Playing a Dryad

[CockroachTeaParty]

I have a friend who enjoys playing fey, and she recently got it in her heart of hearts to try playing a dryad. Now, before you go saying how that would be impossible, we would be playing in Eberron: There exists a type of tree in Eberron, specifically the Livewood tree, that remains alive even after it is chopped down and fashioned into items. Our potential dryad PC would be mystically bound to a Livewood, probably a staff or other item she carries with her, thus giving her the freedom to go about doing stuff.

There is no level adjustment for dryads, presumably because the designers never thought they would ever be a viable PC race.

So, if anyone's interested in helping me, what should a dryad's LA be?

They've got 4 racial HD of Fey, giving them a +2 BAB, +1 Fort., +4 Ref., +4 Will, a decent list of racial class skills, DR 5/cold iron, +3 natural armor, +8 DEX, +4 INT, +4 WIS, +8 CHA, and the following spell-like abilities at CL 6th:

At will: Entangle, Speak with Plants, Tree Shape. 3/day: Charm Person, Deep Slumber, Tree Stride. 1/day: Suggestion. The save DCs are apparently Wisdom based (???).

Finally, they are tree dependent, and even if the dryad has a livewood staff or other item, if she is separated from it or it is destroyed, she would shortly die. They also get Wild Empathy (wee).

That's actually a pretty strong slew of abilities there. The DR, ability score bonuses, Tree Shape and Tree Stride in particular seem quite potent.

My initial gut reaction wants to give them a +3 or +4 LA, making a dryad's starting ECL 7 or 8. She seems quite vulnerable, though, despite all she has going for her: low hp, and one good theft or sunder attempt away from certain doom. The natural armor and DR help a bit, but it still seems risky.

Any thoughts? Perhaps a racial class progression like those found in Savage Species is in order...

I might just tone down the dryad's racial abilities, perhaps eliminate the HD, etc., but the dependency on her tree is an interesting weakness that perhaps warrants some boosts. I think it would be a fun character to try and play, but special care would be needed to make sure she's not too gimped, but not too overpowered.

[Wings of Peace]

4 HD of Fey would default them to LA +4 I believe if you follow the Savage Species rules. I'm away from my books right now so if someone else can confirm or deny this please do.

[Mojo_Rat]

I statted them out for anb NPC a few years ago and i think i did it as +3 La. As for the Tree It is the reason why Dryads dont have an LA.

Basically If the tree is an Absolute they ar enot really Viable as PC's that Said i would Just Leave the Tree as a background thing create a Justifrication to explain why the dryad PC can leave it and then only use the Tree as a Plot device when the PC's are in the area of the tree.

[Sstoopidtallkid]

Maybe give them +2 LA, and lose the racial spell-likes in exchange for 3 levels of Druid casting that stacks with actual Druid levels.

[Eldariel]

Maybe give them +2 LA, and lose the racial spell-likes in exchange for 3 levels of Druid casting that stacks with actual Druid levels.

Do this. Giving her too much LA makes it an unsatisfactory experience anyways. 2 is a reasonable number and can be bought off, and having base casting from the racial HD makes a caster class doable.

Dryad Druid really makes all sorts of sense, though other kinds of Dryads could exist too, I suppose.

[ErrantX]

Maybe give them +2 LA, and lose the racial spell-likes in exchange for 3 levels of Druid casting that stacks with actual Druid levels.

2nded. Favored class: Druid.

-X

[Wings of Peace]

Or if you want to give her a more chaotically wild flavor than often associated with the calmness of druids.... Spiriiiiiit Shamaaaan! (When I say "often" I of course mean based on my own prejudiced ideals)

[ErrantX]

You could also, instead of a livewood staff, have her be a young dryad bound to a young awakened tree, so if she's a dryad/druid, the tree would be her animal companion type thing.

That would work quite well, I think.

-X

[CockroachTeaParty]

Hmm, that's interesting with the replacing of the spell-like abilities...

