Briarheart (Briar-heart)
Plant-like creatures who are descended from mighty treants, their true name is unpronounceable to regular creatures. They are called briarhearts due to a heart-shaped seed in their chest that functions as their major organs. Said to have been created when a druid petitioned the treants for help in protecting the wild, the treefolk combined the mortal spark of humanity with the soul of the wild, creating the briarhearts. Greatly entuned to the natural world, briarhearts are champions of the wild, protecting against forces that would corrupt or eradicate natural places.
Basic Information
Biological Traits
The briarheart do not need to sleep, passively regaining energy from sunlight, but many do so, as sleep refreshes them much faster than simply relying on sunlight. Some briarheart might even doze off in a sunny grove for multiple days at a time, and wake to find much more time has passed then they realize.
Genetics and Reproduction
Briarhearts grow their young by mixing seed pieces of the own hearts together and planting them in fertile soil.
Growth Rate & Stages
A briarheart reaches adulthood at 15 years of age, however a young briarheart must be carefully cultivated and grown, and is rooted in the ground and can't move on its own for the first 10 years of its life.
Ecology and Habitats
Briarhearts are generally solitary creatures, preferring to live alone in nature. They can often be found tending to the animals in the woods, and often have one or more animal companions in its service.
Dietary Needs and Habits
While a briarheart can gain a small amount of nourishment of direct sunlight and water alone, they still must consume foods. While capable of surviving on plant and animal life, most prefer to cultivate a specific algae-fungus grown in large forest pools, creating a slush-like drink that they can consume when needed. Many traveling briarhearts bring a small container of this algae with them while traveling, so that they may create these drinks on the road.
Biological Cycle
The passing's of the seasons seem to greatly affect a briarhearts mood. They tend to become dour and depressed in the fall and lethargic in the winter, while they become heavily upbeat and energetic in the spring and summer
Additional Information
Facial characteristics
Some briarhearts are able to grow branch like horns from their heads.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Most briarhearts dwell deep within the forests of Ardlam, preferring to stay away from urban areas.
Average Intelligence
Briarhearts are wise and perceptive, but have a hard time with more intellectual ideas, such as writing and math.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Briarhearts can see twice as far in low-light conditions as a normal human
Symbiotic and Parasitic organisms
Briarhearts often bond with magical plant creatures, and can often be found using them as pets or guardians.
Civilization and Culture
Naming Traditions
Most Briarheart take names relating in some ways to trees or other plant life, usually in Ard Common. Common names include ’Afalu (Fertility), Asabu (Growth), Bamlu (Tree Trunk), Bimmabu (Bark), Buşanţi (Flower), Dallu (Plant), Fūlu (Seed), Ghīlu (Water), Hādlu (Herb), Jāghalu (Thorn), Jinbu (Branch), Kāflu (Fungus), Maʻābu (Spring), Nawāllu (Forest), Qitlu (Leaf), Ta’lu (Wood), Uţilu (Stick), Wallu (Tree), Yiʻbu (Petal).
Major Organizations
Briarhearts have no major originations, no nation to call their own. They view all of nature to be their home. Many briarhearts will join with or form druid circles with other briarhearts in their area, but otherwise keep to themselves.
Beauty Ideals
Briarhearts see beauty in simplicity and naturalism, and thus tend to accept people as they see them. Plants in particular are sought after, and a briarheart will often weave flowers into their clothing or even allow them to grow on their own bodies.
Gender Ideals
Male briarhearts are significantly rarer than females, and are thus prized and protected more, however a male gain no significant advantage over a female in briarheart society, other than a slight increase in offers to grow a child.
Courtship Ideals
Briarhearts are passionate creatures, but polyamorus in nature. They often will grow children with any and all the other briarhearts in the area, as child cultivation is a slow process.
Relationship Ideals
Briarhearts form strong bonds with their children, as they must spend a decade carefully cultivating the child to grow to be able to move on its own.
Average Technological Level
Briarhearts eschew technology, preferring to life simple lives in the woods. Most are incapable of reading or writing, having little need for such skills in the wild. They often have a great knowledge of medicinal plants, but don't often share this knowledge out of fear of their friends being harvested to be used for alchemy.
Major Language Groups and Dialects
Briarhearts speak Sylvan, and often don't pick up other languages, but can also be found speaking Ard Common, Elven, Gnome, Terran, Treant, or Vegpygmy. Many briarhearts are even able to speak with the trees and other vegetation of the land itself.
Common Etiquette Rules
With a briarhearts ability to move carefully through the forest, and with some able to speak to the plants, they often hear things unintended for them, and thusly a briarheart prides themselves on not revealing the hidden truths of others without good reason, and thus they often expect others to do the same. To reveal something a briarheart said in confidence is one of the greatest betrayals one can inflict on them. When travelling in briarheart territory, one should always try to utilize dead or dying plants for their needs, such as firewood, rather than harming a healthy plant, as they might consider that plant a close and personal friend.
