Time to get back to covering Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything! These posts cover the differences between the new subclasses that appear in Tasha’s and their UA iterations.

Part 1 covers the artificer and barbarian, Part 2 covers the bard and cleric, and Part 3 (this one) will cover the druid and the fighter.

The druid subclasses in Tasha’s include the Circle of Spores, Circle of Stars, and Circle of Wildfire. Circle of Spores is a reprint from the Guildmaster’s Guide to Ravnica, so we won’t touch on that since it’s technically been around for a while. But we will cover the latter two new subclasses!

Druid Circle: Circle of Stars

The Circle of Stars is themed off of the stars, astrology, and the like. Druids of this subclass draw their power from celestial sources.

Star Map: 2nd level feature

This feature grants a special object (a star chart of some sort, you can design your own or use the Star Map table) that you can use as a spellcasting focus. The UA version of this allowed you to cast augury and guiding bolt without needing to prepare them and without expending a spell slot, and you could do this as many times as equal to your Wisdom modifier.

The official version of this feature grants the guidance cantrip, and it allows you to have guiding bolt prepared without it counting against the number of spells you can have prepared at once. It also allows you to cast guiding bolt without expending a spell slot a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus per long rest.

Starry Form: 2nd level feature

This feature allows you to use your Wild Shape in a different way. Instead of transforming into a beast, you assume a starry form—you begin to glow, and your joints look like stars with lines connecting them like constellations. The form lasts for 10 minutes, and you can end it early by dismissing it, dying, or becoming incapacitated.

The official version allows you to assume this form as a bonus action instead of an action per the UA version. The choices of form are the same—Archer, Chalice, and Dragon—though there are a few language tweaks, and the Chalice healing adds your Wisdom modifier instead of half your druid level.

Cosmic Omen: 6th level feature

Cosmic Omen’s only change is to the number of uses per long rest—the UA version based your uses off of your Wisdom modifier, the official version bases it off of your proficiency bonus.

Twinkling Constellations: 10th level feature

This feature replaces Full of Stars, which got pushed to 14th level. Twinkling Constellations buffs your starry form constellation abilities, increasing the Archer and Chalice to 2d8 from 1d8 and granting the Dragon the ability to hover and a fly speed. You can also change the constellation at the start of each of your turns while in starry form.

Full of Stars: 14th level feature

This feature was moved from 10th level to 14th level and replaces the UA’s Star Flare feature. Full of Stars enhances your starry form, granting resistance to physical damage (bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing).

Druid Circle: Circle of Wildfire

The Circle of Wildfire embraces destruction in the name of future creation—burning away the old to make way for the new. These druids bond with a primal wildfire spirit.

Circle Spells: 2nd level feature

The Circle of Wildfire spells got a significant rework, gaining more healing spells like mass cure wounds and revivify to balance the destruction with the creation.

Summon Wildfire Spirit: 2nd level feature

This subclass allows you to expend a use of Wild Shape to instead summon your wildfire spirit. The version in Tasha’s does less damage on summoning than the UA version. The wildfire spirit stat block uses your proficiency bonus to determine its hit points (a change from the UA) and damage. The official version uses your spell attack modifier for the wildfire spirit. It also changes the Fiery Teleportation ability, reducing its range but removing the restrictions on its uses.

Enhanced Bond: 6th level feature

This feature improves your spells while your wildfire spirit is summoned, and it hasn’t been changed from the UA version of the subclass.

Cauterizing Flames: 10th level feature

This feature used to be called Flames of Life. It’s got some wording changes, but it functions similarly to the UA version. You no longer need to use your reaction to cause the spectral flame to appear over a dead creature, though you now use your reaction to cause the healing or damage when a creature enters the flame’s space. And, your number of uses for this feature per long rest are based on your proficiency bonus.

Blazing Revival: 14th level feature

This feature was renamed from Blazing Endurance. This feature originally worked whenever you fell to 0 hit points and didn’t die, but the new version works a bit differently. The version seen in Tasha’s works when you have the wildfire spirit summoned and are within 120 feet of it. When you drop to 0 hit points, you can instead cause the spirit to drop to 0 and gain back half your hit points (allowing you to continue fighting instead of falling unconscious).

