The Druid Circle of Dreams In Xanathar's Guide To Everything

I will always look for an opportunity to insert something that has to do with the Fae wild because in my home campaign I always have things from say wild or otherwise known as fairy whether it’s hags or beautiful fate creatures who will help you or perilous beautiful ones who harm you I love this kind of fake connection there’s so much great folklore having to do with the Fae in the real world – drawn for D&D adventures it’s also an aesthetic that I know that not only I enjoy but many D&D players enjoy that it has otherworldly quality its resonant because it’s something that is in so much folklore but feels alien at the same time and so when we were brainstorming for the unearthed Arcana series and and then the eventual is anitha’s guide as usual I took my opportunity that we need some faith thing for the druid and part of that is because the druid is often associated with animals plants elementals but also fate creatures and then association with fate creatures goes all the way back to first edition where druids among their spell options had things like called woodland beings where you could suddenly call forth the various fake creatures to assist you and it’s also appropriate that this association exists because even an Irish mythology you know druids are often in the same stories with creatures from what would be called the Otherworld often they’re actually opposed to each other in in the Irish myths but again D&D so often transforms things from other sources and so in D&D it’s often the now the Druids who are befriending these fake creatures or you controlling them so the circle of the circle of Dreams is meant to be a subclass that leans heavily into the face side of the druid that’s identity is to be the druid who channels the power of the Fae wild to help his or her friends to be a little Trixie in terms of having teleportation which is something we include often with Fae beings but to largely be one who is emphasizing sort of the group support angle of the druid because that’s we often have multiple goals whenever we’re creating a subclass we want a good story we want fun abilities in and out of combat but we also want to fill role gaps that exist among the subclasses that are already in the game so we felt like we already have a wit in a way in the players handbook the nature wizard in the form of the circle of circle of the land we already have the druid who focuses on shape-changing largely to engage in battle with the circle of the moon so we wanted this fade druid that was focusing more on helping allies through healing and whatnot so the circle of Dreams has enhanced healing abilities also the themes in the in the subclass draw both on what we’d refer to as the sealy court and the uncie li court in the FEI wild so there are there are things that basically have to do with both sunlight and moonlight and the whole thing is sort of wrapped up in this package of the circle of Dreams because we’re we’re we’re leaning into kind of the dream eNOS the dreamy side of the Fae wild and also this sort of a poetic nod to the fact that this is the druid who who brings you comfort you know and you know not only heals you but also has abilities to protect your group while you’re taking a rest and then over the course of the play test process one of the things I added into this subclass that is now in the final version is that the druid can basically have you travel through dreams once the the druid gets up to high enough level by casting a special form of teleportation circle where you teleport to the last location where you had a long rest on the same plane of existence and this is a really flavorful ability that I’m looking forward to seeing it being used in campaigns because I think some groups are gonna figure out that this could be a really clever way to deal with certain obstacles in games and also I wait an escape hatch but it’s also going to be fun to have the circle of Dreams Drude always I need to remember okay where is the last place we took a long rest on this particular plane of existence now what that means is when you visit a plane of existence for the first time you have no place to teleport back to so basically you’ve got to have at least you got to get that night of rest on each plane of existence so essentially you have alright I now have an anchor a place that that I can then transport us through the dream realm back to and as long as you have that place you can you have that that safe hopefully safe place you can go back to I can see some DMS messing with the group if their foes start figuring out they’re doing this and basically camping out on the previous long rest locations of all right we traveled back to that end where we had our last long rest oh look the orcs are waiting for us in our room yeah that’s like the fourth or fifth time they use that ability someone’s gonna figure it out yeah so that I again it’s a fun flavorful and can potentially be a campaign defining kind of ability so I think I think people are gonna have a lot of fun with this subclass we know with other Fae and sort of ancients type themed things that players really love this stuff like people love the oath of the ancients pal in The Player’s Handbook circle of Dreams very much is sort of meant to stand side by side with something like the oath of the Ancients and feel like the kind of thing that like the ancient cultures associated with the ancient druids and with elves that this would be a very natural role for them to fill the Fae wild is often perilous but the circle of Dreams druid is able to take that magic and use it to their friends benefit not unlike actually a Fae being because the Fae wild is perilous often for non Fae beings people who people who are not native to that strange realm and so in a way the circle of Dreams druid is like a fake creature in that they’re able to make that Fame magic be helpful and it often is even at a lot of folklore to the friends of the Fae the realm of fairy is one of the most wondrous places you could visit you know with wine that is more delicious than wine anywhere else in the cosmos with you know the deepest sleep under a tree that you’ve had anywhere you know even better than the sleep you had under the softest bed and so it’s really the druid is functioning almost like a Fae being in being able to use that magic in that wonderful nurturing way rather than again being kind of perilous and suspect as so often the fate while tis two people who visit it

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— D&D Beyond (@DnDBeyond) September 28, 2017

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