Druid Subclasses 5e

Here is a list of Druid Subclasses in 5e DnD:

• The Circle of Dreams
• The Circle of Spores
• The Circle of Stars
• The Circle of Wildfire
• The Circle of the Land
• The Circle of the Moon
• The Circle of the Shepherd

The Circle of Dreams

The Circle of Dreams Druid can be found in Xanathar’s Guide to Everything.

The Druids who follow the Circle of Dreams typically come from or have a strong connection to the Fey Wilds. Their abilities are tied to the Feywilds, a realm very much out of space and time, but also very tangible. 

Because of the connection to the Feywilds, Circle of Dreams Druids are able to teleport and bring allies into limited pockets that hide them from enemies. They also have some healing abilities.

Role: Healing

Abilities

• Balm of the Summer Court
• Hearth of Moonlight and Shadow
• Hidden Paths
• Walker in Dreams

The Circle of DreamsSubclass Feature

The teleportation abilities are nice to have, but you won’t have access to them until much later. The main ability of the Dream Subclass is the AoE healing ability, Balm of the Summer Court. At level 2 it’s a great way to heal the party. 

Pros of The Circle of Dreams

The best thing about the Circle of Dreams Druid is the thematic elements. It’s a cool idea to have a character that fades in and out of the Feywilds at will. 

Cons of The Circle of Dreams

Unfortunately, that’s all that’s really good about the Circle of Dreams Druid. It’s just a good idea. It’s not fleshed out and the abilities are weaker than the other Subclass options.

The Circle of the Shepherd

The Circle of the Shepherd can be found in Xanathar’s Guide to Everything. 

As you might imagine from the name, the Circle of the Shephard is the summoner subclass for Druids. 

Role: Tank Healing Damage

Abilities

• Speech of the Woods
• Spirit Totem
• Mighty Summoner
• Guardian Spirit
• Faithful Summons

The Circle of the Shepherd Subclass Feature

The Circle of the Shepherd is quite versatile since they rely heavily on summoned creatures to do their bidding. Factor in Wild Shape, and you can probably get through any encounter or trap fairly easily. 

In addition to this, their spirit totem grants one of three different auras that can buff everyone around them with hit points, advantage on attacks, or advantage on ability checks. That’s always going to be a useful skill. 

Pros of The Circle of the Shepherd

As I mentioned earlier, there’s a lot to like here. Their summon spells get buffed by class abilities, and their auras will always be useful either in combat or out of it. The ability to summon animals and spirits also just feels right from a roleplaying perspective. It just feels more Druid (Druidy?)

Cons of The Circle of the Shepherd

I personally think this subclass suffers from trying to do too much. It’s great, but it doesn’t excel in any one aspect. If you want to summon creatures, pick this one, otherwise, it just seems a little boring to me.

The Circle of the Land

The Circle of the Land Druid can be found in the Player’s Handbook. 

When an Adventurer attunes themselves to nature they become one of the Circle of the Land Druids. They gain power directly from the land where they became a Druid. 

Role: Tank, Damage, Healing

Abilities

• Bonus Cantrip
• Natural Recovery
• Circle Spells
• Nature’s Ward
• Nature’s Sanctuary

Circle of the Land Expanded Spell List

Arctic

Druid Level	Circle Spells
3rd	Hold Person, Spike Growth
5th	Sleet Storm, Slow
7th	Freedom of Movement, Ice Storm
9th	Commune with Nature, Cone of Cold

Coast

Druid Level	Circle Spells
3rd	Mirror Image, Misty Step
5th	Water Breathing, Water Walk
7th	Control Water, Freedom of Movement
9th	Conjure Elemental, Scrying

Desert

Druid Level	Circle Spells
3rd	Blur, Silence
5th	Create Food and Water, Protection from Energy
7th	Blight, Hallucinatory Terrain
9th	Insect Plague, Wall of Stone

Forest

Druid Level	Circle Spells
3rd	Barkskin, Spider Climb
5th	Call Lightning, Plant Growth
7th	Divination, Freedom of Movement
9th	Commune with Nature, Tree Stride

Grassland

Druid Level	Circle Spells
3rd	Invisibility, Pass Without Trace
5th	Daylight, Haste
7th	Divination, Freedom of Movement
9th	Dream, Insect Plague

Mountain

Druid Level	Circle Spells
3rd	Spider Climb, Spike Growth
5th	Lightning Bolt, Meld into Stone
7th	Stone Shape, Stoneskin
9th	Passwall, Wall of Stone

Swamp

Druid Level	Circle Spells
3rd	Darkness, Melf’s Acid Arrow
5th	Water Walk, Stinking Cloud
7th	Freedom of Movement, Locate Creature
9th	Insect Plague, Scrying</td>

Underdark

Druid Level	Circle Spells
3rd	Spider Climb, Web
5th	Gaseous Form, Stinking Cloud
7th	Greater Invisibility, Stone Shape
9th	Cloudkill, Insect Plague

The Circle of the Land Subclass Feature

Terrain is no longer an issue with Circle of the Land Druids. They can easily maneuver through difficult terrain, and they have a massively expanded spell list depending upon what type of terrain they choose. In addition to all of this, the land eventually recognizes the Druid as a part of them, and beasts and creatures of the land will be hesitant to attack. 

Pros of The Circle of the Land

The major draw for Druids to choose the Circle of the Land is the spells. They have a wide variety of spell options and it’s one of the easier spellcaster classes to choose from. There are no spellbooks or Metamagic to deal with, just hard-hitting spells. 