Common Dress Code
Most briarhearts eschew clothing in the warmer months, relying on their natural bark to protect them from the elements, while gaining energy from the suns rays. They will often don garbs in the colder parts of the year, when there is a lack of warmth and light. They often craft such clothes from deceased animals that they find in the woods, often acting as if their clothes were a gift from the animal, as a friend.
Culture and Cultural Heritage
Most briarhearts worship nature gods, or the wild itself, but they consider Ygg itself to be their patron god. More evily inclined briarhearts might worship a god of decay or death, venerating it as one part of the natural cycle.
Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals
It is common for briarhearts to form garden pods, large groups of children planted together so that they can be easily cultivated and can have company in their formative, immobile years.
Common Taboos
Briarhearts have a fear and distrust of fire, and thus tend away from lighting any if possible. They greatly dislike technology, believing that people should stick to natural roots. Any briarheart that delved into the creation of technological weapons, such as constructs or firearms, would be shunned greatly by others.
History
It is believed that when the first Humans migrated to the great forests of Ardlam, many began to harvest the forests at an unsustainable rate. It is said that those humans who revered nature traveled to the deepest reaches of the forest, and sought help from the ancient treefolk that dwelt their. Using verdant magic, the treants combined the purity of the wild with the spark of humanity, and planted the first briarhearts. Since then, briarhearts have acted as protectors of nature, and emissaries between civilizations and the wilds.
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
Racial Table: Briarheart Hit Dice: D8; Class Skills: Craft, Knowledge (Nature), Perception, Stealth, Survival; Skill Ranks: 2 + Intelligence modifier per level; Weapon Proficiency: Simple, plus natural attacks; Armor Proficiency: Light
| Level | BAB | Fort | Reflex | Will | Abilities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | +0 | +2 | +0 | +0 | Fire Vulnerability, Forest Stride, Natural Armor |
| 2nd | +1 | +3 | +0 | +0 | Claws, Treespeech |
| 3rd | +2 | +3 | +1 | +1 | Invisibility, Natural Armor Increase |
| 4th | +3 | +4 | +1 | +1 | Plant Empathy, +1 Constitution, +1 Wisdom |
| 5th | +3 | +4 | +1 | +1 | DR 5/slashing, Natural Armor Increase |
Random Starting Ages
| Adulthood | Intuitive1 | Self-Taught2 | Trained3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 years | +3d6 years (18 - 33) | +4d6 years (19 - 39) | +6d6 years (21 - 51) |
Random Height and Weight
| Gender | Base Height | Height Modifier | Base Weight | Weight Modifier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | 5 ft. 8 in. | +2d10 in. (5 ft. 10 in. - 7 ft. 4 in.) | 120 lbs. | +(2d10x4 lbs.) (128 - 200 lbs.) |
| Female | 5 ft. 6 in. | +2d10 in. (5 ft. 8 in. - 7 ft. 2 in.) | 100 lbs. | +(2d10x4 lbs.) (108 - 180 lbs.) |
Briarheart Aging Table
| Middle Age (-1 to Str, Dex, Con, to +1 Int, Wis, Cha) | Old (-2 to Str, Dex, Con, +1 to Int, Wis, Cha) | Venerable (-3 to Str, Dex, Con, +1 to Int, Wis Cha) | Maximum Age (GM secretly decides maximum age) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 65 years | 130 years | 200 years | 200 + 2d20 years (202 - 240 years) |
Random Briarheart Homelands
| % Rolled | Homeland | Trait Gained |
|---|---|---|
| 01-25 | Forest | Devotee of the Green |
| 26-50 | Jungle | Savage |
| 51-82 | Human Settlement | (Roll on Human Homeland table) (Alnasi) |
| 83-94 | Fey Forest | Scholar of the First World |
| 95-00 | Unusual Homeland | (Roll on Unusual Homeland Table) |
Random Briarheart Families
| % Rolled | Parental Status |
|---|---|
| 01-60 | Both of your parents are alive |
| 61-70 | Only Father is alive |
| 71-90 | Only Mother is alive |
| 91-00 | Both of your parents are dead |
| % Rolled | # of Siblings |
|---|---|
| 01-62 | No siblings |
| 63-83 | 1 briarheart sibling |
| 84-94 | 1 human sibling |
| 95-99 | 1d2 briarheart siblings |
| 00 | 1d2 briarheart siblings and 1d2 human siblings |
by @miz0mei on twitter
by @miz0mei on twitter
Genetic Ancestor(s)
Lifespan
202 - 240 years
Average Height
5 ft 8 in - 7 ft 2 in
Average Weight
108 - 180 lbs
Average Physique
Briarhearts are hardy creatures, and due to their plant-like nature are immune to many hazards that would be quite deadly to a normal man. Many briarhearts are able to grow long wooden claws that they can use for battle, and their bark-like skin grants them a small bit of protection from physical attacks.
