can pick your spells from the druid or sorcerer list; you gain proficiency with light armor, simple weapons, and one of Animal Handling, Nature, or Survival.
6th level. Land's Stride (see Land druid); advantage on saving throws against disease and poison.
14th level. Nature's Sanctuary (see Land druid); resistance to poison damage.
18th level. Timeless Body (see druid); immunity to disease and poison; 1/long rest use of Charm Animals and Plants buffed by Master of Nature (see Nature cleric for both).
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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
I love the idea of a spellcaster who harnesses energies and gains power from the Natural world. Manipulating plant life, bending the elements, communing with spirits and animals. But nothing really fits my vision of this. Druids looked perfect... until I realized they're primarily focused on shapechanging (a mechanic I've never ben a fan of in D&D).
Only Circle of the Moon Druids focus on Wild Shape. For the average Druid, Wild Shape is a matter of utility and exploration. You could take away a Circle of the Land Druid's Wild Shape entirely and it'd still be a full spellcaster in its own right. You could even work it into your character that they don't like Wild Shaping. Maybe they never got the hang of it, maybe it's uncomfortable for them, or maybe they have a phobia of being really small and getting eaten by wild predators.
The thing about Sorcerers is that their spell list is 99% a subset of the wizard's, with the fancier or more complicated removed. Sorcerer magic and druidic magic are just too far removed from each other. Sorcererous Origins don't help bridge the gap; they're like Cleric Domains in that they tend to be really specific and at best draw from one aspect of nature (e.g. storm sorcerers, stone sorcerers, phoenix sorcerers).
Many sources tell me it's best to nerf a given class feature when lending it to another class, so when taking Wild Shape, Beast Spells, and Archdruid from Druid and giving it Font of Magic, Flexible Casting, and probably Sorcerous Restoration, it's clear that Metamagic is excluded for good reason, and if a Sorcerer gains his points each long rest and a number equal to her current level to represent his inner magic (as sorcerers possess) my idea for a Druid (inspired by MTG's mages, but druids more specifically) requires a Druid's points to not come from within, but be drawn from the land the Druid recognizes magical power within.
So... That leads me to the idea that at 2nd level this Druid needs 3 parts Font of Mana+Flexible Casting, and 1 part Natural Explorer (the "choose a favored terrain, and maybe choose another one or two at later levels" part) though not sure how many points is fair to get over what fair amount of time, or what method to decide that number of points (or an actual level-based maximum like sorcerer) and the terrain play a part. Any clever but practical ideas?
Many sources tell me it's best to nerf a given class feature when lending it to another class, so when taking Wild Shape, Beast Spells, and Archdruid from Druid and giving it Font of Magic, Flexible Casting, and probably Sorcerous Restoration, it's clear that Metamagic is excluded for good reason, and if a Sorcerer gains his points each long rest and a number equal to her current level to represent his inner magic (as sorcerers possess) my idea for a Druid (inspired by MTG's mages, but druids more specifically) requires a Druid's points to not come from within, but be drawn from the land the Druid recognizes magical power within.
So... That leads me to the idea that at 2nd level this Druid needs 3 parts Font of Mana+Flexible Casting, and 1 part Natural Explorer (the "choose a favored terrain, and maybe choose another one or two at later levels" part) though not sure how many points is fair to get over what fair amount of time, or what method to decide that number of points (or an actual level-based maximum like sorcerer) and the terrain play a part. Any clever but practical ideas?
Copy and paste Font of Magic and Flexible Casting, but replace one of the two initial Metamagic choices with a Natural Explorer choice (restricted to grassland, swamp, hills, forest, or coastal, obviously), slightly reduce the number of "sorcery points" available (optional), reassess the levels you get new metamagic options at, make the 18th-level feature some sort of aura or something based on their favored terrain (see the barbarian Path of the Storm Herald for inspiration, possibly), keep the "no components" part of Archdruid (let them trade out Subtle Spell here if they have it), and make the other part of the 20th-level feature some sort of limited teleportation to the nearest familiar instance of their favored terrain.
I was going to exclude Metamagic altogether, I probably still should.
