Post/Author/DateTime	Post
moosekickedmysisterstoof 01-26-08, 04:51 PM	I'm creating several sentient plant races that come from another plane. In the plane they come from, plants and animals switched places (the only animals that exist there are similar to coral), thus plants have taken on a more humanoid form and humanoid habits. They communicate via telepathy because they lack vocal organs. I'm shooting for LA +1 at the very most. I want to here all of your thoughts on the matter. - John
Silvercrys 01-27-08, 10:28 AM	LA +1? Here's what I would do: Plant Humanoid (Medium Plant) +2 Str -2 Dex +2 Con Base Speed 30ft Telepathy 20ft Low-light vision Immunity to all mind-affecting effects Immunity to poison, sleep, paralysis, polymorph, and stunning Not subject to critical hits Plants breathe and eat, but do not sleep LA +1 Feel free to change the ability scores to whatever you like, as long as they're at least sort of balanced. (This one's out of balance by 2. I definitely wouldn't go off by more than this for an LA of only +1) This is just the Plant Traits with a base speed as a medium humanoid and some ability score adjustments that are similar to (but much less than) the Treant. And your telepathy. For different races, I would just change the ability scores, since the plant traits by themsleves are pretty strong.
squidyak 01-27-08, 07:43 PM	Something coming from a planet where nothing survives by devouring other creatures (i'm assuming they feed on sunlight) would have a vastly different outlook. They might be horrified by what they find and see animals as an evil that needs to be destroyed.
moosekickedmysisterstoof 01-28-08, 12:51 PM	Thanks for the stats. I also need some help with their society. It's somewhat difficult to think of on such a grand scape. Their culture, their mindset, their diet, what they would use for weapons, and even what they do for recreation would be considerably different than other humanoid races. I was even having a difficult time trying to figure out what they would make their architecture out of. Also, I think that they all such be naturally psionic (favored class psion or psychic warrior for some of them depending on the type of plant). And I was thinking that there should be a few different species of these. I've only decided on three so far: a cactus-like race, a mushroom-like race (yes, I realize that fungi AREN'T actually plants), and a tree-like race (akin to the treant but maybe smaller). I still need as much help as I can get on this project. Thanks!:D - John
AtsuiShoto 01-29-08, 01:40 PM	Regarding architecture: Plant creatures are (presumably) similar to terrestrial plants, since we're designing them for a game being played by a terrestrial audience. To that end, I would imagine that the society may have no need for housing of any sort. Putting a barrier between themselves and the sun would be contrary to their ideas of comfort and necessity. Now, if your plant creatures are populating a world with harsh winters, and they are built like herbaceous plants, they may decide to build winter shelters to both decrease their winter mortality rate and reduce their dormant period to provide increased productivity. Perhaps their winter shelters would eliminate the need for winter dormancy altogether, but I would imagine that the issues of cold weather and minimal sunlight, compounded by the need to stay out of the sunlight to avoid the cold, would make the deepest part of winter a particularly difficult time to stay productive. With that in mind, the northern and southern extremes may be populated with plant creatures that have advanced their understanding of architecture, whereas the tropical plant creatures have no need for architecture. Then we come to art. If the tropical plants have no architecture, then their society lacks the level of material permanence that we humans are used to, so their art would likely revolve around shaping themselves and the landscape around them. Tattoos, earthen mounds, and the like would be likely possibilities. The cold-climate plants would be much closer to humans in their artwork, but their mindset would be much, much different owing to their lack of need for sleep and their need for winter hibernation. Differing mindsets would be reflected in the art.
