Circle of the Undead Beasts

Druids of the Circle of the Undead Beasts have taken an oath to rid the world of the human undead and the ones that animate them. To better help them fight the human undead they have learned to animate the dead of the Beasts that have died and been absorbed by mother nature. This special form of animation allows them to animate a beast with minimal materials. They seek out necromancers that would defile the life of dead humanoids and destroy the undead along with the necromancer. Along with the oath to rid the world of the human undead and their creators, they have vowed to never raise any humanoid undead. If they are found guilty of this act multiple times they will be banished form the circle and in extreme cases they will be killed by the other circle members. 

The undead beast that you animate must have been unaligned in life. When you animate an undead beast it retains all of its abilities and its attacks, they gain resistance to cold, poison and necrotic damage and are vulnerable to fire and radiant damage. The animated undead beast also gains 1/3 of its health that it had in life rounded up.

Animate Tiny Beast

When you choose this circle at 2nd level, you learn the Cantrip "Animate Tiny Beast".  

Detect Undead

When you choose the circle at 2nd level, you learn the Cantrip "Detect Undead".

Circle Spells

The knowledge that your circle has gained from centuries of research you learn how to animate dead beasts without any actual remains. At 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th and 15th level you gain access to spells that allow you to animate beasts, monstrosities, and even dragons.

• 3rd level: Animate Small Undead Beast, Necrotic Armor
• 5th level: Animate Medium Undead Beast
• 7th level: Animate Large Undead Beast, Necrosis
• 9th level: Animate Undead Monstrosity
• 17th level: Animate Undead Dragon

Stronger Together

When you reach 10th level, your undead beasts gain 1 extra die to there attacks when they are within 15 feet of you. This effect only apples to a maximum of 3 undead beast near you. This effect does not apply to undead monstrosities or undead dragons. 

When you reach 17th level, your undead beasts gain 1 more die to there attacks when they are with in 15 feet of you. This effect only apples to a maximum of 3 undead beast near you. This effect does not apply to undead monstrosities or undead dragons. 

 

Among the Undead

When you reach 14th level, due to your closeness with death undead sense you as if you were one of them and are hesitant to attack you. When an undead creature attacks you that undead creature must make a Wisdom saving throw against your druid spell save DC. On a failed save, the undead creature must choose a different target, or the attack automatically misses. On a successful save, the undead creature is immune to this effect for 24 hours.

The undead creature is aware of this effect before it makes its attack against you.

Strength in Numbers

Starting at 6th level, your undead beasts attacks become stronger when you have multiple undead beasts on the battlefield under your control. When you have more than one undead beast on the battlefield at any given time they gain additional damage based on the kind of undead beast.

Undead beasts get +3 points of damage added to their attacks when they'are like undead beasts and +1 point of damage for unlike undead beasts.

Example:  You have 4 undead bears on the battlefield. The first undead bear attacks with its claws, that attack would be 11 + 9 (2d6 + 4 + 9). However if you also have an undead wolf on the battlefield you will only get +1 for that undead wolf, as it is not a like undead beast. So when that first undead bear makes another attack its attack would be 11 + 10 (2d6 + 4 + 10) and if that undead wolf attacks with its bite its damage would be 7 + 3 (2d4 + 2 + 3) as it is the only of its kind on the battlefield it only gets plus +1 per undead bear.

This effect does not apply to undead monstrosities or undead dragons. This only apples to undead beasts. Undead monstrosities and undead dragons will not add to the bonus of the undead beasts.

When you reach 14th level the bonuses get increased for like undead beasts to +6 to the attack and +3 for unlike undead beasts.

 

Necrotic Resistance

Starting at 2nd level you gain Necrotic Resistance. When you take Necrotic Damage you roll a die (according to your level) and negate the rolled die amount from the damage taken. The following table will tell you what die you use for your character level.

Levels   2-4       1d4
Levels   5-7       1d6
Levels   8-10     1d8
Levels   11-13   1d10
Levels   14-16   1d12
Levels   17-19   1d20

At 20th level you no longer roll the die you reduce Necrotic Damage by half