Benthic Blessings

Also at 2nd level, your druidic powers are enhanced to make you suitable for your circle. As a bonus action, you can expend one use of your wildshape to call upon a creature of the deep, deploying some of its powers. You If an effect references a saving throw, it uses your spell save DC. You can select one of the following effects when you do so:

• Deep-Sea Shark: You call upon a spectral shark, which bites one creature you can see within 30 feet. Make a melee spell attack which deals 1d8 slashing damage on a hit. This increases to 2d8 slashing damage at 10th level.
• Giant Squid: You summon ghostly tentacles, which can lash out against your foes and seize one creature you can see within 30 feet. The target must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or be restrained until the start of your next turn.
• Anglerfish: You conjure a spectral lantern, which just above your head and lures in your foes. The lantern casts bright light for 30 feet and dim light for 60 feet. When you conjure it, creatures of your choice within the bright light must make a Wisdom saving throw or find themselves drawn to it until the start of your next turn, spending 10 feet of movement for each 5 feet they move away.

Your benthic blessing lasts for 1 minute or until you summon one again, and you can reactivate it as a bonus action on each of your turns. Once a creature succeeds on a saving throw against an effect, it is immune to that effect until you expend another use of your wildshape to conjure a new blessing. If you fall unconscious, an active blessing ends.

Oceanic Defenses

At 6th level, you further adjust your body to handle the deep sea. You gain resistance to cold damage, and you can call upon some of the rubberiness of the ocean's deepest denizens. As a reaction before you take bludgeoning damage, you can gain resistance to that instance of damage. You can gain resistance in this way a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier, regaining all uses after a long rest.

Might of the Depths

At 10th level, you can call upon the ocean's might to augment your abilities. Once per turn when a creature fails a save or is hit by one of your druid spells or benthic blessings, you can channel the sea's power to inflict either 1d8 cold damage or 1d8 bludgeoning damage on them.

Call of the Sea

At 14th level, your connection to the depths of the ocean is awe-inspiring. You can expend two uses of your wildshape to activate all three of your benthic blessings simultaneously. If you do so, when you activate them with your bonus action, all three activate at once.

Additionally, when you use your wildshape to turn into a creature with a swimming speed, its CR can be up to one-third your level, and you can use your subclass abilities while wildshaped in this way.

Circle of the Depths quirks

The following are some optional quirks for a player of this Circle to choose from.

Appendix 1: Spells

Water Bullet

conjuration cantrip

• Classes: Druid, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard
• Casting Time: 1 action
• Range: 90 feet
• Components: V, S
• Duration: Instantaneous

You create a compressed bead of water and fire it at a creature you can see within range. Make a ranged spell attack. On hit, the target takes 1d6 + your spellcasting ability modifier piercing damage.

This spell's damage increases by 1d6 when you reach 5th level (2d6), 11th level (3d6), and 17th level (4d6).

Water Wall

3rd-level conjuration

• Classes: Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard
• Casting Time: 1 action
• Range: 60 feet
• Components: V, S, M (a drop of water)
• Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutes

You summon a wall of swirling water at a point you can see on the ground within range. The wall can be up to 30 feet long, 10 feet high, and 5 feet thick, or a ring up to 15 feet in diameter, 20 feet high, and 5 feet thick. Moving within the wall costs 3 feet of movement for each foot. The wall's water disappears when the spell ends.

Creatures entering the wall must make a Strength saving throw, suffering 2d6 bludgeoning damage on a failure or half as much on a success. Ranged attacks passing through the wall have disadvantage and deal half damage. Fire effects passing through are instantly extinguished. Cold effects passing through apply to any creature within 5 feet of the point they touch the wall. Lightning effects apply half their damage to any creature in contact with the wall when they pass through.

Whirling Water

4th-level conjuration

• Classes: Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard
• Casting Time: 1 action
• Range: 90 feet
• Components: V, S, M (a droplet of water)
• Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute

You create a swirling sphere of water in a 10-foot radius at a point on the ground or in water you can see within range. Any creature that enters the sphere on its turn or starts its turn in it must succeed on a Strength saving throw or be restrained and trapped within the water. At the start of each of its turns, a restrained target can repeat the saving throw, ending the effect on a success. A Huge or smaller creature partially within the sphere makes its saving throw with advantage, while a Gargantuan creature automatically succeeds.

As an action, you can cause the sphere to roll up to 30 feet, carrying all restrained creatures with it. If this causes a creature in the sphere to collide with a creature outside it, both creatures take 4d6 bludgeoning damage. Restrained creatures are not affected by any terrain the sphere passes over. It puts out any fires it passes through.

As a bonus action, you can hurl a restrained creature out of the sphere. It is thrown 20 feet in a direction of your choice and takes 4d6 bludgeoning damage. If it collides with another creature, that creature must make a Dexterity saving throw or take 4d6 bludgeoning damage.

When the spell ends, creatures restrained by it fall prone and it extinguishes all fires within 20 feet. The water disappears afterward.

Whirlpool

5th-level evocation

• Classes: Druid
• Casting Time: 1 action
• Range: 120 feet
• Components: V, S, M (a spoon)
• Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute

You conjure a 30-foot disc of water centered on a point you can see within range, which whirls and spirals endlessly. It must be on the ground or in a body of water. The whirlpool's area is difficult terrain, but it is not deep enough to require swimming. Any creature that starts its turn there or enters on its turn must make a Strength saving throw. On a failure, they take 5d8 bludgeoning damage and are pulled 10 feet towards the center. If you target an existing body of water, the damage increases to 6d8.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 6th level or higher, the damage increases by 1d8 per level above 5th.

Changelog