A kindly old crone who always smells of tea and fresh earth lives down the street. She gives homemade sweets to the children and is quick to come over when childbirth or sickness takes someone abed. She never asks for anything for her services, but the village showers her with gifts, if not out of gratitude then out of fear she may leave.
A young woman sews together a small poppet of a wicked man, lips twisted in a cruel smile. She sets it over the flame and knows that somewhere a villain is boiling in his own skin.
A twistedly beautiful dark queen stirs a great black cauldron, within is a terrifying stew with too small bones bobbing to the surface. She did unforgivable things to brew the awful sludge, but the fumes will give her another 100 years of youth and vigor.
Druids of this circle follow a certain old practice, one that may have passed off as being merely the stuff of myth and fairytales. These druids commune with ancient spirits of the nature that was before man. Known as witches, druids of this circle use the knowledge they gain from these beings of the oldest magic to bind pieces of their souls to items that become tied to their very essence, acting as lightning rods for the energies of the universe. Many consider these practices reckless, but witches rely on their knowledge of these old magic's to never take things too far.
(This is the druid variant of a wizard subclass I made called "Witch". If that intrigues you, feel free to look it up.)
Witches Talismen
At 2nd level, you choose a witch talisman. Your witch talisman counts as an arcane focus for the purpose of casting spells. your talisman is a highly personal item that you imbued with a part of your soul, acting as a channel to the ambient magical energies of the universe.
Talismans, regardless of type, have hit points equal half your max HP and an AC equal to your spell save DC. It can only be hit if targeted specifically and cannot be included in areas of effect. If your talisman is destroyed, you lose the ability to cast spells and any ongoing spells you are concentrating on immediately end. You also immediately take damage equal to half your maximum HP. You can create a new talisman or restore your own talisman to full hit points over the course of a long rest. When you die, your talisman is destroyed in a spectacular display of magical power. It cracks, streams of light pouring from it until it shatters and explodes in a cloud of glittering dust, elemental energy, shrapnel and arcane force. One piece of it always remains: the burned husk of a witch’s broom, the blackened crystal from a gorgeous necklace, the broken hilt of a cruel knife.
Your choice of talisman also gives you a special ability associated with it, based on its type as listed below. This choice cannot be changed.
Amulet
Your talisman is a magical amulet with a design unique and iconic to you. (Examples: A lucky coin, a shiny button that replaces a button on anything you wear, a scarab beetle necklace, a silver belt buckle, a four leaf clover that never wilts, a bone pentacle.)
While you wear it you gain a +2 bonus to your AC.
Athame
Your talisman is an ornate or rustic magical weapon. This weapon takes the form of a dagger, short sword or any other one-handed melee weapon.(Examples: A black glass dagger, a silver longsword, a stone handaxe, a bone spear, a gleaming glove that produces a deadly blade, a barbed scourge.)
You are proficient with your athame, and you can add your Wisdom modifier to attack and damage rolls made with your athame. Over the course of a long rest, you can choose to change your athame into a different weapon.
Focus
Your talisman is a magic wand, broom, staff, crystal, tome or rod with a design unique to you. (Examples: A carved wand of bone, a twined ivy bracelet, a crystal ball that floats above your hand, a tome of fairy tales and poems, a staff made from a single ancient oak branch, a gnarled broom, or a giant pestle.)
While you wield it, you receive a +2 bonus to you spell attack and spell save DC.
Headpiece
Your talisman is a hat, pendant, barrette, hairband, headband or head piece of some sort with a design unique to yourself, generally with a jewel or bone centerpiece.(Examples: A pointed, conical hat, a gem that hangs from a chain on the center of the forehead, a butterfly barrette, or a beautiful sapphire pin.)
While you wear it, you gain proficiency in any 2 skills of your choice.
Ring
Your talisman is a ring of power with a unique design. It could be chased metal, fine wire with a jewel or bone setting, a thick band, a wedding ring, a cage ring, a claw ring or any other finger adornment. While you wear your ring, you can speak, read, and write Abyssal, Draconic, Infernal, Primordial, and Sylvan.
Witchcraft Spells
Your knowledge of the old magics allows you access to certain spells at 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th level.
Once you gain access to a circle spell, 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.
Witchcraft Spells
Witches Familiar
Starting at 6th level, you gain enough power to enact a special ritual to create your own magical familiar. You learn the find familiar spell and can cast it with the following changes:
- When you cast this spell, you can select a beast from your wild shape list instead of the normal list provided by the spell to become your familiar. You must be able to wild shape into the beast to choose it as your familiar.
- Your familiar shares your Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores, as well as your saving throw proficiencies.
- Your familiar adds your Wisdom modifier to it's AC.
- As an action, you can spend 1 use of your wild shape to imbue your familiar with feral might. For a number of rounds equal to your Wisdom modifier, your familiar can take the Attack action on its turns.
Your familiar is created with a fraction of your soul, similar to your talisman, and follows the same rules as your talisman. If your familiar is reduced to 0 hit points, you immediately take damage equal to half your maximum hit points.
Witches Hex
Starting at 6th level, you can put a shapechanging hex on allies and enemies. As an action, you can spend 1 use of your Wild Shape feature and choose a creature within 30 feet of you. If the creature is friendly to you and willing, you can transform the creature into any beast you have access to via your Wild Shape feature. If the creature is hostile to you, they must make a Wisdom saving throw against you spell save DC. If the creature succeeds on the save, you cannot target that creature with this feature again for 24 hours. A creature transformed by this feature follows the same rules as your Wild Shape, except you now concentrate on it as if concentrating on a spell. While a creature is transformed in this way, you cannot use your Wild Shape feature.
A creature transformed by this feature is incapable of reverting back into their normal form unless you spend a bonus action to end the effect, their beast form is reduced to 0 hit points, you lose concentration, or the time they spend transformed exceeds the max duration of your Wild Shape.
Witch's Conveyance
Starting at 10th level, you can spend 7 days to create a magical item that, as long as you are mounted on it, gives you a flying speed of 40 feet. This item could be a broom, a giant mortar, a cauldron, a pony-sized swan made out of ivory, a fey stallion, a giant bat or any other mount or conveyance. The conveyance works only for you and can carry a single passenger. If you are within 1 mile of your conveyance you can call it to your side at its flying speed. Your conveyance can shrink down to the size of a 6 inch figurine to fit in a pack or belt pouch. Your conveyance has limited animation when away from you, even if it is in the form of a living creature. It can take no actions unless it is within 60 feet of you, in which case it can only move its flying speed or interact with objects. Your conveyance cannot take the attack action or any other combat action.
The item is made of your own magic, has a piece of your soul imbibed to it, and follows the same rules as your talisman. Your conveyance has hit points equal to half of your max hit points and an AC of 20. If your conveyance is reduced to 0 hit points, it is destroyed and you take damage equal to half your max HP.
Witch's House
Starting at 14th level, you can create a magical home in 7 days time. It can be no less than 30 feet long and 10 feet tall on each side on the outside, but is no more than 80 feet long and 40 feet tall on each side. It could be a fine wooden house, a tower of stone, a hut standing on chicken legs, a ramshackle mansion of clockwork and magic, a garden enclosed in a fence of black thorns or any other domicile. This class feature otherwise works as the spell magnificent mansion except it has an unlimited duration and a physical presence in the real world. The home’s banquet of food regenerates once every 24 hours and never spoils. The home can be moved once per week in a ritual that takes one hour to a location within 10 miles. Each time it is moved the outer dimensions of the house can be altered to fit the new location, but the inner dimensions remain as the spell magnificent mansion
