Leshy

Just as a leshy’s body can take many forms, their lives can also vary greatly.

While many players use the leshy’s plant-type as inspiration for their character’s personality, no two leshies are identical!

Some adventurers may set out solely to prove they are more than just a plant, while others lean more into their “nature”. Deciding on a path for your character is more important than the heritages presented here!

The forms a leshy can take are as boundless and diverse as plant life itself.

As a leshy, you are a nature spirit occupying a body made from plant matter. Typically this body is comprised of a single type of plant, though the form and shape can vary from leshy to leshy.

What is a Leshy?

Leshies are found in numerous games and literature, originating from Slavic mythology as a protector and guardian deity of the woods. In these tales, The leshy is a singular entity, a mischievous spirit that enjoys pranks, with laughter and singing echoing through the forest as he leads mortals astray. A shapeshifter, Leshy appears as large as a tree or as small as a blade of grass; as a wizened old man or as a variety of animals.

Unlike their namesake, these leshies are not confined to dominion over a single region. Instead, they represent a variety of environments, biomes, and cultures – as varied as the plants they are built from. Popular as familiars, each leshy was born through magic, as fey, druids, or some other powerful magic user beseeched local flora for aid. Leshies are embodied by primal spirits and remain protectors of nature – the bond to a creator being far weaker than a leshy’s duty to the wilds.

While all leshies are based on different plants, and have wildly different strengths and flavor, they are still leshies. As such, creatures will have some overlap in abilities, though the exact structure of these abilities may change.

Standard Traits

• Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2, and Wisdom score increases by 1.
• Age. Leshies are ancient spirits within crafted bodies, and begin life as adults. A leshy’s spirit does not age, though its body may show signs of wear over the centuries. Most leshy do not desire to remain in the same body forever.
• Type. You are a Humanoid and a Plant.
• Size. Leshy are roughly 3 feet tall, though exact size, shape, and weight is dependent on the plants that form their body. Your size is Small.
• Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
• Nature Spirit. As a nature spirit, you are proficient in Nature.
• Darkvision. Accustomed to life underground, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
• Plant Origins. Your derive benefits from the plants the form your body. Choose one of the ten heritages list on the following page when creating your character.
• Natural Nourishment. You are able to obtain nutrients in the same manner as the plants or fungi that comprise your body. While also capable of eating, it is not necessary for you to survive, provided you have regular access to direct sunlight, nutrient-rich soil, and water. If you go without a required source for one week, you begin to starve.
• Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Sylvan. Sylvan uses the same script as Elven, and flows in a similar fashion, though it is a far more ancient tongue.

Subrace

There are many varieties of leshy, with a wide range of appearances and varying abilities. Choose one subraces.

• Bonsai. Your precisely sculpted shape requires regular upkeep. Fortunately, it’s quick and easy for you to shed new growth and maintain your chosen shape. As an action, wooden splinters burst forth from your body. All creatures in a 15 foot cone make a Dex save. The DC of this saving throw is 8 + your Constitution modifier + your proficiency bonus. A creature takes 2d6 piercing damage on a failed save, and half as much damage on a successful one. The damage increases to 3d6 at 6th level, 4d6 at 11th, and 5d6 at 16th level. After using this ability, you cannot use it again until you complete a short or long rest.
• Cat-Tail. Your cat body may be a bit of mimicry, but you share some of the traits of your namesake. You are both curious enough to have gotten yourself into your fair share of trouble in places you weren’t technically invited to, and light-footed enough to survive them. You gain advantage on saving throws against traps.
• Coffee. You are full of energy, and you can share that energy with others when they grow weary. At dawn each day, you sprout a cluster of four highly caffeinated coffee beans. A creature that consumes a bean becomes immune to the effects of Exhaustion for one hour, though their Exhaustion level can still increase. The beans lose their potency if they have not been consumed by the following morning. Creatures who regularly partake of your coffee beans may eventually become addicted to coffee.
• Driftwood. Like the wood that makes up your body, you feel at home drifting on the waves. When bored with a location, you may even set yourself adrift on a river or ocean, letting your mind wander until you wash up on a new shore. You gain a swim Speed of 20 feet and can breathe both water and air.
• Lichen. Your durable form naturally shrugs off the effects of inclement weather. You are immune to extreme heat and cold.
• Onion. Those who cut into your many-layered body are in for a tearful surprise. As a reaction, if you are dealt slashing damage you may force any adjacent creatures to make a Con saving throw. The DC of this saving throw is 8 + your Constitution modifier + your proficiency bonus. On a failure, the affected creature becomes blinded. They may attempt this save again at the end of each of their turns.
• Pepper. Creatures that bite into you must contend with the potent spiciness of your peppery body. You can cast Hellish Rebuke at your spell-casting level once per long rest against any creature that bites you.
• Petrified. Your fossilized body allows you to shrug off blows that would have felled most creatures. When you are reduced to 0 Hit Points but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 hit point instead. You can’t use this feature again until you finish a Long Rest.
• Rose. Your beauty and alluring fragrance help to remind your allies of your bonds, bolstering them against others who would try to sway their minds. As an action, you provide all allies within 30 feet of you advantage on saving throws against effects that would make them Charmed or Frightened. This effect lasts for 10 minutes. You cannot use this feature again until you finish a Long Rest.
• Tumbleweed. You are particularly adept at tumbling along the ground. While prone, you may crawl without the normal movement penalty.

