Killoren

"Hunter, destroyer, and keeper of ancient knowledge; I am nature’s answer to the rising power of man."

– Allailai, killoren ancient

The Killoren are a race of sapient, humanoid plants with fey magic in their heritage somewhere, native to the world of Dungeons & Dragons. A minor race, they first appeared in the Races of the Wild splatbook for Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition. They were the direct inspiration for the Wilden of the Feywild in Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition.

A newly risen race of powerful fey, the killoren blend nature’s patience and power with the ambition and aggression of the humanoid races.

The ancient places of the world stir with a power of their own. From this power, the killoren have sprung in answer to the growing might of the humanoid races. Whether the work of some great nature deity or the spontaneous creation of the wild power of nature itself, killoren are at once young and eternal, newly brought to the world but with unknowably ancient ties to the heart of nature. As fey, killoren have a tie to nature unmatched by the humanoid races, but unlike other fey, killoren are not content to wait in the dark recesses of the dwindling forests.

Killoren are aggressive, ambitious manifestations of nature’s presence and power, and they walk through the cities of man as easily as they meditate in the glades of a verdant forest. There are as yet few killoren in the world compared to the population of humans and other humanoid races, but their numbers are quickly growing. So far, these adaptable fey have only come into isolated conflict with evil powers bent on despoiling nature, but it is obvious that they are destined for more. The killoren have begun to make known their presence in the world, and a few far-seeing and learned sages wonder at the implications of their growing power and numbers.

Racial Traits

Killoren resemble half-elves, and males and females alike average about 5-1/2 feet in height. They mature quickly, being full-grown by the age of 10, and live very long lives, hardly changing at all in appearance for their first century. Killoren have green or tan skin the texture of a soft, young leaf, and their limbs are unusually long and slender when compared with those of the humanoid races. An individual killoren’s hair and eye color depends on which aspect of nature the killoren is currently manifesting.

Fey: Killoren are of the fey type and are therefore not affected by spells such as charm person and hold person. Unlike other fey, killoren gain Hit Dice only by acquiring levels in a character class.

A killoren’s base land speed is 30 feet.

Low-Light Vision: Killoren can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. They retain the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.

Immunity to magic sleep effects and a +2 racial bonus on saves against enchantment spells or effects.

Racial Skills: Killoren have a +2 racial bonus on Handle Animal and Survival checks.

Cold Iron Anathema (Su): Killoren have a difficult time wielding weapons made of cold iron. Killoren take a –2 penalty on any attack roll they make with a cold iron weapon or a weapon made only partially out of cold iron, such as a cold iron spear or a bow firing cold iron arrows.

Manifest Nature’s Might (Su): Killoren are forever bound to the raw forces of nature itself, manifesting this bond even in their physical form. A killoren can only manifest one aspect of nature’s might at a time. Each morning as the sun rises, a killoren spends 10 minutes in quiet meditation, filling her spirit with the aspect of nature that is most needed for her current tasks. Once a killoren chooses an aspect, she manifests that aspect until the next morning, when she chooses again which aspect to manifest. Many killoren favor one aspect over the others and rarely choose to manifest one of the other two aspects.

