Clergy of the Claw

In the heart of the lush forest, a secluded grove shrouded in mist and guarded by towering ancient trees, a hidden order of druids known as the Clergy of the Claw has quietly thrived for centuries. Their existence is a closely guarded secret, and their mission is to protect the delicate balance of nature from within the bustling civilizations that threaten it.

As the sun sets, casting an amber glow upon the grove, we see a group of robed figures huddled together in solemn contemplation. These druids are unlike any others, for they are the embodiment of the duality of nature. Their abilities are a unique blend of martial prowess and powerful spellcasting, and they are known as "gish" druids, the Clergy of the Claw.

A hushed chant fills the air as the druids begin their ritual. A sacred circle of stones, covered in intricate runes, surrounds them. In the center, a towering figure steps forward, adorned with an elaborately carved wooden mask resembling a fearsome beast. This is the Claw druid, the embodiment of the order's ideals.

With a commanding gesture, the Claw druid reaches out to the surrounding wildlife, calling upon the spirits of the natural world. A chorus of howls, chirps, and roars answers their call, and the air shimmers with raw, untamed energy. In an instant, the druid's form begins to change. Unlike the traditional Moon Druid, they do not fully transform into an animal but instead undergo a partial wildshape.

Their form shifts, their limbs elongate, and a subtle but profound transformation takes place. From the creature of their choice, they acquire a single trait, perhaps the speed and agility of a panther or the armored hide of a rhinoceros. Their eyes gleam with primal power, and their fingers take on a clawed, fearsome aspect.

The transformation is not complete without a weapon. The Claw druid's hand morphs into a weapon resembling a natural appendage – a set of razor-sharp talons, powerful jaws, or perhaps a spiked tail. With these newly acquired traits and their inherent druidic magic, the Claw druid is ready to strike a harmonious balance between the civilized and the untamed.

In a final flourish, the Claw druid takes a step back and raises their hands, summoning the essence of the wild. With a snap of their fingers, they conjure swirling vines and thorns, and in the blink of an eye, their martial prowess is on full display. Spells and raw, animalistic power merge seamlessly in combat, as they wield the gift of nature to protect the delicate web of life.

The Clergy of the Claw remains hidden, working from within civilizations, silently safeguarding the natural order, and ensuring that the delicate balance of the world is preserved. They are a unique force, a blend of druidic magic and animal instinct, ready to bring nature's fury to those who would disrupt its harmony.

Sylvan Visage

At 3rd level, your initiation into the Clergy of the Claw has earned you a special mask. You can roll to determine the mask's appearance, or you can simply choose from the list below.

Map Form
1d6 - - Result
1 - - A wooden mask depicting the visage of an avian animal.
2 - - A feywood mask etched with druidic runes.
3 - - A thin stone slab with slits for vision and breathing.
4 - - A hand-held, living tree that wraps around your head. Its branches protrude from the crown of your head, like horns.
5 - - A preserved skull of an extinct carnivorous beast.
6 - - An asymmetric visage composed of broken gemstone shards.

While you wear this mask, you learn to speak, read, and write Sylvan. In addition, beasts can understand your speech, and you gain the ability to decipher their noises and motions. Most beasts lack the intelligence to convey or understand sophisticated concepts, but a friendly beast could relay what it has seen or heard in the recent past. This ability doesn't grant you friendship with beasts, though you can combine this ability with gifts to curry favor with them as you would with any nonplayer character.

Partial Wildshape

At level 2, your entrance to the ways of the Claw Clergy allows you to merge your form with that of an animal, granting you bestial prowess.

As a bonus action, you can expend one use of Wildshape to magically assume traits of a chosen animal. You can choose one special trait and one natural weapon from that beast's statblock to take into your character sheet. For example, you might take a Dire Wolf's Pact Tactics and its Bite attack, allowing you to bite enemies with advantage when an ally is within 5 ft. of your target. Attack & Damage rolls with the natural weapon use your Wisdom modifier.

You retain all of your ability scores, the ability to speak, the ability to cast spells, and any features granted by your race and class.

Some natural weapons you might get will have extra effects after hitting an enemy. These effects behave exactly as stated in the animal's statblock, but if the effect requires a saving throw, it is made against your Spell Save DC.

You may not choose to take an animal's multiattack feature.

This feature follows the Moon Druid's wildshape progression. At 2nd level, your CR limit is 1. At 6th level, your CR limit becomes 2. At 9th level, your CR limit becomes 3. At 12th level, your CR limit becomes 4. At 15th, your CR limit is 5. At 18th level, your CR limit becomes 6.
This transformation lasts for a number of hours equal to 1 + your Wisdom modifier.

Claw's Assault

At 6th level, your abilities as a Claw druid have advanced. You gain the following features:

Extra Attack: When you take the Attack action with a natural weapon from your Partial Wildshape feature, you can make two attacks instead of one.

Nature's Saddle: Once per long rest, as an action, you can summon a nature spirit that takes the form of one of the following creatures of your choice: Griffon, Pegasus, Peryton, Rhinoceros, Saber-toothed Tiger or Dragonnel. The nature spirit assumes the creature's statblock and serves you primarily as a mount. In combat, the creature behaves as a controlled mount when mounted, and obeys your verbal commands. However, the creature can only take the Dodge action, unless you use a bonus action to command it to attack. If it attacks, the creature can only make one attack and cannot use its multiattack feature. 

If your mount dies, you can restore it by spending a spell slot of 2nd or higher level, or by re-summoning it after a long rest.

Blackvenom

At 10th level, your power as a Claw Clergyman grants you the following features:

Nature's Agent: You can use Wisdom instead of Charisma for Deception checks.

Blackvenom Strikes: When you attack an enemy with a natural weapon from your Partial Wildshape feature, you can release a weakening venom into their wounds. A creature marked by Blackvenom has disadvantage on the next saving throw it makes against your spells. A Blackvenom mark lasts for two rounds in combat (or 12 seconds outside of combat) or until the creature makes a saving throw against a spell cast by you.

Gospel of Bone and Flesh

At 14th level, your attunement to the ways of the Claw has peaked, and you have ascended to become nature's avatar. You gain the following features:

Ascension: The world does not bind you any longer. You have flying, climbing, swimming and burrowing speeds equal to your walking speed.

Legendary Action: You have three legendary actions per long rest. Legendary actions can be activated at any time with no action required, and you can do the following things with them:
- Automatically succeed on one saving throw.
- Spread the Blackvenom effect on all creatures targeted by one Druid spell you cast.

Additionally, when you use Partial Wildshape, you can assume two special traits and two natural weapons, and they can be from two different animals or the same one.