Special Traits

Below is a list of common traits and abilities of leshies, but be sure to read each stat block carefully – for example, the Verdant Burst of a Cotton leshy is very different from that of a Manchineel leshy.

Plant Speech

Every leshy has the ability to communicate with plants or fungi as a language. This is listed as a feature, but only applies to a narrow range of creatures – The Agave leshy can only speak to desert plants, Bamboo Leshies can only speak to grasses, etc. These limitations listed next to the ability but are not absolute definitions, and are subject to GM discretion.

Plant Shape

Like the Slavic myth, leshies are natural shapeshifters. Lacking the power of an actual god, these creatures are only capable of turning into the plants they are based on. The size and type of plant is listed next to this ability, and is most often a Small sized version of the base plant. While transformed, the leshy retains its mental stats and awareness of its surroundings, but cannot act or move (unless otherwise stated) except to exit the transformation. For the majority of leshies, this is a way to hide or rest without disturbance, while others can make attacks or take actions while in its plant form.

Verdant Burst

When leshies die, they explode. This explosion lets out a burst of energy, which most often heals surrounding plants and creatures with the Plant trait, then fills the region with small plants of the leshy’s type, making the area difficult terrain. However, this ability is modified by the leshy’s type and traits. Fungal leshies heal other fungi, the Ghost Pepper leshy deals negative damage in the space, etc.

Innate Spellcasting

All leshies are infused with primal magic, and some have learned to harness this power into a spellcasting ability. Leshies able to cast spells will have Innate Spellcasting as a feature, followed by their spellcasting ability, spell save DC, and associated modifier. A list of spells, each labeled with a number of uses per day, will explain what spells the leshy can cast. If these spells normally require a material component, the leshy can cast them without supplying the material.

Saving Throws

Not every creature gets a bonus on saving throws, though many leshies do. If this section is absent it indicates that the creature does not receive this special bonus, and instead rely upon the relevant ability modifier and proficiency bonus.

Senses

Unless otherwise stated, all leshies can use their five senses as normal. In addition, some leshies may have extra senses, which are typically listed with an effective range:

• Blindsight: A creature with blindsight can perceive its surroundings without relying on vision.
• Darkvision: A creature with darkvision can see in dim light as if it were bright light, and complete darkness as if it were dim light. This vision only allows for shades of grey, providing no color vision. The creature can still see normally in regular light.
• Tremorsense: A creature with tremorsense can detect other creatures on the same surface by pinpointing the vibrations of the creature’s movements. This sense cannot be used to detect flying or incorporeal creatures.

Type

Every leshy has the type trait “plant”, but may have additional traits. These traits indicate that items or spells may have special interactions with the leshy. In addition, each leshy has the “leshy” tag.

Alignment

A creature’s alignment provides a small clue about how the creature may interact with others or behave in encounters.

Most leshies have a Neutral alignment, but some variations exist. Ultimately, these creatures should interact with your party however fits best for your table and campaign.

Limited Actions

Some abilities, typically strong ones, have a listed limit on their usage. This is typically a limit on the number used per day, which will be presented as X/Day, with X being the number of times the action can be performed in a given day. An ability may also have a listed recharge, presented as Recharge X-Y (typically 5-6). This indicates that the ability can be used once, then must roll to recharge the ability before it can be used again. At the start of the creature’s turn it rolls a d6, and regains a use of the ability if it rolls one of the listed numbers.

Legendary Actions

A handful of leshies have become so powerful they gain access to legendary actions. These actions can only be used outside of the creature’s turn, and require a set number of legendary actions to perform. Each creature with legendary actions has access to three actions per round. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time, regardless of the number of actions required for the ability. A creature regains its spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.