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 .

The following clever schemes can be learned by all savants .

Antiquarian

You have a nose for identifying things, even if you’ve never seen them before. If you spend 1 minute examining and touching an artificial object, you learn the object’s age, value, historical/cultural origin, and non-magical properties (if any), such as the DC of a lock or how to use a piece of culture-specific equipment.

Artistic Streak

You find that practicing your art helps you think. You gain an expertise die on checks to engage in artistic activities, such as music, writing, or another creative endeavor. If you engage in an artistic practice for 1 hour (which may be part of a rest), you may gain one point of Key Knowledge regarding an individual, creature, event, organization, or place of which you are aware. Once you have done so, you cannot do so again until you have both used the Key Knowledge you gained and completed a long rest .

Bartitsu

You have trained to defend yourself under any circumstances. You can roll 1d4 in place of your normal damage for unarmed strikes. If you aren’t wielding any weapons or a shield, you can roll 1d6 instead. Finally, you may choose to deal 1d6 damage when using improvised weapons instead of the damage they normally deal.

Business Acumen

You gain an expertise die on checks made to recall information about money, trade, regional goods, and businesses, as well as on checks made to buy, sell, or perform the Work downtime activity. Additionally, your Prestige level counts as 1 higher when interacting with merchants, financial professionals, and business owners within the area described by your Prestige rating.

Enigma Enthusiast

You gain an expertise die on checks made to succeed at solving puzzles, cracking ciphers, answering riddles, playing strategy games, and similar tasks, as well as on checks to create them. In addition, when encountering such a task you may ask the Narrator one question that could be answered with a “yes” or a “no” regarding the task. The Narrator’s answer to this question must be truthful. You may only ask one such question between each short and long rest .

Forensic Scientist

You gain an expertise die on checks using alchemist’s tools and on checks made to collect and analyze physical clues such as chemical residues, personal effects, and footprints, as well as on checks made to determine the manner of a creature’s death. You can always accurately determine how long ago a non-magical corpse you can see died or when a physical clue was put in place.

Jurisprudence

You gain an expertise die on checks to recall information about laws, regulations, and legal proceedings, as well as on checks to convince others of the legality or illegality of an act. Additionally, your Prestige level counts as 1 higher when interacting with bureaucrats, law enforcement agents, and legal practitioners within the area described by your Prestige rating.

Laureate

Prerequisite: d8 expertise die or higher in a skill
Your contributions to your field are highly regarded. Your Prestige bonus increases by 1,and you have advantage on prestige checks against individuals who are proficient in any skill in which you have a d8 expertise die or higher.

Memory Palace

You can recall everything you’ve seen or heard within a number of weeks equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of 1). In addition, you can retain expertise dice gained from the last two masterwork books you’ve read rather than one, and the size of the expertise die you gain from the most recent masterwork book you’ve read increases to d6 (but decreases to d4 once you read another).

More Things in Heaven and Earth

You understand that not all phenomena can be ascribed to strictly natural causes. You gain an expertise die on checks to avoid, locate, or understand the abilities of celestials, fiends, and undead.

Polyglot

You gain proficiency in two languages of your choice, and you require only half the usual time to train in a new language. You gain an expertise die on Insight checks made to understand other languages.

Practiced Pilot

You gain proficiency with one type of vehicle of your choice, or an expertise die if you are already proficient. You may take a vehicle action and prepare a trick using the same bonus action.

Principia Mathematica

You can perform all mathematical operations with perfect accuracy in your head, as though you were using the calculate cantrip. In addition, you can determine the number and dimensions of any objects, creatures, or areas you can see; the weight of any object or creature you can touch; and the time between any two events you have experienced to within a 1% margin of error.

Psychoanalysis

By spending 10 minutes conversing with a creature you can see within 30 feet of you, you can gain insight into the creature’s motivations, emotional state, and something that looms large in its mind. In addition, you gain an expertise die on checks to determine if a creature you examine in this way is lying or concealing information until the end of your next short or long rest.

Rapier Repartee

You gain an expertise die on Intimidation and Performance checks that rely on your wit. After conversing with a creature for 1 minute, you learn which traits about themselves that can be readily observed or inferred they prize and despise most. This feature does not reveal secret information.

Reports Of My Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

Once per long rest , you may use your reaction to fall prone and suppress your vital signs through a variety of techniques for up to 1 hour. Until you choose to move, creatures of your choice able to observe you consider you to be dead or dying for the duration, although a suspicious creature may make a Medicine check against your trick DC to determine if you are alive. You are blinded during this period but are otherwise aware of your surroundings, and you may use your reaction to move up to your Speed, ending the condition early. Standing up from prone still requires half of your movement when using this feature.

Speech and Debate

Your specialties in lore skills also apply to Persuasion and Deception checks.

Other tricks are those that can be used only in specific circumstances.

