Wood woads were Plant guardians shaped like Humanoids, created through a grim ritual that bound a living soul into eternal service. Their bodies were thick and bark-covered, with branchlike hands, rootlike feet, and dark, sunken eyes. Though they lived as plants, nourished by soil, water, air, and sunlight, their strength and endurance gave them the presence of tireless warriors. Some stood watch over sacred groves or druidic sites, while others patrolled forests, striking back at those who harmed the trees they protected. Once given a duty, a wood woad carried it out with unwavering loyalty, often becoming fearsome defenders of the wild.
In the natural world, wood woads often worked alongside Druids, Dryads, and other woodland allies, sharing a single purpose in defense of the forest. While they could reproduce naturally through seeds, many were born of ritual sacrifice, where the heart and blood of a living being were used to bind its spirit into plant form. If freed from their original duty, such wood woads often chose new homes or beings to protect, continuing their role as guardians.
Beyond their martial strength, their bark held value to Alchemists, who extracted salts to craft elixirs of barkskin, making them not only defenders of the forest but also a source of rare and powerful materials.