Description
Druids on Wyrlde are empowered by the Veil, the Void, the Vault, and the Voes that runs through all of them.
The Veil, Void, and Vault are magical barriers, tests and divisions, and are sentient and powerful things, and connecting them all is the Voes, a “river of diamond” that connects them in a path that one must follow narrowly, or be destroyed in the Passages, until you come to the source of all things, The Well of Souls.
Druids don’t buy into the Gods of Wyrlde, and often are very hostile to them, deeply mistrustful of their Priests and Clerics, as it was the Gods that nearly destroyed the world, not the people serving them.
Druids revere the world around them, the heart and soul of the planet. They tend to be loners, and will often not present themselves as druids in the broader world, in order to protect their Enclave.
Druids control and are controlled by Enclaves. Some Enclaves are located in Cities, but most are in out of the way locations in the Wylde, locations of exceptional beauty and charm, though most do not have especially remarkable features (waterfalls, etc) – they are simply holy places in the sense of being unfettered and divine in the sense of the awe they inspire, or the calm and centered space.
Many Druid Enclaves are found near the locations of Monasteries and are often on friendly terms with their Monks, for of all the classes, these two get along the best. Druids are ascetic, but still people, and as prone to enjoy a hellaciously good meal as anyone else.
Wyrlde Druids are aware of something few others are aware of: the Fifth Element. Spirit, Aether, the Force – the names for it are many, but it is the motivating force that allows a person to live in the same way it gives a blade of grass life. They follow the path of Aether, the way of Life, the road of the Enclave.
This affects little about how the class is described as functioning in the PHB, but does present some unique challenges in playing one.
Creating a Druid
When making a druid, consider why your character has such a close bond with nature.
Perhaps your character was raised by a druid after being abandoned in the depths of a forest.
Perhaps your character had a dramatic encounter with the spirits of nature, coming face to face with a giant eagle or dire wolf and surviving the experience.
Maybe your character was born during an epic storm or a volcanic eruption, which was interpreted as a sign that becoming a druid was part of your character’s destiny.
Yet one must also determine why it is they left the Enclave, for that is both the source of a Druid’s power and the destiny of that druid. Druids in Wyrlde are not bound by the rules of People, but by deeper, more durable Truths, and this has an effect on them.
An Ancient Halfling druid may be hundreds of years old – and never leave their Enclave, for to do so would allow time and tide to catch up to them. Within an Enclave, a Druid is not quite all powerful, but a high level druid on their home ground has more than a fighting chance against a dragon.
Away from it, though, time and tide flow through them as they flow through it, and they are not inured to the mortal paths as they are within the enclave, so leaving it must have a good reason.
The most common reasons for a Druid to leave an Enclave are to seek their own, for they shared an enclave with (an)other(s) – which reduces the power of each – or they seek to find a way to protect or defend an enclave, or they have felt a disturbance and must seek a way to restore the balance.
Have you always been an adventurer as part of your druidic calling, or did you first spend time as a caretaker of a sacred grove or spring? Perhaps your homeland was befouled by evil, and you took up an adventuring life in hopes of finding a new home or purpose.
Starting Age
| Race | Starting Age | Race | Starting Age |
| Dwarf | Gnome | ||
| Elf | Half-Elf | ||
| Human | Half-Orc |
Treasured Items (XGE)
Druids may or may not have an item or two that they consider to be sacred to them, or to have deep personal significance. Often, they have a deep personal attachment to these items that is spiritual, imbuing them with possible power, but only in circumstances unforeseeable. They are not magical in and of themselves, but they are of constant value, and frequently handled, fiddled with, studied as part of meditation.
The table in the XGE or the tables in this book can aid in determining what the treasured items your druid may have.
Guiding Aspects (XGE)
Druids on Wyrlde have a strong connection to a guiding aspect of the natural world, and it is typically an element of their Enclave, tying them to it and through which they draw their powers and strength.
The table in the XGE or the tables in this book can aid in determining what the treasured items your druid may have.
Mentors (XGE)
All Druids have learned the central, secret tenets of their class from someone else, typically after at least a year of proving themselves to be truly within the spirit of what it means to be a druid. This person is their mentor.
The table in the XGE or the tables in this book can aid in determining what the treasured items your druid may have.
Druid Circles
A druid can always enter the Enclave of their Master, and a Master can always enter th Enclave of their student – the two are linked, perpetually. From a Druid’s Enclave, they can travel to their Mentor’s enclave as if it were teleportation once a month. In this way, there are chains of Enclaves and Druids bound by central teaching, which are often called Circles.