Cons of The Circle of the Land

This is definitely a beginner spellcaster class. Although it’s easy to play for beginners, you also lose a bit of complexity when compared to the other spellcasting classes. Yes, there are a few hard-hitting and useful spells, but the Wizard will always outshine as a spellcaster. It’s a mid-tier option great for beginners, but not expert players.

Circle of Wildfire Expanded Spell List

Druid Level	Circle Spells
2nd	Burning Hands, Cure Wounds
3rd	Flaming Sphere, Scorching Ray
5th	Plant Growth, Revivify
7th	Aura of Life, Fire Shield
9th	Flame Strike, Mass Cure Wounds

The Circle of Wildfire Subclass Feature

By burning a Wild Shape Charge, the Druid summons a Wildfire Spirit that can both heal and attack. The spirit can be commanded using a bonus action to attack, dodge, and teleport. All the while they’ll be burning their enemies, and at higher levels, you can siphon the spirit of deceased creatures to heal allies. 

Pros of The Circle of Wildfire

I really like this subclass. It has a nice mixture of attack abilities and healing abilities. In addition to that, you’ll have a lot of different options for fire damage in your arsenal. 

Cons of The Circle of Wildfire

There is a key flaw in this class and it’s the FIRE in fire Wildfire. If you come up against anything that has flame/fire resistance you’re in trouble.

The Circle of Stars

The Circle of the Stars Druid can be found in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything. 

The Circle of the Stars Druids takes astrology to the next level. Instead of focusing on the natural paths of the earth, they look to the heavens to find balance and guidance. They gain power through their understanding of the constellations and the cosmos. 

Role: Healing, Damage

Abilities

• Starry Form
• Cosmic Omen
• Twinkling Constellations
• Full of Stars

The Circle of Stars Subclass Feature

The major change for the Circle of Stars Druid is in their Wild Shape. Instead of turning into an animal, they can shift their form into a corporeal constellation. Stars Druids can choose between 3 different constellations with different effects. 

Archer: Extra attack damage.

Chalice: Healing ability.

Dragon: Easier Intelligence & Wisdom checks. 

Pros of The Circle of Stars

Circle of the Stars is a great subclass. They have a decent healing ability as well as a unique damage-dealing ability with their Starry Form. In addition to that, their Cosmic Omen is a fantastic ability that allows them to alter the results of dice rolls. Overall, The Circle of the Stars has a few great abilities to choose from. 

Cons of The Circle of Stars

Although their Starry Form adds quite a few new bonuses and abilities, it does use up your Wild Shape charges. This, in essence, removes the defining feature of the Druid and replaces it with Starry Form. It’s not ideal having to choose between the Druid’s defining feature and a subclass-specific version.

The Circle of Spores

The Circle of Spores Druid can be found in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything. 

All Druids have a tendency to focus on one particular aspect of nature and the natural world, and the Circle of Spores Druids are no different. They do stand out among the crowd since they focus on decay as part of the natural order of the universe and dedicate themselves to spores and mushrooms which destroy and decompose objects (and enemies) so that new life can grow in its place.

Role: Damage

Abilities

• Halo of Spores
• Symbiotic Entity
• Fungal Infestation
• Spreading Spores
• Fungal Body

Circle of Spores Expanded Spell List

Druid Level	Circle Spells
2nd	Chill Touch
3rd	Blindness/Deafness, Gentle Repose
5th	Animate Dead, Gaseous Form
7th	Blight, Confusion
9th	Cloudkill, Contagion

The Circle of Spores Subclass Feature

The Circle of Spores is an oddball subclass, but one of my favorites. They use their reaction and bonus actions to deal necrotic damage as a bonus with their various spore effects. They can even use some light necromancy by using spores to create undead fungal zombies. 

Pros of The Circle of Spores

Circle of the Spores can deal a lot of extra damage. In addition, the majority of their abilities don’t use an action. It’s mostly a bonus or reaction. This means they can use their regular abilities and spells in addition to dealing necrotic damage. 

They can also gain temporary hit points and a meat shield ally which makes them fantastic melee Druids. 

Cons of The Circle of Spores

Although Circle of the Spores Druids have a lot of bonuses and extra damage abilities, it can take a lot of work to juggle all of them as a first-time player. If you’re not completely aware of all of your abilities and fairly competent with core DnD rules, then you may find yourself having some trouble juggling all of the rules.

The Circle of the Moon

The Circle of the Moon Druid can be found in the Player’s Handbook. 

Circle of the Moon Druids are the quintessential Druids of DnD 5e. They primarily focus on their Wild Shape ability and are more often than not can be found in their beast forms. 

Role: Utility, Tank, Damage

Abilities

• Combat Wild Shape
• Circle Forms
• Primal Strike
• Elemental Wild Shape
• Thousand Forms

The Circle of the Moon Subclass Feature

The Circle of the Moon Druids specialize in the Wild Shape ability. This means that as soon as they gain the ability to Wild Shape, their Wild Shape is stronger than any other Druids. As the Circle of the Moon Druid levels up, their Wild Shape only gets stronger and more versatile. 

Pros of The Circle of the Moon

Almost any situation can be solved with Wild Shape, and Circle of the Moon Druids have the most number of options. Other Druids can turn into a wolf, but a Circle of the Moon Druid can turn into a Giant Wooly Mammoth or Dinosaur. It’s no contest. 

Cons of The Circle of the Moon

Circle of the Moon Druids are very specialized. They focus solely on their ability to Wild Shape which is incredibly fun. You do however sacrifice a lot of the spells and other abilities of the class since you’ll be spending most of your time in a Wild Shape.

Check out some of our other guides including Druid 5e Class Guide, Druid 5e Spells, Heat Metal 5, Attack Bonuses 5e, and Lesser Restoration 5e.