Mandragora (3.5e Race)

Mandragora
Mandragoras spring from the deep uncharted areas of the wild and wondrous world. Their life is vitalized by the sun and the magic in the soil.

Personality
As if touched by a fey spirit, mandragoras are typically bright and cheerful optimists, ready to laugh, frolic and enjoy life and nature. Some madragoras have mean streaks, especially wild ones, and have been known to play cruel pranks on folks, biting them to deliver their poison and then waiting for them to fall unconsciousness, where the mandragora then buries the individual up to his neck in the ground.

Mandragoras spend most of their time buried in the ground, resting and regaining their strength.

Physical Description
Mandragoras, for being closely related to the mandrakes, are smaller and "cleaner". Their body is the humanoid-shaped root of the plant, with the leaves growing at the top of their heads. Mandragoras stand about as tall as halflings, but are rounder, with a simplistic, roughly humanoid appearance. Their bulbous head takes up nearly a third of their height. A tuft of long, broad leaves sprouts from the tops of their heads, often covering their small black eyes. These leaves ruffle and flinch with the mandragora's behavior. A mandragora's mouth is nothing more than a large slit through its head filled with tiny sharp teeth. Mandragora's have long arms that reach nearly to the ground as they stand, ending in slender root fingers. Their legs, rather short and stumpy with stubby little toes, carry them with surprising agility.

A mandragora's hide is surprisingly smooth, shedding dirt easily. They are lighter in color compared to their mandrake cousins, ranging from light browns and grays, to pale greens and ivories.

Since plants lack muscles and skeletons, the mandragora's internal anatomy is vague. They move and bend with ease. Unlike most plant creatures, the mandragora does have some anatomy. They have capillaries that pump poison blood, eyes to see and a mouth to speak and breathe with.

Mandragoras, unlike their mandrake cousins, do come in male and female plants. Male mandragoras put off flower stalks, but do not produce berries.

In early spring, on the tops of their heads, mandragoras sprout several flower stalks with pale violet flowers. These flowers grow into reddish-orange tomato-like berries ready for harvest by late summer. A typical mandragora produces from 2 to 4 of the berries (roll 2d2 to determine randomly). The berries are poisonous, and are treated as a dose of mandragora's blood poison. Planting a berry and providing it proper care yields a new mandragora sprout that matures in 8 years.

Relations
Most mandragoras get along well with light-hearted fey races and goodly humanoids. Against folk they find irksome, they will avoid. Against folk they find vile, they will attack, often in great numbers.

There are folk who do poach and harvest mandragoras for poisons and alchemical ingredients, or even capture them and keep them as slaves or treating them as livestock. For this, mandragoras can be hateful towards other folk.

Occasionally, captive raised mandragoras are sold as "pets" or novelties to nobles. A mandragora's fey-like natures make them dangerously protective of children, whom they view as innocent. Their size and jovial disposition also makes them suitable, if unusual, playmates. A single mandragora might be passed down through several generations of a family.

Some cities dislike mandragoras simply for the reason that they produce poisons, which through their efforts or others, end up for sale on shadowed streets and back-alley markets.

Alignment
Mandragoras are most likely Chaotic Neutral, but may be of any alignment. Their connection to nature and a fey way of life makes them a tad unpredictable and wild.

Lands
Mandragoras are common in temperate forests and even spread into warmer, tropical climates. They prefer to settle away from civilized lands in fertile soils. Often, they share lands with fey creatures.

Mandragoras plant special garden groves where adults tend to young sprouts.

Religion
Mandragoras don't have a patron deity, nor do they have an organized, culturally unifying religion. Some mandragoras do find service in duty to a deity, typically nature deities. Others may find service in the ranks of great fey lords, ready to lend his life for the protection of his lands and his kin.

Language
Mandragoras speak a dialect of Sylvan. They also speak Common. Regardless of the language they speak, to humanoid ears, their accents are strange and they talk with difficulty. This is attributed to their physical nature rather than their intelligence.

Cultivated Mandragoras
As mandragoras are often raised by other cultures, they may instead know the starting languages of their adopted race.

This option is at the DM's discretion.

