Bodies In The Water (Class: Tide Witch)

// content warning: brief allusions to violence against women, as well as an unpleasant implication from the fantasy CIA. Be kind, folks!

Once upon a time, the Bromeillan coastlines were lauded for their ability to sustain life. Just as the River Roussillon tended to humanity, providing both the comfort and resources necessary to propel them across the continent, so too did the beaches and gulfs provide a spawning ground for the imps to settle—whatever precursors dared to crawl out from the seafloor. They were a genesis point. Both species depended on the ocean to fuel their civilizations, then to satisfy ritual needs. Villages and colonies sprouted all throughout the mainland, isolated from one another and yet alike in their reverence for the seas.

The Storm Eternal changed that. Entire communities fled inland towards the core. Those that could not find solace in their peers, or (in the case of many imps) flee beneath the waves, were made to fend for themselves. It was not until years later that some could return to their homes, only to find both land and sea totally unrecognizable; wracking winds, consumptive tides, an ocean dark as charcoal.

Needless to say that this did not bode well for the mariners. Although plenty of hamlets and villages now exist along Bromeilles’ broken shores, they are a far cry from the once-tranquil conditions afforded to its inhabitants hundreds of years ago—unruly, heartless places. Some held out hope that the seas could be corrected through a return to ritual sacrifice. Others abandoned that dream, only to lash out at the dreamers around them, and more still found alternative ways to vent their frustrations.

These are a whole bunch of words to say that, in appalling conditions, it was women and girls who paid the price. This class is not just about those who survive, but who transformed their experience into a kind of power that cannot (and will not) be relinquished.

Never forgive. Never forget. Never again.
Art by helium_raven

The Witch's Code

Your stock consists of women scorned, abandoned in their time of need. When your community revealed its true face to you, whether by neglecting your basic needs or dashing you against the rocks, when your mind and body fell upon the brink of collapse, it was a witch who took you in. You are the sacrificed, the harrowed, and the lost. You are sorrow not tamed, but twisted. A revenant made flesh. When those traitors choke beneath the floodwaters, there will only be one thing left to say: we will never be controlled again.

Tide witches are collectivists. Unlike their loner cousins, these witches have responded to injustice by forming tight-knit, isolated communities, where all are encouraged to brood amongst their peers. Tide covens lean heavily towards an Occult bias, and its structure is volatile by design: by hyper-focusing on strong emotions, such as sorrow and rage, a caster's trauma can be moulded into a kind of transformative lens, which is then applied to one’s spell-casting. Artisans are taught to dread such an approach. Witches, too.

Not all of your sisters originate from coastal regions—some things are sadly universal—but the sheer quantity of witches who do ensures the culture remains largely maritime. One sizeable exception are those adopted by The Glass House, where a fledgling’s single-mindedness and thirst for belonging serves as a valuable foundation for future Inquisitors.

THE TIDE WITCH
Starting Skill: 1) Navigation 2) Sailing 3) Fishmongery

Starting Equipment: Thermometer, A filet or butcher's knife, Waterproof Getup (stylish, includes netting to keep your items from floating away), a Tool of the Trade.

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A – Hex: Inundate, Maiden of the Lake

B – Flesh Swamp

C – Ebb & Flow, +1 Defense

D – Invocation: Les Croque-Mitaines

You are proficient with fishing knives, hatchets and harpoons. You can also speak Chalut—tongue of the Merrain people—if you don't already know it.

Hex: Inundate

R: short T: a poppet or item of personal significance D: special
The enchanted object gains [sum] charges, which last until either the object is destroyed or you dispel it during a rest. You cannot re-enchant an object that still has charges remaining. While touching the object, for each MD invested, you gain one of the following abilities:

• You siphon the fluid contents of one container into another. Due to the delicate nature of the transfer, you must concentrate until either the process is complete or you are interrupted. Two charges per ten doses (usually one slot).
• As an action, you disperse a creature's bodily fluids unfavorably—their insides bloat and writhe, eyes dry and bladder squirming like a slime mold. So long as you continue to concentrate, spending [target's HD] charges when you activate this ability and at the start of their turns, the target takes a -1 penalty to Defense and To-Hit.
• A small object full of liquid (glass, bottle, etc.) momentarily stirs before spilling from its container, sloshing or bubbling from an unseen force. Can also aggressively wring clothing. One charge, +1 for each size category larger.
  
