Circle of the Swarm

Druids of the Circle of the Swarm believe in the power and presence of insects. They believe wholeheartedly that insects are the foundation of all life, and that the entire ecosystem would fall apart without insects. They seek to protect and preserve insects, sometimes building whole communities of hives, beds of wildflowers, or even termite mounds, wishing nothing more than to allow for their precious little insects to thrive.

They feel retributive against those who harm insects without just cause. There is nothing more pure than an insect, whose only desire in life is to exist, and sometimes serve the queen. While some Circle of the Swarm druids turn towards evil and use their swarms to instead seek to spread plague and terror, or spread fear, most Swarm Druids are just sweet little beekeepers who give away honey to those they happen upon.

Become the Swarm

At 2nd level, you gain the ability to become a swarm yourself. When you use Wild Shape, you can choose one of the following options in addition to your other options:

• Swarm of Beetles
• Swarm of Centipedes
• Swarm of Insects
• Swarm of Spiders
• Swarm of Wasps

At Higher Levels. When you reach 6th level, the swarm you choose becomes a large-sized swarm, and you can make one extra attack whenever you take the Attack action against any creature in your space.

Insect Familiar

Starting at 2nd level, you learn the Find Familiar spell that you can cast once per long rest without needing material components or expending spell slots. The list of familiars you can choose from are as follows: spider, giant fire beetle, giant fly (which could also be a giant bee), or scorpion.

Once per long rest, you can use an action to turn your familiar into one of the following: giant centipede, giant wolf spider, giant wasp. If you do so, your familiar can now take the Attack option. If your familiar is dropped to 0 HP while transformed, they instead revert back to the form they were prior to transforming.

Circle of the Swarm Spells

Your connection to insects and the hive mind grants you access to new spells, as some of the powers of insects seem to now be yours. At 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th level you gain access to the spells listed for that level in the Circle of the Swarm Spells table.

Once you gain access to one of these spells, 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.

Circle of the Swarm Spells

Druid Level	Spells
3rd	Enlarge/Reduce, Spider Climb
5th	Fear, Stinking Cloud
7th	Conjure Swarm, Phantasmal Killer
9th	Danse Macabre, Telepathic Bond

Send the Swarm

At 6th level, you are able to conjure up a magical swarm of insects and send them out into the surrounding area, gathering information through the use of the swarm.

If you spend 10 minutes letting the swarm gather information, you learn the following in a 5 mile radius in all directions from your current location: 

• If there are any large or larger creatures, how many there are and their general direction.
• If there are any buildings in the area and their general direction.
• If there are any water sources and their general direction.
• If there are any environmental threats, like wildfires, a brewing storm, or cursed areas, and their general direction.
• If there are any beds of wildflowers or blossoming trees and their general direction.

The information relayed to you is relayed telepathically as soon as this information is determined. Once the spell ends, the swarm returns to you.

After doing this, you can command the swarm to lead you toward anything that the swarm had observed and relayed to you.

You can do this a number of times equal to your wisdom modifier per long rest.

Hidden Trace

At 10th level, you gain the ability to magically place your familiar on a creature to track the creature wherever they may go, extending the range the telepathic bond you and your familiar share out to 100 miles, as well as the ability to utilize your familiar's senses. However, you cannot cast a spell through your familiar when this feature is active. A creature who is targeted by this feature can make a Perception (WIS) DC 20 check to perceive the familiar, and then smack it away. However, if they do not make the check, the familiar remains on the creature indefinitely, or until the familiar is dismissed by the druid.

While the Familiar is on the creature, the Druid can perceive the location of the familiar as long as that familiar is within 5 miles of the Druid.

One with the Swarm

At 14th level, whenever you use wild shape to transform into a swarm, you are able to choose up to 8 other creatures that you can see within 60 feet of you and have them also wild shape into the same large-sized swarm, and also can make an extra attack whenever they attack. During this time, you all can telepathically communicate with each other. However, when you do this, your Wild Shape only lasts up to 10 minutes, or until you dismiss it.

If any of these creatures drop to 0 HP before the Wild Shape ends, they are returned to their original form.

You can do this once per long rest.