Level 2 You gain the ability to Wild Shape into a giant spider.
Level 2 Camouflaged: You can take the hide action when 15 feet or more from any enemy. If successfully hidden then you do not lose hidden status when approaching an enemy while Wildshaped. You get a number of spider tokens equal to your proficiency modifier. A token is used when you Web, try to inflict the poisoned condition, or ethereal jaunt. You can never Wildshape into an animal with a fly speed or wildshape into any creature past 1/2 CR other than the ones unlocked. (Maybe give the forms some aquatic viability. Like a diving bell spider.)
Lv 3 Nimble Form: You can hide and disengage as a bonus action.
Level 6: You can inflict acid damage instead of poison. If you attack an enemy with advantage then they are at disadvantage on succeeding there con save against your poison or acid and you can Wildshape into a Ettercap. (May remove the Ettercap part and instead allow all spiders to try to inflict the poisoned condition at this level with the use of a spider token.)
Level 10: You can turn into a Phase Spider.
Level 10: Enemies immune to acid and poison are only resistant to it instead when bit by you.
Lv 14 If you attack a foe and they fail their con save against your poison or poisoned effect then you cannot trigger reactions from them.
Level 6 and after. Don't know if I should add one or two other huge spider forms from here or just keep buffing giant and phase spider forms.
RAW Wild Shape allows a druid of other circles to become a CR 1 beast at level 8. This kit has your druid assuming a form of CR1 at 2 level and a CR3 creature at level 10 which druids RAW cannot do. Canon druids can assume the form of a Giant Spider at 8 level. So I’d remove these additional forms without severely limiting this kind of druid from standard wild shape abilities. This kit seems combat focused based on the way it reads to me rather than stealth. These spiders pack a big punch with their attacks and damage, especially at this level and the tokens don’t balance this. I think you need to reassess your themes for this kit.
The spider tokens to lessen the impact of their combat abilities feel bad and it’s another thing to track. Further, it limits the cool factor of becoming a spider in the first place. You want them to use their abilities as written in the monster stat block if you’re going to give them over, but I’d challenge you to find a way to make this kit more balanced and in line with other circle druids instead of allowing them to become these more powerful creatures.
This circle is also missing the usual spells gained at certain levels for being part of this circle as well making it less appealing for some druid players who enjoy the spellcasting aspect of druids.
As to stealth, becoming tiny creatures is something 2nd level druids are capable of. Turning into a CR 0 spiders and spying on folk is something they’d have the ability to do RAW. You don’t have to do anything to improve this stealth ability.
The Camouflaged ability is OP. It makes this druid better at stealth than a rogue and you shouldn’t overshadow a default class when making specialized subclass kits of any other class. I believe this power needs to be tossed and I can’t think of a way to rework it to fit in. What you can do is put spells such as camouflage into this kit.
Things I’d focus on for making this kit work: Spells being added in such as web, jump, camouflage, and there are undoubtedly some other spells which fit the spider theme. You could put in a natural ability or method of producing and collecting poison from the self for this druid in or out of Wild Shape perhaps which could make them very handy to their rogue buddies, not sure how I’d execute it but sounds fun to me. Traveling abilities could be interesting, such as gliding on webs through the air as some spiders do might be interesting (I’d make sure it’s not a fight equivalent and depends on air currents limiting the ability per DM discretion). Spiders are stealthy by nature, they set traps and are amazing hunters so I’d pull inspiration from rangers and rogues but don’t overshadow them, instead I’d work on making them fit in with either class as a partner in (natural & sneaky) crime to augmenting others as druids normally can and do. Teamwork is the best aspect of D&D IMHO and I’d say to focus on this idea while working on this kit.
Just my thoughts and hope they help you along. Good luck and I look forward to seeing revisions!
I think I got a little too into this concept, because I started brainstorming how I would build this concept, and I ended up writing up a rough draft for a subclass myself. I leaned into the idea of having a unique transformation, instead of giving access to unusual wildshape options:
Circle of the Web
Circle Spells – At 2nd level you learn the Thorn Whip cantrip. At 3rd, 5th, 7th and 9th level you gain access to the spells listed for that level in the Circle of the Web Spells table.
Once you gain access to these spells you always have it prepared, and it doesn’t count against the number of druid spells you can prepare each day. If you gain access to a spell that doesn’t appear on the Druid spell list, the spell is nonetheless a druid spell for you.
Circle of the Web Spells
3rd Spider Climb, Web
5thFear, Vampiric Touch
7th Blight, Giant Insect
9th Contagion, Hold Monster
Spider-Self – At 2nd level, you can expend a use of your Wild Shape feature as a bonus action to awaken the spirit of the Spider in yourself, rather than transforming into a beast. While this feature is active, you gain the following benefits:
You gain a climb speed equal to your walking speed, and can climb across sheer surfaces and on ceilings while leaving your hands free.
When you make a Dexterity (Stealth) check, you can add your Wisdom modifier to the result (minimum 1)
Your Jump distance is doubled
As a bonus action, you can generate up to 30 feet of Silk Rope. You can generate up to 100 feet of Silk Rope with this feature, and any Silk Rope generated with this feature vanishes when your transformation ends.
This transformation lasts for 1 hour. You can end it at any time (requiring no action), and it also ends if you become incapacitated, or if you use your Wild Shape feature again.
Venom Strike – Beginning with level 6, any time you hit a creature with a melee attack that deals poison damage, you can force the creature to make a Constitution Save against your Druid Spell Save DC. On a failure, they become poisoned for 1 minute. They can attempt this Saving Throw to end the Poisoned condition at the end of each of their turns. A surprised creature has disadvantage on this Saving Throw, and if they fail their saving throw they also become Unconscious for 1 minute, or until they take damage or another creature uses their action to shake them awake. In addition, your Spider-Self transformation gains the following benefits:
If a creature ends its turn within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to move up to half your speed. This movement does not provoke opportunity attacks.
Your Melee Weapon Attacks deal an additional 1d6 Poison damage.
You can attempt to Hide as a Bonus Action
Improved Spider-Self – When reaching 10th level, your Spider-Self transformation improves in the following ways:
Creatures you target with spells or Druid class features that deal Poison damage do not benefit from Resistance to Poison damage, and creatures immune to Poison damage are considered Resistant instead.
A creature that fails their saving Throw to resist your Venom Strike feature cannot take reactions until the start of your next turn.
One with the Web – At 14th level, You have learned to effortlessly trap your enemies with webs. A creature that fails their saving throw against your Venom Strike feature has their speed reduced by 10 until the start of your next turn. If your Spider-Self transformation is active, their speed is instead reduced to 0.
I struggled a little bit with picking thematically appropriate circle spells... I stuck just to PHB spells, because that seems to be a constant in most subclasses. Web was the most obvious option, but everything else was just whatever fit in thematically. I'm totally open to changes... I focused more on the flavor of spider-themed spells, rather than spells that feed into the playstyle.