The fighter subclasses in Tasha’s include the Psi Warrior and the Rune Knight.

Fighter Martial Archetype: Psi Warrior

The Psi Warriors use their mental powers alongside their physical strength. Their psionic prowess can manifest in a number of different ways.

Psionic Power: 3rd level feature

This feature was once called Psionic Talent. This version of the Psionic Energy die limits your uses of the die to twice your proficiency bonus, instead of changing the die’s size depending on your rolls. The die increases in size the same way as it did in the UA version.

Tasha’s keeps Protective Field the same, and it only changed Telekinetic Strike’s name to Psionic Strike. Psi-Powered Leap was changed to Telekinetic Movement, which allows you to move an object or a willing creature with your mind once per rest. Psi-Powered Leap appears later, in the Telekinetic Adept feature (it seems the abilities switched places).

Telekinetic Adept: 7th level feature

The Psionic Thrust ability part of this feature got changed to Telekinetic Thrust, as it enhances Psionic Strike. Psi-Powered Leap appears here, but it’s less of a leap and more of a temporary fly speed during your turn.

Guarded Mind: 10th level feature

This feature has been changed and renamed from Psi-Enhanced Metabolism. It still grants resistance to psychic damage, but not poisoned (or immunity to the poisoned condition). It also now allows you to spend a Psionic Energy die to end charmed or frightened effects on yourself if you start your turn with them.

Bulwark of Force: 15th level feature

This feature works the same, allowing you to expend a Psionic Energy die to use it again if you already used it once per long rest.

Telekinetic Master: 18th level feature

This feature is largely the same with a few little tweaks. The official version allows you to use this feature anytime, even if you don’t have remaining Psionic Energy dice. It also lets you make a bonus action weapon attack while concentrating on the spell. You can do this once per long rest, and you can expend a Psionic Energy die to use it again.

Fighter Martial Archetype: Rune Knight

Rune knights make use of runes, sources of ancient elemental power, to help them fight. Their study of runes grants them unique abilities.

Bonus Proficiencies: 3rd level feature

These bonus proficiencies have remained the same.

Rune Carver: 3rd level feature

This feature has expanded the language around what you can enhance with runes (including a piece of jewelry or something else you can hold in your hand). Your save DC for rune effects adds your Constitution modifier instead of your Intelligence modifier. It has also done away with the names for the different runes, opting instead to call them by what they are. So instead of writing Stein (Stone Rune), they just write Stone Rune.

The Fire Rune weapon attack ability now deals fire damage when you activate it, not only while the creature is restrained by the fiery shackles. The Frost Rune grants a +2 bonus to Strength and Constitution ability checks and saving throws, instead of granting a +2 to your Strength score. The Stone Rune’s darkvision is expanded to 120 feet, and creatures under its charm effect can repeat the save at the end of each of their turns.

The Hill Rune and Storm Rune are restricted to 7th level or higher but otherwise work the same.  The Cloud Rune hasn’t been changed.

Giant’s Might: 3rd level feature

This feature got a few tweaks. The extra d6 of damage can only apply once on each of your turns. Your uses are also now based off of proficiency bonus.

Runic Shield: 7th level feature

This feature got renamed from Defensive Runes. The basic idea is the same, but now you force a reroll of the attack instead of granting an AC bonus to the target of the attack. This feature’s uses are also now based off of your proficiency bonus.

Great Stature: 10th level feature

This feature hasn’t changed.

Master of Runes: 15th level feature

This feature hasn’t changed besides a name change from Rune Magic Mastery.

Runic Juggernaut: 18th level feature

This feature replaces Blessing of the All Father from the UA version, which let you share the benefits of Giant Might with another character. This new feature allows you to grow to Huge size (that can increase your reach) and increases your extra damage.

I think it’s interesting that they shifted the Rune Knight away from its more Intelligence-reliant features. And I’m really interested in playing these druid subclasses! What do you think of the new subclasses?