IdleAltruism 01-29-08, 02:29 PM	I think using Warforged as a base creature would work well. Giving them the IronWood Body feat(maybe even giving them access to all or most of the warforged feats to reflect different types of plants), get rid of the -2 penalty to wis, and possibly remove the arcane spellfailure and I think you have a decent LA+1. For some reason I just imagine a humanoid(plant) like society being like an orc horde from 40k. Big Orks use smaller creatures as food/decoration/weapons/slaves. With warforged body upgrades as a guideline, you could make similar "natural" upgrades. Maybe something like grafts.
moosekickedmysisterstoof 01-30-08, 12:21 AM	Thanks for all of the advice. I was thinking of basing them somewhat off of the warforged as far as the composite plating feats are concerned (especially the cactus race because of their spiky natural armor). Also, the advice about their ideas of art are great as well. I still need some help fleshing them out though and all of your suggestions will be useful to me. - John
McPoyo 01-30-08, 08:37 AM	Keep in mind an easy way to translate their reactions to animals in our world being so different from the "inanimate" animals of their world (and by extension, our plants), would be much the same if we (real-life humans) were transplanted to a world where humans were just lawn decorations and the plants were alive. Shock, horror, awe, outrage, etc. Some enterprising plant people might see this environment as the perfect camouflage. Being able to hide among what we normally be considered "inanimate" plants would be very useful for hit and run strikes, ambushes, etc. Granted, hiding among the corpses of your own kind (or to draw a real-life comparison, a farm of coma victims) would probably mean only the most hardened of the Plant-people would perform this kind of thing, but there would still be some who would. They might look to the woodland fae for support or guidance in our world as well, Dryads and the like, seeing them as close as they could get to sentient plant life, aside from treants and the other actual sentient plants. I may have to steal this idea for a campaign now, where plant people from another world come to the campaign setting, and seeing the "mockery" of the natural order begin a campaign to subjugate or destroy the animal life to put things back into order. Maybe even with the help of a powerful, yet evil, dryad who has a grudge. Taking it a step further, perhaps all plants are naturally capable of gaining the sentience needed to become like the plant-people, they just never had the impetus to psionically kick-start that part of the evolutionary chain, and the Plant-people set about to awaken them all. Sounds like a really amazing idea, right there. Army of Druid Plants awakening everything around them, and attempting to burn out the minds of all animals to make them into "plants". I may have to steal this, if you don't mind :)
moosekickedmysisterstoof 01-30-08, 02:55 PM	No, I don't mind. I'll probably work on some of the plant races today. I'll keep ya posted. - John
Drackthor 01-30-08, 06:31 PM	Was I the only one who entered this thread with the intent to point out it's "In Soviet Russia"? :raincloud
Roam7 01-30-08, 06:48 PM	Was I the only one who entered this thread with the intent to point out it's "In Soviet Russia"? :raincloud No. I was right there with you.
Artector 01-30-08, 06:50 PM	I think the first and most important thing to establish is HOW do you want this race viewed? Are they hostile invaders? Refugees? Unfortunate survivors of a catastrophe? That will tell you what you need to focus on, and how to consider what their society is like. Next question, would this be available to player characters? Flavor-wise.... Perhaps these plants are very violent, the space requirements for them to grow are vast enough that they war with the other kinds of their species, and are thus very isolated. Perhaps though they have a society that many humanoids would consider perfect, their biology means that they only have to make space for water, and with so little requirements for survival they've established a system where most of the populace can just sit, like a normal plant. But I think the most important question to ask is what purpose do these plants-beings have in the story? Where's the conflict?
Malicea 01-30-08, 06:54 PM	Keep in mind an easy way to translate their reactions to animals in our world being so different from the "inanimate" animals of their world (and by extension, our plants), would be much the same if we (real-life humans) were transplanted to a world where humans were just lawn decorations and the plants were alive. Shock, horror, awe, outrage, etc. Some enterprising plant people might see this environment as the perfect camouflage. Being able to hide among what we normally be considered "inanimate" plants would be very useful for hit and run strikes, ambushes, etc. Granted, hiding among the corpses of your own kind (or to draw a real-life comparison, a farm of coma victims) would probably mean only the most hardened of the Plant-people would perform this kind of thing, but there would still be some who would. They might look to the woodland fae for support or guidance in our world as well, Dryads and the like, seeing them as close as they could get to sentient plant life, aside from treants and the other actual sentient plants. Or they might be so far removed from the 'primitive' plants of our world that they feel hardly any kinship with them, as we would similarly feel a distance between us and coral, or even herd animals. There's nothing preventing them from being carnivores either, although there is probably not any reason for them to view other sentients as food. I'd assume humans meeting sentient plants for the first time would not be immediately thinking of a leafy dinner. They might consider mammalian life to be inferior to a degree, being generally unable to regenerate limbs and survive without protection from the elements. They might be hermaphroditic, and find gender differences incomprehensible. The nature of their reproduction will influence their family structures and extend to overall social organization. (How possible is it for creatures that reproduce by wind-borne pollination to trace a lineage?) A possibility is for you to start with a creation myth or creator and proceed from there.
