Playable Treefolk Race: Floran (PEACH)

[Steel Mirror]

Along the lines of my attempt at a playable Centaur (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?371224-Centaur-Player-Race-(PEACH))for 5E, this is a player race similar to a dryad or a man-sized Ent. Floran are animated plants that adopt a humanoid shape as part of their lifecycle, in order to go forth and experience the world.

They are perpetual outsiders to the realms in which they travel, delighted to take part in new cultures and endeavors but never quite belonging. They can come across as slow and unintelligent, but that is only because they live by a different rhythm than animals do. They can seem naive and unworldly but, well, that’s why they travel!

My goal is to make them neither under nor overpowered, interesting to play and to RP, and to work for a wide variety of possible classes. The fluff in particular I tried to write to set them apart from the rest of the races in the 5E PHB. I welcome any feedback, so thanks for looking! If you only want to see the game mechanics, skip straight to the Floran Traits section. I could use lots of feedback there, I think-I did my best, but some of the racial powers feel wordy and clunky, and I have no idea if the race as a whole is balanced.

Floran
http://s9.postimg.org/444c6ms0f/dryad_sketch_by_igorkieryluk_d5eh7gi_plus_forest.j pg
Artist Credit: rickyryan (http://rickyryan.deviantart.com/) on deviantart: picture (http://www.deviantart.com/art/Forest-Dryad-267499808)
igorkieryluk (http://igorkieryluk.deviantart.com/)on deviantart: picture (http://www.deviantart.com/art/dryad-sketch-326648322)

Floran are living, bipedal plants that travel the world in order to bring new skills and experiences back to their ancestral forest. All floran are basically human shaped. Some appear as idealized men and women exquisitely carved from fine wood, while others never quite pick up the trick of blending in, and look like shambling brutes made of bark and branches. Whatever their appearance, floran are known for their inquisitiveness, patience, and their love of songs.

A Unique Lifecycle

Floran are among the longest lived beings in the world, though thanks to their unusual life cycle the casual observer might never notice. A floran begins as a seed, then spends about 20 years as a sapling. Saplings are active only for brief periods, and has about the mental faculties of a human infant. Whole groves of saplings spend their infancy under the watchful gaze of rooted adult floran, to whom even a few hours of movement a week counts as rambunctious youth.

When a floran reaches about 5 feet tall, it begins to fill out and achieve the rough proportions and facial appearance of a human. It begins to move around more, and acquires the ability to speak. A few years after that, when the grove judges that they’ve taught the young floran what they can, the child is granted money and supplies to strike out on its own.

The following part of the floran’s life is the only time that most people will ever encounter one. The young floran’s is encouraged to see everything she can of the world and to accrue skills and experiences among the younger races that she’ll never have the chance to pursue again. It is a time of great freedom and experimentation, and although the floran is still considered a child by his own people, among humanoids he tends to be treated as the adult which he resembles. After 30 to 40 years of wandering, learning, adventuring, losing, and generally living life as fully as possible, a floran will seek some place to settle for the rest of his life, usually an established grove with other adults. There he undergoes a process called “rooting”, giving up his ability to walk in order to achieve a much more sedate adulthood.

Floran adults live for centuries, never again straying from the spot where they put down roots. Over this time they achieve truly monumental proportions, sometimes sheltering symbiotic communities of elves, gnomes, and other forest dwellers in their branches. Floran adults are still capable of speech and of moving their limbs, but tend to think, speak, and move very slowly and deliberately. To each other, it is said that they communicate by singing the Song of Seasons, a neverending melody inaudible to most humanoids that sets the tempo of the natural world and is filled with the wisdom of the floran ancients.

Scholars in search of information about the distant past often petition elderly floran for help, but it takes great patience and effort to learn from the ancient treefolk. The stationary floran often ask a service from mobile petitioners in trade for their knowledge.

You Can take the Floran out of the Forest...As the old saying goes, you can take the floran out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the floran. There are a few things that florans find particularly hard about travelling in the world. Fire unnerves them. It doesn't actually harm a floran any more than it does an elf or human, since they are made of green, living wood that is as hard to set on fire as flesh is. They do have an instinctual aversion to it because of the deadly danger it poses to fully grown floran who can't run away from a forest fire. When setting up camp for the night, it isn't uncommon for a floran traveller to seek a patch of ground far away from the open flame.

Another ancient enmity built into the floran's genes is their dislike of the myconids, a race of sentient fungi. After all, barring fire and men with axes, there is little that a centuries-old tree hates and fears more than tree rot. Myconids and floran have been in conflict for millennia, with the floran often enlisting aid from the younger races to stamp out myconid nests in their forests, and myconids infiltrating floran groves in order to infect them with exotic spores and other fungal diseases.

Floran PersonalitiesThe important thing to remember about floran adventurers is that they are still children, even if they usually act and appear like humanoid adults. As plants, they live by a slower rhythm than most animals. They are patient, rarely given to rash action, and can happily sit in silence for hours. On the other hand, they seldom pass up a chance to experience something new, they throw themselves into unfamiliar situations with a lack of embarrassment that most can only envy, and they tend to be surprisingly good singers.

They can be naive to the harsh realities of life among the faster lived races, but even when they discover the world’s merciless truth, they tend to react with philosophical detachment. A denizen of the forest understands about the cycles of death and rebirth, after all.

Floran often find humor difficult to understand, and may attempt to figure it out by repeating jokes that they hear to unsuspecting companions. If their audience does not laugh the first time, they will explain the punch line repeatedly, to help them get it. Though they are too young to have any biological need to mate (and even for adult floran, the process involves flowers and pollinators and seeds more than intimacy and candle-lit dinners), travelling floran find love and humanoid intimacy endlessly fascinating. Floran do have genders, though truth be told it makes little difference to them which one they are. Some floran, especially among the woodnymphs, adopt idealized appearances in order to appeal to humanoids physically and explore this strange and wonderful emotion. Others might take a more scientific interest, asking perhaps to observe a mating couple in order to advance their understanding.

Think of a few common experiences that your floran has never sampled, like going out to a show, being inebriated, cooking a meal, or playing a card game. Perhaps your character might find the chance to do so during the campaign, and might enlist your fellow player characters so that he or she "gets it just right".

Floran Names

Male Names: Anke, Basil, Danaus, Deek, Ghill, Obron, Puck
Female Names: Aspia, Chryssia, Dryope, Eddra, Phoebe
Family Names: Ash, Alder, Birch, Laurel, Hemlock

Floran Traits

Floran live by a slower rhythm and possess patience to humble even the long-lived elves. In their own way, however, every floran is a child, and thus still in the process of becoming the person that they will be for the rest of their epochal lives.

Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 2.
Age. Adventuring floran are considered children by their own people, but by the standards of most races they are adults. Floran leave the forest in their early twenties, and travel for around 40 to 60 years as humanoids. Once they root, they can live well in excess of a thousand years while growing to truly immense size.
Alignment. Floran might seem slow-paced to other races, but they seek to get as much out of life outside as they can. Because they are technically children, they can be surprisingly impressionable and naive about the workings of the world, especially if they just left their forest. They tend toward neutrality, but their experiences as they travel can change their outlook dramatically.
Size. Floran are shorter than humans, and range from 4 and a half to 5 and a half feet tall. Woodnymphs weigh slightly less than a human their height, roothulks slightly more. Your size is medium.
Speed. Your walking speed is 30 feet.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Sylvan and Common. Sylvan is the language of the forest's most secretive denizens, and floran grow up playing with and learning from all manner of pixies, nymphs, and naiads, but they learn Common in order to communicate with the outside world.
Enhanced Regrowth. Floran are beings of the forest, in particular exemplifying nature’s capacity for regrowth. Whenever you roll dice to determine hp healed, e.g. from hit dice, a cure spell targeting you, or your fighter’s second wind, you may reroll any die that rolls a natural 1, taking the new result.
Wooden Flesh. A floran’s wooden body forms a kind of natural armor. Your minimum AC is 13 + Dex modifier. If you don armor it can replace this natural defense, but you cannot benefit from both armor and Wooden Flesh at the same time. You are considered to be wearing light armor with which you are proficient for the purposes of effects and class features, though you may choose not to benefit from this racial feature if an ability (e.g. monk or barbarian AC bonuses) would supersede it.
Vegetative Nature. Floran can eat to sustain themselves, but they can also subsist entirely on water and sunlight if enough of both is provided. As long as you are able to drink regularly and experience at least 4 hours of sun a day, you do not need any other form of nourishment. Spells and effects that target or affect plants affect floran as well.
Subrace. While they are not actually subraces as such, floran can be divided into woodnymphs and roothulks. Choose one group to which you belong.

