Druid: Circle of Verdant Bond

by Navermil

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Circle of Verdant Bond

Seldom do the spirits of nature show themselves to people, due to the corrupt nature of man, and his total indifference to the future of the lands. Yet ever so rarely, a nature spirit shows itself to one with a true connection to the living world, and even forms a special bond with them, through which it can be called when required.

Verdant Bond Magic

You have formed a bond with a nature spirit, a primal being of nature and growth. Your link with this spirit grants you access to some spells when you reach certain levels in this class, as shown on the Circle of Verdant Bond Spells table.

Once you gain access to one of these spells, you always have it prepared, and it doesn't count against the number of spells you can prepare each day. If you gain access to a spell that doesn't appear on the druid spell list, the spell is nonetheless a druid spell for you.

Verdant Bond Spells
Druid Level Spells
2nd Entangle, Goodberry
3rd Spike Growth, Wither and Bloom
5th Plant Growth, Speak with Plants
7th Guardian of Nature, Grasping Vine
9th Wrath of Nature, Commune with Nature

Summon Nature Spirit

2nd-level Verdant Bond feature
You can summon the nature spirit bound to your soul. As an action, you can expend one use of your Wild Shape feature to summon your nature spirit, rather than assuming a beast form.

The spirit appears in an unoccupied space of your choice that you can see within 30 feet of you.

The spirit is friendly to you and your companions and obeys your commands. See this creature's game statistics in the Nature Spirit stat block, which uses your proficiency bonus (PB) in several places. You determine the spirit's appearance. Some spirits take forms similar to dryads, treants, or even beasts made of wood and plant matter.

In combat, the spirit shares your initiative count, but it takes its turn immediately after yours. The only action it takes on its turn is the Dodge action, unless you take a bonus action on your turn to command it to take another action. That action can be one in its stat block or some other action. If you are incapacitated, the spirit can take any action of its choice, not just Dodge.

The spirit manifests for 1 hour, until it is reduced to 0 hit points, until you use this feature to summon the spirit again, or until you die.

Growth Catalyst

2nd-level Verdant Bond feature
Whenever you cast Entangle, Spike Growth, or Grasping vine, you can alter it by causing it to grow from your nature spirit, when you do so the spell is centered on the nature spirit and follows it for the duration, or until the spirit dies, in which case the spell immediately ends.

Seasonal Affinity

6th-level Verdant Bond feature
When you summon your nature spirit you can choose for it to take on a season to grant it benefits depending on your choice.

  • Spring: Whenever the nature spirit or a creature within 5 feet of it regains hit points as a result of one of your spells, it regains additional hit points equal to your Wisdom modifier.

  • Summer: The nature spirit gains fire resistance, and when it hits a creature with one of its attacks it deals an additional 1d6 fire damage.

  • Autumn: Whenever a hostile creature within 5 feet of the nature spirit dies, the spirit gains 1d8 + your Wisdom modifier temporary hit points.

  • Winter: The nature spirit gains cold resistance, and when it hits a creature with one of its attacks its movement speed is reduced by 15 feet until the start of its next turn.

In addition, your nature spirit's attacks count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.

Overgrowth

10-level Verdant Bond feature
As an action, or as part of the action used to summon your nature spirit, you can expend a spell slot to empower your nature spirit with your magics causing it to grow larger and stronger.

The nature spirit gains 1d10 temporary hit points for per spell slot level, and its size category grows depending on the level of the spell slot used to empower it, 3rd-5th level causes it to become large, 6th-8th level causes it to become huge, and 9th level causes it to become gargantuan.

For each size category that the nature spirit grows above medium by this feature, its movement speed goes up by 10 feet, its attacks deals an additional dice of damage, it's AC goes up by 2, and its Vine Lash gains an additional 30 feet of range.

If the nature spirit lacks the room to increase in size, its size doesn't change, this does not stop the spirit from gaining the benefits of Overgrowth as if it had grown in size

This change lasts for 1 minute, it ends early if the nature spirit is knocked unconscious.


Will of the Seasons

14th-level Verdant Bond feature

Your nature spirit gains a new way to channel the seasons using a breath attack, this breath attack is added as one of its actions, affects a 60-foot cone, and deals different affects depending on the season.

  • Spring: Each creature of your choice in the area regains 4d6 hit points.

  • Summer: Each creature in the area must make a Dexterity saving throw against your spell save DC, or take 8d6 fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

  • Autumn: Each creature in the area must make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC, or take 4d6 necrotic damage and become frightened of the nature spirit for 1 minute, or half as much damage and is not frightened on a successful one. The frightened target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.

  • Winter: Each creature in the area must make a Constitution saving throw against your spell save DC, or take 6d6 cold damage and have its movement speed halved for 1 minute, or half as much damage and suffers no further effects on a successful one. The slowed target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.

Once your nature spirit makes this breath attack, it can't do so again until you finish a short or long rest.

Additionally, you can use an action to cause your nature spirit to change to a different seasonal affinity.


Verdant Bond

Created by: /u/navotj
Art by: Midjourney
Version: 1.0.1


Nature Spirit

Medium Plant, Unaligned

  • Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
  • Hit Points 6 + six times your druid level
  • Speed 30 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
15 (+2) 13 (+1) 14 (+2) 11 (0) 15 (+2) 11 (0)
  • Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 12
  • Languages understands the languages you speak

Actions

Maul. Melee Weapon Attack: your spell attack modifier to hit, range 5 ft., one target you can see. Hit: 1d8 + PB Slashing damage.

Vine Lash. Ranged Weapon Attack: Your spell attack modifier to hit, range 30 ft., one target you can see. Hit: 1d4 + PB Slashing damage.

One with Plants. The nature spirit can pass through plants without being slowed by them and without taking damage from them if they have thorns, spines, or a similar hazard.