Circle of Death

A druid who twists the practices of using the lifegiving properties of nature magic, in order unnaturally extend life and raise the dead. Many who go down this path one day desire to seek lichdom.

Bonus Cantrip Of Death or Protection

When you choose this circle at 2nd level, you learn an additional cantrip from either the school of Abjuration or Necromancy from any class spell list. If the chosen spell doesn’t appear on the druid spell list, the spell is nonetheless a druid spell for you.

Lifeforce Powered Spells

After choosing this Circle at 2nd Level, now when you kill a creature you can siphen their fleeting lifeforce to recharge your own reserve of magic. When you kill one or more creatures with a spell or melee attack, you can use your reaction to recover some expended spell slots. The spell slots can have a combined level that is equal to or less than half your druid level (rounded up), and none of the slots can be 6th level or higher. Once used this ability cannot be used again until after your next long rest.

You can't use this ability by killing constructs or undead.

Circle of Death Spells

Your mystical connection to the manipulating life and death infuses you with the ability to cast certain spells. At 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th level you gain access to circle spells connected to the Life and Death.

Once you gain access to a circle spell, 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.

Druid Level	Spells
3rd	gentle repose, aid
5th	vampiric touch, revivify
7th	blight, death ward
9th	antilife shell, greater restoration

Undead Pets

When you reach level 6, you now always have animate dead prepared, and it doesn’t count against the number of spells you can prepare each day. Despite not appearing on the druid spell list, this spell is nonetheless a druid spell for you.

In addition, when you cast Animate Dead you can target the corpses of beasts not just humanoids. When you do so, the corpse must be from a beast with a CR of 1/2 or lower. The raised beast retains its originals stats, but gains the poison immunity, darkvision, Intelligence & Charisma ability scores, and undead fortitude ability of a zombie.

In addition Humanoid corpses/bones animated by you become more animalistic in appearance and behavior. They gain an additional 10ft of movement, their slam attack becomes a claw attack, now dealing slashing damaged instead of bludgeoning, and they gain a bonus to their strength score equal to your wisdom modifier.

In addition while an undead under your control is within 100 feet of you, as an action, you can see through your familiar’s eyes and hear what it hears until the start of your next turn, gaining the benefits of any special senses that the undead has. During this time, you are deaf and blind with regard to your own senses.

 

Calm in the Face of Death

At 10th Level, you have grown use to the presence and powers of death and the undead around you. You can’t be charmed or frightened by undead, and have resistance to necrotic Damage

Improved Undead Pets

At 10th Level, instead of raising multiple beast you can now choose to raise more powerful creatures instead.
When you cast animate dead at you can now target corpses of animals of CR1. Additionally when you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, instead of animating more creatures you can instead increase the max CR of the beast you can target with this spell by one for each level above 3rd the spell was cast at.
However, in order to reassert control over increased CR animated beasts the spell must be cast at the same level required to animate it.

Tame the Dead

When you reach 14th level, undead creatures sense your connection to necromantic energies and become hesitant to attack you. When an Undead creature attacks you, that creature must make a Wisdom saving throw against your druid spell save DC. On a failed save, the creature's attack automatically misses and it becomes charmed by you for 1 minute or until you or your companions do anything harmful to it. On a successful save, the creature is immune to this effect for 24 hours.