| Author |
 Topic  |
|
Khaelieth
Learned Scribe
103 Posts |
 Posted - 09 Jul 2008 : 08:54:24
|
|
Well, how do they reproduce? Do there actually exist male nymphs and dryads? And inbreeding within dryads would be insane, as they can't move too far from their tree... Always got this idea that treants pollinate and dryads reproduce with elves/humans.
|
Also known on other forums as ChazSexington, Kusghuul, and Claudius.
|
|
|
Purple Dragon Knight
Master of Realmslore
Canada
1796 Posts |
Posted - 09 Jul 2008 : 09:19:17
|
quote:
Originally posted by Khaelieth
Well, how do they reproduce? Do there actually exist male nymphs and dryads? And inbreeding within dryads would be insane, as they can't move too far from their tree... Always got this idea that treants pollinate and dryads reproduce with elves/humans.
I'd say that this is within the realm of your DM's call... use your imagination, as these creatures are imaginary... |
 |
|
|
Khaelieth
Learned Scribe
103 Posts |
Posted - 09 Jul 2008 : 10:21:03
|
| Well, the ents I can figure out pretty easily; pollination and all that. But with dryads a problem arises, as they can't go too far from their tree. |
Also known on other forums as ChazSexington, Kusghuul, and Claudius.
|
|
|
|
Ergdusch
Master of Realmslore
Germany
1720 Posts |
Posted - 09 Jul 2008 : 12:16:19
|
Capnvan is correct with his article reference - issue #240 is the one to look up for the Nymphs.
There also was an 'Ecology of the Dryad'-article back in Dragon Magazine #87.
The one on Treants was even earlier than that in issue #79.
I don't have my issues anywhere near at hand so I cannot check. However, according to the 2nd Ed. Monster Manual Treants reproduce quote:
'via off-shoot stalks which the female treants then protect and care for until the stalks are grown.'
According to the same book there are no female satyrsquote:
and sages believe that dryads are the female counterparts of the satyr, and that satyrs mate with dryads to produce more satyrs and dryads.
|
"Das Gras weht im Wind, wenn der Wind weht." |
Edited by - Ergdusch on 09 Jul 2008 12:26:48 |
|
|
|
Quale
Master of Realmslore
1757 Posts |
Posted - 09 Jul 2008 : 12:34:57
|
yea, too add on that
Dryads
Dragon 251: ''when an oak tree ages into the latter half of its first century, its lifeforce sometimes grows strong enough not only to provide seeds for the future generations of oak trees but also to produce a symbiotic entity. At the same time seeds spring away from the oak tree's limbs, a small life forms deep within the heart of the gnarled oak. As the tree's seeds sprout into life, so does the awareness of the newly-created dryad at the center of the tree. By the time the first true leaves form on the oak seedlings, a drya, and extension of the spirit of the oak tree, has stepped out of her tree. As an extension of her tree, a dryad feels a duality in her life. She is part of the tree that birthed her, but she also has enough individuality to form her own judgements.''
Dragon 109: ''The child of a satyr father and a dryad mother is either a satyr or a dryad, depending on gender. Both dryads and satyrs can mate with humans as well, and the children of such unions possess distinctive capabilities and talents.''
Dragon 87: ''Certain oak trees in ages past were invested with a special gift, and could form their tree-souls into animate shapes. The dryad is a permanent physical form of an oak tree's soul, and is only found around huge and old oaks of at least fifty years age. The tree must be large enough to have a powerful soul, to support the dryad who will live with it and within it ...
... ''Druidess, called another boy. How do dryads make more dryads? Belzime looked questioningly at Malec, who shrugged and said gruffly, They're old enough to find out. Go ahead and tell them. Fine. Well, some of you may have heard about races of creatures that have but one sex. Dryads are one of them, as are sylphs, nymphs, and satyrs. Dryads can have children by human and elven fathers, and if they do then their children will always be dryad girls. Dryads can also have children by satyrs, which as you know are always male. The child of a dryad and a satyr is a dryad girl half the time, a satyr boy theother half. It hardly seems likely that dryads and satyrs descended from a common ancestor, so at best we chalk this all up to the perversity of magic, or the whim of the gods. The female child of a dryad, Belzime continued, will stay with her for about twelve years. If the child is a satyr, the mother will turn the boy over to his father's band for his upbringing. A girl-child will spend the first few years of her life attached to her mother's tree. When the girl comes of age, she will be taken to an oak tree of her own and will become attached to it naturally. The child then becomes a part of that tree's soul, and will live there for the rest of her days. She will rarely see her mother after that, but she will be happy and content with her life.''