Calculated Step

When you move through an area of difficult terrain , you may expend this trick to either avoid having your speed reduced or avoid taking damage from the terrain until the start of your next turn.

Leverage Position

Until the start of your next turn, the expertise die you gain from attacking from above, flanking, or pulling from below is increased by one step (from d4 to d6 to d8, etc.).

Look Closely

You may expend this trick to take the Search action as a free action, gaining advantage on the check you make.

This Will Do

You may expend this trick to give a melee weapon (including improvised weapons and shields used as weapons) one of the following traits: breaker, defensive, flamboyant, parrying, quickdraw, rebounding, trip, or vicious. Alternatively, you may use this trick to increase the damage die of an improvised weapon by one step (from d4 to d6 to d8, etc.). This weapon only has this property for you, and it loses it when combat ends or when you use this trick again.

Wait For It

When you take the Ready action, you gain an expertise die on the first attack, check, or saving throw you make as part of your reaction in response to the trigger.

Flourishes can be used when you attack with a melee weapon.

Distracting Flourish

When you hit a creature with a melee attack while it is performing a task that requires continuous effort but that it could end at will, such as grappling another creature or concentrating on a spell, you may force it to make an Intelligence saving throw . On a failure, it ceases performing the task. If a creature is engaged in multiple such tasks (such as grappling multiple creatures), you may only turn its attention away from one task, but you may choose which one.

Domino Flourish

When you hit a creature with a melee attack, you may set yourself up for a later success. Once in the next minute, you can make a weapon attack with advantage against the creature.

Echoing Flourish

When you hit a creature with a melee attack, you may force it to make a Constitution saving throw . On a failure, the target takes ongoing damage equal to your Intelligence modifier. A creature may use an action to end the ongoing damage.

False Target Flourish

When you miss with a melee attack, you may reveal that you actually had a different target in mind the whole time. Make a new attack roll against a different target within range. You may turn your attack into a thrown attack as part of this flourish, treating it as an improvised weapon if it does not have the thrown property. For the purposes of applying bonuses or penalties to the attack (such as bardic inspiration), the new attack roll is considered to be the same attack as the old attack roll. For the purposes of determining if you can repeat this trick, you are considered to have only used it against the second target.

Saboteur Flourish

When you have advantage on a melee attack and both dice results are high enough to hit, you can attempt to cut a bowstring, slice an armor strap, or otherwise damage a piece of equipment your target is wearing or carrying. If the target succeeds on a Dexterity saving throw , you cause a temporary malfunction that gives the object the broken condition until the end of your target’s next turn. On a failed save, the object is broken until it can be repaired.

Aegises are tricks which allow you to defend against some kind of attack.

Braced Body Aegis

When you would fail a Strength or Constitution saving throw , you can use this trick to roll 1d4 and add it to your saving throw. You know how much the roll failed by before deciding whether to use this aegis.

Circle Dancing Aegis

When a creature within 5 feet of you makes a melee attack against you, you can attempt to take the Tumble action against it. On a success, you move through the creature’s space to a space adjacent to the creature and at least 10 feet away from where you began plus an additional 5 feet for each size category the creature is above Medium, and the attack misses. You may not move more than your Speed when using this trick.

Fail-Safe Aegis

When an attack against you would be a critical hit, you can turn the critical hit into a normal hit. Alternatively, when you would be reduced to 0 hit points you can use this trick to fall to 1 hit point instead. Once you have used this trick to avoid falling to 0 hit points, you cannot use it again in that way until you complete a short or long rest .

Retreating Aegis

When a creature makes a melee attack against you, you can take the Fall Back reaction even if they have not Pressed the Attack. If you do so, the attacker may choose to use its reaction to Press the Attack against you if it is not attacking with disadvantage . If it does not do so and Falling Back places you out the attacker’s range, the attack automatically misses.

Willful Aegis

When you would fail a Charisma or death saving throw, you can use this trick to roll 1d4 and add it to your saving throw. You know how much the roll failed by before deciding whether to use this aegis. You may use this aegis even is you are unconscious or otherwise incapacitated .

You should never assume you’ve seen the last card a savant has up their sleeve. This collection of new tricks and clever schemes will put the enemies of any savant back on their toes. In addition, the new Ingenious Training feat will help make these features available to any character, no matter their class.

Those interested in seeing the savant class in its original context should consult Adventures in ZEITGEIST. For even more savant archetypes, look no further than “Exemplars of the Academy” and “Exemplars of the Academy 2: Seekers of Secrets” in Gate Pass Gazette #12 and #18, respectively.

New Savant Tricks

The following tricks can be learned by all savants.

Aegises

Aegises are tricks which allow you to defend against some kind of attack.

Flourishes

Flourishes can be used when you attack with a melee weapon.

Other Tricks

Other tricks are those that can be used only in specific circumstances.

New Clever Schemes

The following clever schemes can be learned by all savants.