Dryad	-	-	-	Half-dryad
Dragon	-	Monsters	-	Dragon 87

T h o u g h   i t   w a s   m i d a u t u m n ,   t h e   a i r   w a s
w a r m   o n   t h e   d a y   o f   t h e
c l a s s   p i c n i c .   T h e   s u n
was bright, the sky
c l e a r   o f   a l l   b u t   a   f e w
c l o u d s ,   a n d   a   b r e e z e
g e n t l y   s t i r r e d   t h e   g r a s s
a n d   f a l l e n   l e a v e s .

E v e r y o n e   a g r e e d   t h a t
the guest of honor had
o u t d o n e   h e r s e l f   w i t h
h e r   w e a t h e r - c o n t r o l l i n g
s p e l l ,   a n d   B e l z i m e ,
d r u i d e s s   o f   t h e   E a s t e r n
W o o d ,   r e c e i v e d   t h e i r
p r a i s e   w i t h   a   s a t i s f i e d
s m i l e .

O l d   M a l e c   t h e   S a g e
h a d   s u g g e s t e d   t o   h i s
s t u d e n t s   t h a t   t h e y
b r i n g   l a r g e   l u n c h e s
w h e n   t h e y   w e n t   o u t   t o
m e e t   t h e   d r u i d e s s   a n d
h e r   c o m p a n i o n s   a t   t h e
edge of the wood. In
t h i s   w a y   h e   a s s u r e d
t h e r e   w o u l d   b e   e n o u g h
t o   s h a r e   w i t h   B e l z i m e
a n d   h e r   t h r e e   a t t e n d a n t s ,   a n   a g e d   e l v e n
w o m a n   n a m e d   H i b i s c u s   a n d   t w o   c o m e l y
young women.

? N o w ,   i s n ? t   t h i s
b e t t e r   t h a n   l i s t e n i n g   t o
m y   d u l l   s p e e c h e s   i n
some sage?s dingy
c l a s s r o o m ? ?   B e l z i m e
a s k e d   t h e   a s s e m b l e d
s t u d e n t s .   A   c h o r u s   o f
c h e e r s   c a m e   i n   a n s w e r .
O n l y   M a l e c   d i s s e n t e d . ? M y   c l a s s r o o m
h a s   i t s   a t t r a c t i o n s , ?   h e
s a i d   a f t e r   f i n i s h i n g   o f f
h i s   s l i c e   o f   r o a s t   b o a r .

? A t   l e a s t   t h e r e   w e
d o n ? t   h a v e   t o   r e s o r t   t o   ? r e p e l   i n s e c t ?   s p e l l s   t o
k e e p   t h e   a n t s   i n   t h e i r   p l a c e . ?
? A   u s e f u l   s p e l l ,   n o n e t h e l e s s , ?   s a i d   H i b i s c u s .   ? A s   a   s o r c e r e s s   a n d   a   w o o d l a n d
d w e l l e r ,   I   c a n   a p p r e c i a t e   t h e   v a l u e   o f   h a v i n g
a   d r u i d   a r o u n d .   A r e   a n y   o f   y o u r   s t u d e n t s
i n t e r e s t e d   i n   d r u i d i c a l   m a g i c ? ?
? I   t h i n k   t h e   b o y s   a r e   m o r e   i n t e r e s t e d   i n
y o u r  t w o  f o l l o w e r s , ? M a l e c   o b s e r v e d   a s   h e
regarded his charges from beneath shaggy
w h i t e   e y e b r o w s .   M o s t   o f   t h e   b o y s   w e r e
c l u s t e r e d   a r o u n d   o n e   o f   t h e   y o u n g   w o m e n

a flame-haired beauty named Robinia. ?At
any rate, now that lunch is over with, we
should get on with the lecture. Are you
ready, my dear??

?I think so,? said Belzime. ?The topic
I?ve selected for today concerns one of our
lesser-known forest allies and friends, the
wood nymph, also called the dryad.?
A few of the boys giggled at this announcement. ?Apparently,? she continued,
?some of you are already familiar with the
topic. What do you know about dryads??

After a pause, one of
the older students
called out from the
front of the class.
?Dryads look like
women with green
hair, and they live in
trees. I think some of
them can talk to plants
and some can teleport
themselves.?

?Not bad,? said
Belzime. ?That generally sums up what most
people know of dryads,
though some of what
you say is not quite
correct. Wood nymphs
are quite beautiful, as
you have probably also
heard, and they do
have green hair. As for
the rest . . . well, I?ll
start at the beginning.
?Plants, like animals, humans, elves,
and such, have a life
force that is much like
a soul. This force is
much fainter in plants
than in animals, but
some of them still have
fairly powerful auras.
The most powerful
plant auras are found
in oak trees, and sensitive humans, particularly druids, can feel
the power of their life
force from three paces
away. This is one
reason why we druids
consider the oak tree
sacred.

