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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

Pathfinder RPG (1st Edition) Pathfinder RPG (2nd Edition) Starfinder RPG

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PFS StandardDryad

Dryads are fey guardians of the trees and creatures who dwell in wooded areas. They prefer using indirect methods to dissuade those who would harm their sacred groves and beloved forests, but they are not above using enchantments to enlist the aid of allies when evil threats cannot be dissuaded with words alone. In times of peace, dryads happily live secluded lives inside their trees, and a community at harmony with nature might not even realize a dryad lives nearby.

Though they watch over all the woods around them, dryads are inextricably tied to a specific tree, usually an oak. Dryads who are bonded to another type of tree are fundamentally the same, but they may differ in temperament and appearance to match their ward. For instance, kraneiai, or cherry-tree dryads, have beautiful pink coloration and concern themselves with the fragile beauty of life.

Recall Knowledge - Fey (Nature): DC 18
Recall Knowledge - Plant (Nature): DC 18
Unspecific Lore: DC 16
Specific Lore: DC 13

Elite | Normal | Weak
Proficiency without Level

Changes from being Weak are marked in red below.
NOTE: The -2 damage penalty to non-strike offensive abilities (-4 if the ability is limited, such as spells) is NOT factored in.

Weak DryadCreature 2

Legacy Content

CG Medium Fey Nymph Plant 
Source Bestiary pg. 246
Perception +10; low-light vision
Languages Common, Elven, Sylvan; speak with plants
Skills Acrobatics +7, Athletics +3, Crafting +5 (+7 woodworking), Diplomacy +7, Nature +11, Stealth +7, Survival +10
Str +0, Dex +4, Con +1, Int +2, Wis +3, Cha +4
Nature Empathy The dryad can use Diplomacy to Make an Impression on and make very simple Requests of animals and plants.
AC 17; Fort +4, Ref +9, Will +8
HP 40; Weaknesses cold iron 5, fire 5
Tree Dependent A dryad is mystically bonded to a single great tree and must remain within 300 feet of it. If she moves beyond that range, she becomes sickened 1 and is unable to recover. She must attempt a DC 16 Fortitude save every hour or increase the sickened value by 1 (to a maximum of sickened 4). After 24 hours, she becomes drained 1, with this value increasing by 1 every additional 24 hours. A dryad can perform a 24-hour ritual to bond herself to a new tree.
Speed 25 feet
Melee [one-action] branch +10 [+5/+0] (finesse, magical), Damage 1d12-2+2 bludgeoningPrimal Innate Spells DC 19, attack +9 (-4 dmg); 5th tree stride (x2); 4th charm (x3), suggestion; 3rd sleep; 2nd entangle (at will), tree shape (at will); Cantrips (2nd) tanglefoot; Constant (4th) speak with plants
Tree Meld [two-actions] (primal, transmutation) The dryad touches a tree of enough volume to contain her and merges into it for as long as she wishes. She can Cast a Spell while inside as long as the spell doesn’t require a line of effect outside the tree. She can hear, but not see, what’s going on outside the tree. She can Dismiss this effect.
Significant physical damage dealt to the tree expels the dryad from the tree and deals 3d6 damage to her. Passwall expels the dryad without dealing damage.
If a dryad uses this ability on her bonded tree, she instead enters an extradimensional living space within the tree; Tree Meld gains the extradimensional trait. A dryad can bring up to two other creatures with her when entering her home within her bonded tree. The dryad can still be expelled from this space as above.

All Monsters in "Nymph"

NameLevel
Dryad3
Dryad Queen (Hamadryad)13
Hesperid9
Hesperid Queen19
Lampad5
Lampad Queen15
Naiad1
Naiad Queen7
Hora6
Hora Queen13

Nymph

Source Bestiary pg. 246
Nymphs are a family of fey that take the form of beautiful humanoids with elven features and have a deep association with the natural world. The most common of their kind are the dryads, which are spirits that embody great trees, but many other kinds of nymphs exist, including naiads, who watch over bodies of water. All nymphs are guardians of some element of nature, typically a specific tree or pond, or even—in the case of nymph queens—whole forests or massive bodies of water.

Nymph Queens

Nymph queens are powerful nymphs that rule over entire regions of untouched wilderness, not just single trees or ponds. Every variety of nymph can have a queen. Naiad queens are among the most prominent, and more often interact with nearby mortals. Thus, some scholars refer to naiad queens as simply “nymphs.”

