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View Full Version : D&D 5e/Next Hamadryad, Player Race for 5th Edition



RazDelacroix
2015-07-30, 01:16 AM
Hamadryad

“Your carriage awaits, Lady Rosewood. As soon as you are dressed we shall be on our way.” It was a happy day for him. His Lordship Aruto would soon be wed to the most eligible maiden of the kingdom and the pesky commoner 'who-cares' has been detained indefinately. On top of that, as Lord Aruto's sheriff he was sent to fetch Rosewood from her country manor.

And Rosewood was bathing. Sure her nubile curves were hidden by a delicate silk-screen, but simply being in the same room as she was exciting enough. Even the pair of pixie retainers tending to Rosewood could not detract from the experience.

“I must disagree. I have a prior engagement to welcome Mister Cipher the Sunblade into my home. It would be a shame if I were absent and unable to give my utmost adorations throughout the night.” The sheriff frowned but remained collected. Perhaps the lady was of the belief that the commoner was still 'in the running'.

“In regards to the, help, I am afraid that Lord Aruto's sources of the highest credibility have recently found the deceased well before he obtained that trinket you requested. Suffice to say, the wager has be-”

“Please do not insult my intellect. The oath was kept and I shall be remiss to not see it through. Though the timing of your arrival arises suspect.” With a harrumph, the sheriff turned his back to give the Lady some privacy as the pixies carried a chest between them. From the sounds of the chest opening and the the light splish of water, the Lady Rosewood had deigned to don her afternoon attire.

“His Lordship Aruto is never wrong. He has strictly adhered to the rules of the wager, and thus no foul-play on his part can be found. According to the script, the wedding shall be held at dawn.”

“Oh, there shall be a wedding at dawn alright,” Rosewood purred. The sheriff smiled for a moment, before his face fell in terror upon spying a dark-red blade at the corner of his vision. With a slight nudge, the sheriff took the hint and turned around, his eyes widening with incredulity upon seeing Lady Rosewood adorned in the mithril full-plate of a paladin.

“Now then, shall we discuss as to where is my true husband-to-be currently held?”



Hamadryad's are a possibility of what happens when a dryad becomes unbound from their tree. Uprooted and yet retaining their sanity, the hamadryad remains the fey beauty of their prior existence with the newly found capacity to entertain mortal perspectives. By twist of destiny or fate, they carry within them the remnant essence of their tree and bring it forth to the wider world. Whether as a guardian of nature or embracing the causes of the mortal races, the hamadryad becomes the mistress of their own story.


Faerie Beauties

Without exception, every hamadryad is female of form. Yet just what shade of perfected beauty they are can vary as wildly as the range of trees in the world. They may come from almost any region of the Feywild or the Prime Material that possesses some form of foliage, and even then it is added upon by what season the dryad's tree was upon when the hamadryad was uprooted. Almost always their hair and eyes match the colors of leaves and petals of their tree. Whenever drawing upon the strength of their fey heritage, their forms can resemble that of an artisan's carving of wood, patterns of grain manifesting over the expanse of their flesh.

Usually a hamadryad may be mistaken for that of an elf or human from a distance. When a dryad rests, they temporarily root themselves and become a femininely shaped tree. They remain alluring for however long they live lest disease and tragedies mar their flesh.

At home in the wild, they find no shame in walking unclothed. Amidst the company of mortals and civilized folk, they favor light, gossamer clothing to attire their forms. They may be anywhere from just over 5 feet in height to reaching almost 7 feet. Even the tallest of them is deceptively light, with most hamadryads ranging from only 120 to 160 pounds.


Wild Royalty

The metamorphosis that creates them impresses upon a hamadryad a rather fundamental change in their nature and outlook on the world. No longer entirely capricious fey, they become ruled by the same potential for purposes and goals that dwell in the hearts of other mortals. Even with this change, they retain passionate impulses that can overwhelm rational thought if given the chance.

So accustomed to setting mortal hearts to sate their own desires, hamadryads occasionally have problems with the idea that they can be denied. Frequently so even. Hamadryads enter the world without the experience of having lived amongst the mortal world with it's multitude of cultures and taboos. Even though they may become frustrated on occasion, a hamadryad can also find aspects of mortal life that they themselves lack and become intrigued to understanding it.

A rising passion to experience the full-breadth of life beyond the woods, or even to experience their old homes with new eyes, sets a hamadryad to a life of adventure.