• You can target multiple objects or creatures with the same ability, as described above. One charge per target beyond the first.
  

Maiden of the Lake 

You can move freely underwater, even while bound—rocks and chains will slow you down, but cannot stop you altogether, like a stream carving through a boulder. This does not make you immune to other kinds of restraint, such as being grappled (e.x. tendrils) or pinned down (e.x. roof collapse).

 

Additionally, you cannot drown to death. The act of drowning still hurts like hell, and you'll eventually pass out from shock, but whatever water enters your lungs will pull itself back out when you surface. Your body always finds its way back to shore.

Hello Again
Art by astrono77153462

 

Flesh Swamp

While touching a body of water, you can cast Witch spells as if you were standing anywhere within that area, so long as you can see your target. Spells cast in this way also have their base [sum] and [dice] values doubled, or tripled if the spell's effects remain entirely confined to the water.

 

You must be able to submerge yourself in the fluid to count as touching it. Swimming? That works. Dip your hand in it? That works, too, but a damp surface lacks sufficient volume. Using a small container in this way tears up its insides and anything contained within, while a medium or larger object has a 3-in-6 chance of being damaged (-1 per size category above medium, 2d4 damage).

 

An Inundated creature is a valid body of water.

 

Ebb & Flow

Whenever you roll a 3-4 on one of your MD while casting a spell, you may reduce that number by 2, still expending the die in the process. If you do so, place a mark on your character sheet. The next time you roll a 1-2 on one of your MD, you may consume the mark to increase that number by 2, return the die to your pool, and regain one Strain. This can occur twice per day, and all marks are removed after a long rest.

Invocation: Les Croque-Mitaines
Requirements: a nearby body of water, a ritual poppet, tribute worth 200 GP.
Duration: Three days.
Description: Construct the poppet as part of an overnight ritual, investing Magic Dice into it. While you possess a finished poppet you may, at any time, call for help. So long as the body of water somehow connects to an ocean, a pair of ships—each manned by five 1-HD pirates—will arrive within 1d4 hours.

The pirates are friendly and will obey your commands: aiding you in combat, providing transportation, or helping with some other task, and will relinquish most of their crew to do so. They are reluctant to travel inland if it would mean abandoning their ships, and will all but refuse to travel farther than the current region on foot. You must provide tribute as soon as possible—along with the poppet, they prefer goods such as salt, rope, and booze. Once paid, they will assist you for the full duration.

How long it takes the sailors to arrive depends on several factors, as detailed below. If their travel time would be reduced to zero, the pirates arrive in 1d10 minutes instead.

• Inland or far from coast (+30m per hex, +1h for river navigation).
• Poor weather (+30m).
  
• Light a smoke signal or fire a flare (-30m).
• Owed a favor (-10m).
• MD invested (-10m per die).

// I'd like to include some unique "crew members" depending on the # of MD invested, whether from a random list or by player decision. Things like another Tide Witch, or a beefy imp named Ogre. I can't figure it out right now, and doing so will probably take even longer than this post has already taken, so I think I'll just come back to it. Write it for me, maybe? Just kidding... unless? <3

Become What We Cannot
"One, Two, Three" by Eelis Kyttanen

Tide Spells

You learn two Tide Spells when you join this coven, and gain an additional spell whenever you take a level in this class.

 

// As you've hopefully already noticed by now, this class cares a lot about water. A three-litre waterskin, which takes up a slot, holds 10 doses. A ration also holds 10 doses, though using it in this way ruins the packaging and renders the rest inedible. I've provided a few other references throughout this class to help with visualizing things, but don't worry about calculating the volume of a pond to determine how much water you removed from it or anything—just assume there's enough. Unless you really want to!

1. Corrode
   R: touch T: a metal object or surface D: instant
   You touch a piece of metal and ruin a [dice] inch square area (or [dice]^2 square inches). The area is shattered, rusted, twisted, and generally destroyed to a depth of [dice] inches.
2. Produce Cloud
   R: 30' T: [sum] doses of water D: [dice] minutes
   Water sprays violently from any number of sources around you to form a thin haze over [sum] congruent spaces. While not dense enough to impede vision, any objects within the affected area become damp, flames are extinguished, and creatures are momentarily surprised by the cloud's appearance.
   
