Designing groot for 3.5

[LordErebus12]

So... Super strength, regeneration, plant control, super intelligence, a strict language barrier, self-cloning, moderate fire resistance, long, plant type, near immortal lifespan... Am i missing anything?

Edit: the ability to glow...

[Debihuman]

I don't think he's at all super Intelligence; he's got a high Wisdom but average Int.

Debby

[Nanoblack]

I've got a character in a d20 futures game I'm running IRL that is basically Groot mixed with Zap Brannigan and is an interstellar pop star. I was eventually planning on posting a homebrew thread for all of my PCs because they're all pretty unique. That said, he gets very limited shapeshifting in that he can add or remove limbs and adjust his Str/Dex accordingly. Weakness to fire, dr/slashing, and adding a psionic class for manifesting to cover all of the miscellaneous abilities he has.

[Demidos]

...So either a druid or a cleric :P

Alternately, some refluffing of the warforged might be what you're looking for? Havent seen the movie myself, but could be about right. Figure out some way to get fast healing and you're good to go.

[Carl]

Haven't seen the movie myself

You have no soul.

He's got a character entry on tvtropes that covers most of his movie version though:

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Characters/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyTheMovie

[LordErebus12]

I don't think he's at all super Intelligence; he's got a high Wisdom but average Int.

Debby

Can absorb wood to feed, rebuild himself, and to enhance his strength
Control trees
Resistance to fire
Genius-level intellect

Source: Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 #17

Edit: just because the movie made him into the comic relief character and yes he does not speak anything verbally other than 'I Am Groot', but doesn't mean he isn't quite intelligent.

[Debihuman]

To be fair, I had never read the Guardians of the Galaxy and so had only the movie for reference. Actually, it wasn't Groot's speech that I had a problem with (clearly his catchphrase had lots of meanings as Rocket could understand him), but the fact that Groot inadvertently started the prison fight.

As to his powers and abilities, Wikipedia has a list see here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groot#Powers_and_abilities

One of the things I liked was that Groot was kind. I really liked the flower he sprouted and then gave to the little girl. It was a throwaway scene but set up the character. This foreshadowed the scene where he encapsulates the party and sacrifices himself to protect them. Those actions speak to his character far more than anything else.

In game terms, he's a variant of treant most likely. It's a good starting out point but instead of being vulnerable to fire, Groot (and his race) have fire resistance. He is a Large creature with the Extraordinary Ability to Change Size. He has regenerative abilities too. When killed, he can be replanted from a twig and grows as a sapling (though I would recommend allowing this only a number of times like Doctor Who's regeneration).

Debby

[LordErebus12]

In game terms, he's a variant of treant most likely. It's a good starting out point but instead of being vulnerable to fire, Groot (and his race) have fire resistance. He is a Large creature with the Extraordinary Ability to Change Size. He has regenerative abilities too. When killed, he can be replanted from a twig and grows as a sapling (though I would recommend allowing this only a number of times like Doctor Who's regeneration).

Debby

I was thinking something along those lines.
I am definitely thinking the race would be best set up as a naturally psionic race.
Im thinking of using the expansion psionic power as the basis for the size change ability.
I'd imagine the Fire Resistance would scale a bit, like many templates tend to do with hit dice (like celestial, fiendish, etc...).

[LordErebus12]

THE FLORA COLOSSUS

http://i.imgur.com/qvPVVDq.png

+2 Strength, +2 Constitution, -4 Charisma.

Medium Plant: As Medium creatures, Flora Colossi have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size. As a plant, the flora colossus cannot be targeted by any effect that is meant only to target humanoids, such as charm person. However, any effect designed to target plant creatures does affect the flora colossus.

Base Land Speed: 30 feet.

Natural Armor: +5

Damage Reduction (Ex): A Flora colossus has damage reduction 5/slashing.

Natural Attack: Flora Colossi have two primary slam attacks, dealing damage according to the Flora colossus’ current size.



Size
Damage


Medium
1d6


Large
1d8


Huge
2d6


Low-light Vision (Ex): Flora colossi have low-light vision, enabling it to see twice as well as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of shadowy illumination. It retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.

Fast Healing: 1

Plant Traits: A Flora colossus has immunity to poison, magic sleep effects, paralysis, polymorph, stunning, and mind-affecting spells and abilities (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects). It is not subject to extra damage from critical hits.

Naturally Psionic: Flora colossi have 3 bonus power points at 1st level. This benefit does not grant them the ability to manifest powers unless they gain that ability through another source, such as levels in a psionic class.

Psi-Like Abilities: 3/day - Expansion. This ability affects only the Flora colossus and whatever objects it carries. Manifester level is equal to Hit Dice (minimum 3rd).

Furthermore, the Flora Colossus has the ability to manifest another psionic power, although only once per month, known as Seed of Rebirth. This ability functions similarly to the Astral Seed power, except where modified below.

Seed of Rebirth
Metacreativity (8th level)
Display: Material; see text
Manifesting Time: 10 minutes.
Range: 0 ft.
Effect: One small portion of the Flora Colossus' own body.
Duration: Instantaneous

This power weaves a piece of its consciousness into a small, detached chunk of its own body (hardness 1 and 1 hit point), generally only a tiny twig, seed or sapling (which is often planted somewhere safe). The Flora Colossus can have only one seed of rebirth in existence at any one time.