Lost Waifs

Upon becoming a hamadryad, they lose a life of seclusion amongst their fellow dwellers of sylvan woods. In time, even once-fellow dryads will cease to recognize her as one of their own (though more than once has a dryad called a hamadryad 'Auntie'). As beautiful as they are, a hamadryad will almost always garner attention where-ever they roam. Amongst the fey they are typically treated as visiting royalty. Amidst mortal communities, there may be those whom seek to serve the beauty of a hamadryad, or take advantage of the hamadryad's lack of understanding the wider world.

As time goes on, a hamadryad's outlook on mortal life can be serene from gaining a wider outlook, or intense as transgressions pile up at their roots.


Shoddy Writing

Look, I cannot just plagiarize the 4th Edition D&D book Heroes of the Feywild, but if you have access to that book you can probably get a better understanding of where I am trying to get at.


Hamadryad Traits

Your hamadryad acquires these natural abilities as a result of the metamorphosis that parts the dryad from her tree.

Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 2.

Age. All hamadryads emerge mature after having their connection with their tree severed. A hamadryad typically can live out a lifespan roughly equivalent to five times the natural life of their tree's counterpart.

Alignment. A hamadryad's outlook weighs heavily on the circumstances that severed the connection between themselves and their tree and the ensuing experiences with nearby mortals. Usually a hamadryad will remain roughly neutral in outlook until some cause or philosophy intrigues them to take action.

Size. Hamadryad range from 5 feet to almost 7 feet in height. Thus, they get to be Medium size.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision. See page 23 of the PHB for details.

Fey. You were cursed to become a dryad. You were unbound and changed into a hamadryad. You count as a Fey for purpose of determining spells and effects.

Speak with Beasts and Plants. The hamadryad can communicate with beasts and plants as if they shared a language.

Tree Form. Hamadryad do not sleep as mortal's do. They root themselves and shift into a tree with a semblance of your form for 4 hours in a day. After resting in this way they gain the same benefit that a human would from 8 hours of sleep.

Woodland Magic. A hamadryad knows the druidcraft cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast entangle once per day. Additional magic that a hamadryad may be capable of is dependent on the choice of subrace. Charisma is your spellcasting trait for these spells.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common, Elvish, and Sylvan.

Subrace. Forces of nature dominate the lives of the fey, and so it is that the hamadryad is forever marked by the very season of their emancipation. Choose one of the four subraces: spring, summer, autumn, or winter. In some campaign worlds these subraces are further divided by climate (such as arctic, mountain, savannah, or desert).


Spring
As a hamadryad of spring, you possess a flexibility of body and mind that revels in new experiences.

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 1.

Woodland Magic. When you reach 5th level, you can cast pass without trace once per day.


Summer
As a hamadryad of summer, you are quick to anger and eager to complete tasks you set your mind to.

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 1.

Woodland Magic. When you reach 5th level, you can cast barkskin once per day.


Autumn
As a hamadryad of autumn, you are careful to examine your surroundings as the passing of time cements the fragility of life.

Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 1.

Woodland Magic. When you reach 5th level, you can cast hold person once per day.


Winter
As a hamadryad of winter, you possess a cold cunning that protects you throughout the harshest of trials.

Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 1.

Woodland Magic. When you reach 5th level, you can cast spike growth once per day.

Ninja_Prawn
2015-07-30, 01:41 AM
I like it! I haven't looked too closely at the details as I'm on my phone, but it looks good.

Edit: You say, "shoddy writing"... I say, "I can't find a single error of spelling or grammar in that whole passage!"

Not having access to the source material, I have one question: what kind of power is required to transform a dryad into a hamadryad? I ask because I've been doing a lot of fey homebrew, and my dryads (in Fey Creatures Part I in my extended sig) die if and only if their tree is killed. I'm now thinking I might offer hamadryad as a racial half-feat* within my system, but maybe that's the sort of thing that should be granted by a God/fey prince/epic boon...?

*Something like...
+1 Cha
No longer Treebound (which is both a benefit and a drawback)
Adv. on Cha checks to flirt or seduce
Communicate simple ideas to small & smaller animals & plants

RazDelacroix
2015-07-30, 08:49 AM
To answer your question, I gotta first tip a hat to the 5th edition MM regarding dryads. There is a passage in there about how powerful fey will sometimes bind lesser fey spirits to trees, transforming them into dryads (Pg 121 MM). The reasons for this can be petty, like falling in love with the forbidden mortal variety. It never describes precisely how this is done though.

It does describe that if a dryad's tree is destroyed they go insane though.

Still, taking inspiration from the original 4th edition source material, let's come up with some ways for a dryad to go from treebound to hamadryad and running wild! Fairy tale-esque reasoning will work seeing as this is a fey and the Feywild we're working with here.


