I'm new here, don't know if I should put this post here, so if anyone have any suggestion about how to ask questions, I would really appreciate it.
I never played D&D before, but I would like to create a dryad character with my friends with some ideas. The idea of the character is basically "The Trees Speak in Vietnamese".
In my brain, it (Hey ,do Plant have sex?) is a Plant but choose the be a Rogue to fight for his/her hometown.
It 's reason of adventure was : It's hometown was invaded and occupied by some forces during some sort of war, so it must leave with hope of finding or having strong power to free it.
To seek power efficiently, or for some political issues, it chose to work as Criminal / Spy at cities, tricking with clients and targets with high Charisma and Wisdom It is born with.
HOWEVER, a dryad is not one of a classic races, which means I don't have a guild line about creating such a character .
So I want to ask about: 1. Ability Score Increase 2.Speed or moving mechanism (Can a Plant walk ? Can a dryad lives without a tree nearby? Or does it must stay with a certain tree?) 3.Proficiency 4.What factions should I belong to or hate?
to ensure I can create a fun, balanced character can fit in my story
You can probably find some fairly balanced homebrew dryad or similar plantfolk player races, but those things will really depend on your DM. Ability score increase and Proficiency are basically arbitrary at this point given custom lineages etc, Speed should probably just be 30ft (That other stuff will dramatically hamper your campaign so not recommended) and the factions without knowing setting/lore etc no one here could possibly know what to suggest.
From a general advice perspective I think you should probably rethink your character choices, you admitted that this is your first ever game so playing an entirely homebrew race, with some pretty out there potential character affectations could cause all number of issues either for yourself or your DM when you're not experienced in playing the game (if your DM is experienced then that may mitigate this somewhat). Something like a wood elf or eladrin would fill the same sort of role as you're thinking (assuming you mean disappearing into the trees rather than the meme you referenced) and are already outlined races so you wouldn't have to jump right into homebrew, but that's just my two cents as someone who has DM'd quite a good number of first time players.
Well, really a practical advice . It reminded me that we haven't have a DM yet. And without knowing DM's style of narration, using classic character should be better.
You seem to be moving away from playing as a Dryad, but I just wanted to answer a few questions...
Dryads seem to be a fully female race, although exactly why isn't explained. Dryads are inherently tied to a specific tree, and any harm done to the tree itself harms the Dryad as well, but Dryads are able to travel away from their tree and no limit is stated for just how far they can travel away from the tree.
The Dryad stat block gives them High CHA and WIS, so for Ability Scores I would give +2CHA and +1WIS
Dryads have a normal 30 foot walking speed but have an innate tree-stride ability which will probably have to be nerfed to a one-a-day ability.
The Dryad also is innately proficient in Perception and Stealth, but most races don't include skilll proficiencies and it usually comes from the class choice... Dryads are pretty front loaded with stuff like Beast Speech and innate spellcasting, but they seem like they wouldn't be hard to find a decent statblock for them.
First I agree with others about not using a homebrew if you are inexperienced. Second, if you do, you will need DM approval, and lots of DMs don’t like someone else’s homebrew. For me, it might also be a red flag that this player may be kind of annoying. Instead, I’d say play a forest gnome or wood elf, or any of the other races that are more woodland based. That should probably get close to what you want and stay within RAW.
As near as I can figure the reason why Dryads were female came from Greek mythology. Dryads and such were always female, and if they wanted to reproduce, they needed a Satyr, and those were always male. Things have changed a lot in the real world, and "gender roles" are a big issue, so telling people they have to be one or the other upsets people. Satyrs do exist in the game right now, and it makes me smile a little when someone wants to play a female one. You might have a look at the Satyr, but I wouldn't recommend trying to play a Dryad who had their magic resistance. Many DMs won't allow Satyrs because of that.
You seem to be moving away from playing as a Dryad, but I just wanted to answer a few questions...
