These tree nymphs have a very powerful version of the charm person spell that allows them to completely charm any mammalian and man-sized creature that they want including sprites, pixies, kobolds, goblins, orcs, hobgoblins, and gnolls. With roots back to their Greek mythology, Dryads are naturally shy and abstain from violence, though that starts to fall apart when you see what they can do.

Who knows, Dryads are weird and mysterious. It goes on to say that the Dryads have their own tree and that they never travel very far from them, which just means that they are homebodies and we can respect that.ĭespite Dryads only hanging out a few hundred feet around their tree, they know every part of the woods around them and we can only assume that means somehow, they just know the woods they exist in… or they only live in very small forests made up of a few dozen trees.

Introductions to the Dryad take place in the Dungeons & Dragons Box Set - Book 2: Monsters & Treasures (1973), and where it is described as beautiful tree spirits with powerful abilities.

Elves, trees, and charm spells all make up the Dryad who becomes more like a mini-Lorax than a fey creature bound to a single tree. In Dungeons & Dragons, the Dryad retains many of these features but also develops its lore within the game. To cut down a tree occupied by a hamadryad was considered to be the same as killing the dryad and mortals would be punished for such crimes. The hamadryad is unique as it is considered to be more powerful than the regular dryads and they were actually an integral part of a tree. Each of these were tied to specific types of trees like the epimelides often inhabited fruit trees, the daphnaie resided in laurel trees, and the meliae could be found in walnut trees. While they may not have worshiped the Greek goddess Artemis, they could often be found with her and are described as friends.ĭryad is often just a generic word for a tree-spirit nymph, there are several more specific dryads like the daphnaie, epimelides hamadryad, and the meliae. These creatures kept to themselves and avoided contact with most other beings. The Dryad originates as a tree spirit from Greek mythology and would inhabit trees and forests.

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