Floran Woodnymphhttp://s16.postimg.org/cdkcfjzf9/dryadcrop400.jpg
Some floran are naturally gifted at controlling their appearance. They retain plant characteristics, such as leafy hair, wood grain swirls on their “skin”, or flesh that is hard and cold to the touch, but the net effect is a masterpiece of humanoid beauty wrought of elegant living wood. Floran woodnymphs find it easier to assimilate into animal society than their shape-challenged brethren, and their skills allow some of them to craft powerful disguises.

Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 1.
Autotopiary. You can control your growth in order to change your physical appearance. This is a relatively slow process, requiring a long rest to use. Over the course of the long rest you achieve a physical transformation similar to the effects of the Disguise Self spell, except that they are permanent and physically real instead of illusions. This does not affect equipment you are wearing, though you may grow approximations of clothing (like bark covering your body instead of a shirt, or leaves and vines woven together to look like a dress). You can change the color of your “skin” and “hair”, completely rearrange your facial features, and so on, but there will always be visual and tactile giveaways of your real nature (barring the use of cosmetics or other means of further altering your appearance).
Life Sense. All floran have a mystical connection with living things, but with the woodnymphs it becomes even more pronounced. When you make a Wisdom check to detect a living being, or when calculating your passive Perception score for the same purpose, you may add twice your proficiency bonus instead of any proficiency bonus that would normally apply. This only applies to living biological organisms; beings animated by unnatural, magical, or supernatural forces rather than natural life (e.g. undead, constructs, elementals) are not detectable by Life Sense and use your normal Perception bonus.

Floran Roothulkhttp://s13.postimg.org/qpqg91o0n/walking_druid_by_thiago_almeida_d5oxu2gcrop400.jpg
Artist credit: thiago-almeida (http://thiago-almeida.deviantart.com/) on deviantart: picture (http://thiago-almeida.deviantart.com/art/Walking-Druid-344220280)

Those floran that never quite get the hang of appearing human are often called roothulks. Their facial features are rough and unfinished, looking more like wooden festival masks than the finely crafted forms exhibited by their fellow woodnymphs. Roothulks make up for this lack of subtlety by developing powerful physical gifts.

Ability Score Increase. One of your physical scores (Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution) increases by 1.
Natural Camouflage. Roothulks have many obviously plant features, which makes it harder to pass for a human but easier to blend in with the forest. You have advantage when rolling for stealth when hiding among vegetation.
Grasping Branches. Many roothulks have large branches growing from them like antlers, or from their arms like spikes. When making an opportunity attack, you can use your reaction to attempt a shove attack or grappling attempt (PHB 195) instead of a melee attack.

Arboreal AllurePrerequisite: Floran Woodnymph, Proficiency with Persuade skill
Woodnymphs have a knack for appealing to humanoid conceptions of beauty, a talent that has been described as unearthly and enchanting. Some floran take this natural appeal to the next level, tapping into their mystical connection with all life to magically alter how others view them. You gain the following benefits:

You learn the Friends cantrip.
Choose one spell from among the following: Alter Self, Calm Emotions, Enthrall, Suggestion. You learn that spell, and can cast it at its lowest level. Once you cast it, you must complete a long rest before you can cast it again. If you choose this feat before you reach 3rd level, you must wait until you reach 3rd level to gain this benefit.
You use your otherworldly charm to mitigate the biggest risk of charm magic: being found out. As an action, you may force a Charmed creature to make a Charisma save vs a Charm spell. If it fails, the target does not realize that it had been charmed once the condition wears off, overriding the normal side-effect of spells such as Friends or Charm Person. Once you use this ability, you may not use it against the same target again until you take a long rest.
The spell DC for these abilities is 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier.


Big, Bad, and BarkyPrerequisite: Floran Woodhulk
Your natural armor is hardened beyond what even a normal floran achieves, boosting your physical abilities and making you resilient to harm in a way that fleshy races can only emulate by wrapping themselves in dead earth. You gain the following benefits:

Increase your Strength or Constitution score by 1, to a maximum of 20.
You gain advantage on any Strength or Constitution saves to avoid being stunned.
While your hp is at its maximum value, you have resistance to all damage types except for fire and poison. If your hp is below your maximum, you do not receive this benefit, but if you lost hp and then are restored to full the resistances apply once more.

[dragoonsgone]

It seems like a very cool niche concept and would be fun weird race to play around with both as a character and for an npc.

Enhanced Regrowth seems very powerful to me. I haven't done the math but I think it should be toned down with maybe a feat to make it better.

Have you thought of any proficencies with skills or languages for them?

[ocel]

I've a couple of questions about this race: First, what languages do they use, elven, primordial, common, or a combination thereof? Second, what size are they in game terms, large, medium, small? Third, why is their primary attribute wisdom, instead of, say, constitution? Fourth, why don't they have a vulnerability to fire or slashing damage? Fifth, why are there so many options for roothulks to increase their ability scores? Sixth, why do they have more subrace features than their counterparts, woodnymphs? Seventh, are they affected by spells intended for plants and such? Lastly, will there be a third subrace for this race, and if so, what will it be? Myconids?
I'm not sure how balanced Enhanced Growth and Wooden Flesh are.
Other than all that, it looks good! I look forward to its next update!

[Dyhmas]

Ok, I really really like this...making a Roothulk ranger seems to be a must, for me. Having said that, I'd very much like to see how their natural plant features could be expanded. Perhaps trough feats or class paths and such (perhaps a barbarian path for the roothulk that gives natural slam attacks, regeneration and other planty stuff? Just a thought).

Really, feats tho, seem to be a most, as this race has a LOT of potential.

Brew on!

-Dyhmas

[Steel Mirror]

Thank you guys for reading! After considering your questions and observations, I'm thinking of making a few changes and adding a few options to the race, but I appreciate your feedback and opinions going forward. These treefolk guys are a little strange, and that combined with my 5E noobishness means that I'm definitely finding my way here and appreciate the helping hands. :smallsmile:

Have you thought of any proficencies with skills or languages for them?

what languages do they use, elven, primordial, common, or a combination thereof? Second, what size are they in game terms, large, medium, small?Oh man, I forgot some basic stuff again. :smallredface: I'll add that into the original post. They are medium size, I didn't think they needed any skill proficiencies because I already loaded them up with racial features (though I might revisit that depending on what the balance ends up looking like), and as for languages they begin with Common and Sylvan, and may choose one other language that the ancients taught them in preparation for their journey.


Third, why is their primary attribute wisdom, instead of, say, constitution? Fourth, why don't they have a vulnerability to fire or slashing damage? Fifth, why are there so many options for roothulks to increase their ability scores? Sixth, why do they have more subrace features than their counterparts, woodnymphs? Seventh, are they affected by spells intended for plants and such? Eighth, will there be a third subrace for this race, and if so, what would it be? Myconids?
3) On the fluff level, I was going for the defining feature of the floran being that they are relatively patient and centered, compared to your average person. They are plants, after all, a lot of what we see as important and worth fussing over seems inconsequential or at best a matter of curiosity rather than consternation when you spent the first 20 years of your life as a sapling soaking up sun in a meadow!
In game design terms, I thought it would be fitting to give them a primary score that nudges them towards a druid, ranger, or cleric. It also helps to mitigate what would otherwise be their powerful racial features (which I will discuss more in depth below). You can build a character to take advantage of Enhanced Growth or Wooden Flesh, but hopefully it won't end up being overpowered because the kind of characters that could abuse them won't necessarily be abusing the Wisdom bonus at the same time (beyond the sorts of things everyone gets out of it, like better Perception score and improved Wis save).

