The Compendium Of Misfit Subclasses

The Compendium of Misfit Subclasses



I started this project with the Circle of the Wild because I wasn't happy with the shape-shifting abilities of Circle of the Moon druids. After finishing that I realized that there were several other subclasses that either disappointed me or were universally disliked. I gathered a few off the top of my head that I wanted to work on fixing and am compiling them here!

 

A druid subclass focused on shapeshifting.



A monk subclass built around manipulating the elements.



A Wizard subclass meant to blend melee attacks and spellcasting.



A Ranger subclass that creates a strong bond with a fey companion.



A fighter subclass based around supporting your allies.

2

Part 1 | Table of Contents

This is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC.



A druid subclass focused on shapeshifting.



Druids of the Circle of the Wild are natural shapeshifters and stewards of the animal kingdom. Members of their order gather where wildlife would often be found, dense forests, deep oceans, even arctic tundras or scorching deserts. These druids believe in the natural order of the world around them and work hard to preserve it. Circle of the Wild druids are often found in a different form than their natural shape. They prefer to blend in with the wildlife around them and study nature without disturbing it. Though, when need be, Circle of the Wild druids can call upon the feral power beasts and become fierce warriors. 

When you choose the Circle of the Wild at 2nd level, you gain the ability to shift your form into any beast with a CR up to 1/2 as a bonus action. Starting at 3rd level, you can choose any form with a CR as high as your druid level divided by 3 (rounded down). You can also spend a bonus action to return to your normal form at any time. When you are transformed, the following rules apply: Your game statistics are replaced by the statistics of the beast, but you retain your alignment, personality, and Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores. You also retain all of your skill and saving throw proficiencies, in addition to gaining those of the creature. If the creature has the same proficiency as you and the bonus in its stat block is higher than yours, use the creature’s bonus instead of yours. If the creature has any legendary or lair actions, you can’t use them. You can’t cast spells, and your ability to speak or take any action that requires hands is limited to the capabilities of your beast form. Transforming doesn’t break your concentration on a spell you’ve already cast, however, or prevent you from taking actions that are part of a spell, such as call lightning, that you’ve already cast. You retain the benefit of any features from your class, race, or other source and can use them if the new form is physically capable of doing so. However, you can’t use any of your special senses, such as darkvision, unless your new form also has that sense. You choose whether your equipment falls to the ground in your space, merges into your new form, or is worn by it. Worn equipment functions as normal, but the DM decides whether it is practical for the new form to wear a piece of equipment, based on the creature’s shape and size. Your equipment doesn’t change size or shape to match the new form, and any equipment that the new form can’t wear must either fall to the ground or merge with it. Equipment that merges with the form has no effect until you leave the form. You must level 8 or above to assume a form with a fly speed. Your Health pool remains the same as your druid form, unlike with normal wild shape. You revert to your normal form if you drop to 0 hit points and fall unconscious, or by using a bonus action on your turn.



Starting at level 2, whenever you use your Natural Shapeshifter ability, you can also choose to expend a use of your Wild Shape. If you do, you gain temporary hit points equal to half of your new form's HP (rounded down). (I.E. You gain 17 temporary hp if you are shifting into a Brown Bear form). You lose these temporary hit points if you shift out of this form. 

Beginning at level 6, you gain the ability to increase the power of your beast forms by expending spell slots. When you choose to empower your forms by expending a use of Wild Shape, you can also choose to expend any number of spell slots to gain the benefits listed below. Each spell slot expended can grant only one benefit from the list, and the same benefit cannot be gained twice. These benefits last for 1 hour or until you revert to your normal form. Natural Weapons: Each attack you make in your beast form that hits does an extra 2 damage per level of the spell slot used to gain this benefit. Taunt: You can use an action to taunt a creature. If that creature makes an attack that doesn't include you as a target, that creature suffers disadvantage on the attack. The creature is affected by this ability until it makes a number of attacks equal to the spell level of the slot expended to gain this benefit. Natural Armor: You gain a bonus to your AC equal to the level of the spell slot used to gain this benefit. Expertise: You gain a bonus to any ability your form is trained in equal to your proficiency modifier. Quick Reflexes: Your forms speed increases by 5 feet per level of the spell slot used to gain this benefit. Magical Weapons: Your attacks count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage. 

By 10th level, you have learned to fluently communicate with any beast around you. You can speak with creatures as if you are always affected by the Speak with Animals spell. 

