Dryad’s Hair

Medium swarm of tiny plants, unaligned

Armor Class 12
Hit Points 24 (7d8 – 7)
Speed 10 ft., fly 50 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
15 (+2) 14 (+2) 12 (+1) 1 (-5) 10 (+0) 3 (-4)

Skills Perception +5
Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, slashing
Condition Immunities charmed, frightened, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, prone, restrained, stunned
Senses passive Perception 15
Languages understands Sylvan but can’t speak
Challenge 1/4 (50 XP)

SPECIAL TRAITS

  • Swarm. The swarm can occupy another creature’s space and vice versa, and the swarm can move through any opening large enough for a Tiny plant. The swarm can’t regain hit points or gain temporary hit points.
  • False Appearance. While the dryad’s hair remains motionless, it is indistinguishable from normal tree leaves.
  • Mask of the Fey Wild. The dryad’s hair can attempt to hide even when it is only lightly obscured by foliage, heavy rain, falling snow, mist, and other natural phenomena.

ACTIONS

  • Wings. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target in the swarm’s space. Hit: 7 (2d6) piercing damage, or 3 (1d6) piercing damage if the swarm has half of its hit points or fewer.
  • Glow Dust (Recharges atier a Short or Long Rest). Each object within 20 feet of the swarm is outlined in pulsing green light. Any creature in the area is also outlined in light if it fails a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw. For one minute objects and affected creatures shed dim light in a 10-foot radius. Any attack roll against an affected creature or object has advantage if the attacker can see it, and affected creatures and objects can’t benefit from being invisible.

ABOUT

Dryad’s hair are small swarms of gentle fey with delicate butterfly-like bodies. These shy fairies can perfectly disguise themselves as clusters of leaves among the branches of a tree or blowing through the air on a gust, only to burst into life and color as they unfurl their wings and take flight. Whether as beautiful insects or floating flora, the dryad’s hair takes on the colors and semblances appropriate to its environment.

Glow Dust. Dryad’s hair are best known for the glowing dust they leave behind as they flit through the air. Though the dust usually dissipates quickly, the dryad’s hair can, if necessary, produce a sudden burst of it, outlining everything around in a fine layer of luminescence. Preferring to avoid direct confrontation, dryad’s hair use their glow dust to signal nearby fey and beasts of danger, so that they might confront it in place of the swarm. Observation of dryad’s hair swarms and the study of their glow dust led the oldest of fey to the art of faerie fire.

At the edges of the mortal realm, where the mist thins, here in the eddies may be glimpsed the endless wood of the Fey Wild. In the gloam of this strange border between worlds, curious sylvan creatures dwell. These fey take on the forms of beasts grown from twining branches, roots and leaves. Such creatures, curious in form as they are in nature, may chance to slip between the realms, entering our own as fabled travelers sometimes slip into theirs.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Zargoth’s Tome of Familiars, Copyright 2021, Arcana Games, LLC.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Zargoth’s Tome of Familiars, Copyright 2021, Arcana Games, LLC.

This is not the complete license attribution - see the full license for this page