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Treant Racial Write-up and Progression

by Jamie Baty

Treants are a race of intelligent plants that resemble trees in appearance. They are the most powerful of the forest races, and one of the most mysterious.
Personality: The concern of treants is the care of the forest. They cooperate with other woodland races to keep an area healthy; their great strength is invaluable in this vocation. Like gardeners, they trim back the forest so it can grow more healthily. They clear away dead branches and fallen trees (leaving just enough for the forest creatures to make their homes), and clear away diseased plants. They often move mature trees to new locations so that new saplings have a chance to grow and mature. Because of their efforts, their forests are always in a balanced, optimal state, and never needing fire to cleanse it.
Treants are among the most long-lived creatures on Mystara and live in some of the most secluded woodlands. As a result, their personalities reflect this. They are never in rush, always careful in thought, word and deed. Their language is slow, laborious, and richly poetic, like the evolution of nature itself. Even when speaking other languages, their speech is slow and carefully worded.
Treants are rarely in a hurry to speak their mind, and enjoy the art of careful speaking. They have a particular affinity for rhymed, metered poetry and may spend log hours devising verses with which to organise their long memories.
Treants "die" by slowly becoming dormant and returning to being a normal tree, with no sign of ever being intelligent. Treants do not perceive this as death; rather it is a reunion with the greater life of the forest from which it first sprang, and which was always the focal point of their peaceful existence.

Physical Description: These creatures often between 18'and 30' tall and can weigh up to 4,500 lbs. They are virtually indistinguishable from the trees of its forest, and as such they may appear like nearly any tree species.
Treants have no weapon or armour proficiencies. Armour can be made for them (per armour rules for non-humanoid creatures), but most treants will not bother with it. Likewise, they usually do not use weapons, preferring to trample or slam their foes. Some treats do make use of magical rings, bracelets, bracers and necklaces. Other magical items could conceivably be made to work with treant physiology (at DM's discretion).

Relations: Treants cooperate with the other forest races to help protect and preserve the forests they live in. They view outsiders suspiciously, and will anger quickly when seeing creatures using fire recklessly.
Treants do not have much use for most humanoids other than druids and rangers who help it protect the forest. Other, short-lived humanoids lack the long-term perspective treants possess, and often cannot understand why the treants must care for and preserve the forests. Treants do have good relations with elves, although they do not always see eye-to-eye on the best way to maintain the forests.

Alignment: Treants are usually neutral good. They go out of way to help care for the forests and the creatures that make their homes there. The are a force of nature, and care little for laws and rules of civilised nations; however the do understand that nature itself possesses an order, and that beings must find their place within nature's order.

Treant Lands: Treants can be found throughout the Known World, usually residing in forests. They particularly fond of peaceful wilderness places far from civilisation.
Treants usually live near caves with the forests. The caves offer them protection against accidental fire and a place to store their various brews, potions and sap.

Religion: Treants, on the whole, are not religious, they are a manifestation of nature. They are aware of the Immortals and will even cooperate with the followers of Immortals who are concerned with nature and the forests. But they view most Immortals as still clinging to the beliefs and notions of their mortal lives, and, given that, they have very little to do with the interests, concerns and lives of treants.
Individual treants sometimes will seek out a "partnership" with an Immortal as a way to better their forests. Usually, this treant will become a cleric of that Immortal (Ordana and Terra are common). Other treant clerics simply choose two of the following domains: Animal, Protection, and Plant.

Language: Treants speak their own language, Sylvan, Elvish, Fairy, and the predominant local language. They can communicate with plants and animals as well. They may also know Common, Centaur, Giant, Gnomish, Halfling, Hsiao and other local languages. Treants are very learned and live for centuries, and may know ancient languages long forgotten.

Names: Treant names fall into two rough categories: the first being derived from tree qualities and the second (and more rare) being serious and full of gravitas, sounding similar to Thyatian or Milenian names. There is no real distinction between male and female names.
Names: Deeproot, Strongbark, Travistis, Venator, Yellowleaf

Adventurers: Treants do not adventure in the same ways as humanoids. They can stumble into adventures as part of their care for their home forests, and occasionally will venture further to deal with a threat to the forest. Given their need for sun and water, they do not adventure far underground. They have no need for riches, and often do not see they need for action beyond those aimed at helping or saving forests.
A treant's favoured class is treant or druid. Treants tend to be most comfortable in advancing their inherent form, and if not doing so, then in gaining levels in a class best suited to the care of the woodlands. Treants also make competent fighters, rangers and barbarians. Treants make for poor rogues and bards (despite their poetic trappings), and generally look with disfavour on the arcane classes.