Still wondering how I can have these substitutions and tweaks make a druid gain points with which to cast their spells from the *land* instead of themself as a sorcerer does by starting with it upon gaining the feature, and refilling after long rest. But problem is finding the sweet spot where the sorcery points (mana points, in this case) come at a balanced pace regardless of whether the druid is in battle or not. Altogether, it's starting to sound redundant when considering this would be a replacement to key features, and Natural Recovery from Circle of Land hits pretty much the same beat, tho spell slots instead of points and *expended* ones at that, not freshly obtained ones.
At lower levels (1st tier, levels 2-4) Wild Shape is really powerful for all druids. But past that, the forms don't really scale up in combat, and this becomes a side utility feature and not the core of the class for options other than Circle of the Moon. I'd argue that Circle of the Land druid is really perfect for what you want.
But that said, with Xanathar's available, there's a pretty easy custom subclass model: take the Divine Soul sorcerous origin, swap out the cleric spell list for the druid spell list, and call it a day.
Okay, I may have stumbled on a solution that still makes Circle of the Moon still a viable subclass if altered some, but need a little advice.
Swap Wild Shape for the Warlock's Pact of the Chain feature, but remove the "you can forego your attack so your familiar can attack" and probably extend "beasts" to "beasts and plants".
Alter Circle of the Moon so that Combat Wild Shape changes to a feature that gives the familiar back its option to attack (probably remove the healing aspect, since the point of expending a spell slot to heal yourself in Wild Shape is because you can't cast spells. Circle Forms into a feature that allows stronger familiars (bears, panthers, etc) Primal Strike makes your familiar's attacks magical, not yours. Elemental Wild Shape to allow a single elemental creature as your familiar, BUT can't think of a non-druid spell (probably from the PHB) to replace Alter Self in Thousand Forms.
Since you would be able to cast spells with a familiar, and needn't cast Find Familiar over and over anyway, I also have a little trouble when it comes to an 18th level and 20th level feature to replace Beast Spells and Archdruid.
Wouldn't it be simplest to ask your DM if you can reskin the Draconic subclass and use the druid spell list instead of the sorcerer spell list? Your elemental affinity is poison, instead of Dragon scales you have bark-like skin, instead of dragon wings you get eagle or butterfly wings, ect.
Wouldn't it be simplest to ask your DM if you can reskin the Draconic subclass and use the druid spell list instead of the sorcerer spell list? Your elemental affinity is poison, instead of Dragon scales you have bark-like skin, instead of dragon wings you get eagle or butterfly wings, ect.
1) Don't have a DM to ask, it's not easy getting a group together in my part of the world. 2) That's not bad. That's not bad at all. Let me find my pen.
Been a while since someone posted on this topic, but I had an idea of Nature Sorcery, which is a kind of reflavor of Divine Soul Sorcerers, but making it a blend of Druid and Sorcerer. Starting at lvl 1, you can pick spells from the Sorcerer or Druid spell lists, these druid spells count as Sorcerer spells for you. At lvl 6, you pick a favored terrain, and spells cast while in that terrain gain a boost of your Charisma modifier + 1/4 your sorcerer level. At lvl 14, you gain more primal instincts, allowing you to cast Beast Sense up to 3x before needing a long rest. This spell counts as a Sorcerer spell, but not spells known. At level 17, you can freely cast the Primal Savagery cantrip, and Commune with Nature once per long rest. Keep the regular Sorcerer abilities.
