5e Leshii Race

A player in my brand-spanking new 5e campaign wanted to play a leshii. I also needed to fill up a half-page in Strange Races. So, here's the quick n' dirty Strange Races iteration of the 5e rules for the leshii race. I expect they'll be tweaked slightly as I become more practiced with creating and converting races, but I think it's workable now.

Update: This just got on En World's frontpage, so I'm putting some leshii info here rather than making you chase a link around. If you want more new player races, check out Strange Races: pdf available here, a print copy available on the sidebar. They're not 5e-mechanics, but I might do post conversions here on the blog later on.

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Leshii 
The leshii are a race of humanoid nature spirits seemingly hewn from wood. Male leshii are six to seven feet tall, with nut-brown skin looped and whorled like the rings of a tree. They are lean and muscular, with rough, craggy features and a crown of branch-like horns. Leshii women are smaller, and their skin is pale and smooth, reminiscent of birch bark. They have long gold or ebony tresses and delicate features.

Leshii are, first and foremost, primal spirits of the forest and the hunt. Of the nonhuman races, they are the least human in manner, being guided solely by deep instinctual urges and their own whims. They only faintly understand the concepts of empathy, laws, and civilized society in general, and live solitary, nomadic lives avoiding other leshii when possible.

Leshii are curious and inquisitive, but well-tempered with a predator’s caution and cunning. They are patient and prefer contests of skill and wit to games of chance, and are adept at feigning weakness or passivity to lure an opponent in. They are territorial and protective of anything they consider theirs.

Adventuring leshii are rare but not unknown. Young leshii go abroad to find new forests or gain experience, while older leshii become bored, or simply never settle down. They seek out companions to protect and watch over, and live itinerant, mercenary lives for as long as it amuses them.

Leshii Racial Features
Abilities: +2 Constitution
Size: Medium
Darkvision: 60’
Woodlore: Proficient in the Nature skill
Unflagging: Leshii are less affected by exhaustion than other creatures, and have advantage on Constitution saves versus exhaustion.

FEMALE LESHII
Abilities: +1 Charisma
Silken Voice: Proficient in the Persuasion skill.
Cantrip: Friends

MALE LESHII
Abilities: +1 Strength
Durable: Advantage on saves versus Poison, and resistant to poison damage.
Hunter: Proficient in the Survival skill.

Leshii (S&W Race-As-Class)

Note: The leshii classes (male & female) should be used in concert with, and not instead of, the racial abilities in the previous post.

CLASS FEATURES (Male Leshii)

Prime Requisite: Constitution, 13+ (5% experience.) Leshii men rely on durability and stamina to outlast their opponents
Hit Dice: 1d6+2 (+3 hp per level after 9th level.) Leshii men are hunters and brawlers, honed and hardened by their spartan lifestyle.
Armor: Light or medium armor and shields
Weapons: Any.
Class Skills: All leshii are skilled at moving silently and hiding in natural environments. Leshii men are skilled at breaking doors and feats of endurance.
Class Advantages: Their rugged nature gives leshii men advantage (a +2 bonus) on saving throws against poison and disease.

CLASS FEATURES (Female Leshii)

Prime Requisite: Charisma, 13+. Leshii women are naturally charming and skilled at reading others.
Hit Dice: 1d6 (+1 hp per level after 9th level.) Leshii women are adept spellcasters, not fighters.
Armor: Leshii women can wear light armor, but are not skilled with shields or heavier armor.
Weapons: Leshii women can use clubs, daggers, darts, and slings.
Class Skills: All leshii are skilled at moving silently and hiding in natural environments.
Class Advantages: Leshii women can cast spells as a magic-user, and are particularly skilled at enchantment and charms, gaining advantage (either a +2 bonus to a caster’s check, or a -2 penalty on a target’s saving throw) when casting these kinds of spells.

(The terms advantage, knack, and skilled are defined on the Game Design page above.  The license for this entry is located in the Legal page above.)

Leshii (S&W Player Race)

Leshii (Forest Hunters)

The leshii are a race of humanoid nature spirits seemingly hewn from wood.  Male leshii are six to seven feet tall, with nut-brown skin looped and whorled like the rings of a tree.  They are lean and muscular, with rough, craggy features and a crown of branch-like horns.  Leshii women are smaller, and their skin is pale and smooth, reminiscent of birch bark.  They have long gold or ebony tresses and delicate features.

In the Shadowend Setting, leshii are more common in the northern woodlands, notably the Gonenfall, Driathorn, Jarnwold, and the northern reaches of the Shadowend Forest.  They inhabit the deepest forests and woodlands, and are both predator and protector to the other creatures that live there.

Leshii society is attenuated at best; they live solitary, nomadic lives and avoid other leshii when possible.  Their lairs often center on a human or humanoid settlement, or follow the route of a nomadic tribe, who honor and propitiate their guardian spirit. Nature spirits like the leshii are similar to but distinct from fey, who are ultimately other-worldly creatures. The most powerful male leshii in a forest takes the title Druhtinaz, or warlord-king, but this is a title with little real power.

