Homebrew Dryad Species Details

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.

Reclusive Fey

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.

Woodland Magic

Dryads can speak with plants and animals. They can teleport from one tree to another, luring interlopers away from their groves. If pressed, a dryad can beguile humanoids with her enchantments, turning enemies into friends. They also know a handful of useful spells.

Dryad Traits

Your dryad character has a variety of natural abilities, the result of their fey nature.

Ability Score Increase

Your Wisdom score increases by 2, and your Charisma score increases by 1.

Age

Dryads have life spans that last as long as their trees, living to be hundreds or even thousands of years old.

Size

A dryad stands at about the same height as many humans, ranging anywhere from 5 to 6 feet in height. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision

You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Fey

Your creature type is fey, rather than humanoid. In addition, you have advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.

Innate Spellcasting

You know the druidcraft cantrip. You can cast speak with plants and speak with animals at will, but only on yourself. You can cast pass without trace once per long rest.

Tree Stride

Three times per day, you can use 10 feet of your movement to step magically into one living tree within your reach and emerge from a second living tree within 60 feet of the first tree, appearing in an unoccupied space within 5 feet of the second tree. Both trees must be Large or bigger. You regain the all uses of Tree Stride this when you complete a long rest.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common, Elvish, and Sylvan.