Encountering dryads

[hymer]

I'm putting together some encounters I can keep in my back pocket. One of them is going to be with one or more dryads. How to make this encounter interesting? The PCs are all good-aligned, and unlikely to be of any nuisance or danger to the dryads or their trees, so combat is very unlikely.
There's the classical [dryad in distress from evil beings trying to harm her tree] and [dryad charming adventurers to do stuff for her], but I think nearly all my players have seen this already. I'd like to move beyond that.
What could be an interesting dryad encounter, RP-wise or mechanically (or both)? Please share ideas, experiences, thoughts, etc.

[Fouredged Sword]

Dryad falls in love with PC and wants to force them to stick around. The players must decide if force is justified VS a good creature in order to continue their quest. Best used when the party is already on a deadline of some kind.

[Drogorn]

What happens if a Dryad's tree is animated? You could explore that.

[Clistenes]

Dryad falls in love with PC and wants to force them to stick around. The players must decide if force is justified VS a good creature in order to continue their quest. Best used when the party is already on a deadline of some kind.

Or the Dryad could charm a monster and pretend that it wants to kill her, so the object of her affections will stay around (every time the party goes away, they hear a shout and the monster pretends to be attacking the dryad, only to run away when the heroes arrive).


What happens if a Dryad's tree is animated? You could explore that.

Good idea. That way the Dryad could follow them around.

[Phelix-Mu]

A dryad in one of my campaigns signed some variant of a Pact Infernal in order to free herself from dependence on her tree, which stood in the way of her pursuing her Seeker of the Song PrC.

You could do something similar, and have the dryad forced to obstruct the actions of the party by the devil with whom she had contracted as repayment for the contract. It's a pretty interesting dynamic, because a dryad can very easily have great fear of the death of her tree, and would likely go to great lengths to avoid dying that way. So a very sympathetic dryad turns to less-than-sympathetic ways to achieve her goal, and now stands on the edge of doing some seriously evil stuff in order to secure her own safety.

An interesting moral conflict. As above, it always helps if there is some kind of time/plot-pressure on the party, to raise the level of dramatic tension.

[hymer]

@ Fouredged Sword: Classic dryad, though with dryads being both good and smart, simple explaining should be possible. Or just haul the charmed fellow off until the effect wears off. Thanks!

@ Drogorn: An interesting idea, certainly calls for an explanation and a deeper story. Thanks!

@ Phelix-Mu: Interesting, though I’m not inclined to have that be anything other than a CE dryad. I was hoping for non-combat encounters. Thanks anyway.

[Cruiser1]

Dryad falls in love with PC and wants to force them to stick around.
Yes, a dryad wants to make a PC "stick" around, but the PC needs to "leave" for some other quest. The PC can't "bark" up the wrong tree here, and instead must get to the "root" of the matter, in order to help the dryad while still finishing his original quest. :smallwink:

[Phelix-Mu]

All of a dryads best ways to obstruct a party are non-combat. Being able to stray from her tree (and not having to fear the death of it) simply allows for an unexpected twist in the story that defies the players' metagame assumptions about dryads. Give the dryad a hat of disguise and have her pop up in several different places trying to delay or mislead the party, or otherwise get them in trouble. Give her a decent chance to avoid detection, but some subtle tell that gives her away (like songbirds that often behave strangely when she is nearby, regardless of her form). Best used at the same time as some other non-combat challenge that can distract the party from the fact that it's the dryad shadowing them.

Anyway, just thought I'd mention it.

[Drachasor]

The local prince/retired hero/etc* is delinquent on his child support checks.

*Pick one or maybe there are many kids.

[Phelix-Mu]

The local prince/retired hero/etc* is delinquent on his child support checks.

*Pick one or maybe there are many kids.

Hmm. A Mother Hubbard of the Trees.

I rather like that idea. Or, rather, I like the idea of a bunch of preternaturally cute kids with leaves in their hair that wander through the otherwise dangerous forest unharmed and unafraid.

ADVENTURE HOOK SIGHTED.:smallsmile:

[hymer]

@ Phelix-Mu: Sorry, let me rephrase: I’m not looking for an excuse for the PCs to kill a dryad, nor for an excuse for a dryad to use her spell-likes on PCs. I’m looking for something that will turn an encounter with a non-hostile being into something worth spending maybe five to fifteen minutes on.

@ Drachasor: Sounds like the real encounter takes place at the prince's/hero's/other guy's place. :smallamused: But thanks for the thought.

[Drachasor]

@ Phelix-Mu: Sorry, let me rephrase: I’m not looking for an excuse for the PCs to kill a dryad, nor for an excuse for a dryad to use her spell-likes on PCs. I’m looking for something that will turn an encounter with a non-hostile being into something worth spending maybe five to fifteen minutes on.

@ Drachasor: Sounds like the real encounter takes place at the prince's/hero's/other guy's place. :smallamused: But thanks for the thought.

What about turning it around? The father has come back with a small group and is demanding the child. And will burn/cut down the tree if he doesn't get it (and doesn't care about the other kids there).

You could easily pick a very unusual father as well, maybe even an extraplanar creature.

[Honest Tiefling]

The druids nearby have an issue. Or there's a druid-y or fey-y problem. Dryad is all like 'ewwww, mortals' and doesn't really care about the party, nearby settlements or any non-druids, but needs to be convinced to help.

They might have to convince her that settlements will treat the wilds and her with respect. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if dryads got sick of being hit on while trying to do their jobs!