4) I didn't figure that living wood is any more vulnerable to fire than normal flesh is, really. Have you ever tred to start a fire with greenwood? It's a pain! :smallbiggrin:
Also, to go with the game design perspective again, most races seem not to have too much in the way of disadvantages in 5E. I broke with that for the centaur because it was necessary to make the race work, but for the floran I think it's ok to try to follow PHB precedent a little more closely.

5) It's mostly a game design thing. I want floran to be playable for a broad variety of classes, so since their primary score is Wisdom, I think it really opens up the race to allow a player to choose roothulk and get +1 to the physical score that makes sense for their build. Woodnymphs, on the other hand, just ooze Charisma on the conceptual level. That said, I'm considering making their bonus a +1 to any mental score and then give them proficiency in Persuasion. Helps with symmetry, and might also make floran more viable as a few other builds.

6) It's a case of quality vs quantity, really. I was thinking that Natural Camouflage + Grasping Branches was about as powerful as Autotopiary. Does that seem right?

7) That's a good thing to think about! I'm tempted to say 'yes, floran are affected by spells and effects that affect plants', but would that be problematic in any way that anyone can foresee? I'm not really knowledgeable about 5E spells yet.

8) I was sort of tossing around ideas for a third subrace, but I don't have anything I like yet. As for the myconids, that actually sounds like a good thing to mention as a racial enemy of the floran! After all, I imagine that there is little the huge intelligent trees of the forest would hate and fear as much as sentient tree rot.

Thanks for all the questions!


Enhanced Regrowth seems very powerful to me.

I'm not sure how balanced Enhanced Growth and Wooden Flesh are.
I figured someone would be a bit leery about these, and truth be told I'm not at all sure that they are balanced, either. Let's start with Wooden Flesh.

Wooden Flesh

Functionally, Wooden Flesh is a light armor that is +1 AC better than the best option given in the PHB. This is really good for pure casters like the Wizard or Sorcerer; it's better than a feat spent on light armor. They are the characters that benefit the most from this ability, but I think this is somewhat mitigated by the fact that they get +2 Wisdom for being floran, which is hardly ideal from a minmaxing perspective.

Next up are Rogues and fighting characters who use Dex and light armor (Rangers, some Fighters, some Barbarians). For them this ability is also quite powerful. In the PHB, light armor and medium armor offer a max AC of 17, but floran break with this and allow a lightly "armored" floran to have the same max AC as someone wearing the best heavy armor, 18. Again, I think this is mitigated by the fact that Rogues, Fighters, and so on don't typically want Wisdom as their primary or even secondary stat. The exception is Rangers, and actually I think it's a nice little bonus that floran Rangers get some decent synergy. Works on the fluff level.

Finally, there is a broad swathe of characters who will simply ignore the Wooden Flesh ability in favor of wearing heavier armors, or using abilities such as the Monk's Wisdom bonus to AC (which will be boosted by the floran's Wis bonus, making the tradeoff possibly worthwhile). For them, the racial ability might as well not exist, and presumably they are taking the race for access to some of its other qualities.

So all that is my thought process. Even I am not 100% convinced that it's balanced, though. Should I bring down the AC to 12 + Dexterity modifier, making it like a built-in studded leather? Or do you have some other idea about how to implement the idea?

Enhanced Regrowth
First some numbers. Enhanced Regrowth turns 1's and 2's into max die rolls. For a d8, that means that the average result improves from 4.5 to 6.125, for a boost of about +1.6 hp healed.

Over the course of a very active adventuring day, let's say a level 6 floran spends all 3 of her hit dice (3d8). That's a boost of about 4.9 hp healed, for a character who probably has about 39 hp total. A nice boost, but hardly exceptionally powerful, and comparable to a Hill Dwarf's +1 hp per level.

Things get interesting once you add in the healing effects, of course. Let's say the same character the next day not only spends her hit dice (3d8), she also gets healed by 4 cure spells of various levels (8d8 total), and drinks 2 healing potions (4d4). For this day, she'll benefit from approximately +22 hp healed, a handsome boost, but also one that reflects how much of the party's healing resources she soaked up that day. Considerably more powerful than the Hill Dwarf ability.

For reference, if the Enhanced Regrowth only worked on a natural 1, it would be +.9 hp healed per d8, and the two numbers for the hypothetical situations outlined above would be +2.6 hp for the first day and +12.6 the second day. I'm beginning to think that this is better balanced, so I'll probably make that change unless anyone has something else to say. Or do you guys think that is still too powerful?


maybe a feat to make it better.

Having said that, I'd very much like to see how their natural plant features could be expanded. Perhaps trough feats or class paths and such (perhaps a barbarian path for the roothulk that gives natural slam attacks, regeneration and other planty stuff? Just a thought).
I wasn't planning on making feats for them, since 5E hasn't had any racial feats yet (it is technically an optional subsystem, after all!). But you guys have convinced me that it would at least be a fun experiment. I'll give it some thought and post up something soon.

[Dyhmas]

Regarding Wooden Flesh and Enhanced Grouth, I don't think either is unbalanced or, rather, that, if it is, it's not to a point where it should be changed since, at is it, it just fits so well with the concept of the race that I dare say they are perfect as is.

Regarding Florans reactions for spells that affect plants, I'd advise you to check the Druid's spell list, perhaps spell by spell, since they have most, if not all, the spells that could fall in that category. Seems to me, tho, that adding that line to the Florans would actually make them more powerfull. Still, I think it's a sensible addition to the race.

Should you not like racial feats, perhaps making racial "paths" for classes might be more interesting, since you can make use of a finished skeleton (the class) and only add some features (perhaps some that didn't make into the final version of the race for being too strong/complex?).

Brew on!

-Dyhmas

[Steel Mirror]

Regarding Florans reactions for spells that affect plants, I'd advise you to check the Druid's spell list, perhaps spell by spell, since they have most, if not all, the spells that could fall in that category.
Yeah, that's a good idea. I think that there is some real potential for abuse there, so I'll check those spells out to see if anything jumps out as crazy powerful.

Should you not like racial feats
Naw, you guys convinced me that it would be fun to at least try! Worst thing that happens is that they end up being silly, and I can chalk that up to experience and move on.

[ArchangelAzrael]

Wow I Have to say I really like the Fluff of this race. It really makes me want to play it especially as an unorthodox Floran that simply doesn't want to set his roots down. My feel for the new system is quite lacking but here are two racial feats that may be useable ( or at least salvageable).

Hardened Wooden Flesh

Prerequisite: Floran Roothulk

You have further adapted to an adventuring lifestyle and your Wooden Flesh as a result is harder than most of your kind gaining the following benefits:
• Increase your constitution score by 1, to a
maximum of 20.
• Your minimum AC is 16 + Dex modifier(max 2). If you don armor it can replace this natural defense, but you cannot benefit from both armor and Wooden Flesh at the same time. You are considered to be wearing Medium armor with which you are proficient for the purposes of effects and class features, though you may choose not to benefit from this racial feature if an ability (e.g. monk or barbarian AC bonuses) would supersede it.


Wooden Armor

Prerequisite: Hardened Wooden Flesh

Your skin tempered from countless battles has hardened to a degree that it more closely resembles armor than skin gaining the following benefits:
• Your minimum AC is 18. If you don armor it can replace this natural defense, but you cannot benefit from both armor and Wooden Flesh at the same time. You are considered to be wearing Heavy armor with which you are proficient for the purposes of effects and class features, though you may choose not to benefit from this racial feature if an ability (e.g. monk or barbarian AC bonuses) would supersede it.
• If you can Alter or change your form through a class feature or spell you may choose to have this feat still provide its benefits in your new form but your new appearance shows clearly that you are part tree potentially betraying your true nature.