• Temerity: You halve the total [sum], condensing the mist into a thick fog. Anything caught in or viewed through the fog is considered obscured. Due to your conversion efforts, the fog no longer soaks objects or extinguish flames when it forms.
  
• Serenity: As part of the 1-hour ritual required to cast this spell, you submerge yourself completely in a body of water. So long as you remain underwater, this spell rolls in from off-stage as a dense fog, targeting an area at up to long range which otherwise functions as above. The cloud lasts [dice] hours or until you resurface.
3. Freeze
   R: 30' T: a body of water D: [dice] minutes
   You instantly solidify 5x [dice] cubic feet worth of liquid. You determine the dimensions of the frozen area, but each section must be congruent with another on at least one side. A creature that would become totally encased must Save vs Entrapment, escaping to an adjacent space on a success—Frozen creatures must hold their breath.
4. Aqueous Blade
   R: 60' T: a creature & a dose of water D: [dice] rounds
   A finger-wide lash emerges from a body of water within range and drives itself into the target's flesh, dealing [sum] + [dice] damage. For as long as you concentrate, you can use an action on subsequent turns to automatically deal 1d4 damage to the target, to a maximum of 2d4 per round. If you cast this spell using 3+ MD, you can transfer the stream to another creature within 10' of the current target as part of your action—no save required. You cannot switch targets and inflict extra damage on the same turn.
   
5. Wetland Porter
   R: touch T: an amphibian (1 hour) D: three days
   You temporarily fuse the target with a goaded nature spirit, causing it to rapidly expand into a horse-sized familiar. The porter has 2HD (9 HP), armor as leather, and no morale score. It is friendly and will follow you around, although it is too fat and languid to support you in combat, and will flee to a safe location if attacked. The porter can carry [dice] slots worth of items in its mouth, dropping them when it dies (reverting to its original size) or the spell's duration elapses.
   
• Temerity: Suddenly roused to action, the porter appears from out of sight to consume a target within [sum] spaces of you, trapping them within its mouth for [dice] rounds. The porter refuses to move from its target's location. Target can use an action to Save at the start of their turns, escaping on a success, or to climb out if the porter is killed.
6. Undertow
   R: 30' T: a creature or object D: instant
   You drag the target through a liquid surface, such as mud or quicksand, moving them 5x [sum] feet in an orthogonal direction. Sending a creature upwards or downwards allows them to immediately Save, plus an additional save for every 20' traversed.
•  Temerity: the target is cast down by a riptide, knocking them prone.
7. Call Flock
   R: long T: an occupied hex (1 hour) D: 4 hours
   You call down a colony of seabirds to steal from, nest with, and combat the inhabitants of a nearby encampment, squawking loudly all the while. Inhabitants cannot rest and have -1 Morale for the duration, presuming that they're semi-actively trying to rid themselves of the colony—could take more or less time. Once, you can command members of the flock to help you in some way as an action, interrupting somebody or siccing them on a small crowd.
• Serenity: For 8 hours, the colony flocks overhead: The location of every large water source (coasts & rivers, oases) within [serenity] days travel of your location is revealed to you when you cast this spell. Additionally, you are alerted to the presence of any patrols, caravans, or wandering monsters that enter an adjacent, open-air hex—including the one you're currently occupying.
  
8. Rippling Whispers
   R: touch T: a body of water D: [dice] days
   You speak a message totaling [sum] words into a small body of water. Anyone who disturbs the target in the allotted time, such as by drinking from it, has the message gurgled to them in your voice—shout or whisper, it's up to you. If you cast this spell using 2+ MD, you can also increase the message's trigger radius: equivalent to a [barrel/fountain/lake] full of water.
• Serenity: The message is delivered through animal calls and water foliage. Although completely anonymous, it is discernible to anyone nearby, and dissolves over hours instead of days. 