I'll need to figure out what my player wants to play, exactly. If she's looking for more of a skill-monkey dryad, perhaps the spell-like abilities can simply be axed, or perhaps toned down. If she wants to play a caster, obviously druid is a good choice, but that CHA bonus can really help a variety of classes.

@ErrantX

That's intriguing... However, despite the vulnerability of the livewood staff, it initially is less of a target than an awakened tree companion, especially if the dryad makes sure to conceal her true nature. Sundering as a tactic is pretty rare, and few people will bother stealing an otherwise normal-looking quarterstaff.
However, if the big bad guy does his homework, then things get dicey.

[bosssmiley]

Two little words for ya: bonsai tree.

Easy, no LA Dryad. Just refluff an Elf or something.

[Prime32]

Doesn't the wood have to be large enough for the dryad to fit in?


I have had two ideas related to livewood. The first is a guy who steals a piece of livewood the size of a toothpick while in Elfland, then enchants it as a Fine +1 sizing quarterstaff. He can use it for tree stride or transport via plants while it is expanded (then use Drawmij's instant summons or something to get it back). Works best if the character in question has Titan Bloodline and a monkey tail.

The second idea... you know how some warforged are built from a large percentage of wood? Some artificer decided to make one out of livewood tree without realising that there was a dryad inside. I'm not sure if this would result in a warforged with unusual druidic aptitude who hears a female voice in his head sometimes, or if the dryad would be take the place of the soul, permanently transforming into a half-fey warforged. Either one would be interesting.

[Edwin]

Or you could make it a 6-7 level progression monster class, as per Savage species.

If you make it 6th level, just remember to keep two dead levels that doesn't give BAB, HD, saves and skills, but still advance their natural abilities. Probably at 3rd and 5th level. Not the most high-powered class you can find out there, but it does away with the LA.

[Sinfire Titan]

Didn't an Eberron splat stat them out as PC races under that same assumption?

[Leon]

Two little words for ya: bonsai tree.

My line of thinking

[Starscream]

I wouldn't rule that sundering the staff results in instant death. After all, the tree survived being cut down and carved into a staff in the first place. Maybe that would hurt her, but she's probably no more than a Mending spell away from being in top shape again.

Now, burning the staff would be another issue. She'd better see about finding a way to make the thing fire resistant.

[Paulus]

Hmm. livewood is just a ironwood spell away from being pretty secure. So I think it would be a definite for a Dryad adventuring with such a thing. But honestly I think I like the warforged livewood idea. You could cop them as a duo, traveling together, and at night, she goes INSIDE him to sleep while he remains ever vigilant guarding her tree, which is his body. Make the warforged the druid if she doesn't want to be, so he can cast iron wood, and make him a cohort if noone else wants to play him.

Think it would be awesome!

Another idea is to have the tree turned into wooden armor for her out of livewood, and give it an ironwood spell 1/day ability in exchange for one of her own 1/aday abilities. This way she doesn't ever need armor, and it also leaves her more vulnerable. I would also give it the ability to regenerate to fix it, but spending a day in sunlight... like, uh, I think it was called wildwood from Races of the Wild. Wooden armor that could heal itself through photosynthesis. Something to look into anyways.

oh and I wouldn't go over LA +3, that way she can buy it off and still have fun.

[CockroachTeaParty]

All very interesting ideas.

I don't think I've ever read an Eberron splat that had dryads as a PC race, Sinfire, but if somebody knows what or where that is, I'm interested in seeing it.

Oh, livewood. Such a fun, odd concept, especially when you mix dryads into it.

I think a LA of +2 or +3 ought to work alright, but a +2 makes them comparable to a yuan-ti pureblood (4 HD, LA+2), which aren't nearly as strong as a dryad.

[Paulus]

All very interesting ideas.

I don't think I've ever read an Eberron splat that had dryads as a PC race, Sinfire, but if somebody knows what or where that is, I'm interested in seeing it.

Oh, livewood. Such a fun, odd concept, especially when you mix dryads into it.

I think a LA of +2 or +3 ought to work alright, but a +2 makes them comparable to a yuan-ti pureblood (4 HD, LA+2), which aren't nearly as strong as a dryad.

