Homebrew Spriggan Species Details

Spriggan are a strange race of plant-based fey, originating from the wilderness of the Feywild. They live their lives in service to the balance of nature, wandering forests and jungles in order to help the wild places of the world grow and thrive. The spriggan revere life, and a single individual may spend centuries cultivating and guarding a single forest grove.

Branch And Vine

Spriggan are plant fey, and thus are not as bound to the same biology as most races native to the Prime Material Plane. The arcane "heart" of a spriggan is the source of its life; the body grows and takes shape around the crystalline, seedlike structure as the spriggan grows. Appearance may vary wildly between individuals, as a spriggan will often instinctually grow branches, bark, and foliage to mimic the features of a race (or races) they are most familiar with, so as to better integrate with the locals. A spriggan undergoes minor cosmetic alterations to themselves - such as changes in foliage colour or growing vine-like "hair" - with time and the changing of seasons, but is still recognisable as the same individual.

Since they are essentially walking plants, spriggan have no real concept of humanoid gender. They may adopt masculine or feminine forms as they see fit, but will generally elect to retain an androgynous appearance most of the time.

A spriggan’s colouration often changes with the climate and season, though their eyes always faintly glow in some vibrant colour (usually in shades of green or gold). Despite having no need for modesty, spriggan often like to wear colourful clothing & jewelry as a form of self-expression, tending towards bright colours throughout spring and summer while favouring earth tones and muted shades in the autumn & winter.

The Cycle Of Nature

An adult spriggan is functionally ageless, and many will live until they are killed or succumb to natural causes such as disease. Young spriggans grow from the fruit of special trees native to the Feywild. This fruit contains a newly-formed core, around which the sapling spriggan will grow for several years before uprooting themselves and seeking out new places to cultivate and explore. Eventually, they may bear flowers of their own, and return to the Feywild to produce their own fruit-born saplings.

During this cycle, many young spriggan find their way to the worlds of the Material Plane, where they must adapt to their new surroundings. Because of this, they tend to trust in diplomacy and compromise to resolve disputes, though they are fully capable of defending themselves or others through violence, if need be.

"Each tree must bear fruit in its own time, and in its own time, wither and pale. But each year brings another spring, and with it life anew."

-- Archdruid Aril Oakbough, "On The Ways Of All Things"

Exploration and Adventure

Each spriggan has its own personality and motives, though nearly all are driven to seek out the wilds of the Material Plane or bring new growth to barren regions, especially early in life. Many take up the adventuring life, as they are quick to befriend others and eager to learn the ways of other races. They generally find themselves at home in nature, though some do find themselves drawn to cities & settlements near forests, jungles, and swamps. Due to their nature as wardens of living things, they tend to find themselves in the roles of defenders and healers, though they have been known to adopt all manner of trades.

Spriggan Names

Even as saplings, spriggans are innately tied to the Feywild and the Weave, and so they tend to give themselves names inspired by plant life or the fey. They may also take names or titles inspired by the most common races in their chosen location. As they age and experience more of the world, they add further titles, names, and deed-names. An ancient spriggan may have a full name that takes days to fully recite, possibly spanning multiple languages and including entire stories from their life events.

Spriggan Names: Grove the Elder, Woadfellow, Willow-Bends-To-The-River 

"Spriggan names are a chronicle of their memories. To know the full name of a spriggan is an honour - if you can manage to remember the entirety of it without stopping to check your notes."

-- Kailin Idrathi, ranger

Spriggan Traits

Your spriggan character has a variety of natural abilities as a result of its plant & Feywild origins.

Creature Type

You are a Fey and Plant.

Size

You are Medium or Small. You choose the size when you select this race.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Age

Spriggans reach maturity around the age of 25, and can live for several centuries (barring external causes of death). The natural extent of their lifespan is not completely known, but they have so far been recorded as living up to 700 years.

Darkvision

Accustomed to twilit forests and the night sky, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Fey Origins

You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can’t put you to sleep.

One With Nature

Spriggans don’t need to sleep in the traditional sense. Instead, they meditate deeply, remaining semiconscious, for 4 hours a day. During such time, the spriggan remains perfectly still, indistinguishable from a normal tree or shrub except on close inspection. After resting in this way, you gain the same benefit that a human does from 8 hours of sleep.
You may also obtain nutrition equal to a day's rations by spending the duration of your trance in direct sunlight, or with your feet buried in moist soil.

Furthermore, Spriggans can Speak with Beasts and Plants as if it shared a language with them.

Spirit Of The Forest

You know the Druidcraft cantrip. This does not count towards your cantrips known for any spellcasting class.
You also know the Entangle spell when you reach character level 3, and the Barkskin spell when you reach character level 5. These do not count towards your spells known for any class, and they do not use prepared spell slots. Once you use these spell in this way, you cannot use them again until you have completed a long rest.

You may choose Charisma, Intelligence, or Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for these spells at race selection.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language. Most Spriggans speak Sylvan, though some do not.