Apologies for this taking so long. I foolishly loaned my books to a friend of mine who promised he'd have them back a few hours later. He, to put a long story short,
was a dirty dirty liar.
I've addressed most of the criticisms Salix received when I first posted him, though I have changed him slightly--notably, I finally realized Summon (Minion) was what I wanted instead of Animate Plants. I'm sure that might prompt some more pointing-out of errors, but that comes with being new, I suppose. I'm not
technically finished because I haven't written up the stats for Salix's leafy minion, but I will in the morning. I've also included a brief description of how Salix's powers work, and I'll add a more detailed physical description of the Plant Guy tomorrow (more than just "he's covered in bark and leaves").
[sblock=Statistics]
SALIX
PL: 11 (165 pp)
Abilities: Str 14 (+2), Dex 12 (+1), Con 18 (+4), Int 18 (+4), Wis 12 (+1), Cha 10 (0)
Skills: Knowledge (life sciences) 10 (6+4), Knowledge (physical sciences) 10 (6+4), Language 7 (Arabic, English, French, German, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish; also speaks Calliandran, native tongue), Medicine 6 (5+1), Survival 5 (4+1)
Feats: Diehard, Improved Sunder, Improvised Tools, Power Attack, Track
Powers:
Immunity 2 (disease, starvation and thirst) [2]
Plant Control 10 (extra: does not require pre-existing plants; power feat: alternate power (4)) [34]
- Comprehend 2 (speak with and understand plants)
- Fatigue 6 (extras: area (cloud), ranged, selective)
- Nauseate 10 (extra: secondary effect)
- Stun 10 (extra: ranged)
Protection 10 (drawback: noticeable – body coated in tough bark-like skin) [9]
Summon Minion 7 (extra: fanatical; power feat: mental link) [22]
Strike 8 (branch-like "claws"; power feat: mighty) [9]
Combat: Attack +11, Damage +11 (Strike), Defense 18 (14 flat-footed), Initiative +1
Saves: Toughness +14 (+10 Protection), Fortitude +9, Reflex +7, Will +8
Drawbacks: Vulnerable (fire-based attacks; common, moderate)
Tradeoff: +3 Toughness/-3 Defense
Abilities 24 + Skills 7 (28 ranks) + Feats 5 + Powers 75 + Combat 38 + Saves 18 – Drawbacks 3 = 165 / 165[/sblock]
[sblock=Powers]The ability to manipulate plants was a common ability among Salix's people, the Calliandrans, although it is not actually a natural ability; it is a skill, and requires training. For the most part, they used their plant-controlling powers to manipulate their environment or—especially for soldiers—other Calliandrans and plant-based creatures. Some, however, use their Plant Control to heighten their control of their own strange anatomies, and Salix's Plant Control is now an expression of this ability, no longer a psychic manipulation of outside plants or something like that.
His default Plant Control power, the snare, is a sort of leafy webbing that grows naturally on his body—he hurls it at opponents, and as he does so, it grows and expands to cover a larger area (and then constricts, if the target does not dodge). His ability to communicate with plants is actually a complex system of "speech" that involves the expelling of scents and mixing of tiny pollen fragments into the air. His touch-range Nauseate is the result of an internal fluid he can force his body to secrete onto his outer "bark," especially his hands; it is an allergen for most living creatures, resulting in sometimes incapacitating illness.
The ranged Stun and Fatigue come from vestigial parts of Calliandran anatomy, both used as defensive mechanisms in less civilized times to fend off predators (you know...herbivores
). Though many Calliandrans are born without either, or with only one, depending on complicated tribal ancestry, Salix was blessed with both. Buried within Salix's arms are a small array of tiny, hidden needles which he can expel like ranged weapons at a target; if the target is struck, the needles inject a Stunning agent into its body, then quickly dissolve.
The origin of the Fatiguing cloud is rather stranger: in Salix's chest lies a small gas-powered "launcher" of seedpods that are naturally produced within a Calliandran's body, which burst open into a cloud of exhausting powder. Salix now has such control over his own bodily functions that he can produce seedpods filled with chemicals designed to react to specific targets, or to ignore others (thus the "selective" part).
Perhaps his strangest ability is vaguely reminiscent of his snare, in that it involves the separation of part of his body. Any part of the generous amount of foliage growing on Salix's body can be used in this power; after it is broken, pulled, or cut from his body, Salix can focus his plant manipulating prowess to pull off a rather nifty trick. Not only does the severed piece of Salix in question grow in size, but it also takes on a shape similar to that of Salix himself, and becomes a walking, talking servant of the plant controller. Not that the creature is actually a separate organism—its "mind" is for all intents and purposes merely an extension of Salix's, and Salix is mentally linked with the creature at all times.[/sblock]
Thank you to everyone else who made suggestions and gave comments about Salix, too!
