Circle of the Keeper

Created by GabeGrimoire

Druids of the Circle of the Keeper are the fierce protectors against all things foul and otherworldly that would threaten the balance of nature. Much of the folklore heard in settlements are actually of a druid belonging to this circle. Disowning the forms of beasts, these druids wildshape into more grotesque and nightmarish forms. To keep nature from the harm of monsters like aberrations and fiends, these druids take the form of monsters themselves. They fight a monster with a monster. To keep nature from the harm of foolish people, they instill fear into their very beings. Hence, the existence of stories like, The Sculpture, and Bigfoot.

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Vile Shape

When you choose this circle at 2nd level, you lose the ability to Wild Shape into a beast and instead may only Wild Shape into a fiend or monstrosity. While transformed, you gain the following additional effects:

• You may speak as normal, though your voice becomes deeper.
• You have access to the spells your form can cast (if any) and may cast them as per their description, except that Wisdom remains your spellcasting ability.

Horrid Appearance

Also starting at 2nd level, whenever you use your Wild Shape feature and turn into a fiend or monstrosity, you may force a creature you can see to make a Charisma saving throw against your spell save DC provided they can also see you. On a failed save, the target becomes frightened of you. Creatures frightened this way may repeat this saving throw at the end of each of their turns, ending the effect on a success.

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Monstrous Physiology

Starting at 6th level, you gain the following benefits:

• You have a bonus against effects that would frighten or charm you, equal to your druid level.
• Your attacks in Vile Shape form count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.

Foul Link

At 6th level, you may choose a creature you can Wild Shape into to become your Foul Link. You may change what creature is your Foul Link through the expenditure of 50 gp, in which you use during a long rest to surround yourself with the necessary ingredients.
You can choose to gain one of the following:

• You gain one resistance that your Foul Link has.
• You gain one sense that your Foul Link has.
• You can now stay in your Wild Shape form a number of hours equal to your druid level, if the form you take is of your Foul Link, and it is of a CR equal to or less than 1.

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Keeper of Forms

Starting at 10th level, your experience now allows the CR of fiends and monstrosities that you can turn into to increase. You may now transform into fiends and monstrosities with a maximum CR equal to your druid level divided by 4 (rounded down). The power to transform into stronger monsters comes at a cost however, as using this feature stresses your mind and body. Whenever you would revert to your normal form from a Wild Shape form of CR greater than 1, you lose hit points equal to 2x the CR of the fiend or monstrosity you were last Wild Shaped into.

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Unflinching

Beginning at 14th level, your willpower enables you to stay in your monster form even when the pain becomes difficult to do so. If you were to drop to 0 hit points while in your Wild Shape form, you may make a Wisdom saving throw with a DC of 5 + the damage taken. On a success, you drop to 1 hit point instead and therefore stay in your Wild Shape form.