10 Dryad Spells

Some Dryads cast spells, and some of them may know some of these spells. If you do a favor for a Dryad, they might teach you one. You can cast a Dryad spell like any normal spell, but any spell that mentions “the Dryads tree” or “while touching the Dryad's tree” requires the magic user who isn't a Dryad to spiritually bond to a tree- rituals like marrying the tree or growing it from a seed in magic soil are common. Clever wizards select small saplings they can take with them, but pretty soon they'll grow larger even if its a small species and will have to be settled down somewhere. From then on, the Wizard can only cast the specific Dryad spell from that magical tree.

If the Dryad's tree is ever cut down or killed, the Wizard cannot ever get a new one and loses 1 level in level drain. Dryads die if their tree is killed, so Wizards are quite lucky in that respect, only feeling a fraction of the pain the Dryad does for her sacred home.

10 Dryad Spells – Roll 1d10 for a random spell

[1] Razor Whispers- 1^st level

This spell can be cast on anything sharp or bladed. Usually it's cast on special leaves thrown as projectiles by elves or dryads, but can be cast on anything sharp enough to cut. The object whispers in the ear of the caster and tells them the last thing they cut in broad detail. Blades cannot see, but remember much about the target, like hot and cold and texture, and especially about blood spilled on them. So if a blade slashed a zombie last, it may describe the target as “cold flesh, with congealed blood, worms and maggots spilled onto me from the wound”, and so on. You can cast this spell on a body part like a claw or tooth of an animal or even person, but the object only whispers in the language of that animal or person's most native language.

[2] Dryad's Music - 1^st level

This spell creates a magical tune that surrounds the Dryad's tree. This spell is passive, and if cast on a tree belonging to someone who isn't a Dryad, they can freely leave and the spell will remain active for its duration. The magic spell creates a low, haunting, and beautiful tune that will calm dangerous animals (as long as nothing is running around to activate their prey instincts) and will alert intelligent beings to this being a Dryad's grove. Most good entities wouldn't want to cut down a Dryad's tree, and potentially dangerous animals can be calmed by this spell so they do not damage the Dryad's tree in a rage or for whatever other reason.

The spell lasts for an entire day and cannot be turned off selectively, so any cruel beings who would want to ransom the Dryad and threaten to cut her tree down would be led by this music straight towards her. However, anyone who introduces themselves with this music playing gets a +1 to reaction check to the superstitious or nature-loving; those who may find the natural magic and majesty of the Dryad or person wielding their magic as something to respect will be kinder to the caster.

[3] Green Gale - 1^st level

Conjures a magical wind. The wind is slightly green in color, and appears magical as it flies, which is where it gets its name. As people can see the wind coming, concerned creatures may raise their shields to block the wind or roll a saving throw to get behind cover. The wind travels for an exploration turn as fast as a man can run in a single general direction, before petering out at the end. It takes an entire exploration turn to cast this spell as the effect is ongoing; the caster may experience magical backlash for ending the spell early. Additionally; anyone can see the spell in motion in a well lit area, and can follow it back to the source.

Everything the magical wind touches the caster “feels” in real time. As it travels, the caster will be aware of everything the wind touches and get a sense of what it is. Living beings are solid and warm, metal is cold, wooden things let them feel the textured grains, etc. However this sense is vague at best, so if a wooden shield is used to block the wind the caster will be unable to tell it apart from a standard tree. Using this spell may let you sense a large being or group of beings on the approach towards your location, or traveling along with the wind if they were retreating from you. While quite broad and powerful in its usage, the spell can only at best be used to tell if a group of enemies are approaching or moving in some way and will only give you a single exploration turn or a few combat rounds to prepare at best.

[4] Dew - 1^st level

This spell requires the caster to lie down and stay totally still for one exploration turn. During that time, they will become very wet all over in morning dew, which will soak through their clothes and all over their skin. The amount of dew produced is dependent on the amount of moisture in the air, so in the desert or deep underground the spell will produce very little moisture. By shaking and scraping off this water, some can be collected and used for drinking or other purposes. Dew is also a minor magical reagent in some spells or magical potions. The caster can also leave the dew on them, and by doing so will gain advantage on all saving throws against fire spells and also will reduce the first source of fire damage to 1 when it strikes them while wet. This spell may also allow the dew-covered person to survive a flaming cone of dragon fire if it normally would have killed them, or make the person easily struck by lightning spells, and so on.

