Circle of the Beast
A Druid Circle that transforms as a bonus action, takes higher Power Rating beast forms, gains temporary hit points on transforming, and later assumes elemental and apex forms.
Identity
The Circle of the Beast is the Druid Circle that makes Wild Shape the center of the practice. Beast Druids go out for seasons at a time and come back with a gait that takes a week to lose. Its members include frontier trackers who hunt in the shape of their quarry, Zyrrak hunt-elders who have worn four kinds of predator, and colony wardens who patrol in a form with better night vision than a person has.
Features
- L3 Combat Wild Shape
You can use Wild Shape as a bonus action instead of an action. The Power Rating limit on your beast forms is raised: Power Rating 1 at 3rd level (forms with a flying speed are not yet allowed), Power Rating 2 at 6th level, Power Rating 3 at 9th level (forms with a flying speed are allowed), Power Rating 4 at 12th level, Power Rating 5 at 15th level and Power Rating 6 at 18th level. These limits replace the standard Druid Wild Shape progression. While in Wild Shape, you can also use a bonus action to expend a spell slot of 1st level or higher and regain 1d8 hit points per level of the slot expended. The hit points are restored to your beast form's hit point total.
- L7 Wild Heart
When you transform with Wild Shape, you immediately gain temporary hit points equal to 3 × your Druid level. These temporary hit points are in addition to the beast form's hit points and are lost when the form ends. While in beast form, you have advantage on saving throws to maintain concentration on a spell, and on saving throws against being Frightened, Charmed, or forced from your form by external transmutation.
- L11 Elemental Wild Shape
You can now expend two Wild Shape uses at once to assume the form of an air, earth, fire or water elemental of Power Rating equal to or less than your Druid level divided by 3 (rounded down). Elemental forms last up to 1 hour and follow all other Wild Shape rules. While in elemental form, you have the elemental's damage resistances and immunities, movement modes and special attacks. You cannot cast leveled spells in elemental form until you gain Beast Spells (Druid 18). You can take an elemental form once per short rest.
- L15 Thousand Faces
As an action, you can alter your appearance: height (within one size category), build, skin tone, hair, voice, scent and small biometric markers, within the limits of your underlying anatomy (a Halcyion's neural-jack cabling does not vanish unless covered). The change lasts until you change it again or end it as a free action. It does not fool close physical inspection, biometric scanners or true-sight. It does fool casual observation, voice-print matching at conversational confidence levels, and identification at a distance. While in a beast form, you can also adopt the markings, coloration and signal-patterns of a specific named individual of that species you have observed.
- L18 Apex Form Capstone
Once per long rest, you can assume a massive apex form for 10 minutes: a fusion of beast and elemental one size category larger than your standard form, its body sheathed in pale silver light. While in this form: Your hit point maximum increases by 50. You gain that many hit points when the form begins and lose them when it ends. Your current hit points are reduced proportionally if needed, but this loss alone cannot reduce you below 1 hit point. You have a walking speed of 50 feet, a swimming speed of 50 feet and a climbing speed of 30 feet. You ignore difficult terrain. Your unarmed strikes deal 2d10 + your Strength or Dexterity modifier (your choice) bludgeoning or slashing damage. Once per turn, you can add 2d10 cold or radiant damage to a hit. You have resistance to bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage from non-magical, non-Rift sources, and to cold damage. You can cast leveled spells in this form (Beast Spells applies), and your spell save DC increases by 1. Allies within 30 feet of you who can see you have advantage on Wisdom saving throws and on saving throws against being Frightened. The form ends early if you are reduced to 0 hit points, if you drop to your form's hit point limit with no hit points of your normal form remaining, or if you end it as a free action.
