Druid on the Warlock chassis

[J-H]

Patron: Nature
Changes from the base Warlock chassis:
-Saves are Cha & Wis
-Spellcasting stat is Wisdom
-Class skills are from the Druid list.
-Add medium armor proficiency (mostly for Hide armor if we keep "no metal armor")
-Switch entirely to the Druid spell list. This means no Eldritch Blast.
-May change out a Mystic Arcanum spell known with 24 hours of meditation outdoors. This gives some flexibility for the level 6-9 spells compared to Warlock, but not the responsiveness of a normal druid/wizard.

Pact boons: Any as appropriate. Book, Talisman, Blade, or Chain pact all fit okay.

Edit: Subclass features
Originally omitted
1st level:
Improved Cantrip Druid cantrips that deal damage with a base range of 10' or more have their ranged doubled. Wisdom modifier is added to the damage dealt by Druid cantrips unless it already applies [this applies to Control Flames, Create Bonfire, Frostbite, Magic Stone(doesn't double-apply), Poison Spray, Produce Flame, Primal Savagery, Thorn Whip, Thunderclap]. This is less powerful than Eldritch Blast due to lower damage dice and lack of force damage + push/pull, but applies to multiple cantrips. I want the druid to use druid cantrips. A 60' thorn whip is a pretty decent pull, and most of the damaging cantrips now have a 120' range. Poison Spray becomes more viable with a 20' range, and Primal Savagery is now xd10+wis in melee.

6th level: Usually a minor defensive feature.
Nature's sanctuary. Plants & beasts must make a wisdom save to attack you; on a successful save, they are immune to the effect for 24 hrs. Available at a low enough level to be useful

10th level:
Nature's Ward. Can't be charmed or frightened by fey or elementals, immune to poison or disease.

14th level: Usually a substantial damage feature.
Earth, Wind, and Fire. Add your wisdom modifier to the damage dealt by levelled spells that deal B/P/S, fire, or lightning damage.
The druid list has a number of earthy spells that deal bludgeoning damage such as their Fireball-equivalent (3rd level, Erupting Earth, 3d12 bludge & difficult terrain). I want to make those a bit better, as they are relatively weak anyway. This also boosts some of the higher level damage options, including the following spells of 5th level and above: Tsunami, Incendiary Cloud, Whirlwind, Fire Storm, Wall of Thorns, Bones of the Earth, Wrath of Nature, Transmute Rock, Maelstrom.

The rest of the druid-ness comes from new invocation choices, with design notes.

Barkskin. AC set to base 15 outdoors if in an area exposed to the sky, 13 indoors or underground. This is better than Mage Armor outdoors, and the same as the Mage Armor invocation indoors, but pairs well with...

Staff of the Woodlands. Your blade pact weapon appears as a naturally grown two-handed quarterstaff, with an enhancement bonus equal to your PB/3 (rounded down). While wielding it, your Barkskin invocation's AC value improves by 1, or 2 at 10th level. If you're a melee druid, you're probably going Blade Pact. It's not as great as a shield, but it's also a free +1/+2/+3 weapon that keys off of your spellcasting stat and is compatible with the Blade invocations.

Enhanced Barkskin. Requires 5th level and the Barkskin invocation. The AC bonus provided by Barkskin improves by 1. You reduce damage from all sources by 2, or 4 when in an area exposed to the sky.

Wildshape. As the Druid feature, PB/day.

Greater Wildshape. Requires 5th level and Wildshape invocation. As the druid feature, but may change into Beasts or CR5 elementals, up to a maximum CR of PB+1. Puts it off a bit, but that's no great loss at lower levels. Requires 2 invocations to get. PB+1 means you start off with CR4 forms and max out at CR 7, slightly higher than a Moon Druid. You get the CR5 elementals at 9th level.

Wild Companion. If you have the Chain Pact, your familiar instead uses the statistic block of the Summon Beast spell cast at a level equal to your proficiency bonus. If your Companion is killed, it takes 1 hour to re-summon. By level 17, you have an AC 17 Beast with 40-50hp and 3 1d8+10 attacks per round. It's squishy but that's a pretty good punch. Better than a familiar in combat, but loses the invisible scout and shapeshift functions. Never gets as strong as another party member, but also never irrelevant.

Land's Stride. As the Land Druid or Ranger feature.

The three invocations with +AC stack up to a total of 17, or 18 above level 10, when out of doors, and 15/16 indoors, + dex. The DR is nice particularly for making Concentration saves easier. With a maxed DEX, you can hit a 23 AC outdoors/21 indoors, but that involves 3 invocations and maxing a secondary stat, and Druids don't have native access to Shield. For comparison, a druid with Hide +2 and Shield +2 gets an AC of 21.