james_gaines 01-30-08, 09:35 PM	Let me ask a few morphological questions: I assume they move around by walking. Do they walk around on their roots? Or is it more like branches? All plants need water, and generally they just passively extract water from the soil? How do your people do this? Do they actively need to see out water and carry it with them? Or do they 'plant' themselves for the night (this might lead to a dormant sleeplike state as they replenish)? If they do need to root for the night, it might lead to architecture, as they would need a reliable safe place to root that'd have plenty of water. Where are the roots? Are they on the face? The back? The feet? You need a good amount of surface area for transpiration (plant breathing) to occur? Are they extremely leafy people? Does it look like fur would on a mammal? Do they have just a couple of huge leaves? Or have they found a way around this need for surface area?
Jaxgaret 01-30-08, 11:58 PM	Was I the only one who entered this thread with the intent to point out it's "In Soviet Russia"? :raincloud I thought the thread would at least mention Cloverfield.
McPoyo 01-31-08, 10:33 AM	I'd assume humans meeting sentient plants for the first time would not be immediately thinking of a leafy dinner. Depends on what the plant was. If it resembled a clearly edible vegetable, yes. ;)
larry_the_titan 01-31-08, 10:52 AM	I thought the thread would at least mention Cloverfield. In Soviet Russia, Monster Films you.
ikki 01-31-08, 02:57 PM	I thought the thread would at least mention Cloverfield. seems like the hyped up invisible monster is a walking plant then...
moosekickedmysisterstoof 01-31-08, 03:21 PM	I thought the thread would at least mention Cloverfield. Go to the monster forum and check out my thread "She's standing in a field of clover." - John
EvilVegan 01-31-08, 04:10 PM	Let me ask a few morphological questions: I assume they move around by walking. Do they walk around on their roots? Or is it more like branches? All plants need water, and generally they just passively extract water from the soil? How do your people do this? Do they actively need to see out water and carry it with them? Or do they 'plant' themselves for the night (this might lead to a dormant sleeplike state as they replenish)? If they do need to root for the night, it might lead to architecture, as they would need a reliable safe place to root that'd have plenty of water. Where are the roots? Are they on the face? The back? The feet? You need a good amount of surface area for transpiration (plant breathing) to occur? Are they extremely leafy people? Does it look like fur would on a mammal? Do they have just a couple of huge leaves? Or have they found a way around this need for surface area?I want to add to these some thought topics. Despite being plants, such active movement requires either musculature or very advanced hydration system for quickly filling and emptying vacuoles. Either way I would see these additions creating internal organs. This would lead to being subject to critical hits. I could see light fortification (like a warforged) easily, but I wouldn't say 100% immune to crits. Also, movement requires way more expenditure of energy than standing around soaking up light. As such it would mean eating and drinking. A lot. Even with supplimental photosynthesis they'd need a good supply of mulch, water, and sun in addition to food. Really it would cut down on eating a bit if they got a lot of sun, but wouldn't remove the need for raw materials. Their stomachs (if they have them) would be more like a super-fast-composting pile. They would eat dead vegetable matter and it would become rich compost within minutes. I wouldn't put it past them to have living creatures in their stomach to aid with this, such as worms (I know you said no mobile animals, but worms are almost necessary to have advanced plant-life). Real composting (without worms) gets very hot. Well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. With worms it still gets hot, but the air vents made by burrowing worms helps cool. This would make them very gassy. . . also composting needs water, but not too much, and air. Rudimentary vascular systems and lungs. Composting stomachs would be almost necessary for mobile plants. They have to carry their food with them, rather than rooting. Their roots would reach into this internal compost pile. In my view, cannibalism wouldn't be a taboo, it would be a necessity and maybe an honor. Housing/architecture would depend on their method of eating. If they are