Homebrew Alraun Species Details

Dwelling in places where flora is abundant and born out of dryadic heritage, the alrauns protect nature fiercely. Free from being bound to a tree, alrauns are closely related to dryads, but are less fey-like in nature and more connected to the plants and people of the material plane. Much of their biology is replaced by magic vegetable matter, making them also somewhat sturdy.

There are a few different ways known how alrauns are born or created, though each of them is still a rather rare occurence. Most of the time, a newborn dryad merges with the still very young tree that it is bonded to. There are also stories about human or elven children having a connection to a magical sapling and one day merging with it, creating an alraun.

One story tells of a human man who was in love with a dryad, causing another jealous woman to succumb to grief and anger. Shortly after the dryads daughter was born, the woman decided to destroy the tree the child was bonded to, and managed to cut it down. The child immediately began to slowly wither and was about to die. The man pleaded with an archfey to save his daughter, and the archfey told him to bring her to the remains of the tree. She began to merge with the plant, taking it´s essence into herself, and became the first alraun.

Afraid of fire

Being composed largely of plant life, alrauns are uncomfortable with open flames, but are not necessarily more vulnerable than regular humans or dryads. Still, the plants in them flinch from close fire or fiery attacks, and alrauns prefer not to stay close to or walk towards things like bonfires or lit fireplaces.

Humanoid Plants

Alrauns can have a multitude of skin and hair colours, usually reflecting the vegetation of their home. They are usually build like humans or elves, being 5 feet to a little over 6 feet tall and weighting between 100 to 200 pounds. Their skin and hair tends to be greenish, but could potentially have all kinds of colours found in petals and plants, which also extends to the colouration of their irises, though in some cases their eyes can be fully black. They also often have brightly coloured markings and stripes on their skin.

Alrauns are adorned with a multitude of leaves, petals and branches in various colors and sizes, which grow from different parts of their body, sometimes replacing hair. Alrauns living close to or in societies often wear clothes or armour as well, which is usually intertwined with the ever growing plants after some time. They also vary in their home biome, with few alrauns living in savannahs, swamps or densly grown jungles. Their appearence reflects their home biome, especially in the form of the plants that grow from them.

Unbound Dryads

Alrauns can walk the world freely, and enjoy doing so. They can live amongst other people more easily than dryads, but like them they usually prefer to live close to the wilderness which they feel connected to. Due to being wild in nature, they are often outsiders in most societies and have difficulty connecting with "civilized" people. They also tend to be slow of trust, but can become quite jovial and loyal to those who actually manage to win their friendship.

Some alrauns do stay at forests or societies they call home, usually after they had a long life of traveling. They often take jobs as druids, gardeners or healers, and some alrauns lead nomadic trides as shamans. Since alrauns are extremely rare, most spend their life without ever meeting another one of their kind, so alraun societies are unheard of, and they stick to dryads or parent races instead.

Alrauns, dryads and humans

Similar to how half-elves don´t really fit in either human or elf societies, alrauns have similar difficulties with dryads and the people of their other parents. Dryads often don´t understand the urge to visit other forests and places, and humans or elves are rarely as connected to plantlife as their child is. This encourages alrauns even further to leave their home, enjoying the company of other travelers or druids instead.

Alraun Names

Alrauns tend to have names similar to plants or flowers, like Rose, Lavender or Birch. Alrauns raised by humans or elves or created through mutation tend to also have a name from their non-dryad parents.

Alraun Traits

Your alraun character has certain characteristics in common with all other alraun.

Ability Score Increase

Your Constitution score increases by 1, and your Wisdom score increases by 2.

Age

Alraun mature at a bit slower as humans and reach adulthood in their early twenties. They live longer than humans do, up to 200 years.

Alignment

In tune with nature and usually living far from civilization, alrauns tend toward a chaotic neutral or chaotic good alignment.

Size

Alrauns are built like slender humans or elves and stand anywhere from 5 feet to over 6 feet tall. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Humanoid Plant

Your creature type is both humanoid and plant. If you take a short rest in sunlight, you can root yourself into earth and absorb sunlight, replacing the need to eat for up to half a day.

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.

At Home In Nature

You have proficiency in the Nature skill.

Dryadic Heritage

You know the druidcraft cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the entangle spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. When you reach 5th level, you can cast the locate animals or plants spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

Fey Connection

You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and Sylvan. Sylvan is a melodic, soft language and rich in vocabulary to describe natural phenomena and spiritual forces.

Plant Empathy

You can communicate simple messages to plants, and can understand simple concepts and feelings that they convey back to you. These responses are incredibly limited by the plants nature and what it would be able to percieve.