Alright then. How about making it so normal healing is only half as affective on her? With the reasoning that she heals better in sunlight with clean water then with positive energy, so like, give her fast healing 1 in direct sunlight as long as she is resting and has access to fresh water. and don't forget the resting part to avoid abuse.

[taltamir]

if another player is willing to play an awakened tree (aka, a treeent), they could be bonded.

Alternatively, she could be bonded to a bonzai or other dimminuative tree which she carries around with her in a pot.
like this: http://www.hookiedookiepanic.com/geist/comic.php?ID=21

[deuxhero]

Hmm. livewood is just a ironwood spell away from being pretty secure.

No, the staff is a material compoent and the spell has a time limit. When the spell ends, it vanishes and she dies.

[Obrysii]

No, the staff is a material compoent and the spell has a time limit. When the spell ends, it vanishes and she dies.

Magically hardening and reenforcing it would boost its hardness. Use the rules in the Magic Item compendium to add a fire-resistance mod to it.

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Livewood warforged with a dryad inside is like the coolest idea ever.

Btw, query, if you use a spell/power to put regeneration on the staff... does the tree grow back?

[PinkysBrain]

I don't see why she has to give up Sp's for the LA+2, they are level appropriate at level 6 (hell, it's the only way for her to make herself useful at that level!). IMO LA+2 is plenty ... there is nothing at all optimizeable about it at that LA (or any LA really). It will make a decent rogue and a completely horrible anything else.

Making it suck just as much as other LA'd races is a fools errand, especially the ones with RHD. It's like balancing against the monk.

[Hat-Trick]

The warforged anchor is coolest idea I've heard on the thread. If you don't use it, I definitely will at some point.

[wadledo]

I third the replace SA's with druid casting, and give her the fey blood feat for free.
2 LA, and everybodies happy.

[desmond1323]

If you don't use it, I definitely will at some point.

I second this soooo very much.

[ShadowsGrnEyes]

You could also take away alot of abilities and say something like when her tree was chopped apart and turned into a staff, she lost alot of her power and cant regain it until her tree is whole again, which theoretically couldnt happen without a wish or something.

[Sstoopidtallkid]

I don't see why she has to give up Sp's for the LA+2, they are level appropriate at level 6 (hell, it's the only way for her to make herself useful at that level!). IMO LA+2 is plenty ... there is nothing at all optimizeable about it at that LA (or any LA really). It will make a decent rogue and a completely horrible anything else.

Making it suck just as much as other LA'd races is a fools errand, especially the ones with RHD. It's like balancing against the monk.

We're trading those SLAs for Druid casting. The thing has a lot of stat bonuses and the Fey type is pretty nice. Fey HD are also actually worth class levels, unlike most HD.

Though the Livewoodforged is pretty awesome. See if another player wants to play it, otherwise, I'd make it a Knight Cohort.

[taltamir]

what level are you STARTING at?
she is a normal dryad bound to a normal tree... she uses part of her starting wealth to get a druid to cast awaken on her tree... it can now walk, talk, etc and functions as a special cohort, like animal companion or familiar...
If she can afford it, empowered maximized awaken (27 or 18 + 0.5 x 3d6, depending on how empower and maximize stack, for int, cha, and wis)

[Sstoopidtallkid]

what level are you STARTING at?
she is a normal dryad bound to a normal tree... she uses part of her starting wealth to get a druid to cast awaken on her tree... it can now walk, talk, etc and functions as a special cohort, like animal companion or familiar...
If she can afford it, empowered maximized awaken (27 or 18 + 0.5 x 3d6, depending on how empower and maximize stack, for int, cha, and wis)

Except that
A: Drayad's have listed LA of -, not 0, meaning technically players can't use them. He's asking for a way to houserule them to be usable and still balanced.
B: That's insanely expensive. For something like the tree, which is basically another target in combat that kills the char if it dies, she really shouldn't be losing character resources for it. Things like Liveoak or allowing her Animal Companion or Cohort to be the tree make things easier on the player without boosting her power at all.