Druid

Overview

Whether calling on the elemental forces of nature or emulating the creatures of the animal world, druids are an embodiment of nature's resilience, cunning, and fury. They claim no mastery over nature. Instead, they see themselves as extensions of nature's indomitable will.
Druids are the caretakers of the natural world, and it is said that in time a druid becomes the voice of nature, speaking the truth that is too subtle for the general populace to hear. Many who become druids find that they naturally gravitate toward nature; its forces, cycles, and movements fill their minds and spirits with wonder and insight. Many sages and wise folk have studied nature, writing volumes about its mystery and power, but druids are a special kind of being: at some point, they begin to embody these natural forces, producing magical phenomena that link them to the spirit of nature and the flow of life. Because of their strange and mysterious power, druids are often revered, shunned, or considered dangerous by the people around them.
The druids of Faerûn venerate nature in all its forms, as well as the gods of the First Circle, those deities closest to the power and majesty of the natural world. That group of gods includes Chauntea, Eldath, Mielikki, Silvanus, as well as Auril, Malar, Talos, and Umberlee, for nature is many-sided and not always kind.
Unlike clerics, who typically serve a single deity, druids revere all the gods of the First Circle in their turn, and see them as embodiments of the natural world, which moves in cycles: creation and destruction, waxing and withering, life and death. Thus, Grumbar isn't just god of the earth to a druid; he is the fertile soil and the rolling hills themselves. Malar isn't just the Beastlord, but the hunger and the hunting instinct of a predatory beast.
Although they are most strongly associated with sylvan forests, druids care for all aspects of the land, including frozen mountains, burning deserts, rolling hills, and rough coasts.

Power of Nature

Druids revere nature above all, gaining their spells and other magical powers either from the force of nature itself or from a nature deity. Many druids pursue a mystic spirituality of transcendent union with nature rather than devotion to a divine entity, while others serve gods of wild nature, animals, or elemental forces. The ancient druidic traditions are sometimes called the Old Faith, in contrast to the worship of gods in temples and shrines.
Druid spells are oriented toward nature and animals - the power of tooth and claw, of sun and moon, of fire and storm. Druids also gain the ability to take on animal forms, and some druids make a particular study of this practice, even to the point where they prefer animal form to their natural form.

Preserve the Balance

For druids, nature exists in a precarious balance. The four elements that make up a world - air, earth, fire, and water - must remain in equilibrium. If one element were to gain power over the others, the world could be destroyed, drawn into one of the elemental planes and broken apart into its component elements. Thus, druids oppose cults of Elemental Evil and others who promote one element to the exclusion of others.
Druids are also concerned with the delicate ecological balance that sustains plant and animal life, and the need for civilized folk to live in harmony with nature, not in opposition to it. Druids accept that which is cruel in nature, and they hate that which is unnatural, including aberrations (such as beholders and mind flayers) and undead (such as zombies and vampires). Druids sometimes lead raids against such creatures, especially when the monsters encroach on the druids' territory.
Druids are often found guarding sacred sites or watching over regions of unspoiled nature. But when a significant danger arises, threatening nature's balance or the lands they protect, druids take on a more active role in combating the threat, as adventurers.

Sacred Plants and Wood

A druid holds certain plants to be sacred, particularly alder, ash, birch, elder, hazel, holly, juniper, mistletoe, oak, rowan, willow, and yew. Druids often use such plants as part of a spellcasting focus, incorporating lengths of oak or yew or sprigs of mistletoe.
Similarly, a druid uses such woods to make other objects, such as weapons and shields. Yew is associated with death and rebirth, so weapon handles for scimitars or sickles might be fashioned from it. Ash is associated with life and oak with strength. These woods make excellent hafts or whole weapons, such as clubs or quarterstaffs, as well as shields. Alder is associated with air, and it might be used for thrown weapons, such as darts or javelins.
Druids from regions that lack the plants described here have chosen other plants to take on similar uses. For instance, a druid of a desert region might value the yucca tree and cactus plants.

Treasured Item

Some druids carry one or more items that are sacred to them or have deep personal significance. Such items are not necessarily magical, but every one is an object whose meaning connects the druid's mind and heart to a profound concept or spiritual outlook.

