Homebrew Dryad Species Details

Farewell
To all the earthly remains
No burdens
No further debts to be paid
Atlas
Can rest his weary bones
The weight of the world
All falls away
In time

Goodbye
To all the plans that we made
No contracts
I'm free to do as I may
No hunger
No sleep except to dream
Mild and warm
Safe from all harm
Calm

Good riddance
To all the thieves
To all the fools that stifled me
They've come and gone
And passed me by
Good riddance
To all

Eurydice, Good Riddance Poem, Hades

A single ray of moonlight pierces the forest's branch-bound roof, illuminating the dancing silhouette of a feminine figure. A figure of beauty and wild grace. This is the form of a Dryad, Nature's children yet also its loyal defenders. A race of all females who are full of Mother Nature's divine power and pertain to her will upon those who dare to endanger her bountiful lands.

Introverted Yet Quite Curious

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When a fey spirit is bound to a tree by a powerful Archfey, it is forever transformed into a dryad. Some say this is a curse, a punishment even, upon a fey who has a forbidden love with a mortal. However this is simply not true. The Dryads were fey reborn willingly through the divine power of the Archfey Mother Nature. The graceful dryads resemble the most dazzling, female elves.  Their golden skin is the color of sunlight, with the texture of smooth bark. Their shapely forms are draped in flowing dresses, made of woven leaves or flower petals, as is their cascading hair.Their warm laughter and captivating song echoes through the woodland realms, rich and enticing, yet rare and elusive. Despite their alluring appearance, they are shy creatures, leading few mortals to ever glimpse one — except for the druids, with whom they share the duty of forest guardianship. Those who do see one do so mostly from afar, stealing a mere glance from the corner of their eye of a lithe beauty flitting between the trees

Woodland Protectors

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 Dryads are typically neither evil, nor good. They do not harm without cause, and generally prefer to lure their foes away with their mystic, fey magic rather than confront them directly, but neither will they help someone in trouble if it's natural phenomenon harming them. They are the protectors of the natural world, and that world has a dark side. The wolf must eat, the storm must blow. The dryad, for all its grace and endless serenity, understands the savage truth of nature.

They are guardians of forests, and often work alongside satyr, druids and other forest folk. Good and neutral fey are often fond of dryads, with the mischievous pixies finding much in common with them. It is said among the fey folk that a ring of red toadstools marks the place where dryads and pixies come to dance and frolic beneath a full moon, and that any mortal who should stumble upon them will be granted a great boon.

A dryad is bound to a tree, but can roam the area surrounding it. Certain dryad are free to roam as far as their heart desires, but know in the depths of those hearts that the tree is their home, intrinsically linked. If a tree suffers, the dryad suffers. If the tree dies, the dryad goes mad. Only a difficult ritual conducted by a powerful fey, or archdruid, can save the wilting dryad and bind it to a new tree, healing it in the process.

Occasionally these dryads leave their forests, if only temporarily, and with heavy hearts. This is mostly to find some external threat to their woodland home, or else repay a debt to someone who once aided them.

Dryad Names

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Dryad names originate from the Sylvan language, and closely resemble Elf Female names. They are usually soft and ethereal sounding. Most dryads are given their names during their rebirths and are not given surnames. Although they make take up the surnames of the surrounding forests or lands.

Dryad Names: Aloria, Casaraine, Ethissia, Lathesae, Nadasei, Satharia, Theralin, Yalasee 

Dryad Traits

Your Dryad character has the following traits due to your natural fey power.

Ability Score Increase

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

Age

A dryad's spirit is bound to a tree. They remain young and alluring as long as the tree is healthy. If the tree is ever killed or destroyed, a dryad can live on in a wilting, maddened state for roughly a year before dying. If a powerful fey or druid binds their spirit to a new tree, both their mind and their captivating beauty is restored.

Alignment

Dryads are most often neutral, with their main focus on tending to nature around them. Dryads working in union with other forest creatures in some form of alliance may tend toward lawfulness. Those deeply isolated in wild, untamed lands may be chaotic.

Size

Dryads are between 4 and a half and 6 feet tall. Your size is medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision

Accustomed to life under the shadow of verdant boughs, 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.

Nature's Speech

You can communicate with both plants and beasts through small guttural growls, soothing words, and slight hand gestures, however you cannot fully understand them as you would through the proper spells, you understand them through empathy and a sense of what they are feeling.

Tree Jump

Once on your turn, you can use 15 feet of your movement to step magically into one living tree within 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 can use this trait once, and regain it after a short or long rest.

Languages

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