[ocel]

Ah, I see now. Thank you, Steel Mirror. I'll be sure to let you know if I've any more questions for you.
I have taken a closer look at the Wooden Flesh racial feature, and found it more to my liking, especially the part that prevents anything from abusing it. As for Enhanced Growth, I believe re-rolling the fumbled dice and using the new result, much like Halflings' Luck trait, is a better fix for it. I think there should be a change to Life Sense too. It should define what can and cannot be detected more explicitly. That which is not alive, such as constructs, elementals, constructs, et cetera, should not benefit from this ability, unless there's something that makes them exempt from this rule. Lastly, I think that Woodnymphs, should have as many racial features as their counterparts, Roothulks, anyway.

[Steel Mirror]

As for Enhanced Growth, I believe re-rolling the fumbled dice and using the new result, much like Halflings' Luck trait, is a better fix for it.That would certainly match the way they do things in the rest of the game a bit better. I don't know, I'm torn. I don't want it to be too powerful, but I also think that maximizing a natural 1 is easier to roll at the table (less rerolling) and gives the player a bit more of a thrill when they get to turn a disappointing 1 right into a really awesome 8 for clutch healing. It's more noticeable without (I think) being unbalancing. I think I'll probably keep it as-is for now, and see if I can't do a little playtesting to see how it works out in practice.


I think there should be a change to Life Sense too. It should define what can and cannot be detected more explicitly. That which is not alive, such as constructs, elementals, constructs, et cetera, should not benefit from this ability, unless there's something that makes them exempt from this rule.That was certainly the original intent! I'll add a clause making this explicit. Thanks!


Lastly, I think that Woodnymphs, should have as many racial features as their counterparts, Roothulks, anyway.The more I think about it, the less powerful Autotopiary seems to be, so I'll probably give the woodnymphs an extra trait, after all. Maybe proficiency in Insight?

ArchangelAzrael, thanks for the read-through and the feats! I've been sort of blocked when trying to come up with feats, but I like what you've done, and will definitely be including them in some form when I finally put up a feats section. Thanks again! :smallsmile:

[Ninjadeadbeard]

I absolutely adore this race, as it is basically a fifth edition of one of my old 3.5 edition homebrews, the Dendrons. I think the only major differences, between fluff and crunch, were that mine were large creatures and they spoke entirely with magical sign language.

I will petition my Dungeonmaster immediately to approve this for a game.

[ocel]

I think I'll probably keep it as-is for now, and see if I can't do a little playtesting to see how it works out in practice.
Alright. Please let me know when you're done with that.


The more I think about it, the less powerful Autotopiary seems to be, so I'll probably give the woodnymphs an extra trait, after all. Maybe proficiency in Insight?
Eh. There are a couple of backgrounds and classes that give proficiency in Insight, along others, in the Player's Guide already. I think it should be something that plays with the siren-esque aspects of their myths instead. I believe tieflings have an ability that lets 'em cast a cantrip at first level, a 2nd level spell at third level, and another at fifth level. They can only cast these spells once per day and must take a long rest in order to use them again. They can cast the cantrip as much as they like, there's no limit to it's use. Maybe you should use that.
I think this race knows too many languages. The ones in the book have only two, their native tongue and common (that is, if you don't include their subraces).

[Dyhmas]

I think it should be something that plays with siren-esque aspects of their myths instead. I believe tieflings have an ability that lets 'em cast a cantrip at first level, a 2nd level spell at third level, and another at fifth level. The character in question can only cast these spells once per day; to recharge them, he or she will have to take a long rest. The cantrip, can be used as much as he or she wishes. Maybe you should use that.

I second this. A few hand-picked Illusion or Enchantment spells/cantrips can really help dish out that whole "mesmerizing to behold" vibe you got going for the Woodnymph.

-Dyhmas

[Steel Mirror]

I absolutely adore this race, as it is basically a fifth edition of one of my old 3.5 edition homebrews, the Dendrons. I think the only major differences, between fluff and crunch, were that mine were large creatures and they spoke entirely with magical sign language.The sign language sounds cool, and thanks for the compliment! I wish you happy gaming, and if he approves it tell me how it goes! :smallsmile:


I believe tieflings have an ability that lets 'em cast a cantrip at first level, a 2nd level spell at third level, and another at fifth level.
I second this. A few hand-picked Illusion or Enchantment spells/cantrips can really help dish out that whole "mesmerizing to behold" vibe you got going for the Woodnymph.I'm strongly considering this, my only concern is in making the floran too powerful. The tieflings get the spell ability, but they only really get Darkvision and Fire Resistance otherwise, while the floran get twice as many other abilities, some of them significantly more powerful than either of the tiefling's.

I am thinking of getting rid of life sense, for all floran either way. It's a nice power, not too powerful, but it is broadly useful, and overall I think it is the floran racial trait that you could most easily get rid of without compromising their flavor or how the race functions. And like I said, I'm worried that they might be overpowered.

If I could fold the Autotopiary power to alter their appearance in with the spell-like abilities, I think that might be the best option.


I think this race knows too many languages. The ones in the book have only two, their native tongue and common (that is, if you don't include their subraces).I had thought that giving them an extra language fit them as a race of wanderers. Half-elves, for instance, have similar flavor as wandering types, and they get Common, Elvish, and one language of their choice.

Still working on those feats, and finalizations for the subraces are on the way! Keep those comments coming (they are very helpful) and stay tuned!

[ocel]

Hmm... Have you thought about giving the Wood-nymph subrace the Life Sense feature, Steel Mirror? Or reserving it for another subrace, one you've yet to make? If the later, what do you have in mind? I'd be happy to help you develop it.
As for Autotopiary, I believe it is fine as is (Enhanced Growth not so). Speaking of which, how goes the play testing for that? Getting back to the previous topic of discussion, I find its once per long rest spell like effect far more flavorful than, say, forest gnomes', or any other (sub-)race for that matter.
I understand the reasoning behind your decision, and respect it, but I still think this race knows too many languages. Whenever I look at it, I get the feeling it's stepping on Half-Elves toes.

[Steel Mirror]

Have you thought about giving the Wood-nymph subrace the Life Sense feature, Steel Mirror?That actually might solve two problems in a single go. Would moving the Life Sense feature to be a woodnymph exclusive make sense? Then I might use the spell-like ability idea in a racial feat for woodnymphs.

(Enhanced Growth not so). Speaking of which, how goes the play testing for that?Haven't had time to test it yet, but I will report when I do!

I understand the reasoning behind your decision, and respect it, but I still think this race knows too many languages. Whenever I look at it, I get the feeling it's stepping on Half-Elves toes.Languages aren't a huge part of the race, they already get a lot of goodies, and there are backgrounds available to give more languages if the player is interested. I'll change the floran to speaking Common and Sylvan.

Or reserving it for another subrace, one you've yet to make? If the later, what do you have in mind? I'd be happy to help you develop it.I'm definitely interested in making more subraces, and always happy to collaborate! Since you had the suggestion that sparked my interest in brewing up the floran in the first place, did you have any other ideas in mind?

[ocel]

Would moving the Life Sense feature to be a woodnymph exclusive make sense?
I think so. They appear to have a desire for platonic or romantic companionship (or a curiosity thereof); perhaps this ability helps them seek it.


I'm definitely interested in making more subraces, and always happy to collaborate! Since you had the suggestion that sparked my interest in brewing up the floran in the first place, did you have any other ideas in mind?
Well, I was reading one of my friend's old monster manuals (can't remember its name right now), and found something that might interest you: The Needlefolk (Yeah, I know, it's a stupid name, let's move on) a race of sentient plants. (As their name suggests...) They can shoot needles from their body, or use such things to defend themselves from attackers. They all look like praying mantises, but with exoskeletons made out of pineapple skins.