?Certain oak trees
in ages past were invested with a special
gift, and could form
their tree-souls into animate shapes. The
dryad is a permanent physical form of an
oak tree?s soul, and is only found around
huge and old oaks of at least fifty years age.
The tree must be large enough to have a
powerful soul, to support the dryad who will
live with it and within it. In some sense you
could call the dryad a parasite, but that is
not a flattering term and isn?t very accurate
as well.
?Being an extension of the oak tree?s soul, a
dryad cannot live if her tree dies or if she

i s   t a k e n   t o o   f a r   f r o m   t h e   t r e e   i t s e l f .   M o s t
d r y a d s   w i l l   n e v e r   s t r a y   m o r e   t h a n   a   t h o u s a n d   f e e t   f r o m   h e r   t r e e   i n   a n y   d i r e c t i o n .
T h e y   c a l l   t h i s   a r e a   i n   w h i c h   t h e y   l i v e   a
t e r e l .

? Y o u   m a y   b e   s u r p r i s e d   t o   k n o w   t h a t
d r y a d s   d o   n o t   n e e d   t o   e a t ,   t h o u g h   t h e y   c a n
c o n s u m e   t h e   s a m e   f o o d s   t h a t   y o u   a n d   I   d o .
T h e y   l i k e   t h e   t a s t e   o f   n u t s   a n d   b e r r i e s ,   a n d
m a y   d i g   u p   c e r t a i n   e d i b l e   r o o t s   a s   s p i c e s   o r
f o o d s .   I n   t h e   w i n t e r t i m e ,   w h e n   m o s t   p l a n t s
b e c o m e   d o r m a n t   a n d   g r o w   m o r e   s l o w l y ,   t h e
o a k   t r e e ? s   l i f e   f o r c e   b e c o m e s   w e a k e r .   S o m e t i m e s   a   d r y a d   m u s t   t h e n   e a t   m o r e   f o o d s   i n
o r d e r   t o   s u s t a i n   h e r s e l f ,   a n d   m a n y   s t o r e
a w a y   f o o d s   t h a t   t h e y   g a t h e r   d u r i n g   t h e   f a l l
f o r   t h i s   p u r p o s e .   I t   i s   r a r e   t h a t   a n y o n e   w i l l
s e e   a   d r y a d   i n   w i n t e r ;   l i k e   t h e   t r e e s ,   t h e y
a l s o   ? s l e e p ?   f o r   l o n g   p e r i o d s   o f   t i m e   t o
c o n s e r v e   t h e i r   e n e r g y .

? B e c a u s e   o f   h e r   t i e s   w i t h   t h e   o a k   t r e e ? s
s o u l ,   a   d r y a d   g a i n s   c e r t a i n   s p e c i a l   a b i l i t i e s .
S h e   c a n   c o m m u n i c a t e   w i t h   a l l   f o r m s   o f
p l a n t   l i f e ,   a n d   e s p e c i a l l y   w e l l   w i t h   t h e   a n c i e n t   t r e a n t s .   S i n c e   m o s t   p l a n t s   a r e   p a s s i v e
a n d   u n i n t e l l i g e n t ,   t h e y   w i l l   o b e y   a n y o n e
t h e y   u n d e r s t a n d .   A   d r y a d   c a n   c a u s e   p l a n t s
t o   r e a c h   o u t   a n d   e n t a n g l e   p u r s u e r s ,   a c t   a s
s p i e s   t o   r e p o r t   i f   a n y o n e   h a s   p a s s e d   b y ,
c a u s e   v i n e s   t o   t r i p   p e o p l e ,   a n d   s o   o n .   S o
c l o s e   i s   t h e   l i n k   b e t w e e n   d r y a d s   a n d   p l a n t s
t h a t   m o s t   o f   t h e m   n a m e   t h e m s e l v e s   a f t e r
t r e e s   i n   t h e i r   w o o d s ,   y i e l d i n g   s o m e   l o v e l y
n a m e s   i n d e e d .

