Unearthed Arcana - Circle of the Stars Druid
UA seems like it is either fantastic or horrible. Some of the product is unbalanced and overpowered, while others are silly and worthless. Now, that said, I get why WotC does it. It’s exciting for players to have something new try out. It allows WotC to get feedback about what works and what doesn’t and then make an educated decision on whether or not a race, subclass or feat should be added as official content. The problem comes in when the new content is so overpowered it can disrupt the party balance.
The UA warforged race is a great example. When it first came out, seemingly everyone wanted to play it, and for good reason. Integrated Protection was so broken that at 1st level you could have an Armor Class of 20. It’s not as powerful as getting an extra attack, but an AC 20 is incredibly overpowered for a new 1st level character and can make the other players at the table frustrated with the disparity. Let’s not even talk about getting the equivalent of plate mail armor with a shield without having to spend over 1500 gold. To WotC’s credit they made a change when the warforged was rolled out as official content in Eberron: Rising from the Last War. Integrated Armor became a thing of the past and the warforged had to settle for a +1 to their AC. I may disagree with some of the things that Jeremy Crawford does, but this was an excellent decision (as are many others). That’s why he is the lead designer for the 5th edition.
At the same time, there is a lot to love about UA. I personally love the UA Feats and wish they would do more of them. Some are a bit strong but compared to the Lucky Feat, they aren’t that bad. I find them fun and interesting, just as some people find UA subclasses the best thing since sliced bread. Maybe we’ll look at feats soon, but today I’m going to focus on the newest Druid subclass, Circle of Stars. So let’s dive on in and see what it is all about.
Circle of the Stars
Let me start by saying when I read the introduction, I was excited to read through the description. I thought the concept was fantastic and blended perfectly with what a Druid was all about. The druid already had animals and creatures covered (Circle of Shepherd), all the terrain types covered (Circle of the Land), the Feywild (Circle of Dreams) and nighttime (Circle of the Moon). I find Circle of the Moon disappointing since it focuses on being a lycanthrope and nothing else. I hoped that Circle of the Stars would fill that gap, focusing on the mysteries of the night.
Star Map
You get to be a part astronomer and map the stars. This is a great beginning, especially considering my hopes for what the subclass would be. The different types of star maps cover a wide range of items, from the simple and plain - a stone with holes drilled in it, to the almost magical - a crystal that projects the stars. Holding tempered glass disks as your spellcasting focus seems strange to me, but that's being nitpicky, especially since it’s a tiny object so it is not that big of a deal. Being a tiny object, how much of the night sky can you really “map”? This is where the whole concept starts to lose me. There’s no real definition of the exact size of a tiny object in 5e, with the description comparing to a bottle or lock. That’s not very big and not a lot of space to create your map. I would like to see the star map be the crystal and the crystal only. It has an almost magical feel to it since you have to shine a light through it to project the map, and it could display the entire nighttime sky.
Getting Augury and Guiding Bolt spells that don’t use a spell slot is and can be cast a number of your times equal to your Wisdom modifier is fantastic. Augury is a situational type spell, but it can come in handy at various points in a campaign. Getting access to Guiding Bolt is almost too much. The closest spell that the Druid has to that amount of damage output is the Thunderwave spell, which does 13 (3d8) damage. It’s not clear at what level our Druid would cast their bolt of radiant damage, but assuming it is 2nd level, you’re looking at 17 (5d8) damage. If you can cast this 3 times before a long rest, which doesn’t seem like a stretch to have as your modifier, basically as a cantrip gives you the ability to do some serious damage, especially if you lose Wild Shape during an encounter.
Starry Form
Tired of being a panther or wolf with your Wild Shape ability? Well, Starry Form gives you some new options, each of which is powerful in my opinion. Instead of turning into a beast, you become an earthbound constellation. Each of the forms produces a 10-foot radius of bright light and an additional 10-foot radius of dim light, which is a nice little perk of the ability that fits well with how I visualize it. The light lines that connect your glowing joints take the shape of one of three constellations. That’s pretty neat. But in my mind, this 2nd level ability is an example of overpowering a UA creation.
