Folicoatl (5e Race)

Folicoatl

Physical Description

Concept art by their creator, Furufoo]

Folicoatls appear to be raptor-like creatures, although in truth they're actually plant life. As such, they possess clawed fingers, horns, a tail, and snouts. Folicoatls stand as bipedal creatures and have extremely flexible posture, allowing them to take poses that are as straight and formal as any captain of the guard, or coiled around their surroundings like a tree snake. This makes it easy for them to adopt a myriad of different techniques for life skills, not just combat.

Folicoatls are divided into two primary types, the woodscales and the greenscales.

Woodscales are the most common type of folicoatl due to adapting better to the biomes of Caerulia. They are recognized by their thick scales resembling tree bark which is entirely bare save for some dense patches of foliage, concentrated around their heads and tails. Standing an average of 150cm (approximately 5 feet) tall, they have shorter and stockier snouts. They're surprisingly strong for their size, with powerful muscles concentrated in their upper legs that can allow them to sprint like the wind.

Greenscales are covered with thin, sensitive green scales which can be either bare, or covered with downy feather-like growths that can be similar to ferns, corn silk, dandelion seeds, or many other things depending on the individual. They stand a mere 110cm tall on average (3 feet and 8 inches), but enjoy longer limbs and a prehensile tail so agile and flexible that it can perform very fine feats of dexterity, even accurately throwing objects. This allows them to navigate arboreal biomes with astonishing efficiency, but their truly signature feature is their wings, which enables short glides and superb aerial control. However, this comes at cost of being quite out of their element when removed from the forest, some appearing outright clumsy when they walk.

Folicoatls are hermaphrodites, as such they don't have a strong concept of gender. Most folicoatls go by it/its or they/them pronouns (the former being favored), folicoatls that live among humans or grew up among humans might pick a gender for themselves but that's typically quite tenuous, only going as far as pronouns, names, maybe fashion sense.

Folis are completely sexually inert most of the year, except for a small period where they enter a sort of mating season (the term is literally being 'in season'). anthokin folicoatls (as in, those with the aspect of flowering plants) will grow flowers along their head and tail, while conikin with grow seeds similarly. During that season, they can mate with any other folicoatl of the same species regardless of aspect, producing 1-4 'seeds'. A pregnant folicoatl will then begin to make a nest, which typically involves preparing the most nutritive possible soil to plant the seeds into for them to grow as healthily as can be.

After the seeds are laid and planted, the developing seedling will begin to gather the 'essence' of the plants around them to "choose" their Aspect. That will typically be influenced by abundance, proximity, etc to nearby plants. then they'll develop much like a normal fetus except underground. Their limbs will have the structure of roots, and their head will form horns that will poke out to the surface to perform photosynthesis

It is important to understand that each folicoatl is based on different plants, with their basis plant known as their 'aspect'. The aspect of a folicoatl drastically alters their outwards appearance, even if abilities are generally consistent.

History

Folicoatls, or plant-based fauna as a whole, did not evolve alongside animal life on their world, rather they appeared as a result of the massive meteor strike that formed their homeland Caerulia, an event that caused a magical upheaval as well as a massive extinction event. This section of their history is not well documented though, the important thing is that humans and folicoatls developed together from that point in relative harmony. However, as settlements grew both in area and vertically, folicoatls found themselves struggling to adapt to life in cities.

Humans did remarkably well in densely packed urban centers with tight alleyways connecting them, but that lack of sunlight was affecting folicoatls quite drastically, since their photosynthesizing needs weren't being met. But that's not how things were understood then, instead, it was thought that folicoatls were simply less advanced creatures, or that they were "born" to live in farms and forests. That turned into a self fulfilling prophecy as those folicoatls who remained in cities would be fatigued, have trouble working, being social, etc. Folicoatl populations fell drastically in that time as they were relegated to small villages, farms, and sailing. Because of their biological limitations, Folicoatls also couldn't attend the newly forming colleges of Caerulia which further limited their participation in the "ruling class", with few exceptions, folis became more and more separated from humans.

That wasn't universal though, as one known as Emilia Peace-lily had an advantage of naturally needing less sunlight to thrive, having been the child of a fairly affluent city-bound folicoatl family, she joined a college and, through her studies, managed to find out the actual reason why folis had trouble living in cities, and how it had nothing to do with a predisposition to manual labor, or being less intelligent, or whatever the hell. She published those findings on the biological composition and needs of her people in a work titled The Folicoatl Handbook. Then, she went on to enlist the help of some architect friends, who helped her devise plans for a city that could accommodate the folicoatl's needs, while still being just as great as the large human settlements of her time.

She never did see the products of her labor though, rich humans had no interest in undertaking such a project, not to mention prejudice was already pretty tightly ingrained on society. And most Folicoatls just didn't have the capital necessary to even start something like that, not to mention literacy being pretty low across the board made it so Emilia's handbook became a great medical resource for the educated, and a commendable piece of research, but the city plans were seen as no mor than an interesting thought experiment

Time passed and the captain of a folicoatl-run sailing company saw that they had some perfect real estate in the form of a shipyard located on a bay off to the east of the whispering jungle. And by pulling some strings that captain managed to kickstart the expansion of that shipyard into a proper city that would become a sort of folicoatl enclave, built following Emilia's plans almost a century after her passing.

