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I am looking for player character races that are plant based/fey based in some way. I am looking for a race to fill the role of "guardian of the forest" or "first race of the forest" or some other "foresty" role. So far what I was able to find was
Volodni: Unapporachable East, pg 15. Plant race. I love the background info. Kind of reminds me of a plant based tiefling/aasimar/genasi. I just don't like the ECL.
Killoren: Races of the Wild, pg 102. Fey race. Not a big fan of them but I do like how they have no ECL. The cold iron anathama is a nice flaw as well.
Do you all know any other races that fit the bill? No elves please.
What max ECL before class levels are you looking for?
Dryad
Needlefolk
Shambling Mound
Thorn
Treant
Forestkith goblins
Forest gnomes
Phanatons
Bamboo (?) spiritfolk
There's a "half-plant" template in Green Ronin's Advanced Bestiary
and the Woodling template from Monster Manual III
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I am looking for things that don't have an ECL. I like how Pathfinder RPG did their races...and I use that...thusly all races get a bit of a bump and all.
I was thinking like for example...genasi are ECL +1 normally. With races are in PFRPG to be honest they are about on the same power level. I houserule that they do not have an ECL.
Anyhow I am looking for low ECL stuff. Like +1
Is there a "living plant" subtype in the same way that a warforged is a "living construct" subtype?
Anyhow I am looking for low ECL stuff. Like +1
Half-Plant only has a +1 LA
I've been working on a "quickwood" or "living plant" sub-type for a race in one of my future campaigns. It's for a race that would fill the half-orc or goliath role.
Drusshee
Drusshee look like they're made from polished wood, with bright golden skin and rich brown veins and knots. Their hair and eye color changes with the seasons: light green in the spring, dark green in the summer, red, gold, and orange in the autumn, and white in the winter.
+2 Str, +2 Wis, -2 Dex.
Medium Size (but see Powerful Build)
Normal Speed (30 feet)
Powerful Build. Drusshee are considered 1 size category larger if it would be beneficial to them. They can wield weapons 1 size category larger than them without penalty, but do not have an increased reach.
Low-light Vision.
+2 racial bonus on saves vs mind affecting effects.
+2 racial bonus on saves vs poison, sleep, paralysis, polymorph, and stunning.
+2 racial bonus on Climb, Survival, and Swim checks.
Fortification. Drusshee have a 5% chance per Hit Die of avoiding extra damage from a critical hit or sneak attack.
Stability. Drusshee gain a +4 racial bonus to their Combat Manuver Bonus when resisting a bullrush, overrun, or trip attempt while standing on the ground.
Involuntary Tree Shape. Between the hours of dawn and dusk, drusshee involuntarily assume tree shape, as the spell of that name.
Fire Vulnerability. Drusshee take 50% more damage from fire, whether or not they make any saving throws against that effect.
Automatic Languages: Common and Sylvan.
Bonus Languages: Celestial, Elven, Giant, Goblin, Terran.
Favored Classes: Barbarian or Druid.
Furthermore, at levels 2, 6, 10, 14, and 18, the drusshee can choose a racial talent from three racial talent trees: A leaf on the wind, Ironwood skin, or Night tree. A drusshee can choose talents from more than one tree, but she must start with the lowest level talents of any talent tree.
A leaf on the wind
2. Fly becomes a class skill, and you can glide with a speed of 40 feet and poor manuverability.
6. You gain limited flight. You can fly for a number of rounds equal to your Strength bonus (minimum 1), although you can glide between rounds of flight. Your flight speed is 40 with average manuverability.
10. You can fly at will with a speed of 40 feet and good manuverability.
14. Your fly speed increases to 60 feet.
18. Your flight manuverability increases to perfect.
Ironwood skin
2. You gain a natural armor bonus of +1.
6. You gain DR 2/cold iron or slashing.
10. Your natural armor bonus increases to +2.
14. You gain DR 5/cold iron or slashing.
18. Your natural armor bonus increases to +4.
Night tree
2. You regain 1 hit point per hit die each hour you remain in tree shape.
6. You gain darkvision 60 feet.
10. You recover 1 point of ability damage per hour spent in tree shape, and you recover 1 point of ability drain per 24 hours spent in tree shape.
14. You gain blindsense 60 feet.
18. You heal 1 hit point per hit die for every 1 minute you spend in tree shape
I LOVE the Spiritfolk from the 3e Oriental Adventures. They're LA +0, and come in bamboo (forest) and river varieties, and maybe one or two others as well (Sea? Mountains?).
