I am a relatively new player (one year) going into my second campaign soon. I want to create a new and interesting character using unusual and uncommon elements. i was looking on the d20pfsrd website (dnd 3.5) and saw many interesting things... the problem is, they are for the ever-complicated mechanics of 3.5. I don't want that. I just want to use it as inspiration for aspects of my character, because it is very in depth and put together well. So, I would like some help from you DnD forum-goers to help me with my character.
Race-wise, I want him to be very similar to this: http://www.d20pfsrd.com/races/other-races/more-races/advanced-races-11-20-rp/ghoran-19-rp
So, a plant creature like a Ghoran. The problem is, as I went along, I found mechanics that don't work in 5e. For example, I wanted to integrate some of these traits that are in 3.5 plant creatures (copy-pasted from the website):
Traits: A plant creature possesses the following traits (unless otherwise noted in a creature's entry).
- Low-light vision.
- Immunity to all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, morale effects, patterns, and phantasms).
- Immunity to paralysis, poison, polymorph, sleep effects, and stunning.
- Proficient with its natural weapons only.
- Not proficient with armor.
- Plants breathe and eat, but do not sleep.
Many of these aspects make sense. But in 5e, things aren't so complicated. They need to be trimmed down. However, a different problem is with that line:
Proficient with its natural weapons only.
Natural Weapons is a thing that does not exist in 5e. At least, not with the same complicated system. When I look into it, it makes sense to me. As a plant creature, I don't expect I can swing a weapon very easily. However, I expect that I would have perhaps an arm with a giant thorn, and my other arm is a vine-like whipping appendage. Those would be my two weapons, and they would be my "natural weapons". But how do I create their damage calculations?
Note that this line is not the only one I have trouble with; it was just my main focus. Also, on the actual page for Ghorans, there are many traits, some of which are quite unusual. I'm not sure where to draw the line for "overpowered" or "underpowered". Regardless, the whole thing needs to be trimmed down. (once again, refer to the page: http://www.d20pfsrd.com/races/other-races/more-races/advanced-races-11-20-rp/ghoran-19-rp)
My DM suggested resistance or immunity to certain levels of radiant damage; I would also like to hear opinions on that.
Another thing: My character's story is slightly undecided. I've been looking at a Warlock. My story I was looking at was that my character underwent a ritual of sort (either accidentally stumbled upon it or used it on purpose to gain power) and as a result, either lost the ability to speak intelligibly or gained the ability to speak, though not very well. This ritual also resulted in him getting his magical abilities. So you see I'm unsure which route to go on, or whether to do something entirely different.
Thank you in advance 
The closest you can get to being a plant in 5e is to be a Wood Elf, and write your own fluff text.
There is currently no way to become the Plant type. (After reading Unapproachable East, I want to play a Volodni (tree-people).)
Buy a dagger and call it a Claw, for a natural weapon substitute.
Elves can ignore Sleep and brush off some other common charm-type effects.
Elves can also ignore sleep if you don't make a big deal out of it. (Trance still leaves you awake enough to be the guard.)
Weapon and armor proficiencies are granted by class not race in 5e, so pick Sorcerer / Warlock / Rogue.
You can approximate most of what you want, you just have to be clever about doing it and be aware that there aren't all that many rules in 5e yet - it's easy to search everywhere but then again there's so much 'heritage material' they haven't talked about yet.
The idea has been given the go-ahead by my DM. So instead of people saying, "It's not possible" according to the current rules, I'm looking for experienced players and DMs to help me build this character because I'm really enthusiastic about it. Making a few compromises and messing with home-made rules is no problem, so long as it's not too complex and not too under/overpowered.
My advice would be to re-fluff a warforged from the unearthed arcana rules.
Ahrimon wrote:
Here man, homebrew plantman race.
Viridians
You're part plant. its pretty sweet. You don't really have blood, and you get along with trees better than humanoids. Unfortunatly, humanoids move around a lot more and mess stuff up. So you've got to interact with them, even if it isn't you're favorite thing to do.
Racial Traits
Ability Score Increase - Con +2
Age - You age super slowly, or super quickly. Your choice depending on your plant type. Pick one. Age as Half-Orc, or Age as Elf.
Alignment - Whatever you want, but most likely neutral in some capacity.