1. Does this look fun?
2. Would you play it?
3. Does this look like a nice mix-and-match substitute for the base Druid?


I would expect most players will take a few basic Warlock invocations as well as the Druid ones. You can make a serviceable Blade Pact druid-lock, but the spell list doesn't support it quite as well.
Wildshaping may be a bit too powerful at PB/day, but it's known to fall off at high levels as-is, so the high end power boost may be needed. Hitting CR 3-4 at lower levels may be an issue, but it's also at or after the 5th level power bump. There's also no Archdruid/Beast Spell class feature.
Chain pact benefits from the wild companion option, which offers a good but squishy battle partner that resummons over a short rest.
Talisman may get a bit better as druids don't have as many Reaction options. Talisman is talisman... not really impacted by what patron you take.

[JNAProductions]

Honestly, I think if you want to make a Warlock-style Druid, you're better off going whole-hog and making a whole class, not just a subclass.

But, to answer the specific questions...
1) Right about on par with Warlock.
2) Probably not over a standard Druid, but if I wanted to get my Druid on and this was the Druid the DM wanted, sure.
3) Eh... As mentioned above, better to go ham.

[LibraryOgre]

I did a version of this for Dark Sun. I made Wild Shape an invocation... but I made all the Priest classes of Dark Sun into Warlocks... Clerics, Druids, and Warlocks

Reproduction of the druid stuff

Spoiler: This is all my stuff

Show

Spirit of the Land Patron (Druids)

Spirits of the Land patrons have different bonus spells, depending on terrain, but have similar powers as they increase in level. While druids can seem very powerful, they are somewhat limited by their environment; most of their power is manifest when on their guarded lands.

Granted Powers:

1 Instead of Warlock spells, those with the Spirit of the Land patron choose their spells known from the Druid list, or from those available to druids of their terrain. On their guarded lands, they ignore difficult terrain and have advantage on Perception, Stealth, and Survival checks.
6 While on their Guarded Lands, the Druid requires no food or water. While on their Guarded Lands, they may turn invisible for a number of minutes per short rest equal to their proficiency bonus. This must be taken in one minute intervals. On their Guarded Lands, they may expend a spell slot to use any ritual spell available to druids as a ritual, regardless of whether they know the spell or not, subject to their maximum spell level.
10 While on their Guarded Lands, Druids may cast any spell on the Druid spell list, and the list of their bonus spells by terrain, regardless of whether they know that spell or not. This includes the ability to use all druid rituals as ritual magic; they no longer need expend a spell slot for druid rituals while on their guarded lands. At 10th level, a druid's Time of Wandering is done; they must spend half of their time on their guarded lands.
14 A druid on their guarded lands no longer needs sleep, and gains all of the benefits of a long rest with only one hour of rest.

(Note: I can see you now, and you're saying "WHAT THE HECK?" because these are insanely powerful. They are. If they are on their guarded lands. If not on their guarded lands, the only patron ability they have is "completely replace warlock list with druid list".)

(If the spells are listed 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, then they have been updated from the cut and paste; if 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, they have not been)

Terrain Spells:
Boulder Fields
1st Catapult, Unseen Servant
2nd spider climb, Maximilian's Earthen Grasp
3rd Melf's Minute Meteors, Tiny Servant
4th dimension door, Guardian of Faith
5th hold monster, passwall

Forest
1st false life, sleep
2nd spider climb, web
3rd life transferrence, slow
4th Guardian of Faith, greater invisibility
5th Creation, Hold Monster

Mountains
1st Armor of Agathys, catapult
2nd Maximilian's Earthen Grasp, spider climb
3rd fly, lightning bolt
4th Guardian of Faith, Storm Sphere
5th far step, passwall

Rocky Badlands
1st Catapult, Expeditious Retreat
2nd misty step, web
3rd slow, tiny servant
4th Guardian of Faith, Sickening Radiance
5th Dawn, Mislead

Salt Flats
1st color spray, silent image
2nd blindness/deafness, Phantasmal force
3rd fear, wall of sand (salt)
4th Guardian of Faith, Sickening Radiance
5th cloudkill, wall of light

Sandy Wastes
1st Burning Hands, Expeditious Retreat
2nd blindness/deafness, blur
3rd Hypnotic Pattern, Wall of Sand
4th Greater Invisibility, Guardian of Faith
5th Dawn, Wall of Light

Scrub Plains
1st false life, ray of sickness
2nd invisibility, pyrotechnics
3rd beacon of hope, haste
4th fabricate, guardian of faith
5th dream, Mislead

Silt Sea
1st feather fall, sleep
2nd levitate, misty step
3rd fly, stinking cloud
4th Dimension Door, Guardian of Faith
5th Cloudkill, enervation