I love the idea of a spellcaster who harnesses energies and gains power from the Natural world. Manipulating plant life, bending the elements, communing with spirits and animals. But nothing really fits my vision of this. Druids looked perfect... until I realized they're primarily focused on shapechanging (a mechanic I've never ben a fan of in D&D). The Way of the Four Elements Monk was my next option, I liked the 'Last Airbender' vibe... but it was just too underpowered to use. Nature-domain Cleric was next... but I wanted to pull my power from nature ITSELF, not ask a deity to do it for me. (This is more a flavor problem than mechanics, I'll admit) Then it hit me: a Sorceror! Their power is RAW MAGIC flowing from the caster, it was perfect... until I realized that WotC hadn't had the same idea as me and never made a nature-based Sorceror. Time to take matters into my (and your) own hands. I have found some ideas through the usual suspects: a few post from the UA forum (https://tinyurl.com/y9oscq3p) (it's a reskinned version of the Favored Soul Origin, but the idea was on the right track) and a topic on the D&D Subreddit (https://tinyurl.com/ya862jzw) (An Origin where the PC is of Fey Ancestry. I wish I'd thought of it) The only idea I contributed was adding Timeless Body as the capstone feature. (Almost all of the Divine classes have a version of it, including Druid. It felt appropriate.) So time to do what I always do: link other people's ideas and hope they give OTHER people ideas that I can work with. Any ideas? Let's get all Pamala Isley up in here!
You can check also these UA
http://media.wizards.com/2017/dnd/downloads/26_UASorcererUA020617s.pdf
I like very much the concept of Sea Sorcerer.
I've given that one a thumb-through and, yeah, some of them are on the right track. My idea of 'Nature' has always been forests, jungles, gardens, though. Greenery and avian/mammalian creatures. The sea's always felt distinct from that, to me. And, yeah, Reskinning the Favored Soul was one of the earlier ideas I found.
You can also take one of the UA sorcerer (stone sorcerer maybe is more appropriate for you) and simply homebrew this way: for this sorcerer you dont use the sorcerer spell list, but the druid spell list.
Almost forgot, in Sword Coast Adveturer's Guide, there is the Storm Sorcerer , which is much nature-like.
Out of curiosity, why not simply reskin the nature cleric? If it's a flavor problem, all you have to do is change the flavor text and work from there. Some of the abilities might need to be tweaked, but that might be less work and more balanced than reworking a sorcerous origin.
Also, it may not be ideal, but the Land Druid is indeed focused on spellcasting. Their wildshape never gets to be greater than CR 1, so it's never very useful in combat. You might even be able to ignore the feature entirely and still be a completely viable character.
Edit: There's also the Ancients Paladin, although that's a half-caster and might not be what you are looking for.
Eh, Land Druid might work and it'd work for AL and stuff, too. Or I could roll Arch-Fey Warlock, maybe. I'd still prefer a pure nature caster without deities or shapechanging and using the Sorcery Points and Metamagic systems. Come on WotC, this is an obvious one, you don't even have to credit me for it.
I've been doing my best to devise a replacement for Wild Shape for the sake of running druids in a Magic: the Gathering 5E DnD campaign(s). (besides the extremely few exceptions, druids in MTG are known for being attuned with nature and accessing mana from natural sources more deeply than most spellcasters)
So my initial conclusion IS to replace Wild Shape with a version of Font of Magic (but use the additional sorcery point costs for 6th - 9th level spells in the DMG, and exclude Metamagic) but kind of unsure about Beast Spells and Archdruid. Perhaps simply don't get a second 18th level class feature? (Timeless Body is enough) and replace Archdruid with a version of Sorcerous Restoration?
You might like the Spell Point Variant found in the Dungeon Master's Guide. It's a variant available for all spellcasters that converts spell slots into a mana pool. Note that it is generally seen as a buff to spellcasters and is a better version of Flexible Casting, so be wary when using it.
Step one: Preliminary balancing. Sorcerers have very good subclass features, so I shouldn't be able to accidentally break it very easily.
Step two: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. For a nature-based sorcerer, we have the Nature Domain and the druid.
1st level. Druidic (see druid); you can pick your spells from the druid or sorcerer list; you gain proficiency with light armor, simple weapons, and one of Animal Handling, Nature, or Survival.
6th level. Land's Stride (see Land druid); advantage on saving throws against disease and poison.
14th level. Nature's Sanctuary (see Land druid); resistance to poison damage.
18th level. Timeless Body (see druid); immunity to disease and poison; 1/long rest use of Charm Animals and Plants buffed by Master of Nature (see Nature cleric for both).
