Dryads'+Forest

=**Dryads' Forest**=

Appearance
The Dryads' forest is a massive forest with a wide variety of species of tree in it. That said, it is homogenous; every part of it looks like every other part. Dirt trails lead through it. The tree canopy blocks out all natural overhead light, but a soft glow illuminates the trails and random bits of forest, interspersed with fog.

Visibility is extremely limited. The trail winds and twists and thick forest growth prohibits seeing far into the woods.

Supernatural Aspects
The forest links to real world forests throughout the world, and people who wander through those woods sometimes end up in the Dryads' Forest. The woods have a sort of hive mentality. No individual tree is intelligent, but the trees together create sort of a genius loci that has a rudimentary intelligence, which is in turn guided by the dryads' will.

The forest is unconcerned by petty concepts like space and time. It can reshape itself at will, becoming a maze with no exits that people can wind through for eternity without finding a way out. The paths lead wherever the forest, and usually the Dryads wish, either to clearings, to ambushes, or to more paths which lead to more paths ad infinitum. Time has a limited meaning, as does direction. Those who wander through it have no idea which way is which or how long they've been wandering, no matter how high they roll. That information is not simply difficult to obtain, it is constantly changing.

Dryad Mentality
Dryads like trapping mortals in their woods, partially as revenge for humans harvesting forests. They're content to allow people to wander for ages. They will usually invite wanderers to a banquet before they starve, and of course the banquet is made up of fairy food.

Dryads will allow bargains to let travelers pass through, though they usually do so after the travelers have gotten irredeemably lost.

Two factors can change their behavior. If the travelers show extreme respect to the forest, being careful to avoid even bending a blade of grass, helping to grow plants, not littering, and so on, the dryads will respectfully allow them to pass through, speeding their journey through the forest to wherever they wish to go. Though the forest likely measures thousands of square miles by mortal terms, passage through it could happen in seconds if it was cooperative.

Conversely, if the travelers threaten the forest in any way, the dryads will become extremely upset and either demand extreme reparation or turn violent. Cutting any plant with an iron implement, starting even a small fire, cutting down a tree, and similar behaviors are not permitted.

**Dryad Abilities**
Dryads are in tune with the forest. They have access to the genius loci and can encourage the forest to reshape itself. Their magic is primarily related to nature and healing, though they have some mental spells and occasional glamour abilities.

Dryads can possess trees, using them like bodies to grab or smash things, though they will keep the tree in place rather than uproot it. In addition to enhanced strength and toughness, they retain all magical abilities while in tree form, and may pass the mental stress of casting on to the tree.