In the ancient depths of the wilderness, where shadows dance with eerie grace and whispers linger like a haunting melody, there exists a circle of druids unlike any other. Known as the Circle of Nightmares, these enigmatic guardians of the wilds draw their power from the darkest recesses of the natural world. Theirs is a realm of twisted dreams and eerie visions, where the boundary between reality and nightmare blurs into obscurity.
Within the Circle of Nightmares, druids delve into the hidden depths of the subconscious, communing with the primal fears and forbidden desires that lurk within the hearts of all beings. They harness the power of nightmares, weaving illusions and phantasms that ensnare the minds of their foes and sow terror in their wake. Through their connection to the darker aspects of nature, they gain insight into the fears and weaknesses of their adversaries, using this knowledge to manipulate and control the forces of darkness to their advantage.
The druids of the Circle of Nightmares are often solitary figures, dwelling in remote and desolate places far from the prying eyes of civilization. They are keepers of ancient secrets, guardians of forgotten lore, and seekers of forbidden knowledge. Theirs is a path shrouded in mystery and shadow, where every step taken leads deeper into the realm of nightmares.
As guardians of the wilds, the Circle of Nightmares stands ever vigilant against those who would seek to despoil or destroy the natural world. They are protectors of the balance between light and darkness, ensuring that the forces of chaos and order remain in equilibrium. Though feared and misunderstood by many, they are steadfast in their duty, willing to confront the darkness that lurks within the hearts of all beings, both mortal and immortal alike.
Nightmare Lord
At 2nd level, you begin absorbing the nightmares of others while resting. You can use these stored nightmares against your enemies and feed on the resulting fear. You have a number of Nightmare Dice equal to your druid level. The dice are d6’s.
As a bonus action, you can choose one creature you can see within 60 feet of you and spend a number of those dice equal to half your druid level or less. Roll the spent dice and add them together. The target must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the target takes psychic damage equal to the total and becomes frightened of you until the end of its next turn. On a successful save, it takes half as much damage and is immune to becoming frightened by this feature for 24 hours.
You regain all expended Nightmare Dice when you finish a long rest.
Inflict Night Terrors
Starting at 6th level, you learn to terrorize the dreams of others. You gain a magical night terror of your choice. Your night terror options are detailed at the end of the class description. You gain an additional night terror when you reach 10th level, and again at 14th level. Additionally, each time you gain a new night terror, you can choose one of the night terrors you know and replace it with another.
To inflict your night terrors, you must perform a 10-minute ritual. When you do so, choose a humanoid known to you. The target must be on the same plane of existence as you. If the target is asleep, it is affected by one of your night terrors.
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.
Dreamless
When you reach 10th level, you no longer need to sleep and can’t be forced to sleep by any means. To gain the benefits of a long rest, you can spend all 8 hours doing light activity, such as using your Inflict Night Terrors feature and keeping watch.
In addition to training normally, as detailed in chapter 8 of the Player’s Handbook, you can draw on the subconscious knowledge of sleeping humanoids. While touching a sleeping humanoid, you can train using a language or practice with a set of tools that the humanoid is proficient in. Progress made in this manner functions like normal, except you don’t have to find a willing trainer or pay the usual cost.
Marquis of Horror
Starting at 14th level, a creature that is frightened of you has disadvantage on saving throws against your spells and you have advantage on attack rolls against it.
Night Terrors
The night terrors are presented in alphabetical order.
- Echoes of Doom. You fill the target’s dreams with the discordant beating of otherworldly drums that continue to echo long after the target wakes. The target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or have its hit point maximum reduced by an amount equal to your Wisdom modifier. A remove curse, greater restoration, or wish spell can restore the target’s hit point maximum to its normal value.
- Haunting Images. You attempt to conjure forth terrifying images to infect the target’s sleep. The target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or have disadvantage on Constitution saving throws made to maintain concentration for 24 hours.
- Overflowing Hellscape. You create a hellish landscape of your choosing within the target’s dream. The target must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, when the target wakes, it perceives its immediate surroundings like you defined the landscape within the dream. Its real surroundings look, sound, smell, and even feel like that terrain, though the general layout of its surroundings remain the same. The affected area has a 50-foot radius and disappears as soon as the target steps out of the area.
- Seed of Horror. Using subtle machinations, you attempt to plant a seed of horror within the target. The target must make a Charisma saving throw. On a failed save, the seed is planted but the target doesn’t discern that there is anything wrong. Within 7 days, if the target sees you and you can see it, you can use a bonus action to cause the target to become frightened of you for 1 minute. The target can make a Wisdom saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a success. If you plant a seed of horror while you already have one active, the previous seed fades.
- Speech Leech. You make the target gradually lose its ability to speak within its dreams. The target must make a Charisma saving throw. On a failed save, the target’s voice is replaced with a voice of the DM’s choice for 12 hours after it wakes. You can speak in the target’s voice for the duration.
- Withering. You cause the target to dream of dust and the slow decay of time. The target must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, roll a d10. The target ages a number of years equal to the number rolled and you take the same amount of necrotic damage. This damage can’t be resisted or reduced in any way.
Restrictions
- Faith. Circle of Nightmare Druids must be a follower of the Apostates.
CIRCLE OF NIGHTMARES FEATURES
| Druid Level | Features |
|---|---|
| 2nd | Nightmare Lord |
| 6th | Inflict Night Terrors |
| 10th | Dreamless |
| 14th | Marquis of Horror |