If the Dryad casts this spell while hugging their spirit tree- they can make the dew coalesce on the leaves and branches of the spell instead. Beyond giving the tree a protective sheet of water from forest fires, this produces much more water. The tree can be shook or dew gathered from the leaves for harvesting instead of from the caster's body.

[5] Fend-Flame - 2^nd level

This spell creates a 30 ft radius around the Dryads tree that pushes back all fire- magical or otherwise. While it is mostly used on wildfires to keep the Dryad's tree safe, this spell will work surely on man made fires and will blow out any torches brought near, make tinder refuse to spark, and fire arrows are wetted the moment they cross the invisible line. This spell is very powerful and blocks all fire spells of 2^nd level or less. Any spell that conjures or throws fire above 2^nd level is still greatly reduced, dealing a maximum of 1 damage per die rolled and being two times less likely to ignite objects on fire. If this spell is combined with water or rain on the tree, there is essentially no way short of divine intervention for it to go up in flames.

[6] Branch Pantomime - 2^nd level

Once this spell is cast, the caster's movements are copied by the Dryad's tree to the best of its abilities. If the caster throws a punch, the tree will move a branch in a roughly fist-like way and punch at the same angle. If the caster breathes and exhales, the wind will rustle the trees leaves hard. If the caster jumps, the tree groans with effort, but cannot uproot itself. Even if the caster walks, the tree cannot move unnaturally and only tangles its roots in the attempt. Using this spell, the caster can make the tree sweep its branches to attack nearby foes, dealing 1d12 damage on a clumsy -2 to hit due to both the delay of the copied action and slow speed of the tree's wide branches as well, but the branches are still quite strong. It is also possible to use this spell to gingerly pick something out of the tree's branches or remove an object stuck in it, but requires careful movements by the caster and roughly pantomiming a grab with their own hand on their body where the object is in rough relation to the tree, and is quite difficult to perform without practice.

Dryads who have cast this spell many times and know their tree inside and out have much more dexterity with it; their tree's attacks get +1 to hit as they shoot out their branches like missiles and can even perform feats of dexterity like grabbing a small dragon out of the air. By bending to the side, it is possible for the tree to even pick up the Dryad, to allow an instant way to merge with its bark or to get to the tree's highest point in a single instant for scouting or ranged arrow fire.

[7] Black Lozenges - 3^rd level

This spell is how Dryads have come to be known as healers, and unfortunately the reason why many Dryads are also terrorized by opportunists looking to cure their own diseases or charge for a cure. This spell must be cast over an entire hour, in which the caster's sacred tree is drained of life energy and it condensates into several large, black sweets that taste a bit of maple. These medicines are quite potent; they can instantly heal common illnesses by an hour of sucking on the lozenge, can take an entire day off of an advanced illnesses remaining time per hour of sucking. They can also act as methods to halt poison, once again, per turn you suck on the lozenge the poison will not advance in your blood- swallowing the lozenge gives you an extra saving throw against any weak poison. Those with incurable illnesses or no diseases will be healed by 1d2 hit points per exploration turn they suck on a lozenge.

The tree that casts this spell is drained, and as is the Dryad. If the tree is not very big, such as a sapling being carried by the Wizard, then the Wizard will be drained of 1d6 maximum hit points, which only come back one per month, from the nutrients and energy needed to create the powerful medicine. Larger trees may also create larger amounts of lozenges- Use a d6 or d8 for bigger trees. Truly ancient trees will also produce extra large lozenges that have an additional hour of sucking before they are expended.

Upon casting, the tree creates and drops 1d4+1 Lozenges. Some Dryads will try to sneakily bury any they can grab, especially if forced to give up the medicine, as the recovery period for their ancient guardian will be faster if it can reabsorb the nutrients. Each lozenge can be sucked on for up to 3 exploration turns before being eroded away to nothing. Each time the spell is cast, the tree gets weaker, so daily casting of this spell will slowly kill the tree, as it takes months to fully recover the energy that was created by this magical spell.