Starting at level 14, you can call on a surge of energy from the world around you to boost your shapeshifting ability. Once per day you can ignore the normal CR restrictions on your Natural Shapeshifter ability and instead shift into any beast with a CR equal to or lower than your druid level. 

Part 2 | Subclasses

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3



A monk subclass built around manipulating the elements.



Monks that follow the Way of the Elements attune themselves to the 4 basic elements: Water, Earth, Air and Fire. They have strong connections to the elemental planes and are deeply invested in maintaining the balance of the elements on the material plane. The monasteries that teach the Way of the Elements often send their members to the sites of natural disasters to aid in this goal. 

When you choose this tradition at 3rd level, you learn the following 4 cantrips: Gust, Control Flames, Mold Earth, and Shape Water. You also learn how to incorporate the elements into your martial arts. Whenever you take the attack action and make an attack, you can choose to augment your attack with an element. Change the damage type of your attack based on the element you are attacking with as per the table below: Element

Damage

Earth

Bludgeoning

Fire

Fire

Air

Slashing

Water

Cold



At 6th level you become more closely connected to the elements. Each morning you can spend 30 minutes meditating and attune yourself to one of the 4 elements. Doing so grants you a boon that lasts until you dismiss it, or spend time attuning to a different element.

4

Element

Boon

Earth

Your form is strengthened with the hardness of stone. Your AC increases by 1/2 of your proficiency modifier, rounded down.

Fire

The energy of Ki burns brightly inside you. Your maximum number of Ki points increases by 1/2 of your proficiency modifier, rounded down.

Air

Attuning to air grants you unprecedented nimbleness. Turning sure strikes into glancing blows. Once per short rest, when an attacker that you can see hits you with an attack, you can use your reaction to halve the attack’s damage against you.

Water

You flow through the battlefield with astounding grace. You can use disengage as a bonus action without spending a Ki point.



At level 11, you learn 4 more cantrips: Produce Flame, Shocking Grasp, Thorn Whip, and Ray of Frost When you take the attack action, you may use one of the cantrips you know in place of one of the attacks you make. When you do so, you do not suffer any negative effects for making a ranged attack in reach of an enemy. 

At level 17 you gain the ability to weaken your enemy's defenses to your attacks. When you hit with an attack that you augmented with an element, you can spend 3 Ki points to make your target vulnerable to that elements damage type until the end of your next turn. Element

Vulnerability

Earth

Bludgeoning

Fire

Fire

Air

Slashing

Water

Cold



Some of your cantrips require you to make a spell attack, or your target to make a saving throw to resist their effects. Your spell attack bonus and saving throw DC are calculated as follows: Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier

Part 2 | Subclasses

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 A Wizard subclass meant to blend melee attacks and spellcasting.



Spellblades are a subset of wizards who believe that honing one's physical self is just as critical to the mastery of the arcane arts as their mental self. These wizards focus on channeling arcane energy through their fighting styles and have woven the somatic components of spells into their very attacks. 

When you follow the tradition of Spellblades at level 2 you gain the following benefits: Proficiency with medium armor Proficiency with any weapon that has the finesse property. Intense physical training has also increased your endurance. You gain a bonus to your hit point maximum equal to your level in this class. You gain a bonus to any Constitution saving throw you make to maintain your concentration on a spell. The bonus equals your Intelligence modifier (minimum of +1).



Beginning at 10th level, you learn to bypass your enemy's defenses with your Spellblade. When a spell requiring a saving throw is released from your Spellblade, the creature that was struck with the Spellblade takes a penalty to its saving throw equal to your intelligence modifier (minimum of 1) 

When you reach the 14th level, you have learned to take advantage of an off balance enemy and gain the ability to counter-attack with spells. When a creature misses you with a melee attack, you can use your reaction to cast a spell at the creature. The spell must have a casting time of 1 action, and must target only that creature, and must be of level 2 or lower. The spell does not suffer disadvantage for using a ranged spell in melee range of an enemy.



When you learn the tradition of Spellblades at level 2, you learn how to create your own Spellblade. To create a Spellblade you must spend an hour with any finesse weapon, learning its balance and imbuing it with arcane energy. Once a Spellblade is created, you gain the ability to charge your Spellblade with any spell from your list. As a bonus action, you can infuse a spell that you have prepared into your Spellblade. To do so, you expend a spell slot, but none of the spell's effects occur, instead the spell transfers to your Spellblade. The next time you hit a creature with your Spellblade you perform the final somatic component, and the spell is released. The creature you hit is considered the target of the stored spell. If the spell requires an attack roll, it automatically hits the creature. Otherwise all the spells effects occur normally. After 1 minute the energy in the blade dissapates and the spell slot is lost. Your Spellblade can also be used as a spellcasting focus for your wizard spells. 