I tried to make the transformation not too complicated... it gives you a boost to stealth and more movement options, but I didn't want to make it feel like it's just turning your Druid into a Rogue... you get stealth options separate from what a Rogue gets.
Speaking of, the 6th level feature is where I really try to differentiate. The Venom Strike feature very specifically triggers with any attack that deals poison damage, which means you can still use it if Wild Shaped into some kind of Spider (or other beast that deals poison damage). It's worded in a way where it can trigger even against creatures that are immune to poison damage. The ability to knock enemies unconscious is meant to be used for stealth infiltration... in situations where a Rogue might use their sneak attack to outright kill an enemy this subclass instead allows you to knock them unconscious... it's not something you can reliably do in combat, but it gives you something to do if you're about to get caught somewhere. I also boosted some of the mobility for the transformation... there's still no free disengage like a Rogue, but you do get a reaction to move (which benefits from your increased jump distance and climb features), and the option to hide as a bonus action.
10th level is mostly just meant to make up for the fact that Poison resistance is so common. I also used the idea of stopping the enemy from using reactions, since that kind of gives you a disengage you can use in combat to focus on mobility.
The 14th level feature.... eh, I kind of struggled to think of what to do. I still wanted to focus on improving your other subclass features. I figured the extra battlefield control is a solid enough addition to the subclass.
Druids are a pretty strong class overall, so I think there's more room to create sort of gimmicky subclasses like this. I tried to lean into the idea of focusing on making this subclass concept that works well as a stealth infiltrator... it's not terrible in combat, but it's not as good at it as some other subclasses might be. Anyway, I'm very open to critiques, because I kind of built this in my spare time while working on something else, so it's not like I've tested it or anything.
Well Druid is strong compared to martial and half casters but is still probably the weakest full caster. It's part of a larger debate though. The reason the being able to use the hide action and a melee attack in conjunction is so important to the subclass is because no other character can actually do that without turning invisible so it is a super unique feature. Also turning druid into a rouge that deals way less damage but debuffs his opponents and is able to use more spells and getting advantage more often is a big selling point. That and being able to use the hide action in combat without being pigeonholed into ranged, but overall this is a fantastic take on what I was going for.
I think we could definitely do more with this concept of leaning into status effects and battlefield control as part of this subclass. I'm not sure where to fit it in, but I think I do agree that going for a stealthy character who uses that stealth to enhance their ability to debuff or manipulate is a great way to make this feel distinct from the Rogue.
1) Add Find Familiar to the bonus spells but with the caveat of only summoning a spider or expend a use of wildshape to summon a spider familiar. Add Blink to the bonus spells because its sort of Phase Spider in nature.
2) Add ability to Wildshape into a Swarm of Spiders.
3) Basic homebrew of use Circle of the Moon for abilities but replace Elemental Wildshape to Arachnid Wildshape and grant the ability to spend two Wildshapes to turn into any spider that is a Beast or Monstrous type or a Drider.
4) Maybe have a look at the Druid Circle of Weavers on GM Binder, its a bit weird but looks pretty interesting.
5) (This one might be a bit too "Spiderman") At level 2 give skill proficency Stealth and single target web attack: Uses action, 30ft range, target one creature or object not being worn or carried. Target makes Dex save vs Spell DC, if successful nothing happens, target evades the web, on fail target is effected by Web Spell until the start of Druids next turn and Druid can use a bonus action to pull the target upto 10ft towards them. Targets can elect to fail this saving throw.
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* Need a character idea? Search for "Rob76's Unused" in the Story and Lore section.
Circle Spells – At 2nd level you learn the Thorn Whip cantrip. At 3rd, 5th, 7th and 9th level you gain access to the spells listed for that level in the Circle of the Web Spells table.
Once you gain access to these spells you always have it prepared, and it doesn’t count against the number of druid spells you can prepare each day. If you gain access to a spell that doesn’t appear on the Druid spell list, the spell is nonetheless a druid spell for you.
Circle of the Web Spells
3rdSpider Climb, Web
5thBlink, Vampiric Touch
7th Blight, Giant Insect
9th Contagion, Hold Monster
Spider-Self – At 2nd level, you can expend a use of your Wild Shape feature as a bonus action to awaken the spirit of the Spider in yourself, rather than transforming into a beast. While this feature is active, you gain the following benefits:
You gain a climb speed equal to your walking speed, and can climb across sheer surfaces and on ceilings while leaving your hands free.
When you make a Dexterity (Stealth) check, you can add your Wisdom modifier to the result (minimum 1)
Your Jump distance is doubled
As a bonus action, you can generate up to 30 feet of Silk Rope. You can generate up to 100 feet of Silk Rope with this feature, and any Silk Rope generated with this feature vanishes when your transformation ends.
This transformation lasts for 1 hour. You can end it at any time (requiring no action), and it also ends if you become incapacitated, or if you use your Wild Shape feature again.
Additionally, You are able to spend two uses of your Wildshape as an action to transform into any creature with “Spider” or “drider” in its name that is not a construct or Undead, as long as its CR does not exceed the current Max CR on your Beast Shapes table, including Swarms.
Venom Strike – Beginning with level 6, any time you hit a creature with a melee attack that deals poison damage, you can force the creature to make a Constitution Save against your Druid Spell Save DC. On a failure, they become poisoned for 1 minute. They can attempt this Saving Throw to end the Poisoned condition at the end of each of their turns. A surprised creature has disadvantage on this Saving Throw, and if they fail their saving throw they also become Unconscious for 1 minute, or until they take damage or another creature uses their action to shake them awake. In addition, your Spider-Self transformation gains the following benefits:
If a creature ends its turn within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to move up to half your speed. This movement does not provoke opportunity attacks.
Your Melee Weapon Attacks deal an additional 1d6 Poison damage.
You can attempt to Hide as a Bonus Action
Improved Spider-Self – When reaching 10th level, your Spider-Self transformation improves in the following ways:
Creatures you target with spells or Druid class features that deal Poison damage do not benefit from Resistance to Poison damage, and creatures immune to Poison damage are considered Resistant instead.
A creature that fails their saving Throw to resist your Venom Strike feature cannot take reactions until the start of your next turn.
One with the Web – At 14th level, You have learned to effortlessly trap your enemies with webs. A creature that fails their saving throw against your Venom Strike feature has their speed reduced by 10 until the start of your next turn. If your Spider-Self transformation is active, their speed is instead reduced to 0.
Okay, here's an updated version based on your suggestions, but I'll explain what I used or didn't use and why.
I didn't use the Find Familiar idea... it makes sense, but Druids already have the Wild Companion optional feature. I don't think it's a bad idea to include, but I think it's too easy to accomplish roughly the same thing, so hard baking it into the subclass feels redundant.