That city would grow massively in size, with its success inspiring more folicoatls to move in. Its success would prove Emilia's theory about the root cause of 'The Great Fatigue', and folicoatl populations would slowly begin to recover, though not entirely by the time of the comic. And the social rift between coatls and humans lingers still...

Society

Folicoatls are carnivores, with about 70% of their diet being meat. As such hunting is a big part of their culture. There's a sense of respect for the creatures that provide sustenance, like an understanding that the hunter means no harm to the prey, but that this is the way of things. The prey is placed above the hunter in a way because without it, the hunter would starve and die.

So thanking a rabbit with a quick death and making use of as many parts of its body as possible is one aspect of their overall culture. Folicoatls prefer rare meat and can digest raw meat, but cooking and preparing food is pretty common too.

Folicoatls are pretty communal creatures, with their houses being nothing more than a bedroom and some storage space. Cooking, eating, socializing, working, etc, is almost all done outdoors. This is to maximise their exposure to the sun and the rain, as sunlight allows them to photosynthesize for more energy, and being soaked in water allows them to hydrate, literally drinking through their skin.

Folicoatl Names

As Folicoatls are plants, mammalian gender simply does not apply to them. They are all technically hermaphrodites, and even then they are not hermaphrodites in any way that can truly be compared to a human concept of such- their gender is literally the same gender as an apple tree.

Names are selected based on two possibilities- as a descriptor of a Foli's talents, or modeled after a nearby culture- humans in their original setting, but possibly other species in different worlds

Talent Names: Quiet-Wind (Stealthy), Swift-Steps (Fast), Strike-Lance (Fighter), Comfort-Presence (Healer), Crystal-Blood (Makes amber jewelry from themself)

Human Names: Kaíque, Jolene, Riley, Marley, Maxwell

Folicoatl Traits

Raptor-like plant creatures, known for their flexibility and affinity to the forest.
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2.
Age. Folicoatls mature significantly faster than humans, although the age at which they mature is extremely inconsistent and based on their aspect plant. Their maximum lifespan is also influenced by their aspect plant, so it can range from 40 years for the shortest-lived, to upwards of several centuries for others.
Alignment. Folicoatls have no cultural love for war, but equally do not hesitate to fight as needed. As such, they possess no inclination towards any particular alignment.
Size. Folicoatls are generally smaller than humans, ranging from 4 to 5 feet tall. Your size is determined by your Subrace.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet. You have a climbing speed of 20 feet.
Sensitive Leafage. In addition to normal sight, your leafy plumage is very sensitive to air currents, granting you 10 feet of blindsight.
Being of the Forest. You have an additional +1 bonus to stealth while within a forest, jungle, taiga, or similar biome.
Photosynthesis. If you complete a short rest in direct sunlight, you regain an additional 1d6 hit points.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language of your choice.

Woodscale

Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 1
Size. Your size is Medium.
Swiftness. Your walking speed increases by 10 feet, to a total of 35 feet.
Sprint. You can take the Dash action as a bonus action. You may use this trait a number of times equal to your Proficiency Bonus, regaining all uses on a Long Rest.
Bark Toughness. You gain an additional 3 points of maximum health at 1st level.

Greenscale

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 1
Size. Your size is Small.
Prehensile Tail. Your tail is extraordinarily dexterous, to the point it can perform some functions of your hands. You can place one item in your tail as an action. You can then take the 'use an item' interaction with this item in the future without requiring a free hand to hold the item (for example, consuming a potion, or throwing a flask of Holy Water). You do not gain the benefits of an item that grants passive bonuses for being held in a hand by placing the item in your tail (for example, holding a shield), and you cannot use your tail in place of a hand.
Winglets. You have resistance to falling damage. Your Long Jump distance is increased by 10 feet.
Ambusher. Your weapon attacks and unarmed strikes deal an additional 1d4 damage to creatures who have not taken a turn in combat.

Racial Feats

Created to help bring the race in line with other races that recieved such feats from Xanathar's Guide to Everything. These feats have been indexed in strength to Elven Accuracy.

Livewood

Your aspect plant is of an especially hardy sort, and your body is suffused with resilient sap and strong structures. When under pressure, you bend, not break.

You gain Resistance to Fire damage.

As a bonus action on your turn, you can adopt a flexible defensive stance until the start of your next turn, during which you reduce all incoming damage by an amount equal to your Proficiency Bonus (reduce the damage after totaling up the damage of the attack and applying other modifiers such as vulnerability and resistance). Once you have used this ability, you cannot use it again until you complete a short rest.

Natural Incarnation

You embody your aspect plant so deeply that using reasonably strong nature magic comes to you with ease.

You learn one cantrip and two spells, based on your aspect plant. Constitution is your spellcasting ability for these spells. You may cast each of the spells once without expending a spell slot, but can still cast them afterwards using spell slots of an appropriate level. Your ability to cast these spells for free is refreshed whenever you complete a long rest.

At your DM's discretion, you can select different spells to represent different aspect plants.

	Aspect
Tree	shillelagh, absorb elements, barkskin
Herb	druidcraft, healing word, protection from poison
Fruit	guidance, goodberry, enhance ability
Creeping Vine	thorn whip, entangle, pass without trace
Briar	thorn whip, ensnaring strike, spike growth
Flower	druidcraft, animal friendship, lesser restoration
Cactus	resistance, hail of thorns, spike growth
Mycelium	mold earth, earth tremor, aid
Tumbleweed	gust, zephyr strike, misty step
Lichen	guidance, purify food and drink, healing spirit

4.00

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