Heart Of The Forest - Playable Dryad Race
🟠 Updated over a year ago⚠️ Install Order · 2 steps
Install in this order, then this mod last — most mods fail to load without their framework and dependencies in place.
Preview

🔍 Analysis
- 👍 0.8% endorsement rate
- 🏆 #48 of 77 Races mods in this game by downloads
📋 About This Mod
Who are you...?
This mod adds a new playable race with four subraces, four bodytypes, new race progressions, a unique acorn mechanic, immersive character tags, guardians, CC options, and more. This mod overwrites the “Wood Elf” tag with the “Dryad” tag--see “Known Issues and Quirks” for more details.
Racial Progressions
The Dryad racial progressions are inspired by the vanilla game Dryad summon, and are based around harnessing the power of nature to great effect. As your dryad levels up, they will be able to mimic barkskin, resist magical effects, summon other dryads to their aid, and more. The race is intended to be quite strong, and it’s recommended to use mods that increase the difficulty of the game if you prefer a greater challenge.
Wiki links for the vanilla abilities/passives:
https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Darkvision
https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Fey_Ancestry
https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Barkskin
https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Permanently_Armed
https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Fallen_Lover
https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Magic_Resistance
https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Conjure_Woodland_Being
https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Nature%27s_Step
https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Grasp_of_the_Forest
Customization Options
A dryad’s appearance may change along with the season or environment from which they come. Thus, this mod adds four subraces, each themed after a certain season. Each subrace comes with its own unique appearance options and its own starting cantrip.
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[]Spring Dryad - Entangle (Dryad ver.)
[
]Summer Dryad - Fire Bolt[]Autumn Dryad - Shocking Grasp
[]Winter Dryad - Ray of Frost
The mod comes with custom leafy underwear that is equipped on dryads by default. The underwear has a different design for each subrace, in keeping with how leaves might appear during that season.
Currently, elf and half-elf heads are available for dryads, as well as one custom dryad head. The custom dryad head supports maturity slider, while the other heads do not. However, they all support scarring, tattoos, freckles, and vitiligo.
Want extra heads? Check out Love test Dryad head for all, with five variants!
The mod also comes with two hairstyles, “Medusa's Locks”, which is a mashup variation of the “Dryad” and “Gorgon” vanilla hairstyles, and "Braids of Stheno", which is a mashup variation of the "Bruenor Braids" and "Portrait Model" vanilla hairstyles.
Heart Of The Forest adds a playable Dryad race to Baldur's Gate 3, inspired by the game's Dryads. It features four season-themed subraces with glowing tattoos and an Acorn of Far Travel item. With 533 endorsements and 63,414 downloads, it's a popular race mod for players seeking nature-themed character options.
✨ Key Features
📊 Pros & Cons
✅ Pros
- Community-approved with 533 endorsements and 63k downloads—clearly a hit.
- Four subraces give you real variety, not just a single reskin.
- Glowing tattoos and the Acorn of Far Travel add nice flavor for roleplay.
⚠️ Cons
- Last updated March 2025—might not be compatible with the latest patches.
- Only cosmetic and racial features—no new quests or gameplay mechanics.
For Baldur's Gate 3 players who want to roleplay as a nature-themed character with unique visuals. Great for fans of druid-like aesthetics who want more race options. Skip if you're looking for gameplay overhauls—this is purely a race addition.
💡 Beginner Tips
- Use a mod manager like Vortex or BG3 Mod Manager to install and manage load order.
- Check the mod's page for any required dependencies or patch notes before installing.
- If you're playing multiplayer, ensure all players have the mod installed to avoid sync issues.
📊 Mod Details
- Game
- Baldurs Gate 3 Mods
- Author
- EmeraldTechno
- Version
- 1.2.1
- Downloads
- 63,414
- Endorsements
- 533
- Category
- Races
- Created
- 2/4/2024
- Updated
- 3/2/2025
🔧 How to Install Baldurs Gate 3 Mods
Download from Nexus.
📖 Full step-by-step install guide for Baldurs Gate 3 →
Visit the official mod page for specific installation instructions for this mod.
🎮 Need cheat codes or console commands? Check ur gaming wiki for Baldurs Gate 3 commands, item IDs, and more.
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