? A s   a n   e x t e n s i o n   o f   a   t r e e ? s   s o u l ,   a   d r y a d
c a n   a l s o   m e r g e   w i t h   h e r   p a r e n t   t r e e   a t   w i l l .
M a n y   p e o p l e   b e l i e v e   t h a t   d r y a d s   h a v e   b u i l t
h o m e s   i n s i d e   t h e i r   t r e e s ,   a n d   h a v e   s u c h
f u r n i s h i n g s   a s   t a b l e s ,   c h a i r s ,   b e d s ,   a n d
c h e s t s   f u l l   o f   g o l d .   N o t h i n g   c o u l d   b e   m o r e
w r o n g ;   t h e   t i n y   p i l e   o f   c o i n s   a n d   g e m s   t h a t
f a s c i n a t e   t h e   w o o d   n y m p h s   a r e   u s u a l l y
h i d d e n   i n   a   h o l l o w   o f   h e r   t r e e   o r   a r e   b u r i e d
a m o n g   i t s   r o o t s .   T h e   d r y a d   h e r s e l f   l i v e s
within  the tree, merging fully with its soul
and becoming intangible.?

?If I may, Belzime,? interrupted Hibiscus, ?it should be said that the dryad can
merge with other trees as well, though she
will not remain long within them. If she
feels threatened she can cause herself to
become fully immaterial and she will be
transported instantly to the oak that is her
home, merging at once with the tree?s soul.?
?It is possible that some of you have
heard of another power dryads have,? Belzime continued. ?Dryads like handsome
young male humans and elves, and sometimes want to keep them ? the same way
they keep minor treasures. The dryad can
cast a spell that enhances her beauty to a
man, enthralling him and enabling her to
command the fellow by her thoughts alone.
A number of my male druidic students have
described this effect to me after being rescued from well-meaning dryads who were
taken by their looks.? Belzime smiled. ?I
must be a very familiar face to the dryads of
this wood. I?ve led quite a few rescues.?
A dark-haired boy sitting near the druidess spoke up. ?Is it hard to get the boys
back from the nymphs??

?Well, it is at first. The young men never
want to be rescued. Dryads are especially
good at hiding their fellows, and the men
are entranced so they will do anything to
avoid being rescued. If the dryad wants, she
can even cause her fellow to merge with her
oak tree?s soul by her magic; then it is very
hard to bring him home. The dryad who
has the lad isn?t much help, and will deny
having ever seen him. If I come and take
the boy away, she will pout and look as if
she?d lost a cherished toy. She likes to have
the young man cater to her whims and
bring her things, and he lives for nothing
but the chance to stare blissfully at his ?true
love.?

?Sometimes her spell over the young
man will wear off, and the dryad will sigh
and give the boy something to remember
her by ? a few coins, a gem or two, something like that. When the fellow reaches
home, he usually discovers he?s been away
for several years.?

?Druidess,? called another boy. ?How do
dryads make more dryads??
Belzime looked questioningly at Malec,
who shrugged and said gruffly, ?They?re
old enough to find out. Go ahead and tell
them.?

?Fine. Well, some of you may have heard
about races of creatures that have but one
sex. Dryads are one of them, as are sylphs,
nymphs, and satyrs. Dryads can have children by human and elven fathers, and if
they do then their children will always be
dryad girls. Dryads can also have children
by satyrs, which as you know are always
male. The child of a dryad and a satyr is a
dryad girl half the time, a satyr boy the
other half. It hardly seems likely that dryads
and satyrs descended from a common ancestor, so at best we chalk this all up to the
perversity of magic, or the whim of the
gods.

?The female child of a dryad,? Belzime
continued, ?will stay with her for about
twelve years. If the child is a satyr, the
mother will turn the boy over to his father?s
band for his upbringing. A girl-child will
spend the first few years of her life attached
to her mother?s tree. When the girl comes of
age, she will be taken to an oak tree of her
own and will become attached to it naturally. The child then becomes a part of that
tree?s soul, and will live there for the rest of
her days. She will rarely see her mother
after that, but she will be happy and content
with her life.?

?Why doesn?t she see her mother after
that?? a young girl called.
?Oak trees may grow reasonably close
together, but dryads by their nature are
solitary beings. They are happy by themselves, surrounded by their woods, and they
only rarely wish other company. This part
of their personality may have developed
because oak trees large enough to support
dryads are sometimes not easily found.
Each dryad?s attachment to her own oak
tree restricts her travel, too, so each must be
satisfied with where she lives ? and so
she is.?

?Um, my pardons,? said Belzime?s redhaired attendant. Belzime motioned for her
to continue. ?It is possible for a dryad to
leave the  terel  of her oak for a brief period
of time, but she will never do so intentionally. To do so brings on  glirgimer,  the wasting away of her soul, and she will wither
and die within hours. It is said that powerful magics can separate a dryad from her
tree without harm, but? ? the girl shivered
? ?that is a hard thing to imagine!?
One of the more athletic boys in the class,
who had listened attentively through the
lecture, raised a hand. ?Is there some way
to get hold of a dryad and not have her
charm you??