Dryads seem to be a fully female race, although exactly why isn't explained. Dryads are inherently tied to a specific tree, and any harm done to the tree itself harms the Dryad as well, but Dryads are able to travel away from their tree and no limit is stated for just how far they can travel away from the tree.
The Dryad stat block gives them High CHA and WIS, so for Ability Scores I would give +2CHA and +1WIS
Dryads have a normal 30 foot walking speed but have an innate tree-stride ability which will probably have to be nerfed to a one-a-day ability.
The Dryad also is innately proficient in Perception and Stealth, but most races don't include skilll proficiencies and it usually comes from the class choice... Dryads are pretty front loaded with stuff like Beast Speech and innate spellcasting, but they seem like they wouldn't be hard to find a decent statblock for them.
It wouldn't be too hard to explain reduced magic in the backstory either. Maybe the dryad's entire grove has disappeared to another plane somehow, which is why they've become an adventurer to try and find it, but in the meantime their abilities are weakened.
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Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock) Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric) Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue) Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
Hi ,is actually surprised me that so many people would give nice advices here , a lot of thanks for them , but I made up my mind to choose forest gnome as the race of my character.
Playing as a plant is lovely , but d&d is a kind of social game. So my plan is to play classic until I find a DM approve my idea(Or I give it up)
Considering they have Melwythorne, he is a student NPC, in Strixhaven I find it baffling that they didn't add a Dryad race. At least a Dryad designed around Strixhaven's (read: Magic: The Gathering's) lore.
I know I am late to the thread but for anyone looking to play a Dryad in Strixhaven, like I was, or in any setting I'd suggest reflavoring the Eladrin race from MotM, your "leaves" and "flower" can change with your mood or the season like a tree, or a Wood Elf in the PHB as Dryads.
If you want to play D&D as a dryad, I would suggest making the area around your tree as inviting and welcoming to guests as possible, so players are more inclined to want to play there instead of another player’s house or the FLGS.
That will make the experience less life-threatening for you, which should increase your overall enjoyment of the hobby in the long run.
I'm new here, don't know if I should put this post here,
so if anyone have any suggestion about how to ask questions, I would really appreciate it.
I never played D&D before, but I would like to create a dryad character with my friends with some ideas.
The idea of the character is basically "The Trees Speak in Vietnamese".
In my brain, it (Hey ,do Plant have sex?) is a Plant but choose the be a Rogue to fight for his/her hometown.
It 's reason of adventure was :
It's hometown was invaded and occupied by some forces during some sort of war, so
it must leave with hope of finding or having strong power to free it.
To seek power efficiently, or for some political issues, it chose to work as Criminal / Spy at cities,
tricking with clients and targets with high Charisma and Wisdom It is born with.
HOWEVER, a dryad is not one of a classic races, which means
I don't have a guild line about creating such a character .
So I want to ask about:
1. Ability Score Increase
2.Speed or moving mechanism
(Can a Plant walk ? Can a dryad lives without a tree nearby? Or does it must stay with a certain tree?)
3.Proficiency
4.What factions should I belong to or hate?
to ensure I can create a fun, balanced character can fit in my story
You can probably find some fairly balanced homebrew dryad or similar plantfolk player races, but those things will really depend on your DM. Ability score increase and Proficiency are basically arbitrary at this point given custom lineages etc, Speed should probably just be 30ft (That other stuff will dramatically hamper your campaign so not recommended) and the factions without knowing setting/lore etc no one here could possibly know what to suggest.
From a general advice perspective I think you should probably rethink your character choices, you admitted that this is your first ever game so playing an entirely homebrew race, with some pretty out there potential character affectations could cause all number of issues either for yourself or your DM when you're not experienced in playing the game (if your DM is experienced then that may mitigate this somewhat). Something like a wood elf or eladrin would fill the same sort of role as you're thinking (assuming you mean disappearing into the trees rather than the meme you referenced) and are already outlined races so you wouldn't have to jump right into homebrew, but that's just my two cents as someone who has DM'd quite a good number of first time players.