I tried to word in some way the ability to transform into basically any type of spider the subclass otherwise qualifies for. This might need work... I think the smartest idea is to take the time to specifically single out every single qualifying spider, if only to avoid something that might just have "spider" in its name but actually describes like... some kind of spider-themed gang or something. But for now, I opted for the most open-ended version. Maybe we could add a provision that the DM can reject an option?
I didn't want to also give this subclass proficiency in stealth since, for the most part, adding the WIS modifier accomplishes more or less the same thing, but still rewards the player for investing in their primary stat. I think we could replace that with proficiency if this seems too exploitable, but I think it hits a good middle ground between making them solid at stealth without making them some kind of attempt to upstage Rogues.
As for the Spider-Man web... that was actually the intent of including Thorn Whip as a free Cantrip, since it accomplishes very roughly the idea of webbing and yanking someone, without creating any new spells or abilities. I think there could be room to change it a bit.. maybe it deals bludgeoning damage and has text that it's specifically a web and not a vine, but I think it still makes sense to, mechanically, just make it the Thorn Whip spell.
For me the expanded spell list would make more sense to keep Fear and lose Vampiric Touch but only because Arachnophobia is a thing. I also thought maybe give Ensnaring Strike as a bonus spell at level 2 just as Thorn Whip may be something a Druid has already taken at level 1.
Proficiency with Stealth would be the way i'd go because Spiders are sneaky little (expletive deleted) as shown the monster stat blocks all having profieiceny with it, although a neat little work around might be "Whenever you could make a Dexterity (Stealth) ability check you may instead make a Wsidom (Stealth) ability check" this would be a bit more reflective of spiders using more of a survival style of stealth than agility based.
I had a look into spider creatures and most only have spider in their desciptions and I did also include any with that mentioned being Arachnid in nature but you have a rough list of options of:
There are a few others which are higher CR so I ommited those. Driders and Choldrith both have spellcasting as well so needs DM approval to carry their spell casting over, its just Dancing Lights @ will and Faerie Fire and Darkness x1/LR for the Drider but Choldrith do have a whole bunch of spells which migh tbe a bit problematic and given their CR then they should probably only be available from level 10+.
A bit of a side note....Ettercap do have a variant feature called "Web Garrote" that might be interesting to include in some fashion, maybe as a bonus weapon proficiency.
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* Need a character idea? Search for "Rob76's Unused" in the Story and Lore section.
Circle Spells – At 2nd level you learn the Thorn Whip cantrip. At 3rd, 5th, 7th and 9th level you gain access to the spells listed for that level in the Circle of the Web Spells table.
Once you gain access to these spells you always have it prepared, and it doesn’t count against the number of druid spells you can prepare each day. If you gain access to a spell that doesn’t appear on the Druid spell list, the spell is nonetheless a druid spell for you.
Circle of the Web Spells
3rdEnsnaring Strike, Web
5thBlink, Fear
7th Blight, Giant Insect
9th Contagion, Hold Monster
Spider-Self – At 2nd level, you gain proficiency in the Stealth Skill. In addition you can expend one use of your Wild Shape feature as a bonus action to awaken the spirit of the Spider in yourself, rather than transforming into a beast. While this feature is active, you gain the following benefits:
You gain a climb speed equal to your walking speed, and can climb across sheer surfaces and on ceilings while leaving your hands free.
When you make a Dexterity (Stealth) check, you can add your Wisdom modifier to the result (minimum 1)
Your Jump distance is doubled
As a bonus action, you can generate up to 30 feet of Silk Rope. You can generate up to 100 feet of Silk Rope with this feature, and any Silk Rope generated with this feature vanishes when your transformation ends. This silk can be used as a Web Garrote, which you are proficient with
Web Garrote – You can use a web Garrote to make a melee weapon attack. The Web Garrote is two-handed and is a finesse weapon. After hitting a medium or smaller creature with a Web Garrote they become grappled by you. Until this grapple ends, they cannot breathe or speak, and you have advantage on melee attacks against this creature.
This transformation lasts for 1 hour. You can end it at any time (requiring no action), and it also ends if you become incapacitated, or if you use your Wild Shape feature again.
Venom Strike – Beginning with level 6, any time you hit a creature with a melee attack that deals poison damage, you can force the creature to make a Constitution Save against your Druid Spell Save DC. On a failure, they become poisoned for 1 minute. They can attempt this Saving Throw to end the Poisoned condition at the end of each of their turns. A surprised creature has disadvantage on this Saving Throw, and if they fail their saving throw they also become Unconscious for 1 minute, or until they take damage or another creature uses their action to shake them awake. In addition, your Spider-Self transformation gains the following benefits:
If a creature ends its turn within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to move up to half your speed. This movement does not provoke opportunity attacks.
Your Melee Weapon Attacks deal an additional 1d6 Poison damage.
You can attempt to Hide as a Bonus Action
Improved Spider-Self – When reaching 10th level, your Spider-Self transformation improves in the following ways:
Creatures you target with spells or Druid class features that deal Poison damage do not benefit from Resistance to Poison damage, and creatures immune to Poison damage are considered Resistant instead.
A creature that fails their saving Throw to resist your Venom Strike feature cannot take reactions until the start of your next turn.
One with the Web – At 14th level, You have learned to effortlessly trap your enemies with webs. A creature that fails their saving throw against your Venom Strike feature has their speed reduced by 10 until the start of your next turn. If your Spider-Self transformation is active, their speed is instead reduced to 0.
You also are now able to use your Wildshape feature to transform into an Ettercap or a Phase Spider.
Okay, I dropped Vampiric Touch and brought back Fear. I also dropped Spider Climb, since the Spider-Self transformation gives Spiderclimb anyway, and replaced it with Ensnaring Strike. I decided to look at the Fey Wanderer Ranger, which was what partially inspired how I handled stealth, since that subclass gives the ability to add WIS to Charisma checks. It also gives proficiency with those same skills, so I went with that and added Proficiency with Stealth at level 2.
I had included the spider silk creation as kind of a ribbon feature... everyone carries rope all the time anyway, so it's not like you really need it. But I like the idea of being able to use it as a web garrote, and I included it as another stealth option. I added the detail that the person held by it can't speak, so it's an option for potentially taking down a target before they can call for help, but isn't amazingly useful in straightforward combat. Could be used to shut down a spellcaster, though.
Finally, taking the time to look through all the various spiders... most of them are Beasts already, so as a Druid you can just turn into them anyway. Steeders didn't seem interesting enough to be worth the effort to make special rules just for them, and . Cave Fishers seem like arachnids, but not really spiders, and I think it's easier to just avoid things like the Choldrith or Drider that have spellcasting. So that just left me with Phase Spider and Ettercap... they're both higher CR than non-moon Druids are able to reach, so I saved the ability to turn into them for 14th level. I feel like at that level the Phase Spider won't be too much of a problem, since the ability to shift in and out of the ethereal plane at will for several hours could break the game at early levels. But I kind of felt like the 14th level feature was a bit meh anyway, so adding just the Ettercap and Phase spider as Wildshape options feels like it punches up that final level just a bit.
I like the overall concept, but I'm not sold on basing features around a druid making melee attacks. When you're level 12 and your action options are to either 1) cast a devastating 6th level spell or 2) deal 1d8+1d6+4 poison damage to one creature and maybe poison/grapple it (with poison being the most resisted damage type and no extra defensive tools to discourage a grappled enemy from just shredding the druid that is conveniently holding on to it), you're going to choose Option 1. And your 5th, 4th, and 3rd level spells are all probably a better use of your action as well. Yes, this would still be a good option for mop-up rounds, but is that really what your subclass features should be relegated to?
I've come more and more to believe that if you want a full spellcaster to behave like a martial - i.e. go around making melee attacks in combat - you need to require them to expend their spellcasting resources to make that option both competitive with spellcasting in the action economy and also fair to martials (i.e. not just giving them full martial capability on top of being a full spellcaster).
In this case, you could use a smite-like model on Venom Strike so that it actually remains viable to use at higher levels without being too much of a power boost due to it costing limited resources.
I think you bring up a good point... I was mostly focused on making something that was useful for stealth and tried to focus on things that feed into that in a way that's unique to this Subclass and not just a rogue-light. But I kind of knew it was stuff that's not really all that useful in combat compared to what you would get from other subclasses. I figured it'd be one of those things where it's more valuable just for its specialty. But even a stealth-heavy campaign is going to at least have some traditional combat. I'd love to get some advice on what needs boosting without drawing too much away from the stealth concept.
Circle Spells – At 2nd level you learn the Thorn Whip cantrip. At 3rd, 5th, 7th and 9th level you gain access to the spells listed for that level in the Circle of the Web Spells table.
Once you gain access to these spells you always have it prepared, and it doesn’t count against the number of druid spells you can prepare each day. If you gain access to a spell that doesn’t appear on the Druid spell list, the spell is nonetheless a druid spell for you.
Circle of the Web Spells
3rdEnsnaring Strike, Web
5thBlink, Fear
7th Blight, Giant Insect
9th Contagion, Hold Monster
Spider Stealth – Starting at level 2, You gain proficiency in the Stealth Skill. If you already have proficiency in Stealth, you may choose another skill proficiency listed for Druids. You can attempt to hide even if you are only lightly obscured, but only if you are lightly obscured by a natural environment, such as rain or plant growths. This also applies to plants and other effects created by Druid spells.
Spider-Self – At 2nd level, you can expend one use of your Wild Shape feature as a bonus action to awaken the spirit of the Spider in yourself, rather than transforming into a beast. While this feature is active, you gain the following benefits:
You gain a climb speed equal to your walking speed, and can climb across sheer surfaces and on ceilings while leaving your hands free.
When you make a Dexterity (Stealth) check, you can add your Wisdom modifier to the result (minimum 1)
Your Jump distance is doubled
As a bonus action, you can generate up to 30 feet of Silk Rope. You can generate up to 100 feet of Silk Rope with this feature, and any Silk Rope generated with this feature vanishes when your transformation ends. This silk can be used as a Web Garrote, which you are proficient with
Web Garrote – You can use a web Garrote to make a melee weapon attack. The Web Garrote is two-handed and is a finesse weapon. After hitting a medium or smaller creature with a Web Garrote they become grappled by you. Until this grapple ends, they cannot breathe or speak, and you have advantage on melee attacks against this creature.
This transformation lasts for 1 hour. You can end it at any time (requiring no action), and it also ends if you become incapacitated, or if you use your Wild Shape feature again.
Venom Strike – Beginning with level 6, when you deal poison damage through a Druid Spell or Druid Class feature, you can choose to deal Acid damage instead.Any time you hit a creature with an attack or spellthat deals poison or acid damage, you can force the creature to make a Constitution Save against your Druid Spell Save DC. On a failure, they become poisoned for 1 minute. They can attempt this Saving Throw to end the Poisoned condition at the end of each of their turns. A surprised creature has disadvantage on this Saving Throw, and if they fail their saving throw they also become Unconscious for 1 minute, or until they take damage or another creature uses their action to shake them awake.
Improved Spider-Self – Starting with 6th level, your Spider-Self transformation improves in the following ways:
If a creature ends its turn within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to move up to half your speed. This movement does not provoke opportunity attacks.
Your Melee Weapon Attacks deal an additional 1d6 Poison damage. After hitting a creature with a melee weapon attack, you can expend one spell slot to deal additional poison damage. The extra damage is 1d6 per level of the spell slot expended. The creature also subtracts a number equal to the spell slot expended from their Saving Throw to resist your Venom Strike feature.
You can attempt to Hide as a Bonus Action
Greater Spider-Self – When reaching 10th level, your Spider-Self transformation improves in the following ways:
Creatures you target with spells or Druid class features that deal Poison damage do not benefit from Resistance to Poison damage, and creatures immune to Poison damage are considered Resistant instead.
A creature that fails their saving Throw to resist your Venom Strike feature cannot take reactions until the start of your next turn.
When you cast a spell that deals cold, fire, lightning, or thunder damage, you can change the damage type to Poison or Acid.
One with the Web – At 14th level, You have learned to effortlessly trap your enemies with webs. A creature that fails their saving throw against your Venom Strike feature has their speed reduced by 10 until the start of your next turn. If your Spider-Self transformation is active, their speed is instead reduced to 0.
You also are now able to use your Wildshape feature to transform into an Ettercap or a Phase Spider. If transformed into an Ettercap, you also gain the benefits of your Spider-Self Transformation.
Okay, trying to make sure this class isn't just built around dealing a very highly resisted damage type exclusively through melee attacks, I've made a few changes...
Right at level 2, to make the subclass cleaner to read I separated some of the features. I made the stealth feature its own feature, and also added the caveat that you can attempt to hide when lightly obscured by natural effects, and added that this also applies to anything created by your druid spells. I figured it would help reinforce the natural element of being a Druid.
The 2nd level Spider-Self has no changes. It's still more useful out of combat than in, but it also gives concentration-free Spider-Climb for an hour, so I think it's still worth the cost.
Venom Strike makes one big change... it gives the option to change any spell or class feature that deals poison damage into Acid damage instead, and the benefits of Venom Strike applies to acid damage as well. This should give some ability to compensate for the multitude of creatures resistant or immune to poison damage. With that change, I also shifted it so that the Venom Strike only triggers upon dealing damage (instead of just landing a hit), but it can apply to any spell that deals Poison or Acid damage, giving a huge boost to AOE spells that deal either of the damage types.
Improved Spider-Self is moved to 6th level, and includes a smite-like ability to deal additional damage by expending a spell slot. You also subtract the Spell Slot's level number from their Saving Throw to resist your Venom Strike. So the subclass still isn't necessarily competing with Rogues or Paladins for burst damage, but instead focuses more on outputting status effects. This applies to rendering a surprised enemy unconscious, so a panicked Druid can dump a big spell slot into a sneak attack to really guarantee they can take out a guard or something while moving stealthily.
At 10th level, I added the option to make any spell that deals cold, fire, lightning, or Thunder damage instead deal Poison or Acid damage, allowing those spells to qualify for Venom Strike. This basically adds the Poisoned condition as a bonus to your attack spells, and eventually pairs with the 14th level feature to output serious battlefield control by slowing and stopping enemies.
Finally, for 14th level I added the option to use your Spider-Self features when transformed into an Ettercap. I realized that, although Ettercap is a higher CR than you normally get access to... it really doesn't do anything particularly interesting. The most useful aspect of the Ettercap compared to just playing as your regular self is the fact that they have multiple attacks. Giving them the benefits of Spider-Self makes the transformation actually worth the effort, although it's basically trading your spellcasting for an extra attack.
Circle of the Web 2, 3, 6, 10, 14
Level 2 You gain the ability to Wild Shape into a giant spider.
Level 2 Camouflaged: You can take the hide action when 15 feet or more from any enemy. If successfully hidden then you do not lose hidden status when approaching an enemy while Wildshaped. You get a number of spider tokens equal to your proficiency modifier. A token is used when you Web, try to inflict the poisoned condition, or ethereal jaunt. You can never Wildshape into an animal with a fly speed or wildshape into any creature past 1/2 CR other than the ones unlocked. (Maybe give the forms some aquatic viability. Like a diving bell spider.)
Lv 3 Nimble Form: You can hide and disengage as a bonus action.
Level 6: You can inflict acid damage instead of poison. If you attack an enemy with advantage then they are at disadvantage on succeeding there con save against your poison or acid and you can Wildshape into a Ettercap. (May remove the Ettercap part and instead allow all spiders to try to inflict the poisoned condition at this level with the use of a spider token.)
Level 10: You can turn into a Phase Spider.
Level 10: Enemies immune to acid and poison are only resistant to it instead when bit by you.
Lv 14 If you attack a foe and they fail their con save against your poison or poisoned effect then you cannot trigger reactions from them.
Level 6 and after. Don't know if I should add one or two other huge spider forms from here or just keep buffing giant and phase spider forms.
RAW Wild Shape allows a druid of other circles to become a CR 1 beast at level 8. This kit has your druid assuming a form of CR1 at 2 level and a CR3 creature at level 10 which druids RAW cannot do. Canon druids can assume the form of a Giant Spider at 8 level. So I’d remove these additional forms without severely limiting this kind of druid from standard wild shape abilities. This kit seems combat focused based on the way it reads to me rather than stealth. These spiders pack a big punch with their attacks and damage, especially at this level and the tokens don’t balance this. I think you need to reassess your themes for this kit.
The spider tokens to lessen the impact of their combat abilities feel bad and it’s another thing to track. Further, it limits the cool factor of becoming a spider in the first place. You want them to use their abilities as written in the monster stat block if you’re going to give them over, but I’d challenge you to find a way to make this kit more balanced and in line with other circle druids instead of allowing them to become these more powerful creatures.
This circle is also missing the usual spells gained at certain levels for being part of this circle as well making it less appealing for some druid players who enjoy the spellcasting aspect of druids.
As to stealth, becoming tiny creatures is something 2nd level druids are capable of. Turning into a CR 0 spiders and spying on folk is something they’d have the ability to do RAW. You don’t have to do anything to improve this stealth ability.
The Camouflaged ability is OP. It makes this druid better at stealth than a rogue and you shouldn’t overshadow a default class when making specialized subclass kits of any other class. I believe this power needs to be tossed and I can’t think of a way to rework it to fit in. What you can do is put spells such as camouflage into this kit.
Things I’d focus on for making this kit work: Spells being added in such as web, jump, camouflage, and there are undoubtedly some other spells which fit the spider theme. You could put in a natural ability or method of producing and collecting poison from the self for this druid in or out of Wild Shape perhaps which could make them very handy to their rogue buddies, not sure how I’d execute it but sounds fun to me. Traveling abilities could be interesting, such as gliding on webs through the air as some spiders do might be interesting (I’d make sure it’s not a fight equivalent and depends on air currents limiting the ability per DM discretion). Spiders are stealthy by nature, they set traps and are amazing hunters so I’d pull inspiration from rangers and rogues but don’t overshadow them, instead I’d work on making them fit in with either class as a partner in (natural & sneaky) crime to augmenting others as druids normally can and do. Teamwork is the best aspect of D&D IMHO and I’d say to focus on this idea while working on this kit.
Just my thoughts and hope they help you along. Good luck and I look forward to seeing revisions!
I think I got a little too into this concept, because I started brainstorming how I would build this concept, and I ended up writing up a rough draft for a subclass myself. I leaned into the idea of having a unique transformation, instead of giving access to unusual wildshape options:
I struggled a little bit with picking thematically appropriate circle spells... I stuck just to PHB spells, because that seems to be a constant in most subclasses. Web was the most obvious option, but everything else was just whatever fit in thematically. I'm totally open to changes... I focused more on the flavor of spider-themed spells, rather than spells that feed into the playstyle.
I tried to make the transformation not too complicated... it gives you a boost to stealth and more movement options, but I didn't want to make it feel like it's just turning your Druid into a Rogue... you get stealth options separate from what a Rogue gets.
Speaking of, the 6th level feature is where I really try to differentiate. The Venom Strike feature very specifically triggers with any attack that deals poison damage, which means you can still use it if Wild Shaped into some kind of Spider (or other beast that deals poison damage). It's worded in a way where it can trigger even against creatures that are immune to poison damage. The ability to knock enemies unconscious is meant to be used for stealth infiltration... in situations where a Rogue might use their sneak attack to outright kill an enemy this subclass instead allows you to knock them unconscious... it's not something you can reliably do in combat, but it gives you something to do if you're about to get caught somewhere. I also boosted some of the mobility for the transformation... there's still no free disengage like a Rogue, but you do get a reaction to move (which benefits from your increased jump distance and climb features), and the option to hide as a bonus action.
10th level is mostly just meant to make up for the fact that Poison resistance is so common. I also used the idea of stopping the enemy from using reactions, since that kind of gives you a disengage you can use in combat to focus on mobility.
The 14th level feature.... eh, I kind of struggled to think of what to do. I still wanted to focus on improving your other subclass features. I figured the extra battlefield control is a solid enough addition to the subclass.
Druids are a pretty strong class overall, so I think there's more room to create sort of gimmicky subclasses like this. I tried to lean into the idea of focusing on making this subclass concept that works well as a stealth infiltrator... it's not terrible in combat, but it's not as good at it as some other subclasses might be. Anyway, I'm very open to critiques, because I kind of built this in my spare time while working on something else, so it's not like I've tested it or anything.
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Well Druid is strong compared to martial and half casters but is still probably the weakest full caster. It's part of a larger debate though. The reason the being able to use the hide action and a melee attack in conjunction is so important to the subclass is because no other character can actually do that without turning invisible so it is a super unique feature. Also turning druid into a rouge that deals way less damage but debuffs his opponents and is able to use more spells and getting advantage more often is a big selling point. That and being able to use the hide action in combat without being pigeonholed into ranged, but overall this is a fantastic take on what I was going for.
I think we could definitely do more with this concept of leaning into status effects and battlefield control as part of this subclass. I'm not sure where to fit it in, but I think I do agree that going for a stealthy character who uses that stealth to enhance their ability to debuff or manipulate is a great way to make this feel distinct from the Rogue.
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My 2cp worth of contributions for consideration:
1) Add Find Familiar to the bonus spells but with the caveat of only summoning a spider or expend a use of wildshape to summon a spider familiar. Add Blink to the bonus spells because its sort of Phase Spider in nature.
2) Add ability to Wildshape into a Swarm of Spiders.
3) Basic homebrew of use Circle of the Moon for abilities but replace Elemental Wildshape to Arachnid Wildshape and grant the ability to spend two Wildshapes to turn into any spider that is a Beast or Monstrous type or a Drider.
4) Maybe have a look at the Druid Circle of Weavers on GM Binder, its a bit weird but looks pretty interesting.
5) (This one might be a bit too "Spiderman") At level 2 give skill proficency Stealth and single target web attack: Uses action, 30ft range, target one creature or object not being worn or carried. Target makes Dex save vs Spell DC, if successful nothing happens, target evades the web, on fail target is effected by Web Spell until the start of Druids next turn and Druid can use a bonus action to pull the target upto 10ft towards them. Targets can elect to fail this saving throw.
Circle of the Web
Circle Spells – At 2nd level you learn the Thorn Whip cantrip. At 3rd, 5th, 7th and 9th level you gain access to the spells listed for that level in the Circle of the Web Spells table.
Once you gain access to these spells you always have it prepared, and it doesn’t count against the number of druid spells you can prepare each day. If you gain access to a spell that doesn’t appear on the Druid spell list, the spell is nonetheless a druid spell for you.
Circle of the Web Spells
3rdSpider Climb, Web
5thBlink, Vampiric Touch
7th Blight, Giant Insect
9th Contagion, Hold Monster
Spider-Self – At 2nd level, you can expend a use of your Wild Shape feature as a bonus action to awaken the spirit of the Spider in yourself, rather than transforming into a beast. While this feature is active, you gain the following benefits:
You gain a climb speed equal to your walking speed, and can climb across sheer surfaces and on ceilings while leaving your hands free.
When you make a Dexterity (Stealth) check, you can add your Wisdom modifier to the result (minimum 1)
Your Jump distance is doubled
As a bonus action, you can generate up to 30 feet of Silk Rope. You can generate up to 100 feet of Silk Rope with this feature, and any Silk Rope generated with this feature vanishes when your transformation ends.
This transformation lasts for 1 hour. You can end it at any time (requiring no action), and it also ends if you become incapacitated, or if you use your Wild Shape feature again.
Additionally, You are able to spend two uses of your Wildshape as an action to transform into any creature with “Spider” or “drider” in its name that is not a construct or Undead, as long as its CR does not exceed the current Max CR on your Beast Shapes table, including Swarms.
Venom Strike – Beginning with level 6, any time you hit a creature with a melee attack that deals poison damage, you can force the creature to make a Constitution Save against your Druid Spell Save DC. On a failure, they become poisoned for 1 minute. They can attempt this Saving Throw to end the Poisoned condition at the end of each of their turns. A surprised creature has disadvantage on this Saving Throw, and if they fail their saving throw they also become Unconscious for 1 minute, or until they take damage or another creature uses their action to shake them awake. In addition, your Spider-Self transformation gains the following benefits:
If a creature ends its turn within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to move up to half your speed. This movement does not provoke opportunity attacks.
Your Melee Weapon Attacks deal an additional 1d6 Poison damage.
You can attempt to Hide as a Bonus Action
Improved Spider-Self – When reaching 10th level, your Spider-Self transformation improves in the following ways:
Creatures you target with spells or Druid class features that deal Poison damage do not benefit from Resistance to Poison damage, and creatures immune to Poison damage are considered Resistant instead.
A creature that fails their saving Throw to resist your Venom Strike feature cannot take reactions until the start of your next turn.
One with the Web – At 14th level, You have learned to effortlessly trap your enemies with webs. A creature that fails their saving throw against your Venom Strike feature has their speed reduced by 10 until the start of your next turn. If your Spider-Self transformation is active, their speed is instead reduced to 0.
Okay, here's an updated version based on your suggestions, but I'll explain what I used or didn't use and why.
I didn't use the Find Familiar idea... it makes sense, but Druids already have the Wild Companion optional feature. I don't think it's a bad idea to include, but I think it's too easy to accomplish roughly the same thing, so hard baking it into the subclass feels redundant.
I tried to word in some way the ability to transform into basically any type of spider the subclass otherwise qualifies for. This might need work... I think the smartest idea is to take the time to specifically single out every single qualifying spider, if only to avoid something that might just have "spider" in its name but actually describes like... some kind of spider-themed gang or something. But for now, I opted for the most open-ended version. Maybe we could add a provision that the DM can reject an option?
I didn't want to also give this subclass proficiency in stealth since, for the most part, adding the WIS modifier accomplishes more or less the same thing, but still rewards the player for investing in their primary stat. I think we could replace that with proficiency if this seems too exploitable, but I think it hits a good middle ground between making them solid at stealth without making them some kind of attempt to upstage Rogues.
As for the Spider-Man web... that was actually the intent of including Thorn Whip as a free Cantrip, since it accomplishes very roughly the idea of webbing and yanking someone, without creating any new spells or abilities. I think there could be room to change it a bit.. maybe it deals bludgeoning damage and has text that it's specifically a web and not a vine, but I think it still makes sense to, mechanically, just make it the Thorn Whip spell.
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I like it but I'd make some thematic changes:
For me the expanded spell list would make more sense to keep Fear and lose Vampiric Touch but only because Arachnophobia is a thing. I also thought maybe give Ensnaring Strike as a bonus spell at level 2 just as Thorn Whip may be something a Druid has already taken at level 1.
Proficiency with Stealth would be the way i'd go because Spiders are sneaky little (expletive deleted) as shown the monster stat blocks all having profieiceny with it, although a neat little work around might be "Whenever you could make a Dexterity (Stealth) ability check you may instead make a Wsidom (Stealth) ability check" this would be a bit more reflective of spiders using more of a survival style of stealth than agility based.
