D&D General give me your ideas for plant people.

[CreamCloud0]

I have decided as my next bad idea that I want to make a playable race of plant people.
I have done some research and concluded that this is not a popular topic so if any of you guys have any ideas for them I am all ears.

Are you asking more conceptually/aesthetically or mechanically?

 

[jmartkdr2]

I've been playing a Sylvari (from Guild Wars 2) based on these rules:
Race: Sylvari - The Homebrewery

Asking for a single plant-people race is a bit like asking for a single animal-people race: you'd need so many internal options to cover everything that it feels less like a race and more like a build-your-own-race kit. Which is fine and fun and not a bad thing... but it might be easier to build a half-dozen plant races for specific subsets than trying to mush them all together.

 

[Alzrius]

Personally, I'm a fan of corn leshies, from Necromancers of the Northwest's Leshinomicon (affiliate link). If they take 5 or more points of fire damage, they need to make a save or explode into delicious popcorn!

 

[CreamCloud0]

I've been playing a Sylvari (from Guild Wars 2) based on these rules:
Race: Sylvari - The Homebrewery

Asking for a single plant-people race is a bit like asking for a single animal-people race: you'd need so many internal options to cover everything that it feels less like a race and more like a build-your-own-race kit. Which is fine and fun and not a bad thing... but it might be easier to build a half-dozen plant races for specific subsets than trying to mush them all together.

Honestly I’d like to see a ‘build your own X’ format with plant people, maybe subraces to theme ability selection choices(standard vines and flowering plants, trees, fungus, aquatic, desert, ect...) I think it could have been done with animal folk but by this point there’s already so many specific animal species established it’d probably be a little redundant

 

[Man in the Funny Hat]

Oxygen-eating plant people are sealed in a room or area of dungeon and dormant. When PC's kick open a door the air rushes in, the plants explode out, and they consume all the breathable air, requiring PC's to save or pass out, and the conscious ones make a second save against confusion. Other dungeon inhabitants have been following the PC's and expecting this. They hold their breath and cycle in and out of the airless area while attacking the crippled PC's.

 

[Mind of tempest]

Podlings - grown from a "mother" plant that comes into contact with the flesh of humanoids; whereupon a sprout forms and grows into fully fledged plant-based creature that looks identical to the humanoid whose flesh spawned it. When fully developed, they feel an intense drive to kill and replace their humanoid parent. Podlings possess a cold, logical sentience. Though they feel an inherent and unwavering loyalty to the mother plant, podlings are independent creatures with their own inscrutable goals. Underneath their skin, Podlings possess dense wooden stalks instead of bones, and masses of hairy, vine-like tendril instead of muscles.

Emotionless: Immune to charm and fear effects, as well as any other effect (beneficial or deleterious) that relies upon emotions. Including Bardic Inspiration, Divine Favor, Bless, Heroism, the Battlemaster(fighter)'s rally ability, etc.

Shriek: Capable of emitting a high-pitched shriek that can be heard from long distances. 1/day can focus this into an effect that mimics the spell Thunderwave with a DC equal to 8 + the Podling's proficiency bonus + the Podling's constitution modifier. At 3rd level, a podling can also focus this into an effect that replicates the Shatter spell 1/day, again using Constitution as a casting stat.

Rootlets: When barefoot on nutrient rich soil, podlings can extend rootlets into the ground, drawing sustenance as if they had eaten a full day's meal and had consumed a full day's worth of water (if water is also present in the ground). This ability also requires a process much like photosynthesis and only functions if the Podling has been exposed for at least 1 hour that day to either sunlight or faerzress.

body snatchers, it looks like.

Anything like the leshy from Pathfinder? And from Starfinder, and the wilden, player handbook 3 (D&D 4th Ed), or the volodni (3.5 Unaproachable East).

