Cleansed Blight (5e Race)
The Cleansed
A plant-based race created from the evil Blight but cleansed to do good and continue their creator's work.
Physical Description
The Cleansed resemble their evil brethren, the Blight, in appearance. Some are more humanoid than others, and they range widely in size depending on their subrace.
Their beginnings are from evil, but their fate is not. It is said that the wooden stake driven through the heart of the abominable vampire was the start of it all. It was infused with the blood of that dreaded man, and from that stake, a tree grew with the help of a deranged druid. From that tree, seeds were produced that in turn produced the first Blights.
And so for many years, Blights were looked on as evil defilers of forests, corrupting entire ecosystems to the will of their long-lost benefactor. That was until an Archdruid came along. His name was Aglonnar Nimbrethil, a wood elf. He rid the forest of all evil until he came upon the tree from which all the Blights were born. Despite all his power, he could not destroy the tree, and so instead sought to cleanse it. In his success, he created the first tree to bear the seeds of the Cleansed. The Cleansed would, later on, come to call that Archdruid The Originator and that first tree and all trees of their type Aglonnar Trees. Aglonnar Trees are not sentient, but give off a sort of psychic aura that the Cleansed can sense.
Society
Cleansed live in tightly knit communities centralized around the Aglonnar Tree from which they were spawned. As seedlings, they are confined to the place at which they first sprouted until they are strong enough to remove themselves from the ground. Often, a group of seedlings are purposely planted in the same area so that they can all be taught together. Once a seedling detaches themselves from the ground, they become a Sproutling, and though now mobile, they cannot sustain themselves away from the forest in which their Aglonnar Tree resides. Only once they reach adulthood can they venture beyond that forest.
Cleansed Names
The Cleansed have no real heritage for names, as their evil brethren held no names they would now want to continue. Knowing no other convention, they take after The Originator’s surname and combine two words, one of a natural phenomenon and the other plant-related. Since The Originator taught them both Common and Elvish, they often chose one or the other, or even a combination thereof. All names are asexual. Parenthetical words are the Elvish form.
Natural Phenomena: Shade (Halya), Breeze (Hwesta), Flow (Sira), Storm (Arrna), Wind (Sul), Quake, Bright (Tiri), Light (Me’a), Sunrise (Romen), Wave, (Falma), Air (Vilya), Aloft (Tarasse)
Plant Related: Root (Thrond), Leaf (Lasse), Pine (Thon), Sow (Rend), Wreathe (Rig), Apple (Caryave), Beech (Neldor), Birch (Nimbreth)
Example: They could choose Shade and Root and be Shaderoot, Halyathrond, Shadethrond, or Halyaroot.
Cleansed Traits
What began as an evil awakening of plants has turned into thriving settlements of these goodhearted beings.
Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 2.
Age. Cleansed are Seedlings until the age of 15 and Sproutlings until the age of 35, at which point they are considered adults. They have no age limit but at some point, typically 500-600 years, they decide to find at least two of their brethren (so as to have all three Cleansed subraces), undergo a week-long ritual to merge and take permanent root to become a new Aglonnar Tree. They can also decide not to merge but still take permanent roots, allowing themselves to become normal plants.
Alignment. Cleansed are almost always Neutral Good, trying to separate themselves from their evil counterparts.
Size. See Subraces.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet.
Take Root. You can sink your roots down into the earth as a bonus action. While rooted, you have advantage on saving throws made against effects that would knock you prone or forcefully move you. If you fail a save against an effect that knocks you prone or forcefully moves you, you are unrooted. Your speed becomes 0 while rooted, and you can't benefit from any bonus to speed. Uprooting yourself takes a bonus action.
Tremorsense. While rooted, you have tremorsense out to a range of 30 feet.
Glowseeds. As an action, you can emit a puff of glowseeds in a 40-foot-radius. These seeds look similar to that of dandelion puffs but provide a soft glow akin to strong moonlight. These seeds float in the air, suffusing the area with dim light for ten minutes before they wilt and disappear. After you use your Glowseeds, you can't use them again until after you complete a short or long rest.
False Appearance. While you are rooted, remain motionless, and aren't wearing armor, you have advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) and Charisma (Deception) checks to be mistaken for a normal plant.
Plant. Your creature type is both plant and humanoid. You are vulnerable to fire damage.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Elvish, the languages taught to the first of The Cleansed by "The Originator."
Subrace. From a single Aglonnar Tree, any of the three subraces can be produced.
Needler
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 1.
Size. Your size is Medium.
Needle Throw. You can use your action to fire some of the needles covering your body at one, two, or three different targets. Make a ranged attack roll against each of the targets. On a hit, the target takes piercing damage equal to 1d6 + your Dexterity modifier. This attack has a normal range of 20 feet and a long range of 60 feet. You must complete a short or long rest before you can make this attack again.
Twiggy
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 1.
Size. Your size is Small.
Natural Claws. Your unarmed strikes deal 1d4 slashing damage on a hit.
Naturally Stealthy. You can attempt to hide even when you are obscured only by a creature that is at least one size larger than you.
Vine
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 1.
Size. Your size is Medium.
Vine Arms. Your arms are an extendable set of vines with sharp thorns protruding from your palms. You can extend your arms to a maximum distance of 15 feet. In addition, if unarmed, you can make a melee attack with them as an action, which deals 1d4 piercing damage on a hit. This damage increases to 2d4 at 6th level, 3d4 at 11th level, and 4d4 at 16th level.
Random Height and Weight
| Base Height | Height Modifier | Base Weight | Weight Modifier |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2′ 7″ (small) 4'5" (medium) | +2d4 (small) +2d8 (medium) | 25lb. (small) 125lb. (medium) | × (1d6) lb. |
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