The color went out of the red-haired girl?s
face. ?Why?? she asked hotly. ?Do you
want to catch one for a pet??
?Robinia . . .? murmured Belzime.
?Calm down. Perhaps the young man
meant something else.? From the tone of
the druidess?s voice, however, it was obvious that she agreed with her follower?s

interpretation. She addressed the boy. ?To
answer your question, no. Unless one uses
powerful magical defenses, the charming
power of a dryad can overcome almost any
man?s resistance. And some dryads have
kept their men hidden forever.
?If anyone were to try to lay violent
hands upon a dryad, he would find her
vanishing before him, on her way back in
spirit form to her home tree, where she
could alert any of her allies nearby. Mighty
treants, remember, care about dryads
greatly, and so do satyrs, elves, sprites, and
pixies . . . and druids.? The emphasis she
put on the last word was lost on no one. ?It
is not a good idea to go hunting dryads for
one?s own sport,? she concluded.
The youth chewed on a blade of grass
and considered this. He seemed to lose
interest in the remainder of the lecture.
Hibiscus broke the short silence that
followed. ?This brings up the question of
what dryads like to do for fun ? without
having a fellow around,? she said.

? W o o d   n y m p h s   l i k e   t h e i r   s u r r o u n d i n g s   t o
b e   p r e t t y ,   a n d   t h e m s e l v e s   a s   w e l l ;   t h e y   l i k e
b e a u t y   o n l y   f o r   t h e i r   o w n   s a k e ,   n o t   f o r   w h a t
o t h e r s   c a r e   o r   t h i n k .   D r y a d s   w i l l   p e r f u m e
t h e m s e l v e s   w i t h   c r u s h e d   f l o w e r   b l o s s o m s
a n d   s t y l e   t h e i r   h a i r   w i t h   b i t s   o f   f l o w e r s ,
l e a v e s ,   a n d   o t h e r   w o o d l a n d   g r o w t h s .   S o m e t i m e s   a   d r y a d   w i l l   f i n d   a   w a y   t o   t r a d e   s o m e
o f   h e r   m e a g e r   t r e a s u r e   f o r   s e w n   g a r m e n t s ,
b u t   d r y a d s   a r e   j u s t   a s   h a p p y   w i t h o u t   c l o t h i n g   a s   t h e y   a r e   w i t h   i t .   T h a t ? s   a n o t h e r   r e a son why young men often hunt for them ?
j u s t   t o   g e t   a   p e e k . ?
? T h e y ? l l   h a v e   t o   s t a n d   i n   l i n e   b e h i n d   t h e
s a t y r s , "   R o b i n i a   m u t t e r e d   i n   t h e   b a c k g r o u n d .   B e l z i m e   g a v e   h e r   a s s i s t a n t   a   d i s a p p r o v i n g   g l a n c e .
O l d   M a l e c   s t r e t c h e d   h i m s e l f   a n d   s t o o d   u p
from the grass, dusting off his robes. ?On
t h a t   n o t e ,   I   t h i n k   w e   s h o u l d   p r e p a r e   o u r s e l v e s   f o r   t h e   w a l k   h o m e .   W e   s t i l l   h a v e   s o m e
t h i n g s   l e f t   t o   s e e   i n   t h i s   f o r e s t . ?   A   c h o r u s   o f
g r o a n s   a n s w e r e d   h i m ,   b u t   h e   w a s   f i r m ,   a n d
t h e   c l a s s   m a d e   r e a d y   t o   d e p a r t.

? W e   a p p r e c i a t e   y o u r   t i m e ,   M a d a m e
B e l z i m e , ? the sage told her after most of the
students had set off for the next stop on
their tour. ?I think you did a nice job of
convincing my boys not to comb your
woods for nymphs.?
?Don?t worry,? she said. ?It?s late
enough in the year that they won?t find
them, or recognize them if they do. Remember what I said about dryads having
green hair? That?s only true in the spring
and summer. It changes color in the fall to
gold, red, or reddish brown. In wintertime
it turns white.?
Malec smiled. ?So when the boys go
looking for a green-haired girl, they?ll only
find girls like her.? He pointed to Robinia,
standing on the edge of the forest talking
with Hibiscus.
?How long have you known?? Belzime
asked.

"Since I heard her name. Am I correct in
recalling that  Robinia pseudoacacia  is a
variety of locust tree?"