Names
Mandragoras prefer using classical Sylvan names. However, when raised into another culture, they will take a name according to the traditions there.

Mandragoras are occasionally mistakenly called mandrakes, which properly refers to their larger, surlier cousins.

Racial Traits

 * : Mandragoras are charming and personable (or rascally) with a presence of personality.
 * : Plants breathe and eat, but do not sleep. Other traits gained from this creature type are detailed in the text below.
 * : As a Small creature, a mandragora gains a +1 size bonus to Armor Class, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, and a +4 size bonus on Hide checks, but he uses smaller weapons than humans use, and his lifting and carrying limits are three-quarters of those of a Medium character.
 * Mandragora base land speed is 20 feet: Mandragoras have a burrow speed of 5 feet as a full-round action. A burrowing mandragora has the option of making a usable tunnel or not as it burrows.
 * Immunity to poison, sleep effects, paralysis and polymorph.
 * +2 on saves against stunning and mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects).
 * Fortified : Mandragoras are difficult to wound and resist attacks that target vital spots (such as critical hits and sneak attacks). Mandragoras gain a +2 bonus to their AC against critical hit confirmation rolls. Additionally, precision strikes (such as sneak attacks) must exceed the mandragora's current AC by 2 or be treated as normal attacks.
 * Vulnerability to Fire : A mandragora 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 : A mandragora 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 mandragora is awake during this time, as they do not sleep.
 * Poisonous Constitution : A mandragora itself is quite toxic. Mandragora's blood is an ingested poison. Any creature that scores a bite attack on the mandragora is treated as ingesting the poison, taking an initial 1d2 Constitution damage and Paralysis a minute later as secondary damage. The Fortitude save DC is 10 + the mandragora's Constitution modifier + ½ the mandragora's HD. Ingesting a mandragora whole (with the Swallow Whole ability) is treated as a successful bite attack, so long as the mandragora takes damage each round he is within the creature's stomach.
 * Poisonous Bite : Mandragoras have sharp teeth that deal 1d3 damage. The mandragora is considered both armed and proficient with his bite as a weapon. Each bite delivers Mandragora's Sap poison. The Fortitude save DC is 10 + the mandragora's Constitution modifier + 1⁄2 the mandragora's HD. Initial Damage is a slowing effect lasting 1d6+1 rounds. One minute later, the victim must make a second save or suffer Unconsciousness for 1d3 hours.
 * Sad Cry : A mandragora can cry out a mournful lamentation as a swift action. All creatures within 30 feet of the mandragora suffer a &minus;1 morale penalty on saves, skill checks and attacks unless they make a Will save DC 10 + the mandragora's Charisma modifier + ½ the mandragora's HD. At 5 HD (and every 5 HD after) this morale penalty increases by 1, to &minus;5 at 20 HD. To be affected, a target must be able to hear the mandragora cry. The effect lasts for as long as the target hears the mandragora cry. Sad Cry is a mind-affecting ability. Mandragoras are naturally resistant to this attack.
 * Automatic Languages: Common and Sylvan.
 * Bonus Languages: Any (other than secret languages such as Druidic).
 * Favored Class: Favored Class::Any
 * Level Adjustment: +Level Adjustment::0
 * Effective Character Level: Effective Character Level::1

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

A dead small-sized mandragora in good condition can produce 2 doses of raw mandragora's sap poison, as well as 4 doses of raw mandragora's blood poison. A separate check is required for each dose.

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

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 &times; 25 gp)

Example: DC 15 = 100 gp + (5 &times; 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 &times; DC

Example: DC 7 = 10 gp &times; 7 = 70 gp Base Price per dose.

 : An afflicted subject moves and attacks at a drastically slowed rate. A slowed creature can take only a single move action or standard action each turn, but not both (nor may it take full-round actions). Additionally, it takes a –1 penalty on attack rolls, AC, and Reflex saves. A slowed creature moves at half its normal speed (round down to the next 5-foot increment), which affects the creature’s jumping distance as normal for decreased speed. Lasts for 1d6+1 rounds.

Multiple slow effects don’t stack. Slow counters and dispels haste.

 : The afflicted subject is knocked out and helpless. Lasts for 1d3 hours.

 : 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.