Treants
Dragon 79: ''Where do treants come from? They just appear, as far as anyone knows. A young tree that has grown up straight and strong might someday start waving its two largest branches like arms, blink two eyes that were once just thin spots in its bark, and shuffle forward on a trunk that has split into two legs. When it does these things, it has become a treant,but no one not even the oldest elf or the wisest druid can predict if any particular tree will do that.
Any sort of tree can become a treant, and treants have seeds like a tree. But those seeds do not grow into treants. The seedlings grow into trees, and only a few of them ever develop into treants. Then, as a treant gets larger and much, much older, it reaches a time when it turns back into a tree once more, forever. It takes thousands of years for a treant to pass to this stage, and they do not fear it as we fear death. For all we know, they simply fall asleep and dream, for as long as their tree-lives continue.''
|
Edited by - Quale on 09 Jul 2008 12:40:21 |
|
|
|
Khaelieth
Learned Scribe
103 Posts |
Posted - 09 Jul 2008 : 12:35:30
|
Thanks!=)
But why do the Silvanites carry out their ritual where they lure dryads to their grove to sleep with them? Just fun? |
Also known on other forums as ChazSexington, Kusghuul, and Claudius.
|
Edited by - Khaelieth on 09 Jul 2008 12:36:21 |
|
|
|
The Red Walker
Great Reader
USA
3567 Posts |
Posted - 09 Jul 2008 : 14:47:59
|
quote:
Originally posted by Khaelieth
Thanks!=)
But why do the Silvanites carry out their ritual where they lure dryads to their grove to sleep with them? Just fun?
Oh but what fun it is!! |
A little nonsense now and then, relished by the wisest men - Willy Wonka
"We need men who can dream of things that never were." -
John F. Kennedy, speech in Dublin, Ireland, June 28, 1963
|
|
|
|
Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36803 Posts |
Posted - 09 Jul 2008 : 14:50:17
|
quote:
Originally posted by Khaelieth
Thanks!=)
But why do the Silvanites carry out their ritual where they lure dryads to their grove to sleep with them? Just fun?
Well, dryads are nature spirits, so sex with one would be communing with nature. Or maybe the sex is just really good. A third (not-so-frivolous) response would be that perhaps mating with a nature priest could produce more dryads.
Me, I'd go for a combination of things mentioned here. I'd not go for a dryad being spontaneously formed, I'd say that the natural beauty of the scene called a fae spirit to it, with the dryad being a type of fae that gains sustenance from being bond to a tree. I'd say they reproduced with satyrs primarily, producing either one or the other -- but that they also reproduced with elves, humans, and half-elves, with the greater chance that the offspring was a dryad or a satyr, but a smaller chance (maybe 10%, if that high) that the offspring was either a half-fey or had the fey blood feat (both from Bastion Press Faeries). |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen!  |
Edited by - Wooly Rupert on 09 Jul 2008 14:54:21 |
|
|
|
Khaelieth
Learned Scribe
103 Posts |
Posted - 10 Jul 2008 : 08:26:54
|
| Thanks=) |
Also known on other forums as ChazSexington, Kusghuul, and Claudius.
|
|
|
|
althen artren
Senior Scribe
USA
780 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jul 2008 : 03:45:08
|
Spells stilled, Khaelieth:
There are also Elven High Magic Rituals that can create some of the
creatures of fey nature from the souls of elves. Perhaps all the
fey creatures can be created through unmentioned High Rituals. See the
Elven Notebook at WOTC some of the scribes here are working on. |
|
|
|
Talwyn
Learned Scribe
Australia
222 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jul 2008 : 08:50:21
|
| I've always wondered how treants, nymphs and dryads would react to dogs peeing on their trees? |
Over the centuries, mankind has tried many ways of combating the forces of evil...prayer, fasting, good works and so on.
Up until Doom, no one seemed to have thought about the double-barrel shotgun.
EAT LEADEN DEATH DEMON!
Terry Pratchett
|
|
|
|
Khaelieth
Learned Scribe
103 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jul 2008 : 11:34:53
|
| Cheers, Althen! |
Also known on other forums as ChazSexington, Kusghuul, and Claudius.
|
|
|
|
Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36803 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jul 2008 : 15:42:15
|
quote:
Originally posted by Talwyn
I've always wondered how treants, nymphs and dryads would react to dogs peeing on their trees?
Well, it is natural.... Treants prolly wouldn't care; it's too fleeting for them. Nymphs and dryads would prolly just shoo the dog off to water a different tree. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
|
|
|
Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jul 2008 : 19:10:09
|
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Talwyn
I've always wondered how treants, nymphs and dryads would react to dogs peeing on their trees?