[Steel Mirror]

Haha, I dug up my old 3.5 MM2 and looked up the needlefolk. I like how they seem to be animated thistles or weeds; they crop up unexpectedly in the forest, do their own thing without having much to do with others or even each other, and are hard to get rid of. Plus they seem to hate elves with a blinding passion, which I personally think is always funny.

I'm not sure how much they lend themselves to being a playable race, but I think it might be fun to stat some up as a monster complement to the centaurs and florans that we already have going in the forest ecology.

On another note, I edited the Life Sense ability to be a woodnymph exclusive, and I think that the race is finally settling out satisfactorily for me. I'm almost to the point where I think the promised feats are ready to see the light of the homebrewing thread, hopefully I'll have those up later today!

[Steel Mirror]

All right, after a long time and a lot of false starts, here are a couple of ideas for feats for the floran race. I tried to come up with something that was roughly on par with existing feats, but maintained the distinctive flavor of the race we have going. You'll have to tell me whether I succeeded!

Note: Thanks to Dhymas, ArchangelAzreal, and ocel for the idea to do feats in the first place, and inspiration and commentary that contributed to what I have so far (even if it needs some work)

Arboreal AllurePrerequisite: Floran Woodnymph, Proficiency with Persuade skill
Woodnymphs have a knack for appealing to humanoid conceptions of beauty, a talent that has been described as unearthly and enchanting. Some floran take this natural appeal to the next level, tapping into their mystical connection with all life to magically alter how others view them. You gain the following benefits:

You learn the Friends cantrip.
Choose one spell from among the following: Alter Self, Calm Emotions, Enthrall, Suggestion. You learn that spell, and can cast it at its lowest level. Once you cast it, you must complete a long rest before you can cast it again. If you choose this feat before you reach 3rd level, you must wait until you reach 3rd level to gain this benefit.
The spell DC for these spells is 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier.
You may use your otherworldly charms to mitigate one of the biggest risks of charm magic: being found out. You may roll a Persuasion check against a target affected by the Charmed condition, opposed by its Wisdom save. If you succeed, the target does not realize that it had been charmed once the condition wears off, overriding the normal side-effect of spells such as Friends or Charm Person. Once you attempt such a Persuasion check, you may not use this ability against the same target again until you take a long rest.

Big, Bad, and BarkyPrerequisite: Floran
Your armor is hardened beyond what even a normal floran achieves, boosting your physical abilities and making you resilient to harm in a way that fleshy races can only seek to emulate by wrapping themselves in dead earth. You gain the following benefits:

Increase your Strength or Constitution score by 1, to a maximum of 20.
You gain advantage on any Strength or Constitution saves to avoid being stunned.
You may spend a reaction to halve (as though you had resistance) the damage you receive from one source of bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage. If this would reduce you to 0 hp, it instead reduces you to 1 hp. Subjecting yourself to punishment like this leaves your wood-like flesh noticeably splintered and cracked, and you may not use this ability again until you have taken a long rest to regrow.


Okay, Big, Bad, and Barky is a placeholder name; I couldn't come up with anything better. :smalltongue: I'm also torn as to whether to make the ability usable every short rest or long, looking at feats such as Heavy Armor Master and Shield Master as a guide to balance. If you have an idea for that, or anything else that would make these feats better (or questions, or ideas for other feats...) please let me know.

[Dyhmas]

PEACHing time! (I'm writing stuff as I think them, so it might be a bit confusing, sorry about that)


Arboreal AllurePrerequisite: Floran Woodnymph, Proficiency with Persuade skill
Woodnymphs have a knack for appealing to humanoid conceptions of beauty, a talent that has been described as unearthly and enchanting. Some floran take this natural appeal to the next level, tapping into their mystical connection with all life to magically alter how others view them. You gain the following benefits:

You learn the Friends cantrip.
Choose one spell from among the following: Alter Self, Calm Emotions, Enthrall, Suggestion. You learn that spell, and can cast it at its lowest level. Once you cast it, you must complete a long rest before you can cast it again. If you choose this feat before you reach 3rd level, you must wait until you reach 3rd level to gain this benefit.
The spell DC for these spells is 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier.
You may use your otherworldly charms to mitigate one of the biggest risks of charm magic: being found out. You may roll a Persuasion check against a target affected by the Charmed condition, opposed by its Wisdom save. If you succeed, the target does not realize that it had been charmed once the condition wears off, overriding the normal side-effect of spells such as Friends or Charm Person. Once you attempt such a Persuasion check, you may not use this ability against the same target again until you take a long rest.


Ok, you get a spell (from a good list, mind you) that you can cast once per long rest. While this seems solid and flavorfull, I must ask: why a long rest? Do you think it'd be broken if available once per short rest? Just curious about your thought process.
Now, the last feature is worth the whole feat, IMO, being so good it's almost imperative for any caster focused on enchanting. In fact, seeing the Woodnymphs traits, I get the feeling that picking sorcerer is already a must for that race and this feat only makes it more so. Having said that, I like it a lot. Seems balanced enough, to me, and fits extremely well with the Woodnymph's fluff...in fact, it fits so well that I might have to remake an NPC in my current campaign into a Woodnymph. After all, she can already disguise herself pretty well as other races, right?

Bottom line is, I liked it a lot. A really good feat that gives very good abilities while tying to the fluff. It certainly has the same flow as the core feats, IMO. Seeing the whole thing now, I get the feeling that having the spells being cast once per long rest is actually a way to help balance things out, as the last feature, as is, already makes the whole feat worthwhile...hmm, maybe being able to cast per short rest would be too much.


Big, Bad, and BarkyPrerequisite: Floran
Your armor is hardened beyond what even a normal floran achieves, boosting your physical abilities and making you resilient to harm in a way that fleshy races can only seek to emulate by wrapping themselves in dead earth. You gain the following benefits:

Increase your Strength or Constitution score by 1, to a maximum of 20.
You gain advantage on any Strength or Constitution saves to avoid being stunned.
You may spend a reaction to halve (as though you had resistance) the damage you receive from one source of bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage. If this would reduce you to 0 hp, it instead reduces you to 1 hp. Subjecting yourself to punishment like this leaves your wood-like flesh noticeably splintered and cracked, and you may not use this ability again until you have taken a long rest to regrow.


Have you been watching Guardians of the Galaxy lately? :smalltongue:
Now, more seriously, I'm a little confused by this feat. It seems to fit the Roothulk way more than it fits the Woodnymphs. In fact, why not make this feat exclusive to that subrace, since you already got one exclusive to the other? While the fluff makes me think that a Floran with this feat is much more resiliant or capable of withstanding blows, the crunch has none of that, really. One thing at a time:
-Strength and Constitution bonus are great, but don't synergise with the race, as is, unless you're playing a Floran Barbarian, really.
-Hmmm, am I missing something? Advantage agaisnt being stunned is good, obviously, but so circunstacial...also, it doesn't fit at all with the fluff of the feat. I'd expect Florans with this feat to have higer AC or some form of resistance, but advantage on saving throws against stunned don't seem that much. Why not give him proficiency in Strength and Constitution saving throws, in case he doesn't have them? That would make Florans seem more resilient, for sure. Specially so if you pick a squishier class, that doesnt have those proficiencies. Like a Druid, for example. Bottom line is bonus VS being stunned is too circunstantial to be a feat, IMO, unless I'm missing something, of course.
-Hmm, ok, now Resistances come into play. I must say this is the only part of the crunch that really fits the fluff of the feat. The wording left me a bit confused, so let's see if I get this: once per long rest you can halve the damage of ONE attack, as long as it is Bludgeoning, Piercing or Slashing, right? Well, you can get something even better with 1 level of Barbarian. Not to say it isn't usefull because of that, but it really doesn't seem worth a feat, IMO.

