Regeneration. The apprentice regains 5 hit points at the start of its turn if it has at least 1 hit point.
Verdant Talisman. At the end of a 10-minute ritual, the apprentice can touch one willing creature (including itself) and bestow upon it a small talisman imbued with magic. Upon receiving the talisman, the creature gains 10 temporary hit points, and it can add 1d6 to its initiative rolls while it wears the talisman. These benefits last for 1 hour or until the apprentice conducts another ritual to bestow another talisman. When the benefits expire, the talisman crumbles to dust.
Spellcasting. The apprentice casts one of the following spells, requiring no material components and using Wisdom as the spellcasting ability:
At will: druidcraft, spare the dying
1/day each: pass without trace
Briar Vine. Melee Spell Attack: +4 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit:7 (1d10 + 2) piercing damage plus 9 (2d8) poison damage. If the target is a Large or smaller creature, the apprentice can pull it up to 10 feet closer to itself.
Wither Burst. When the apprentice sees a creature within 30 feet of itself drop to 0 hit points, the apprentice channels the expended life essence and targets another creature it can see within 30 feet of itself. The target must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or become poisoned for 1 minute. While poisoned in this way, the target takes 3 (1d6) poison damage at the start of each of its turns. The target can repeat the save at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
Deep in the fog and muck of the swamp, the students of Witherbloom College—first as apprentices and then as pledgemages—study the cycle of life and death. Their magic is fueled by what they call life essence: the ubiquitous energy that runs through living things.