The Ghoran are a race of plantfolk creatures from Golarion. In my howebrew game they came to be when a goddess of nature made the flowers and bushes into living beings (forming trees into ents and small plants into Leshies). My attempt to make the Pathfinder race 5e viable is as follows (with constructive criticism from others).
Lore: On the world of Marithor the demigoddess, Fantasia, crafted the Ghorans in her own image to keep her company in the depths of the Wild Wood. They came into being alongside the Tree Barons (treants) and the Leshies ("Children of Fantasia"). The Ghorans have lived in small communities alongside such other plant-folk for the last few centuries, rarely interacting with humanoids from beyond the wood, but infrequently meeting Wild Elves and Green Merfolk, with whom they get along with, owing likely to the elves and merfolks general reverence of nature.
Ability Score Increase: +2 to Charisma, +1 to Constitution: A Ghoran's flowery nature makes them beautiful and mysteriously charismatic, and their wood-like body is more duable than most animal flesh.
Age: Ghorans reach physical and psychological maturity in 2 years, and they can live to an average of 200 and a maximum of 300 years. Despite this, a Ghoran can remove the core seed from their abdomen (that which they were originally born from) and plant it. Doing so incurs 1 level of unremovable exhaustion. The seed, if taken care of, sprouts into a new Ghoran in 2d6 days and once it does the original dies and is replaced by the new one (in all but age). Ghorans can still produce seeds that will produce offspring without killing them.
Alignment: Ghorans are typically neutral and have no tendencies between good and evil. They struggle to understand right and wrong in the context of non-plant based humanoid societies.
Creature Type: You are a Plant.
Size: Ghorans are 5 to 6 feet tall and can weigh between 120 and 180 pounds. A Ghoran's size is Medium.
Speed: You have a walking speed of 30 feet.
Genderless(optional): Due to a Ghorans plant nature, they are biologically both male and female (by plant standards). Most often Ghorans will define themselves as female however.
Barkskin: A Ghoran's flesh is tough and woody like plant bark. When you aren’t wearing armor, your AC is 12 + your Dexterity modifier. You can use your natural armor to determine your AC if the armor you wear would leave you with a lower AC. A shield’s benefits apply as normal while you use your natural armor.
Innate Spellcasting: A Ghoran is capable of casting some spells naturally. A Ghoran can cast each of the following spells once per day without spending a spell slot: Detect Poison and Disease, Goodberry, Purify Food and Drink. Once you cast any of these spells, you cannot cast that spell again with this trait until you finish a short or long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Past Life Knowledge: A Ghoran always treats Arcana, History, Medicine, Nature, and Religion as class skills. If a Ghoran would receive proficiency in one or more skills of their choice derived from their class skill list, they may choose to take proficiency in one of the above skills instead.
(Note: The above skills are always treated as class skills by Ghorans, they cannot be changed by the "Customize your Origins" options in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything. This is because the above skills represent "Knowledge Skills" which are retained through reincarnation.)
Light Dependent: Ghorans are heavily light dependent as plants tend to be, and so If you fail to expose yourself to natural light for at least 1 hour during a day, you suffer one level of exhaustion at the end of that day. You can only recover from this exhaustion through magic or by exposing yourself in natural light for at least 1 hour. (Natural light most often refers to direct sunlight and does not include light produced by magic or through the use of tools or fire, including but not limited to torches, lanterns, or candles)
Racial Feat: Ghoran Magic: Prerequisite: Ghoran (Level 4+); You learn the Charm Person as a 3rd level spell, Plant Growth, and Dispel Magic, which you can cast once per day without expending a spell slot through the use of your Innate spellcasting trait. Once you cast any of these spells you cannot cast that spell again until you finish a Long Rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
As a DM that runs homebrew a lot, I like this race, and might even offer it to my players. Mechanically: It seems relatively balanced, as much as 5e can be. It may be a touch strong, but nothing particularly game breaking I think. The only minor thing is the once-per-day casting of Goodberry though, in certain campaigns, ex. ToA, or any other jungle/desert/wastes adventuring campaign, Goodberry and the other spells can take away a lot of the danger of the environment. Being able to instantly cure disease, purify any food, and sustain the party without even using actual food, while can be done by Druids, actually hinders them by taking a spell slot. However, in most campaigns, it's perfectly fine. SO honestly, it seems ok to be played.
Roleplay wise: SO cool looking! A plant race could be amazing for roleplay opportunities, it kind of reminds me of the "to be greeted with stares and whispers" phrase from the Tiefling's description, since they would probably be greeted the same way, due to their monstrous-looking nature, while still being charismatic, again like the Tieflings. Could lead to some interesting racial-based encounters, and could have some amazing Warlock possibilities, using Fantasia or another nature-deity.
