HGd10PHB - Meliai (Flora)

Meliai (Flora)
Meliai, sometimes referred to as dryads, are tenders of the wild places where plants grow unchecked by civilization. They are protectors of not just the wildlife, but the world itself. They are Fey connected to the Life Spectrum of Flora.

Description
Meliai are Fey who spend the majority of their time out in the wildest lands of the world. They appear human at first, but differences are apparent up close. Meliai are typically shorter than humans, about the size of paidion. They have skin the color of the inner wood of trees near where they live and hair the color of flowers round about. Their eyes compliment their hair and change color with the seasons. Delicate, pointed ears are often hidden under a wealth of hair, but are sometimes revealed when the hair is pinned back by a flower or three.

When in their home, they wear clothing grown from the plant-life around them. Quite literally they grow the clothes over their bodies rather than harming the plants unnecessarily to shape them into cloth. The clothes that a meliai wears still live and have a symbiotic relationship with the meliai.

Meliai can be either male or female and have a binary reproductive cycle. However, this cycle is often confusing for those not meliai since it is an external and impersonal event. A meliae, the female, will birth a seed from her body and place it within a cradle of living plants. She will then send word to the rest of the meliai in the world through the plants as seeds spread or leaves whirl in the wind. This is a form of magic that uses the Flora Spectrum and the Learn Purpose. A meliorn, a male, who desires to reproduce will come to the cradle and speak with the meliae. If she finds him acceptable, and the plants of her domain do not reject him, she will allow him to fertilize the seed in the cradle. This act is solitary and the meliae is not present. Once the seed is fertilized, a new fey will begin to grow within. The gestation period of the seed varies, depending on the time of year it was fertilized. The seed always sprouts and opens to reveal the baby fey in late spring. Most likely, this fey will be meliai, but on rare occasions, other fey have been produced from the seed. The seed itself will grow into a tree, taking root within a complete lunar cycle after the fey's emergence. This tree is tied to the fey - if it is a meliai - in such a way that if the tree is destroyed, it can severely hurt or even kill the meliai. After five years, the tree begins to bear fruit of different kinds, usually matching the personality and will of the meliai connected to it. The fruit always has some mystical quality to it such as curing poisons, healing wounds, or providing some other benefit.

As meliai age, their skin grows rough like bark and they become more tree-like in their appearance. If their birth tree still exists, a meliai will eventually grow so old that they feel the end of this part of their life is near. They will take pains to ensure that their tree is protected, has nourishment, and will live on for many centuries yet. Then, when they are ready, they will merge with the tree (Flora Transformation) and become one with it. From then on, the meliai can only communicate with a few people who speak plant, or with great effort to those who don't. When the tree finally dies, so does the meliai within.

Full Lifespan: 200 years before merging with the tree; indeterminate as a tree-dryad.

Society
Meliai tend to be solitary creatures and prefer tending their gardens. However, they are not unkind to travelers and those who wander into their groves so long as that person is not bent on wanton destruction of the plant life in their care. Many meliai are sought out because of their perspective of the world, for knowledge and for wisdom. Female meliai are gentle, soft-spoken creatures and are sometimes seen as weak and fragile. Those who seek to take advantage of them in some way, or harm their groves in spite of warnings soon find out how wrong they are. Male meliai, the meliorn, are more brazen and playful and often play harmless pranks on those who stumble into their groves or caverns. Meliorn prefer grottos and underground forests to the open sky. They find meliae to be somewhat boring and too 'grown up' as they keep their thoughts on the pulse of the world.

Both meliae and meliorn can mate with and even reproduce in a more human fashion with non-meliai. The offspring of such a union is always of the non-meliai kind. However, such a child will have at least a small set of traits that connect them to their fey parent.

Meliai will rarely, if ever, willingly enter a place where large numbers of people are gathered. Even small towns make them uncomfortable. Only the few meliai who eschew the solitary life and decide to answer the call to adventure can overcome this feeling and enter the big cities for a time.

Most meliai get along with all naturally living things until an individual shows to be hostile to their grove or other fey. They do not, however, tolerate the voidwrought, demons, or other such corrupted things and seek to destroy them or deflect them from their groves and kin with all their might.

Character Creation
 Key Characteristic:  Beauty

 Base Characteristics:  +1 AGL; + 5 BEA; +3 CON; +1 INT; +2 PRC; +3 WIS

 Skill Bonuses : 

Meliai gain 1 free BP in all of the following skills at creation:  Traits & Foibles: 
 * Flora
 * Aid
 * Farming
 * Herbalism
 * Sense of Duty to Fey - all Fey feel a sense of family and duty to help other Fey. This sense of duty tends to cause them to hesitate or make different choices than others might make if they know a fellow Fey, especially another Asteriae is in trouble.  Attempts to take actions contrary to this Sense of Duty suffer a -5 to their roll.  Attempts to harm another Fey suffer a -10. (+2)
 * Opposing Spectrum - Arcane: Meliai take double effect from all magical Arcane sources and cannot learn arcane-based magic. (+6)
 * Spectrum Affinity - Flora (1)

As Heroes
Meliai almost never seek the adventurers life. However, there are a few - mostly meliorn - who succumb to the wanderlust and will seek out like-minded individuals to 'party' with. Still fewer will be drawn into adventure out of extreme need. They serve as healers, advisors, and spell support using their Flora Spectrum in multiple ways.

Navigation

 * Hero's Guild Players Handbook Home
 * Chapter 1 - Creature Kinds
 * Chapter 2 - Primary Characteristics
 * Chapter 3 - Skills
 * Chapter 4 - Traits and Foibles
 * Chapter 5 - Physical Combat Skills 
 * Chapter 6 - Mystical Skills
 * Chapter 7 - Equipment
 * Chapter 8 - Crafting
 * Chapter 9 - Knowledge Social and Movement Skills
 * Chapter 10 - Optional Classes
 * Chapter 11 - Rules of Engagement