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An arrogant young captain of a small outpost fell in love with a dryad (or nymph), although she did not reciprocate. When she would not relent his love turned bitter and he captured her, with the aid of an evil witch, and imprisoned her in the dungeon below the outpost. There he allowed her to be used by his men for sport. Eventually the curse of the Fey Queen put an end to him and his men, but due to the precautions of the witch she could not rescue the dryad.
Imprisoned, tortured, anchored by an evil artifact made from her tree, she went crazy and became....what?
Homebrew setting, first or second level party, the PCs investigation of bandits leads them to the old keep. They discover that the bandits are slowly falling to the curse of the Queen of Ravens - turning into tengu-like beings who unwittingly defend the dryad still imprisoned. A few other things - raven swarms, a bear turned young owlbear, a mountain lion turned young raven-themed griffon, a few haunts, maybe some undead versions of the long dead soldiers, or the ghost of the captain who killed himself rather than succumb to the curse - but I need help with what the dryad(or nymph) has become.
Any suggestions?
You could give the dryad a yellow musk creeper to play with. It doesn't attack her and it reanimates those that did evil to her as her slaves.
Do you need a simple twist on the dryad concept or want her to have become a totally differente creature type?
In the firs case i'ld say she twisted her role as charmer (dryads usually cast Charm person on people they want to change in allies or simply send away) and began alluring males to her hideout and slowly torture and consume them looking for revenge. maybe with this idea she could have become a hybrid dryad-drider ?
You could apply the Zombie template but let the Nymph/Dryad retain her mind and all of her abilities.
Also I'd say Ghost would fit thematically but you already have a Ghost and a harmful Ghost is overkill for a 2nd Level party anyways.
*Edit: A Were-Raven comes to mind, could also be a undead Zombie-Were-Raven...
You could also go with the mute hag:
Mute hag.
You could also go with the mute hag:
Mute hag.
Like the mute hag - might be overkill for 2nd level party
I think I want them to be able to recognize it as a dryad. Perhaps some changes to the dryad abilities?
I second the "hag" vote although a cr 11 mute hag may be just a tiny bit over powered for a 1st to 2nd level group, if you can find a cr appropriate hag or just give it the look of a hag with mixed dryad/undead type powers.
A favorite of mine to throw at a party every now and then is to load up the boss fight with tough cr creatures and have the "boss" a simple low cr that was able to rise to the rank with her charm or intellect.
It throws the party for a loop when they struggle to defeat all the huge cr creatures then move into beat the evil out of the "lead evil guy" only to take him out in one power attack type swing from the fighters great sword. Leaves them wondering what's next, so it opens things up for a wide variety of options to connect to this "boss." More often than not my players start throwing out what their best guess for what's about to happen is and I can choose to tweak one of their ideas for the worse.
You could have her corruption twist her tree and the area around it so it becomes dark and twisted like Disney's sleepy hollow. As far as how to change her brambles and thorns can perhaps be used somehow? Though that could vary from elegant rose thorns or the uncontrolled growth of an invasive pricklebush.
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You could just take normal dryad and mess with it:
pick one of the undead templates and slap that on, or...
Tweak the normal dryad's abilities to make it a "Dark dryad". Swap out it's Suggestion ability for Bestow Curse. Attach a permanent "Unhallow" effect to it or its tree. Replace Charm Person with Cause Fear, etc.
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Maybe a 'Broken Soul' template, it will radically reduce her charisma and is not optimal for a dryad but perhaps fitting. it doesn't make the dryad undead which I guess is what you are looking for. The +2 modifier is too high for a dryad though, +1 should be fair enough I think.
Maybe a 'Broken Soul' template, it will radically reduce her charisma and is not optimal for a dryad but perhaps fitting.
Umm... where would I find this?
Maybe a 'Broken Soul' template, it will radically reduce her charisma and is not optimal for a dryad but perhaps fitting.Umm... where would I find this?
I would have the fey's prison be some underground room with roots coming down the ceiling.
In the room together with the fey are some small plants or parts of bigger roots that are all corrupted, perhaps even undead that fight for the mad fey.
She herself casts a mix of fear inducing spells and entangle (remember there are roots for that) while her plant underlings attack the party. If things go to easy for the party mix in a darkness spell or something like it.
If the root-things deal damage a part of that damage (for level 2 party 1d2 points should be enough) is transferred to the fey, to heal her or give her temporary hp.
