Mandrake (3.5e Race)

Author: Ganteka Future (talk) Date Created: 18 July 2009 Status: Tentative Completion Editing: Clarity edits only please

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A surly mandrake in leather armor.

Mandrakes

Mandrakes are commonly thought to be plant creatures that were created to be an approximation of humanoids, much like a homunculus. However, mandrakes are indeed products of nature, in that they sprung from the lands themselves, vitalized by the sun and the magic in the soil.

Personality

Busy mandrakes uproot themselves in the morning and go about their business. Lazy mandrakes sit about all day resting, mostly buried.

Mandrakes dislike being disturbed while resting, which is often, regardless if they need it or not. For plants, they are surprisingly emotional and hot-headed. However, they mellow and relax just as often, simply ignoring others rather than dealing with the fuss.

Folk often describe mandrakes as "terse", "sour" or "grumpy", but that distinction varies from individual to individual.

Physical Description

Standing a bit shorter and lighter than a man, the mandrake is a rather humanoid-shaped plant where the majority of its body is the root. A large tuft of wavy tooth-edged leaves sprouts from the top of its elongate head. In many regards, a mandrake is quite humanoid in shape. With a pair of gangly dirty arms and legs ending in rough fingers and toes, the mandrake is capable of wearing clothing fitted for a humanoid, though it rarely does. Their rough skin is a deep brownish-orange or brownish-green and often patchy with soil and clay. Their minimal faces are composed of small dark eyes sit atop long thick necks and their mouths are small slits filled with short pointed teeth.

Since plants lack muscles and skeletons, the mandrake's anatomy appears rough. They don't bend at joints. However, a mandrake does have some anatomy, unlike most other plant creatures. They have capillaries that pump their poison blood, eyes to see, teeth to bite and stomachs to digest food.

Mandrakes, like most plants, are not separated into males and females. Despite this, mandrakes are often given to assuming an outward gender appearance, though occasionally a mandrake will look like neither. Those mandrakes that take on a feminine appearance are typically shorter and lighter than their more masculine counterparts.

In late spring, on the tops of their heads, mandrakes sprout several flower stalks with whitish green flowers. These flowers grow into reddish-orange tomato-like berries ready for harvest by late fall. A typical mandrake produces from 2 to 8 of the berries (roll 2d4 to determine randomly). The berries are poisonous and are treated as a dose of mandrake's blood poison. Planting a berry and providing it proper care yields a new mandrake sprout that matures in 8 years.

Relations

Fey often pester mandrakes, especially the playful ones, as they often share the same lands. Humanoids often dislike mandrakes, as they are poisonous.

Alignment

Mandrakes rarely muster the motivation to fight for good, evil or law, doing what they please. As such, they are most likely Chaotic Neutral, but may be of any alignment.

Lands

Mandrakes prefer temperate climates and among them, secluded places to grow and thrive within. Mandrakes are loathe to move when settlers encroach on their lands and usually learn to live with it. This doesn't make them good, or welcome, neighbors.

Subspecies

As mandrakes are wide spread in the types of habitats, climates and locales they reside in, they may vary in appearance greatly from each other. A northern variety of mandrake might have long thin leaves of a blueish green tinge, while a southern variety might have glossy, broad, green leaves. Height and skin tone vary as well. Many "tribes" of mandrake subspecies might even live within a single area.

The differences in these subspecies is entirely cosmetic and in no way alters their in-game stats.

Religion

Plants aren't big on religion. Mandrakes are not an exception to this and rarely worship deities. When they do, it is often nature deities or sun deities.

Language

Mandrakes speak a dialect of Sylvan. They also speak Common. Mandrakes are affluent vocalists, but their voices can be harsh at times than is typical in most conversations.

Names

Mandrakes prefer using classical Sylvan names, albeit shorter ones. They don't carry a lot of importance on names, and will respond to much of anything as long as it isn't an insult. A mandrake might often be simply called Root, Bulb, Tuber or Plant.