I had a look into spider creatures and most only have spider in their desciptions and I did also include any with that mentioned being Arachnid in nature but you have a rough list of options of:
Spider (CR 0), Male Steeder (CR 1/4), Giant Wolf Spider (CR 1/4), Chitine (CR 1/2), Insect Swarm (CR 1/2), Female Steeder (CR 1) Giant Spider (CR 1), Ettercap (CR 2), Phase Spider (CR 3), Cave fisher (CR 3), Choldrith (CR 3), Drider (CR 6).
There are a few others which are higher CR so I ommited those. Driders and Choldrith both have spellcasting as well so needs DM approval to carry their spell casting over, its just Dancing Lights @ will and Faerie Fire and Darkness x1/LR for the Drider but Choldrith do have a whole bunch of spells which migh tbe a bit problematic and given their CR then they should probably only be available from level 10+.
A bit of a side note....Ettercap do have a variant feature called "Web Garrote" that might be interesting to include in some fashion, maybe as a bonus weapon proficiency.
Circle of the Web
Circle Spells – At 2nd level you learn the Thorn Whip cantrip. At 3rd, 5th, 7th and 9th level you gain access to the spells listed for that level in the Circle of the Web Spells table.
Once you gain access to these spells you always have it prepared, and it doesn’t count against the number of druid spells you can prepare each day. If you gain access to a spell that doesn’t appear on the Druid spell list, the spell is nonetheless a druid spell for you.
Circle of the Web Spells
3rdEnsnaring Strike, Web
5thBlink, Fear
7th Blight, Giant Insect
9th Contagion, Hold Monster
Spider-Self – At 2nd level, you gain proficiency in the Stealth Skill. In addition you can expend one use of your Wild Shape feature as a bonus action to awaken the spirit of the Spider in yourself, rather than transforming into a beast. While this feature is active, you gain the following benefits:
You gain a climb speed equal to your walking speed, and can climb across sheer surfaces and on ceilings while leaving your hands free.
When you make a Dexterity (Stealth) check, you can add your Wisdom modifier to the result (minimum 1)
Your Jump distance is doubled
As a bonus action, you can generate up to 30 feet of Silk Rope. You can generate up to 100 feet of Silk Rope with this feature, and any Silk Rope generated with this feature vanishes when your transformation ends. This silk can be used as a Web Garrote, which you are proficient with
Web Garrote – You can use a web Garrote to make a melee weapon attack. The Web Garrote is two-handed and is a finesse weapon. After hitting a medium or smaller creature with a Web Garrote they become grappled by you. Until this grapple ends, they cannot breathe or speak, and you have advantage on melee attacks against this creature.
This transformation lasts for 1 hour. You can end it at any time (requiring no action), and it also ends if you become incapacitated, or if you use your Wild Shape feature again.
Venom Strike – Beginning with level 6, any time you hit a creature with a melee attack that deals poison damage, you can force the creature to make a Constitution Save against your Druid Spell Save DC. On a failure, they become poisoned for 1 minute. They can attempt this Saving Throw to end the Poisoned condition at the end of each of their turns. A surprised creature has disadvantage on this Saving Throw, and if they fail their saving throw they also become Unconscious for 1 minute, or until they take damage or another creature uses their action to shake them awake. In addition, your Spider-Self transformation gains the following benefits:
If a creature ends its turn within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to move up to half your speed. This movement does not provoke opportunity attacks.
Your Melee Weapon Attacks deal an additional 1d6 Poison damage.
You can attempt to Hide as a Bonus Action
Improved Spider-Self – When reaching 10th level, your Spider-Self transformation improves in the following ways:
Creatures you target with spells or Druid class features that deal Poison damage do not benefit from Resistance to Poison damage, and creatures immune to Poison damage are considered Resistant instead.
A creature that fails their saving Throw to resist your Venom Strike feature cannot take reactions until the start of your next turn.
One with the Web – At 14th level, You have learned to effortlessly trap your enemies with webs. A creature that fails their saving throw against your Venom Strike feature has their speed reduced by 10 until the start of your next turn. If your Spider-Self transformation is active, their speed is instead reduced to 0.
You also are now able to use your Wildshape feature to transform into an Ettercap or a Phase Spider.
Okay, I dropped Vampiric Touch and brought back Fear. I also dropped Spider Climb, since the Spider-Self transformation gives Spiderclimb anyway, and replaced it with Ensnaring Strike. I decided to look at the Fey Wanderer Ranger, which was what partially inspired how I handled stealth, since that subclass gives the ability to add WIS to Charisma checks. It also gives proficiency with those same skills, so I went with that and added Proficiency with Stealth at level 2.
I had included the spider silk creation as kind of a ribbon feature... everyone carries rope all the time anyway, so it's not like you really need it. But I like the idea of being able to use it as a web garrote, and I included it as another stealth option. I added the detail that the person held by it can't speak, so it's an option for potentially taking down a target before they can call for help, but isn't amazingly useful in straightforward combat. Could be used to shut down a spellcaster, though.
Finally, taking the time to look through all the various spiders... most of them are Beasts already, so as a Druid you can just turn into them anyway. Steeders didn't seem interesting enough to be worth the effort to make special rules just for them, and . Cave Fishers seem like arachnids, but not really spiders, and I think it's easier to just avoid things like the Choldrith or Drider that have spellcasting. So that just left me with Phase Spider and Ettercap... they're both higher CR than non-moon Druids are able to reach, so I saved the ability to turn into them for 14th level. I feel like at that level the Phase Spider won't be too much of a problem, since the ability to shift in and out of the ethereal plane at will for several hours could break the game at early levels. But I kind of felt like the 14th level feature was a bit meh anyway, so adding just the Ettercap and Phase spider as Wildshape options feels like it punches up that final level just a bit.
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This is a lot better. I like this.
I like the overall concept, but I'm not sold on basing features around a druid making melee attacks. When you're level 12 and your action options are to either 1) cast a devastating 6th level spell or 2) deal 1d8+1d6+4 poison damage to one creature and maybe poison/grapple it (with poison being the most resisted damage type and no extra defensive tools to discourage a grappled enemy from just shredding the druid that is conveniently holding on to it), you're going to choose Option 1. And your 5th, 4th, and 3rd level spells are all probably a better use of your action as well. Yes, this would still be a good option for mop-up rounds, but is that really what your subclass features should be relegated to?
I've come more and more to believe that if you want a full spellcaster to behave like a martial - i.e. go around making melee attacks in combat - you need to require them to expend their spellcasting resources to make that option both competitive with spellcasting in the action economy and also fair to martials (i.e. not just giving them full martial capability on top of being a full spellcaster).