Appendix (Notes)

1. A dryad's  terel  cannot be distinguished
from any of the terrain surrounding her oak
tree; the dryad can roughly pace it out,
however, because she becomes increasingly
uneasy as she passes from the 33"  distance
to the 36" radius edge.

2. If a dryad is forcibly taken beyond 36"
from her oak, she will rapidly (within five
rounds) exhibit symptoms of starvation,
depression, and exhaustion, and will die in
6-36 hours if nothing is done. A  heal  spell
will negate all the symptoms, but the effect
of the spell wears off in four hours, and
glirgimer  sets in again if the dryad is still
outside her  terel.  An  exorcism  spell will
separate the dryad from the tree's ?soul?;
in this event, the dryad must find another
suitable oak tree within seven days, or the
glirgimer  symptoms begin. A dryad?s magic
resistance should be checked whenever these
or other spells are cast upon her.

3. An average dryad lives for as long as
her oak tree does. Damage suffered by the

tree will affect the dryad adversely, perhaps
putting her into a temporary coma even if
the tree survives the shock. If her tree dies,
the dryad will die as well from  glirgimer
unless she is  exorcised  and transported to a
new tree.

4. For spell effects, assume a dryad can
use the following powers at will:  speak with
plants, plant door, commune with nature,
detect snares and pits, locate plants, locate
animals, entangle,  and  trip  (at the 9th level
of druidic ability), and  dimension door  (to
anywhere within her  terel).  Some dryads
(10%) have the power to use  pass plant  at
will instead of the  dimension door  ability,
though again it will only function within a
dryad?s own  terel.

5. There is a 2% chance of encountering
a dryad with a female child under 12
years of age. The child will have reduced
statistics for an adult, as determined by the
DM. For instance, a young dryad could
have 1-4 HP, fight as a creature with less
than 1 - 1 HD, and would have none of her
"adult" powers except the  speak with plants
ability, performed at 1 1st-level effectiveness.
When the child reaches 12 years of age, her
mother helps her find a suitable tree, and
she takes up residence as a full-fledged
dryad with 2 hit dice and all of a dryad?s
magical abilities. However, it takes time to
master those abilities: the effectiveness of a
young dryad?s magic goes up one level
every year (2nd level at age 13, 3rd level at
age 14, etc.) until she attains 9th-level effectiveness at age 20.

6. For game purposes, a dryad's  charm
power works much like a powerful version
of the druid spell  charm person or mammal.
An intended victim is allowed a saving
throw (at -3, as per the Monster Manual)
upon first encountering the  charm  power.
(Magick resistance, if applicable, is checked
before the saving throw.) A failure to save
indicates that the  charm  has taken effect;
then, on a roll of 1-3 on a d6, the  charm  is
permanent. If the  charm  is not permanent,
it will last for an indefinite period of time.
The victim is allowed subsequent saving
throws -- each at -3 -- at intervals that
depend on the
victim's intelligence. (See the chart on p. 55
of the Players Handbook.)
However, because of the power of the dryad's charm, read the saving-throw chart
intervals as years, months, and weeks instead of months, weeks, and days. For
instance, a victim with 6 intelligence is
allowed a new saving throw every two
years; one with 18 intelligence can try to
break the  charm  once every two weeks.

From this, it is easy to see why dryads
prefer to enchant young (low- to mid-level)
men who aren?t overly intelligent ? the
sort who?ll be easy to  charm  and easy to
keep that way. Elves and half-elves, with
their innate resistance to  charm  magic, are
rarely the object of a dryad?s ?affections.?
She will try to  charm  a character with elven
blood only if her life depends on it or if she
runs across an elf or half-elf with 18 charisma. Because dryads are highly intelligent, they don?t try to  charm  morons if they
can help it; a servant of low intelligence
would become boring before the influence
of the  charm  wore off. But they can?t resist
trying to  charm  characters with high charisma, whether they?re morons or geniuses.
If threatened with harm or removal from
her  terel,  a dryad will try to  charm  anyone
she can.

A dryad can use her  charm  ability three
times each day if necessary. She rarely has
occasion to use them up since large groups
of men don?t often travel through her  terel.
Even when her  charm  powers are depleted.
she can use her  plant door  and  dimension
door  abilities to get home.

7. When a dryad is inside her tree, she
can be hurt by any attack form that damages the tree (chopping or burning). But
note again that a dryad has quite a few
friends in the forest. Anyone who tries to
harm her or her tree will have to get in line
behind the satyrs, treants, wood elves.
pixies, sprites, and druids -- and deal with
all of them first.