The Shootling (Plant Type PC Race)

[Sylvaroth]

The shootlings are in general a plant type PC race.

What do you say?


Traits: A shootling has the following traits.

• Unlike other plants a shootling does not have low-light vision.
• Unlike other plants a shootling is not immune to all mind-affecting effects paralysis, polymorph, or stunning.
• Immunity to poison and sleep effects.
• +2 racial saving throw bonus against enchantment and illusion spells or effects.
• Unlike other plants shootlings are subject to critical hits.
• As plants, shootlings can be affected by spells that target living creatures as well as by those that target plants or wood. Damage dealt to a shootling can be healed by a cure light wounds, or a make whole spell (heals 1d8 hp + 1 per caster level (max +5)), for example, and a shootling is vulnerable to warp wood or harm. However, spells from the healing subschool and supernatural abilities that cure hit point damage or ability damage provide only half their normal effect on shootlings.
• The vegetable physique of shootlings make them vulnerable to certain spells and effects that normally don’t affect living creatures. For example a shootling is repelled by repel wood while a warp wood spell cures or inflicts 2d8 points of damage +1 per caster level (max +10).
• A shootling responds differently from other living creatures when reduced to below 0 hit points. A shootling with -1 hit points or less is dying, just like other living creatures. Through his strong bond with the vegetable life around it the he can draw upon the collective life force of the environment’s plant life to increase the usual 10% chance to become stable, conscious or to start recovering hit points naturally depending on the type of terrain the shootling is located at (add the percentage given for typical trees or light undergrowth for the appropriate terrain type).
• Shootlings do not sleep, but instead merge their spirits and life forces with those of the surrounding plant life. Spending 4 hours in this spiritualized state, recovers 1 hit point per character level. Any significant interruption prevents him from healing damage naturally. Still a shootling wizard must rest for 8 hours before preparing spells.
• +2 Wisdom, –2 Charisma. Shootlings are exceptionally aware of the world around them, but their alien mindset causes difficulties in relating to other races.
• Medium: As Medium creatures, shootlings have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Shootling base land speed is 30 feet.
• Bark skin: A shootlings bark provides a +2 natural armor bonus. This bark occupies the same space on the body as a suit of armor or a robe, and thus shootlings cannot wear armor or magic robes. The bark can be enchanted just as armor can be. The character must be present for the entire time it takes to enchant the bark. Since this bark is rather inflexible it also provides a shootling with a 5% arcane spell failure chance, similar to the penalty for wearing light armor. Any class ability that allows shootlings to ignore arcane spell failure chance for light armor lets him ignore this penalty as well.
• Shootlings take only half damage from piercing.
• Natural Thorns: A shootling's skin is covered with thorns. A shootling can deal 1d3 points of extra piercing damage on a successful grapple check, or deal piercing damage with a melee attack, as if he wore armor spikes.
• A shootling has a natural weapon in the form of a slam attack that deals 1d4 points of damage
• Fire Vulnerability: A shootling takes half again as much (+50%) damage as normal from fire, regardless of whether a saving throw is allowed, or if the save is a success or failure.
• Cold Sensitivity: A shootling takes half again as much (+50%) damage as normal from cold, regardless of whether a saving throw is allowed, or if the save is a success or failure.
  ..In addition to the normal consequences of a failed Fortitude save in cold weather conditions and instead of being beset by frostbite or hypothermia an unprotected shootling can take only a single move action or standard action each turn, but not both (nor may it take full-round actions). Additionally, he takes a –1 penalty on attack and damage rolls, AC, and Reflex saves. Severe cold weather conditions have similar effects, but in addition reduce the shootling’s base speed to 5 feet, and increase the penalty on attack and damage rolls, AC, and Reflex saves to –2.
  ..If exposed to extreme cold conditions, a failed Fortitude save or being reduced to 0 hp by nonlethal damage from cold or severe cold weather causes a shootling to change into a dormant state. He grows roots which dig into the ground thus providing him with minimum nourishment and fixing him in place. The shootling’s body functions virtually cease and his spirit returns to the forest. In this state he is not distinguishable from a tree.
  ..The dormant state and the preceding penalties end when the character gets out of the cold and warms up again (usually in springtime).
• Automatic Languages: Common and Sylvan. Bonus Languages: Elven and Treant.
• Favored Class: Druid. A multiclass shootling’s druid class does not count when determining whether he takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing

Does this seem balanced, what LA would you give it?
How could a shootling regrow lost body parts (regrowing with the speed of plant growth) without making the whole concept too powerful?

any suggestions, comments, ideas?