Well, it is natural.... Treants prolly wouldn't care; it's too fleeting for them. Nymphs and dryads would prolly just shoo the dog off to water a different tree.
I agree. Just think about birds--they'd be peeing on leaves all the time. |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
|
|
|
Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 18 Jul 2008 : 02:27:22
|
quote:
Originally posted by capnvan
An interesting take - I don't think I've ever seen a bird's "pee." But I've sure seen the white stuff on my car, and I don't think it's "pee"!
It is, actually.
Oh, and don't forget all the insects living in the trees too. |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
|
|
|
Talwyn
Learned Scribe
Australia
222 Posts |
Posted - 18 Jul 2008 : 03:17:22
|
I think a dryand or nymph wouldn't be too happy if some burley fighter decided to relieve himself against her tree but then he could [rightly] argue, "hey, the animals do it as well so what's your beef nature chick? I'm just answering THE CALL OF NATURE!"
as she starts to summon insects to infest his underpants  |
Over the centuries, mankind has tried many ways of combating the forces of evil...prayer, fasting, good works and so on.
Up until Doom, no one seemed to have thought about the double-barrel shotgun.
EAT LEADEN DEATH DEMON!
Terry Pratchett
|
Edited by - Talwyn on 18 Jul 2008 03:18:59 |
|
|
|
Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36803 Posts |
Posted - 18 Jul 2008 : 03:25:11
|
quote:
Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
quote:
Originally posted by capnvan
An interesting take - I don't think I've ever seen a bird's "pee." But I've sure seen the white stuff on my car, and I don't think it's "pee"!
It is, actually.
Oh, and don't forget all the insects living in the trees too.
Don't forget squirrels, chipmunks, and/or kercpa!  |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
|
|
|
Khaelieth
Learned Scribe
103 Posts |
Posted - 18 Jul 2008 : 08:59:06
|
quote:
Originally posted by capnvan
quote:
Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
I agree. Just think about birds--they'd be peeing on leaves all the time.
An interesting take - I don't think I've ever seen a bird's "pee." But I've sure seen the white stuff on my car, and I don't think it's "pee"!
Birds don't pee, real fact. Standard grade biology, at least not in the common sense.=) |
Also known on other forums as ChazSexington, Kusghuul, and Claudius.
|
Edited by - Khaelieth on 18 Jul 2008 09:06:06 |
|
|
|
The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31772 Posts |
|
|
Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 18 Jul 2008 : 17:37:55
|
quote:
Originally posted by Khaelieth
quote:
Originally posted by capnvan
quote:
Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
I agree. Just think about birds--they'd be peeing on leaves all the time.
An interesting take - I don't think I've ever seen a bird's "pee." But I've sure seen the white stuff on my car, and I don't think it's "pee"!
Birds don't pee, real fact. Standard grade biology, at least not in the common sense.=)
Sorry Sage, but I had to answer this.
And Khae, you are wrong. Birds do urinate, it mixes with their feces, so Rino is correct. Even a quick net search confirms this. |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
|
|
|
The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 18 Jul 2008 : 19:50:26
|
Right, let's bring this back to the Realms.
In certain Calishite cities (as in our real world, back before rules were brought in to prevent this sort of thing), bird dung was (or is still, by the unscrupulous) stirred into wines to make them "sparkle."
Ed as DM 'showed' us this with a particular PC; right after Torm (the thief of the Knights, not the deity) stole some being-bottled wine from that PC, and swigged it.
There, Sage. Realms-related, though I'm sure you wish it wasn't.
love,
THO |
|
|
|
Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36803 Posts |
Posted - 18 Jul 2008 : 21:01:40
|
quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Right, let's bring this back to the Realms.
In certain Calishite cities (as in our real world, back before rules were brought in to prevent this sort of thing), bird dung was (or is still, by the unscrupulous) stirred into wines to make them "sparkle."
Ed as DM 'showed' us this with a particular PC; right after Torm (the thief of the Knights, not the deity) stole some being-bottled wine from that PC, and swigged it.
There, Sage. Realms-related, though I'm sure you wish it wasn't.
love,
THO
"Ah, an extraordinary vintage. Southern sandy sparrow '44, I believe. Yes, you can just make out a faint undertaste of beetle."
|
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
|
|
|
The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31772 Posts |
Posted - 19 Jul 2008 : 02:00:23
|
quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
There, Sage. Realms-related, though I'm sure you wish it wasn't.
love,
THO
Quite the contrary actually, my Lady. I can't wait to drop this little tidbit into my game the next time my PCs complain about ingesting the "Great Elixir" in any of the Underdark taverns they may frequent.