[TheMonocleRogue]

A dryad is in trouble because a caravan of dwarves wants to tap her tree for its sap. The dwarves are relentless and keep coming back to disturb her and the woodland creatures. She becomes paranoid, stating that if the tree becomes tapped she will surely die (which would not happen).

The dwarves coming to tap the tree are in a dilemma. They know the sap is magical and can cure diseases, something they need because their clan is dying from a powerful cursed plague placed upon their society by a spiteful necromancer.

At that point the party has to decide who to side with, the dwarves or the dryad. They may be able to convince the two parties to form an alliance, in which case the reward should be greater than simply helping one side over the other.

[Segev]

5-15 min.?

The dryads are actually addicts of civilized trappings and gossip from mortal societies. Perhaps with a fey twist or two, but they love trading with peddlers and exchanging gossip from nearby towns, and have an amber-mining operation they use to pay for it (as well as a mildly busy bit of business they do in goodberries and other blessings their Druid spells afford them given to peasants who are brave enough to venture into the woods and bargain for them).

So they come across these well-kept trees in a yard-like area just missing a picket fence and a cottage, and it turns out to be the "grove." The dryads are friendly, but eager for gossip and are willing to trade for interesting foods (particularly breads and sweet breads or dairy products). Maybe they invite them to camp out and keep them company.

Give them some unique personality traits and quirks, and have some interesting conversation starters.

[Drachasor]

The Tree is an Awakened Barbarian or Duskblade or Paladin or some such and wants to go on adventures. It keeps righting wrongs or otherwise involving itself in local troubles. That's not enough for it though, it wants to go out into the rest of the world and quest/seek wrongs to right/adventure.

The Dryad has 12 kids. Now they are all dressing up as Tree Duckblades and stomping around the forest too.

The Dryad herself just wants things to get back to normal.

(There's not really anything the PCs can do...but that's good for 5-15 minutes of WTF)

[Deadline]

Re-skin them slightly. These are predatory Unseelie Court Dryads, and instead of a tree, they have a Statue. These statues are located in a local graveyard. Creepy encounter (likely involving combat) ensues.

[Drogorn]

Not sure where people are getting the idea they get druid spells.

[Drachasor]

Not sure where people are getting the idea they get druid spells.

She has one level of druid, bought a scroll of awaken. It didn't go as planned.

Or if there are like 3, same sort of thing, though the 3 trees could either have their own crazy plans or want to be an adventuring group together.

[Segev]

Not sure where people are getting the idea they get druid spells.

Huh. I thought they had 7th level druid casting as one of their racial abilities. I wonder which fey I am thinking of that does have that.

[Rijan_Sai]

Not sure where people are getting the idea they get druid spells.

Probably mixing them up with Nymphs (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/nymph.htm)

Since Dryads (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/dryad.htm) only have a few Spell-like abilities...

[Arbane]

The dryad wants to deliver something (a letter, a keepsake) to someone they can't reach, and asks the PCs to help her.

The dryad sees the PCs around their campfire at night, and starts asking them ALL SORTS of questions. "Where are you from? What's the weather like there? Where are you going? Is that food tasty? How'd you get injured? Have you seen a dragon yet? Can you sing? Do you know..."

[Segev]

It's just two dryads: one so old she looks like a decrepit old (but kindly and still handsome) woman, and one that's physically a child. The child is actually tied to a little seedling.

The two greet the party and invite them to stay the night. The ancient dryad may offer some wisdom and advice if the party has any questions that need answering. The party is allowed to stay under the magnificent canopy of the ancient dryad's monstrous oak.

During their visit, the elderly dryad offers to cook for them - a skill she picked up over the millennia from various visitors - and borrows some crockery if they have any. Sets them to digging a latrine for use, as she keeps a neat grove.

The little one is in awe of her "Grandmother's" experiences and all she's heard about from travelers, and wistfully mentions going out to see the world one day. To which the elderly one merely smiles indulgently.

In truth, the elderly was seeing what kinds of large pottery they have, and where they keep their shovels. There's a chance the party may awaken to her digging that night. Investigation would reveal a large patch she's pulling out of the ground nearby. If they don't awaken over night, they see the little girl-dryad crying next to a moderate-sized bit of pottery from the adventurers' collection, which now has dirt and a tree in it.

And a note, asking them to take the little girl with them and keep her safe. The old woman knew her time had come; her tree died overnight, and she could not see her "granddaughter" grow up. The woods are not particularly dangerous, but it is still not good for her to be stuck near her guardian's grave for her whole formative years.

[Kalaska'Agathas]

I've always wanted to put a Dryad Sky Pirate into an Eberron game - her tree is Livewood, not oak, and she always wanted to see the world, so she had it fashioned into an airship.

So maybe your party needs to get from point A to point B, and a friendly Dryad Airship Captain can get them there?

[hymer]

@ Drachasor: The bad Dad would do it, though it is a variation the theme of druid fearing for her tree. The other one is more WTF than I’m aiming for. :smallbiggrin: But thanks regardless.

@ Honest Tiefling: It’s an interesting premise, but this is supposed to be an encounter I can pull out in just about any forest as needed. Too much stuff around it going on. Thanks, though.

@ TheMonocleRogue: Good idea, thanks!

@ Segev: The first idea still holds, even without druid casting. The second is sweet and sad; I’ll probably do a variation on that theme. Thanks!

@ Deadline: Interesting idea, thanks.

@ Arbane: Thanks for those. I particularly like asking for help in delivering something, very suitable, though it does seem to move the encounter away from the druid.

@ Kalaska'Agathas: Thanks for the suggestion, though I don’t think I’ll be using it just like that. :smallamused: