Elderwood (5e Race)

The primary contributor has requested no further edits to this page by anonymous users The user above has requested no further edits to this page by anonymous users. This page is considered complete and balanced to a degree. As such, the page has been locked so that only registered users can edit it. If you are an IP user and wish to make alterations to this page, or you see an error, please discuss it on the talk page. If this page is not semi-protected, please either contact an administrator or remove this template.

Elderwood

Your eyes aren't lying. The trees are moving.

Physical Description

Elderwood, or just woods, are a diverse race of creatures originating from plants. In general, an elderwood's skin can range from bark rough to petal smooth. While some look to be human with subtle visual differences others can take the form of strange mythical beasts with hides taking on dull tones to vibrant hues bursting with life. All have an extreme affinity for magic which in turn has affected their vitality to heights impossible for normal plant life.

There are 3 types that the woods change into, all varying in appearance:

• The Mingali look similar to humanoid barring slight differences. A creature could have minor plant biology where normal flesh and blood would be such as ears extending into leaves, vines as hair, green skin tint, or even delicate petal textured skin.
• The Zaldest take the traits of regular animals found in nature such as the bear or deer and meld them with obvious growth. As a result, hybrid creatures of both tree and flesh roam the forest.
• The Grutkhan are creatures that have been so infused with nature and have taken the form of monsters. They grow immensely in both size and power as they age and are covered in poisonous thorns and armor, they are the most dangerous of their kin.

History

The elderwood forests were brought to life when a massive number of ley lines crossed one another and released immense amounts of magical energy into a forest. Overtime, the forest absorbed the energies and grew immense each tree supercharged with hyperdense mana. It was only later on when the life itself start to form cognizance. The people, the beasts, and the monstrous. As time marched on, they grew in each their own way. The people traveled far and wide, learning knowledge and crafts. The beasts wandered the forest instinctively nurturing the forest and expanding its borders. And the monsters -the monsters slept growing ever more terrible. As long as the forest was fine so too would the monsters sleep.

Recently, large tribes of elves and druids have sought residence with the forest attempting to bond with the denizens with some success. While others go ever deeper and are lost to all. The Elderwood is as much as it is a place as it is a kind. And what affects one may soon affect all. Attempts to curb the ever rampant growth of the forest have met with limited success partly due to its allies as well as the natives. Skirmishes between bordering kingdoms have happened and as time relentlessly marches on a war seems ever looming. Perhaps this is what a forest needs. Perhaps it is time to hunt and feast instead of resting.

Society

The society of the elderwood is most similar to a family of siblings. A few saplings will shift into a Mingali form and journey across the world before coming back and reporting it to their brethren. Zaldests provide swift means of transportation and information and almost always are the first line of defense in an invasion. But rarely the forest may find itself in grave peril where all hope is lost and in such cases the Grutkhan awaken. Chimeric Abominations that know no fear and pain are released not to protect the forest, but to destroy the enemy. Even if it means ruining entire areas of land. And when such misery happens a rare growth from the forest will become lost in its negative emotions and reject its kind becoming warped and twisted. These must be hunted down and killed lest if brings further harm into the elderwood society.

An Elderwood is by no means a friendly or outright vile creature. They would rather stick to their kind and prefer their forest be left alone. Pragmatic yet compassionate. Most actions are a mix of the two relating to outsiders. Something that cannot be fixed must be broken fully so it may be used for the next thing. A death for the next life.

Elderwood Names

Males like names are flowing while feminine names have harsh consonants and difficult pronunciation.

Male: Hraelryon, Awelioprey, Gwepalio

Female: C'thon, Zxtcra, Krcym

Elderwood Traits

Plants that take on the appearance and characteristics of other creatures.
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2.
Age. Plants tend to live a rather long time, and you are no exception. Elderwoods tend to live to about 2800 to 3500 years, with the oldest being over 5,000 years old in extremely rare cases.
Alignment. Elderwood are usually neutral good, though deviations do occur.
Size. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Blindsight. You can perceive your surroundings without relying on sight within a specific radius. You have a blindsight range of 30 feet, but are blind beyond this radius without relying on your normal vision.
Mana-Infused Life. You have advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Forestborn. Although magical and a different shape, you are still considered to be a plant. Your creature type is plant instead of humanoid for the purposes of determining effects of spells and abilities. As such, spells like cure wounds don't affect you, and you are immune to spells like crown of madness or dominate person because they specifically target humanoids.
Languages. you can speak, read and write Common and Druidic.
Subrace. Choose one from the Mengali, Zaldest, and Grutkhan subraces.

Mengali

Taking the traits of a person they blend in with societies to learn, discover, and ultimately, prosper.

Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence or Charisma score increases by 1.
Adept. You are proficient in one toolset or 1 skill of your choice.

Zaldest

By taking the forms of the beasts of the wild, the ability to survive is grown.

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity or Wisdom score increases by 1.
Natural weapons. You have a natural weapon, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. It may be horns, claws, or fangs. If you hit with it, you deal piercing damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.

Grutkhan

Even monsters guard their homes against intrusion.

Ability Score Increase. Your Strength or Constitution score increases by 1.
Barkhide. Due to your natural armor and the shape of your body, you are ill-suited to wearing armor. Your hide provides ample protection, however; it gives you a base AC of 17 (your Dexterity modifier doesn't affect this number). You gain no benefit from wearing armor, but if you are using a shield, you can apply the shield's bonus as normal.

Random Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier*	Base Weight	Weight Modifier**
4′ 6''	+4d6	100 lb.	× (2d6) lb.
*Height = base height + height modifier **Weight = base weight + (height modifier × weight modifier)

---

Back to Main Page → 5e Homebrew → Races