They killed her tree, but she survived and kept her wits. Maybe. She is a little angry afterall.


A dalliance with a passing mortal sparked a curious sensation. True love. And with that, a new-found will to stay by her beloved's side forever. Even if it means forsaking her old home.

The archfey needed a champion to go out into the mortal world. And no silly stupid mortals have stumbled through the Eternal Emerald Forest of late... Right. Back up plan. Prune a dryad.

An abandoned wizard's tower just fell after a terrible windstorm, and with that came a whole library scattered about the dryad's tree. And after she read the breadth of knowledge and ideas she never before knew, something changed...

They came to despoil her home. They came with claws and fire and corruption. She heard them crow and roar and laugh as they began to tear apart her friends. Something SNAPPED and she would not be idle in her vengeance.

A foolish mortal acquired the boon of a mighty being. Lovestruck, the fool wished for the beloved girl to be free from her tree. The hamadryad is VERY upset about this new-found arrangement.

Whelp, the rest of the Underdark Mushroom Glowy Forest is destroyed. She remained alone. But there was that new passage up to the surface world. And after hearing all of those remarks from the drow about the dangers/weakness of the surface folk, she gathered her will to internalize her tree/shroom/faeriewood and carry it with her on her journey. She needed a new home afterall.


Just some quick ideas before I go to work.

Amnoriath
2015-07-30, 10:11 AM
If anything it may be a little under-powered when looking at the Tiefling who gets everything as a base this does but it also gets fire resistance. The Fey type may force casters to use a higher level spell and the tree form may help to not be so helpless so it is a matter of niches

Ninja_Prawn
2015-07-30, 10:26 AM
Don't underestimate Speak with Small Beasts and Plants. In the right situation, you could get a lot of mileage out of that. It's full communication, not just simple ideas (like the forest gnome), and it applies to plants as well (which can be found everywhere). Edit: I just noticed it's not limited by creature size either.

And I reckon the dryad's spells just about shade the tiefling's, but that's just me.

ZenBear
2015-07-30, 11:58 AM
I look forward to playing a Weeping Willow Fey Pact Warlock Hamadryad named Grudge Girl.

RazDelacroix
2015-07-30, 10:42 PM
I swear, some days I sorely wished I honestly worked for who-knows so I can make official stuff. That way I can get away with near-plagiarism and can just slap a prior edition's words right onto something.

Like Treeform.

Okay fellow Playground Kiddies, here's a lesson in writing things up. Check your spelling. Check your grammar. Check for a headache. And check for whether or not you actually wrote everything down that you meant to. Ugh, why do I type these things so late at night?

So perhaps we can make this edit?


Treeform. Hamadryad do not sleep as mortal's do. They root themselves and as an action shift into a tree, of your natural size, with a semblance of their form for 4 hours in a day. After resting in this way they gain the same benefit that a human would from 8 hours of sleep. While in treeform, you are fully aware of your surroundings and require an action to shift back to your humanoid form. Additionally, while in treeform you have Advantage on all Charisma (Deception) checks to pass yourself off as a normal tree of your size.


Perhaps we can even make a variant hamadryad that uses an enthrall/barkskin-up pair of abilities as the highlight of their features.

Ninja_Prawn
2015-07-31, 03:32 AM
Check your spelling. Check your grammar.

Treeform. Hamadryad do not sleep as mortal's do. They root themselves and as an action shift into a tree, of your natural size, with a semblance of their form for 4 hours in a day. After resting in this way they gain the same benefit that a human would from 8 hours of sleep. While in treeform, you are fully aware of your surroundings and require an action to shift back to your humanoid form. Additionally, while in treeform you have Advantage on all Charisma (Deception) checks to pass yourself off as a normal tree of your size.

Well, the apostrophe in "mortal's" has to go. And let's get some consistency in the pronouns. I suggest:


Treeform. Hamadryads do not sleep as mortals do. When you take a long rest, you root yourself to the spot and transform into a medium tree with a semblance of your appearance. After resting for 4 hours in this form, you gain the same benefit that a human would from 8 hours of sleep. While in treeform, you are fully aware of your surroundings and require an action to shift back to your humanoid form. Additionally, while in treeform you have advantage on all Charisma (Deception) checks to pass yourself off as a normal tree of your size.

RazDelacroix
2015-07-31, 09:12 AM
I have got to stop trying to write things up while either tired or hungry. More mistakes are made that way. So thank ye Ninja_Prawn for ze checking!