true photosynthetes they would need open/glass roofs, walls for protecting against wind, and gutter systems for properly hydrating their ground (not too wet or dry). Their "beds" would be full of dirt and rich compost. They'd sleep during the day. . . Think really ornate green-houses. They'd go crazy with these things once they discovered glass-making. CRAZY. They also would have strict rules on stone-throwing. Race relations with sentient animals would be just as strange as humanoids having relations with sentient plants. Don't over think it. Plants have no problem digesting their elders, and this might freak humanoids out more than plants seeing a human eating a non-sentient plant baby (fruit). I mean, are all plants sentient in this alternate reality, or is it like our world where the animals that we (well, not me) eat are considered "non-sentient" and therefore, torturing and killing these lesser plants/animals is viewed as the norm. Also are these a monster race or a PC race, this would greatly affect their views. If a PC race then they should view sentient animals with the same grain of salt that we view sentient plants. Alien, but not automatically dangerous. IF they're a monster race, then make them crazy as you like and say they want to cultivate all animals to make them food stuffs or to burn their cities down to make way for a new planty world. Burnt cities make great fertilizer. I made a race of plant-folk (technically half-plant/half-orangutan, warforged stats for the most part). They nomadically wander the forests exactly like orangutan. Their graveyards are their nurseries and it was this habit that lead to them becoming more sentient than a standard orangutan. When a member of their race dies, they bury his body in the sacred grove and plant their seeds there. Over the generations, they've built up hundreds of life-times worth of racial memories that are stored in the soil, and the saplings pick this information up. So they get a head-start on life, being fully sentient and having a lot of information as young beings. It isn't true reincarnation, but the have a lot of 'deja vous moments' where they remember how to do things they've never done before. Also, with plants don't restrict yourself to bipedal humanoid forms (unless there's some sort of divine comedy going on). My plants were based on orangutan, but still had 3 trunk-like legs and extra branches growing out of their backs.
Crebain 01-31-08, 07:06 PM	Perhaps their buildings would be made of a clear material like crystal in order to keep them out of the cold yet allow sun light to pass through. Probably not glass because of the danger fire would cause. On the same note they wouldn't make metal weapons because of the fire involved in forging the weapons. The idea you have to keep in mind is that they would be mortally afraid of fire. They would also either consume pure sugar or not eat at all. also sleeping would probably be out of the picture.The fungi would probably be living in some sort of cave or dirt mound. Just from my own imagination I would think that the fungi would have alot of the same mannerisms of a dwarf.
EvilVegan 02-01-08, 10:17 AM	Perhaps their buildings would be made of a clear material like crystal in order to keep them out of the cold yet allow sun light to pass through. Probably not glass because of the danger fire would cause. On the same note they wouldn't make metal weapons because of the fire involved in forging the weapons. The idea you have to keep in mind is that they would be mortally afraid of fire. They would also either consume pure sugar or not eat at all. also sleeping would probably be out of the picture.The fungi would probably be living in some sort of cave or dirt mound. Just from my own imagination I would think that the fungi would have alot of the same mannerisms of a dwarf. Goblin fungi. . . FUNGLIN! They would fill the niche of small-sized scavengers. In a utopia they would be garbage men. In a standard fantasy game they'd be like ghouls who rob graveyards and eat the dead. . . I don't think plants would be any more scared of fire than we are. We burn too. It is a nice quirk though, especially if they're very tree-like. It would make them more fantasy and less sci-fi. As a side note, not needing to cook food and being able to tolerate extreme cold better would be a good reason for them to skip the "discovery of fire" stage of civil evolution. Fear of axes would also be amusing for tree-people. But that would only make sense in a world that had at one time had lumberjacks. . .