Bottom line is that this feat feels very underwhelming. The fluff made me think that, perhaps, you'd improve upon the race's Wooden Flesh ability, perhaps making it more akin to the Barbarian's unarmored bonus or perhaps just improving it to, say, 15+dex or changing it to 13+con, to really dish out that idea of them being sturdy.
The bonus against being stunned is nice and all, but also underwhelming. In the last two sessions i played with my group, not once have anyone made a save against being stunned. It may be a thing only in my table, but it really seems rather useless to me...however, I can't shake the feeling that I'm missing something here.
The third ability is quite good, if not a tad strange. You basically give an "Oh sh*t!" ability, for that moment when you're about to get downed by a really powerfull blow, wich is handy, for sure, but then you go to state that you do so at the expense of your outer layer, needing to regrow it later. If you momentarily lose it, shouldnt you lose your Woodenflesh ability as well, since your outer layer was momentarily destroyed? Also, if I'd go with the whole "I use my natural armor to withstand a few blows" thing, wouldn't giving him some form of refreshing pool of temporary HP be better? Like, he got a pool of temp HP equal to half his Con score (synergising then with the attribute bonus from the feat) wich he can refresh with a short rest...how about that? This way you also don't step into Resistance, wich is a mechanic already used a lot by several class features and spells and wich doesnt stack. In fact, floran barbarian that took this feat wouldn't get sturdier at all, since he already got resistance to said attacks while raging (wich he'll do all the time, anyway).

Hmm, reading my post again, I feel it was rather harsh, wich really really wasn't my intention since I loved both feats a lot. I just didn't like how the fluff of the second one didn't seem to tie well into the crunch and also the fact that while it screams "Roothulk exclusive!", it isn't. Seems fair to make it so, since Woodnymphs already got their own specific feat...and because I can't really imagine a Woodnymph trying to be "Big, Bad and Barky". I liked the feat name, btw. :smallsmile:

Again, sorry if I was harsh, and I really like what you're doing with this race. Please continue with your amazing work.

Brew on!

-Dyhmas

[Steel Mirror]

PEACHing time! (I'm writing stuff as I think them, so it might be a bit confusing, sorry about that)Hooray!

Have you been watching Guardians of the Galaxy lately? :smalltongue:Nobody can prove anything!

Now, more seriously, I'm a little confused by this feat.

<snip>

Again, sorry if I was harsh, and I really like what you're doing with this race.No apology necessary! Like I said, I went through a lot of dead ends with these feats, and after reading your commentary I agree that this one was another misstep. I wanted something that would make floran tougher without just being another armor boost, because they can wear armor like any other race so making a bunch of feats that recreate medium and heavy armor with their Wooden Flesh seemed redundant (and feat intensive). For the resistance 1/day thing, I think I could get the fluff to work, and I was trying to base it on and have it be about as good as the Heavily Armored feat (which gives you straigth DR of 3 while wearing heavy armor). So a way to reduce the damage from 1 attack per long rest by half seemed to possibly be okay.

But you are right about it synergizing poorly with barbarians, which is unfortunate because I wanted to target barbarians as one of the classes that woodhulks should be a good choice for.

The resistance to stunned thing is certainly very circumstantial, but since it wasn't the core of the feat I didn't think it was too bad. I might still keep it, but only if I can get the rest of the feat to work properly. The idea was that it would be one of those little things that make you glad you took the feat whenever it does happen, but probably not so big a deal that anyone actually chooses the feat because of it.

Thanks for reading and commenting! It really is incredibly useful, and don't worry about coming across harsh or anything at all. You came across like someone who is doing me a huge favor by helping me out with this project, and I thank you a ton! :smallsmile:

I'll ponder ways I could get the feat to work properly, and post again when I think I have something.

[ocel]

Those are some interesting feats you have written, Steel Mirror! I'm not sure how balanced they are though. Anyway, I'm glad that you've found my suggestions for this helpful. I can't think of any more subraces for the Florans at the moment, but I'll be sure to tell you when I do. Oh, I've been reading the Vegetative Nature racial feature lately, and was wondering how to make it more flavorful. What if, instead of recovering hit dice and spell slots, they satiate their hunger and thirst after a short rest, but it only works if they're receiving sunlight, entrenched in fertile soil, and being watered every fifteen minutes or so (the last being optional, if there's any water underground or raining down from the heavens)?

[Steel Mirror]

Thanks ocel! I think I will mess around a bit with Vegetative Nature. Your idea sounds pretty good.

Is there anything particularly that you find unbalanced in the feats list? What if I pushed the spells in Arboreal Allure back to 5th level?

I still need to work on BB&B.

[Steel Mirror]

All right, just making a few changes to the Floran here as I continue to try to whip them into shape. A little playtesting has helped make me feel good about some things, and made me reconsider others.

Arboreal Allure gives them a 2nd level spell, but since there are races that can give you the same level spells at 3rd level (and again at 5th), I'm leaning toward it not being overpowered. Really I want the feat to make them feel like they have fully lived up to the alluring nymph legend, and I think it does that. I did change the last ability on the feat from a charisma check that the floran has to make to a charisma save that the charmed creature makes. That way proficiency to charisma checks apply, and so does advantage granted by spell resistance and so on. Plus it just feels better to have the two pit their force of personality directly against each other.

Big, Bad, and Barky still needs a serious overhaul, so here is try #2. I have no idea if it is balanced - as always I appreciate you reading and commenting! Really, it's been a fantastic help so far, the floran and my other (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?371224-Centaur-Player-Race-(PEACH))races (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?373101-Playable-Underwater-Race-Nereids-(PEACH-WIP))wouldn't look anywhere near as good without it.

Big, Bad, and BarkyPrerequisite: Floran Woodhulk
Your natural armor is hardened beyond what even a normal floran achieves, boosting your physical abilities and making you resilient to harm in a way that fleshy races can only emulate by wrapping themselves in dead earth. You gain the following benefits:

Increase your Strength or Constitution score by 1, to a maximum of 20.
You gain advantage on any Strength or Constitution saves to avoid being stunned.
While your hp is at its maximum value, you have resistance to all damage types except for fire and poison. If your hp is below your maximum, you do not receive this benefit, but if you lost hp and then are restored to full the resistances apply once more.

[stitchlipped]

I really like the ideas behind this race. Personally I agree that enhanced regrowth should let you reroll the die rather than its current effect, though. 5e seems to have embraced the idea that rolling more dice is fun, if not necessarilly efficient (+1d4 to ability check from spells, for instance).



There are a couple of backgrounds and classes that give proficiency in Insight, along others, in the Player's Guide already.

On this subject, have you considered how the Florans interact with the backgrounds in the PHB? My guess for many of them is there probably not being a lot of synergy. Sure, you could say your Floran left the forest and took up criminality, or signed up as a soldier in a mercenary company, or even went to sea - and all of those would be incredibly interesting... but what about the Florans who step out of the forest into their first adventure. Do they all have to be Outlanders or Hermits?

It might be worth coming up with a few new backgrounds to give their players more options. Ideally, not specific to the race but more about the environment they live in so other forest races like wood elves, and your centaurs, could also benefit from them!

[Steel Mirror]

On this subject, have you considered how the Florans interact with the backgrounds in the PHB? My guess for many of them is there probably not being a lot of synergy. Sure, you could say your Floran left the forest and took up criminality, or signed up as a soldier in a mercenary company, or even went to sea - and all of those would be incredibly interesting... but what about the Florans who step out of the forest into their first adventure. Do they all have to be Outlanders or Hermits?

It might be worth coming up with a few new backgrounds to give their players more options. Ideally, not specific to the race but more about the environment they live in so other forest races like wood elves, and your centaurs, could also benefit from them!What a good idea! I'll get right on that, I've been mulling some ideas for backgrounds, and this will be a good way to test some of them out.

As for the Enhanced Regrowth, rerolling dice is certainly fun, but so far my players have also loved being able to turn a disappointing 1 into a totally awesome 12, for instance. If anyone gets a chance to try it out, please tell me how it went! Hopefully you'll enjoy it, too.