At level 6 you gain more control over the spells released from your Spellblade. When a spell released from your Spellblade would affect creatures other than your target, you can choose a number of them equal to 1 + your intelligence modifier (minimum of 1). The chosen creatures automatically succeed on their saving throws against the spell, and they take no damage if they would normally take half damage on a successful save.

Part 2 | Subclasses

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5



A Ranger subclass that creates a strong bond with a fey companion.



Fey Wardens are rangers that have bonded closely with a spirit from the Feywild. No one knows how the bond is made, whether it is created by a ritual or just a deep friendship. Though somewhat mysterious, their strong bond to the Fey sees many Fey Wardens acting as emissaries to the Feywild or as soldiers in the fight against the Shadowfell's corruption. 

By 3rd level, you have formed a bond with a fey spirit that accompanies you on your adventures and fights alongside you. To summon your bonded spirit from the Feywild to this plane, you must spend an hour performing a ritual. When summoned, the spirit takes the form of a beast you choose (their size is always Medium), and they appear in an unoccupied space within 10 ft of you. If you spend an hour performing that same ritual while your bonded spirit is currently on this plane, you can alter the form it takes and change any other attributes from its stat block. When your fey spirit drops to 0 hit points, it returns to the Feywild, leaving behind no physical form. You can spend an hour performing the summoning ritual to summon it back to you. Like any creature, it can spend Hit Dice during a short rest to regain hit points. As an action, you can temporarily dismiss your fey spirit. It disappears into a pocket dimension where it awaits your summons. As an action while it is temporarily dismissed, you can cause it to reappear in any unoccupied space within 30 feet of you. The spirit obeys your commands as best as it can. It takes its turn on your initiative. On your turn, you can verbally command the spirit where to move (no action required by you). You can also use a bonus action to verbally command it to take the Attack, Dash, Disengage, Help action, or use an ability. If you don't issue a command, the spirit takes the Dodge action. If you are incapacitated or absent, the spirit acts on its own, focusing on protecting you and itself. The beast never requires your command to use its reaction, such as when making an opportunity attack. 

Each time you perform the ritual to summon your spirit, you determine its stats using the rules below: Its ability scores are equal to your own, so if your dexterity increases, so does your spirits. Your spirits proficiency modifier is also equal to your own. Your spirits AC is equal to + it's proficiency modifier + its dexterity modifier. It has maximum hit points equal to 5 + it's constitution modifier and then multiplied by your level in this class. Your spirit's hit die is a d8, and he has hit die equal to your level in this class. Upon summoning your spirit, you can also choose two skills for it to be proficient in and add it's proficiency bonus to those skills when it makes skill checks. 6

Your spirit's attacks use dexterity, so its attack modifier is its dexterity modifier + it's proficiency modifier. The damage for that attack is 1d6 + its dexterity modifier. You determine the type of damage the attack does based on what would fit the form you chose for your spirit. A bear might deal slashing damage with its claws, while a wolf may deal piercing damage by biting with its teeth. You can use the stat block below to help you calculate your spirit's stats:

 Medium, Neutral Armor Class 10 + Proficiency Modifier + Dex Hit Points (5 + Con) x your level in this class Hit Dice d8 x your level in this class Speed 30 ft

STR

DEX

CON

INT

WIS

CHA

*

*

*

*

*

*

Saving Throws DEX, WIS Skills 2 Skills you choose upon summoning Senses Darkvision 60 Languages Languages

Actions Attack. Melee Weapon Attack: Proficiency Bonus + Dex, Reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1d6 + Dex Bludgeoning/Piercing/Slashing Damage



When you reach 7th level, your spirit has gained experience and learned a few new tricks. When you summon your spirit and are determining it's statistics, your spirit also gains one of the abilities listed below, that you choose. Pack Tactics. Your spirit has advantage on an attack roll against a creature if at least one of your spirit's allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally isn’t incapacitated. Bind. Your spirit can use its action to attempt to constrain a creature. Your spirit can make a normal attack. If that attack hits, in addition to the normal effects, the target is grappled (escape DC 8+STR+Prof). Until this grapple ends, the creature is restrained, and your spirit cannot take any action other than the move action. Keen Senses. Your spirit gains advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight, sound, or smell. Mobility. Your spirit gains either a climb or a fly speed equal to its normal movement speed

This is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC.



