Touch of the Inhuman: Wood

## Introduction

Wood touched are created by the innumerable spirits of the plants that surround us all. While they may be known as wood touched, the spirits of almost any kind of plant, herb, tuber, or fungus can give rise to them. Tree spirits are some of the most common sources of wood touched, as their long lives let them accumulate the power necessary to give rise to touched, but flowers, herbs, and other small plants aren’t unheard of sources. On the great plans, the seas of grass can throng together into enormous conglomerates easily capable of the power necessary. Wood touched are rare, even by the standards of touched, most of them too passive and stoic to take such dramatic action. when one is made, they can be sure the spirits have great plans for them.

## Description

**Physical Description:** Wood touched vary widely in how their heritage manifests. some may show as little flower-like irises, shaped or colored like blossoms. Others may be much more plant-like, with leaves or flowers sprouting among their hair. And still others may be almost entirely plant-like, resembling dryads, miniature treants, or other plant creatures. What sort of plant spirit gives rise to the wood touched influences their appearance, their inhuman traits resembling those of the particular plant.

**Personality:** Wood touched vary widely in personality, but there is a notable trend towards slowness and caution. They usually consider their actions slowly and carefully before following through. This may seem overly cautious to some, but their caution often can save lives where haste would cause disaster. Wood touched may have many other personality traits, often inherited from human family, but they may take on other plant-like personality traits, such as the flexibility of reeds or the stalwart stoicism of an oak.

**In the World:** Wood touched fill many roles in the world. They can mostly be found in native societies where the people have a close relationship with the wilderness. They are most often found in forested or jungle areas, where the sheer number of plants increases the chance that one will take action. Wood touched take on many mantles, be they hunters who use the plants against their foes, druids who wield the power of nature, or warriors embodying the strength and toughness of plants. They can be protectors who maintain the forests, or destroyers, turning their power to destroy intrusive settlements.

## Ability Modifiers

* **+2 Wisdom, -2 Dexterity** Wood touched are in tune with nature, but they are often somewhat slow to react.

## Universal Abilities

* **Regrowth:** Wood touched are blessed by the spirits of plants to regrow somewhat when injured. When their total HP is less than one-half their maximum, they gain fast healing 1, regaining one hit point per round until their hit point total is greater than one-half their maximum HP. This hit point gain otherwise focuses just like natural healing. Fast healing does not restore hit points lost to starvation, thirst, or suffocation, and it does not allow the touched to regrow lost body parts. Fast healing continues to function, even if they reach negative hit points, until the character dies, at which point the fast healing immediately ends.

## Varied Abilities

* **Barkskin:** The wood touched possess tough, plant-like flesh or wood-like skin. They gain a +2 natural armor bonus to armor class.
* **Camouflage:** The wood touched has unusual coloration, usually green or brown, that lets them blend into the plants of their environment. The wood touched selects on of the following terrain types: Forest, Jungle, Plains, or Swamp. While in this terrain, they gain a +4 racial bonus to stealth checks, and can use stealth to hide even if they do not have cover or concealment.
* **Fragrant Cloud:** The wood touched sheds a faint aura of pollen, spores, or odor, which can have various effects. The wood touched selects one of the following options. As a standard action, they can create a 15-foot-radius cloud of poisonous pollen or spores centered on them, which act as an inhaled poison with the effects described below. The cloud lingers in the air until the start of their next turn. After using this ability, they must wait one minute before using it again.
	+ **Beguiling Cloud:** Inhaled; Save fort (DC = 10 + 1/2 the wood touched's hit die + their constitution modifier); Frequency 1/minute for 10 minutes; Effect -2 penalty to resist any charisma-based skills for one minute; Cure 1 save
	+ **Numbing Cloud:** Inhaled; Save fort (DC = 10 + 1/2 the wood touched's hit die + their constitution modifier); Frequency 1/round for 5 rounds; Effect 1d2 dex; Cure 1 save
	+ **Stinking Cloud** Inhaled; Save fort (DC = 10 + 1/2 the wood touched's hit die + their constitution modifier); Frequency 1/round for 5 rounds; Effect sickened for 1 round; Cure 1 save
	+ **Toxic Cloud:** Inhaled; Save fort (DC = 10 + 1/2 the wood touched's hit die + their constitution modifier); Frequency 1/round for 5 rounds; Effect 1 con damage; Cure 1 save
	+ **Tranquil Cloud:** Inhaled; Save fort (DC = 10 + 1/2 the wood touched's hit die + their constitution modifier); Frequency 1/minute for 10 minutes; Effect Sleep for 1 minute; Cure 1 save
* **Grasping Creepers:** The wood touched can urge plants of an area to rise against creatures in the area. The wood touched can use entangle as a spell like ability at will, with a caster level equal to their hit dice, and a DC equal to 10 + ½ their hit dice + their wisdom modifier. They cannot have more than one entangle effect active at a time. If they use it again while the first is still active, the first one immediately ends.
* **Healing Fruit:** The wood touched can grow healing fruits or berries from their body. They can produce a number of such fruit equal to their hit dice each day. Eating a fruit heals the eater 1d4 HP, and both nourishes and satisfies as though they’d eaten a full day’s rations. These fruits lose potency once picked. After one hour, they lose their healing effect and become normal fruits or berries.
* **Improved Regrowth:** The wood touched heals more thoroughly than usual. The wood touched loses the regrowth ability and instead gains fast healing 1.
* **Lashing Vine:** The wood touched grows a long, sinuous vine they can use to attack at a distance. They gain a single tentacle attack that deals 1d4 points of damage. They can attack targets up to 10 feet away with this tentacle attack. The vine can grab or manipulate objects like a hand, but cannot be used to wield a weapon.
* **Photosynthesis:** The wood touched can supply themselves with nourishment in unusual ways, through roots on their feet or through the sun on their skin. A wood touched can spend an hour rooted into the ground to absorb one day’s rations of water, or an hour in sunlight to be nourished as though they’d eaten one day’s rations. They can be rooted and photosynthesize at the same time. In addition, they gain a +4 bonus to fortitude saves to resist the effects of starvation or thirst.
* **Plant Resistance:** The wood touched has a plant-like metabolism, gaining a +2 bonus to saves against paralysis, poison, polymorph and sleep effects.
* **Plant Stride:** The wood touched’s connection to nature allows them to move freely through plants. The wood touched can move normally through any difficult terrain created by natural plant growth. They do not take damage from moving through thorny plants or other negative effects associated from contact with natural plants. Magically manipulated plants still affect them normally.
* **Roots:** The wood touched can supernaturally ‘root’ themselves in place. The wood touched gains a +4 bonus to CMD when resisting bull rush or trip attempts while standing on the ground. In addition, as a swift action while standing on the ground, they can mystically ‘root’ themselves in place. The bonus to CMD increases to +8 while rooted, but they cannot move until the end of their next turn.
* **Treant Smash:** The wood touched can strike with the power of nature to destroy creations of man. The wood touched gains a +2 bonus to strength check to break objects and a +2 bonus to combat maneuver checks to sunder.
* **Treespeech:** The wood touched is in tune with the plants of the world, and can speak to plants as though under the effects of a constant speak with plants spell. Not all plants they encounter will be willing to talk, friendly, helpful, or even honest.
* **Vegetable Toughness:** The wood touched has tough, plant-like flesh. They gain damage reduction 5/slashing.