Working on a wilderness/fey-heavy adventure myself, for 4e, but pillaging broadly from earlier editions' creatures/ideas. I found this list on Enworld to be quite handy, All the Different Types of Fey. Besides the names, it provides references for lookup, and includes variations (for example it offers 3 different incarnations of Boggarts).
While the first post contains the list, I think the ensuing thread has some useful stuff as well. HtH.
Kitsune as a PC class from Kobold Quarterly website?
Have you used the Fey-touched template? (Still available somewhere on Wizards website.)
Mephlings from the planar handbook might be a good choice: They are LA +1 and come in elemental flavors, they are native outsiders but that could be changed to fey easily enough without any other effect mechanically.
Read over real quick. I take it that the Drusshee was made for Pathfinder?I've been working on a "quickwood" or "living plant" sub-type for a race in one of my future campaigns. It's for a race that would fill the half-orc or goliath role.
Drusshee
Yeah, I made it for a Pathfinder campaign I plan on doing in a couple years (after my current 3.5 campaign resolves itself and then my D20 Future Firefly campaign begins and ends).
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Smilodan...consider your creation yoinked for a future campaign. I like it. I like the suggestions you all come up with here. A friend of mine came up with a "pathfinderized" version of the Goliath from Races of Stone, which I liked that made it a ECL +0. which is this:
- +4 STR, -2 DEX, +2 CON, -2 INT. Goliaths are massively muscled, but their bulk sometimes gets in the way when they're trying to be nimble. Also, their largely primitive lifestyle does not lend itself well to intensive book learning.
- Humanoid: Goliaths now possess the Humanoid creature type.
- Goliaths gain darkvision 60 ft.
- Acclimated: The reference to Mountain Travel can be found on page 319 of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Beta Playtest.
- Favored Class: Add Druid as a choice for a goliath's Favored Class.
Using that as a model for reducing a higher ECL race to something lower, for my unnamed plant race I used the Volodni from Unapproachable East as a starting point. I liked the fluff written on them and kinda envision the race like them in many ways...but there was things I wanted to change and converted them. Here is what I came up with.
- +4 CON, +2 Wis, -2 Int, -2 Cha
- Humanoid
- Low-Light Vision
- Study: +1 natural AC
- Plant Anatomy: 50% chance to negate critical hits and sneak attacks.
- Plant Mind:+2 to saves vs. mind-affecting effects, poison, sleep, paralysis, polymorph and stunning.
- Plant Feeding: If in direct sunlight for a total of 4 hours in a day, they do not need food.
- Camoflauge: +2 racial bonus to hide in forest type settings
- Favored Class: Add Druid and Scout
So...whatcha think?
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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Using that as a model for reducing a higher ECL race to something lower, for my unnamed plant race I used the Volodni from Unapproachable East as a starting point. I liked the fluff written on them and kinda envision the race like them in many ways...but there was things I wanted to change and converted them. Here is what I came up with.
- +4 CON, +2 Wis, -2 Int, -2 Cha
- Humanoid
- Low-Light Vision
- Study: +1 natural AC
- Plant Anatomy: 50% chance to negate critical hits and sneak attacks.
- Plant Mind:+2 to saves vs. mind-affecting effects, poison, sleep, paralysis, polymorph and stunning.
- Plant Feeding: If in direct sunlight for a total of 4 hours in a day, they do not need food.
- Camoflauge: +2 racial bonus to hide in forest type settings
- Favored Class: Add Druid and Scout
So...whatcha think?
I'm always wary about tweaking a later race, as part of the Pathfinderization was that later races/classes were faster/stronger/better than the core options.
I'd drop the plant anatomy to 25% and maybe give them a fatigued penalty if they go a day without sunlight. Else they're too good for LA 0.
Are they vulnerable/benefit from plant spells? I'm thinking plant growth and anti-plant shell as examples. Though entangling themselves would (wood?) be funny
I have to admit that I'm against the +4/+2/-2/-2 to abilities as opposed to +2/+2/+0. Higher scores are progressively harder to get, using a point-buy ability generation; the +4 races will become nothing but skeevy means to bypass that. The goliath, as listed, automatically becomes the default race for all barbarians because it's far better suited than either the human or half-orc. A +3/+2/-2/-2 instead of +4/+2/-2/-2 might be a better solution, if for some reason the standard +2/+2/+0 isn't acceptable.
