Dryadborn
Dryadborn are far from a unified people. Many of the first were initially produced after a dryad’s union with a mortal, growing out from the fey’s heart tree in the Dreaming into the form of a mortal infant. Others were crafted entirely from the dryad’s heart tree. Depending on their dryad progenitor, some were raised as servants, spies, and the like for the dryad or their court, while others were regarded as curiosities—a precarious situation among the famously fickle fey.
As eons passed, the dryadborn spread, fulfilling their internal mandate to go forth and see the world. Some had their own families and have became their own distinct people. Few directly know the dryad that created their lineage, especially if they make their home in the Waking. Others are similar to planetouched, their fey traits arising unexpectedly from what was thought to be a mundane bloodline. Comparatively few now are directly made by a dryad, and still fewer outside the Dreaming.
Dryadborn Traits
Characters with the dryad heritage share a variety of traits in common with one another.
Age. Dryadborn age quickly from infancy to adolescence in the span of a year, at which point their aging and life cycle depends on their progenitor’s heart tree. Those coming from palm and persimmon dryads mature similarly to orcs, while sequoias and some pines result in dryadborn with lifespans more comparable to elves.
Size. Dryads are tall and thin, but their density depends on their origins. Those from lighter woods are usually around 160 pounds, while those from heavier trees can weigh over 300 pounds. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Dryad Magic. You know the entangle spell and can cast it without using a spell slot once per long rest . Your spellcasting ability for this spell is Wisdom or Charisma (whichever is highest).
Flora. You have more in common biologically with flora than fauna. Instead of being a humanoid, you have the plant creature type.
Verdant Jaunt. As a bonus action, you can spend 5 feet of movement to magically pass through an adjacent plant and exit out of another plant of the same kind you can see within 30 feet. The plants you enter or exit from must be at least Medium sized, or they must be a collection of the same kind of plants that fill at least a 5-foot wide surface such as grasses, shrubs, or mosses.
You can use this trait a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, regaining all expended uses after a
long rest
.
Dryadborn Gifts
While each dryadborn is an individual, all are deeply grounded to the nature of their progenitor’s heart tree, making for vastly different beings.
Blossom-Crowned
These dryadborn bloom with vibrant, possibly otherworldly colors. You have the following traits:
Charming Bouquet. You gain proficiency in your choice of Deception, Persuasion, or Performance.
Fey Glamour. You can attempt to glamour creatures that can see, hear, or smell you within 10 feet as a bonus action. Each creature of your choice within range makes a Wisdom saving throw . On a failed save, it becomes fixated on you until the end of your next turn. During this time, the creature has disadvantage on attack rolls. The DC for this saving throw equals 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier. If a target’s saving throw is successful or if the effect ends for it, the creature is immune to your fey glamour for 24 hours.
You can use this ability a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, regaining all expended uses on a long rest.
Protective Petals. When you are hit by an attack, you can use your reaction to shake off an obscuring screen of flower petals. For the next round, you gain a +5 bonus to your AC, including against the triggering attack, potentially turning a hit into a miss.
Elderbark
Not all dryadborn are lithe and flighty. Some grow strong with the old growth of their progenitor’s forest, tough as the ancient roots that dig below the mountains. You have the following traits:
Barkskinned. While you aren’t wearing armor, your AC equals 12 + your Constitution modifier. You can use a shield and still gain this benefit.
Deep Roots. When determining your carrying capacity and the weight that you can push, drag, or lift, your size is considered to be Large. Additionally, you can grapple or shove creatures up to two size categories larger than yourself.
Finally, when you fail a saving throw against an effect that would push you, knock you prone , or cause you to be grappled , you may take root as a reaction and immediately reroll it, taking the new result. If you do, you can immediately reroll that saving throw and take the new result. Once you use this feature, you must finish a long rest before doing so again.
New Growth
You were directly created by a dryad, and the magic of the fey thrums through you with especial strength. Many of these dryadborn were created specifically to protect their progenitor’s heart tree. You have the following traits:
Expanded Dryad Magic. You know the shillelagh cantrip. Once you reach 3rd level, you can cast animal friendship once per long rest. At 5th level, you can cast speak with plants without material components once per long rest. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Ever-Vigilant Tender. You do not have to sleep and are immune to being put to sleep by magical means. A long rest remains 8 hours for you as normal, and the time must be filled only with light activity.
Heart Tree Connection. Your soul is intricately linked the specific tree of the dryad that made you. Work with your Narrator to determine the location and circumstances of this tree. If you die while your heart tree remains alive and matured and you are on the same plane (or the Dreaming), you can choose to be reborn from the heart tree, retaining all your abilities and memories rather than moving onto an afterlife. This is still traumatizing, however, and you suffer 3 levels each of fatigue and strife . At the conclusion of each long rest, remove one level of fatigue and strife suffered in this way until you are fully recovered.
For the next month, your size is Small and you look like a younger version of yourself. You can’t be reborn from your heart tree while in this state. You return to your normal Medium size in 1 month. If your heart tree dies while you remain alive and you are on the same plane (or the Dreaming), it is immediately reborn from you as a seed. If this seed is planted in fertile soil in an appropriate climate, the tree will grow and mature back into its former state after a year and a day. It can’t be reborn again during this time.
If your heart tree is destroyed and can’t be reborn, you suffer 3 levels of stress , as well as a long-term mental stress effect for the next month, after which you can attempt to recover from it as normal.
Dryadborn Paragon
When you reach 10th level, you exemplify the best of your arboreal heritage. You gain one paragon gift form the following list.
Branching Mind.Choose one of the following saving throws : Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma. You gain an expertise die when using the chosen saving throw to resist magic.
Fey Grove Magic. Choose a 5th or 6th level druid spell of the nature school. Once per long rest , you can cast the chosen spell as a 6th level spell (if it is not already) without using a spell slot. Your spellcasting ability for this spell is Wisdom or Charisma (whichever is highest).
Patience of the Trees. As a bonus action, you can enter a state of ponderous contemplation. For the next minute, you gain an expertise die to all Constitution and Wisdom checks. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus per long rest .
Dryadborn Culture
Within the Dreaming, dryadborn almost exclusively belong to the court of their progenitor, whether it is a group of dryads (known as the Court of Groves) or a larger fey court. There the heritages is largely seen as useful servants and staff, though for individuals this may vary depending on their progenitor’s status and the whim of the head of the court. Outside of this setting and a few carefully guarded groves, dryadborn do not often congregate in large numbers. When they do, it is most often with those of a their own tree species or one that is related or grows in the same biome, as the difference in heart trees leads to vastly different priorities and preferences.
Dryadborn in the Waking largely fall into two categories, depending on what part of their nature they choose to embrace. Those that cultivate the wanderlust that led to their creation find fulfillment in a life on the move, while those more inclined to put down roots devote themselves utterly to their community, defending at all cost the metaphorical heart tree of hearth and home. Regardless of lifestyle, dryadborn are generally most at comfortable with a people that develops similarly to themselves. One connected to a fast-growing tree, such as a beech, eucalyptus, or willow, may find the company of elves slow and tedious, while those connected to oaks, cedars, or mahogany trees likely find humans and orcs flighty and indecisive. The exception to this are peoples who live mostly or entirely underground, such as deep dwarves and deep gnomes—no matter how fond they may be of a group, few dryadborn can fathom the idea of leaving the sun.
Suggested Cultures
While you can choose any culture for your dryadborn, the following cultures are linked closely with this heritage: Dreaming wilds , eladrin , fey court , grovekept .