Base Class: Druid
You are a member of a teeming horde-one small part of a sprawling organism. Just as you are part of the swarm, the swarm is part of a larger ecosystem, a never-ending cycle of life, death, rot, and rebirth. You have spent your life in the slow churn of that ecosystem, in the dark places of the city where the messy parts of existence are on display. There is little squeamishness among the Golgari, no fear of death or taboo about the dead, just a fierce affirmation of the cycle.
Golgari Fungus
Starting at 2nd level, you are surrounded by invisible, spores that are harmless until you unleash them on a creature nearby. When a creature you can see moves into a space within 10 feet of you or starts its turn there, you can use your reaction to deal 1d4 necrotic or poison damage to that creature unless it succeeds on a Constitution saving throw against your spell save DC. The damage increases to 1d6 at 6th level, 1d8 at 10th level, and 1d10 at 14th level. Also at 2nd level, you gain the ability to channel magic into your spores. As a bonus action, you can expend a use of your Wild Shape feature to awaken those spores, rather than transforming into a beast form, and you gain temporary hit points equal to your wisdom modifier for each level you have in this class. While this feature is active, you gain the following benefits:
When you deal your Halo of Spores damage, roll the damage die a second time and add it to the total.
Your melee weapon attacks deal an extra necrotic or poison damage equal to your spore damage dice to any target they hit.
These benefits last for 10 minutes, until you lose all the temporary hit points, or until you use your Wild Shape again.
Golgari Thrall
At 6th level, When you create an undead it has additional benefits:
The creature's hit point maximum is increased by an amount equal to half your druid level (Rounded up)
The creature adds your half proficiency bonus (Rounded up) to its weapon damage rolls.
Additionally, your spores gain the ability to infest a corpse and animate it. If any creature that is Small or Medium dies within 10 feet of you, you can use your reaction to animate it, causing it to stand up immediately with hit points equal to half your druid level (Rounded up). The creature uses the Zombie stat block in the Monster Manual. It remains animate for 1 hour, after which time it collapses and dies.
In combat, the zombie's turn comes immediately after yours. It obeys your mental commands, and the only action it can take is the Attack action, making one melee attack.
Once you create an undead this way you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.
Golgari Spread
At 10th level, you gain the ability to seed an area with deadly spores. The range of your Golgari Spores and Golgari Thrall increases to 20 feet, As a bonus action, while your Symbiotic Entity feature is active, you can hurl spores up to 30 feet away, where they swirl in a 20-foot cube for a number of minutes equal to your proficiency bonus. The spores disappear early if you use this feature again, if you dismiss them as a bonus action, or if your Symbiotic Entity feature is no longer active.
Whenever a creature moves into the cube or starts its turn there, that creature takes your Halo of Spores damage, unless the creature succeeds on a Constitution saving throw against your spell save DC. A creature can take this damage no more than once per turn.
While the cube of spores persists, you can't use your Golgari Spores reaction. Additionally, you can use your Golgari Thrall feature if the dead creature is in the cube.
Golgari Form
At 14th level, the fungal spores in your body alter you: you can't be blinded, deafened, frightened, or poisoned, and any critical hit against you counts as a normal hit instead, unless you're incapacitated. Additionally, you have resistance to necrotic and poison damage, and your hit point maximum can't be reduced.
Golgari Magic
Your mystical connection to the Golgari infuses you with the ability to cast certain spells. At 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th level you gain access to spells, once you gain access to a circle spell, you always have it prepared, and it doesn’t count against the number of 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.
| DRUID LEVEL | SPELLS |
|---|---|
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3rd |
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5th |
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7th |
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9th |
Golgari Hive-mind
Starting at 2nd level, you can form a telepathic connection between your mind and the mind of others. As a bonus action, choose a number of creatures equal to your proficiency bonus you can see within 30 feet of you. You and the chosen creatures can speak telepathically with each other while they are within a number of miles of each other equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum of 1 mile). To understand each other, you each must speak mentally in a language the other knows.
The telepathic connection lasts for a number of minutes equal to your druid level. It ends early if you are incapacitated or die or if you use this ability to form a connection with a different set of creatures.
Over time these abilities can evolve into a stronger hivemind; At 6th level the duration increases to hours worth yourdruid level, at 10th level the distance increases to a number of miles equal to your druid level, and at 14th level the duration increases to a number of days equal to your druid level and the distance increases to a number of miles equal to your druid level times ten.
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