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
The skin of a briarheart often resembles wooden or mossy texture, and provides the briarhearts with a small bit of physical protection. Smaller plants or fungi often grow on their bodies.
Geographic Distribution
Related Organizations
Related Ethnicities
Briarheart
Type
Plant (Human)
Ability Score Modifier
+2 Constitution, +2 Wisdom, -2 Intelligence. Briarhearts are hardy and one with nature, but have little knowledge of the modern world.
Size
medium
Speed
30 feet
Language
A briarheart begins play speaking only Sylvan. A briarheart with a high intelligence score can choose from the following languages; Common (Ard), Elven, Gnome, Terran, Treant, or Vegpygmy.
- Materil: Briarhearts are intrinsically tied to the Earth Materil and must become Earthbreakers.
- Low-light Vision: Briarhearts can see twice as far as humans in low-light conditions.
- Half-Plant Traits: Briarhearts are half-plant creatures. Half-Plant creatures are immune to sleep effects, and gain a +2 against paralysis, poison, polymorph, and stunning effects. Briarhearts are not immune to mind-affecting effects, (charms, compulsions, morale effects, patterns, and phantasms) but do roll twice and take the better result against such effects, unless those effects specifically affect plant creatures. A briarheart needs to breathe and eat, but they do not require sleep unless they want to gain some beneficial effects of doing so (such as regaining spells or recovering hit points).
- Fire Vulnerability: A briarhearts skin is made of a wood-like substance, causing them to take 1.5x damage from fire attacks.
- Forest Stride (Ex): Briarhearts excel at traveling through the forest. A briarheart can move through natural difficult terrain unhindered while in a forest. Magically altered terrain affects them as normal.
- Natural Armor: A briarhearts bark-like skin grants it a +1 natural armor bonus to its AC. This natural armor increases by 1 at 3rd racial level and again at 5th racial level.
- Wooden Claws: At 2nd racial level, a briarheart gains a pair of claws. These claws are primary natural attacks that deal 1d4 points of damage. The claws count as wooden weapons for any effect that cares about material type.
- Treespeech (Sp): Starting at 2nd racial level, a briarheart gains the ability to speak with vegetation, acting as if under a constant speak with plants spell.
- Natural Stillness (Sp): Starting at 3rd racial level, a briarheart gains the ability to cast Invisibility (affecting only themselves) 1/day, using their total hit dice as their caster level. They can only do this in a natural outdoor setting, such as the woods, but not inside or in an urban area. At 5th racial level, a briar can cast greater invisibility instead.
- Plant Empathy (Ex): Starting at 4th racial level, a briarheart can utilize the Handle Animal skill to influence plant creatures, and gains a +1 bonus on Handle Animal checks on plant creatures. This bonus increases by 1 for every 3 hit dice after 4 the briarheart possesses. Non-intelligent plant creatures will generally not attack a briarheart until provoked.
- Barkskin: Starting at 5th racial level, a briarheart gains DR 5/slashing.
Alternate Racial Traits
- Bramblesoul: Some briarhearts inherit more of a treants physicality, appearing more plant than human, with branchlike arms and skin made of gnarls and brambles. These briarhearts increase their natural armor by 1 at 1st racial level, and their claw damage an additional step at 2nd racial level, but now take double damage from fire instead of just 1.5x. This trait alters a briarthearts natural armor, wooden claws, and fire vulnerability traits.
- Fertile Soil: Some briarhearts are more Intune with natural magics. Briarhearts with the Verdant bloodline treat their Charisma score as 2 higher for all spells and class abilities. Clerics or Druids with the Plant domain use their domain powers and spells at +1 caster level. This trait does not grant Briarhearts early access to level-based powers; it only affects powers that they could already use without this trait. This trait replaces the Forest Stride trait.
- Human Heritage: Some briarhearts more closely resemble humans than plants. These briarhearts gain a +2 bonus on any one ability score instead of the normal briarheart ability score modifiers. This trait alters the briarhearts starting ability scores.
- Shroomcap: Some briarhearts dwell deep in the Underrealm, and gain the traits of mushrooms instead of other plants. Shroomcaps gain Darkvision 60 feet, light sensitivity, can learn Undercommon instead of Common, and can 1/day as a full-round action, can release a cloud of spores that afflicts adjacent, non-plant creatures. Creatures hit by these spores must make a Fortitude save (DC 10 + 1/2 the Shroomcaps total hit dice + the Shroomcaps Constitution modifier) or become sickened for 1 minute per racial level of the Shroomcap. This triat replaces the Natural Armor trait and alters the brairhearts senses and langauges
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