Common Races: Most races modified from their base.
Minority races: Aasimar, Firbolge, Dragonborn.
Called: Dryads
Pejoratives: Woodwasps, Twiggies, Tree fuckers.
A tribe of people who live in harmony with their god, a Giant tree, which acts both as protector and provider. They harvest their food, weapons, clothes, and shelter from the resources the tree provides them. They’re the foremost producer of Amber Sap. One of the most highly prized equivalent metals available to the native peoples. Their practices are highly ritualistic, and their lands are considered amongst the most stable.
The Deitree is a titanic tree, of unknown genius. It towers like a mountain over the landscape. Its roots connecting dispersant parts of the Lands. It’s hard to say if it’s truly alive or aware. But those who seek to harm it quickly find themselves set upon by the Dryads. Emerging from within its bark, branches and roots like ghosts. Despite its size it produces fruit at roughly human size, and a natural network of tunnels and chambers exist for its worshipers to live within. New chambers appearing as they’re required. A unique species of giant insects have evolved alongside the Deitree capable of clambering, and leaping, at high speeds. For the most part they’re the only form of transport for those not of the Dryad. The Dryad themselves seem to share a telepathic bond with these bugs. It’s theorized these too are provided by the Deitree.
The Dryads membership consist of a mix of races, as its membership is converted by being absorbed into the “Seed Pods” and drawn inside the body of the Deitree. Undergoing a mysterious process to join the applicant to its service. Existing members can be healed, or even resurrected from death via this process. Returning to their prime of life that they might continue to serve. This process has become highly ritualised, and Dryads go to extreme lengths to return their dead to be reborn within the Deitree’s embrace. Some of their members have lived for thousands of years, emerging at times of great crisis. Perhaps some still remember the years before the Calamities arrived. But few if any emerge, instead continuing their slumber within their god.
Though people of all the Races of The Broken World exist within the membership. Particular Races of note within the Dryads are Firbolg, and Aasmiar. Nowhere else is their kind found natively on the Fracture. Though few in number, they are believed to be ancient, and invariably hold positions of great authority.
Dryads deploy a high number of Druids, Rangers, Barbarians, and Clerics. Rarely will they produce a Sorcerer or Bard. Primarily outfitted with “Amber-Bark” medium armour, the Sap is moulded into a sturdy form and pieces of Deitree bark are woven onto it, to hide it’s tell tail gleam and give the Dryads a wooden appearance. Granting them stealth bonuses and spreading stories of their resilience as their hardy armour absorbs powerful blows.
The Dryads lose much of themselves once they merge with the tree, shedding what they were, and becoming something new. Filled with a shared unconscious connection. They do not have traditional family units, as they are all linked to the Deitree. This results in a strangely distant manner with one another. Almost unemotional and uncaring for their fellows plight. Perhaps this is as a result of being able to be resurrected within the tree itself, or because of the changes made as a result of becoming a Dryad. Concepts such as kinship, love, and loyalty have little use to the Dryads. None of them are capable of harming their god, so the idea of Betrayal is impossible, and the others serve no practical purpose.
That said, they are aware of Children, and of the idea of growing up, though no children exist amongst their usual living spaces. It’s theorised that what children they do have exist safely within the Deitree itself. Perhaps waiting for a better world to emerge and spread themselves like seeds.
The Dryads are a highly reactionary force. They lack traditional transport and war machines, instead emerging from the body and roots of their God to suddenly attack any that would threaten to harm it. Their weaponry would appear to be primitive, bows, bladed weapons and clubs. But their simple design belies the cunningly elegant craftsmanship of their tools.
Made out of Amber rituistically harvested from their god, their crafts people carefully shape the sap into the required mold. Amber is then left to harden, with a secondary round of crafting to apply any fine details or last minute changes required and then wrapped with a bark like substance to cover its sharp yellow-orange glow. These crafts hold an incredible edge, and their armour is surprisingly resilient to harm. As a part of their God tree, they appear capable of the same emergence capability of the Dryads themselves.
High ranking Dryads, wear their Amber openly, without the additional bark wrappings. Though this might seem risky, the sudden presence of these gleaming lords of the battlefield is enough to send many foes running. For where such a Dryad appears, they are undoubtedly surrounded by a cadre more of their deadly warriors.
The thick imposing forests that make their home territory is rich in natural resources, thanks to the presence of the Deitree feeding energy from the void directly into the Fracture. Meaning that raiding parties often cross the Drops to attempt to take what they can. This inevitable results in damage to some part of the Deitree and a typically furious response.
The Dryad leadership is unusual, with no advancement between the ranks. Instead, the leaders appear to be the oldest Dryad active outside the tree at any time. Commonly this is Yarvin. An Dragonborn who may have been alive prior to the End. But if this is the case, he’s unwilling to comment.
Most Dyrads exist within the trunk of the Deitree. It’s arcane systems sustaining them in a form of stasis. Healing any damage they suffered, and adding their memories to the massive container.
Those on the outside live on the body of the tree itself. Amidst the Bark, the Deitree naturally developed a series of chambered holes for the Dryads and any visitors to shelter in. These bore chambers are usually sparsely decorated, with the most extravagant addition being delicately woven rugs, made from the husks of the Dryads only other ally. The Spriggans.
The Spriggans are large bug like creatures born directly from the Tree. They appear to act as some form of maintenance creature. Caring for the Deitree directly. Their Insect like shell forms around a splinter of the Deitree, projecting this piece out of their heads like a large horn. The tip of this “horn” glows with a flow of energy, its contact with the tree promoting growth and healing of the wooden flesh, or directing its growth in specific directions. Spriggans seem mindless. So observed to stand in place unmoving for extended lengths of time, before suddenly springing to life as a task reaches their attention. Though it has been noted that the Dryads appear to have some form of control over them, wordlessly making them complete tasks and utilizing them for the sake of transporting materials that can’t be moved through the Deitree’s form. Spriggans appear to undergo a life cycle of sorts. Their outer shell splits and husks away at multiple stages in their life cycle. These shells bread down into soft threads which are used by the Dryads for their exterior settlements. This is especially odd as the Spriggans do not appear to change in any major way on their own during these stages of their life. However, the Dryads have made a rite out of “molding” the Spriggans during these times. Shaping their new bodies as they form to fulfil a number of roles. The most common being seating to carry visitors up and down the body of the Deitree to get from one bore-settlement to another.
Both Dryads and the Spriggans do not appear to eat, instead they draw their nutrients directly from contact with the Tree. Or in specific cases, by submerging themselves in milky pools that gather in certain nooks, seemingly by design. Dryands do appear to have a need to drink water, and the few places they can be casually observed away from the Deitree are where it’s roots meet with rivers, streams, lakes, and pools.
Dryads uncounted in neutral circumstances, find them distant, a little standoffish, but not directly hostile. They appear to care little for others beyond what they can offer. Dryads are entirely willing to allow others to approach the Deitree so long as they cause no harm to it. Meaning that Trading groups often travel light on weapons and on very specific routes to minimize the chance of causing any damage to the Dryad’s God. For such a crime carries a heavy and sudden penalty.
Those who do stay amidst the Dryads, commonly eat the strange fruits and game that grows amidst the deep Woods. Such delicacies fetch a high price amidst Remnant’s citizenry. Which combined with small amounts of Amber goods, are the main trade commodities. Curiously the Dryads themselves take little part in these trades, instead being conducted by Remnant Expats which they tolerate.