moosekickedmysisterstoof 02-01-08, 04:15 PM	These are all fantastic suggestions! I'm really surprised that so many people actual showed interest in this topic. Anyway, I'm going to take this one step at a time so let's focus on the cactus race first. I really like their architecture (and I would even say weapons) being made of crystal. Maybe they wouldn't use fire that often so glass probably wouldn't be used on a regular basis. I like the thought of them having primitive organs and not being 100% immune to critical hits. Sounds great. Also, internal worms (or perhaps some kind of worm-like plant equivalent?) aiding in digestion sounds great. I would say that they don't really require sleep, but must root themselves in moist soil at least once a week (maybe every night for eight hours or so if they are a caster) in order to get the proper nutrients. Also, for the cactus race (maybe call them "saboten"), I looked at the saguaro sentinel in Sandstorm and kinda pictured it like that only much smaller. I like it having four arms (maybe claw or slam attacks?). Also, their spines would grant natural armor and impare them from wearing real armor (maybe make multiple "body spike" feats?). Let me know what else you think. - John
moosekickedmysisterstoof 02-01-08, 04:18 PM	Also are these a monster race or a PC race, this would greatly affect their views. If a PC race then they should view sentient animals with the same grain of salt that we view sentient plants. Alien, but not automatically dangerous. IF they're a monster race, then make them crazy as you like and say they want to cultivate all animals to make them food stuffs or to burn their cities down to make way for a new planty world. Burnt cities make great fertilizer. They are a PC race, but because of their radically different outlook on humanity, they could easily be used as villains. - John
Crebain 02-01-08, 06:36 PM	OK I know you said no animals, but what about bacteria and other micro-organisms or ameobas which could absorb their oxygen and put out carbon dioxide making a self sufficient breathing system meaning that once initially exposed to carbon dioxide they would never have need for it again, thus being able to breathe under water in anyother area with a lack of oxygen.
EvilVegan 02-02-08, 09:50 AM	These are all fantastic suggestions! I'm really surprised that so many people actual showed interest in this topic.I like plant people (or anything that isn't yet another cat/elf sub-race) and you're welcome. Also, a lot of people might not have even clicked on the thread because the title says nothing about plant people or asking for help. :D Anyway, I'm going to take this one step at a time so let's focus on the cactus race first. I really like their architecture (and I would even say weapons) being made of crystal. Maybe they wouldn't use fire that often so glass probably wouldn't be used on a regular basis. I like the thought of them having primitive organs and not being 100% immune to critical hits. Sounds great. Also, internal worms (or perhaps some kind of worm-like plant equivalent?) aiding in digestion sounds great. I would say that they don't really require sleep, but must root themselves in moist soil at least once a week (maybe every night for eight hours or so if they are a caster) in order to get the proper nutrients. Also, for the cactus race (maybe call them "saboten"), I looked at the saguaro sentinel in Sandstorm and kinda pictured it like that only much smaller. I like it having four arms (maybe claw or slam attacks?). Also, their spines would grant natural armor and impare them from wearing real armor (maybe make multiple "body spike" feats?). Let me know what else you think. - John Crystal works well because it requires no heat to modify. Also, some crystals can be "grown", which would make construction easy if they could figure out a way to shape it while it grows. Saboten wouldn't need as complex of systems for digestion as other plants because they're evolved in a harsh environment where things like compost and water were very rare. They should be nomadic, seeking oasises (negating the need for their huge tap-roots), and they should retain water better than a camel. Spines and minor natural armor wouldn't be a bad idea, but I would make natural attacks a feat, or give them a level adjustment/racial hit dice. Also, having multiple limbs can be a bit much. If the damage comes from many small thorns and not from strength (like 4 attacks that do 1d3 + 1/2 str) that wouldn't be as bad, especially if they don't have true hands on 2 of the arms. Look at thri-kreen for balancing level adjustment and hit dice. Thrikreen have 4 arms and a bite attack, natural armor, etc. I think they're ECL 4 to begin with (or is it ECL 6, I'm away from my books). Again, this is all from PC race design. For a monster race design you might want to post this in the Monster forum.
