D&D 5E Druid - Circle of the Land(s)

[I'm A Banana]

Anyone see any issues with letting a circle of the land druid change from one type of land to the next with, say, a long rest? Presumably the land spells of each type are balanced against each other, so would this present any balance issues?

I'm thinking it would be restricted by the actual type of land they are in, of course, but I'm not sure if it would be a voluntary or involuntary change...or what should happen in a mixed terrain location.

Example: A circle of the land druid is in a desert and has access to the desert circle spells. She travels to a forest and, after a long rest, loses access to (or chooses to drop) the desert spells and gains access to the forest spells instead. The forest abruptly meets a coastline and, after another long rest, she can (choose to??) retain the forest spells or switch to the coast spells.

Thoughts? I ask due to player interest.

No mechanical problems, and I'm actually kind of into the idea of the type of terrain they are in dictating what Circle spell list they get (maybe they get to pick when it's mixed). I like the flavor that comes with, and the interesting decisions it forces.

 

[Li Shenron]

I'm thinking it would be restricted by the actual type of land they are in, of course, but I'm not sure if it would be a voluntary or involuntary change...or what should happen in a mixed terrain location.

Example: A circle of the land druid is in a desert and has access to the desert circle spells. She travels to a forest and, after a long rest, loses access to (or chooses to drop) the desert spells and gains access to the forest spells instead. The forest abruptly meets a coastline and, after another long rest, she can (choose to??) retain the forest spells or switch to the coast spells.

Thoughts? I ask due to player interest.

I was going to say I don't like it because it's not fair for other classes who have to stick with their chosen subclass. But if you actually make the swap tied to the current land type (even if you allow the PC to retain the previous), I think this makes the idea quite interesting. It's not mechanically advantageous, because those spells don't actually work better in the right environment (so by converse, allowing a Ranger to swap their favourite terrain would be indeed unfairly good), they are just different spells which imply different tactics.

 

[TwoSix]

No mechanical problems, and I'm actually kind of into the idea of the type of terrain they are in dictating what Circle spell list they get (maybe they get to pick when it's mixed). I like the flavor that comes with, and the interesting decisions it forces.

Absolutely. Love the geomancer concept, and had already been thinking about talking to my DM about it for my next character.

 

[Ovarwa]

Hi,

I like this a lot. Land Druids underwhelm me. The ability to commune with the land you are in over a long rest seems reasonable both thematically and mechanically.

A land druid isn't a druid of the forest or sea or mountain, but a *druid*. His abilities do not derive from skill proficiencies learned over time, but from attuning to nature.

Anyway,

Ken

 

[Unwise]

I like this idea a lot. I would be tempted to say that the Druid has to actively try NOT to change their affinity. If you are attuned to the coast, then go to the desert you can change across in a long rest, in wisdom stat (not bonus) days time, you will lose your attunement to the coast, like it or not. It is harder to cast water based spells in a desert, it bends the laws of nature a bit more than a druid might like.

The upside of this, is that if the druid wants a certain attunement, they just pop over to that area, attune to it, then keep it for 18 days or whatever their wisdom score is.

 

[77IM]

I think Land Druid is slightly weaker than most other full casters so giving them more flexibility in spells is not unbalanced.

Flavor-wise, I love the idea of a druid who must change to the land they are in, like a geomancer. I'd make it a condition of regaining spell slots during a long rest. So if you have ocean spells and go to the desert, you can keep the ocean spells as long as you want, you just can't regain any spell slots until you switch to desert spells.

 

[77IM]

Well, shoot, I think I just thunk up a druid circle.

Circle of the Spheres
The magic of the multiverse seeps through the material plane, creating ley-lines, fonts of power, and focal points for magical energy. But even the ordinary rocks and trees around you have magic that can be drawn out, if you have the proper knowledge. Geomancers connect the movement of the stars to the essence of the land to the magic of the planes, wielding incredible arcane power.

Geomancy
Because of your connection to the material plane, some of the raw energy of the multiverse begins to flow through you. Select two spells of a level that you can cast from the sorcerer spell list. Those spells now count as druid spells for you, and you are always considered to have them prepared.

Select an additional sorcerer spell at 6th level, 10th level, and 14th level. Whenever you gain a level, you may replace one of the spells you learned using this ability with a different sorcerer spell, provided it is of a level that you can cast.

You can cast a spell granted by this feature at its lowest level without expending a spell slot. Once you do so, you can't do so again until you finish a long rest.

Circle Spells
Starting at 3rd level, each time you prepare spells, you prepare additional spells according to the climate, terrain, and ecosystem of the land you are currently in. The DM will select a land type from the list available to druids of the Circle of the Land (PHB p.68). If you are in a place that doesn't fit any of these land types -- such as an urban environment -- you don't gain any additional spells during your preparation.

You prepare the additional spells on the land's list, and they don't count towards your number of spells prepared. They remain prepared for you until you prepare spells again. You can only prepare spells on the list that are of a level that you can cast.​

Inspiration: the 3.0 Geomancer, a really wacky and super-over-powered prestige class that gave +1 caster level to both arcane and divine casting per level (sort of an early Mystic Theurge) but also had some weird "turn into a flaming rock tree person" flavor.

 

[Horwath]

I would say a 3 day meditation in new environment would be enough.

And it should represent the new environment. Oasis with 20 trees in the middle of desert does not qualify for a forest.

 

[the Jester]

I will say that I've got a homebrewed "Circle of the Seasons," where the druid's abilities change depending on what season it is.

 

[TerraDave]

As per OP, its a little over-powered.

In play circle of land is already very versatile, maybe more then realized on first inspection.

With some of the suggestions above, it should be fine.