My DM has allowed me to play a Dryad in a OneShot that she will be running. The only prerequisite that I was given was finding a way for her to survive away from her tree.
I am not allowed to homebrew anything, and my DM isn't just going to handwave either. If I can't find a way for my character to survive, she will die if she stays away from her tree too long. That means she would be unplayable. I am stuck on this because if I can't find a way for her to stay alive without being near her tree, I won't be able to play her.
I have a rare opportunity to play as my favourite type of Fey, but there seems no official way for her to survive for an extended period.
Can you guys please help me out because I doubt that I will get the chance to have a Dryad as my character again. My DM is only allowing me to have her because we have known each other for so long, and she knows that I don't cheat or anything and how much I love Dryads - they are like the ultimate druids. She has to be fair to the other players though, so finding a way for her to survive was the only condition I was giving. That, and it has to be official. As is published by Wizards - though it can be in the lore as long as its published lore.
Thanks to you all so very much because I really, really want to play her while I have the chance.
Also....magic. Make her part warlock and have part of the pact be some reprieve from her tree, though she now serves a greater master. Fey Pact it up and you'll stay on theme.
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"The mongoose blew out its candle and was asleep in bed before the room went dark." —Llanowar fable
I like BigHeathen11's portable plant idea. If the Fey is a Superdruid, it would add an element (heh) of extra danger for the Dryad — extra power with extra cost.
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Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider. My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong. I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲 “It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
I don't see anything that says that they have to be near to or even return to their tree in order to survive. I see that the tree is her home and if something happens to the tree, things go poorly for the Dryad. What I don't see is a restriction on the length of time or distance she must stay within.
Treebound. 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.
Does this connection to the tree cross planes? "...roots her to the world," tells me that it doesn't allow cross-planar connections.
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Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider. My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong. I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲 “It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
Just an update guys. It wasn't as fun to play a Dryad as I was expecting. Despite saying she was going to let me play a Dryad, my DM put so many restrictions on my character.
I understand why she was doing this. She was trying to be fair to all her players, but those restrictions made it a lot less fun for me.
This experience is a perfect example of why monsters should remain monsters and NPC's and not become playable characters.
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A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
sorry for the necro on this but there is actually a distance that she can travel from the tree, I believe it's about 1mile/1.6 kilometers from the tree they are bound to
sorry for the necro on this but there is actually a distance that she can travel from the tree, I believe it's about 1mile/1.6 kilometers from the tree they are bound to
Actually, in 5e, the restriction seems to be that she is fine anywhere as long as her tree still is alive and healthy.
But if she's not there to protect her tree, what happens if it gets sick or damaged. Does she also get sick or take damage?
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A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
That's a risk, which gives weight to her decisions about where to be. If she has any friends in the woodlands she can ask them to protect it and at least have that.
Back in the 2e days I ran a one-shot that involved a dryad who's tree had been destroyed by goblins trying to replant her connection. To do that she used the life force (HP) of mortals she charmed. Flipping that to 5e as a custom/home-rule maybe this stack of things would work (where work = make a good story).
Unbound Dryad.
What we know:
"Powerful fey will sometimes bind lesser fey spirits to trees, transforming them into dryads."
"If the tree is ever destroyed, the dryad descends into madness."
Both from the dryad entry.
What we homebrew:
Every day a dryad goes without being bound to a tree, a dryad must make a Concentration check, DC 15.
If they fail, their WIS score declines by one.
They can counter any failure by burning a Hit Dice (permanently - see #3 below).
If they have no Hit Dice left to burn, they receive one point of Exhaustion.
A creature charmed by the dryad can be convinced to give life energy to the dryad (burn a Hit Dice) to prevent her from needing a roll.
This action does not violate the Charm rules or give the character a chance of breaking the spell.
A character can do this willingly, without needing to be Charmed or make any save.
This sacrifice is permanent, see #3 below.
Hit Dice burned (by anyone) to prevent the decline into madness are only restored when the dryad is again bound to a tree or their Fey patron removes the punishment entirely.
That is a blend of existing mechanics that buys the dryad time, creates urgency, and could kick off a side quest (let's find this Fey patron and convince them to save the dryad before it goes fully mad.
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Hi, everyone,
My DM has allowed me to play a Dryad in a OneShot that she will be running. The only prerequisite that I was given was finding a way for her to survive away from her tree.
I am not allowed to homebrew anything, and my DM isn't just going to handwave either. If I can't find a way for my character to survive, she will die if she stays away from her tree too long. That means she would be unplayable. I am stuck on this because if I can't find a way for her to stay alive without being near her tree, I won't be able to play her.
I have a rare opportunity to play as my favourite type of Fey, but there seems no official way for her to survive for an extended period.
Can you guys please help me out because I doubt that I will get the chance to have a Dryad as my character again. My DM is only allowing me to have her because we have known each other for so long, and she knows that I don't cheat or anything and how much I love Dryads - they are like the ultimate druids. She has to be fair to the other players though, so finding a way for her to survive was the only condition I was giving. That, and it has to be official. As is published by Wizards - though it can be in the lore as long as its published lore.
Thanks to you all so very much because I really, really want to play her while I have the chance.
A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
Very easy. Take a part of the tree, replant it in a portable container, make sure to take care of it.
Also....magic. Make her part warlock and have part of the pact be some reprieve from her tree, though she now serves a greater master. Fey Pact it up and you'll stay on theme.
I like BigHeathen11's portable plant idea. If the Fey is a Superdruid, it would add an element (heh) of extra danger for the Dryad — extra power with extra cost.
Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider.
My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong.
I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲
“It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
Perhaps an answer can be found here: https://youtu.be/1HVjROVJxuQ
I don't see anything that says that they have to be near to or even return to their tree in order to survive. I see that the tree is her home and if something happens to the tree, things go poorly for the Dryad. What I don't see is a restriction on the length of time or distance she must stay within.
Treebound. 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.
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
Does this connection to the tree cross planes? "...roots her to the world," tells me that it doesn't allow cross-planar connections.
Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider.
My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong.
I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲
“It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
Just an update guys. It wasn't as fun to play a Dryad as I was expecting. Despite saying she was going to let me play a Dryad, my DM put so many restrictions on my character.
I understand why she was doing this. She was trying to be fair to all her players, but those restrictions made it a lot less fun for me.
This experience is a perfect example of why monsters should remain monsters and NPC's and not become playable characters.
A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
sorry for the necro on this but there is actually a distance that she can travel from the tree, I believe it's about 1mile/1.6 kilometers from the tree they are bound to
Where do you see that restriction?
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.
But if she's not there to protect her tree, what happens if it gets sick or damaged. Does she also get sick or take damage?
A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
"What if she's not there to protect her tree?"
That's a risk, which gives weight to her decisions about where to be. If she has any friends in the woodlands she can ask them to protect it and at least have that.
Back in the 2e days I ran a one-shot that involved a dryad who's tree had been destroyed by goblins trying to replant her connection. To do that she used the life force (HP) of mortals she charmed. Flipping that to 5e as a custom/home-rule maybe this stack of things would work (where work = make a good story).
Unbound Dryad.
What we know:
Both from the dryad entry.
What we homebrew:
That is a blend of existing mechanics that buys the dryad time, creates urgency, and could kick off a side quest (let's find this Fey patron and convince them to save the dryad before it goes fully mad.