Circle of the Chimera

Adapt

Beginning at 2nd level, you can partially change yourself into one of your wild shapes. As an action, choose an aspect of one of the forms you can adapt from, as shown on the Adapt Table and as limited by the Beast Shapes Table of your wild shape feature. An aspect is any natural statistic, trait, or action that a creature has. You may not adapt a creatue's size, the AC of a creature that isn't specified as natural armor, or any aspect that has daily charges, like spellcasting. Additionally, you can only adapt attack actions that do not require weapon proficiency beyond unarmed strikes. Finally, you can only adapt aspects of creatures that you have seen, just like in wild shape. Once you have chosen a valid aspect, add it to your form.

Adapt Table

Level Max. CR Size Range Max. Aspects 2nd 1/8 Sm. - Md. 1 6th 1/4 Sm. - Lg. 2 10th 1/2 Tn. - Lg. 3 14th 1 Any 4

You can maintain an adaptation for a number of minutes equal to half your druid level (round down). You then revert to normal form. You can revert to your normal form early by using a bonus action on your turn, and you automatically revert if you use wild shape, fall unconscious, drop to 0 hit points, or die.

When adapting any aspect, you use your own stats to determine the bonus any attack or damage roll, as well as in setting the DC for any saves needed. You do, however, use any damage dice as lised.

For example: if you adapt an attack action like the CR1/2 Crocodile's Bite, you keep the 1d10 damage as listed, but use your own strength for the damage modifer and escape DC. Likewise, if were to adapt the CR0 Goat's Charge you would also need a Ram attack action in order to use it. Any adapted attack actions are considered finesse.

At higher levels, you can have multiple aspects adapted at once. When you take the adapt action, you can select any number of aspects to adapt from one creature. If you would adapt more than your maximum aspects, you choose which ones end.

At 6th level, for example, you can adapt Pack Tactics from Wolf, as well as Deer's Walk Speed of 50ft. with two actions over the course of multiple turns, or Deer's Walk Speed of 50ft. and Dexterity of 16 with one action.

Chimeric Fusion

At 6th level, you learn how to maintain adapted aspects when you use wild shape and you can still adapt while in wild shape.

Taxonomic Link

Once you reach 10th level, you can adapt from creatures typed abberation or monstrosity, as long as you would otherwise meet the requirements on the Beast Shapes and Adapt Table. At 14th level, you can also adapt from creatures typed dragon. At 18th level, you can adapt from any creature regardless of typing as long as they are organic (for example, no metallic constructs.)

Empowered Adaptation

Also at 10th level, you can use aspects from creatures of higher CR than the Adapt Table allows. When you adapt, you can spend spell slots whose levels add up to the CR of the creature you're adapting from. The only restriction from the Adapt Table you can break this way is Max. CR.

For example, if you wanted to adapt the CR11 Gynosphinx's Inscrutable aspect, you could spend one 5th level spell slot, one 4th level, and one 2nd level, totaling 11 levels, or you could spend two 4th level spell slots and one 3rd level, also totalling 11 levels.

Mutation

At 14th level, when you prepare spells, you can choose an aspect to Adapt. This aspect is maintained until you long rest again. You may only adapt aspects in this way from small, medium, or large beasts without flying speeds of CR 1/4 and lower. When you take an aspect this way, it does not count against your Max. Aspects as determined by the Adapt Table. At level 20, you can adapt two aspects this way.