All in all, looks pretty good! A good adaption from Pathfinder, and playable while being neat. :)
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The Ghoran are a race of plantfolk creatures from Golarion. In my howebrew game they came to be when a goddess of nature made the flowers and bushes into living beings (forming trees into ents and small plants into Leshies). My attempt to make the Pathfinder race 5e viable is as follows (with constructive criticism from others).
Lore: On the world of Marithor the demigoddess, Fantasia, crafted the Ghorans in her own image to keep her company in the depths of the Wild Wood. They came into being alongside the Tree Barons (treants) and the Leshies ("Children of Fantasia"). The Ghorans have lived in small communities alongside such other plant-folk for the last few centuries, rarely interacting with humanoids from beyond the wood, but infrequently meeting Wild Elves and Green Merfolk, with whom they get along with, owing likely to the elves and merfolks general reverence of nature.
Ability Score Increase: +2 to Charisma, +1 to Constitution: A Ghoran's flowery nature makes them beautiful and mysteriously charismatic, and their wood-like body is more duable than most animal flesh.
Age: Ghorans reach physical and psychological maturity in 2 years, and they can live to an average of 200 and a maximum of 300 years. Despite this, a Ghoran can remove the core seed from their abdomen (that which they were originally born from) and plant it. Doing so incurs 1 level of unremovable exhaustion. The seed, if taken care of, sprouts into a new Ghoran in 2d6 days and once it does the original dies and is replaced by the new one (in all but age). Ghorans can still produce seeds that will produce offspring without killing them.
Alignment: Ghorans are typically neutral and have no tendencies between good and evil. They struggle to understand right and wrong in the context of non-plant based humanoid societies.
Creature Type: You are a Plant.
Size: Ghorans are 5 to 6 feet tall and can weigh between 120 and 180 pounds. A Ghoran's size is Medium.
Speed: You have a walking speed of 30 feet.
Genderless (optional): Due to a Ghorans plant nature, they are biologically both male and female (by plant standards). Most often Ghorans will define themselves as female however.
Barkskin: A Ghoran's flesh is tough and woody like plant bark. When you aren’t wearing armor, your AC is 12 + your Dexterity modifier. You can use your natural armor to determine your AC if the armor you wear would leave you with a lower AC. A shield’s benefits apply as normal while you use your natural armor.
Innate Spellcasting: A Ghoran is capable of casting some spells naturally. A Ghoran can cast each of the following spells once per day without spending a spell slot: Detect Poison and Disease, Goodberry, Purify Food and Drink. Once you cast any of these spells, you cannot cast that spell again with this trait until you finish a short or long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Past Life Knowledge: A Ghoran always treats Arcana, History, Medicine, Nature, and Religion as class skills. If a Ghoran would receive proficiency in one or more skills of their choice derived from their class skill list, they may choose to take proficiency in one of the above skills instead.
(Note: The above skills are always treated as class skills by Ghorans, they cannot be changed by the "Customize your Origins" options in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything. This is because the above skills represent "Knowledge Skills" which are retained through reincarnation.)
Light Dependent: Ghorans are heavily light dependent as plants tend to be, and so If you fail to expose yourself to natural light for at least 1 hour during a day, you suffer one level of exhaustion at the end of that day. You can only recover from this exhaustion through magic or by exposing yourself in natural light for at least 1 hour. (Natural light most often refers to direct sunlight and does not include light produced by magic or through the use of tools or fire, including but not limited to torches, lanterns, or candles)
Racial Feat: Ghoran Magic: Prerequisite: Ghoran (Level 4+); You learn the Charm Person as a 3rd level spell, Plant Growth, and Dispel Magic, which you can cast once per day without expending a spell slot through the use of your Innate spellcasting trait. Once you cast any of these spells you cannot cast that spell again until you finish a Long Rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
As a DM that runs homebrew a lot, I like this race, and might even offer it to my players. Mechanically: It seems relatively balanced, as much as 5e can be. It may be a touch strong, but nothing particularly game breaking I think. The only minor thing is the once-per-day casting of Goodberry though, in certain campaigns, ex. ToA, or any other jungle/desert/wastes adventuring campaign, Goodberry and the other spells can take away a lot of the danger of the environment. Being able to instantly cure disease, purify any food, and sustain the party without even using actual food, while can be done by Druids, actually hinders them by taking a spell slot. However, in most campaigns, it's perfectly fine. SO honestly, it seems ok to be played.
Roleplay wise: SO cool looking! A plant race could be amazing for roleplay opportunities, it kind of reminds me of the "to be greeted with stares and whispers" phrase from the Tiefling's description, since they would probably be greeted the same way, due to their monstrous-looking nature, while still being charismatic, again like the Tieflings. Could lead to some interesting racial-based encounters, and could have some amazing Warlock possibilities, using Fantasia or another nature-deity.
All in all, looks pretty good! A good adaption from Pathfinder, and playable while being neat. :)