Animus

Botanists study not only those living plants that grow across the world's surface, but also those plants which have taken on moving forms. Plants which can think and act on their own. Botanists sometimes feel more at home among leaves, trees, and foliage than they do amongst people.

Starting at 7th level, whenever you are morphed into a plant, you can use an action to plant roots into the ground or uproot yourself. While rooted, you gain the following properties:

Beginning at 10th level, you can spend 10 minutes weaving a comfortable bed out of plants which ensures a peaceful rest of a Medium or smaller creature. A creature which finishes a short or long rest in such a bed within the next 24 hours recovers from any blindness, deafness, disease, or poisoned affecting it, and if the creature expends Hit Dice to regain hit points, it recovers an additional 1d6 hit points.

Starting at 14th level, you can cast any combination of the plant growth, speak with plants, and transport via plants spells a number of times equal to 1 + your Intelligence modifier (a minimum of one spell) without expending ki points, and regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest. You can cast these spells while in your Plant Form.

Dragons are some of the most fearsome and magical creatures in existence. Their incredible power inspires some of the most dangerous research in an effort to understand these powerful monsters. Dragons are known to be more intelligent than most subjects of animi research, so dracologists must learn to forge relationships with these creatures even as they study them.

Starting at 7th level, you can take a bonus action on each of your turns in combat. This action can be used only to take the Dash or Search actions.

Beginning at 10th level, you have blindsight to a range of 15 feet.

Starting at 14th level, you can use an action to morph into a dragon with a maximum challenge rating equal to your animus level for 10 minutes. When you do so, you must expend a number of ki points equal to the dragon's challenge rating. Once you use this ability, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.

Animi typically focus their research on certain types of creatures, learning how they live out in the wilderness, away from civilization. Ecologists take this a step further, finding themselves on the edges of society, away from other peoples for long periods of time, researching the interactions between organisms and their environment. These animi study the unique interactions between wild creatures and their environments that are rarely, if ever, seen by others.

Starting at 7th level, if you take the Attack action or Multiattack action and your familiar can see you, your familiar can use its reaction to make a melee attack.

Beginning at 10th level, your familiar gains two bestial edges that you are qualified to take. When you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of your familiar's edges and replace it with another edge you could learn at that level.

Starting at 14th level, whenever your familiar makes a saving throw while it is within 30 feet of you, it gains a bonus to the saving throw equal to your Intelligence modifier (a minimum bonus of +1). You must be conscious to grant this bonus.

An entomologist is an animus which studies bugs and insects. While others might feel these creatures are creepy or strange, an entomologist knows that they are animals just like any other, worthy of study and research.

Starting at 7th level, you can morph into a swarm of insects that is a higher challenge rating than your normal swarm of insects form, expending ki points for higher forms as normal.

An empowered swarm has the following changes to its stat block:

Beginning at 10th level, you can spend 10 minutes weaving a cocoon, which completely covers your body. While in your cocoon, you are restrained and unaware of your surroundings unless a creature takes an action to get your attention or you take any damage. You can emerge from your cocoon using half of your movement.

While in your cocoon, you finish a long rest in only 4 hours, and you recover all expended Hit Dice.

If you are at 0 hit points but are stable, you begin a slow process of exuding silk over your body, creating a cocoon over the course of 10 minutes. Spending 4 hours in this cocoon grants you the benefits of a long rest.

Starting at 14th level, you can use an action and expend one use of Wild Shape to summon a cloud of buzzing, angry insects in a 10-foot radius around you for 1 minute. Until the insects leave, the area is difficult terrain, and when a creature moves into or within the area, it takes 1d4 piercing damage for every 5 feet it travels.

If you are in your swarm of insects form during this time, your swarm of insects form also gains these properties.

While most animi study the world as they see and understand it around them, animi who focus on the unknown seek to learn that which many consider to be incomprehensible: magic. Animi who focus on this type of research learn to harness their ki to understand the nature of magic and how it can be replicated and understood.

Starting at 7th level, whenever you finish a long rest and prepare forms and spells, you can prepare two additional spells. These spells do not count against the number of forms you have prepared.

Beginning at 10th level, you can use an action to choose a season, causing a berry to sprout in an unoccupied space of your choice within 15 feet of you. A creature that eats such a berry as an action gains the benefit listed, depending on the season of the berry you chose.

You can cause two berries to sprout, and regain any expended uses whenever you finish a short or long rest.

Starting at 14th level, the power of fae magic courses ever stronger through you. You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can't put you to sleep.