In this case, you could use a smite-like model on Venom Strike so that it actually remains viable to use at higher levels without being too much of a power boost due to it costing limited resources.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
I think you bring up a good point... I was mostly focused on making something that was useful for stealth and tried to focus on things that feed into that in a way that's unique to this Subclass and not just a rogue-light. But I kind of knew it was stuff that's not really all that useful in combat compared to what you would get from other subclasses. I figured it'd be one of those things where it's more valuable just for its specialty. But even a stealth-heavy campaign is going to at least have some traditional combat. I'd love to get some advice on what needs boosting without drawing too much away from the stealth concept.
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Circle of the Web
Circle Spells – At 2nd level you learn the Thorn Whip cantrip. At 3rd, 5th, 7th and 9th level you gain access to the spells listed for that level in the Circle of the Web Spells table.
Once you gain access to these spells you always have it prepared, and it doesn’t count against the number of druid spells you can prepare each day. If you gain access to a spell that doesn’t appear on the Druid spell list, the spell is nonetheless a druid spell for you.
Circle of the Web Spells
3rdEnsnaring Strike, Web
5thBlink, Fear
7th Blight, Giant Insect
9th Contagion, Hold Monster
Spider Stealth – Starting at level 2, You gain proficiency in the Stealth Skill. If you already have proficiency in Stealth, you may choose another skill proficiency listed for Druids. You can attempt to hide even if you are only lightly obscured, but only if you are lightly obscured by a natural environment, such as rain or plant growths. This also applies to plants and other effects created by Druid spells.
Spider-Self – At 2nd level, you can expend one use of your Wild Shape feature as a bonus action to awaken the spirit of the Spider in yourself, rather than transforming into a beast. While this feature is active, you gain the following benefits:
You gain a climb speed equal to your walking speed, and can climb across sheer surfaces and on ceilings while leaving your hands free.
When you make a Dexterity (Stealth) check, you can add your Wisdom modifier to the result (minimum 1)
Your Jump distance is doubled
As a bonus action, you can generate up to 30 feet of Silk Rope. You can generate up to 100 feet of Silk Rope with this feature, and any Silk Rope generated with this feature vanishes when your transformation ends. This silk can be used as a Web Garrote, which you are proficient with
Web Garrote – You can use a web Garrote to make a melee weapon attack. The Web Garrote is two-handed and is a finesse weapon. After hitting a medium or smaller creature with a Web Garrote they become grappled by you. Until this grapple ends, they cannot breathe or speak, and you have advantage on melee attacks against this creature.
This transformation lasts for 1 hour. You can end it at any time (requiring no action), and it also ends if you become incapacitated, or if you use your Wild Shape feature again.
Venom Strike – Beginning with level 6, when you deal poison damage through a Druid Spell or Druid Class feature, you can choose to deal Acid damage instead.Any time you hit a creature with an attack or spellthat deals poison or acid damage, you can force the creature to make a Constitution Save against your Druid Spell Save DC. On a failure, they become poisoned for 1 minute. They can attempt this Saving Throw to end the Poisoned condition at the end of each of their turns. A surprised creature has disadvantage on this Saving Throw, and if they fail their saving throw they also become Unconscious for 1 minute, or until they take damage or another creature uses their action to shake them awake.
Improved Spider-Self – Starting with 6th level, your Spider-Self transformation improves in the following ways:
If a creature ends its turn within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to move up to half your speed. This movement does not provoke opportunity attacks.
Your Melee Weapon Attacks deal an additional 1d6 Poison damage. After hitting a creature with a melee weapon attack, you can expend one spell slot to deal additional poison damage. The extra damage is 1d6 per level of the spell slot expended. The creature also subtracts a number equal to the spell slot expended from their Saving Throw to resist your Venom Strike feature.
You can attempt to Hide as a Bonus Action
Greater Spider-Self – When reaching 10th level, your Spider-Self transformation improves in the following ways:
Creatures you target with spells or Druid class features that deal Poison damage do not benefit from Resistance to Poison damage, and creatures immune to Poison damage are considered Resistant instead.
A creature that fails their saving Throw to resist your Venom Strike feature cannot take reactions until the start of your next turn.
When you cast a spell that deals cold, fire, lightning, or thunder damage, you can change the damage type to Poison or Acid.
One with the Web – At 14th level, You have learned to effortlessly trap your enemies with webs. A creature that fails their saving throw against your Venom Strike feature has their speed reduced by 10 until the start of your next turn. If your Spider-Self transformation is active, their speed is instead reduced to 0.
You also are now able to use your Wildshape feature to transform into an Ettercap or a Phase Spider. If transformed into an Ettercap, you also gain the benefits of your Spider-Self Transformation.
Okay, trying to make sure this class isn't just built around dealing a very highly resisted damage type exclusively through melee attacks, I've made a few changes...
Right at level 2, to make the subclass cleaner to read I separated some of the features. I made the stealth feature its own feature, and also added the caveat that you can attempt to hide when lightly obscured by natural effects, and added that this also applies to anything created by your druid spells. I figured it would help reinforce the natural element of being a Druid.
The 2nd level Spider-Self has no changes. It's still more useful out of combat than in, but it also gives concentration-free Spider-Climb for an hour, so I think it's still worth the cost.
Venom Strike makes one big change... it gives the option to change any spell or class feature that deals poison damage into Acid damage instead, and the benefits of Venom Strike applies to acid damage as well. This should give some ability to compensate for the multitude of creatures resistant or immune to poison damage. With that change, I also shifted it so that the Venom Strike only triggers upon dealing damage (instead of just landing a hit), but it can apply to any spell that deals Poison or Acid damage, giving a huge boost to AOE spells that deal either of the damage types.
Improved Spider-Self is moved to 6th level, and includes a smite-like ability to deal additional damage by expending a spell slot. You also subtract the Spell Slot's level number from their Saving Throw to resist your Venom Strike. So the subclass still isn't necessarily competing with Rogues or Paladins for burst damage, but instead focuses more on outputting status effects. This applies to rendering a surprised enemy unconscious, so a panicked Druid can dump a big spell slot into a sneak attack to really guarantee they can take out a guard or something while moving stealthily.
At 10th level, I added the option to make any spell that deals cold, fire, lightning, or Thunder damage instead deal Poison or Acid damage, allowing those spells to qualify for Venom Strike. This basically adds the Poisoned condition as a bonus to your attack spells, and eventually pairs with the 14th level feature to output serious battlefield control by slowing and stopping enemies.
Finally, for 14th level I added the option to use your Spider-Self features when transformed into an Ettercap. I realized that, although Ettercap is a higher CR than you normally get access to... it really doesn't do anything particularly interesting. The most useful aspect of the Ettercap compared to just playing as your regular self is the fact that they have multiple attacks. Giving them the benefits of Spider-Self makes the transformation actually worth the effort, although it's basically trading your spellcasting for an extra attack.
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