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- +2 CON, +2 Wis, -2 Int, -2 Cha
- Humanoid
- Low-Light Vision
- Study: +1 natural AC
- Plant Anatomy: 25% chance to negate critical hits and sneak attacks.
- Plant Mind:+2 to saves vs. mind-affecting effects, poison, sleep, paralysis, polymorph and stunning.
- Plant Feeding: If in direct sunlight for a total of 4 hours in a day, they do not need food. If they do not have sunlight they can subsitute double the amount of rations for a creature of that size.
- Camoflauge: +2 racial bonus to hide in forest type settings
- Favored Class: Add Druid and Scout
FIFY...I messed up also on the stat mods.
I was thinking, no...nothng special with plants. Charm Plants don't do anything to them. Plant spells are not in anyway special. I was thinking maybe a vulnerability to fire. I am kinda thinking this thing is to plants and humans as are tieflings are to humans and demons.
Well, there's an ECL 0 plant race in Lands of the Jade Oath, forthcoming from Rite Publishing. It's even up as a preview. Clicking the link will download it directly. It's an Arcana Evolved-style race, meaning it has only +2/-2 on one stat apiece. (A format I rather like.)
http://ritepublishing.com/images/Jade_Oath_-_Mandragoran_preview.pdf
The cactacae from Perdido Street Station were statted up in Dragon #352.
Did they have DR X/slashing?
The cactacae from Perdido Street Station were statted up in Dragon #352.Did they have DR X/slashing?No, +1 natural armor.
And their spines do lethal damage on successful grapples. :-D
Lame. Those chackra-bows or whatever were designed for and by cactacae to slice through them because they were resistant to normal arrows, bolts, quarrels, and sling bullets. Oh, well.
It's hard designing plant-based PCs because you want to throw so many plant-like traits at them (stability, DR X/slashing, light healing, photosynthesis, fortification, resistance or immunity to mind-affecting effects, poison, etc., natural armor bark, thorns, vines, fruit-grenades, seeds, spores, pollen, etc.) that they get really complex and over-powered fast.
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Lame. Those chackra-bows or whatever were designed for and by cactacae to slice through them because they were resistant to normal arrows, bolts, quarrels, and sling bullets. Oh, well.
It's hard designing plant-based PCs because you want to throw so many plant-like traits at them (stability, DR X/slashing, light healing, photosynthesis, fortification, resistance or immunity to mind-affecting effects, poison, etc., natural armor bark, thorns, vines, fruit-grenades, seeds, spores, pollen, etc.) that they get really complex and over-powered fast.
Eh, take it up with Wolfgang, he did the adaptation.
I think the issue is that fantasy fiction and gaming play mechanics do not always line up nicely. You shouldn't have an ECL 0 or 1 race that has disintegrate at will. In a fantasy novel, such a race could easily appear in the books without harming the novel. So cactacae equipment isn't going to work the same. Conversely, they have wooden bones (see The Scar), so I could make an argument that despite being plants they should be subject to criticals in D&D. Hm, wait, I think that's the way the writeup is. Don't have it in front of me.
Eh, take it up with Wolfgang, he did the adaptation.Lame. Those chackra-bows or whatever were designed for and by cactacae to slice through them because they were resistant to normal arrows, bolts, quarrels, and sling bullets. Oh, well.
It's hard designing plant-based PCs because you want to throw so many plant-like traits at them (stability, DR X/slashing, light healing, photosynthesis, fortification, resistance or immunity to mind-affecting effects, poison, etc., natural armor bark, thorns, vines, fruit-grenades, seeds, spores, pollen, etc.) that they get really complex and over-powered fast.
WOLFGANG!!!!
**shakes fists in mock rage**
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- +2 CON, +2 Wis, -2 Int, -2 Cha
- Humanoid
- Low-Light Vision
- Study: +1 natural AC
- Plant Anatomy: 25% chance to negate critical hits and sneak attacks.
- Plant Mind:+2 to saves vs. mind-affecting effects, poison, sleep, paralysis, polymorph and stunning.
- Plant Feeding: If in direct sunlight for a total of 4 hours in a day, they do not need food. If they do not have sunlight they can subsitute double the amount of rations for a creature of that size.
- Camoflauge: +2 racial bonus to hide in forest type settings
- Favored Class: Add Druid and Scout
FIFY...I messed up also on the stat mods.
I was thinking, no...nothng special with plants. Charm Plants don't do anything to them. Plant spells are not in anyway special. I was thinking maybe a vulnerability to fire. I am kinda thinking this thing is to plants and humans as are tieflings are to humans and demons.
I love this idea!