 Leshii are, first and foremost, primal spirits of the forest and the hunt.  Of the nonhuman races, they are the least human in manner, being guided solely by deep instinctual urges and their own whims.  They only faintly understand the concepts of empathy, laws, and civilized society in general.  Leshii are curious and inquisitive, but well-tempered with a predator’s caution and cunning.  They are patient and prefer contests of skill and wit to games of chance, and are adept at feigning weakness or passivity to lure an opponent in.  They are territorial and protective of anything they consider theirs, including adventuring companions.

Adventuring leshii are rare but not unknown.  Young leshii go abroad to find new forests or gain experience, while older leshii become bored, or simply never settle down.  They seek out companions to protect and watch over, and live itinerant, mercenary lives for as long as it amuses them.

Leshii do not use names among themselves, but adopt names given to them by other beings.  As such, their names vary.

RACIAL ABILITIES

Leshii have the following racial abilities:
Knacks: All leshii have a knack for tracking and forest survival.
Nightvision: They can see at night without penalty, but not underground.
Defenses: The tough, bark-like skin of leshii men gives them a +1 bonus to their Armor Class.
Advantages: Leshii women have advantage (a +2 bonus) whenever they need to make a check to influence another person; they can also create a fascination effect similar to a charm person spell.  The leshii must be visible and focused on the target, and the compulsion only lasts a minute.  They cannot fascinate the same person twice in a day, and any obvious threat to the target breaks the fascination.

(The terms advantage, knack, and skilled are defined on the Game Design page above.  The license for this entry is located in the Legal page above.)

Moonwood

Moonwood: Just south of the Open Halls, the Moonwood is a thick and verdant woodland. Like Wythin Wood, the Moonwood has survived as an independent realm, unclaimed by any outside ruler. The principal inhabitants of the Moonwood are the Moon Tribes. Many tribesmen are lycanthropes, but fortunately for the surrounding realms, the Moon Tribes believe lycanthropy to be a blessing reserved only for the truly worthy. They recognize the fox-folk of Bellarane as common kin, but relations between the two are tense at best. A clan of faerilven also lives in the Moonwood, and a small number of leshii.

Greenbind Castle: This ancient keep, overgrown with vines, is rumored to still conceal at least one vault full of weapons enchanted against lycanthropes.

True20 IV: Leshii

Leshii are a race of amoral, solitary fey that inhabit deep forests. They embody the harsh reality that is life in the wild.

Personality
Leshii are dispassionate, amoral, and cunning. They are not particularly deep thinkers, and waste little time on ephemeral concepts like good and evil. They attend to their own needs, and expect others to do the same for themselves. Leshii rarely get attached to material possessions, but have a strong sense of territory, and interlopers into a leshii's hunting ground invariably become prey.

Description
Leshii are humanoid, with some treelike features. Their skin resembles bark, and their hair has branchlike tendrils woven through it. Leshii can live upwards of three centuries, but rarely show signs of age.

Relations
Leshii are regarded with fear and suspicion by people living close to the deep woodlands, but regarded more as a curiosity than a threat by others. Warmer relations are hampered by the tendency of wild leshii to kill almost anyone straying into their territories. Leshii and elves avoid each other when possible, and gnomes occasionally strike alliances with them.

Society
Leshii society is something of an oxymoron, given their limited numbers and solitary nature. They live simple lives in the wilderness, hunting and gathering what they need to survive. Relations between the sexes are usually brief and aggressive, but occasionally two leshii will form a partnership, usually in an area of plentiful hunting. There are no recognized leshii kingdoms or realms, since leshii rarely do more than mark out an individual domain with the bones of slain trespassers.

Adventurers
Leshii occasionally become bored or curious, and leave their territories to become adventurers. Their hardy nature and woodland talents makes them much sought-after as guides and guards.

Background Traits
Ability Adjustments: +1 Con
Bonus Feats: Great Fortitude, Night Vision, Talented (Survival & Stealth)
Favored Feats: Fascinate, Sneak Attack
Natural Attacks: Leshii have natural slam attacks that inflict 1+ Str damage with a successful unarmed attack.

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Lineages
The differences between male and female leshii are greater than those between most humanoid races, and their numbers are far fewer. As a result, leshii have only two lineages - male and female.

Lineage - Male
Male leshii are slightly taller than humans, with rough skin like bark, thick hair interwoven with willowy branches, and a "crown" of branches and bone around their heads. They prefer a physical life with few attachments or possessions, and are often rangers or scouts.

Ability Adjustments: +1 Str
Bonus Feats: Endurance, Skill Focus (Survival)
Favored Power: Nature Reading
Natural Armor: Male leshii gain a +1 natural armor bonus to Toughness.

Lineage - Female
Female leshii are much more human in appearance, at least from a distance. Their skin is pale and smooth, reminiscent of birch bark, and their hair is invariably shimmering gold or darkest ebony. They often seduce solitary travellers, sometimes killing them afterwards, or taking them as a servant, but just as often abandoning them with the sunrise. They are as hardy as their men, but more covetious and can their affections or goodwill can sometimes be (briefly) won by gifts of jewelry or fine clothes. They often seek out supernatural sources of power, becoming druids or witches.

Ability Adjustments: +1 Chr
Bonus Feats: Attractive, Inspire (Awe), Skill Focus (Bluff)
Favored Power: Dominate