Beyond the Bestiary: Dryads

The Protector from the short film "The Birch" (2017)

The Sower wept tears and flooded the world when her lover, dearest Weaver, departed. She tore her hair in agony, casting the first seeds upon the soil. They sprouted soon after, alive but lacking will. Some seeds, however, landed near tears in the fabric of the Veil. Imbued with their mother's sadness and melancholy and the creative will of the Weaver, these trees spawned the first of the world's thinking beings: Treants. The Sower, overcome with joy that her love could still be found in this world, wept once more over her first children. These tears were drank by the Treants, who bore fruit from their bodies. These fruit fell when ripe and from the pit climbed a small, gentle being. The first Dryad in each forest felt horribly alone, and so took to caring for their parent. After another season, the Sower cried once more and nurtured her children and grandchildren. The Treant bore fruit in the same manner and the Dryad was lonely no longer.

Generally peaceful beings, Dryads are caretakers of many of the older natural areas of the world and can be found in any climate. They are vaguely humanoid in shape and often have 6 limbs, but sometimes have more or fewer. They have a typically feminine appearance. They do not trust humans, and will only rarely show themselves to one and only after much reassuring of their good intentions. All Dryads in an area are clones of each other, and share a single mind. Dryads from other areas are called "Sister" should they somehow meet. They do not mind the harvesting of their homes so long as nothing is taken in excess or is wasted. Attempting to fell or otherwise harm the oldest tree in a forest, the sleeping body of their progenitor Treant, will be met with lethal force.

Stat Block

Dryad ❤+1

Armor: Barky Skin (all, AV1)

Attack: Lash (1H, Binding*). Bound targets take 1 damage every round they are bound by this attack if the Dryad chooses to attack again.

Turn: 5

Spoils: Dryad Heartwood (1X), Dryad Sap (1X, must be stored in a container)

Abilities:

Living Wood - If a Dryad is killed, it may instead lose a limb and become Critical. Then, it may move up to its speed in a direction unimpeded. The lost limbs grow back after 1 year. It can only do this for as many limbs it has (Usually 6).

Earthmother's Children - Dryads have complete control over the growth and well being of any plant they are in contact with and may manipulate such plant life as they desire over the course of an hour. Dryads may enter a plant at least their size as part of movement and become completely undetectable unless they attack.

The Spoils

Dryad Heartwood: If consumed, painfully transfigure a barky skin over the course of a week. At the end, make a hard Health save (-3) vs Death. If survived, gain Armor 1 on all body parts and take double damage from fire. You can subsist on sunlight and water. If planted, plant life within 1 mile grows supernaturally well.

Dryad Sap: a powerful alchemical reagent as well as an outstanding natural adhesive. When used to join two pieces of plant matter or wood, they grow into each other as if they were never separated There is enough to cover 2 square feet. Lethal if consumed as Poison.