[8] Grand Bow - 3^rd level

This spell is one of the reasons why elves court the favor and hold close alliances with the Dryads in their forests. This spell can only be cast on the Dryad's spirit tree, and the tree must be at least 50 years old. This spell begins with a magical dance and incantation, and the tree will begin to grow a magical bow. The bow can be a short hunting bow or a long warbow which is decided at the time of casting. True Dryads can grow the bow within the heart of their magic tree, the same netherspace where they hide and sleep inside the tree, so it can be safely hidden and protected until pulled out by the Dryad when it is finished. Non-Dryad Wizards who cast this spell instead have the bow grow out of the branches of the tree, its curved form looking a bit sickly but otherwise develop as normal. Naturally if this branch is severed or damaged, the spell fails.

The magic bow takes an entire year to grow. Once finished, the bow is smooth and well made, but appears very natural and made of still-living tree bark; the ends of the bow may be marked with leaves or knots. The bow does not grow its own string, but elves traditionally use it with a Glint bowstring- the magical material that elf crafters are so fond of for its magical properties. The bow acts as a +1 magic bow, but bows which are grown within the magic tree for at least seven years count as +2 until the first shot is fired each night, recharging at sundown. These so called “Seven Year Bows” are quite valuable and are sometimes awarded for military success or as a prize for an archery competition.

When the sacred tree that birthed these bows dies, all of the bows roll a saving throw. On a failure, the magic bow wilts and is destroyed from the life force of the ancient tree leaking away from them. On a success, the bow remains, though still grays in remembrance.

[9] Dryad's Beauty - 4^th level

This spell is similar to a charm spell, but much more powerful. It only works on the opposite sex, or somebody that is already attracted to the caster's gender or race. Dryads may already have this ability in your game, or this spell may just enhance it or be the origin for their supernatural beauty. This spell only works on characters who have never seen the caster before, or at least never seen them in the full light or without their face covered- this magic pulls on the magic of love at first sight; no repeat viewings or the dull familiar can hold the enchantment.

When cast, the caster appears as a flawless, attractive being. Every movement they make takes away the breath of the target, who only gets a saving throw to resist the effect if they are not alone and are being warned or jostled by their companions. This spell makes the target fall madly, and permanently, in love with the spellcaster from a single look. The effects of this spell are permanent, and targets affected by it are much more open to dangerous ideas and are much more likely to turn on their allies if suggested by their new love interest.

While they will refuse to do anything that harms their new lover, the spell does not stop possessive or jealous lovers from kidnapping or stealing away the caster; in some cases the effect backfires and causes the target to chop down the Dryad's tree to “save” her from it, resulting in her death. It is possible for the target of this spell to turn on and potentially slay the caster after falling in love with them, but they will be devastated and much make a saving throw or kill themselves right after.

[10] Lost to the Trees - 4^th level

This spell must be cast on someone touching your sacred tree. This can be done through a vector, such as the very instant an axe strikes it to cut it down, or directly, if the target is tricked or accidentally touches the tree itself. The moment they do, this spell can be cast. The target disappears from the spot, lost within another realm. If this spell is cast through a vector like an axe or pole, that tool stays but the rest of what the target was holding goes with them. There is no saving throw for the effect, only to avoid touching the tree.

Within another realm, the target will always appear in a very thick wood. If they do not have an axe or knife, it is unlikely they will be cut from the cradle of trees around them. There is also a chance they will be within a serewood, which are flesh eating trees whose bark and leaves cut and splay skin, in which case the target takes 1d6 damage per exploration turn lost in that forest, or worse if they are laid against any serewood trees. Even after they escape, the character or monster will realize they are lost in the lands of Arcadia- the home of the fairies and true fae, and the chances to get back home will be almost impossible for any regular being without some great magic or destiny.

Back in the normal world; the caster of the spell will have just sent the target to a random location to the realm of the fairies, akin to a powerful randomized teleportation spell to another plane. While the creature is off having adventures in that mystical and untrustworthy land, everyone else will simply be stupefied by the disappearance of the other being. It will be at least (3d6 – target's Intelligence modifier) seasons before they can return, and that's only if they survive. You can roll a saving throw per season they are gone; one failure means they've been mutated, changed, or marked somehow. If they fail two or more saving throws, they can never return and were either captured, turned into something that can't come back, or dead. Any sufficiently powerful character may be able to return regardless; fighting their way back with sword and spell, stumbling back through the nearest line of trees to their home or place of residence. Anyone who is hit by this spell can have it used on them again, but will gain advantage on all saving spells to avoid it, and gain another hard save if the spell activates to crawl back anyway- falling out of the branches of the sacred tree instead as they refuse to be taken.