Circle of Vermin

Rats, rats, we're the rats
We prey at night, we stalk at night, we're the rats
[King Rat]
I'm the giant rat that makes all of the rules
[All Rats]
Let's see what kind of trouble we can get ourselves into

Rat Tactics

2nd-level Circle of Vermin feature

You’ve focused your entire druidic skills on rat tactics; casting aside fairness, peace, and other druidic vows in order to use your guile, wit and cunning to great effect. 

You cannot wildshape into creatures of any kind, other than a rat (CR 0 version). While wildshaped in this way, your dexterity score does not change.

While you are in wildshape, you have these benefits:

• Creatures who attack you have a minus to hit for every size above you they are above yours. This minus to hit is equal your half your dexterity modifier, rounded down (min 1). 
• When your wildshape breaks as a result of damage, you may spend one hit die as a reaction to wild shape without expending a charge into a rat.
• You have advantage on stealth checks against being seen by creatures of medium size or larger.

Never Waste

2nd-level Circle of Vermin feature

You are the proud and sneaky rat, excellent at putting absolutely nothing to waste. While your wildshape is active, if a creature you can see would overhealed (healing not received because of maximum hit points being reached), you are healed for that amount (wildshape hit points or your base hit points can be healed this way). If a creature you can see chooses between two amounts of temporary hit points, you gain the temporary hit points not chosen. For example, if they would gain 15 temporary hit points while having 10, you would gain 10. If spell slots are expended on a creature you can see without a creature casting a spell to expend them (such as an ability that drains spell slots, or divine smite) you can regain a spell slot of that exact level (assuming you have one expended). Finally, if a creature you can see temporarily loses an amount of stats from their maximum strength, dexterity, or constitution score, you gain that amount of stats for that amount of time.

 

King of Rats

6th-level Circle of Vermin feature

As the king of the rats, you may grow your subjects with the blood of your enemies.

Whenever you make a bite attack, you may treat it as an unarmed strike using dexterity for the damage die and flat damage. Whenever you successfully bite a creature, you create three rats within 30ft of you, as if you had casted the "mirror image" spell, except they are not illusions, and special forms of sight does not see through them (this does not make them creatures. They are not eligible for attacks. They are still considered a spell, and follow all other rules of mirror image including it's duration). If you have more than three images, the roll required to hit an image becomes 3. The maximum amount of images you can have is equal to your proficiency bonus. 

In addition, while you have any of these rats out, you can use the attack action as if you were in their position, and you may use the Multiattack action to: Make two bite attacks. 

Rat Snatcher

10th-level Circle of Vermin feature

You become proficient at stealing, tricking, lying and robbing your way to victory. Once during your turn when you land a bite attack on a creature, you may expend a hit die, reducing their level or CR by that amount for a minute (not for the purposes of which abilities a creature has or their proficiency bonus. ONLY for considered level, such as abilities adding your level to damage. Also, the duration of one minute DOES NOT refresh nor extend if applied more than once, the effect simply compounds). You gain that many CR on your wildshape form for the next minute, to a maximum of CR 30. While in wild shape, your maximum hit points is equal to your challenge rating, and you may add your challenge rating to your bite attack's damage. 

Also, if a creature you can see reduces or completely removes another creature's game statistics (ability scores), features/traits, maximum hit points, or spell slots, and then gains the reduced amount for themselves (or can use the feature/trait), you can use your reaction to gain that effect yourself, rather than that creature. Anything gained this way is kept for it's normal duration, or until you finish a short or long rest, whichever comes first.

 

Vermin Dominion

14th-level Circle of Vermin feature

You are the bearer of the apocalypse, the bringer of ruin to nations, the rat. You become unaffected by the effects of diseases, but can still receive them, as well as spread their effects. Whenever you finish a long rest, you gain a disease called "Black Plague" if you do not already have a disease of that name.

Black Plague: While a creature is afflicted by this disease, at the start of each of their turns (out of combat, they make this saving throw once every 12 hours). they make a Constitution saving throw, with a DC of 30 subtracted by the creature's level or Challenge Rating. On a failed save, they gain a level of exhaustion. If the creature hits another creature with a natural weapon attack, they are afflicted by this disease. Lasts until cured.