I'll start a new thread for the backgrounds once I get the chance to think through some interesting ones, and maybe other people can chip in with their own wilderness-based backgrounds if it is something anyone is interested in. Thanks for the comments.

[Steel Mirror]

All right, after feedback from my group at home and commentary from you all online (not least ocel, who has mentioned his concern a few times), I am changing Enhanced Regrowth. I was super excited about how I had made it work at first, but you have to be willing to kill your babies and all that. :singleunmanlytear: The new version reads as follows:

Enhanced Regrowth. Floran are beings of the forest, in particular exemplifying nature’s capacity for regrowth. Whenever you roll dice to determine hp healed, e.g. from hit dice, a cure spell targeting you, or your fighter’s second wind, you may reroll any die that rolls a natural 1 or 2, taking the best result.

Oh sad day! But hopefully this version is more balanced, while still being fun and flavorful.

[Dyhmas]

All right, after feedback from my group at home and commentary from you all online (not least ocel, who has mentioned his concern a few times), I am changing Enhanced Regrowth. I was super excited about how I had made it work at first, but you have to be willing to kill your babies and all that. :singleunmanlytear: The new version reads as follows:

Enhanced Regrowth. Floran are beings of the forest, in particular exemplifying nature’s capacity for regrowth. Whenever you roll dice to determine hp healed, e.g. from hit dice, a cure spell targeting you, or your fighter’s second wind, you may reroll any die that rolls a natural 1 or 2, taking the best result.

Oh sad day! But hopefully this version is more balanced, while still being fun and flavorful.

Well, balance-wise, I think it's fine and possibly better than the previous version.
Otherwise, you shouldn't worry so much. After all, anyone that likes to play table top RPGs has to love to roll dices so...having to reroll dices is bound to be fun. Plus, anything's better than a 1, amen.

Oh, by the way, what happens if I roll a 2 and then reroll, getting a 1? A reroll again or pick the best on them (in this case, 2)?

Brew on!

-Dyhmas

EDIT: Totally overlooked the new version of BBB! I must say I like this version a lot more. However, I'm still bothered by the bonus versus Stun thing and would rather have the feat give proficiency in both Strength and Constitution saves, making sure that, wichever class he picks, Woodhulks are tough! ...but, hey, that's just me, eh?

[Steel Mirror]

Well, balance-wise, I think it's fine and possibly better than the previous version.Cool, I like to hear from people if they think something is too good...and eventually I listen. :smallredface: In this case, speaking purely numerically, this version is ever so slightly weaker than the one that came before it, so it as at least not a power boost. The balance issue comes into play in that this version is both less swingy and more often used, making it feel smoother in play.


Oh, by the way, what happens if I roll a 2 and then reroll, getting a 1? A reroll again or pick the best on them (in this case, 2)?Take the best


However, I'm still bothered by the bonus versus Stun thing and would rather have the feat give proficiency in both Strength and Constitution saves, making sure that, wichever class he picks, Woodhulks are tough! ...but, hey, that's just me, eh?Unfortunately, there is a whole feat which gives +1 to a single ability score and proficiency in saves with it - Resilient. I don't want to fall into that old powercreep trap, so I tried to make BB&B a little different while maybe still being flavorful? But if you have other ideas on how to adjust the feat to your liking, I'm always glad to hear them!

[ocel]

I like what you've done with Enhanced Growth lately, Steel Mirror, I really do, but I think you should get rid of that "or 2" part, and replace its "best" with new. That said, it is certainly far more balanced than its previous incarnation; well done overall. P.S. I hope to see Vegetative Nature's next update soon.

[Steel Mirror]

Well, you haven't steered me wrong yet, ocel. I'll change it to be rerolls on a 1, and I'll playtest that with my group next time we meet. It's not nearly as strong as it used to be, and I did like how it used to be, but Floran are objectively a strong race so really this is a much needed rebalance. It just took me a while to admit it! :smalltongue:

As for Vegetative Nature, I did like your suggestion for that, but I realized that most long rests are going to happen at night, not while the sun is shining, so forcing the floran to take a long rest in the sunlight sort of messes with the general party dynamic. The change would certainly be flavorful, but I think the current version works pretty well, doesn't require shifting rests around to accommodate the floran or necessitate a bunch of careful bookkeeping or anything, and yet still provides a situational benefit that will be much appreciated when it does occasionally come into effect. Does that make sense? I'm thinking of keeping the current text just for simplicity.

[ocel]

I'll change it to be rerolls on a 1, and I'll playtest that with my group next time we meet.
Excellent. Please let me know how your playtest for it goes when you're done.


As for Vegetative Nature, I did like your suggestion for that, but I realized that most long rests are going to happen at night, not while the sun is shining, so forcing the floran to take a long rest in the sunlight sort of messes with the general party dynamic.
While I understand that a long rest during the day might prove inconvenient for a party of adventurers, I can't help but wonder if it's the same for a short rest.

[Steel Mirror]

Excellent. Please let me know how your playtest for it goes when you're done.Will do!


While I understand that a long rest during the day might prove inconvenient for a party of adventurers, I can't help but wonder if it's the same for a short rest.As it currently stands the ability doesn't need any sort of rest, you just need to have experienced a few hours of sun during the day and have had enough to drink. That could mean you spend a few hours sunbathing peacefully, or it could be a few hours of grueling marching and physical exertion, but as long as you get direct sunlight, you get nourished without the need to eat.

Or am I misunderstanding what you are saying?

[ocel]

Or am I misunderstanding what you are saying?
No, I understand how Vegetative Nature works; I just think that it can benefit from some change is all (like the one I proposed to you earlier).

[Grey Watcher]

I feel like there needs to be a third subrace, but I'm not sure what it would be.

You've got sort of the "face" archetype and the "brute", but I feel like there needs to be a third idea. Just can't think of what it would be.

I do like the mechanics, though.

[Steel Mirror]

Another archetype, eh? I'm game, if I can think of something that sounds interesting.

Like you say, we've got a face and a brute...should I try for something more mystical? A tree-whisperer perhaps? A subrace that can manipulate plants directly?

Would a blighted floran be an interesting concept? A member of the race that, through mystical plague, or injury, or personal choice, has been corrupted by some kind of darkness, and turned against the usual slow wisdom that marks most of its race?

Could I make a floran from a different biome, perhaps? Jungle, Desert, Underwater?

[Grey Watcher]

Another archetype, eh? I'm game, if I can think of something that sounds interesting.

Like you say, we've got a face and a brute...should I try for something more mystical? A tree-whisperer perhaps? A subrace that can manipulate plants directly?

I do like this, one that's more in tune with its plant nature, despite being in the "running around like one of those crazed mammals" phase of life.


Would a blighted floran be an interesting concept? A member of the race that, through mystical plague, or injury, or personal choice, has been corrupted by some kind of darkness, and turned against the usual slow wisdom that marks most of its race?

I have mixed feelings. On the one hand its cool, on the other hand I feel like the "subrace full of evil counterparts" is pretty well-trodden ground (eg Drow, Duergar). Still, at least there's precedent. Alternatively, it could simply be Florans who like living this way and are specifically looking to avoid taking root.


Could I make a floran from a different biome, perhaps? Jungle, Desert, Underwater?

Well, you might be able to consolidate some of those into a general "harsh climate" subrace and give it powers that reflect living in an environment where water is scarce and temperatures are extreme, whether that's a frozen tundra or an arid desert. Or you could write up a whole suite of swap-out racial powers, similar to the Land Druid's swap-out class features.

[ocel]

Another archetype, eh? I'm game, if I can think of something that sounds interesting.

Like you say, we've got a face and a brute...should I try for something more mystical? A tree-whisperer perhaps? A subrace that can manipulate plants directly?
That sounds like a good idea for a subrace, Steel Mirror, but what would the rules for it be?