moosekickedmysisterstoof 02-02-08, 03:45 PM	OK I know you said no animals, but what about bacteria and other micro-organisms or ameobas which could absorb their oxygen and put out carbon dioxide making a self sufficient breathing system meaning that once initially exposed to carbon dioxide they would never have need for it again, thus being able to breathe under water in anyother area with a lack of oxygen. Micro-organisms would exist. They aren't technically animals (I believe some of them are protists?) so I think that would be ok. Keep in mind that in place of normal grasses and trees there would be animal version covering the landscape much likw coral reefs. Think sponges and medusas (the animal, not the snake-haired women) as well. That's how I keep picturing it. Also, I'm not 100% sure if I want to call the cacti "saboten." "Saboten" is just the japanese word for cactus and I thought that maybe I should come up with a different name. However, I sketched a new plat race last night that somewhat resembles a large radish or a turnip. They're tall, rotund, they have two-to-three head leaves to absorb sunlight and they are called "Dhulba." They are a peaceful, minamalist race (think taoist) who live in small family patches and are active during the day (the bury themselves in soil at night to absorb the extra nutrients their plump bodies need). More on them later, but I want to hear suggestions on them as well. Later! :D - John
EvilVegan 02-02-08, 03:51 PM	Well other than simultaneously reminding me of both Mr Potatohead and the Turnip spirits from Spirited Away, I can't really think of much for a radish person. They'd have root-like arms/hands. They'd need less 'stomach', probably simpler organs, and probably a higher natural armor. Nothing higher than +2. Maybe Damage reduction instead of natural armor and fortification. I'd make them slow like a dwarf maybe, and give them better psi-like abilities/potential.
Dragoon1 02-03-08, 05:43 PM	Hok, for your catcus folk I think two arms is the best without a massive LA, because mutliweapon fighting is insane. As for the 'OMG animals eatign plats WTF' thing when they meet humans et all I think they wouldn't be disguseted and attack, but more confused. i mean, the animals are obviously intelegent, these plants are not. They'll be confused as crap for sure, because of the reversal of roles, but not neccessarily hostile. Xenophobia will be insane though, both sides will fear eachother because they are so... different.
ToastedAmphibian 02-04-08, 06:20 PM	It seems to me that their thoughts, mannerisms, culture, and physiology would be vastly shapped by their world. Why/how is their world populated by stationary animals? If the plants move in their world, it must be because it is somehow benifical for plants TO move in their world. Ditto for stationary animals. In THIs world, plants dont move because it is too energy intensive. They cant get enough energy from the sun to make thought, much less movment, productive enough to outway the primary drawback of starving to death. The most logical way i could think of for this sort of thing to come about would be to use tubar-type plants as your base line. They spend all spring/summer growing large nutrient sacks which they feed off of during the winter months. This would result in plants that stay passive during the entire growing season, only moving about when the conditions are not good for growing. At first, they would use this time to seek shelter from the elements/predators. As they evolved, they would begin to use this time to scout out better growing arreas, terraforme the land, cut terraces, dig irrigation canals and possibly construct green houses for the comming growing season. This would eventually result in each individual being able to store more food during a growing season than it could eat during the winter (As has happened in every human population that ever reached the level of "civilization" or "Society"). This would probably result in one of two outcomes, probably a combination of both. 1. Each individuale contributes the unnecessary portion of their stores to important individuals. Possibly; scouts, planners, matnence crew, guards, or even standing armies who reamain active during the growing season by living off these stores making it so that the winter construction season would be more productive because they wouldnt have to spend time making the plans or repairing the weather damage for the prvious year. 2. Each individual becomes "Active" for increasingly large portions of the growing season, as they nolonger requier the entire season to produce their years food. This opens the way for art, rudimentary science, and even espionage, sabatoge, and lessiure activites (What better time to spy on your neighbores than when most of them are virtually comatose?) ____________________________________ The animals present a very diffrent problem. In THIS world (Read "Real World") ALL stationary animal type life forms that i can think of live the life of filter feeders or ambush predators, and NONE of these feed on life forms that are even semi-intelligent, much less sentient. Plants are generally a poor energy source (the reason why herbivores eat ALL THE TIME) so for an immobile ambush preadatore to be a herbivore, it would probably have to eat about 3/4th its body weight in mobile plants a day. That sentient creatures would regularly go near these things, much less allow them to live, is completly incomprehensible. Filter feeders, Like Coral, and Tube Worms are slightly more doable, but only really work in aquatic environments. ------------------------------------------------------- All in all, id say a more plausible world would be one in which these tubar plants systemiatically destroy any surviving non sientient plants they find (Weeds, basically) while intially hiding from and fending off the animals of the world (Personally i envison agressive and violent cows that hibernate during the winter, but mabey i have just played too much Diablo) but eventually beging to hunt them down and exterminate them during their active periods (Like humans did with most of the things that activly prey on us) MOO Mooo Mo MO MOOOOOOOO
EvilVegan 02-07-08, 12:57 PM	Plants are generally a poor energy source (the reason why herbivores eat ALL THE TIME) As a vegan I just wanted to back this statement up. I eat constantly. Of course, some plants are great sources of energy, fruits and grains mostly. Grass, not so much. If the world is full of seeds at all time, then it would be more believable. Like constantly exploding seed plants. The "grass"-worms eat the high energy seeds. Larger "tree"-animals could be like huge venus-fly traps that eat wandering "gazelle"-plants... Of course, at some point you're going to reach a contrived point of science vs fantasy. At that point I'd just hand-wave it away or say there is a plant deity that escaped some prime world that he hated because of the animals being on top all the time.