Treant Racial Traits:
Treant characters possess the following racial traits.
• +18 Str, -2 Dex, +10 Con, +2 Int, +4 Wis. +2 Cha
• Huge size. -2 penalty to Armour Class, -2 penalty on attack rolls, -8 penalty on Hide checks, +8 bonus on grapple checks, lifting and carrying limits x4 those of Medium characters.
• Space/Reach: 15'/15'
• Base move 30'
• Lowlight Vision
• Racial Hit Dice: A treant begins with seven levels of plant, which provide 7d8 Hit Dice, a base attack bonus of +5, and base saving throw bonuses of Fort +5, Ref +2, and Will +2.
• Racial Skills: A treant's plant levels give it skill points equal to 10 × (2 + Int modifier). Its class skills are Craft (Int), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (any one, chosen at creation) (Int), Listen (Wis), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis) and Survival (Wis).
• Racial Feats: A treant's plant levels give it three feats.
• Natural Weapons: 2 slam (2d6)
• +13 natural armour bonus
• Special Attacks: Animate Trees (Sp): A treant can animate trees within 180 feet at will, controlling up to two trees at a time. It takes 1 full round for a normal tree to uproot itself. Thereafter it moves at a speed of 10 feet and fights as a treant in all respects. Animated trees lose their ability to move if the treant that animated them is incapacitated or moves out of range. The ability is otherwise similar to liveoak (caster level 12th). Animated trees have the same vulnerability to fire that a treant has.
Double Damage against Objects (Ex): A treant or animated tree that makes a full attack against an object or structure deals double damage.
Trample (Ex): A treant may trample any Medium size or smaller creature for 2d6+13 damage. Reflex DC 22 half. The save DC is Strength-based.
• Special Qualities: Damage reduction 10/slashing.
Plant Traits: Treants are immune to mind-affecting effects, poison, sleep, paralysis, stunning, and polymorphing. They are not subject to critical hits.
Communicate with Plants and Animals (Sp): A treant may communicate with plants and animals as if it were permanently under the effects of the speak with plants and speak with animals spells.
Vulnerability to Fire (Ex): A treant takes double damage from fire attacks unless the attack allows a save, in which case it takes a -10 penalty on the save.
• Skills: A treant has a +16 racial bonus to all Hide checks made in forested areas.
• Automatic Languages: Treant, Sylvan, Elvish, Fairy, and predominate Local Language. Bonus Languages: Centaur, Giant, Gnomish, Halfling, Hsiao and other local languages.
• Favoured Class: Treant or Druid.
• Level Adjustment: +5.

Treant Racial Progression
The table below gives an optional level progression for treant players. In this system, starting ability score modifiers and other abilities are granted later or partially granted. At the end of the progression, the treant will be the same as if created normally. If desired, the player may gain up to 21 Plant HD instead of class levels. At 15 HD, the treant becomes a gargantuan sized creature.

Table: Treant Racial Progression

Class Level	Hit Dice	BAB	Fort	Ref	Will	Skills	Special
1st	1d8	+0	+2	+0	+0	(2+ Int Mod) x4	+2 Dex, +2 Int; Medium Size, 2 slam (1d8); +4 natural armour; Low-light Vision, +16 racial bonus to Hide checks in forested areas, Plant traits, Communicate with Plants and Animals; Starting Feat.
2nd	2d8	+1	+3	+0	+0	2 + Int Mod	+2 Str, +2 Con.
3rd	2d8	+1	+3	+0	+0	---	+2 Str, +2 Con.
4th	3d8	+2	+3	+1	+1	2 + Int Mod	+2 Str, +2 Wis; +6 natural armour; Feat.
5th	3d8	+2	+3	+1	+1	---	+2 Str, +2 Con, +8 natural armour.
6th	4d8	+3	+4	+1	+1	2 + Int Mod	Large size (10' face), 10' reach; +2 Str, -2 Dex; vulnerability to fire
7th	4d8	+3	+4	+1	+1	---	Trample (small), double damage against objects.
8th	5d8	+3	+4	+1	+1	2+ Int Mod	+2 Str, +2 Cha; DR 5/slashing; Animate Trees (1 at a time)
9th	5d8	+3	+4	+1	+1	---	+2 Str, +2 Wis; +10 natural armour
10th	6d8	+4	+5	+2	+2	2+ Int Mod	+2 Str, +2 Con; Feat
11th	6d8	+4	+5	+2	+2	---	+2 Con; +13 natural armour; Animate Trees (2)
12th	7d8	+5	+5	+2	+2	2+ Int Mod	Huge size (15' face), 15' reach; +2 Str, -2 Dex; trample (medium size); DR 10/slashing.