I fear a lack of happy endings
"Rusalka" by EthicallyChallenged

Tools Of The Trade

1. Lucky Bobber. This radish-shaped fishing lure will always attract 1d3 rations when used each day. 1-in-4 chance that the last fish you catch is from the Other—it'll answer one water-related question about this hex or an adjacent one, should you release it.
2. Maiden's Decanter. Has three reservoirs, each of which can hold five doses of fluid. One slot.
3. Raft. What it says on the tin. Comes with oars, a little tent on the back, and enough space to fit four people comfortably. Storage remains an issue.
4. Dowsing Rod. Two foot-long branches carved from a willow tree, bent and cured to maintain its shape. A silver ornament resembling a water lily has been embedded into the stump connecting the two branches. Always leads you to groundwater when traveling at a slow pace, with a 1-in-4 chance to find something special. Two slots.
   
5. Frog-in-a-Jar. So long as the frog is alive and remains in the jar, anything you pour into the container lasts twice as long as it normally would, with a 50% chance to last another day whenever it might spoil. Currently content soaking in a few inches of milk. Three litres, two slots.
   
6. ALWAYS BIGGER FISH. She is a light dagger, carved from whalebone with a matching chitinous scabbard. The handle rattles violently when a predator comes within visible range. If you're already aware of its presence, she rattles when something worse comes along.
   
7. Squid-Eyed Spectacles.  Your pupils warp while wearing these eyeglasses, crooked and dilating into impossible shapes. You can see clearly in rain, snow & fog out to 30'. If you can keep them from falling off, they even work underwater.
   
8. Making & Keeping Promises. This well-sewn book was a gift from a Purple Witch, embossed with the face of Sainte Maelle de Rouens. The first time that you learn a rumor in a new location, such as during downtime activity in a city, you also gain a favor. This favor applies to a random (possibly named) NPC appropriate for the downtime activity, and can be consumed in order to cast the friends spell. What, you thought this was going to be water-related? For shame.
   

Primer Burn And Hot Lead Bubble (Class: Lead Witch)

Firearms are an oddity in Bromeilles. While handguns and long guns do exist in some real capacity, their construction is both tedious and unique to its builder, with only a few standardized designs known to exist, such as that of Quentin Blanchard—an acolyte to the late Gisèle de Roy. These remain closely guarded secrets. Thus, the vast majority of guns discoverable on the continent (how few they are) are hack-jobs: volatile stone-throwers pushed from the Twin State's scrap-works.

In the century since Blanchard's death—a wound self-inflicted—The Republic has only visited his compound on the island of Courrisaunt a singular time. Blanchard's ideas were long thought buried with him...

...But there are whispers that the old workshop has been robbed. Unusual new firearms have been spotted across the continent, not en masse but in worrying numbers, and all lie in the possession of strange new Witches. Whether these are truly Blanchard's designs or original inventions has yet to be confirmed, but the damage they have inflicted thus far remains very real. 

The sole inspiration. One day, I'll make a version that does her justice.
The Gunwitch Class on Steam

The Witch's Code

Your stock consists of haunted killers, born or built, who will not squirm at the sight of a dying man. They are the betrayed, the misanthropes, and the hungry. She does not seek a kinder life, but vengeance against the names that torment her in her dreams. Her judgement is swift, her sorrow a promise, and the heat which emanates from one's heart is about the only thing standing between her and a good night's rest.

Lead Witches are solitary hunters. What few have been identified are often found in the eastern provinces, hunting heads for coin and living off of the land—you hold an innate distrust for the cities. It is unlikely that you will ever meet another one of your kind on the road. If you do, it will be to collect their bounty.

If there exists a coven for your kind, it is well-hidden from The Republic. Your sister-cousins fear your presence: they will tolerate you for some time, only to rush you out the door again. Some, however, may have need of your skills...

THE LEAD WITCH
Starting Skill: 1) Bounty-Hunting 2) Distillation 3) Highway Robbery

Starting Equipment: One light derringer (two shots, 20'), One derringer OR medium breaker (one shot, 15' cone) OR heavy rifle (one shot, 60'), Traveler's Greatcoat (as leather), A Tool of the Trade.

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A – Hex: Prime, Lead-Drip

B – Caustics Make The Flesh-Men Cry

C – Thrice-Palmed Trigger, +1 Tool of the Trade

D – Invocation: Cold, Bitter & Sweet 

 

You are proficient with firearms, as well as fighting knives, hatchets, and whips. You can also wear light armor.

 

Hex: Prime
R: touch T: a loaded gun D: until dispelled

You imbue your firearm with foul purpose. You gain +[dice] to hit with this weapon. You may also burn one invested MD to deal an additional [sum] damage on your next attack.

