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Dryad (A Potential Race to Consider)

ArchivedUserArchivedUser Guest
edited June 2017 in Ashes of Creation Design
So whether you do this before the game launches, or some time after in a new (2nd) release/patch... I think it would be amazing to see Dryads a potential race in a MMORPG.
Why? From the looks of it, you will have a lot of wilderness and forest-like woods in the environment. Dryads are a mythical tree creature. We always have the typical same ole races in games, such as Elves, humans, dwarves, and orcs. You almost never see Dryads as a playable race in online games. So it would be very new & unique to include this mythical creature as a race in Ashes of Creation! 

A little bit about the folklore of Dryads:
They are a forest dwelling tree Nymph, or tree spirit. They originated from Greek mythology.
Usually, dryads are shy creatures; however they can be powerful, fierce, very intuitive. They are one with mother nature, or Earth. While their appearance is odd & unique, resembling that of an oak tree or ash tree - the females are mesmerizing & beautiful to look at. The males are more fierce & bulky in appearance. Males maybe intriguing to look at, but could also strike fear in their enemies due to their stature.

Creative Personal Ideas for In-Game Folklore:
They are a paganistic race, who worship Mother Earth as their deity. ("mother" being feminine/goddess) For this reason, they are ran as a Matriarchy. Sons grow to be strong warriors and hunters. Daughters grow to be rulers - nurturing & logical for their people & allies, yet ruthless to their enemies. Sons grow to be the army. Daughters grow to lead the army. Despite this, both genders are valued & treated with respect; and everyone is happy to play their part, or role, in their Dryadic society.
+ Summoners could have an elk or mystical sprite/fairy as their companions; or even a centaur would be cool! 
+ Mages are elemental... So the Earthy skills could be a Dryad's strongest skills!
+ A top-notch archer & hunter in the wilderness!
+ Male tanks, as a dryad, due to their stature & size, would be intimidating & tough!

Appearance options in character customization:
1. Various shades of tree bark-looking browns, & forest-like shades of green.
2. They can have wild looking hair, or different types of braids. Maybe even flowers incorporated into hair styles for females.
3. Various shapes & sizes of tree branch style horns!


Comments

  • I like the idea of Dryads as a race very much :)
  • I posted my opinion on the other one you made!
  • i think Dryad would be a awesome race idea as i personally haven't seen it in any other game and always wanted to play one. I always thought it would be cool to be able to be a  Dryad when i played EQ2 however they could have been done alittle better where they didn't slide across the game LOL
  • Certainly sounds like a great xpac idea. I think they're providing enough with the goals they have at the moment, though.

    As for the race itself, perhaps their racial traits could modify their class abilities in such a way to make them favorably interact with game biomes.

    Example: You, a lone dryad have travelled far from your forest home for some reason, you find yourself at the border of a desert. As a Cleric/Cleric Dryad, you decide to heal the land you come to. You cast spells that normally just heal other players, but discover that when used on foreign terrain, it starts to sprout greenery on the desert land.

    We know from the last Livestream they plan on making player abilities have real interaction with the environment. I think the example they gave was a Cleric dispelling a 'curse' in a cave or dungeon, allowing others to enter unharmed.

    Mechanically, I don't know what the effect of "greening" map terrain would do, maybe its just flavor and RP, or maybe it can provide a minor bonus somehow. Not sure.

    They did say current weather/seasons could alter a spell's effectiveness, i.e. a fireball is better in summer, worse in winter. Maybe a Dryads greenery helps a Ranger track better, or a Cleric regenerate faster, or something along those lines. Very flavorful. I would play it just to 'green the earth', so to speak.
  • What a great idea!   Who doesn't love a Dryad!  
  • I love it, however I'm sure that the fourth picture across at the top row is a drawing of gw2s sylvari race... so some work might need to be done to work on find tuning things
  • ArchivedUserArchivedUser Guest
    edited July 2017
    Usually i always pick Human, but i could make an exception  for a Dryad.
  • I hope to see a race like this one day. She would be lavender themed lol. this would be a nature spirit race huh?
  • GW2 Sylvari have come the closest to being able to play a Dryad
  • If there are tree people then I want to be undead 
  • Nature and Dryads always get my vote!
  • As most have stated...wonderful idea but would have to be down the road. I do like the examples. 
  • I always loved my Sylvari in GW2
  • Almost forgot there were tree people in DAoC.  Sylvan?  they were good at using sythes.
  • Hopefully we get alot of fun racial skins in the future.
  • Pinkberry said:
    Hopefully we get alot of fun racial skins in the future.
    Undead Undead Undead ^^


  • nagash said:
    Pinkberry said:
    Hopefully we get alot of fun racial skins in the future.
    Undead Undead Undead ^^


    Lol no more nagash we got enough dead gloomy things around here as it is.

    Its time to glossy up a bit with some other stuff, ohhh i know go get th skins of some druids and pixies for us to wear. 

    Put that power to uses.......pixie skins
  • Pinkberry said:
    nagash said:
    Pinkberry said:
    Hopefully we get alot of fun racial skins in the future.
    Undead Undead Undead ^^


    Lol no more nagash we got enough dead gloomy things around here as it is.

    Its time to glossy up a bit with some other stuff, ohhh i know go get th skins of some druids and pixies for us to wear. 

    Put that power to uses.......pixie skins
    I will just wait and bide my time, In the end all things wither and die. 
  • Maybe i am being brainwashed...but an Undead race would be pretty cool.
  • I vote yes!
  • So the list of races we wanna see later down the road are: Dryads - nature n tree spirits
    Water nymphs - water spirits (not elf) 
    Undead - litch king, ghoul, zombie

    These are 2 ideas just to add.
    Bird race - before they became corrupted (lovebird themed bard lol)
    Insect race - humanoid bugs (instead of lizard people)
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