Plantman (Malatran mold man)

Plantmen, "the first and only native inhabitants of Malatra," were a breed of vegepygmies who were known to be the oldest sentient species that inhabited the great Malatran Plateau.^[3]

Description[]

Malatran mold men varied in size from 4 feet (1.2 meters) to 9 feet (2.7 meters), depending on their age. Their bodies were of roughly humanoid shape, and their "skin" was brown in color. Sharp thorn-like claws grew at the ends of their appendages, and green leaf-like tendrils emerged from their heads, shoulders, limbs, and abdomens. The head tendrils were usually gathered in a top knot. The oldest plantmen were known to reach the height of 10 feet (3 meters).^[3]

Plantmen had no sexual dimorphism and were thought to have no genders by humans,^[6] however, plantmen of two sexes existed.^[7][8]

Personality[]

Malatran mold men were strange and wondrous creatures that were one with the Living Jungle. Some plantmen were aggressive, especially the younger specimens who needed to consume copious food to grow. With age and experience, mold men became more docile and mellow as they lost the need to feed on meat as much.^[3]

By nature, plantmen treated other Living Jungle people as they treated plantmen—with caution. The other communities found it hard to understand beings with such alien needs, wants, and life cycles. The Malatran plantmen's true numbers were a mystery as their settlements were well hidden, and they carried ancient secrets unknown to the younger races of the jungle, which all generated unease towards these fungus people.^[3]

Plantmen called all other sentient inhabitants of the Living Jungle "the animal peoples," often looking down on them as being too brash, too unpredictable, and too short-lived. The oldest plantmen referred to the time before the arrival of the Ancients as the "quiet time", for it was a time before conflicts, before disturbances to the jungle's natural order—an era they missed.^[3]

Abilities[]

Due to their appearance and nature, Malatran plantmen had hides tougher than that of a human and found it easier to hide in the wilderness and underbrush whilst moving silently through the vegetation. They also possessed low-light vision. They were resistant to water and possessed full immunity to electricity, poison, sleep magic, and paralysis and could not be stunned, nor polymorphed. Moldmen were vulnerable to fire and were prone to panic when flames were in sight, as if affected by the fear spell.^[3][4] Spellcasting plantmen could never wield flame or ice magics.^[4] Spells like plant growth served as healing spells for plantmen.^[9]

Because Malatran plantmen inhabited humid and moist environments, they were vulnerable to dehydration when adventuring. To avoid this, plantmen had to moisten or soak themselves in water twice per day.^[4]

Combat[]

When pressed into close combat, mold men used their natural thorn claws to rake at their opponents. The most common weapon amongst them were halfspears, and all moldmen were trained in their use.^[3] Other plant men could be seen wielding simple clubs. Plantmen chiefs could exude spores that paralyzed and poisoned their enemies. All creatures who died while infected were reanimated within 21–24 hours as plantmen. These newborns were used as the plantman chief's bodyguards.^[4]

Society[]

Malatran plantmen formed primitive tribes and lived in villages. Much remained unknown about the plantmen's lands within the jungle. They were found virtually everywhere, but no outsider knew of where they came from. The largest known plantmen village stood south of Fire Mountain. Smaller villages were built in the jungles, on river shores, and sometimes even underground; all were constantly on the move. Each time a vegepygmy village was discovered, the plantmen relocated with great speed.^[3][4]

Plantmen were spiritual people who venerated plant and nature spirits. Their plant spirit worship was a form of the ancestor worship that was common to all people of the Living Jungle.^[3] At the age of 120 years old, plantmen adventurers were compelled to return home to their budding caves or were allowed to found new villages.^[5] These few plantmen were selected to become parts of the so-called Council of Trees.^[3]

These creatures were unable to communicate vocally, so instead they communicated via a sign language and a collection of plant sounds like clicking, clacking, and rustling called the plantspeak. In order to communicate with other communities of the jungle, plantmen learned to read lips and understand Malatran Common as well as other tongues, while in return, outsiders sometimes learned the moldmen's sign language.^[3] Communicating via plantspeak was possible the speak with plants spell.^[10]

Malatran plantmen followed a chieftain and usually had a shaman in each village. Shamans knew how to weave healing magics—a gift of the jungle spirits—and knew how to brew medicines and magic potions.^[11] Chiefs often had a sub-chief and between two and five bodyguards. Other adventurer professions in plantmen communities included fighters, rangers, wizards, priests, and some combinations of these roles. Those plantmen who chose to leave their homes and go adventuring were motivated by preservation of the jungle and defense of their homes.^[4]

When attending cross-tribal festivals in the jungle, plantmen sent their elders, bringing bundles of exotic herbs and flowers as gifts and trade goods.^[12]

Ecology[]

All members of the race were insatiable carnivores and consumed great quantities of meat as they grew older and more experienced; however, as plantmen grew, they gained the necessary organs to partially substitute their meat diet with energy from light absorbed by their chlorophyll.^[3] Plantmen were hunters who traveled in groups and were not above consuming carrion.^[4] Apart from meat food, plantmen made and consumed fruit punch and a bitter jungle wine.^[8]

Plantmen had few predators in the Malatran jungles, as hunting garuda were carnivorous creatures and had no interest in vegetable prey.^[8] Carnivorous plant creatures, such as assassin vines and tendriculos showed no interest in plantmen.^[13] While safe from hunters, plantmen lived in symbiosis with plants and mushrooms and they were known to use and cultivate shriekers and russet plants, and they sometimes associated with myconids.^[4]

History[]

In the Year of Sorrow and Hope of the Malatran calendar (1372 DR), a group of heroes stumbled across a plantmen village afflicted by a strange sickness that wilted and wasted the plant creatures. The heroes agreed to investigate the plague's source and try to find a cure for the village's shaman, Staedt. The investigation led them to discover a massive boat that had recently descended from the sky—a spelljammer. It was piloted by L'riyt of Gobi Bank, an alien creature called arcane. The wasting sickness was unwittingly brought in on the spelljammer's hull. The alien microorganisms infected the water source in the area and afflicted a plantmen village. With the aid of a translation device, the heroes of the Living Jungle found out that the visitor from the stars was not malevolent, as L'riyt agreed to help the Living Jungle. Together, they ventured into the ruined city of Donen, and after that, L'riyt produced the cure before leaving Toril.^[14]

Notable Plantment[]

• M'tarn, a plantman sorcerer and a member of The Brotherhood of the Blue Hand.^[15]
• Nari, a female plantman who brought adventurers to her withering village in the Year of Sorrow and Hope.^[7]
• Staedt, a male plantman shaman who knew curative magics but was unable to cure "the sickness" in the Year of Sorrow and Hope.^[8]

Appendix[]

Appearances[]

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