| Druid Level | Feature |
|---|---|
| 1st | Bonus Skills, Bear Focus |
| 2nd | Circle Forms, Combat Wild Shape |
| 6th | Primal Strike |
| 10th | Grizzly Rage |
| 14th | Heart of the Den |
Some druids are bound to the form of the bear - not through mere choice, but through a deeper connection to their primal nature. Those marked by lycanthropy or chosen by the spirits of ancient ursine guardians embrace a single beast form exclusively, transforming the traditional druid limitation into a source of immense power. Rather than spreading their shapeshifting gift across many forms, these druids perfect the art of bearhood.
This path is built upon the foundation of Circle of the Moon, but refined for those whose fate is sealed in fur and claw. A Circle of the Bear druid cannot transform into other beasts, but the bears they can become grow increasingly formidable. At level 16, they may take the form of creatures of CR 8 or lower - rivaling the greatest natural bears known to mortals.
When you gain combat skills, you can spend them on Bear Combat Skills, which are special abilities and maneuvers available to you while in bear form.
You gain 1 skill point to spend on combat skills.
Upon choosing this path, you focus on the bear. The druid abilities Borrowing and Wild Companion can only be used with or on bears.
The rites of your circle grant you the ability to transform into bear forms of increasing power. You can use your Wild Shape to transform into a bear with a challenge rating as high as 1 (you ignore the Max. CR column of the Bear Shapes table, but must abide by the other limitations there). This increases as you gain levels, allowing you to become ever more powerful bears.
You can only transform into bear forms. You cannot use Wild Shape to become other beasts, elementals, or creatures. This restriction cannot be changed by spells or other magical effects.
| Druid Level | Max CR | Available Bear Forms |
|---|---|---|
| 2nd-5th | 1 | Cub Form, Black Bear, Brown Bear |
| 6th-8th | 2 | Cub Form, Black Bear, Brown Bear, Polar Bear |
| 9th-11th | 3 | Cub Form, Black Bear, Brown Bear, Polar Bear, Cave Bear |
| 12th-15th | 5 | Cub Form, Black Bear, Brown Bear, Polar Bear, Cave Bear, Dire Cave Bear |
| 16th+ | 8 | Cub Form, Black Bear, Brown Bear, Polar Bear, Cave Bear, Dire Cave Bear, Giant Bear |
You gain the ability to use Wild Shape on your turn as a bonus action, rather than as an action.
Additionally, while you are transformed into a bear by Wild Shape, you can use a bonus action to expend one spell slot to regain 1d8 hit points per level of the spell slot expended.
Your attacks in bear form count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.
Grizzly Rage. Starting at 10th level, when you assume a bear form, or as a bonus action while in bear form, you can enter a Grizzly Rage for 1 minute. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum once), regaining all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
While raging, you have resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage; advantage on Strength checks and Strength saving throws; and when you hit with a bear-form melee attack, you deal extra damage equal to your proficiency bonus.
The rage ends early if you are incapacitated, leave bear form, or end it as a bonus action.
At 14th level, the ancient bear spirits recognize you as the warden of a den that extends beyond any cave. Where you stand, your companions are no longer strangers in the wild; the family is important.
While you are in bear form, you emanate a protective aura in a 15-foot radius. While you are conscious, allies in the aura have advantage on saving throws against being charmed or frightened, and they cannot be charmed or frightened by beasts or plants.
Additionally, when an ally in the aura would be reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can use your reaction to call upon the den’s resilience. The ally still drops to 0 hit points but is stable, while you take psychic damage equal to twice your druid level. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.
All bear forms share the following traits:
Keen Smell The bear has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell.
Sturdy Build The bear has advantage on Strength and Dexterity saving throws against being knocked prone.