These Circles are bound by traditions, rites, and customs that are unique to each of them. The Circles available in the PHB and XGE are available on Wyrlde.
Circle of the Land
The Circles available in the PHB are available on Wyrlde.
Circle of the Moon
The Circles available in the PHB are available on Wyrlde.
Circle of the Shepherd
The Circles available in the XGE are available on Wyrlde.
Circle of Dreams
The Circle of Dreams as described in the XGE makes mention of the Feywild. On Wyrlde, however, the college taught not by the Fey, but by the priests of the Shadow God Kirin. The college is otherwise the same.
Beast Shapes
Wyrlde uses the XGE beast shapes rules for the purpose of developing a character and going forward.
Druids of the Circle of Spores find beauty in decay. They see within mold and other fungi the ability to transform lifeless material into abundant, albeit somewhat strange, life.
These druids believe that life and death are parts of a grand cycle, with one leading to the other and then back again. Death isn’t the end of life, but instead a change of state that sees life shift into a new form.
Druids of this circle have a complex relationship with the undead. Unlike most other druids, they see nothing inherently wrong with undeath, which they consider to be a companion to life and death. But these druids believe that the natural cycle is healthiest when each segment of it is vibrant and changing. Undead that seek to replace all life with undeath, or that try to avoid passing to a final rest, violate the cycle and must be thwarted.
Circle of Spores Features
| Druid Level | Feature |
|---|---|
| 2nd | Circle Spells, Halo of Spores, Symbiotic Entity |
| 6th | Fungal Infestation |
| 10th | Spreading Spores |
| 14th | Fungal Body |
Circle Spells
Your symbiotic link to fungus and your ability to tap into the cycle of life and death grants you access to certain spells. At 2nd level, you learn the chill touch cantrip. At 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th level you gain access to the spells listed for that level in the Circle of Spores 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 Spores Spells
| Druid Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 3rd | blindness/deafness, gentle repose |
| 5th | animate dead, gaseous form |
| 7th | blight, confusion |
| 9th | cloudkill, contagion |
Halo of Spores
Starting at 2nd level, you are surrounded by invisible, necrotic spores that are harmless until you unleash them on a creature nearby. When a creature you can see moves into a space within 10 feet of you or starts its turn there, you can use your reaction to deal 1d4 necrotic damage to that creature unless it succeeds on a Constitution saving throw against your spell save DC. The necrotic damage increases to 1d6 at 6th level, 1d8 at 10th level, and 1d10 at 14th level.
Symbiotic Entity
At 2nd level, you gain the ability to channel magic into your spores. As an action, you can expend a use of your Wild Shape feature to awaken those spores, rather than transforming into a beast form, and you gain 4 temporary hit points for each level you have in this class. While this feature is active, you gain the following benefits:
- When you deal your Halo of Spores damage, roll the damage die a second time and add it to the total.
- Your melee weapon attacks deal an extra 1d6 poison damage to any target they hit.
These benefits last for 10 minutes, until you lose all these temporary hit points, or until you use your Wild Shape again.
RULE TIP: TEMPORARY HIT POINTS DON’T STACK
If you have temporary hit points and receive more of them, you don’t add them together, unless a rule says you can. Instead, you decide which temporary hit points to keep. For more information on temporary hit points, see chapter 9 of the Player’s Handbook.
Fungal Infestation
At 6th level, your spores gain the ability to infest a corpse and animate it. If a beast or a humanoid that is Small or Medium dies within 10 feet of you, you can use your reaction to animate it, causing it to stand up immediately with 1 hit point. The creature uses the zombie stat block in the Monster Manual. It remains animate for 1 hour, after which time it collapses and dies.
In combat, the zombie’s turn comes immediately after yours. It obeys your mental commands, and the only action it can take is the Attack action, making one melee attack.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum of once), and you regain all expended uses of it when you finish a long rest.
Spreading Spores
At 10th level, you gain the ability to seed an area with deadly spores. As a bonus action while your Symbiotic Entity feature is active, you can hurl spores up to 30 feet away, where they swirl in a 10-foot cube for 1 minute. The spores disappear early if you use this feature again, if you dismiss them as a bonus action, or if your Symbiotic Entity feature is no longer active.
Whenever a creature moves into the cube or starts its turn there, that creature takes your Halo of Spores damage, unless the creature succeeds on a Constitution saving throw against your spell save DC. A creature can take this damage no more than once per turn.
While the cube of spores persists, you can’t use your Halo of Spores reaction.
Fungal Body
At 14th level, the fungal spores in your body alter you: you can’t be blinded, deafened, frightened, or poisoned, and any critical hit against you counts as a normal hit instead, unless you’re incapacitated.
