Homebrew Folivan Species Details

“When the wood-gatherers went missing, we sent out a few men to find them.  Only one returned to us – babbling about the trees themselves.  Said that they tore the others apart limb from limb.  At first, I thought he had enjoyed a bit too much ale – until the next morning, when the corpses of the missing appeared, hanging from vines above our camp.”

A race nearly as ancient as the dragons themselves, little is known about the plant-folk known as Folivans.  Some sages and scholars have hypothesized that they are related to the treants, while others argue that the same magic that gave rise to shambling mounds created them.  Regardless of their origins, Folivans are deeply tied to the natural workings of the world. Folivans are most commonly found in the deepest, untouched wilderness of Faerun, far from civilized society.  While not naturally aggressive, Folivans become fiercely protective of their wild homes, and they will react violently to anyone who dares to violate or despoil these sacred sites.

Appearance

Folivans appear as an amalgam of various plants that have taken humanoid shape.  They average Folivan will, at a distance, appear mostly man-shaped and walking upright, standing between 5 and 6 feet tall and weighing between 200 and 300 pounds.  However, a closer inspection reveals that these plant-folk are human-like only vaguely.  Their limbs and bodies appear to be made of twisted vines and mosses, with their arms, chests, and legs sheathed in rough bark - however, their specific appearance will vary greatly based on the vegetation in the vicinity of the are a Folivan grows in.  The Folivans have flat, featureless faces, but with glowing blue or yellow eyes, betraying their sentience.   

Secluded Guardians of the Wild

Folivans do not usually form true societies, and will rarely interact directly even with one another, much less with members of other races.  Sprouting from the windblown seeds of their parent, Folivan youth do not interact with their parents – however, a measure of the wisdom of the parents, as well as their ancestors, is passed along within the seed.  The remainder of what teaches a Folivan, and what shapes much of its worldview, comes through communion with the plants surrounding them as they grow.  As such, a Folivan which grows in unspoiled forest will be wiser and more intelligent than an unfortunate seed which lands in the midst of civilized areas.  These unlucky creatures are often driven to madness from isolation, and rarely reach maturity.  For any Folivan, they will typically react peaceably upon encountering other members of their species – most often this occurs if one has been driven out from their native habitat.  The newly arrived individual benefits through finding a suitable habitat to survive in, while the original resident gains further knowledge of the world around it.

Much like dryads and treants, Folivans view themselves as a guardian of the natural world.   Many members of this species are naturally drawn to a druidic way of life, and will react favorably to druids and rangers of any race due to their shared worldview.  However, they are slow to trust, as harsh experience has taught Folivans that most humanoids are violators of the natural order, and will seek to exploit the wilderness for monetary gain.  While some members of other races are willing to try and win the trust of these plant people, it is made more difficult due to the difference in perspective.  As plants, Folivans view the world from a perspective entirely alien to other races, in no small part due to time.  A Folivan is still considered young until it has passed 150 years of age, and they can live anywhere from 700 to 1000 years.  As such, only the most devoted of elves typically earn the friendship of a Folivan. 

Folivan adventurers are rare, but do occasionally occur.  Individual plant-folk most often take up adventuring for the purpose of defending their homeland, but may also be individuals whose homeland was eradicated and seek either vengeance or a new forest to call home.

Names

Folivans do not typically assign names to themselves, but those that have interacted with other races recognize the need of others to differentiate and identify them.  Such Folivans adopt the names of vegetation that they share their environment with.

Folivan Traits

Folivans possess the following traits:

Ability Score

Ability Scores: Your Wisdom score increases by 2, and your Constitution increases by 1

 

Fear of Flames

As a plant, fire does double damage to you.

Deep Roots

As long as you are in contact with the ground, your roots provide you with tremorsense up to 30 feet

Photosynthetic

Folivans do not require food, provided that they have at least 4 hours of sunlight and contact with the ground.  Additionally, Folivans are resistant to radiant damage

Thick Bark

The tough bark which covers much of the body of a Folivan provides a natural armor bonus of 13 + your Dexterity modifier.  This bonus does not apply if wearing armor, but you can use a shield and still gain this bonus.

Vine Lash

You can manipulate the vines that make up your body, and make a melee attack using them.  Rather than the normal unarmed damage dealt, your thorny vines deal 1d4 + Strength slashing damage.  Additionally, upon a successful hit the opponent must make a DC 13 Str check.  Upon a failed save, the opponent is grappled, and will take 1d4 piercing damage at the start of each of their turns until the grapple is broken.  You can grapple only 1 creature at a time.