Dryad

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.

## Appearance

The elegant dryads resemble the elves, only made out of smooth, brown-green wood, and with grass and leaves for hair that change with the seasons.. Their skin has the texture of smooth bark, and their shapely forms are draped in clothes made of woven leaves or flower petals.

## Behavior

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.

Dryads will attack anyone who attempts to cut or harvest any piece of their grove. They are typically only awake during the day, making it safer to travel through their territory at night. They are more commonly encountered when spring is approaching, waking from their winter naps to trim their leafy manes. During the autumn months, they can be seen guiding local fauna to burrows or caves so that they are protected from the approaching colds of winter.

Though they can roam as far as their heart desires, in the depths of those hearts that the forest is their home. They are not be inclined to leave the woods, and a dryad taking up the adventurer's life is highly unusual.

## Tactics

Dryads are less good-natured and much less social, but they’re also unlikely to initiate combat, unless the PCs are engaging in wanton destruction in their woods. One possible exception, however, is if a dryad has taken a shine to a PC and charmed him or her, and the other PCs try to interfere.

They’re not weak, but their mental abilities are superior to their physical abilities, so they’ll rely on these and avoid combat if they can, especially melee combat. If a scuffle seems imminent, they’ll ready barkskin and cast it when a PC initiates hostilities. They’ll use their shillelagh clubs if angered or cornered, but it’s nearly impossible to corner a dryad, especially in its native forest. Dryads never venture far from a living tree, and if PCs try to close in on them, they use Tree Stride to slip away (ideally, they’ll use trees that are also within their attackers’ reach, so as not to provoke opportunity attacks). From a safe distance of 60 feet, they then cast entangle at the unwelcome visitors’ feet and make their escape. Even when angry, they’ll withdraw from combat when seriously injured (reduced to 8 hp or fewer).

They leave the actual fighting to others, for the most part, relying on enchantment and deception (druidcraft) to to dissuade lone trespassers, and calling in the unicorn cavalry to deal with more numerous enemies.

## Names

Dryad names are nearly always Sylvan, but lengthy. These names often describe the proximate surroundings of forest in which they were born. Introductions between Dryads can take several minutes if they were in a particularly rich environment. Examples include:

* Ewaraglineverlynney - 'Evergreen in the lush, purple Heath.'
* Fantiriop-Angalayn - 'Ash, sole survivor of the fire.'
* Myrntholiakharral - 'Oak, Squirrels' home, as many.'
* Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch - 'Saint Mary’s Church in the hollow of the white hazel near the rapid whirlpool and the Church of Saint Tysilio of the red cave'

Click for pronounciation guide

## General Stats

* **Ability Score Increase.** Your Wisdom score increases by 2, and your Charisma score increases by 1. **+12**
* **Age.** Dryads are as long living as trees. They mature at 35 years old, and can live for hundreds of years.
* **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.** 4’ - 5.5’. Your size is Medium.
* **Speed.** Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
* **Speak with Trees.** You may speak with trees as if you shared a language. **+2**
* **Plant Physiology.** You have Vulnerability to Fire damage. You cannot take any fire-based spells from your class. **-20**
* **Nature Magic.** Dryads can innately cast the following Spells, requiring no material components. These spells use the dryad’s Wisdom as their spellcasting ability. **+14**
	+ At will: Druidcraft, Shillelagh
	+ 1/day each: Entangle, Goodberry, Barkskin
* **Photosynthesis.** You have advantage on Attack rolls in direct sunlight. **+6**
* **Fey Ancestry.** You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can’t put you to sleep. **+2**
* **Mask of the Wild.** You can attempt to hide even when you are only lightly obscured by foliage, heavy rain, falling snow, mist, and other natural phenomena. **+3**
* **Tree Stride.** Once on your turn, you can use 10 ft. of your movement to step magically into one living tree within reach and emerge from a second living tree within 60 ft. of the first tree, appearing in an unoccupied space within 5 ft. 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. **+10**
* **Languages.** You can speak, read, and write Common and Sylvan.
* ***Score Total: 29***