Dryad (5e Race)

Dryad

“	D is for Dryad, creep softly to see. If she hears or sees you, she'll turn into a tree.	”
—Excerpt from Creatures of the Wilds.

Physical Description

By Tony DiTerlizzi

Dryads are humanoids who live within the woods. They blend in with nature itself due to plant-like properties that grow out of their bodies, like twigs, grass hairs, bark skin, leaves, and even flowers. For the most part, dryads are almost exclusively female, though some may be androgynous, as they are merely spirits of nature in the end. Dryads embody the trees usually, but some are found in other plants like river reeds and flower bushes. They usually wear loose clothing made of plant material. Dryads are typically described as fleeting and beautiful.

History

Origins for dryads starts with the trees. Primal forces of nature within nature mature and form a humanoid form to protect and tend to the forests. These are the dryads. They are usually bound to the trees they inhabit as a result. Some dryads will even die if their home tree does. There are also stories of dryads born through the communion of nature gods, created to be attendants by Chauntea and such.

Society

As dryads are bound to their forests, they fear encroaching modernity from civilization. Usually, they live in the forests their whole lives, particularly for their tree's sake. Within these woods, they are usually frequented by travelers and other interlopers within the natural world. Many dryads host parties with fey entities like fairies, leprechauns, and boisterous satyrs. They otherwise live very simple lives, merely subsisting off the nature around them. Even the dryads who adventure, having been able to leave their forest, live sparsely. They feel uncomfortable in cities and will rarely indulge in excess.

Dryad Names

A dryad takes their name from something in nature or a name that relates to their home plants.

Male: Dryope, Erato, Eurydice, Balanos, Epimeliades, Igeiros, Olivis, Oake

Female: Chrysopeleia, Phigalia, Tithorea, Kraneia, Daphnaeae, Morea, Kissiae, Meliae

Dryad Traits

Humanoids made of Wood. Guardians of the Forest. Watchers of Nature.
Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 2.
Age. You age just like a tree, very slowly, which means you can live anywhere from a few hundred years to a few thousand.
Alignment. Dryads tend to be lawful and are rarely evil, following and protecting the "law" of the forest.
Size. Dryads come in many sizes, ranging from a little under 6 feet to almost 14 feet tall. Your size is dependent on your subrace.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Barkskin. You have a naturally occurring tough skin covering you from head to toe. When unarmored, your Armor Class is equal to 12 + your Dexterity modifier.
Forest Blend. You have advantage on Stealth checks made to hide among foliage, trees and other plant life.
Plant. Your creature type is both fey and humanoid. Given that your physiology is primarily composed of plant matter, you are vulnerable to fire damage.
Photosynthesis. Being a plant-based life form, you create your food through photosynthesis. At the end of every hour you spend in bright sunlight, you regain hit points equal to your proficiency bonus. Likewise, if you don't spend a number of hours equals to your proficiency bonus + your Constitution modifier in sunlight a day, you will start to decay, taking one level exhaustion at the end of each hour after your next long rest. You cannot recover these levels of exhaustion by long resting until you spend the necessary number of hours in sunlight.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Sylvan. Some Dryads that deal with druids folk know Druidic themselves.
Subrace. Pick one from Guardian and Watcher.

Guardian

Design Note: This subrace uses the Large Player Characters and Oversized variant rules.

Guardian dryads are usually more powerful, meant to protect their tree from damage like loggers.

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 1.
Size. Your size is Large.
Tree Stride. Over time you have learned the skill of using trees as a type of transportation. Once a turn, you can step magically into one living tree within your reach and emerge from a second living tree within 30 feet of the first tree, appearing in an unoccupied space within 5 feet of the second tree. Both trees must be Large or larger in size.

Watcher

Dryads who watch are smaller than guardians, presiding over larger swaths of forests, watching out for threats like fires and otherworldly corruption.

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 1.
Size. Your size is Medium.
Tree Stride. Over time you have learned the skill of using trees as a type of transportation. Once a turn, you can step magically into one living tree within your reach and emerge from a second living tree within 30 feet of the first tree, appearing in an unoccupied space within 5 feet of the second tree. Both trees must be Medium or larger in size.
Nature Whisperer. You are one with the forest and it speaks to you. You can communicate with beasts and plants through Sylvan. They can understand the meaning of your words, though you have no special ability to understand them in return.

Random Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier*	Base Weight	Weight Modifier**
11′ 7''	+2d12	140 lb.	× (3d8) lb.
*Height = base height + height modifier **Weight = base weight + (height modifier × weight modifier)

Base Height	Height Modifier*	Base Weight	Weight Modifier**
5′ 5''	+2d6	40 lb.	× (2d3) lb.
*Height = base height + height modifier **Weight = base weight + (height modifier × weight modifier)

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