Circle of the Depths
For centuries, land dwellers have played the sadistic game of trying to understand the depths of the sea. The only things for them to find are darkness, despair, and danger.
| Druid Level | Feature |
|---|---|
| 2nd | Gift of the Drowned |
| 6th | Hydrostatic Dread |
| 10th | Shapes of the Water |
| 14th | Seabed Apostle |
Gift of the Drowned
Once you embrace this circle at 2nd level, the ocean is with you wherever you go. As a bonus action, you can create an aura of intense humidity around yourself, granting the following effects to all creatures an objects within the area:
- When making a melee weapon attack, a creature that doesn't have a swimming speed has disadvantage on the attack roll unless the weapon is a dagger, javelin, shortsword, spear, or trident.
- A ranged weapon attack that passes through the aura automatically misses a target beyond the weapon's normal range. Even against a target within normal range, the attack roll has disadvantage unless the weapon is a crossbow, a net, or a weapon that is thrown like a javelin.
- Creatures and objects within the area have resistance to fire damage.
- Small exposed nonmagical flames are extinguished.
- Creatures with swim speeds can hover up to 5 feet off the ground.
- Creatures can use their swim speeds in place of their walk speeds.
- The area is considered to be water for any features that only apply underwater.
The aura extends a number of feet equal to your Proficiency Bonus x 5, and you can end it at any time as a bonus action.
Hydrostatic Dread
At 6th level, you embrace the crushing pressure of the deep. Whenever you deal damage to a creature with a druid spell or feature, it gains a number of Compression points equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum of 1). If a creature has more Compression points than hit points, it falls unconscious for a number of minutes equal to 10 + the number of Compression points it has.
Shapes of the Water
Starting at 10th level, you have a greater bond with those who call the deep home. You can use your Wild Shape to transform into a beast with a challenge rating as high as 2, so long as the creature's swim speed is greater than its walk speed.
At 14th level, this increases to include beasts with a challenge rating as high as 3.
Seabed Apostle
At 14th level, the depths become truly inhospitable. When a creature other than you enters the area of your Gift of the Drowned feature for the first time in a turn or starts its turn there, it takes bludgeoning damage equal to your Wisdom Modifier.
