What to do with a dryad?


Advice


Just starting "Stolen Lands" and I notice there's no dryad encounter. A temperate forest with no dryads?

Anyway, looking over the Bestiary dryad, the PF dryad seems a bit blanded down from her earlier-edition sisters. She's CG, hangs around her oak tree... that's about it. She has some spells she'll use to charm or compel others into defending her tree -- okay. But that's a pretty narrow adventure hook.

Earlier versions had the whole "may charm a male with high Cha into spending some time"; I don't know why PF got rid of that.

So, questions:

1) Any reason not to do the 'charm the cute male' thing? Because otherwise, dryads are pretty limited.

2) Any other possible adventure hooks for dryads? (Besides the obvious "defending the tree" thing, I mean.)

3) Is there a official PF half-dryad template? I think not, right? (Should it come up, I'd probably go with "female child always a dryad, male child always the father's race", but I'm curious.)

Thanks,

Doug M.


If you wanted to tie in a 'half dryad', you could always look at things like the Fey sorcerer bloodline for ideas. You could also conceivably come up with a 'planetouched' equivalent race for dryads/fey, modeled off tieflings and the like.

An example could be something like.

Foundling
+2 Dexterity, +2 Charisma, -2 Constitution
Low-light vision
Immunity to magic sleep effects
+2 racial bonus on saving throws vs enchantments
+2 racial bonus to Bluff and Diplomacy
Charm Person 1/day
Fey sorcery: Foundling sorcerers with the Fey bloodline treat their Charisma score as 2 points higher for all spells and class abilities. Foundling clerics with the Trickery domain cast their domain powers and spells at +1 caster level.

Just a random homebrew option to toss out there. I'm honestly surprised they don't already have a fey-blooded race.


SunsetPsychosis wrote:

If you wanted to tie in a 'half dryad', you could always look at things like the Fey sorcerer bloodline for ideas. You could also conceivably come up with a 'planetouched' equivalent race for dryads/fey, modeled off tieflings and the like.

An example could be something like.

Foundling
+2 Dexterity, +2 Charisma, -2 Constitution
Low-light vision
Immunity to magic sleep effects
+2 racial bonus on saving throws vs enchantments
+2 racial bonus to Bluff and Diplomacy
Charm Person 1/day
Fey sorcery: Foundling sorcerers with the Fey bloodline treat their Charisma score as 2 points higher for all spells and class abilities. Foundling clerics with the Trickery domain cast their domain powers and spells at +1 caster level.

Just a random homebrew option to toss out there. I'm honestly surprised they don't already have a fey-blooded race.

Actually they do have a fey-blooded race, gnomes. But foundlings would be a nice addition.

For balance though, I have to say that I find having both a racial charisma bonus and fey sorcery quite problematic. Due to the bloodline arcana of fey sorcerers they are already able to get very high DCs for their enchantment spells. Raising their DC with one extra isn't really needed.


Ifrit have a racial bonus to Charisma tacked onto their extra Charisma from the racial ability when they're of the Elemental (fire) bloodline, so there's precedent.

There's also a Tiefling variant with a Charisma bonus that stacks with Fiendish Sorcery, and the Infernal bloodline has a similar ability pertaining to enchantment spells.


SunsetPsychosis wrote:

Ifrit have a racial bonus to Charisma tacked onto their extra Charisma from the racial ability when they're of the Elemental (fire) bloodline, so there's precedent.

There's also a Tiefling variant with a Charisma bonus that stacks with Fiendish Sorcery, and the Infernal bloodline has a similar ability pertaining to enchantment spells.

Personally, I'd never let a player get away with that, even if there might be 'precedent'. Bestiary races are NPC first, and aren't for PCs unless the GM decides they are.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Douglas Muir 406 wrote:


Just starting "Stolen Lands" and I notice there's no dryad encounter. A temperate forest with no dryads?

Anyway, looking over the Bestiary dryad, the PF dryad seems a bit blanded down from her earlier-edition sisters. She's CG, hangs around her oak tree... that's about it. She has some spells she'll use to charm or compel others into defending her tree -- okay. But that's a pretty narrow adventure hook.

Earlier versions had the whole "may charm a male with high Cha into spending some time"; I don't know why PF got rid of that.

So, questions:

1) Any reason not to do the 'charm the cute male' thing? Because otherwise, dryads are pretty limited.

The whole "being limited to 300 yards from your home tree" bit is going to limit you no matter what. Dryads are INTENDED to be set piece encounters. Interestingly enough we've had players in the LSJ campaign wind up shacked up with Dryads for a year or so.

A Dryad is mainly a set piece encounter who may be a contact for local druids and rangers. Also not every temperate forest should have Dryads, only those with a particurlarly fey influence.


Set piece idea:

Party's explorations take them to a dryad's tree/grove.

Interaction assumes the party makes friendly.

Dryad has a seedling, and needs to have it taken to a new locale, but the other Fey who was going to do this deed is late (killed or some such)and the seedling needs to get to the new area before its roots grow too much.

If party accepts, they escort a young dryad (child, though you could say she can't actually show up out of the seedling until it is planted) and carry her seedling to this new place. (pick a hex)

Perhaps this dryad/her friends have a different view then the big N-lady does, and it could turn into a way to gain a contact with an ear to the Fey side of things for later foreshadowing/answers.

/brainstorm.

This is assuming you didn't want just an interesting battle/setup on killing one!


If by Stolen Lands you mean the first Kingmaker path adventure.

Kingmaker Spoiler:
Wait till the second adventure and you are all set! If you did not mean Kingmaker, you can still look there for a Dryad encounter.

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