ToastedAmphibian 02-07-08, 08:42 PM	The "grass"-worms eat the high energy seeds. Larger "tree"-animals could be like huge venus-fly traps that eat wandering "gazelle"-plants... At some point you just have to draw the line. If it MOVES like an Animal, ACTS like an Animal, LOOKS like an Animal and EATS like an Animal, then its an ANIMAL. Who cares if its great great great great great great grand father was some kind of perverted half-fiendish awakened dire tree..... But anyways, yes soem PARTS of some plants are good energy sorces. Things like tuber roots, such as potatos. Things that plant generally spend ALL YEAR making. Fruits dont really make much sense though. They really only exist as bait for ANIMAL pollinators. If there arnt really many animals in this other world, you dont really have much reason to evolve fruit. Its kinda wasted energy, especially if yoru saplings can move themselves around the world.
moosekickedmysisterstoof 02-07-08, 08:51 PM	I was browsing through the Manual of the Planes and discovered the Plane of Wood for alternate cosmologies. Honestly, I think it will be easier just to use it instead of having to create an entire other plane. Having said that, here is the Dhulba: Dhulba Dhulba are a race of plant folk from the Elemental Plane of Wood. Unlike many other denizens of the Great Tree, dhulba are not immediately hostile to travelers from other planes and often go out of their way to welcome them. Personality: Most dhulba are very open-minded and love to learn about creatures from other planes and their cultures. Since all native creatures from the Elemental Plane of Wood share an empathic link with eachother, word travels fast when foreigners arrive and dhulba are usually amongst the first to greet them. Other natives of the Great Tree see the dhulba as naive and do their best to discourage them from welcoming trespassers to their home plane. Despite this, dhulba still do their best to be hospitable and quickly usher newcomers to their homestead groves for a more formal introduction. Physical Description: Two to three long leaves sprout from the head of a dhulba and are used for absorbing solar energy (elder dhulba sprout purplish flowers). Dhulba stand about 5 feet tall and weigh a little more than the average human. Their rotund, plump bodies are pale in color with various slender roots dangling out at random areas. Two stubby arm-like appendages with rudimentary digits allow a dhulba to hold and manipulate objects as easily as a human hand, while twin stumps act as legs. A pair of brilliant blue eyes allow a dhulba to see twice as far as a human in low-light conditions and numerous bodily pores permit hearing. Dhulba have no mouth of any kind and absorb nutrients from the soil through their numerous body roots. Lacking vocal organs, dhulba communicate telepathically, although they can make a shrill cry by forcing air out of their pores. Relations: Gregarious and friendly, dhulba are polite to most creatures they meet until they are giving a reason not to be. Most other natives of the Great Tree are annoyed by the dhulba's extroverted personality but tolerate them as long as their inviting nature does not bring trouble to their plane. Humanoid culture of any kind interests dhulba so most humanoids who meet them are often peppered with questions after introductions are made. Dwarven traditions are intriguing to dhulba and much wisdom is thought to be gained from the long lifespans and experiences of elves. Humans and halflings are admired for their resourcefulness, while the innate spell-like abilities of gnomes remind dhulba of their own natural psionic talents. Half-elves and half-orcs are baffling to the dhulba, as they do not understand animal reproduction very well. Alignment: Given their friendly and unbiased outlook, most dhulba are neutral good. Evil dhulba are unheard of. Dhulba Lands: Dhulba hail from the Elemental Plane of Wood. They dwell in the outermost reaching branches