Homebrew Dreas Species Details

“SOMETIMES THE RUSTLING YOU HEAR IN HIGH branches is just the wind, and nothing more. But most of the time it’s us—and we’re laughing at you.” —Dreas joke 

AS THE DAY-STAR RISES OVER THE FOREST and the dew sparkles on the leaves, some trees sense the clans of mortals and wonder what it would be like to walk among them. The most curious and free-spirited of these, touched by magic and enlivened by the primordial nature of the world, choose to leave their parent forests and take on the shape of a humanoid. This departure, once made, is irreversible, and the resulting creature—called a dreas—lives the rest of its days as a tree who walks among people.

TREE PEOPLE
Although dreas take on the form of people, their origins as trees are unmistakable, with green or bark-like skin, leafy, mossy, or flowering hair or beards, and a tendency to stand in the sun and rain for hours on end, faces upturned towards the sky. Some dreas are more humanoid than others—there are those that have branching wooden antlers or more (or less) than the usual number of fingers, while some have a surface of such finely polished wood that it appears almost indistinguishable from skin. Dreas are capable of growing their own clothing, although some prefer to blend more seamlessly among mortals by donning the skins and woven cloth of the clans.

EAGER OUTSIDERS
Dreas are inherently curious and find mortal life fascinating. Having chosen to leave behind their rooted nature, they often do everything possible to live alongside their chosen people, trying to fit in and be of use and value. However, their origin usually leads to misunderstandings and trouble of one kind or another, so it’s not uncommon for a dreas to find themselves alone despite their best efforts. These outcast dreas have been known to band together into small clans of their own, which tend towards seclusion, secrecy, and even outright hostility towards the mortals who rejected them.

SECRET-KEEPERS OF THE FOREST
The dreas remember their time as trees with perfect clarity—the cycle of years, the feeling of the wind and living things in their branches, the taste of water in dark soil rising through their roots. Although they have chosen to live among mortals, most dreas keep close to the wooded places of the world, preferring to keep in communion with trees and all green things. They often act as ambassadors for the forests, looking to the interests of both the trees and their adopted clans.

ADVENTURE SEEKERS
Although many dreas choose to take on mortal form because of their interest in a particular person or clan, some leave the forest for the more abstract aspiration of adventure, wanderlust, or a broad curiosity of things hidden where roots cannot reach. Such dreas are often eager to keep on the move, seeing stability of any kind as a return to rootedness. They prefer to risk their lives in search of experiences at the extreme edges of mortality, often accepting great danger in pursuit of adventure and the deepest possible understanding of the world.

BOTANICAL ORIGIN
Dreas may take the form of humanoids, but they are obviously of a different nature. Use these tables to inspire how your dreas character was shaped by its roots. 

Dreas Names

Dreas have long, unpronounceable tree-names that can only be spoken in Sylvan, which sound like rustling leaves and creaking branches. They often adopt mortal names similar to those of the clan they join, preferring to blend in as much as possible with their chosen people.

 

 

Dreas Traits

Your dreas character has a number of qualities in common with other dreas.

Ability Score Increase

Increase on ability score of your choice by 2 points and a different ability score of your choice by 1.

Age

Dreas live about a century, but they only show their true age on the spring and fall equinoxes. In the fall and winter, they appear to age rapidly. By midwinter, they look 10 years older than their actual age. They then begin to grow younger through the warmer months until midsummer, when they look 10 years younger than their actual age. Then the cycle repeats. In regions with milder or more extreme seasons, this effect is similarly diminished or stronger.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Size

Dreas vary greatly in height and build depending on the tree they sprung from, with slender aspen-dreas and massive oak-dreas and everything in between. Your size is Medium.

Darkvision

Accustomed to twilit 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.

Botanical Form

Your creature type is plant.

Photosynthesis

You require different nourishment than other kinships. Instead of 1 pound of food each day, you require exposure to 1 hour of sunlight, a sunglobe, or an equivalent light source. You cannot eat solid food, and attempting to do so gives you the poisoned condition for 1d4 hours. You require the same amount of water as most humanoid kinships.

From the Forest

You know the druidcraft cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the speak with plants spell and the charm person spell once per day; you must finish a long rest in order to cast these spells again using this trait. When you cast charm person with this feature, sentient plants are also a valid target for the spell. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

Tree Step

You gain the ability to enter a tree and move from inside it to inside another tree of the same kind within 500 feet. Both trees must be living and at least as large as you. You must use 5 feet of movement to enter a tree. You instantly know the location of all other trees of the same kind within 500 feet and, as part of the movement used to enter the tree, can either pass into one of those trees or step out of the tree you’re in. You appear in a spot of your choice within 5 feet of the destination tree, using another 5 feet of movement. If you have no movement left, you appear within 5 feet of the tree you entered. You can use this trait once and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. You must end your turn outside a tree.

Languages

You speak Common and Sylvan.