"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)
Many sources tell me it's best to nerf a given class feature when lending it to another class, so when taking Wild Shape, Beast Spells, and Archdruid from Druid and giving it Font of Magic, Flexible Casting, and probably Sorcerous Restoration, it's clear that Metamagic is excluded for good reason, and if a Sorcerer gains his points each long rest and a number equal to her current level to represent his inner magic (as sorcerers possess) my idea for a Druid (inspired by MTG's mages, but druids more specifically) requires a Druid's points to not come from within, but be drawn from the land the Druid recognizes magical power within.
So... That leads me to the idea that at 2nd level this Druid needs 3 parts Font of Mana+Flexible Casting, and 1 part Natural Explorer (the "choose a favored terrain, and maybe choose another one or two at later levels" part) though not sure how many points is fair to get over what fair amount of time, or what method to decide that number of points (or an actual level-based maximum like sorcerer) and the terrain play a part. Any clever but practical ideas?
"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)
I was going to exclude Metamagic altogether, I probably still should.
Still wondering how I can have these substitutions and tweaks make a druid gain points with which to cast their spells from the *land* instead of themself as a sorcerer does by starting with it upon gaining the feature, and refilling after long rest. But problem is finding the sweet spot where the sorcery points (mana points, in this case) come at a balanced pace regardless of whether the druid is in battle or not. Altogether, it's starting to sound redundant when considering this would be a replacement to key features, and Natural Recovery from Circle of Land hits pretty much the same beat, tho spell slots instead of points and *expended* ones at that, not freshly obtained ones.
At lower levels (1st tier, levels 2-4) Wild Shape is really powerful for all druids. But past that, the forms don't really scale up in combat, and this becomes a side utility feature and not the core of the class for options other than Circle of the Moon. I'd argue that Circle of the Land druid is really perfect for what you want.
But that said, with Xanathar's available, there's a pretty easy custom subclass model: take the Divine Soul sorcerous origin, swap out the cleric spell list for the druid spell list, and call it a day.
Okay, I may have stumbled on a solution that still makes Circle of the Moon still a viable subclass if altered some, but need a little advice.
Swap Wild Shape for the Warlock's Pact of the Chain feature, but remove the "you can forego your attack so your familiar can attack" and probably extend "beasts" to "beasts and plants".
Alter Circle of the Moon so that Combat Wild Shape changes to a feature that gives the familiar back its option to attack (probably remove the healing aspect, since the point of expending a spell slot to heal yourself in Wild Shape is because you can't cast spells. Circle Forms into a feature that allows stronger familiars (bears, panthers, etc) Primal Strike makes your familiar's attacks magical, not yours. Elemental Wild Shape to allow a single elemental creature as your familiar, BUT can't think of a non-druid spell (probably from the PHB) to replace Alter Self in Thousand Forms.
Since you would be able to cast spells with a familiar, and needn't cast Find Familiar over and over anyway, I also have a little trouble when it comes to an 18th level and 20th level feature to replace Beast Spells and Archdruid.
Wouldn't it be simplest to ask your DM if you can reskin the Draconic subclass and use the druid spell list instead of the sorcerer spell list? Your elemental affinity is poison, instead of Dragon scales you have bark-like skin, instead of dragon wings you get eagle or butterfly wings, ect.
1) Don't have a DM to ask, it's not easy getting a group together in my part of the world. 2) That's not bad. That's not bad at all. Let me find my pen.
Been a while since someone posted on this topic, but I had an idea of Nature Sorcery, which is a kind of reflavor of Divine Soul Sorcerers, but making it a blend of Druid and Sorcerer. Starting at lvl 1, you can pick spells from the Sorcerer or Druid spell lists, these druid spells count as Sorcerer spells for you. At lvl 6, you pick a favored terrain, and spells cast while in that terrain gain a boost of your Charisma modifier + 1/4 your sorcerer level. At lvl 14, you gain more primal instincts, allowing you to cast Beast Sense up to 3x before needing a long rest. This spell counts as a Sorcerer spell, but not spells known. At level 17, you can freely cast the Primal Savagery cantrip, and Commune with Nature once per long rest. Keep the regular Sorcerer abilities.