Homebrew Dryad Species Details
Born of the Fey
When a fey soul is bound to a tree by a high fey or elder druid it is born as a dryad. Some dryads were once normal fey that were punished for crimes against the courts of the feywilds, and others were blessed creatures born to protect their sacred groves. Whatever their story, dryads appear as dazzling woodland fey. Their appearance is influenced by their tree or grove, from the texture of their skin to their hair, eyes, and ears.
While their appearance is captivating, they are wary and secretive creatures. Rare and elusive, the average mortal traveler is lucky to come across one in their life time outside the fey wild, let alone encounter more than that. However, a druid might find themselves in company of such a being as they share their duty of guardians of the wood. Outside of druids and forest defenders, one can only be so lucky to bare witness to a dryad in their grove, though should fate favor... or curse them, they might find themselves charmed by a curious dryad.
Defenders of the Wood
Typically neither good, nor evil, Dryads do not seek to harm others without due cause. Normally a Dryad seeks only to mystify and bewilder their foes, luring them away from their sacred tree or grove. However, this does not mean a Dryad will go out of their way to save a traveler from their fate. Dryads are guardians of nature and defenders of their wood, all things have a balance and a place. An owlbear must eat, just as a young sapling much grow. Dryads, with all their beauty, do not shy away from the darkness of nature.
Guardians of their trees and groves, a Dryad can at times be found in the company of other fey, druids, or forest dwellers. A rare born Dryad that yearns for companionship might even allow some beings to reside in their groves or the shade of their trees, living in harmony with their friends. Should a creature manage to befriend a Dryad, it is whispered that they shall receive a Dryad's 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 an ancient 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 Traits
Dryad characters have certain characteristics:Ability Score Increase
Your Wisdom score increases by 2 and your Constitution score increases by 1
Age
A dryad's soul is bound to it's tree. So long as their tree is healthy, so are they. However, should their tree ever wither, or be destroyed, a dryad will begin to wilt and descend into an unstable, maddened state. This state can last around about a year before the dryad finally dies. If the crazed dryad is bound once more to a new tree by a high fey or elder druid, their soul will stabilize once more along with their body. In this way a dryad can live for many millennia, or as little as a few years.
Alignment
Dryads tend to defect to a more neutral alignment, as their main purpose in life is to tend to their tree or grove. However, a Dryad can be swayed by the creatures that reside under it's tree's bows, interact with its sacred place, as well as by prolonged isolation.
Size
Dryads are between 4 and 7 feet tall, often reflecting the tree they are bound to. Your size is medium.
Speed
Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Body of Nature
Dryads are creatures born from the feywilds, their souls bound to their trees. As such your creature type is fey. Your treebound body makes you strong, but so does it make you weak. As your physiology is primarily composed of plant matter, you are vulnerable to fire damage, however you do not need to eat, only bask in bright light and consume twice as much water as the average human.
Treebound Armor
Your spirit is magically bound to a tree, imbuing you with several tree-like aspects, including their durability. When you aren’t wearing armor, your AC is 12 + your Dexterity modifier. A shield’s benefits apply as normal while you use your natural armor.
Woodland Magic
You know the druidcraft cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the charm person and entangle spells 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 barkskin spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Healing Seed
As an action, you can produce a small seed with the ability to heal those who consume it. It acts like a single berry from the Goodberry spell except it heals 1d10 hit points, and will also cure any one poison or disease the target is suffering from. Once you use this trait, it cannot be used for another week and at the end of this week any previous Seed produced is no longer magical. As a side note, a seed can also be planted in the earth and if left alone for 1d10 days, will begin to sprout trees of the dryads type along with other flora, producing a dryad's grove.
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.
Languages
You can speak, read, and write Common and Sylvan.