Guiding Aspect

Many druids feel a strong link to a specific aspect of the natural world, such as a body of water, an animal, a type of tree, or some other sort of plant.

Mentor

It's not unusual for would-be druids to seek out (or be sought out by) instructors or elders who teach them the basics of their magical arts. Most druids who learn from a mentor begin their training at a young age, and the mentor has a vital role in shaping a student's attitudes and beliefs.

The Harpers and Druids

Druid fellowships in Faerûn are often allied with the Harpers, as they have a common purpose, with bards and rangers serving as go-betweens. Individual Harpers can usually expect a fellowship to at least grant them food and shelter, and an opportunity to attend a gathering and speak, if they wish.
Still, the Harpers aren’t a druidic organization and, despite what some common folk might believe, not every druid or druid fellowship is allied with, or even friendly toward, the Harpers and their cause. Indeed, some druids consider the Harpers busybodies who threaten the natural balance almost as much as the evils that they fight against.

Features

As a druid, you gain the following class features.

Level	Cantrips Known	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th
1st	2	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2nd	2	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
3rd	2	4	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
4th	3	4	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
5th	3	4	3	2	-	-	-	-	-	-
6th	3	4	3	3	-	-	-	-	-	-
7th	3	4	3	3	1	-	-	-	-	-
8th	3	4	3	3	2	-	-	-	-	-
9th	3	4	3	3	3	1	-	-	-	-
10th	4	4	3	3	3	2	-	-	-	-
11th	4	4	3	3	3	2	1	-	-	-
12th	4	4	3	3	3	2	1	-	-	-
13th	4	4	3	3	3	2	1	1	-	-
14th	4	4	3	3	3	2	1	1	-	-
15th	4	4	3	3	3	2	1	1	1	-
16th	4	4	3	3	3	2	1	1	1	-
17th	4	4	3	3	3	2	1	1	1	1
18th	4	4	3	3	3	3	1	1	1	1
19th	4	4	3	3	3	3	2	1	1	1
20th	4	4	3	3	3	3	2	2	1	1

Hit Points

• Hit Dice: 1d8 per druid level
• Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your Constitution modifier
• Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your Constitution modifier per druid level after 1st[/li

Proficiencies

• Armor: Light armor, medium armor, shields (druids will not wear armor or use shields made of metal)
• Weapons: Clubs, daggers, darts, javelins, maces, quarterstaffs, scimitars, sickles, slings, spears
• Tools: Herbalism kit
• Saving Throws: Intelligence, Wisdom
• Skills: Choose two from Arcana, Animal Handling, Insight, Medicine, Nature, Perception, Religion, and Survival

Equipment

• A wooden shield or any simple weapon
• A scimitar or any simple weapon
• Leather armor, an explorer’s pack, and a druidic focus

1st Level - Druidic

You know Druidic, the secret language of druids. You can speak the language and use it to leave hidden messages. You and others who know this language automatically spot such a message. Others spot the message’s presence with a successful DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check but can’t decipher it without magic.

1st Level - Spellcasting

Drawing on the divine essence of nature itself, you can cast spells to shape that essence to your will.

Cantrips

At 1st level, you know two cantrips of your choice from the druid spell list. You learn additional druid cantrips of your choice at higher levels, as shown in the Cantrips Known column of the table above.

Preparing and Casting Spells

The table above shows how many spell slots you have to cast your druid spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these druid spells, you must expend a slot of the spell’s level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.
You prepare the list of druid spells that are available for you to cast, choosing from the druid spell list. When you do so, choose a number of druid spells equal to your Wisdom modifier + your druid level (minimum of one spell). The spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots.
For example, if you are a 3rd-level druid, you have four 1st-level and two 2nd-level spell slots. With a Wisdom of 16, your list of prepared spells can include six spells of 1st or 2nd level, in any combination. If you prepare the 1st-level spell cure wounds, you can cast it using a 1st-level or 2nd-level slot. Casting the spell doesn’t remove it from your list of prepared spells.
You can also change your list of prepared spells when you finish a long rest. Preparing a new list of druid spells requires time spent in prayer and meditation: at least 1 minute per spell level for each spell on your list.