• Aspect of the Ancient: While manifesting the aspect of the ancient, a killoren embodies the deep and ancient secrets of nature itself. With this bond to nature’s secret lore, a killoren gains a racial bonus on Knowledge (nature) checks equal to her Hit Dice and gains an additional +2 bonus on saving throws against enchantment effects. This bonus stacks with the killoren’s normal racial bonus on saving throws against enchantment effects. While a killoren manifests the aspect of the ancient, her hair turns white and her eyes turn to the color of a blue summer sky.
• Aspect of the Destroyer: Many races revere nature for its power to destroy, but none more so than a killoren manifesting the aspect of the destroyer. Once per hour (up to a maximum number of times per day equal to the character’s Charisma bonus, minimum 1), a killoren manifesting the aspect of the destroyer can make a special smite attack that deals extra damage to the foes of nature. When making this smite attack, a killoren adds her Charisma bonus to her attack roll and deals an extra 1 point of damage per Hit Die. This smite attack works only against aberrations, constructs, humanoids, oozes, outsiders, and undead. If a killoren accidentally smites a creature that is not one of the creature types listed above, the smite has no effect, but the ability is still used up for that hour and counts against the total uses per day. While a killoren manifests the aspect of the destroyer, her hair and eyes turn a deep, lusterless black; many find the gaze of a killoren destroyer’s coal-black eyes to be unnerving.
• Aspect of the Hunter: The hunt affects nearly every aspect of nature and claims a place of great prominence and importance in the cycle of life. A killoren manifesting the aspect of the hunt is bound to nature’s ancient tradition of the hunt, and her senses sharpen to an amazing degree. While manifesting the aspect of the hunt, a killoren gains a +2 racial bonus on Hide, Listen, Move Silently, and Spot checks, and a +2 racial bonus on initiative checks. While a killoren manifests the aspect of the hunter, her hair and eyes turn a deep forest green, and her skin tone becomes a deeper brown than when manifesting one of the other aspects.

Automatic Languages: Common, Sylvan. Bonus Languages: Aquan, Auran, Elven, Gnome, Ignan, Terran.

Favored Class: Druid.

Society

The killoren have no organized kingdoms and only a few scattered communities. They live comfortably in nearly any climate, and their dwellings and communities blend beautifully with the natural world around them. Few members of humanoid races are knowledgeable enough about nature to recognize where the wilds end and a killoren community begins.

Lands: As yet, killoren claim no lands as their own. Killoren concepts of property and land ownership differ greatly from those of the humanoid races: They see the world as belonging to nature itself. As stewards and manifestations of nature, they might at some point deny others the right to settle or despoil part of the wild, but their numbers are few enough that this has not yet come to pass. In the small conflicts that have cropped up between killoren and particular groups of evil humanoids, the killoren have not claimed ownership of the land, instead claiming only that they guard the land from evil.

Settlements: Their small communities blend with the natural world, but many killoren are drawn away from their home community to mingle with the populations of the humanoid races. A killoren community might be as simple as a few families dwelling among the boughs and shade of a peaceful forest or as remote as a small group of killoren following game across the frozen steppes of the far north.

Power Groups: Killoren communities are usually governed by a group of elder druids and wizards, but any individual killoren might rise to leadership depending on his or her personal exploits. These leaders act more as councilors and protectors than as an organized form of government, the small size of killoren communities keeping their roles relatively simple compared to the politics of the humanoid races. As the number of killoren grows, so too does their difference in outlook. A small group of elder killoren, some having walked among the humanoid races for a hundred years or more, believe they have seen enough of humans and the allied civilized races. Calling themselves simply The Wild, these powerful killoren have chosen to defend their refuges with magical and physical force. Many of these killoren are druids and wizards, and their radical outlook is quickly drawing the attention of both other killoren and the armies of the human kingdoms.

'Beliefs: Most killoren revere the silent might of nature itself, although some, particularly clerics, pay homage to the god Obad-Hai. Killoren do not simply admire nature—they are part of it. A killoren cannot look at a distant mountain range without feeling its power and beauty stir her, nor can a killoren walk through a forest glade without being moved by the peace and strength of nature. Nature is more than a distant ideal to the killoren; it is life itself.

Relations: Although tension grows between the killoren and the humanoid kingdoms, for the most part killoren remain a curiosity in the eyes of the humans and their allies. Killoren walk freely within the cities of almost every civilized race. Of all the humanoid races, the elves are closest in outlook to the killoren, but even the elves remain curious about the killoren’s recent origin and their ultimate role in nature’s plan.