Size - Medium - You can be any size or weight that fits in the medium size category. Maybed you are big and heavy, because you are mostly made of ironwood. Maybe you are super light because you are a grass man. You're choice.
Speed - You're base speed is 20ft. Quickness isn't a trait plants are known for.
Plant Brain - You gain advantage on saving throws vs mind effecting spells and abilities. This includes all illusions, and enchantments.
No Sleep - You are a plant, so you don't sleep. Instead, you must see at least 1 hour of sunlight (magical or otherwise) each day or become fatigued and suffer whatever the effects of not sleeping normally would be. This lasts until you see at least 1 hour of sunlight. (Giant magic crystals and stuff can also sometimes count, at your DMs discretion).
Sappy - You cannot be healed by heal checks. Instead the nature skill does everything the heal skill can normally be used for, for you.
Food - You don't need to eat, and in fact can't really digest stuff you do eat. you still require water as normal.
Blossom - Whenever you would die from hitpoint damage, you can instead blossom. When you do, your PC still dies, but a small seedling begins to grow where you were. This plant rapidly grows and blooms. Within 24 hours time, you emerge from a chrysalys, at 1 HP. You can be of any subrace listed below, and retain all your memories, class levels, hit points, ability scores, skills, feats, etc.
Languages - Common. You don't have your own language. There are too many of them as it is.
Subrace - Cactaur
Ability Score Increase - +2 Str. You are a walking cactus. Any creature attempting to grab you, or attack with natural weapons takes 1d12 points of damage. Additionally, you can go for 1 week without water before being required to make checks for dehydration.
Subrace - Drosera
Ability Score Increase - +2Wis. You are an Oak, or an Elm or something. A big tree. You are wise and long lived. You grow enough flowering fruit for a single medium creature to subsist for an entire day, each day. Lastly, you gain the ability to speak with your woodland friends. You can communicate with animals of small size or smaller as though you shared a language. They are not especially loyal to you, but if you grow acorns or something you can generally bribe them.
Subrace - Decidoan
Ability score increase - +2 Str. You are a carniverous plant man. You are immune to poison, but totally need to eat. Specifically meat. You can milk yourself once each day to bottle your poison. it has a Save DC of 10+Level and lasts for 24 hours. The poison weakens your prey, and causes disadvantage on all checks for 24 hours.
Subrace - Evergreen
Ability Score Increase - +1 Con, again - You are some sort of pine tree, used to growing places where it snows. You don't need to make any check ever due to extreme cold, and gain resistance to cold damage equal to your character level.
Subrace - Salix
Ability Score Increase - +2 Dex - Like your willow tree ancestors you are super flexible. You can make attacks against creatures more than 5ft away from you as though you had reach. Because you do, actually have reach. This does not stack with reach weapons.
Subrace - Byrophyta
Ability Score Increase - +2 Wis - As a moss monster man, you are actually more of a small colony of plants than a single giant being. As such, any critical hit against you is required to confirm. (Make a second attack and see if it still hits, at disadvantage). Additionally, you regain 1 hit point per round, so long as you are not in a stressful situation such as combat.
Subrace - Flower
Ability Score Increase - +2 Cha - You grow flowers and its super pretty. You can also blast out pheremones, which are treated as per the spell Charm Person. You can repeat this ability after a short rest. The DC is 10+Cha mod.
Subraces are faux latin versions of a few types of trees or plant groups.
Looking at the different plant creatures in the Monster Manual, there aren't really any consistent traits that apply to all plants apart from having the plant type.
If you're building based on the Ghoran, you've probably got +2 Con, +1 Cha, along with a default natural armour formula option to use (something basic like 12+Dex), detect poison and disease and goodberry as racial magic, and maybe proficiency with Nature checks (a bit more nature-focused than broad-scale knowledge). You could add advantage on certain saving throws, but it would be nice to come up with a bit more interesting that you actively do as a character, rather than just covering yourself in defenses.
Attributes: +1 +1 in whatever fits your concept
Naturally Armoured: +1 AC as Warforged
Thorn Whip racial cantrip, and at 9th level, Awaken 1/day
Languages - Common, Sylvian
Advantage on Nature checks
Good Roots: Advantage on checks to be pushed, pulled or proned.
Not sure about power overall but just some more ideas.