Half-Dryad

Created by StarlessFawn on DndBeyond.

Half-Dryads more closely resemble their paternal race than their mother's. By most standards, they appear to be a child of normal birth and are often mistaken for elves. But the half-dryad's fey heritage always shows in one obvious detail, their hair. A Half-Dryad's hair changes with the seasons; in the spring and summer, their hair comes in mixed shades of green, and in the fall and winter their hair changes to a varied blend of blonde, brown, and red. Leaves and flowers from their mother's root tree occasionally grow within a Half-Dryad's hair. For some it is mixed in among strands of hair, for others, it spreads to become foliage, their hair closely resembling a mass of verdant vines.

History

Dryads are famous for their tremendous love and their lustful expression of that love. Occasionally a child results from these unions. The child grows within the Dryad's root tree and emerges like a birth after the usual period of time. Most of these children do not survive, as fey are not extraordinarily fertile and most Dryads are too whimsical to raise a child. But occasionally these children, called "saplings" by their mothers, are taken care of and raised to adulthood.

Society

Half-Dryads usually live on the fringes of society. Their connection to their mother's fey heritage makes them more comfortable in places where things grow, and cities tend to feel oppressive and unnatural. When a Half-Dryad has a home inside of a city's walls, their residence is obvious from the explosion of foliage they have growing. Many Half-Dryads live in their mother's groves, while some find a calling to work with plants and become farmers or gardeners. Half-Dryads often worship the Goddess Ehlonna, as many of their fey brethren do. Mielikki, Goddess of the wilds is also a common choice.

Half-Dryad Traits

Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 2, and your Dexterity score increases by 1.
Age. Half-dryads grow like trees. Though they may grow quickly, once they hit maturity their aging slows to a crawl. A half-dryad can live for hundreds of years, and the oldest has reached 500.
Alignment. Half-dryads tend to embrace the laws of nature over the laws of man and favor neutrality.
Size. Half-dryads range from under 5 feet to over 6 feet tall. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Mask of the Wild. You can attempt to hide even when you are only lightly obscured by foliage, heavy rain, falling snow, mist, and other natural phenomena.
Fey Ancestry. You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can't put you to sleep.
Speak With Beasts & Plants. You can communicate with beasts and plants as if they shared a language.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Sylvan.

Half-dryads typically take names from their father's race. If they do not, their mothers tend to come up with something outrageous they may have heard once before, or that was popular in their youth centuries ago. A common alternative is to hand down their own names to the child.

DM's Thoughts

Half-Dryads are a great race for many obvious choices such as being a Druid, though I would love to see a Half-Dryad Warlock bound to some Fey patron. I suppose I am a sucker for pretty things that are actually dangerous. Imagine if the flowers that grew in your hair were poisonous and you used them to poison your enemies!