In addition, you no longer need to sleep. You must still meditate quietly for at least 4 hours to receive the benefits of a long rest.

Animi who make monstrosities their focus go outside of the natural world in their research, studying creatures which have been classified as unnatural horrors. While animi pursuing this study might be seen as eccentric at best, their research is invaluable in investigating those creatures which many would say are magical accidents that should be destroyed.

Starting at 7th level, you gain the ability to share some of your bestial edges with other creatures. You can spend 10 minutes concentrating, taking no actions and expending no movement. At the end of this time, you can choose two willing creatures within 10 feet of you and one of your bestial edges. The creatures gain the benefits of that bestial edge until you finish your next long rest. Once you share a bestial edge in this way, you can't do so again until you finish a long rest.

Beginning at 10th level, you can expend 2 ki points as an action to cast the alter self spell. You can cast this spell while morphed.

Starting at 14th level, you can attempt to trap a creature's mind in a new body. As an action, you can touch a creature and expend 4 ki points to cast the polymorph spell on that creature. The target can only be transformed into a beast you have prepared for morphing.

Oceanographers study in the most inhospitable places in the world—the depths of the ocean. Marine life encompasses a multitude of different animals, and oceanographers travel to some of the most difficult-to-reach locations in order to study and research these creatures.

Beginning at 7th level, your body changes further to allow you to visit the deepest depths of the ocean. You are immune to damage caused by the pressure of being in deep water.

Additionally, you have blindsight to a range of 5 feet. While underwater, the range of this blindsight increases to 30 feet.

Finally, you can expend 1 ki point as an action to cast the fog cloud spell. You can cast this spell while morphed.

Starting at 10th level, you can cast the locate animals or plants and water breathing spells, but only as rituals.

Beginning at 14th level, you can expend 10 ki points to morph into a hydra or a lesser kraken for 10 minutes. Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.

Some researchers seek to understand the strangest of life-forms: oozes. There is serious debate amongst animi as to whether oozes are even truly alive in the traditional sense, or whether they are simply magically animated slime which works towards a mysterious purpose.

Beginning at 7th level, the bits of ooze that fall off of you in battle gain their own life. When you are morphed into an ooze and you take damage, you can use your reaction to split an oozeling off of yourself.

An oozeling takes its turn on your initiative and obeys your orders. You can direct an oozeling where to move within 60 feet of you (no action required by you), and you can use a bonus action to direct an oozeling to take the Attack, Dash, Disengage, Dodge, or Help actions. If you do not give it an order, an oozeling does nothing. If an oozeling is ever more than 60 feet from you, it will attempt to return to that area by any means necessary. An oozeling disappears if you dismiss it as an action, its hit points drop to 0, or when your Wild Shape ends.

Starting at 10th level, whenever you are morphed into an ooze, you gain the following properties:

Beginning at 14th level, you can issue orders to up to three oozelings under your control with your bonus action.

Some animi seek to understand the creatures that existed before all others: elementals. There is contention as to whether elementals should truly be included in taxonomies with other creatures, as their forms can often be alien and unlike any other creatures which exist. Nevertheless, animi who study these creatures see how their primal forms gave rise to the land, seas, and sky, and seek to emulate their power.

Beginning at 7th level, whenever you are morphed into an elemental, you gain an additional ability determined by your elemental type:

If you morph into an elemental but which does not have an explicit type (such as a magmin), you gain the ability described above which best fits your form (subject to your GM's discretion).

Starting at 10th level, you can cast the elemental grove spell, but only as a ritual. When you do so, you can choose air, earth, fire, or water versions of any of the spell's effects.

Beginning at 14th level, when you morph into an elemental, you can summon mephits to aid you. You summon one mephit if your form is of challenge rating 4 or lower, or two mephits if your form is of CR 5 or higher. You choose the mephits that appear based on your elemental type:

While other animi study fantastical and rare creatures, zoologists know the value of beasts and their many incredible forms. Zoologists come to know beasts both great and small, and even those creatures which have gone extinct.

Beginning at 7th level, you gain two additional bestial edges of your choice.

Starting at 10th level, your animal adaptations take root. You only require half the normal amount of food and water a creature of your size would require.

In addition, you have advantage on any Constitution check or saving throw you make to survive or move through areas with severe natural environments such as extreme cold, extreme heat, high winds, heavy precipitation, high altitudes, and other, similar environments.

Beginning at 14th level, when you use Wild Shape, you can choose to exceed the maximum CR of creatures you can morph into for the purposes of your Unleash Fury feature. When you do so, your Max CR is considered to be equal to your animus level for that morph. Once you use this ability, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.