Until such time as the flora colossus perishes, the seed of rebirth (also called the sapling) is utterly inert (It can grow much like any plant can, although it generally wont grow larger than a tiny bonsai tree or small potted plant). If the flora colossus is slain at some later date, its soul and consciousness is transferred into the sapling, which begins to dimly glow. Upon transference, the flora colossus' physical remains (should they still exist) become inert matter and cannot thereafter be restored to life. The transfer from the slain body to the seed of rebirth works over any distance, physical or extradimensional.

While in this diminished form, the flora colossus has the abilities of a psicrystal of the appropriate level, plus all the powers it knew and the maximum power points it possessed when this power was manifested - but it also has a negative level that cannot be healed and that does not convert to real level loss in its current form.

To grow a new body from the tiny sapling, the flora colossus must spend thirty days in a hospitable place (by plant standards), receiving light, water and nutrients. The body grows quickly enough, slowly growing into a living, breathing body that is an exact duplicate of its body at the time it manifested this power. If the body is struck for any amount of damage during the thirty-day period when it is growing, it is destroyed and the flora colossus' soul passes on.

When the thirtieth day ends, the flora colossus completely and totally inhabits the new body. It possesses all the abilities it possessed when this power was manifested, at one level lower. Naturally, it has none of its equipment from before its death, unless somehow it was obtained through some other means outside of the flora colossus' control.


Note: To remove some of the power of this ability, it can only be used once per month, and it takes a month to regrow, as opposed to ten days for Astral Seed.

Spell-Like Abilities: A Flora colossus with a wisdom score of 8 or higher gains spell-like abilities depending on its Hit Dice, as indicated on the table below. The abilities are cumulative; Caster level equals the creature's HD, and the save DC is wisdom-based.



Hit Dice
Abilities


1-4
Entangle 1/day


5-8
Speak with plants 1/day


9-12
Command plants 1/day


13-16
Animate plants 1/day


17-20+
Control plants 1/day


Skill Bonuses (Ex): A Flora Colossus’ skin and hair resemble bark and leaves, and every part of the creature has a distinctly plantlike look that changes with the seasons. It is light green in early spring, darkening during the summer. In autumn, it turns yellow, orange, or red like a deciduous leaf. In the winter, it is a dry brown. Because of this, a Flora Colossus has a +4 bonus on Hide checks and Move Silently checks in aboveground natural environments.

Automatic Languages: Flora Colossi speak a rough and primitive dialect of Treant, which is often difficult to understand to those unfamiliar with it. To properly learn all the differences of the dialect, creatures must spend an additional skill point to learn it properly.

Bonus Languages: Common, Sylvan. Due to the stiff physical characteristics of their throats, they cannot easily speak any other language, other than their dialect of Treant. They can still read, write and understand these other languages without issue.

Favored Class: Psychic Warrior

Level Adjustment: +3.

NOTE: Unlike Treants, Flora Colossi do not have Vulnerability to Fire. This is supposed to represent the race's ability to withstand fire damage, without actually gaining any Fire Resistance. Imagine a maximized fireball going off, dealing the maximum 60 points of fire damage to both a treant and a flora colossus. The treant would suffer an additional 30 points of damage on top of that 60, while the flora colossus would not.

[LordErebus12]

While I still haven't seen Guardians of the Galaxy (I am still planning on it), I've been a fan of the comics for some time.


I started looking at Treants, the Woodling template, and other sources for material and inspiration to work from. I realized that most of the fluff about Groot feels very psionic (metacreativity and telepathy mostly) in nature, mixed with some plant control abilities.

The more I thought about it, the more it reminded me of a rough mix of goliath (mostly its size, although nothing of this reached the final build) and the Psionic Duergar (and its characteristic expansion power).

Druid as a favored class is out, despite myself wanting to toy with the idea of a raccoon animal companion. It wouldn't be an anthropomorphic raccoon. Druid really doesn't fit his abilities and powers, imo. Then I thought psychic warrior... perfect. Wisdom based and deals with combat. It has expansion and other powers that deal with buffing itself for battle.

I used a combination of the Woodling template (MM3), a psionic race (Duergar, Psionic) (EPH, I think) and the Treant (MM1) as examples for this build.

Instead of giving it fire resistance, I've decided to simply leave out fire vulnerability, which constitutes it being less susceptible against fire.

Thanks Debihuman for spoiling those spoilers, so it doesn't ruin it for others.
(although I did open it and ruin part of the movie for myself. I'm not too upset, since I'm not one to let that stop me from enjoying the movie.)

[Obrysii]

Edit: just because the movie made him into the comic relief character and yes he does not speak anything verbally other than 'I Am Groot', but doesn't mean he isn't quite intelligent.

I actually thought he was exceptionally intelligent throughout the movie. He seems, for the most part, to have a pretty clear head and the only one to be a few steps a head of everything else. Admittedly, there are a few moments of absent-mindedness, but I can forgive those.

[Debihuman]

I really like this. I suppose leaving out fire vulnerability is enough, rather than scaling fire resistance. However, you might actually want to state this somewhere: While they resemble treants, flora colossuses are not vulnerable to fire though they are not fire resistant.

I don't often use spoilers except for movies but you're welcome.

Debby