 

Hollow-points implode. Pellets spread into deliberate patterns. Wounds reach through flesh like cracks in glass, and the holes left behind leak brambles.

 

Lead-Drip

You can make ten rounds of pistol ammo (or half-as-much for a larger caliber) in approximately eight hours of work, so long as you're given enough space and security to remain uninterrupted. This can be done over the course of several sessions or all in one sitting—approximately one bullet per hour. If you are currently somewhere where this would be inconvenient, like a damp cave, you take twice as long.

 

Caustics Make The Flesh-Men Cry 

Whenever you burn an invested Magic Die while shooting a Primed firearm, you can cause one of the following effects, rather than deal extra damage:

• BLAZECAP - The target (and anything else within 5') bursts into flames on a hit. Burning creatures take 1d6 damage at the end of their turn unless they use an action to put themselves out. Combustible objects ignite.
• FAMILIAR'S PAW - Your firearm reloads itself, so long as you have the ammunition to do so.
  
• BISMUTH - In addition to your chosen target, you may attack up to two additional creatures within 10' of them with the same bullet. Only a single attack roll is made, compared to each target's defense.
• DOG TEARS - Anyone who can hear this shot when it is fired must check morale. The target always checks morale, even if it cannot hear the shot, unless they are incapable of doing so.
  
• REVENANT SWORD SHAVINGS - Choose any point within range that you can see. Draw a straight line originating from that point in a cardinal direction, where the length is equal to your firearm's range. This is the path your bullet takes.
  
• BOOT VINE - Spaces within 10' of the target are considered difficult terrain on hit, and must Save vs Immobilization when moving outside that space, being pulled back in on a failure. Creatures larger than a horse have advantage on this save.

I've given them an extra attachment, but no modular systems yet!
"Voodoo Witch" by Daria Rashev

Thrice-Palmed Trigger

Once per turn, whenever you Cast a Spell, Interact with the environment, or Test an attribute (make a check / Save), you may shoot a firearm you are brandishing immediately afterwards. Whenever you take the Attack action, you may use this feature to make an additional attack with any weapon, instead.

 

A brandished firearm is either currently in your hands or readily accessible via a quick-slot. Thus, a gun in a hip holster or sitting on your lap is valid, but the one stashed away in your backpack or at the bottom of your boot is not (assuming your boots are still on).

Invocation: Cold, Bitter & Sweet
Requirements: the corpse of your victim's hero, a shield made from human hair, seven days.
Duration: until dispelled (set the body ablaze).
Description: Obtain the corpse and slather it in honey. Place those remains in a barrel filled with syrup, molasses, or another viscous fluid, then seal the barrel shut with your shield. After seven days of fermentation, impale one or more iron rods into the barrel—one Magic Die per rod.

 

For each Magic Die invested into the ritual, your victim's next wound will refuse to heal, preventing them from regaining hit points equal to the damage taken. Healing aids can be applied, scar tissue will begin to form, but these wounds will remain open and bloody and agitated for as long as the invocation remains.

 

At the bare minimum, this health reduction is equivalent to the average of one of the victim's Hit Dice per MD. Of course, losing a limb in this situation would be far, far worse... For them.

 

Long Live The Reaper
"Duchess of Death" by Calum Alexander Watt

Lead Spells

You learn two Lead Spells when you join this coven, and earn an additional spell whenever you gain a level in this class.

1. Sixth Sense
   R: personal T: a ranged attack targets you D: n/a
   Your eyes glint with a supernatural awareness, body twisting suddenly and of its own accord: the attack has disadvantage. If the attack required a Save to evade or would strike you automatically, reduce its total damage by [sum] instead. This only applies to projectiles: arrows and dart traps are okay, as well as giant swinging logs... probably.
• Serenity: The projectile misses.
  
2.  Trismegistus
   R: touch T: a loaded gun D:[dice] attacks
   An object or creature damaged by this weapon is transmuted into a facsimile, with a 1" radius surrounding the wound (including belongings and flesh) becoming 2x [sum] GP in "raw" gold. Materials transmuted in this way are malleable, can be recombined with their original parts if held together, and revert to their original state after [dice] hours.
•  Temerity: A singular wound inflicted by your firearm bubbles and pops like a crucible. Over the course of [sum] hours, flesh and blood transmutes into lead—producing the same number of perfectly-shaped bullets.
• Serenity: You offer a corpse created by your firearm to the unseen network of life. Over the course of [dice] days, flesh begins to sprout new buds—producing a random local plant. Should you tend to the corpse and guide its growth, you can produce enough of a specific plant for [dice] doses of poison or another reagent.
  
