Circle of the warden

Every druid has a responsibility to the natural world, but those who join the Circle of the Warden stand as sentinels of nature’s balance. The Circle of the Warden specializes in divination and abjuration magics to help foresee possible imbalances and correct them before they cause irreparable damage. To druids of this circle, people are as much a part of the natural balance as plants and animals. As such, these druids can be found providing succor to those affected by natural disasters just as often as to the flora and fauna. In Humblewood, many druids who have joined the Tenders of the Scorched Grove are members of this circle, as its values align quite closely with the tenets of their order.

Heartbeat of the Land

Starting when you choose this circle at 2nd level, you form a connection to the natural world around you, and you can sense when it is in danger. You gain proficiency in the Nature and Insight skills. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses either of those proficiencies. Additionally, by spending 10 minutes communing with nature, you can glean the following information about the area within 3 miles of you:

• You learn the general location and severity of any immediate threats to the environment in the region (forest fires, flooding, blights, etc.).
• You learn if any aberrations, beasts, elementals, fey, or undead are present within range, but not their specific locations.
• You learn the general direction of the nearest portal to an elemental plane.

Shared Burden

Also at 2nd level, you learn the art of siphoning off harmfulelemental energy. You can use this to lessen elemental damage being done to your allies by shouldering some of it yourself. When a creature within 30 feet of you takes cold, fire, lightning, or thunder damage, you can use your reaction to grant that creature resistance against the damage dealt. You take damage equal to the amount taken by the target creature.
Additionally, you may spend an action to reduce the area of natural or magical effects which deal persistent cold, fire, or lightning damage within 30 feet of you. You may remove up to 20 feet worth of adjacent spaces from the area of such effects per use of this feature. However, for each 5-foot space of energy damage removed in this way, you take 1d6 points of damage of the same type the effect would deal. If the effect is caused by a spell, you instead take 1d6 points of damage per the spell’s level for each 5-foot space removed and, if there are no damage dealing spaces remaining, the effect is dispelled. You have resistance to any damage dealt to you through this feature.

Sympathetic Shield

Starting at 6th level, you learn how to channel the energy of your beast shapes into manifestations of nature’s protection. As an action, you may expend a use of your Wild Shape feature to shield yourself or an ally within 30 feet of you in the protective armor of a beast spirit. This spirit armor is translucent and doesn’t block line of sight. It can take the shape of any beast you desire, though it must be a form you shape into. The shielded creature gains a +2 bonus to its AC and 1d10 temporary hit points for every 3 druid levels you possess. This effect lasts until these temporary hit points are expended or replaced by another ability which grants temporary hit points. At 14th level, the spirit armor can retaliate against foes who would attack it directly. Whenever a shielded creature is dealt damage by a target within 5 feet of it, the spirit armor deals 1d8 points of magical bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage to that target. This damage type is chosen by the druid when activating Sympathetic Shield.

Aura of Calm

Starting at 10th level, your presence radiates an aura of soothing natural magic. Whenever you or a friendly creature within 10 feet of you receives healing from a spell, that spell restores an additional number of hit points equal to half your druid level. Additionally, all plants that aren’t creatures within this aura grow thick and plentiful and are restored to their full vigor. Such plants also become safe to travelers while inside the aura, negating difficult terrain caused by plants, including magical effects such as entangle or spike growth, and granting advantage on any saving throws made to resist the harmful effects of such spells.

Bond of Shelter

Once you reach 14th level, your service to the natural balance is rewarded, and nature itself rises to protect you and your allies from harm. As an action, you can create a 30-foot-radius, 20-foot-tall cylinder of protective energy, centered on your current position at the time you create it. This cylinder lasts for 1 hour. As long as you are on the Material Plane or an elemental plane, natural features in the area, including plants, trees, rocks, and water (as well as wind, water, earth, or fire, if on an elemental plane) animate to defend you. If not in a setting where natural features are present, plants, trees, rocks, and other natural elements sprout from the earth before animating. When you activate this ability, choose any number of creatures you are familiar with to be immune to the effect. The cylinder affects each other creature in the following ways:

• Affected creatures can’t willingly enter the cylinder unless they succeed on a Charisma saving throw against your spell save DC. The cylinder also protects the area against planar travel for the duration, and therefore prevents any creature from accessing the area by way of the Astral Plane, Ethereal Plane, Feywild, Shadowfell, or the plane shift spell.
• Affected creatures have disadvantage on attack rolls against targets within the cylinder.
• Targets within the cylinder can’t be charmed, frightened, or possessed by affected creatures.
• When an affected creature enters the cylinder for the first time on a turn or starts its turn there, the creature takes 5d10 magical bludgeoning damage from the animated nature within.

Once you use this feature, you can’t do so again until you finish a long rest.