Cub Form (CR 1/4) | ||||||||||||
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| Small beast, unaligned | ||||||||||||
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A young bear cub, curious and quick but fragile. This form excels at infiltration, scouting, and social manipulation—enemies rarely consider a helpless-looking cub a threat and many hesitate to harm one. Useless in direct combat but invaluable for stealth and exploration. | ||||||||||||
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Armor Class 12 (Natural Armor) | ||||||||||||
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Skills Physique +1, Perception +3, Stealth +4 | ||||||||||||
ActionsBite. Melee Weapon Attack: +1 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: (1d4) piercing damage. Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +1 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: (1d3) slashing damage. |
Black Bear (CR 1/2) | ||||||||||||
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| Medium beast, unaligned | ||||||||||||
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A smaller cousin of the brown bear, the black bear is swift and intelligent, with a keen sense of smell. Its reduced size and superior agility allow it to navigate dense forests and tight spaces where larger bears cannot follow, making it an excellent choice for scouts and skirmishers. | ||||||||||||
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Armor Class 11 (Natural Armor) | ||||||||||||
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ActionsMultiattack. The bear makes two attacks: one with its bite and one with its claws. Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: (1d6 + 2) piercing damage. Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: (2d4 + 2) slashing damage. |
Brown Bear (CR 1) | ||||||||||||
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| Large beast, unaligned | ||||||||||||
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A powerful predator standing up to 10 feet tall, the brown bear is a formidable opponent. Its strength and aggression make it one of the most dangerous natural bears, particularly when protecting territory or cubs. | ||||||||||||
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Armor Class 11 (Natural Armor) | ||||||||||||
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ActionsMultiattack. The bear makes two attacks: one with its bite and one with its claws. Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: (1d8 + 4) piercing damage. Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: (2d6 + 4) slashing damage. |
Polar Bear (CR 2) | ||||||||||||
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| Large beast, unaligned | ||||||||||||
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Apex predators of the frozen north, polar bears are larger and more powerful than their brown cousins. They can swim great distances and are immune to the bone-chilling cold of arctic regions. | ||||||||||||
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Armor Class 12 (Natural Armor) | ||||||||||||
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Damage Resistances Cold | ||||||||||||
ActionsMultiattack. The bear makes two attacks: one with its bite and one with its claws. Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: (1d8 + 5) piercing damage. Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: (2d6 + 5) slashing damage. |
Cave Bear (CR 3) | ||||||||||||
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| Large beast, unaligned | ||||||||||||
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Dwelling in dark caves and mountains, the cave bear is a prehistoric predator of immense strength. These rare creatures possess natural low-light vision and a sturdy frame that resists being knocked down, making them formidable in confined spaces. | ||||||||||||
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Armor Class 14 (Natural Armor) | ||||||||||||
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Senses Low-light vision 60 ft. | ||||||||||||
ActionsMultiattack. The bear can make two claw attacks. If both hits the same target, the bear can try to grapple it as a free action. If the grapple is successful, the bear can make one bite attack as a bonus action now and every turn it maintains the grapple. Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: (1d8 + 5) piercing damage. Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: (2d6 + 5) slashing damage. |
Dire Cave Bear (CR 5) | ||||||||||||
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| Large beast, unaligned | ||||||||||||
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An enormous predator of deep caves and ancient mountains, the dire cave bear combines the strength of the cave bear with immense size and ferocity. These rare beasts are apex hunters of subterranean realms, capable of crushing bone and stone alike. | ||||||||||||
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Armor Class 15 (Natural Armor) | ||||||||||||
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Damage Resistances Cold | ||||||||||||
ActionsMultiattack. The bear can make two claw attacks. If both hits the same target, the bear can try to grapple it as a free action. If the grapple is successful, the bear can make one bite attack as a bonus action now and every turn it maintains the grapple. Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d8 + 6) piercing damage. Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d6 + 6) slashing damage. |
Giant Bear (CR 8) | ||||||||||||
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| Huge beast, unaligned | ||||||||||||
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The mightiest of bears, a creature of legend and fear. Standing 15 feet tall or more, the Giant Bear is an avatar of primal strength and wrath, rarely encountered in nature and never forgotten by those who survive such an encounter. | ||||||||||||
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Armor Class 16 (Natural Armor) | ||||||||||||
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Skills Physique +9, Perception +4 | ||||||||||||
ActionsMultiattack. The giant bear can make three attacks; two with its claws and one bite. If a claw attack hits, the bear can swipe at an adjacent creature, making an additional claw attack as a free action. Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 19 (3d8 + 6) piercing damage. Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (3d6 + 6) slashing damage. |
These specialized combat skills represent tactics unique to bear forms. You can purchase them with your druid combat skill points during character creation or when you gain combat skill points. Each skill costs 1 combat skill point and can have form prerequisites. Common for all of them is that you cannot use these skills in Cub form.