Nymph Queen Abilities

A nymph queen is 6 to 10 levels higher than an ordinary nymph of the same type, with enhanced numerical statistics and improved Strikes to match. A nymph queen’s ward is a significant region, and she strengthens and vivifies this territory with her presence. Nymph queens are not dependent on their wards and lose the corresponding ability (such as a dryad’s tree dependent ability); instead, they gain the tied to the land ability, as described below. A nymph queen also gains the nymph’s beauty aura and the Focus Beauty action, which have varying effects based on the queen’s original type. She gains the Inspiration ability, allowing her to bestow a gift of inspiration on those who catch her fancy, and the Change Shape ability to change her form. Finally, she gains primal prepared spells as a druid of her level.

Change Shape [one-action] (polymorph, primal, transmutation) Nymph queens can transform between their original form, which looks much like a typical nymph of their kind, and any Small or Medium humanoid form, typically choosing a more humanoid-looking version of their natural form.
Focus Beauty [one-action] (emotion, enchantment, mental, primal, visual) The nymph queen focuses her beauty upon a target within her aura. The creature must attempt a Will save. On a failure, it is affected as if by the nymph queen’s nymph’s beauty aura; if it was already affected by the aura, it suffers a greater effect described in the nymph queen’s entry. A nymph queen can Focus Beauty on a given creature only once per turn.
Inspiration [three-actions] (emotion, enchantment, mental, primal) A nymph queen can inspire a single intelligent creature by giving that creature a token of her favor, typically a lock of her hair. As long as the creature carries her token and remains in good standing with the nymph queen, the creature gains a +1 status bonus to all Crafting checks, Performance checks, and Will saves.
If a nymph queen grants her Inspiration to a bard and the nymph queen is that bard’s muse, the bard gains an additional benefit depending on their muse theme: for lore muse, the bard also gains a +1 status bonus to all Lore checks; for maestro muse, the status bonus to Performance checks increases to +2 for the purpose of determining the effects of compositions; for polymath muse, the bard gains a +4 status bonus to untrained skill checks; and for all other muses, the Will save bonus increases to +2 against fey.
Nymph’s Beauty (aura, emotion, enchantment, mental, primal, visual) 30 feet. Creatures that start their turn in the aura must succeed at a Will save or suffer an effect described in the nymph queen’s entry.
Tied to the Land A nymph queen is intrinsically tied to a specific region, such as a forest for a dryad queen. As long as the queen is healthy, the environment is exceptionally resilient, allowing the nymph queen to automatically attempt to counteract spells and rituals such as blight that would harm the environment, using her Spell DC with a counteract level equal to the highest-level druid spell she can cast. When the nymph queen becomes physically or psychologically unhealthy, however, her warded region eventually becomes twisted or unhealthy as well. In that case, restoring the nymph queen swiftly heals the entire region.

Sidebar - Additional Lore Inspirations for Art

Nymphs are living manifestations of beauty and grace, and as such they are often the subjects of art—sculpture and paintings in particular. Promising a nymph to immortalize them in a work of art can be an excellent way to secure that nymph’s favor, but one should take care to ensure that the nymph admires and is proud of the artistic effort’s final result, lest the nymph be insulted and lash out with her powerful magic.

Sidebar - Locations Nymph Locations

Nymphs tend to be closely associated with specific areas of natural splendor and beauty—woodlands for dryads, rivers for naiads. Areas where nymphs dwell always look more pristine, breathtaking, and scenic than they would otherwise.

Sidebar - Advice and Rules Nymph Queens

The abilities shared by all nymph queens, including the abilities Change Shape, Focus Beauty, and Inspiration, are described in the Nymph creature family page. Hora queens are more likely to use these abilities freely during the season in which they flourish

Sidebar - Treasure and Rewards Nymph Treasures

Nymphs sometimes carry magical trinkets or wear enchanted clothing or jewelry, but the greatest treasure a nymph queen can share is often her inspiration to those seeking a muse.

Sidebar - Related Creatures Other Nymphs

Naiads and dryads are the most well-known nymphs, but others exist as well. Hesperides, for example, are wards of the sunset and golden light and can be encountered dwelling on coastal cliffsides or remote islands. Lampads, on the other hand, are dark, moody nymphs found in wondrous, crystal-lined caverns deep underground.