Base Class: Druid
Druids of the Circle of the Giants practice the ancient giant art of runic magic and use runes to draw power from the same primordial force as the giants, mimicking their physical and magical might. Some were born into families with ties to the giants, some met and learned the art from a living giant, and others follow the teachings of ancient giant sages through runes carved on hidden monoliths in places untouched by civilization. Whatever their origin may be, these Druids seek to maintain the balance of the natural world and control the elements using the might of their weapons and the power of their runes.
Level 3: Circle of the Giants Spells
When you reach a Druid level specified in the Circle of the Giants Spells table, you thereafter always have the listed spells prepared.
Druid Level | Prepared Spells |
---|---|
3 | Thunderclap, Shield, Wrathful Smite, Magic Weapon, Hold Person |
5 | Conjure Barrage, Fear |
7 | Conjure Woodland Beings, Conjure Minor Elementals |
9 | Destructive Wave, Hold Monster |
Level 3: Giant Shape
As a Bonus Action, you can expend a use of your Wild Shape to take on a giant-like form. You gain the following benefits for 1 hour or until you use a Bonus Action to end this effect early.
Giant Stature. Your size increases to Large if there is room to do so and your reach increases by 5 feet.
Giant Constitution. You gain proficiency with Constitution saving throws and you can use your Wisdom modifier instead of your Constitution modifier when making saving throws to maintain Concentration on a Druid spell.
Giant Presence. You have Advantage on Athletics (Strength) and Intimidation (Charisma) ability checks.
Level 3: Runic Casting
You can carve ancient magic runes in the air to cast your Druid spells, ignoring material components that are not consumed or do not have a cost specified by the spell.
Level 6: Giant's Throw
When you activate Giant Shape you can apply a rune to a weapon you are holding that lasts for the duration of Giant Shape. The weapon gains the Thrown property, with a normal range of 30 feet and a long range of 120 feet, and you can use your Wisdom instead of Strength or Dexterity for the attack and damage rolls of attacks using that weapon. When you throw the weapon you can choose to have it return to your hand immediately after it hits or misses the target (no action required). You can also have the weapon return to your hand as a Bonus Action.
In addition, when you throw the weapon you can also cast a Druid spell targeting the creature, object, or location you throw the weapon at as part of the same action. The spell must be level 5 or lower and have a casting time of an action. You cannot use this feature to cast a spell that summons a creature.
If the weapon is thrown as an attack and misses or if the spell cannot target a creature or object, the spell will be cast at the ground beneath the target. If the spell has a range of Touch it will only affect a creature or object the weapon hits. If the spell has a range of Self or creates an Emanation effect on yourself, the effect is instead attached to the weapon and the Emanation can be moved by moving the weapon.
Level 10: Runic Protection
When you activate Giant Shape protective runes appear on your body. Choose any damage type other than Psychic or Force. You gain Resistance to this damage type and your Armor Class increases by +2 for the duration of Giant Shape.
Level 14: Ancient Mastery
You have mastered the runic magic of the ancient Giants. When you activate Giant Shape you can expend an additional use of your Wild Shape to empower the runes you create. You can increase your size to Large or Huge (your choice) and spells you cast with Giant’s Throw gain a +2 bonus to spell attack rolls and spell save DC.
Once you use this feature you cannot do so again until you finish a Long Rest.
If you have questions about how Giant's Throw is supposed to work or how it should interact with certain spells please let me know. The feature was designed to give the player a lot of versatility, so it might be confusing at first.
Also, D&D Beyond does not allow you to share Homebrew Subclasses that include spells that are not in the 2024 Free Rules. That means that Thunderclap, Wrathful Smite, Conjure Barrage, and Destructive Wave will not be automatically added to your prepared spells list like the other spells. It's very annoying but that's how the website functions, so if you use a D&D Beyond Character Sheet you'll either need to remember you have those spells (click on the description) or add them to your character manually.
Other than that, everything else about this Subclass is very straightforward so please give it a try and I hope you enjoy it. Let me know what you think!