Dryad, Duskthorn

Family: Dryad

Medium fey, chaotic neutral

Armor Class 17 (natural armor)
Hit Points 77 (14d8 + 14)
Speed 30 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
10 (+0) 20 (+5) 13 (+1) 14 (+2) 15 (+2) 24 (+7)

Saving Throws Con +3, Wis +4
Skills Animal Handling +4, Deception +9, Nature +6, Perception +4, Persuasion +9, Stealth +7
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 14
Languages Common, Elvish, Sylvan, Umbral
Challenge 3 (700 XP)
Proficiency Bonus +2

SPECIAL TRAITS

  • Magic Resistance. The dryad has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
  • Speak with Beasts and Plants. The dryad can communicate with beasts and plants as if they shared a language.
  • Tree Stride. Once on her turn, the dryad can use 10 feet of her movement to step magically into one dead tree within her reach and emerge from a second dead tree within 60 feet of the first tree, appearing in an unoccupied space within 5 feet of the second tree. Both trees must be Large or bigger.

ACTIONS

  • Multiattack. The duskthorn dryad makes two Thorned Slam or Thorn attacks.
  • Thorned Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d6 + 5) piercing damage.
  • Thorn. Ranged Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, range 80/320 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (2d4 + 5) piercing damage.
  • Children of the Forest (1/Day). The dryad magically calls 1d4 boars, constrictor snakes, or wolves, or it calls 1 child of the briar. The called creatures arrive in 1d4 rounds, acting as allies of the dryad and obeying her spoken commands. The creatures remain for 1 hour, until the dryad dies, or until the dryad dismisses them as a bonus action.
  • Spellcasting. The dryad casts one of the following spells, requiring no material components and using Charisma as the spellcasting ability (spell save DC 17):

ABOUT

This striking woman with obvious fey features and skin the color of slate sits in the shade of an ancient, vine-wrapped tree. Clothed in vines and leaves, she is almost indistinguishable from the tree.

Creeper Vine Spirits. Duskthorn dryads are spirits tied to thorn-bearing creeper vines. They seek out dead trees as homes for their vines. They can travel through trees to escape their foes but must stay near their vines.

Grove Guardians. Duskthorn dryads use their vines and the plants in their glades to defend themselves. They often call on the aid of forest animals and children of the briar.

Occasionally, a circle of duskthorn dryads work together to call on the aid of an enormously strong vine troll skeleton to protect their grove.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Tome of Beasts 1 ©2023 Open Design LLC; Authors: Daniel Kahn, Jeff Lee, and Mike Welham.

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