In the Dungeons & Dragons

Dungeons & Dragons

Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...

 fantasy

Fantasy

Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...

 role-playing game

Role-playing game

A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...

, the dryad is a fey creature based upon the dryad

Dryad

Dryads are tree nymphs in Greek mythology. In Greek drys signifies 'oak,' from an Indo-European root *derew- 'tree' or 'wood'. Thus Dryads are specifically the nymphs of oak trees, though the term has come to be used for all tree nymphs in general...

 of Greek mythology. They are tree spirits with the forms of beautiful (albeit woody) women who benevolently protect forests and woodlands. They can be used by Dungeon Master

Dungeon Master

In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, the Dungeon Master is the game organizer and participant in charge of creating the details and challenges of a given adventure, while maintaining a realistic continuity of events...

s as enemies or allies of the player characters.

Dungeons & Dragons (1974-1976)

The dryad was one of the first monsters introduced in the earliest edition of the game, in the Dungeons & Dragons "white box" set

Dungeons & Dragons (1974)

The original Dungeons & Dragons boxed set by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson was published by TSR, Inc. in 1974. It initially included the original edition of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game...

 (1974), where they were described as beautiful tree sprites, each a part of their own respective tree.

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition (1977-1988)

The dryad appears in the first edition Monster Manual (1977), where it is described as a beautiful, alluring tree sprite always found near her oak tree.

The dryad was detailed in Dragon

Dragon (magazine)

Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...

#87 (July 1984), in the "Ecology of the Dryad".

The hamadryad appeared in Dragon

Dragon (magazine)

Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...

#101 (September 1985).

Dungeons & Dragons (1977-1999)

This edition of the D&D game included its own version of the dryad, in the Dungeons & Dragons Expert Set

Dungeons & Dragons Expert Set

The Expert Set is an expansion boxed set for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It was first published in 1981 as an expansion to the Basic Set.-1981 printing:The D&D Basic Set saw a major revision in 1981 by Tom Moldvay...

(1981 & 1983). The dryad appears as a player character class in Tall Tales of the Wee Folk

Tall Tales of the Wee Folk

Tall Tales of the Wee Folk is an accessory for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.-Contents:Tall Tales of the Week Folk is a "Creature Crucible" supplement which describes the society and background of creatures such as sprites, dryads, centaurs, pixies, and includes rules for player...

in the "DM's booklet" (1989). The dryad was also later featured in the Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia (1991).

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition (1989-1999)

The dryad appears first in the Monstrous Compendium Volume Two (1989), and is reprinted in the Monstrous Manual (1993).

The hamadryad appeared again in Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix II (1991), and later in Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three (1996).

Dungeons & Dragons 3.0 edition (2000-2002)

The dryad appears in the Monster Manual for this edition (2000).

Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 edition (2003-2007)

The dryad appears in the revised Monster Manual for this edition (2003).

The mistling dryad template for the Eberron

Eberron

Eberron is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, set in a period after a vast destructive war on the continent of Khorvaire...

 setting appeared in Forge of War (2007).

Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition (2008-)

The dryad appears in the Monster Manual for this edition (2008), including the briar witch dryad.

Physical Description

In the Dungeons & Dragons

Dungeons & Dragons

Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...

game, dryads resemble highly beautiful human or elven women only made out of smooth, brown-green wood, and with grass and leaves for hair. They can step into and out of trees, and can perform localized teleportation by entering one tree and then magically appearing out of another nearby one.

Society

In the game, dryads work, along with some other fey, to protect and preserve the forests they inhabit and so any who desecrate them incur their wrath. Although ultimately protectors of whole forests, they do have individual trees to themselves. If a dryad leaves the vicinity of her tree for too long, she will die. They also sometimes aid adventurers and can prove useful as a source of information.