3. Black Powder Calling
   R: touch T: a loaded gun D: [sum] hours
   You grant [dice] firearms a soft independence, allowing them to levitate around your body—about as high or far as you are tall—at will. You can manipulate these weapons and fire them while keeping your hands free, but they must be reloaded manually. Each weapon is considered brandished for the duration.
4. Last Light
   R: personal T: a loaded gun D: 8 hours
   Outside of a dim flash of light, your next [sum] attacks are nearly imperceptible, producing no sound or smoke. 
5. Dead Man's Latch
   R: short T: a firearm D: until dispelled
   Anyone but you who attempts to shoot the enchanted firearm finds its trigger impossible to pull. If you cast this spell using 3+ MD, you may have it explode in their hand at will, ruining the weapon in the process and dealing 1d6 damage to them.
   
• Temerity: You cause an enchanted firearm to fire as an action, dealing X + [sum] damage to whoever happens to find themselves on the wrong end of the weapon. Ranges farther than point-blank require an attack roll, with penalties appropriate to the GM. You can blow up the gun too, if available, but this isn't necessary.
  
6. Broom Closet
   R: personal T: [dice] weapons D: permanent
   You shunt [dice] weapons into an fold somewhere within the Other. These weapons remain in stasis for as long as you wish, but require that you use an action to retrieve them.
• Temerity: As an action, you return [sum] weapons to your person, and can make a single attack with each against a target within range, assuming that your hands are free to do so.
7.  Do You Feel Lucky?
   R: short T: a creature with [dice] HD or fewer D: n/a
   So long as you keep your weapon trained on the target, they feel compelled not to move or act. You can command the target as an action to do either, although the target can Save vs Charm whenever you do so, taking an action of their own on a success.
• Serenity: During a respite, you can influence [sum] hirelings with threaded hexes and a thinly-veiled threat of silence. Affected hirelings have +1 Morale for the next 24 hours, but gain a permanent -1 to Loyalty Tests.
8.  Battlefield Medicine
   R: touch T: a creature D: [dice] hours
   Target temporarily suppresses the results of a critical injury, or stabilizes them if they're dying. This doesn't allow you to regain lost fingers, or repair a lacerated eye, but it'll do enough to ignore their effects for a while.
   

Tools Of The Trade

1. Scale Plate. If you would be the victim of a critical hit, it becomes a regular hit instead. The plate then cracks and becomes worthless. Great for target practice. One slot.
   
2. Mercury-Filled Telescope. This device was gifted to you by a pack of Steel Witches, who promised to call when your services were needed. Glimmering silver fluid sloshes against the lenses. For each increment outside of its range, an attached firearm gains +1 To-Hit.
3. Silver Bullets. You can never be too careful. ¼ of a slot, equal to five pieces of ammunition.
   
4. Hand-Loading Kit. A heavy-duty satchel covered in webbing and hidden pockets. Fashionable, too. You can produce twice as much ammunition using this kit, or a regular amount in awkward conditions. Slot-neutral.
   
5. BY LORD'S DOOR. He is a stubby, light rapier (+1), stained dark with soot and gunk. Deep pink scars are all that remain of the surface of this once decent blade. Coughs incessantly, but thumbing the pommel seems to help.
   
6. Cauldron. Doubles as a cooking pot, so long as you remember to clean it out beforehand. Comes with some neat wheels, otherwise two slots.
   
7. Bug Spear. For emergencies, big game, or emergencies caused by big game. A heavy spear that, once primed as an action, explodes upon contact with a solid object. Everything within 10' takes 3d8 damage, or half on a successful Save.
   
8. Speed Loader. In terms of availability, you're probably one of the continent's lucky few. In fact, you probably made it yourself. Acts as an effective +2 to one of your gun's capacity.

DRUID: Circle of Steel

         

Telthona

    “Quiet...The Earth is Feeding...”