Well, really a practical advice .
It reminded me that we haven't have a DM yet.
And without knowing DM's style of narration, using classic character should be better.
Thanks a lot to help me making some decisions
You seem to be moving away from playing as a Dryad, but I just wanted to answer a few questions...
Dryads seem to be a fully female race, although exactly why isn't explained. Dryads are inherently tied to a specific tree, and any harm done to the tree itself harms the Dryad as well, but Dryads are able to travel away from their tree and no limit is stated for just how far they can travel away from the tree.
The Dryad stat block gives them High CHA and WIS, so for Ability Scores I would give +2CHA and +1WIS
Dryads have a normal 30 foot walking speed but have an innate tree-stride ability which will probably have to be nerfed to a one-a-day ability.
The Dryad also is innately proficient in Perception and Stealth, but most races don't include skilll proficiencies and it usually comes from the class choice... Dryads are pretty front loaded with stuff like Beast Speech and innate spellcasting, but they seem like they wouldn't be hard to find a decent statblock for them.
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First I agree with others about not using a homebrew if you are inexperienced. Second, if you do, you will need DM approval, and lots of DMs don’t like someone else’s homebrew. For me, it might also be a red flag that this player may be kind of annoying.
Instead, I’d say play a forest gnome or wood elf, or any of the other races that are more woodland based. That should probably get close to what you want and stay within RAW.
As near as I can figure the reason why Dryads were female came from Greek mythology. Dryads and such were always female, and if they wanted to reproduce, they needed a Satyr, and those were always male. Things have changed a lot in the real world, and "gender roles" are a big issue, so telling people they have to be one or the other upsets people. Satyrs do exist in the game right now, and it makes me smile a little when someone wants to play a female one. You might have a look at the Satyr, but I wouldn't recommend trying to play a Dryad who had their magic resistance. Many DMs won't allow Satyrs because of that.
<Insert clever signature here>
It wouldn't be too hard to explain reduced magic in the backstory either. Maybe the dryad's entire grove has disappeared to another plane somehow, which is why they've become an adventurer to try and find it, but in the meantime their abilities are weakened.
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock)
Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric)
Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
You could play a Wood Elf and say that your character is a dryad who was made mortal somehow.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
Forest gnome, firbolg, or tortle would also make a passible dryad. Just change up the descriptions a bit.
Pretty surprised we're getting bunny/owl folk before an official hamadryad or wilden or some other plant-based race.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
really like the idea.
Maybe...I can also make a Wood Elf with some psychotic disorder,
and thus claim herself a tree?
Hi ,is actually surprised me that so many people would give nice advices here , a lot of thanks for them , but
I made up my mind to choose forest gnome as the race of my character.
Playing as a plant is lovely , but d&d is a kind of social game.
So my plan is to play classic until I find a DM approve my idea(Or I give it up)
Considering they have Melwythorne, he is a student NPC, in Strixhaven I find it baffling that they didn't add a Dryad race. At least a Dryad designed around Strixhaven's (read: Magic: The Gathering's) lore.
I know I am late to the thread but for anyone looking to play a Dryad in Strixhaven, like I was, or in any setting I'd suggest reflavoring the Eladrin race from MotM, your "leaves" and "flower" can change with your mood or the season like a tree, or a Wood Elf in the PHB as Dryads.
If you want to play D&D as a dryad, I would suggest making the area around your tree as inviting and welcoming to guests as possible, so players are more inclined to want to play there instead of another player’s house or the FLGS.
That will make the experience less life-threatening for you, which should increase your overall enjoyment of the hobby in the long run.
Dryads would fit in really well with the Emerald Enclave. And you can definitely play a male or nonbinary Dryad.
I really like D&D, especially Ravenloft, Exandria and the Upside Down from Stranger Things. My pronouns are she/they (genderfae).