Heart Sight. The spirit touches a creature and magically knows the creature's current emotional state. If the target fails a DC 10 Charisma saving throw, the spirit also knows the creature's alignment. Celestials, fiends, and undead automatically fail the saving throw. In addition, your spirit's attacks now count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage. 

When you reach 11th level, your bond with your spirit has strengthened immensely. While your spirit is within 1 mile of you, you can communicate with it telepathically. Additionally, as an action, you can see through your spirit's eyes and hear what it hears until the start of your next turn, gaining the benefits of any special senses that the familiar has. During this time, you are deaf and blind with regard to your own senses. Also, when you summon your spirit and choose an ability from your Spiritual Training feature, you also gain that ability. 

When you reach 15th level, you and your fey spirit's fates have become entirely intertwined. What happens to one, deeply affects the other. While you and your spirit are within 30 feet of each other, you can make any spell that targets only you also target your fey spirit.

Part 2 | Subclasses

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7



A fighter subclass based around supporting your allies.



Warlords are charismatic fighters, who have found that they are better at solving problems with their wit than with a big stick. As natural leaders on the battlefield, warlords are capable of pushing their allies past the limits of their normal abilities. Off the battlefield, Warlords are a commanding presence in any room and are often well-respected members of society. 

As a warlord, you are adept at leading fighters into battle, and orchestrating attacks. At level 3, you learn 5 commands. When you take the attack action, you can make a command instead of making an attack. When you gain the Extra Attack feature, you can replace any attack with a command. You can use multiple commands per attack action, and you can use a single command multiple times per attack action as long as each command replaces a separate attack. Move! You inspire an ally to quickly make a move. An ally within 30 feet, who can hear you, can choose to use their reaction to move up to half their movement speed. Strike here! You point out a weakness in an enemies defense to give your ally an advantage. An ally within 30 feet, who can hear you, gains advantage on their next attack roll. Double Time! You inspire an ally to dig deep and move faster. An ally within 30 feet, who can hear you, has their movement speed increased by 10 ft for an amount of turns equal to your charisma modifier (minimum 1). Fight it! You motivate an ally to fight off an effect that ails them. An ally within 30 feet, who can hear you, can roll 1d4 and add that to the next saving throw they make before the end of your next turn. Duck! You warn an ally about potential incoming ranged attacks. An ally within 30 feet, who can hear you, gains +2 ac against the next ranged attack that targets them. This bonus lasts until the end of your next turn or until they are targeted by a ranged attack.

Tactical Your resolve in battle strengthens your allies focus. Adjacent allies gain advantage when making concentration checks to maintain spells. 

At 10th level you have learned that your heartening words can hasten your allies to battle. You, and any ally within 30 feet who can hear you, gain a bonus to your initiative equal to your charisma modifier (minimum 1). 

At 15th level, the force of your personality is overwhelming. As an action, you can make a Charisma (Persuasion) check contested by a creature’s Wisdom (Insight) check. The creature must be able to hear you, and the two of you must share a language. If you succeed on the check and the creature is hostile to you, it has disadvantage on attack rolls against targets other than you and can’t make opportunity attacks against targets other than you. This effect lasts for a number of rounds equal to your charisma modifier (minimum 1), or until you and the target are more than 60 feet apart. If you succeed on the check and the creature isn’t hostile to you, it is charmed by you for 1 minute. While charmed, it regards you as a respected peer and friendly acquaintance. This effect ends immediately if you or your companions do anything harmful to it. 

Starting at 18th level, your battle cries can motivate your allies to shrug off even the worst afflictions. When an ally within 30 feet, who can hear you, makes a saving throw, you can use spend your reaction to call out to them. If you do, that ally automatically succeeds on its saving throw. Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you complete a short rest.



When you reach level 7, you have perfected the type of leader you wish to be. Choose from one of the 4 leadership ideals listed below. Protective You excel at aiding your allies from the front lines and keeping them safe. Allies adjacent to you are treated as having half cover from ranged attacks. Aggressive Your allies are invigorated by your energy for battle! Adjacent allies gain a +1 to all their attack rolls. Mobile Your commanding presence distracts enemies near you. Adjacent allies are able to leave the reach of enemies without provoking opportunity attacks.

8

Part 2 | Subclasses

This is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC.

 

This is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC.

9

 

Cover - Rehmoraz by RalphHorsely The Compendium of Misfit Subclasses is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC.

10

Part 3 | Credits

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