Monster Class - Emancipated Dryad

This strange, beautiful woman has flesh that seems made of wood and vibrant hair that resembles leaves and blossoms.

Dryads are tree-fey who prefer secluded woodlands far from humanoids in need of lumber. Dryads’ main interests are their own survival and that of their beloved forests, and they have been known to magically coerce passersby into aiding them in tasks they cannot complete. The emancipated dryad is a dryad who has forsaken her bonded alliance to one particular tree, whether to protect a larger area of a forest, go on a journey, or scout out the activities of other races.

A typical dryad has delicate features are much like a female elf’s, though her flesh is like bark or fine wood, and her hair is like a canopy of leaves that changes color with the seasons. Most look like other humanoid races and a rare few have even more unusual forms. A typical dryad is 5-1/2 feet tall and weighs 100 pounds.

Alignment: Most emancipated dryads tend towards good and chaotic nature. They are strong individualists marked by a streak of kindness and benevolence. They believe in all the virtues of goodness and right, but they have little use for laws and regulations. Their actions are guided by their own moral compass which, although good, may not always be in perfect agreement with the rest of society.

#### Emancipated Dryad Racial Traits

• +2 Dexterity, +2 Charisma: As fey, dryads are naturally graceful, and have a powerful force of personality.

* Medium: Emancipated dryads are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
* Fey: Emancipated dryads are fey.
* Normal Speed: Emancipated dryads have a base speed of 30 feet.

#### Table: Emancipated Dryad

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* Low-Light Vision (Ex): Emancipated dryads can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.
* Plant Commune (Sp): Emancipated dryads can use speak with plants as a spell-like ability at-will. The caster level for this ability equals the dryad’s character level.
* Tree-Independent (Su): While a dryad is normally mystically bonded to a single, enormous tree and must stay near it, an emancipated dryad is able to function independent of her bonded tree without ill effects. Emancipation occurs for various reasons, and is often difficult to undo. Dryads who have left their bonded tree can try to bond with another tree later in life, but are sometimes rejected by their very nature. An emancipated dryad can forge a new bond with a new tree by performing a 24-hour ritual and succeeding at a Will save (DC 20 + the number of years away from a bonded tree).
* Languages: Emancipated dryads begin play speaking Common and Sylvan. Emancipated dryads with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Celestial, Draconic, Elven, Giant, Gnoll, Gnome, Halfling, and Orc.

Hit Die: d6.

Starting Wealth: 2d6 × 10 gp (average 70 gp.) In addition, each character begins play with an outfit worth 10 gp or less.

#### CLASS SKILLS

The emancipated dryad’s class skills are Acrobatics (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Fly (Dex), Handle Animal (Cha), Knowledge (geography) (Int), Knowledge (local) (Int), Knowledge (nature) (Int), Perception (Wis), Perform (Cha), Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Stealth (Dex), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str), and Use Magic Device (Cha).

Skill Ranks per Level: 6 + Int modifier.

#### CLASS FEATURES

All the following are class features of the emancipated dryad monster class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: An emancipated dryad is proficient with all simple weapons, plus the spear and longbow. It is not proficient with any type of armor or shields.

Ability Score Increases: As an emancipated dryad gains levels, her ability scores increase as noted on Table: Emancipated Dryad. These increases stack and are gained as if through level advancement.

Woodcraft (Ex): Starting at 1st level, an emancipated dryad gains a +6 racial bonus on Craft checks involving wooden materials, and is always treated as if she had masterwork artisan’s tools when making such checks (granting her an additional +2 circumstance bonus).

Spell-Like Abilities (Sp): Starting at 1st level, an emancipated dryad gains limited spell-like abilities. The exact abilities gained depend on the emancipated dryad’s class level, according to the following table. In each case, the caster level equals the emancipated dryad’s class level. The DC for a saving throw against an emancipated dryad’s spell-like ability is 10 + the spell level + the emancipated dryad’s Charisma modifier.

When the same spell appears multiple times on the table, the emancipated dryad gains the higher-level ability. Otherwise, these spell-like abilities are cumulative.

Natural Armor (Ex): At 2nd level, an emancipated dryad gains a +1 natural armor bonus to her AC. This bonus increases by +1 at 4th level and again at 6th level.

Damage Reduction (Ex): Starting at 2nd level, an emancipated dryad becomes more resistant to damage. She gains damage reduction 1/cold iron. At 4th level, this damage reduction increases to 3/cold iron, and at 6th level, it increases to 5/cold iron.

Wild Empathy (Su): At 3rd level, an emancipated dryad gains the ability to improve the attitudes of animals. This ability functions just like a Diplomacy check made to improve the attitude of a person. The emancipated dryad rolls 1d20 and adds her character level and her Charisma modifier to determine the wild empathy check result.

The typical domestic animal has a starting attitude of indifferent, while wild animals are usually unfriendly.

To use wild empathy, the emancipated dryad and the animal must be able to study each other, which means that they must be within 30 feet of one another under normal conditions. Generally, influencing an animal in this way takes 1 minute but, as with influencing people, it might take more or less time.

An emancipated dryad can also use this ability to influence a magical beast with an Intelligence score of 1 or 2, but she takes a –4 penalty on the check.

Tree Meld (Su): At 5th level, an emancipated dryad gains the ability meld into trees, similar to how a normal dryad lives within hers. This ability functions as a meld into stone spell, except the emancipated dryad melds into living trees rather than stone. The emancipated dryad can use this ability at-will, but she can only remain melded with a tree for a number of rounds equal to twice her class level before being ejected.

Improved Plant Commune (Su): At 5th level, an emancipated dryad’s racial ability to communicate with plants improves. She is treated as if constantly under the effect of a speak with plants spell. The caster level for this ability equals the dryad’s character level.