"Hey, at least it isn't a Calishite vintage." |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
|
|
|
The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31772 Posts |
|
|
Zanan
Senior Scribe
Germany
942 Posts |
Posted - 20 Jul 2008 : 11:20:17
|
| No bashing, but can I just say that I was deeply shocked when seeing the picture of the 4E dryad? |
Cave quid dicis, quando et cui!
Gæð a wyrd swa hio scel!
In memory of Alura Durshavin.
Visit my "Homepage" to find A Guide to the Drow NPCs of Faerûn, Drow and non-Drow PrC and much more. |
|
|
|
Alaundo
Head Moderator
United Kingdom
5695 Posts |
|
|
Zanan
Senior Scribe
Germany
942 Posts |
Posted - 20 Jul 2008 : 11:25:35
|
| Essentially it is a little tree with "breasts" ... |
Cave quid dicis, quando et cui!
Gæð a wyrd swa hio scel!
In memory of Alura Durshavin.
Visit my "Homepage" to find A Guide to the Drow NPCs of Faerûn, Drow and non-Drow PrC and much more. |
|
|
|
Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jul 2008 : 02:43:31
|
quote:
Originally posted by Alaundo
quote:
Originally posted by Zanan
No bashing, but can I just say that I was deeply shocked when seeing the picture of the 4E dryad?
Well met
In what manner, Zanan? I have yet to see the 4e dryad, so am just curious.
It's true form is no longer that of a scantly-clad woody female. It is now, as Zannan has said, a ferocious-looking tree with breasts (it can still take a form much like it's pre-4E one, though). You can probably find a picture of it easier on the WotC site. |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
Edited by - Rinonalyrna Fathomlin on 21 Jul 2008 02:44:22 |
|
|
|
Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 22 Jul 2008 : 17:18:07
|
quote:
Originally posted by Alaundo
quote:
Originally posted by Zanan
No bashing, but can I just say that I was deeply shocked when seeing the picture of the 4E dryad?
Well met
In what manner, Zanan? I have yet to see the 4e dryad, so am just curious.
You can see one HERE.
They have basically copied Warhammers crazy battle-Dryads. 
Anyhow, I was going to cover part of this topic in an ever-expanding article, but the thing grew in so many directions at once that it is turning into a full-fledged netbook. 
The gist was that while some Fey (Le'Shay) left Toril for the Feywild millenia ago, others decided to stay, and form 'pacts' with the environment, allowing them to draw power from it in a sybiotic relationship.
Fey (Kara-Tur's Spirit-Kami) can mate in all the usual ways (usually sleeping with mortals, and most-often humans), and in many cases this creates 'fey touched' or 'Spirit Folk'. But in certain rare instances the Fey breed true, and the new ones form bonds with the land as well. In time (for these are immortals we are dealing with), there power grows great, and some of the older more power Nature-spirits are associated with Lakes and Mountains. However, most Fey do not have that sort of power, and instead slowly age into new forms - like Treants, or Nature Elementals (like the ones in Rasheman), or Lord Monolith from Darkvision).
Fey are natural shape-shifters (magical, not biological like the Batrachi), and taking on new forms is part of their culture, and with age comes grander, more powerful incarnations.
Just my take, which I figured I'd share since that article will probably just keep growing and never get done.  |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
|
|
|
|
Quale
Master of Realmslore
1757 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jul 2008 : 08:46:24
|
| isn't Lord Monolith like an aspect or servant of Entemoch/Sunnis, maybe a dharum suhn, they are something between fey and earth elementals ... |
|
|
|
Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jul 2008 : 11:07:13
|
Thats how I'm picturing it -
Fey can 'evolve' into other lifeforms during their immensly (infinite?) long lives, so I think a noble Fey that has become an Earth Elemental is a good call for Lord Monolith.
Bruce Cordell wrote it, but I think he based it on the stuff about Elemental Monoliths written by Rich Baker in Complete Arcane. Personally, if Lord Monolith was based on that, he should have come up with a different name (or are they ALL called Lord Monolith?)
Anyhow, just an interesting note - this guy appeared in BC's novel well into the 4e development, and I asked RB about this creature (which is a fairly new concept in the Realms) and weather we would see more stuff like this in FR.
I didn't get an answer. Now, he could've just missed the question in the thread, or he could've avoided it (not wanting to give anything away). I personally get the idea that he reads EVERY question, but chooses to answer ones that won't 'get him in trouble'.
So, considering 4e's more 'Elemental bent', and the appearance of that creature (for no real apparent reason) in BC's book (remembering that Bruce Cordell is one of the FRCG authors), I'd be willing to wager that some of this is going to be 'pushed' on the 4e setting.
By thats just a hunch, mind you. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
|
|
|
|
Topic |
|
Treant, nymph and dryads...