Spellcasting Ability

Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for your druid spells, since your magic draws upon your devotion and attunement to nature. You use your Wisdom whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Wisdom modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a druid spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one:

• Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier
• Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier

Ritual Casting

You can cast a druid spell as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag and you have the spell prepared.

Spellcasting Focus

You can use a druidic focus as a spellcasting focus for your druid spells.

2nd Level - Wild Companion

You gain the ability to summon a spirit that assumes an animal form: as an action, you can expend a use of your Wild Shape feature to cast the find familiar spell, without material components.
When you cast the spell in this way, the familiar is a fey instead of a beast, and the familiar disappears after a number of hours equal to half your druid level.

2nd Level - Wild Shape

You can use your action to magically assume the shape of a beast that you have seen before. You can use this feature twice. You regain expended uses when you finish a short or long rest.
Your druid level determines the beasts you can transform into, as shown in the table below. At 2nd level, for example, you can transform into any beast that has a challenge rating of 1/4 or lower that doesn’t have a flying or swimming speed.

Level	Maximum CR	Limitations
2nd	1/4	No flying or swimming speed
4th	1/2	No flying speed
8th	1	-

You can stay in a beast shape for a number of hours equal to half your druid level (rounded down). You then revert to your normal form unless you expend another use of this feature. You can revert to your normal form earlier by using a bonus action on your turn. You automatically revert if you fall unconscious, drop to 0 hit points, or die.
While you are transformed, the following rules apply:

• Your game statistics are replaced by the statistics of the beast, but you retain your alignment, personality, and Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores. You also retain all of your skill and saving throw proficiencies, in addition to gaining those of the creature. If the creature has the same proficiency as you and the bonus in its stat block is higher than yours, use the creature’s bonus instead of yours. If the creature has any legendary or lair actions, you can’t use them.
• When you transform, you assume the beast’s hit points and Hit Dice. When you revert to your normal form, you return to the number of hit points you had before you transformed. However, if you revert as a result of dropping to 0 hit points, any excess damage carries over to your normal form. For example, if you take 10 damage in animal form and have only 1 hit point left, you revert and take 9 damage. As long as the excess damage doesn’t reduce your normal form to 0 hit points, you aren’t knocked unconscious.
• You can’t cast spells, and your ability to speak or take any action that requires hands is limited to the capabilities of your beast form. Transforming doesn’t break your concentration on a spell you’ve already cast, however, or prevent you from taking actions that are part of a spell, such as call lightning, that you’ve already cast.
• You retain the benefit of any features from your class, race, or other source and can use them if the new form is physically capable of doing so. However, you can’t use any of your special senses, such as darkvision, unless your new form also has that sense.
• You choose whether your equipment falls to the ground in your space, merges into your new form, or is worn by it. Worn equipment functions as normal, but the DM decides whether it is practical for the new form to wear a piece of equipment, based on the creature’s shape and size. Your equipment doesn’t change size or shape to match the new form, and any equipment that the new form can’t wear must either fall to the ground or merge with it. Equipment that merges with the form has no effect until you leave the form.

2nd Level - Druid Circle

On a large scale, druids are organized into circles that share certain perspectives on nature, balance, and the way of the druid.
You choose to identify with a circle of druids. Your choice grants you features at 2nd level and again at 6th, 10th, and 14th level.

4th Level - Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

4th Level - Cantrip Versatility

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can replace one cantrip you learned from this class's Spellcasting feature with another cantrip from the druid spell list.

18th Level - Timeless Body

The primal magic that you wield causes you to age more slowly. For every 10 years that pass, your body ages only 1 year.

18th Level - Beast Spells

You can cast many of your druid spells in any shape you assume using Wild Shape. You can perform the somatic and verbal components of a druid spell while in a beast shape, but you aren’t able to provide material components.

20th Level - Archdruid

You can use your Wild Shape an unlimited number of times.
Additionally, you can ignore the verbal and somatic components of your druid spells, as well as any material components that lack a cost and aren’t consumed by a spell. You gain this benefit in both your normal shape and your beast shape from Wild Shape.