Dryad Natural Beauties Travelers entering a forest might catch a glimpse of a feminine form flitting through the trees. Warm laughter hangs on the air, drawing those who hear it deeper into the emerald shadows. Tree-bound Powerful fey will sometimes bind lesser fey spirits to trees, transforming them into dryads. This is sometimes done as a punishment when the fey spirit falls in love with a mortal and that love is forbidden. A dryad can emerge from the tree and travel the lands around it, but the tree remains her home and roots her to the world. As long as the tree remains healthy and unharmed, the dryad stays forever youthful and alluring. If the tree is harmed, she suffers. If the tree is ever destroyed, the dryad descends into madness. Dryads act as guardians of their woodland demesnes. Shy and reclusive, they watch interlopers from the trees. A dryad struck by the beauty of a stranger might investigate more closely, perhaps even try to lure the individual away to be charmed. Dryads work with other sylvan creatures to defend their forests. Unicorns, treants, and satyrs live alongside them, in addition to druids that share the dryads' devotion to the woods they call home. 1 Dryad Names Dryad names are usually appointed to them by the entity that bound them to their tree. However, they have a will of their own and might take a new name for themselves. These names are nearly always Sylvan or Elvish, but exceedingly lengthy. These names often describe in perfect detail the proximate surroundings of the tree they are bound to. Introductions between Dryads can take several minutes, sometimes hours if the tree was in a particularly rich environment.





















Name examples (Simpler ones): Ewaraglineverlynney - 'Evergreen in the lush, purple Heath.' Fantiriop-Angalayn - 'Ash, sole survivor of the fire.' Myrntholiakharral - 'Oak, Squirrels' home, as many.' Dryad Traits Your Dryad character has certain traits that were granted to it when its spirit was bound to a tree. Ability Score Increase: Your Charisma increases by 2 and your Wisdom increases by 1. Age: Dryad are ageless, forever locked in time at the age they were as they were bound. However, if their tree is ever destroyed, they will start to age again, albeit at a reduced rate. Alignment: Due to the nature of how the race came into being, Dryads range from Lawful good to Chaotic Evil. However, they are most often Neutral. Size: Dryads range from anywhere between 4 to 7 feet in length, but often resemble Elves in size. Being made of wood, Dryads are as dense as whatever tree they were bound to. The lightest may weigh as little as 18lbs (Balsa Wood), while the heaviest can weigh in

at a whopping 400lbs

(Black Ironwood).

Your size is medium.

Dryad Traits (Cont.) Speed: Your base walking speed is 30 feet. Speak with Plants: You can communicate with plants within a 10 mile radius from your tree, as if you shared a language with them. Plants do not speak to you unless spoken to. Fey Ancestry: You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can’t put you to sleep. Tree Stride: Once per minute, you can take an action to magically merge into one living tree within reach and emerge from a second living tree within 60 feet of the first that you can see, appearing in an unoccupied space within 5 feet of the second tree. Both trees must be Large or greater in size. Humanoid Fey. You are considered to be both Humanoid and Fey. Languages: You can speak, read and write Common, Elvish and Sylvan.



Tree-bound: You are magically bound to a tree. So long as the tree lives, you will not age. If the tree is harmed in any way, you will know this instinctively. However, the nature of harm you can only estimate. Starting when the tree dies, and every full cycle of the moon after that, you must succeed a DC 10 Wisdom saving throw or suffer a level of madness. The DC increases by 1 for every level of madness and madness can be removed only through the use of a restoration spell or similar means, or by binding your spirit to a new tree. Additionally, if you fail the saving throw, your DM may roll on the Short-Term Madness table (DMG page 259) and have you suffer its effects. You may embrace the madness and willingly fail the saving throw. If you do so, you suffer no Nightmares for 2d6 + 2 days, nor Short-Term Madness. See the Dryad Madness table at the top of the next page for a detailed list of effects. Natural Density: Your body is made of wood. Depending on the density, your body may sink, float, or even be suspended in water. Together with

your DM, choose how your body behaves in water when creating your character. Background: Punished Fey Creature (Mandatory, Dryad exclusive) You were magically bound to a tree by a powerful entity, as punishment for a forbidden love, or perhaps for different reasons altogether. You spent most your time surrounded by plants and wildlife and tempting passersby with your outlandish beauty. You live to protect your tree, or maybe to see it destroyed, as the magic that binds you to it is both a blessing and a curse. When creating a Dryad, work with your DM to determine the location of the tree and what state it is in at the start of your adventuring career. Is it healthy and safe, allowing you to freely go as you please? Or is it sick and dying, and are you desperately looking for a cure?



Skill Proficiencies: Nature, Persuasion.

Tool Proficiencies: Herbalism Kit, One type of musical instrument.

Equipment: One simple weapon fashioned from a fallen branch of your tree, a cloak of leaves, an herbalism kit, and one platinum coin.



Feature: Beguiling Stature Your appearance is one of exceptional beauty. Creatures with an attraction for your gender are inclined to do as you ask of them to try and get your attention. A sad, hopeful look in the right direction gets you further than some others get with a bribe, and others may spontaneously offer to pay for your food, drinks and lodging. 2