of the Great Tree where great quantities of nutrient-rich mulch and soil collect. At nightfall, dhulba cluster together in large communities (called "homestead groves") and bury themselves up to the sprout both to absorb nutrients from the mulch and also to meditate (as a result, dhulba require no shelter). Dhulba must use psionic plane shift or similar dimension-crossing effects to travel to the Material Plane (it is assumed that any dhulba player character has already done so at the beginning of his career). Religion: Dhulba have no deities of their own, but all of them pay homage to the Great Tree itself and see it as a living, sentient being. Dhulba clerics, though rare, have access to the good, plant, and travel domains. Language: Dhulba cannot communicate vocally, but understand Common and Treant. Using their telepathy, dhulba can communicate with any creature within 60 feet that speaks Common or Treant. Names: Gender is a tough concept for dhulba to grasp. As such, there are no distinctions between male and female names in the dhulba culture. Dhulba sproutlets are given one name by the eldest member of their grove homestead. ...this is all I have so far. More tomorrow! - John
ToastedAmphibian 02-07-08, 09:59 PM	Uh... Elemental plane of wood? ? ?? God i really really hope your kidding. That is probably the single most ridculous thing i have ever heard come out of any fantasy sorce of any sort ever. You say someone printed that in a book somewhere? Dosnt that just lead to alot of rolled eyes and dirty jokes? PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE rename it atleast! Wood isnt a bloody element. *Sigh.... Aside from that, the dhulba seem.... Smurf-esque
Jaxgaret 02-08-08, 01:06 AM	Uh... Elemental plane of wood? ? ?? God i really really hope your kidding. That is probably the single most ridculous thing i have ever heard come out of any fantasy sorce of any sort ever. You say someone printed that in a book somewhere? Dosnt that just lead to alot of rolled eyes and dirty jokes? PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE rename it atleast! Wood isnt a bloody element. *Sigh.... Aside from that, the dhulba seem.... Smurf-esque Yeah, seriously. Check out the Wood Savant in my sig.
EvilVegan 02-08-08, 08:08 AM	Uh... Elemental plane of wood? ? ?? God i really really hope your kidding. That is probably the single most ridculous thing i have ever heard come out of any fantasy sorce of any sort ever. You say someone printed that in a book somewhere? Dosnt that just lead to alot of rolled eyes and dirty jokes? PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE rename it atleast! Wood isnt a bloody element. *Sigh.... Aside from that, the dhulba seem.... Smurf-esqueThe plane of wood probably comes from the Chinese elemental system: fire, water, metal, earth, and wood. It isn't from a fantasy source, but from a real world philosphy used for hundreds of years.
larry_the_titan 02-08-08, 09:18 AM	Uh... Elemental plane of wood? ? ?? God i really really hope your kidding. That is probably the single most ridculous thing i have ever heard come out of any fantasy sorce of any sort ever. You say someone printed that in a book somewhere? Dosnt that just lead to alot of rolled eyes and dirty jokes? PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE rename it atleast! Wood isnt a bloody element. *Sigh.... Aside from that, the dhulba seem.... Smurf-esque I believe the concept has been printed in either the Planescape book or the Planar Handbook. I can't remember much about it but its there somewhere.
Naderion 02-08-08, 09:42 AM	Traditional chinese Ocultism makes use of four basic elements. Earth, Metal, Fire, Water, and Wood.
EvilVegan 02-08-08, 12:27 PM	Traditional chinese Ocultism makes use of four basic elements. Earth, Metal, Fire, Water, and Wood. That's five, cupcake. :D
moosekickedmysisterstoof 02-12-08, 05:48 PM	I've made a decision to completely re-vamp the dhulba. Updates later. - Moose