As for the stats I'd take the normal stats for the kind of fey you want to use, up her hp and her DR vs cold iron a little and make her react to channeling like an undead.
A dryad with 2 levels of barbarian (wild rager) can also be fitting, possibly add insanity psychosis, effectively making her chaotic evil.
That is one crazy Template... I like it! I was just going to suggest the Fiendish and Half-Fiend Templates, but that may be more fitting.
I would also suggest using the Blight Druid populating the keep with vermins, giving the dryad an "aura" of miasma. But maybe using some sort of decaying ravens instead of vermins would be more flavorful.
Maybe a 'Broken Soul' template, it will radically reduce her charisma and is not optimal for a dryad but perhaps fitting. it doesn't make the dryad undead which I guess is what you are looking for. The +2 modifier is too high for a dryad though, +1 should be fair enough I think.
I changed my mind on taking down the CR, it has some really wicked, possibly too wicked abilities for a low level encounter, the saves for her abilities are still fairly high due to a dryads number of HD and high starting charisma.
I'd suggest making baleful gaze a bit weaker and keep the +2 CR :
* baleful gaze 1d4 penalty to strength and charisma rather than drain to strength, constitution and charisma. Have the penalty endure for 1 hour or so.
RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2013 Top 16
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I'd add some creepy poison/blight abilities to a stock dryad: Her dungeon lair has become a thicket of creeping, poisonous, blighted vines. Touching the vines with bare skin causes an itching rash (1 Dex damage, Fort negates). Certain areas are more highly poisonous (same as sassone leaf residue).
She uses hallucinatory terrain to create the illusion of a happy forest, trying to reclaim her innocence (and hiding the poisonous nature of the vines and poisonous areas). But she herself is still obviously horribly scarred and blighted. She hates human males and immediately flies into a rage if any human male PCs are present. She attempts to get females and PCs of other races to cavort in her happy forest, but if anybody suggests that anything is amiss, she becomes annoyed. If they persist, she attacks.
In combat, she uses animate plants to animate masses of the sassone leaf residue areas to attack the PCs. She also uses plant growth and entangle to obstruct the PCs' advance. Entangled areas also affect the PCs with the itchy rash. She uses suggestion to get PCs to eat or rub themselves with the sassone leaf plants and charms PCs to defend her. If PCs are in reach, animated vines grow out of her, which attack like tentacles. If they hit, they drain fluid from the victim (1 Con drain, heals the dryad 5 hp per point of Con drained) and inflict the sassone leaf residue poison.
Add advanced template.
1/day--animate plants, hallucinatory terrain, plant growth
Melee 2 vines +9 (1d6 plus 1 Con drain plus poison), reach 10 ft.
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Frankly, I'd step away from wholesale application of ability drain this early in the game.
It may be pretty beyond a level 1 or 2 party's capability to have it removed any time soon after the adventure, and I am not much of a fan of permanent disabilities.
How about re-skinning a harpy to be your corrupted Dryad?
Maybe trade out the wings for something more thematic- like witch levels.
Vomit swarn spell like ability?
Or just give her dr and a construct (her tree) companion.
Is there any way to ensure a standoff? The party defeats the minions, but can't defeat the dryad. Return later at higher levels to save or defeat her then? Could be a really cool thing for the party to leave unresolved, worry about, and encounter again later.... if your party will play that way.
The broken soul template looks like a perfect fit actually. The +2 CR added to the 3CR dryad makes for a CR 5 encounter, which is an epic encounter for a 2nd level party.
As for the drain ability, yeah that is pretty rough for a low level party. DC14 if I'm looking at it correctly.
It is 3rd party material, and if you are using that there should be no problem modifying it so that it causes damage instead of drain. Damage can heal on its own, or can be cured by lesser restore (at this level just let it heal than waste gold).
Frankly, I'd step away from wholesale application of ability drain this early in the game.
It may be pretty beyond a level 1 or 2 party's capability to have it removed any time soon after the adventure, and I am not much of a fan of permanent disabilities.
I agree, altogether it might be better to make the drain either damage or, in the case of the gaze attack, a penalty and skip constitution penalty/drain/damage altogether.
I'd add some creepy poison/blight abilities to a stock dryad: Her dungeon lair has become a thicket of creeping, poisonous, blighted vines. Touching the vines with bare skin causes an itching rash (1 Dex damage, Fort negates). Certain areas are more highly poisonous (same as sassone leaf residue).