Volodni

The volodni, or pine folk, were sentient plant creatures native to the cold forests of Northeast Faerûn,[1] particularly the Forest of Lethyr.[2] The volodni were generally tall and slender but with broad shoulders and long arms. Their eyes were a solid, shiny black, and their skin was dark...

forgottenrealms.fandom.com

Wilden

Wilden is a player character race in 4th edition Dungeons & Dragons.[PH3:14] "Nature's guardians- hunters and destroyers, keepers of ancient knowledge." The wilden emerged from the unspoiled reaches; the ancient bogs and primeval forests of the Feywild. Awakened to fight the growing corruption...

dnd4.fandom.com

Leshy - Ancestries - Archives of Nethys: Pathfinder 2nd Edition Database

Leshies are immortal spirits of nature temporarily granted physical forms. As guardians and emissaries of the environment, leshies are “born” when a skilled druid or other master of primal magic conducts a ritual to create a suitable vessel, and then a spirit chooses that vessel to be their...

2e.aonprd.com

leshy is a mythical being first and I try very hard not to mess with people's things, volodni are to stereotypical but the wildens ability to change function is promising.

Its a plenty popular topic, just, very inconsistant. Also 'plant' is a huge thing with all sorts of variants.

Anywho

Cactus people. From the desert, obviously. Probably Con based and prone to standing around and being chill
Carniverous plants. Got plenty of fun choices here, between pitcher plants and their sit and wait thing, to the almost animalistic jaws of a flytrap, or just, sundews and their everything. I actually made a bunch of these in Minecraft for some reason
Flowers is another always workable one and probably tied to believed/perceived nobility, per the beliefs we give flowers. And, well, just having a so-called Queen of Roses who's literately just a rose person. With an army of rose knights. Naturally these would have to be small

interesting what could you do with pine trees?

Plants don't move in nature. Obviously that's a nonstarter for a race that goes adventuring, but they could be more homebodies than other races (literally having to uproot themselves).

They 'eat' sunlight, but need nutrients from the soil. Presumably if you want them to be more humanoid they could just 'eat' dirt. Plant creatures would have bonuses in sunlight and penalties in darkness, and might even have resistance to radiant damage (perhaps a low level of it gets absorbed and added to HP).

They really hate vegans. "We don't mind when the blood-bags eat each other..."

ability to have a hyper different diet would make them rather different from a cultural persective.

I had a post about my cactus people up a few months ago here: D&D 5E - Homebrew Cactus People

I will read that.

Are you asking more conceptually/aesthetically or mechanically?

all three.

Honestly I’d like to see a ‘build your own X’ format with plant people, maybe subraces to theme ability selection choices(standard vines and flowering plants, trees, fungus, aquatic, desert, ect...) I think it could have been done with animal folk but by this point there’s already so many specific animal species established it’d probably be a little redundant

I was thinking more that I make just one focused race which is plant themed as I always hate those build it you self kits.

 

[Minigiant]

A lizard-flower symbiotic being. A magical plant attaches itself to a magical lizard and awakens it. The lizard grows to small size and eventually waks on 2 legs and talks for the pair.

 

[Mind of tempest]

A lizard-flower symbiotic being. A magical plant attaches itself to a magical lizard and awakens it. The lizard grows to small size and eventually waks on 2 legs and talks for the pair.

interesting

 

[CreamCloud0]

Well fixed abilities for humanoid plant person + subclasses, ballance number of uses to your preference
Base abilities
-self heal action, maybe like a lesser second wind without the extra action
-speak with plants spell
-20ft burrowing speed

Subclass-flowering vine
-5ft reach, uses bonus action, 10ft with disadvantage on actions made
-charm pollen, AoE or target WIS mod number of creatures? Scales with level

Subclass-venomous thorn
-toxic defences, deals poison damage(CON save) to any targets that make a melee attack on player
-natural weapon(piercing) multi attack(2 hits) thorn claw (crits on 19/20?)

Subclass-Enduring forest
-HP+1 per level
-natural armour unarmoured AC=13
-CON save to remain at 1HP on a hit that would drop them below 0 health

I’m aware these are probably all wildly unbalanced but whatever

 

[aco175]

I like the idea of a vine that grows around a skeleton of an animal or humanoid. It uses the skeleton as a shell to allow it to move faster than it would normally would and eventually the vines thicken and merge.