Your bear form DC is calculated as 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Strength modifier.
You can track a creature by smell alone. If a creature has taken damage from your bite or claws within the past number of hours equal to your proficiency bonus, you have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks to locate it, and you can track it even if it attempts to hide its trail through natural means.
When both of your claw attacks hit the same creature on your turn, you can use a bonus action to make an additional bite attack against that creature.
Additionally, any creature you can track using Bloodhunter cannot hide or benefit from being invisible while they are within 30 feet of you as you can smell their presence.
As an action, move up to your speed in a straight line. Each creature of your choice within 10 feet of the space where you end this movement must make a Wisdom saving throw against your bear form save DC. On a failure, it is frightened of you until the end of your next turn. A creature that succeeds is immune to this feature for 24 hours.
When you reduce a creature to 0 hit points with a bite or claw attack, you can use a bonus action to move up to half your speed and make another claw attack.
Prerequisite: Requires Polar Bear form or higher
When a creature you can see within 30 feet moves at least 20 feet away from you, you can use your reaction to move up to half your speed directly toward it. If you end within 5 feet of it, you can make one claw attack.
Prerequisite: Requires Dire Bear form or higher
You can slam the ground with your claws. As an action, all creatures on the ground within 15 feet must make a Strength saving throw against your bear form save DC. On a failure, a creature takes 2d6 bludgeoning damage and falls prone; on a success, it takes half damage and does not fall prone.
As an action, you can make one bite attack against a prone creature. On a hit, the attack deals an extra 2d6 piercing damage.
As a bonus action, you stand upright until the start of your next turn. During that time, you have advantage on your claw attacks but attacks against you have advantage. While standing upright, you cannot make Bite attacks against targets that are smaller size than you.
When you score a critical hit with your bite or claws, you may roll one extra damage die.
You may reroll an attack roll made with your bite. Use resets after a long rest.
The use of Bite of the Beast resets every time you crit with a bite or claw attack.
You score critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20 with your claws.
When you hit an object, tree, wall, or similar structure with a claw attack, you can destroy a 5-foot cube of nonmagical wood, ice, earth, or loose stone.
In addition, you can create a 10-foot-square area of difficult terrain within 30 feet for 1 minute. This requires that it makes sense in the environment (e.g., you cannot create difficult terrain on solid stone or metal surfaces).
Prerequisite: Requires Giant Bear form or higher
Once per short rest, when you hit a tree or wooden object at least Large in size with a claw attack, you can send splinters outward in a 30-foot cone. Each creature in the area makes a Dexterity saving throw against your bear form save DC, taking 6d6 piercing damage on a failure, or half as much on a success. Nonmagical vegetation and unsecured wooden objects in the area take maximum damage.
As part of a move action, you can stomp on a prone creature within 5 feet. That creature must succeed on a Strength saving throw against your bear form save DC or take 1d4 + your Strength modifier bludgeoning damage.
While you are in bear form, you can use your bonus action to gain temporary hit points equal to your druid level. These temporary hit points last for 1 minute or until depleted. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum 1), regaining all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
While you are in bear form, creatures within 5 feet of you have disadvantage on opportunity attacks made against allies other than you. In addition, when an ally within 5 feet of you is hit by a melee attack, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on that attack roll.
While you are in bear form, you can use your reaction when an ally within 10 feet of you is hit by an attack to move up to 10 feet toward that ally and become the target of the attack instead. You must be able to make the attack target you legally.
While you are in bear form, you and allies within 10 feet have resistance to thunder damage, and allied creatures within 10 feet cannot be pushed or knocked prone by effects from creatures other than you. In addition, when you use Sheltering Bulk, the triggering attack deals half damage to you.
Bear Combat Skills
├── Bloodhunter
│ └── Bloodlust
├── Bluff Charge
│ ├── Relentless Assault
│ └── Run Down
├── Ground Slap
├── Maul
├── Rear Up
├── Savage Critical
│ ├── Bite of the Beast
│ │ └── Vicious Cycle
│ └── Sharpened Claws
├── Splintered Path
│ └── Hail of Splinters
├── Stomp
└── Thickhide Ward
└── Bristle Guard
└── Sheltering Bulk
└── Immovable Den