Stony Barrens
1st catapult, sleep
2nd spider climb, Maximilian's Earth Grasp
3rd lightning bolt, slow
4th Guardian of Faith, Storm Sphere
5th hold monster, telekinesis

Verdant Belt
1st False Life, Sleep
2nd calm emotions, pyrotechnics
3rd beacon of hope, haste
4th fabricate, guardians of faith
5th dream, hold monster

Invocations:

Beasts of the Land
Prerequisite: Spirit of the Land Patron, 2nd level
Once per day, you may make use of the Druid's Wild Shape ability (PH, p 64) to turn into a beast native to your guarded lands, subject to the other restrictions of wild shape (qv the maximum CR, no flying speed until level 8, etc). The transformation lasts one hour per level, though you may end it as a bonus action.

Book of Flesh
Prerequisite: Pact of the Tome
You gain proficiency with tattooist needles. Upon acquiring this invocation, your Book of Shadows is merged into your flesh, rewriting itself as tattoos on your skin, and preventing it from being lost. These tattoos describe what your Book of Shadows contained, and serve as your Book of Shadows until you replace this invocation. These tattoos are not necessarily written in words; they may be pictures appropriate to your patron. All invocations adding abilities to your Book of Shadows will also add these abilities to your Book of Flesh, but must be tattoo'd on your flesh (you may do this yourself, if you have tattooist needles and appropriate ink). Invocations which require names to be written into your Book of Shadows may be replaced with someone touching that tattoo with intent and your consent.

Healer's Touch
As a bonus action, you may touch a willing person. Your touch allows them to spend a Hit Die, adding your proficiency bonus to the number rolled as hit points regained.

Master of Forms
Prerequisites: Elemental or Spirit of the Land Patron, Form of the Elements or Beasts of the Land invocation.
You are more adept at changing forms. You may now use your ability to change shape (granted by the previous invocation) as a bonus action, and its use becomes once per short rest. Additionally, while transformed, you may use a bonus action to expend a spell slot, regaining 1d8 HP per level of the spell slot used.

[BerzerkerUnit]

I would alter Pact Boons to Wildshape, Wild Companion, Nature's Bounty

Wildshape would give you an unrecognizable beast-like form (so players could be standard beasts or bestial monstrosity types). A flat damage output (d8) and middling defenses. Subclass spells would be available in Wildshape.

Wild Companion would give you a beast companion a little better than a familiar. I'd add a bit that you can order the beast to attack as a bonus action when you cast a spell on your subclass list.

Nature's Bounty would be Wis Bonus x day, Goodberry and scale on level.


Invocations could alter the boons like

Gift of the Raptor
Requires Level 8, Wildshape Boon
Your Wildshape has wings granting you a flight speed equal to its walking speed.

Savage Fangs
Requires Wildshape Boon
Your Wildshape's slam attack deals 1d12 piercing damage and targets must succeed on a Str save vs your spell DC or be knocked prone

Venomous Wildshape
Requires Level 2, Wildshape Boon
While Wildshaped, when you hit with your Slam attack, you can choose to deal its normal damage or 1d6 + Str Modifier piercing damage and the target must succeed on a save vs your Spell DC or take 1d10 Poison Damage and be poisoned until the beginning of your next turn.

Rejuvenating Bounty
Requires Level 5, Nature's Bounty Boon
A creature that consumes a goodberry can forgo its healing property to instead ignore either its daily requirement for food or sleep until it completes its next long rest. It must still spend 8 hours of limited activity to gain the benefit of a long rest.

Spicy Bounty
Requires Level 5, Nature's Bounty Boon
A creature that consumes your goodberry can forgo its healing property to instead double their speed and take an additional Dodge, Dash, Disengage, or Attack Action on its next turn. A creature must complete a long rest before benefitting from this effect again.

Illuminating Bounty
Requires Level 2, Nature's Bounty Boon
When you activate your Nature's Bounty, the plant bearing the Goodberries can also be harvested. When you do so you decide if it functions as a Staff, Club, or Great Club. Until you complete a long rest or you use your Nature's Bounty feature again, it shines like a torch and you can use its Weapon Mastery.

Monstrous Companion
Requires Level 3, Wild Companion Boon
Your Wild Companion's size can be Large.

Ferocious Companion
Requires Level 8, Wild Companion Boon
When you cast a spell on your Subclass spell list or take the Attack Action, you can direct your Wild Companion to make a Slam Attack as a bonus action.

Winged Companion
Requires Level 5, Wild Companion Boon
Your Wild Companion now has a Fly speed equal to its walking speed.

Venomous Companion
Requires Level 2, Wild Companion Boon
When your Wild Companion hits with its Slam attack it does 1d6 piercing damage and the target must succeed on a save vs your Spell DC or take 1d10 Poison Damage.