Dryads

[noparlpf]

So, the only reason a Dryad can't be a PC is because they need to be within 300 yards of their tree. This is a Supernatural ability. Does this mean that if a Wizard follows a dryad around casting Antimagic Field constantly (at 16th level it would take six castings over the course of the day) she doesn't need to be near her tree? Alternatively, what if a Druid Awakens her tree to a Treant? Could two players play a Dryad-Awakened Tree team?

[Alleran]

Acorn of Far Travel.

[Time Sage]

What Alleran said. Although I never had a dryad PC in my group we did have a dryad cohort who used an acorn from her oak that let her move beyond her tree. Mind you we had it so this was far from normal with dryads and usually the ritual to create such an acorn was when the forest had a very large grove of dryads and those that left normally searched for a forest in need of their aid where they would take residence.
To each their own mind you but the "acorn trick" seems to be a popular one when it comes to traveling dryads. :smallbiggrin:

[Undercroft]

There's also a type of tree in the eberron setting (can't remember name offhand) that keeps living even when chopped up and made into furniture, which could feasibly allow dryads to travel a bit.

"The tree I'm bonded with was crafted into the fighter's tower shield" sort of thing. (not sure if a shield could still work for it, but i do remeber furniture being listed)

[Mordokai]

Speaking of Eberron, somebody came up with quite a brilliant idea some time ago on these boards.

I believe the wood in question is something called liveoak, or there close. In any case, warforged are made partially of wood. If you have a warforged made of liveoak that used to be a dryad's tree, she can travel around with this warforged and gets a two for price of one deal. The tree and her stay close to one another and given the right choices, this tree can pack quite a punch.

[ericgrau]

You also need to define how bad "ill" is. If it's not that bad then they can be away for at least 4 hours before death.

[marcielle]

Treant companion sounds awesome.
However, for low levels, this might work.
If I remember correctly, shrink'd items do not keep on expanding if they are in a container too small to allow further expansion when the spell wears off. Glass bottle, some soil and a watering can are all you need to sustain your tree inna bottle.:smallsmile:

[The Dark Fiddler]

Treant companion sounds awesome.
However, for low levels, this might work.
If I remember correctly, shrink'd items do not keep on expanding if they are in a container too small to allow further expansion when the spell wears off. Glass bottle, some soil and a watering can are all you need to sustain your tree inna bottle.:smallsmile:

I think you're thinking of a similar clause in enlarge person (which, by the way, is only if the creature can't succeed on the check to break out), because I see no such clause in shrink item's description. Also, the 2 cubic feet per level may be a bit problematic for shrinking a tree.

[Greenish]

If you had a bonsai dryad living in a bonsai tree…

Though that might be some angry dryad, tortured to insanity.

[Edit]: Imagine you felt everything that happened to the tree:

Techniques

The practice of bonsai development incorporates a number of techniques either unique to bonsai or, if used in other forms of cultivation, applied in unusual ways that are particularly suitable to the bonsai domain. These techniques include:

Leaf trimming, the selective removal of leaves (for most varieties of deciduous tree) or needles (for coniferous trees and some others) from a bonsai's trunk and branches.
Pruning the trunk, branches, and roots of the candidate tree.
Wiring branches and trunks allows the bonsai designer to create the desired general form and make detailed branch and leaf placements.
Clamping using mechanical devices for shaping trunks and branches.
Grafting new growing material (typically a bud, branch, or root) into a prepared area on the trunk or under the bark of the tree.
Defoliation, which can provide short-term dwarfing of foliage for certain deciduous species.
Deadwood bonsai techniques called jin and shari simulate age and maturity in a bonsai.

(From Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonsai).):smalleek:

[marcielle]

Oops :P. Well, if you can pay a high level wizard(does a spell cost more if cast by a high level wizard even if its a low level spell?) to shrink a naturally small tree( full grown crape myrtles can be 7-10 feet tall) then you are set.

[KillianHawkeye]

Acorn of Far Travel.

Where's that from?

[Arutema]

Where's that from?

I no longer have that book, but I think it was from the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting book.

[FMArthur]

Acorn of Far Travel (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/fw/20040710a)

This one spell makes a lot of things very silly, like Sanctum Spell or Wizard of Sun and Moon.

