Leshan

Leshans are forest-dwelling humanoids with blue skin and antlers. Myths hold that leshans were elves who served a mystic god of the wild woods names Cernunnos, himself endowed with antlers, who blessed the elves with his appearance and powers. Others say the leshans are fey creatures who came from the plane of faerie to serve Silvanus, another horned god of the forest. Whichever tale is correct, the leshans are widely known as protectors of wild natural places, particularly deep woods, and said to be fierce wild hunters.

Ancestral Traits

Those of leshan ancestry are tall, standing seven to eight feet, with blue or gray skin. They have hair of a range of colors from dark brown to red to pink. Their ears resemble those of gnomes, though larger, to suit their large frames, and their prominent noses appear somewhat beastlike.

Many leshans also have antlers that grow from the tops of their heads, though not all do, and the presence or absence of antlers does not map onto gender or any other attribute.

Lehsan antlers resemble those of an elk’s, though they are usually smaller than an adult elk’s. Leshans tend to have certain traits.

Age. Leshans mature more slowly than humans, reaching adulthood by fifty years and living to be upwards to five hundred.

Size. Leshans are taller and heavier than humans, averaging seven to eight feet in height and weighing three hundred pounds. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base speed is 30 feet.

Fey Ancestry. You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can’t put you to sleep.

Forest Walker. Leshans are born of the forest, even if they are not born in a forest. All leshans have the magical ability to move through natural terrain more quietly than other creatures. When you walk through a natural environment and not on a road or humanoid-made path, your steps make no sound, regardless of the surface you are moving across. You also have advantage on Dexterity ( Stealth) checks that rely on moving silently in such circumstances.

Cultural Traits

Leshan communities are almost exclusively found deep in old growth forests, integrated with their environments to a remarkable degree. Indeed, some travelers have stumbled through leshan villages and not even realized they were anywhere other than a wild untamed woodland clearing. Leshan homes are often built beneath great oaks, with entrances among tangled roots, or fabricated out of peat moss from a nearby bog. These communities celebrate their environments, seeing themselves not only as its protectors, but its exemplars. Those raised in leshan communities share the following traits.

Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 2 and your Constitution by 1.

Alignment. Leshan communities revere nature in all its forms, celebrating both life and death, growth and decay, as well as the cycles of the sun and moon. As a rule, their communities lean toward neutrality.

Forest Affinity. Leshan communities feel a connection with the creatures of the forest and teach their children to be close to them. Through simple movements and sounds, you can communicate simple ideas with woodland beasts that are Small or smaller.

Wild Hunt. Leshan communities protect and revere the forests in which they dwell, but they are not pacifists. Rather, they embrace both the nurturing growth of the wood, but also its more violent, predatory aspects as well. To commemorate the fullness of the environment in which they live, members of leshan communities conduct great hunts on special days, usually solstices or equinoxes. As a part of these rituals, all leshan community members learn to participate in the hunt. You are proficient in Survival and with simple weapons.

Languages. You speak, read, and write Common and Sylvan.