Let me try to cover some of the topics raised earlier in this thread and then give you a bit of good news (hopefully) regarding GenCon.
While it is true that the Black Flock-I prefer that name-to encourage seeds to grow in power, it doesn't mean that the setting mechanics should be unbalanced, i.e. prestige racial levels grant superpowers etc. If you want to develop a group of powerful PC's, the GM can grant the player characters as many earned gifts as they deserve or he wants to make them more powerful. In addition, any character wanting to challenge a member of the Black Flock is going to have to be epic level to say the least. I'd say anything less than 45th or 50th level is wasting their time and life. The main purpose of the metaplot is to allow characters to develop unfettered rather than have an omnipotent being(s) cut them down to size once they start to gain items and/or power. It's also important to remember that Haiel, the lord of Wildwood, does not want to free the Bound God and likes things just the way they are, so he's a lot less interested in shaping powerful seeds than the others.
Playing a bern is only advisable for experienced role players who can overcome the logistical challenges associated with being a bern. In addition, since most berns are wizards, it's likely that many adventuring berns would use some type of illusory magic to conceal their true identity when moving through humanoid cities. A bern character faces the same challenges as a hovara, but it's by no means impossible. (They also make nice bad guys for NPC's.)
In regards to the lack of new plant monsters, I kind of felt that every variation of plant that I could come up with again has appeared in Into the Green as well as nearly every other OGC monster source. The ecology section also refers this as well as the other plant monsters from the Monster Manual. I realize that we buffed some of the beasts from ITG and not the plants. Call it ecology burnout for me. As far as seeing some new plant monsters in a future Legacies issue it's certainly possible. If I get some spare time, I may do some as a web enhancement.
The good news is that it looks like I will be at GenCon on Friday and Saturday to sign those spiffy new copies of Wildwood. So if you're interested in stopping by the booth and picking up your copy or chatting, by all means do so. I look forward to seeing you there. Although my humorous sidekick, Hal, won't be there to accompany me, if you are looking for a good laugh, you won't regret stopping by.
