Homebrew Dryad Species Details

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.

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 thousands of years of fey refinement, and being tree bound.

Ability Score Increase

When determining your character’s ability scores, increase one score by 2 and increase a different score by 1, or increase three different scores by 1. Follow this rule regardless of the method you use to determine the scores, such as rolling or point buy. The “Quick Build” section for your character’s class offers suggestions on which scores to increase. You can follow those suggestions or ignore them, but you can’t raise any of your scores above 20.

Age

Dryads do not age. They are normally bound as an adult to a tree for something they have done, but not typically as a child.

Size

Dryads range from 5'5" feet to 6'8" feet. Dryads typically are very slender and can weigh anywhere from 140lbs to 220lbs. Your size is medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision

Accustomed to twilight forests and the night sky, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. 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.

Woodland Senses

You have proficiency in the Stealth and Perception skills.

Speak with Beasts and Plants

The Dryad can communicate with beasts and plants as if they shared a language.

Tree Stride

Once on her turn, the dryad can use 10 feet of her movement to step magically into one living tree within her 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.

Fey Charm

The dryad, as an action, can target one humanoid or beast that she can see within 30 feet of her. If the target can see the dryad, it must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or be magically charmed. The charmed creature regards the dryad as a trusted friend to be heeded and protected.

Although the target isn't under the dryad's control, it takes the dryad's requests or actions in the most favorable way it can . Each time the dryad or its allies do anything harmful to the target, it can repeat the saving throw, ending the effect on itself on a success. Otherwise, the effect lasts 24 hours or until the dryad dies, is on a different plane of existence from the target, or ends the effect as a bonus action. If a target's saving throw is successful, the target is immune to the dryad's Fey Charm for the next 24 hours.

Once you have used this feature, you can not do so again until you have finished a long rest.

Magic Resistance

You have advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects that would Charm or Frighten you.

Innate Spellcasting

You know the Druidcraft cantrip.

When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the Goodberry spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest.

When you reach 5th level, you can cast the pass without trace spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest.

Languages

You can speak, read and write Common, and one other Language.

Creature Type

You count as a fey rather than a humanoid.

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