[Rimeraven]

Thank you so much. I was looking for ideas a +2 Wisdom race for our home game and was thinking about some sort of tree race. This is perfect thank you for all the hard work.

[Llama513]

I really love this race, and the thought of having a community, or grove of druids gathered around protecting and being protected by a gathering of Floran, whom I could see being founding members of the grove, that would be a really cool community for player's to interact with, or to have a character come from

[Potato_Priest]

Is it possible that grasping branches could be optionally used to grapple rather than shove? Normally I would be opposed to any grappling that doesn't consume an attack action, but opportunity attacks are a different matter, given that the enemy does something to provoke them. .

[Potato_Priest]

Also, what does PEACH stand for?

[Steel Mirror]

I really love this race, and the thought of having a community, or grove of druids gathered around protecting and being protected by a gathering of Floran, whom I could see being founding members of the grove, that would be a really cool community for player's to interact with, or to have a character come fromYeah that is cool! The Floran religious beliefs would probably be fun to delve into. I bet your perspective of life and the afterlife would be very interesting when you spend centuries as an intelligent tree while the world moves on around you, but can remember being small and living fast like the rest of the animals.


Is it possible that grasping branches could be optionally used to grapple rather than shove? Normally I would be opposed to any grappling that doesn't consume an attack action, but opportunity attacks are a different matter, given that the enemy does something to provoke them. .It does sound cool and appropriate, but my first instinct is that it sounds pretty powerful. Then again since shoves can be used to knock someone prone, a floran monk or something is already very sticky. Letting them grapple on an attack of opportunity does feel even better though, as I've seen some grappling controller/tank builds that are positively scary, and this would be sort of like half of the Sentinel feat for free (and with grappling to give allies advantage to boot). I wonder if anyone with more experience building tanky characters and/or grapplers has any input? My gut tells me it's abusable.


Also, what does PEACH stand for?Please Evaluate And Critique Honestly. Basically, it's saying that feedback, even negative feedback, is welcome.

[Potato_Priest]

I have run hardcore grapplers, and I've also run the sentinel feat before. I can say that while grappling can be impressive, in my experience opportunity attacks are not that common, since any enemy that is going to be running away a lot probably has special abilities to avoid attacks of opportunity, and even those enemies are not particularly common, since a lot of the MM is big brute type creatures.

Additionally, Grappling does not automatically give your allies advantage against a target. To do that, you have to also knock them prone, and doing so is not without drawbacks. When I played a grappler barbarian, the main strategy was for me to grapple the melee enemies and then tank damage while everyone else shot them from afar. Had I knocked them prone, my allies would have had to move into the danger zone or face disadvantage on their attacks.

Grasping branches, as written, will probably be used to knock enemies prone 90% of the time, as it invalidates their attempt at escape by halving their speed, and if the target has already traveled far on its turn, potentially knocks them down for a whole round. That means that it's situationally worse or better than a grapple reaction attack. If it knocks them prone for a whole round, it's better than a grapple. Otherwise, it's worse.

[Steel Mirror]

Grasping branches, as written, will probably be used to knock enemies prone 90% of the time, as it invalidates their attempt at escape by halving their speed, and if the target has already traveled far on its turn, potentially knocks them down for a whole round. That means that it's situationally worse or better than a grapple reaction attack. If it knocks them prone for a whole round, it's better than a grapple. Otherwise, it's worse.All right awesome, thanks for the rundown! In that case I agree, it doesn't seem especially crazy powerful to add grappling to the mix. Since I'm about to have a player playtest a Floran monk anyway, it seems a good time to buff the grasping branches ability and see how it works out in a game. Thanks for the opinion, and for now I'm changing it so that roothulks can grapple away.

[NovelConcept]

Hey there! I'm very new to this site (just made my account specifically to post here, actually, haha) but I wanted to say that this is a super interesting homebrew race! Very well thought out and unique! Will definitely give the race a try whenever I can. :smallsmile:

I also - if I might be so bold - wanted to give a couple of suggestions for additional subraces, if you'd be at all interested in them! I'll go ahead and write them out here, but if you find you dislike them and would prefer to have them removed, I'll strike them off the post, haha. Conversely, if you happen to like them enough to want to include them on the front page - feel free!

Floran Charwood
https://memestatic3.fjcdn.com/comments/Blank+_45369b185766c11ac2827a6b85de5598.jpg
Tragic living testaments to the wisdom of a Floran's fear of fire, the Charwoods are the unfortunate byproduct of Florans who are consumed in flame before they reach maturity. Burned as saplings but kept alive by their innate magic, forced to live through and push past every moment of searing pain, the scars of the Charwood are oftentimes more than physical. More bent towards chaos and even evil than the rest of their kindred, the Charwoods are often seen as vengeful spirits of nature by the people who are unfortunate enough to meet those who succumb to the madness of their agony - agony that persists within the near skeletal frames of the Charwoods for the rest of their lives.
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity increases by 1.
Burning Hatred. You've been burned before and there's not much else it can do to you that it hasn't done already, but the remembered pain is bad enough. When successfully hit by any sort of fire damage, you fly into a barbarian-like rage for 1 round on your next turn. If the fire damage persists for more than one round, so too does your rage. Additionally, you take half damage on all fire damage, including damage from using Smoldering Embers.
Smoldering Embers. Drawing upon the fire that suffuses your very core, you can light yourself up like a human torch to illuminate the area around you at the cost of of 2d6 of self-inflicted fire damage per round that you keep it sustained. At 6th level, you can extend the fires out further to deal 2d6 damage to anyone within 5 feet of you - friend and foe alike - but add another 1d6 of self-inflicted fire damage for a total of 3d6. While it can be sustained as long as will it to or until you die from self-inflicted damage, once deactivated it cannot be reactivated again until after a short rest.

Floran Sporeling
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/1e/1b/e9/1e1be956e8a1856d9482d373da9e05fc--mushroom-art-mushroom-ideas.jpg
From deep, mystic caves to the bowels of the Underdark, there exists an uncommon subrace of the Floran people known as the Sporeling. More fungal than tree-like in nature, Sporelings tend to feel disconnected from their bark-skinned cousins from the sunlit surface, and instead form tight-knit groups amongst themselves in an almost clan-like structure. Despite their vast difference in biology, their culture remains true to typical Floran nature, and their elders still do take root within their homes - growing into massive sentient mushroom-like beings, full of wisdom and their own rendition of the Song of Seasons. Unlike other Florans, however, they do not tend to shelter communities of the other mortal races (except for perhaps deep gnomes, on rare occasions), but rather serve as great leaders and guides for future generations of Sporelings that grow from their own spores, rather than wandering seeds.

Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence increases by 1.
Hallucinogens. Once per long rest, you may exhume fungal spores from your mouth and open pores upon your body to a single creature up to 15 feet away from you. Said creature must make a Constitution saving throw (DC 8 + Prof. Bonus + Int Modifier) or be Confused for 1d4 rounds.
Superior Darkvision. You can see just as well (albiet colorlessly) in natural darkness as you can in light.
Sunlight Sensitivity. When in sunlight, you have disadvantage on all attack rolls and all Perception checks related to sight.
Fungal Nature. (Replaces Vegetative Nature and Wooden Flesh) You are not as durable nor as sun-reliant as your surface kin. Instead of four hours of sunlight, you require a daily four hours of near total darkness. Your body lacks any natural armors, but you have a minor regenerative ability allowing you to regain 1d4 hit points every 10 minutes, provided that you have at least 1 hit point. If you lose a body part, you can regrow the missing part and return it to full functionality after 1d8 + 1 days if you have at least 1 hit point the whole time. Does not stack with ring of regeneration or similar effects - use the strongest effect and override the others.
Mycelium Core. When you are reduced to 0 hit points, you must fail 4 death saves instead of 3 to truly die.

Hope you like them! :smallbiggrin:

[Sariel Vailo]

Im enjoying this race of living woods i might want to play one or not. But i am groot