Killoren Characters

Killoren characters range from powerful and zealous defenders of nature to inquisitive and insightful students of humanoid cultures. The killoren’s ability to manifest different aspects of nature’s power lets them fill multiple roles in a party of adventurers, depending on the expected encounters and adventures. Killoren NPCs hint at the growing unrest of powerful natural forces, adding a sense of mystery and danger to the wild places of the campaign world.

Adventuring Killoren: Killoren adventure to learn about the world. Unlike other fey, killoren are driven by the nameless powers of nature to learn about the humanoid races and customs. Killoren match the aggression and ambition of humanoids, but they also maintain the eternal connection to nature that all fey embody. As killoren grow in power and number, they form ever-changing opinions of humans and their allies, helping the causes that they deem to be one with nature’s design and opposing those who would despoil or destroy nature’s beauty. Experienced killoren might adventure with a more definite purpose— working to thwart the schemes of a particular religious cult, protecting nature from wild orcs and goblinoids, or hunting powerful outsiders that are beyond the reach of nature’s other servants.

Character Development: Killoren characters are best served by focusing on one aspect and ensuring that the abilities they favor work well with the choices they make concerning skills, feats, and class levels. Because of their obvious connection with nature, many adventuring killoren advance as rangers and druids. Perhaps more intriguing, however, are those killoren who take levels in other classes such as wizard or paladin, yet retain their unswerving connection to the power of nature.

Character Names: Killoren have only one name, and they choose this name themselves upon declaring their own maturity, usually near the beginning of their tenth year of life. Killoren names always have three syllables, the last of which denotes their family in the same way that a human’s family name shows his or her relation. Example killoren names include Durmindin, Ennimbel, Kettenbar, and Shallahai.

Roleplaying a Killoren

With the power of nature forever bonded to their souls, killoren characters have both the enigmatic outlook of the fey and the inquisitive drive of the humanoid races. This unique outlook, combined with the unusual ability to manifest different aspects of nature’s own power, makes killoren a challenge to roleplay. When roleplaying a killoren, you must make the reverence of nature a subtle yet ever-present aspect of your personality without overdoing it, and you must be ready to express markedly different aspects of your character’s personality depending on which aspect of nature you choose to manifest each day.

Personality: Killoren have an innate connection to nature’s power; as such, the natural world and its best interests are never far from their thoughts. Killoren also differ from other races in that they have three different aspects of their personality that correspond with their ability to manifest different aspects of nature’s might. Killoren who manifest the destroyer aspect are arrogant and aggressive, those who manifest the aspect of the hunter are stealthy and subtle, and those who manifest the aspect of the ancient think carefully and look deep into the heart of a matter before voicing their thoughts.

Roleplaying Application: Make the most of the different aspects of nature that you manifest by accentuating the changes in your character’s personality with each change. Don’t overdo it—this ability is not a case of three separate personalities. Rather, it’s an opportunity to build multiple aspects of one character. The best way to do this is to make a short list of common sayings or expression your character uses and then change the tone and delivery depending on the aspect that your character is manifesting.

Behaviors: Just as their personality changes slightly when they manifest a different aspect, the behaviors of individual killoren change slightly depending on the aspect that they are manifesting.

Roleplaying Application: The best way to reinforce the differences between the aspects of nature that your character manifests is with body language. Sit forward in your chair and speak a little bit louder when manifesting the aspect of the destroyer; sit back and think before speaking when manifesting the aspect of the ancient; and make quick, darting movements when manifesting the aspect of the hunter. Develop one or two obvious idiosyncrasies that only surface when your character is manifesting a specific aspect.

Language: Killoren make a great effort to speak as those around them speak. Learning the speaking styles as well as the language of the humanoids they are with gives them greater insight into the culture and attitudes of their friends.

Roleplaying Application: Make it a point to pick up on the sayings and speaking rhythms of those you are with. This includes notable NPCs as well as your fellow player characters. Don’t go so far as to mimic anyone; that is not the killoren way. Rather, pay attention to the way others speak and what they say and try to slip a few sayings of theirs into your own dialogue.