The Chalice is an adaptation of the life cleric’s Blessed Healer ability. I heal you using a spell and I can heal myself or another creature for 1d8+half your Druid level. That’s insane at the 2nd level. The Blessed Healer ability is the life cleric’s 6th level ability, and even then, only you can take advantage of the additional healing. Say you are casting a 1st level Cure Wounds spell. When you use this ability at 2nd level you can heal yourself or someone else for an average of 5 hit points. A life cleric casting the same spell, who must be at the 6th level to use the ability, will only receive a flat 3 points of healing and cannot use the ability on anyone other than themselves. That’s crazy. Sure, it doesn’t scale as well as at higher levels, but for a 2nd level ability, it’s pretty OP.
The Archer gives you a bonus action spell attack. Multiple attacks and damage output are the name of the game in D&D, so an extra attack and 1d8+Wisdom modifier damage is nothing to scoff at, especially at the second level. If you are a fighter, you’re waiting until the 5th level to get an extra attack. Sure, it's an extra attack for one action and this uses your bonus action, but at the 2nd level your bonus action options are limited, so I’ll take the bonus action attack for 10 minutes and not complain one bit.
Last but not least is the Dragon form. Are you the kind of player that avoids some concentration spells because you like to go in, hit things and in turn get hit? Well then, the Dragon form is for you. Whenever you have to make a concentration check (Intelligence or Wisdom check or a Constitution saving throw), the minimum you can get is a 10+your modifier. At lower levels that is going to almost guarantee that you make your concentration check every time. To me, that means the party is going to have advantage on the poor creature I’ve cast the Faerie Fire spell on, or I’ve got a spirit that looks like a transparent beast or fey hanging out on the battlefield, just waiting for me or my allies to step on in and getting healed via the Healing Spirits spell.
Cosmic Omen
Pretty straightforward, and it feels like it’s in line with the other Druid 6th level abilities. Adding or subtracting a d6 to a creature’s attack roll, saving throw or ability check isn’t something to scoff at. It’s another ability that you can use equal to your Wisdom modifier, which by the 6th level is probably going to be a minimum of 3 times. My favorite part of this ability is that its a reaction. I love reactions and wish there were more available. Not much else to say about this ability. I like it and think that it works at the 6th level.
Full of Stars
Again another straightforward ability. At 10th level, when you’re walking around in your Starry Form looking like a bright chalice, you gain resistance to bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage. When put up against the other Druid 10th level abilities, this one feels a little weak. Please don’t get me wrong, having automatic resistance to three types of melee attacks is no joke, especially at higher levels. When you and your party thought it was a good idea to fight that Adult Black Dragon (it probably wasn’t), you fail the check against it Frightening Presence and it’s using all three of its attacks on you for an average of 43 points of damage, only taking half that damage is a really good thing. But given the choice, I’d rather have the opportunity to become an Air Elemental or teleport out of danger…especially when I’m fighting that dragon.
Star Flare
Remember that teleport I wanted to be able to do at the 10th level? I had to wait another 4 levels, but now I can, with some major differences. So you and your party are standing toe to toe with a horde of demons in close-quarter combat and you realize you should GTFO. That’s the time for Star Flare. You summon a giant burst of light from the stars above that covers a radius of 30 feet. You and all your friends can immediately teleport 120 feet away, giving you a nice head start when fleeing those evil fiends. And as a parting gift, they all get to make Constitution saving throws. If they fail, starlight rains down 4d10 radiant damage and blinds them till the end of your next turn. I know players are loath to run away, but in this scenario, it doesn’t get any better.
When I first read through this, I wasn’t sure about how I felt about it. After looking at it in comparison to the other Druid 14th level abilities, my opinion is that it lands in the middle. I’m not a fan of having a bunch of CR 2 creatures trying to defend me when I probably fight at CR 14+ creature, nor do I think Nature’s Sanctuary is anywhere close to what a good 14th level ability should be. That said, being able to Alter Self at will is pretty awesome, even for a class that can already Wild Shape into a CR1 creature for 7 hours at this point.
Verdict - Outside of the lower level abilities, it’s reasonably balanced and I’d play. If it becomes official content I wouldn’t be surprised to see Starry Form replace Chalice with something less powerful and maybe a small nerf for Star Map. I totally understand that to get people to try it out, making the 2nd level abilities OP will make it more likely for people to want to play it. But for official content, I think a few changes will be needed.
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