          ~Morrigan, Bearer of Tal’Drenaris

In times of war and desperation, where there is blood to be spilt and allies to be heeded, a most unlikely ally may arise from the woods. Druids of the Circle of Steel are powerful Ferromancers; primal sages of the earth itself and its metals, shaping mortal inventions to their whim in lieu of nature. Some Steel Druids become this way by losing everything, hatred in their hearts as the lasts of their forests burn. Others join armies or warbands, arguing in favour of the fauna they'll inevitably destroy. Corpses run dry and rot, weapons rust and return to the earth. War is inevitable, but nature prevails.

Circle of Steel

Your unique relationship with metals and your anachronism for war has benefited you, granting you access to certain spells. At 2nd level, you learn the mending cantrip. At 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th level you gain access to the spells listed for that level in the Circle of Steel 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.

Circle Spells

Druid Level	Circle Spells
3rd	Cloud of Daggers, Heat Metal
5th	Glyph of Warding, Spirit Guardians
7th	Fabricate, Find Greater Steed
9th	Animate Objects, Dominate Person

Warhound

You gain proficiency with martial weapons. Additionally, you no longer suffer any restrictions in regards to using equipment made of metal.

Archon’s Shape

Starting when you pick this circle at 2nd level, you may forge armour fit for a true guardian of the grove. As an action, you may expend a use of your Wild Shape to surround your body in magical plate metal, rather than transforming into a beast, which looks as you please. While this feature is active, you gain the following benefits:

----

•Your AC becomes 17 + half your proficiency modifier (rounded down) if it were lower. You cannot benefit from a shield while in this form. If your AC is permanently reduced below 17 by an effect, your wild shape immediately ends.

•Whenever you cast a Druid spell of 1st level or higher that deals damage, you may change the damage type dealt with magical bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage. 

•Whenever you deal bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage, you may use your reaction to gain a number of temporary hit points equal to half the damage dealt. Once you have used this feature, you cannot do so again until you Wild Shape again. Leaving Wild Shape for any reason removes these hit points.

These benefits last for 10 minutes, or until you revert to your normal form as a bonus action.

Metallurgist

Starting at 6th level, whenever you or an allied creature you can see within 30 feet is targeted by a spell or weapon attack, you can transfer portions of the armour from your Archon's Shape to protect them. As a reaction, you may grant the target the benefits of the Shield spell against the triggering attack. Your AC while in your Archon's Shape is then reduced by 1, and you cannot use this feature again if it would reduce your AC below 17. Your AC returns to normal after you finish a long rest.

Forge the Blood Will

Starting at 10th level, whenever you cast a Druid spell of 1st level or higher that deals damage and hits, you may choose one of the following effects:

•Sculpt: One target of your choosing must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or receive a culminative -1 detriment to AC for 1 minute. You then gain a +1 bonus to AC for the duration.

•Carve: One target of your choosing must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or begin bleeding profusely for 1 minute. Constructs and creatures that don't have blood automatically succeed on this saving throw. On a failure, the target has disadvantage on checks to maintain concentration and loses 2d4 hit points at the start of each turn. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of its turn, ending the effect on a success. If a creature is targeted by this feature again while under its effects, on a failure, the damage increases by 2d4.

You may use this feature a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum 1), and you regain all uses after you finish a Long Rest.

Iron Warden

Starting at 14th level, you may perform a rite in order to guarantee your domain's control. You commit to a 1-day ritual in which you expend 500 gp worth of materials, attune to a mundane object (such as a necklace), and expend a spell slot of 5th level or higher. A Shield Guardian then rises from the materials used.

The Shield Guardian follows your verbal commands (no action required) and rolls for initiative independently of you. If you do not give the Shield Guardian a command, it defends itself from harm but otherwise performs no other actions. Additionally, When you expend the spell slot of 5th level or higher, pick a spell you know with a level equal to or less than the spell slot used from the Druid spell list. Your Shield Guardian may cast that spell once per day as its stored spell, using your spellcasting modifier in place of its own.

You may once have one Shield Guardian under your control at a time, and may command it so long as you have the object used to bind it on your person. Additionally, You cannot use the spell slot used to charge the Shield Guardian so long as it is active. You regain your expended spell slot whenever the guardian is reduced to 0 hit points, or you perform another 1-day ritual to replace it.