Reed/Spore Dryads

Rhys

Newbie
I've been poking at some Dryad stuff, and while I've seen a number of Thorns, and a couple of Barkskin examples... has anybody played/seen a Reed or a Spore? I've been trying to get an accurate mental image of what an archetypical version of each of them would look like... and I'm not getting a lot of good ideas. I mean, either might be able to work with bits of a ghillie suit, and you can go for moss/lichen bits as a Spore, but I've got no idea on things like facial makeup, hair, etc.
 
Mark Mensch played a pretty kickin' reed, and this guy Paul Vorvick plays an awesome spore.

Mark built a series of armor made out of (if memory serves) bamboo mats, and Paul uses one of those asian cone hats for his fungus. You can see him over the shoulders of others here.
 
I played a Reed Dryad in Oregon. I searched the internet to find fake seaweed and a net (got it at a Christian supply shop). I used bamboo placemats and coasters to make my armor and found a nice green wig to wear (it looks blue in the photo). I also crafted some weapons that look like they were made out of bamboo.

barmor.JPG
 
So I know the rulebook says Dryads "must have some sort of leafy prosthetic", but how mandatory is the "leafy" part for Spores? My fiancee is going to start a Spore Dryad in a couple months and one idea we were discussing is making a prosthetic to look like shelf fungi and attaching it to her on her arms or somewhere else where there is relatively bare skin. We could just get some fake lichen stuff and stick it in her hair, but that seems like the boring way to go.

She also wants to do some purple facepaint (not full face coverage, probably) with white spots (think like this). Given that a lot of fungi are really colorful, I think that's reasonable, but pretty much all Dryads I've seen pictures of are a little more subdued in their coloring. Would that be appropriate for a Spore Dryad?
 
jpariury said:
Paul uses one of those asian cone hats for his fungus. You can see him over the shoulders of others here.

Great, thanks. I'd been thinking that a hat would be appropriate for a spore (or at least some types), but wasn't sure how to do it while making it look cool.
 
markusdark said:
I used bamboo placemats and coasters to make my armor and found a nice green wig to wear (it looks blue in the photo). I also crafted some weapons that look like they were made out of bamboo.

Love the placemat idea, and that crossbow looks seriously sweet. I've seen the suggestion of natural color raffia as a wig/extensions for a Reed, and thought it was cool, just not sure how well it would stand up to the elements/wear & tear.
 
KyleSchmelz said:
She also wants to do some purple facepaint (not full face coverage, probably) with white spots (think like this). Given that a lot of fungi are really colorful, I think that's reasonable, but pretty much all Dryads I've seen pictures of are a little more subdued in their coloring. Would that be appropriate for a Spore Dryad?

I don't think it would get confused for any other race, which seems to be one of the big concerns. It might take people a minute to figure out what she is, mind you, but I'd be all for it. :)
 
SoMN had a spore dryad last season and she used a ton of layers and patchwork. She wore a straw hat with strings hanging down and had a few plant-like-pieces. You could easily tell she was a Dryad, even with light face makeup.

The thing I like about Dryads are if you go into your first game and hate your costume, you can always change it. Since a Dryad is always changing their physical appearance as well as what they're wearing, it's fine to bring something new each time. My Barkskin uses 4 types of make up, 4 unique outfits and 2 wigs (decorated with maple leaves of the season). I have never looked the same as I did an event prior. So feel free to improve/change if it doesn't turn out alright.
 
jpariury said:
I've heard normal people like to wear different clothes too from time to time. ;)

Rumors! Nothing proven.
 
You will definitely want to talk to Paul Vorvick as well. Like JP said, his spore dryad is aweeeesome. I'll try and send him this way in the near future, because his costuming and history is amazing.
 
See if you can get a hold of Samara. She has a reed Child of Autumn NPC, Asherah, who was one of the first CoA found at the National event 3 years ago.

Plus, she wrote most of the packet :)
 
Hi!

I'm Paul. I play a Spore out in Oregon and Seattle.

For costuming, I decided that similar to how other dryads need "inspiration" from plant life, but not a specific kind of plant, so too would Poxy take inspiration from fungus. I decided to start with a green underlayer, then put a canvas vest in off-white over that, and cover it with a coat made of different shades of green. In order to make the coat seem like it had a fungus cap, I made a mantle that falls over my shoulders when I wear it.

In addition, I took a circle of green cloth and put some elastic in the edge, forming a shower-cap-thing. Then I simply pulled the cloth over an asian-style cone hat, and voila! My "mushroom cap" was complete! As for facial makeup, I really like using masks. I made a mask out of plaster to test some color choices (white, pale green, and brown). When that fell apart, I replaced it with a leather mask in similar colors.

Roleplaying-wise, I decided that Spores (unlike all other dryads) deal with dead and decaying things. After all, many fungi live off of waste from plants and animals. To that end, Poxy adopted a little bit of voodoo-esque aesthetic. He's not a necromancer (supposedly), but he does deal in bones, skulls, blood, and decaying bodies. Not necromancy, just . . . the part of nature that gets icky.

I also have a number of roleplaying things I've come up with for Poxy and Spores in general. They're things that I'm trying to reveal out here through roleplaying, but I'd love to talk to you about it. Catch me on Facebook if you want, and then I can also show you the better pictures of me in full Poxy gear.
 
Yeah, I don't think Paul's costume has leafy bits but when you see him there is no doubt in your mind that he is a big mushroom man (aka spore dryad). I think the spirit of the wording was to incorporate plant bits into the costume, having a mushroom cap on head and costume is a pretty good take on it.
 
Aww man. I was thinking about making a Spore Dryad but nixed it. This thread is making me want to do it now (Especially since about 20% of our Chapter will be Biata if I go Biata)

Decisions, decisions *sigh*
 
Spore Dryad? *runs off cackling*
 

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