Mandrakes are occasionally mistakenly called mandragoras, the appropriate name for their smaller cousin. Immature mandrakes are often confused with those mandragoras.

Racial Traits

• +2 Constitution: Mandrakes are a hardy lot.
• Plant: Plants breathe and eat, but do not sleep.
• Medium
• Mandrake base land speed is 30 feet: Mandrakes have a burrow speed of 5 feet. A burrowing mandrake usually does not make a usable tunnel, but can construct a tunnel; it burrows as a full-round action when it does so.
• Racial Hit Dice: A mandrake begins with 2 levels of plant, which provide 2d8 Hit Dice, a base attack bonus of +1, and base saving throw bonuses of Fortitude +3, Reflex +0, and Will +0.
• Racial Skills: A mandrake’s plant levels give him skill points equal to (2 + Int modifier, minimum 1) per Hit Die, with quadruple skill points for the first Hit Die. Mandrake class skills are Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Hide (Dex), Knowledge (nature) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Search (Int), Spot (Wis) and Survival (Wis).
• Racial Feats: A mandrake’s plant levels give him 1 feat.
• Proficient with all simple weapons and light armor (but not shields).
• Low-light vision.
• Immunity to poison, sleep effects, paralysis and polymorph.
• +2 on saves against stunning and mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects).
• Light Fortification (Ex): Mandrakes are difficult to wound and resist attacks that target vital spots (such as critical hits and sneak attack). When a critical hit or sneak attack is scored on the mandrake, there is a 25% chance that the critical hit or sneak attack is negated and damage is instead rolled normally.
• Vulnerability to Fire (Ex): A mandrake takes half again as much (+50%) damage as normal from fire damage, regardless of whether a saving throw is allowed, or if the save is a success or failure.
• Earthen Rest (Ex): A mandrake resting below ground in suitable earth with his leaves exposed to the air gains double the natural healing rate (2 HP per HD) from a full 8 hours rest. A mandrake is awake during this time, as they do not sleep.
• Poisonous Constitution (Ex): A mandrake itself is quite toxic. Mandrake's blood is an ingested poison. Any creature that scores a bite attack on the mandrake is treated as ingesting the poison, taking an initial 1d2 Constitution damage and Paralysis a minute later as secondary damage lasting 1d6+1 rounds. The Fortitude save DC is 10 + the mandrake's Constitution modifier + ½ the mandrake's HD. Ingesting a mandrake whole (with the Swallow Whole ability) is treated as a successful bite attack, so long as the mandrake takes damage each round he is within the creature's stomach.
• Poisonous Bite (Ex): Mandrakes have sharp teeth that deal 1d4 damage as a primary natural attack. Each bite delivers Mandrake's Fang poison. The Fortitude save DC is 10 + the mandrake's Constitution modifier + ½ the mandrake's HD. Initial Damage is Blurry Vision and Light Sensitivity lasting 1d6+1 hours. One minute later, the victim must make a second save or suffer Confusion for 1d6+1 rounds.
• Horrid Wail (Ex): 1/minute, a mandrake can belt out a horrid cacophony as a standard action. All targets within 30 feet of the mandrake take 1d6 sonic damage per HD of the mandrake. Any creature with who's HD total 10 less than the mandrake's must make a Fortitude save (DC in the amount of the damage dealt) or die. Mandrakes are naturally resistant to this attack.
• Automatic Languages: Common and Sylvan.
• Bonus Languages: Any (other than secret languages such as Druidic).
• Favored Class: Any
• Level Adjustment: +0
• Effective Character Level: 2

Mandrake Poison

Harvesting Poison

Poison may be harvested from a mandrake, dead or alive. Though, a Craft (alchemist) or (poison maker) skill check or a Heal skill check (living mandrake only) DC 20 is required to harvest the poison.

A dead medium-sized mandrake in good condition can produce 4 doses of raw mandrake's fang poison, as well as 8 doses of raw mandrake's blood poison. A separate check is required for each dose.

