I'm DMing a short campaign for my group, and they are fighting a corrupted dryad but they want to try to heal her. Is that possible? I've been trying to do research but can't find anything.
Sure, the real question at hand is, what is she corrupted with, and is it a thing a mid-to-high level restorative spell can fix or does the party have to go on a side-quest to solve some systemic problem plaguing the dryad?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"The mongoose blew out its candle and was asleep in bed before the room went dark." —Llanowar fable
Well, arguably, that would be a little harder to fix. Still not impossible with something like a well worded Wish or some other creative use of some higher level magic to either fix the tree or transfer her to a new tree; but it is far more likely that if the party is going to resolve this problem peacefully, they will have to mediate some sort of deal between the dryad and the tree's new residents. As long as the tree is alive and the new guests live a bit more harmoniously within it, there is a chance that the corruption could be reduced to the point of curing the dryad.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"The mongoose blew out its candle and was asleep in bed before the room went dark." —Llanowar fable
Okay. Thank you. Sadly, the Dryad and the tree are pretty far gone, and she killed the person that had altered the tree. Transferring her to a new tree is probably the most likely. But we shall see what my players try. I mostly just needed to know the options, if there were any. I'm new to DMing, and I really appreciate the help.
As long as the interlopers didn’t cut their home out of the tree, I can see healing the tree by using Plant Growth, Lesser Restoration, and/or Greater Restoration combined to heal the damage to the tree and cure the Dryad’s corruption. Of course the party will have to restrain the Dryad somehow for the full 8 hours that it takes to cast Plant Growth so that it heals the tree.
Yeah, basically, the options your players have are going to only be limited to the resources they have access to in this sort of situation. Are there rumors of some natural spring nearby, guarded by some ancient power, that is said to heal all that drink from it? If so can the party go on an adventure to fetch some of that water and use it to feed the tree, healing it and the dryad? Are there druids around who can be convinced to help move the corrupted dryad to a new tree somehow? Does that ritual require anything special the party may have to find? Is there some old hermit Wizard that lives in a tower or hut nearby that can help? Do they like visitors?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"The mongoose blew out its candle and was asleep in bed before the room went dark." —Llanowar fable
I think if your players have set their hearts on curing this dryad, you’ve found your story hook to keep the game engaging for a while. Now, you’re limited only by your willingness to work with them on it. You may have intended for them to just kill the dryad and move on, but the good DMs let the players create the story with their choices while they, the DM, bring those choices to life, and give them curveballs to let them react to.
Will the players be able to be near the tree to fix it, or does the corrupted dryad not recognize friend from foe? When the tree is restored, will a Greater Restoration spell work to uncorrupt her? Is tying her to a new tree going to work? Will they have to travel to find an epic Druid NPC that is seemigly the only one who can perform such a task, and bring him back to do it? Is there a set of instructions in a library that detail a process whereby a potion or oil can be applied to a fallen branch of her tree that that will trap her in the branch and allow you to carry her to a magic tree, graft that branch into the tree, tying her essence to that tree, healing her and making her part of a new sisterhood of orphaned dryads that can maybe make appearnces in the future. The cure is whatever you make it.
The possibilities are endless, and I will say I’d love to play an adventure off that story hook.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
I'm DMing a short campaign for my group, and they are fighting a corrupted dryad but they want to try to heal her. Is that possible? I've been trying to do research but can't find anything.
Sure, the real question at hand is, what is she corrupted with, and is it a thing a mid-to-high level restorative spell can fix or does the party have to go on a side-quest to solve some systemic problem plaguing the dryad?
Sorry I forgot to specify. She is corrupted because her tree was turned into a Swiss Family Robinson style tree-house.
Well, arguably, that would be a little harder to fix. Still not impossible with something like a well worded Wish or some other creative use of some higher level magic to either fix the tree or transfer her to a new tree; but it is far more likely that if the party is going to resolve this problem peacefully, they will have to mediate some sort of deal between the dryad and the tree's new residents. As long as the tree is alive and the new guests live a bit more harmoniously within it, there is a chance that the corruption could be reduced to the point of curing the dryad.
Okay. Thank you. Sadly, the Dryad and the tree are pretty far gone, and she killed the person that had altered the tree. Transferring her to a new tree is probably the most likely. But we shall see what my players try. I mostly just needed to know the options, if there were any. I'm new to DMing, and I really appreciate the help.
As long as the interlopers didn’t cut their home out of the tree, I can see healing the tree by using Plant Growth, Lesser Restoration, and/or Greater Restoration combined to heal the damage to the tree and cure the Dryad’s corruption. Of course the party will have to restrain the Dryad somehow for the full 8 hours that it takes to cast Plant Growth so that it heals the tree.
Professional computer geek
Yeah, basically, the options your players have are going to only be limited to the resources they have access to in this sort of situation. Are there rumors of some natural spring nearby, guarded by some ancient power, that is said to heal all that drink from it? If so can the party go on an adventure to fetch some of that water and use it to feed the tree, healing it and the dryad? Are there druids around who can be convinced to help move the corrupted dryad to a new tree somehow? Does that ritual require anything special the party may have to find? Is there some old hermit Wizard that lives in a tower or hut nearby that can help? Do they like visitors?
I think if your players have set their hearts on curing this dryad, you’ve found your story hook to keep the game engaging for a while. Now, you’re limited only by your willingness to work with them on it. You may have intended for them to just kill the dryad and move on, but the good DMs let the players create the story with their choices while they, the DM, bring those choices to life, and give them curveballs to let them react to.
Will the players be able to be near the tree to fix it, or does the corrupted dryad not recognize friend from foe? When the tree is restored, will a Greater Restoration spell work to uncorrupt her? Is tying her to a new tree going to work? Will they have to travel to find an epic Druid NPC that is seemigly the only one who can perform such a task, and bring him back to do it? Is there a set of instructions in a library that detail a process whereby a potion or oil can be applied to a fallen branch of her tree that that will trap her in the branch and allow you to carry her to a magic tree, graft that branch into the tree, tying her essence to that tree, healing her and making her part of a new sisterhood of orphaned dryads that can maybe make appearnces in the future. The cure is whatever you make it.
The possibilities are endless, and I will say I’d love to play an adventure off that story hook.