Dryad (encyclopedia)

Dryads are benign forest fey. A dryad appears as a comely humanoid. Its skin seems wooden and its hair appears to consist of leaves and flower blossoms.

Each dryad is bound to a single tree, most commonly an oak, and sickens (and eventually dies) if it moves more than 300 yards from it. Some dryads are bound to rare trees, such as a clonal colony of titan aspens, that are a single tree spanning larger distances than many people expect and which grant the dryad unique methods of traversing distances. The number of dryads encountered depends on the location of their trees, but groves of up to eight are not unknown.

They view themselves as guardians of their forests, and prefer to live in out of the way places away from humanoids. Their natural empathy with animal life means they usually get on well with the animals of the forest. They are also able to freely communicate with plants.

Dryads are not strong, but are very nimble and make passable archers. In common with many other fey, they are somewhat resistant to weapons not made of cold iron. They are also able to meld into trees to escape enemies.

They also have a number of plant-related spell-like abilities and are able to magically charm visitors. Some may keep charmed bodyguards.