Harvesting raw mandrake's fang poison from a living mandrake hamper's the mandrake's ability to produce poison for 24 hours. Harvesting raw mandrake's blood poison from a living mandrake deals 1 point of Constitution damage to the mandrake.

Raw poison has a short shelf life of only a week and requires the appropriate checks to craft it into the poison that is sold. This shelf life is extended so long as the poison is in the process of being worked from raw poison to salable poison.

Higher Poison DCs

The DC of the poison often varies from the listed Base Price of 100 gp for a DC 10 poison. Every additional +1 to the poison's DC increases the Base Price by 25 gp. To calculate the value of the poison's market value, use the formula below.

Higher DCs Price = 100 gp + (DC Increase × 25 gp)

Example: DC 15 = 100 gp + (5 × 25 gp) = 100 gp + 125 gp = 225 gp Base Price per dose.

Lower Poison DCs

DCs lower than the Base DC of 10 require a different formula to calculate price.

Lower DCs Price = 10 gp × DC

Example: DC 7 = 10 gp × 7 = 70 gp Base Price per dose.

Table: Mandrake Poisons

Poison	Type	Initial Damage	Secondary Damage	Base Price
Mandrake's Fang	Injury DC 10	Blurry Vision, Light Sensitivity	Confusion	100 gp
Mandrake's Blood	Ingested DC 10	1d2 Con	Paralysis	100 gp

Blurry Vision (Ex): The afflicted subject’s vision becomes hazy and blurry as everything appears to shift and waiver. This distortion grants opponents concealment (20% miss chance). Blurry Vision lasts for 1d6+1 hours.

Light Sensitivity (Ex): The afflicted subject becomes dazzled in bright sunlight or within the radius of a daylight spell. Light Sensitivity lasts for 1d6+1 hours.

Confusion (Ex): A confused character’s actions are determined by rolling d% at the beginning of his turn:

d%	Action
01–10	Attack mandrake/poison user with melee or ranged weapons (or close with mandrake/poison user if attacking is not possible).
11–20	Act normally.
21–50	Do nothing but babble incoherently.
51–70	Flee away from mandrake/poison user at top possible speed.
71–100	Attack nearest creature (for this purpose, a familiar counts as part of the subject’s self).

A confused character who can’t carry out the indicated action does nothing but babble incoherently. Attackers are not at any special advantage when attacking a confused character. Any confused character who is attacked automatically attacks its attackers on its next turn, as long as it is still confused when its turn comes. A confused character does not make attacks of opportunity against any creature that it is not already devoted to attacking (either because of its most recent action or because it has just been attacked). Lasts for 1d6+1 rounds.

Paralysis (Ex): The afflicted subject's body seizes up. A paralyzed character is frozen in place and unable to move or act. A paralyzed character has effective Dexterity and Strength scores of 0 and is helpless, but can take purely mental actions. A winged creature flying in the air at the time that it becomes paralyzed cannot flap its wings and falls. A paralyzed swimmer can’t swim and may drown. A creature can move through a space occupied by a paralyzed creature—ally or not. Each square occupied by a paralyzed creature, however, counts as 2 squares. Lasts for 1d6+1 rounds.

Vital Statistics

Table: Mandrake Random Starting Ages

Adulthood	Simple	Moderate	Complex
8 years	+1d3	+2d3	+3d3

Table: Mandrake Aging Effects

Middle Age1	Old2	Venerable3	Maximum Age
30 years	60 years	90 years	+4d10 years
At middle age, −1 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha. At old age, −2 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha. At venerable age, −3 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha.

Table: Mandrake Random Height and Weight

Gender	Base Height	Height Modifier	Base Weight	Weight Modifier
Male	5' 8"	+2d6	130 lb.	× (2d6) lb.
Female	5' 6"	+2d6	110 lb.	× (2d6) lb.

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