I was about to suggest pretty much what Charlie said: Use a stock dryad, but change her to evil and swap out some of her normal powers with similar evil-themed ones.
I love the hallucinatory forest idea!
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RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2013 Top 16
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I missed the bit about 1-2 level party. My super poison blight dryad would wipe them out. All of them.
Remove the sassone leaf residue areas, advanced template, animate plants, plant growth, and Con drain. Vine attacks are +7 melee, 1d6 plus poison. Poison is 1 Dex per round for 4 rounds, 1 Fort negates.
While I like the idea about trying to save the dryad, I have a feeling this party wouldn't unless just flat out told to try. This is a new group for me and they seem like a "kick in the door, kill it take its stuff" kind group.
Great ideas everyone, helping me think it through.
How about:
As a last desperate act before he kills himself the captain orders some men to go and "deal with the beast"
The men go down and try to set fire to the dungeons, some are trapped and rise later as burning skeletons. Due to the combination of magic and pure hatred the dryad still inhabits the dungeon.
Dryad gains the Elemental -Infused (Fire)Template - appearing to be a burned tree in the shape of a woman until the PCs investigate then burning once again as she tries to take her revenge on the male PCs in the room.
In the end the PCs will be rewarded by an agent of the Queen of Ravens if they bring out the dryad's necklace, which is in the ghostly captain's possession and destroy the totem that bound the dryad to the cells.
Honestly, it never occurred to me that a fey queen would want to rescue the dryad. She doesn't care about the dryad, she is insulted by the theft and mistreatment of her servant. Even if she was inclined to do so, she doesn't go and rescue her, nor does she send any of her agents, because it was a mortal crime and a mortal must redress the wrong. If she just fixed it herself then the balance would be off.
I like my fey very fey, operating by their own sets of rules and logic. It doesn't take a spell or cold iron or something to keep them out, only their own inclinations. The spells cast were only to bind the dryad to something other than her tree.
While I like the idea about trying to save the dryad, I have a feeling this party wouldn't unless just flat out told to try. This is a new group for me and they seem like a "kick in the door, kill it take its stuff" kind group.
Great ideas everyone, helping me think it through.
How about:
As a last desperate act before he kills himself the captain orders some men to go and "deal with the beast"
The men go down and try to set fire to the dungeons, some are trapped and rise later as burning skeletons. Due to the combination of magic and pure hatred the dryad still inhabits the dungeon.Dryad gains the Elemental -Infused (Fire)Template - appearing to be a burned tree in the shape of a woman until the PCs investigate then burning once again as she tries to take her revenge on the male PCs in the room.
In the end the PCs will be rewarded by an agent of the Queen of Ravens if they bring out the dryad's necklace, which is in the ghostly captain's possession and destroy the totem that bound the dryad to the cells.
You could do that, I think I'd personally go for an amalgam creature of medium fire elemental and dryad. which will have her mental abilities suffer greatly but change effectively nothing in physical abilities.
improved initiative, weapon finesse will be bonus feats, dodge will replace weapon finesse - net gain improved initiative and dodge.
it becomes an outsider (elemental, fire) giving 6d10 dice instead of 6d6, adds up to +12 hp, saves are the same, also get elemental and outsider qualities, immunity to fire and cold vulnerability.
She gains : Burn (1d6, DC 14) and a slam attack + 10, 1d6 (+ burn)
Alignment : CN
str 11 dex 18 con 13 int 9 wis 13 cha 14
Probably not worth increasing CR
much less skill points due to lower intelligence, lower will save by 1, lower DC of SLA by 2, lower concentration.
elemental immunities to flank, SA, crits and a few others, increase AB and damage in melee, the burn can be quite lethal, increase move to 50'.
* I wrote things down as I saw them but you can organize a creature quite easily based on the amalgam template in PFSRD, it looks interesting and weakens and enhances a dryad in just the right places in my opinion.
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I recall Paizo freelancer, Russ Taylor's 'Darkblight' back in the first RPGSuperstar contest being partially Dryad themed. It might need some conversion work (it was designed for 3.5).
*Click here for Link*
Well, well, well... Russ' stuff is very good. Good enough for my gametable! Thanks, Charles, for reminding me about this little submission. It will make a fine little adventure.
