Druid Circle
Circle of Bones
While all druids revere life and growth, some opt for less wholesome tools. Through necessity, circumstance, or perverse inclination, druids of the Circle of Bones have no qualms about employing the tools of necromancy and decay against their foes. Some such druids dwell in wastelands and work with the tools available. Other times, bones druids simply enjoy deploying evil's tools against itself.
Even the noblest bones druids are more aptly described as antiheroes than the reverse; a purely righteous soul would never employ such dark tools. But well-intentioned members of the circle do exist, often living in lands so blasted by rampant industry or dark magic that conventional druidic practice is impossible.
Circle of Bones Features
| Druid Level | Feature |
|---|---|
| 2nd | Circle Spells, Rotten Wilds |
| 6th | Natural Undeath |
| 10th | Death's Harvest |
| 14th | Life From Death |
Circle of Bones Spells
At 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th level you gain access to the spells listed for that level in the Circle of Bones Spells table. Once you gain access to a circle spell, 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.
| Druid Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 2nd | grasping deadS, undead familiarS |
| 3rd | bone spearS, deathly chillS |
| 5th | bone weavingS, summon grave spiritSDS |
| 7th | necrotic mineS, field of rotS |
| 9th | rattle bonesS, wall of bonesS |
Spells marked with a K are by KibblesTasty. Spells marked with S are by somanyrobots. Spells marked with SDS are from Spells That Don't Suck. All are linked at the end of this document.
Rotten Wilds
At 2nd level, you learn a limited form of reanimation, stitching together dark magic and strangling vines to produce undead minions. You learn a special version of the spell reanimationSDS, which you cast by expending two uses of your Wild Shape instead of by expending a spell slot.
When you cast reanimationSDS, it has the following modifications:
- It can always reanimate beasts, but never any other type of creature.
- It is cast as if you spent a spell slot equal to your proficiency bonus. If this would cast it at 2nd level, it can only reanimate a creature of challenge rating 1 or lower.
- Your reanimated minions are immune to the effects of all your circle spells.
Natural Undeath
At 6th level, your natural magic weaves through your undead minions. When you cast reanimationSDS, you can choose one of the following special abilties for each minion created.
- Vine Puppet. The minion's body is full of coiling vines. All its attacks gain the reach property, and in place of an attack, it can attempt to entangle a foe. The target must succeed on a Strength saving throw (DC equals your spell save DC) or be restrained for 1 minute. The escape DC equals your spell save DC.
- Ironbark Armor. The minion is granted a thick armor of tough bark. Its AC is increased by your proficiency bonus.
- Swarming Insects. The minion's body is host to a hive of raging insects. When a creature hits it with a melee attack, that creature takes 1d4 piercing and 1d4 poison damage.
Death's Harvest
At 10th level, you can recover some of a creature's essence as it expires. As a reaction when a creature of CR 1/4 or higher dies within 30 feet of you, you can grant temporary hit points to yourself or one of your summoned creatures. These temporary hit points equal 1d6 + half your druid level.
Life from Death
At 14th level, you can harness your necromantic power to produce blooms of natural life. When one of your reanimated minions you can see is reduced to 0 hit points, you can use your reaction to cast a druid spell with a casting time of 1 action as if you were standing in its location. Afterward, the area in a 10-foot radius around the minion is affected as if you cast plant growth there.
As written, the Circle of Bones really needs a steady supply of beast corpses to function. At a GM's discretion, you might allow a druid to reanimate humanoid or monstrous remains, but magically reassemble them into beastly forms.
Circle of Bones quirks
The following are some optional quirks for a player of this Circle to choose from.
| d6 | Quirk |
|---|---|
| 1 | You festoon your equipment with all manner of bones. |
| 2 | You refuse to name animals, but you sometimes do name zombies. |
| 3 | While you are concentrating on a spell, your pupils take the shape of skulls. |
| 4 | You sometimes demand your comrades pause travel so you can dig up a grave. |
| 5 | You always fertilize new plants with a bit of bone meal. |
| 6 | You sometimes describe your work as "cleaning up other people's messes". |
Appendix 1: Spell Sources
Spells used are available in these collections, all of which are free to use and reference for any purpose.
- Spells That Don't Suck is a set of spells by Omega Ankh and somanyrobots, creating replacements for problematic spells contained in first-party WotC materials. These are marked with SDS.
- So Many Spells is a set of wholly original spells written by somanyrobots. These are marked with S.
- Kibbles' Casting Compendium is the complete set of spells written by KibblesTasty. These are marked with K.
What If I Prefer Spells That Suck?
While ordinarily I describe Spells That Don't Suck as a catalog of opt-in replacements for troublesome spells, in this case, it's crucial that you use reanimationSDS instead of animate dead. Animate dead can't reanimate beasts, of course, and it also can cause some real headaches when made available on a short-rest recharge.
Change Log
v0.3
- Temporarily removed Ivory Kingdom text
v0.2
- Expanded spell list
v0.1
- Rough Draft
Credits & References:
Circle of Bones created by somanyrobots Discord | Patreon
Spells
- Reanimation by Omega Ankh and somanyrobots
Art
Nikya of the Old Ways, by Ryan Pancoast © Wizards of the Coast LLC
Background Image Stains
License
© 2026 somanyrobots, CC BY-NC 4.0
Includes spells from Spells That Don't Suck by Omega Ankh and somanyrobots, which is licensed CC-BY and available here.
Fan Content Policy
This work is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC.
5E SRD Content
This work includes material taken from the System Reference Document 5.1 (“SRD 5.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available here.
The SRD 5.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License available here.