[noparlpf]

Sorry to not get back for so long. Apparently I had notifications turned off. My bad.

Anyhow, my group doesn't use Eberron, so those ideas probably won't work.

I like the idea of a dryad living with a bonsai, but I think the process of pruning and trimming would be considered mutilating the tree and that therefore dryads just might be against it. Similarly, I don't think a dryad would like having her tree cut up and made into a shield or a warforged, regardless of whether it's still technically alive.

I think the awakened to Treant idea might be best. A Treant has 3 HD, so it's roughly equivalent to the animals on the list for the 4th level druid's animal companions. Alternatively, I might let it become a cohort.

I don't think I ever actually asked my DM friends whether this would work in one of their games, so maybe that would be a good place to start.

[Zaq]

A supernatural ability, you say? There's a method to get rid of that permanently, but you're not going to like it.

There's a spell called Expunge the Supernatural on pg. 256 of Tome of Magic. Brd6/Clr8/Drd8/SorWiz8. You'll need to know the personal Truename of the dryad in question (a process that takes a minimum of 1 week per 2 hit dice of the creature, so a minimum of 2 weeks for an unmodified MM dryad, at 1,000 GP per week) and successfully say it as part of the spell. Oh, and there's an XP component involved. But if you successfully cast the spell, you can permanently remove one (Su) ability from the target creature. Of course, Expunge the Supernatural can be dispelled, but . . . oh well.

[Prime32]

Speaking of Eberron, somebody came up with quite a brilliant idea some time ago on these boards.:smallbiggrin:

It's livewood. I'm currently playing a dryad in a PF game who carries around a livewood tree. And uses it as a weapon.


Anyhow, my group doesn't use Eberron, so those ideas probably won't work.

I like the idea of a dryad living with a bonsai, but I think the process of pruning and trimming would be considered mutilating the tree and that therefore dryads just might be against it. Similarly, I don't think a dryad would like having her tree cut up and made into a shield or a warforged, regardless of whether it's still technically alive.The description of livewood actually mentions that dryads have become trapped in ships and furniture when their trees were cut down. I assume they were asleep at the time or something.

And what, your group says Eberron has more magic trees than FR? That's crazy, livewood makes more sense there than in its original setting. :smalltongue:

[Darrin]

Hmmm... would Dragonborn of Bahumat get rid of Tree Dependent (Su)? Probably, but it would also get rid of the SLAs.

[erikun]

Acorn of Far Travel (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/fw/20040710a)

This one spell makes a lot of things very silly, like Sanctum Spell or Wizard of Sun and Moon.
Hmm, Rangers with Hide In Plain Sight Anywhere. Actual invisible tower shields, no shield needed!

[Talya]

Speaking of Eberron, somebody came up with quite a brilliant idea some time ago on these boards.

I believe the wood in question is something called liveoak, or there close. In any case, warforged are made partially of wood. If you have a warforged made of liveoak that used to be a dryad's tree, she can travel around with this warforged and gets a two for price of one deal. The tree and her stay close to one another and given the right choices, this tree can pack quite a punch.

This is, like, the first cool idea I've ever seen that requires the Eberron campaign setting to pull off.

[faceroll]

Speaking of Eberron, somebody came up with quite a brilliant idea some time ago on these boards.

I believe the wood in question is something called liveoak, or there close. In any case, warforged are made partially of wood. If you have a warforged made of liveoak that used to be a dryad's tree, she can travel around with this warforged and gets a two for price of one deal. The tree and her stay close to one another and given the right choices, this tree can pack quite a punch.

Isn't there an airship in eberron with a dryad in its hull because the ship was made from liveoak?

[noparlpf]

Hmm, Rangers with Hide In Plain Sight Anywhere. Actual invisible tower shields, no shield needed!

I like that idea. I think I'll try it back at school next semester and see what happens.

[Mordokai]

Isn't there an airship in eberron with a dryad in its hull because the ship was made from liveoak?

I believe you're speaking of Heirs of Ash trilogy (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HeirsOfAsh). A ship has a dryad in it, but I forgot the details and her name.

Pretty cool books though. I liked the idea as well.