“Over hill, over dale,
Thorough brush, thorough brier,
Over park, over pale,
Thorough flood, thorough fire,
I do wander everywhere.”
-William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream
This material is still in the process of being playtested. It is fully usable as written, but may be refined or changed in later versions. As always, this content should only be used with GM permission.
The weald folk resemble very large (relatively speaking) woodland creatures that are able to speak, stand upright (when they wish), and hold objects as ably as any halfling. They often look like foxes, squirrels, raccoons, possums, rabbits, mice, and other small mammals. In more tropical areas they might resemble capybaras, lemurs, agoutis, sloths, or small hunting cats. The type of animal they take after is not entirely hereditary, but usually will be an animal with some significant traits in common with one or both parents. They are not quite fey, but have a magical connection to nature that results in frequent interaction with fey creatures.
Despite usually living a fairly simple life in their forested communities, weald folk are almost universally excited by the prospect of novel experiences and knowledge. As a result, they routinely seek adventure purely for the joy of exploration. Searching for unique and interesting treasure isn’t unheard of either, though it is rarely, if ever, pursued for wealth or power, but for the sake of discovery. They are by no means fearless, but their desire to try everything is often strong enough to make them face their fears simply for the sake of experiencing something new.
The communities of weald folk are frequently also inhabited by several fey, especially pixies and sprites. These villages are often located near natural paths into the fey realms, or even just on the far side of such locations. The weald folk who live across this veil sometime take the form of much stranger animals, like rabbits with antlers and fangs, green skunks, or foxes with eagle-like forelegs. Despite their exotic forms, these weald folk find the normal world even more wondrous than their homes, since they are so different.
Weald folk usually have simple names related to nature or relevant adjectives like coloration. In a community close to elves, gnomes, etc., names may sometimes also be in those languages, and the communities within the fey realms usually have names in Sylvan.
Example Weald Folk Names: Acorn, Amaranth, Amber, Autumn, Blue, Clover, Cacao, Dandelion, Egg, Fig, Ginkgo, Hazel, Icicle, Juniper, Leaf, Nettle, Mint, Moss, Okoume, Orchid, Piper, Rain, Raven, Rosemary, Saffron, Shadow, Songbird, Taro, Thorn, Violet, Warren, Willow, Yucca
Your weald folk character has several traits related to their animal-like nature.
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2 and your Charisma score increases by 1.
Age. Weald folk mature much faster than humans, reaching adulthood by about 8 years of age, but they often live to 120 years old.
Alignment. The personalities of the weald folk are just as widely varied as their physical forms, and as a whole they do not tend toward any particular alignment.
Size. When standing upright, weald folk are typically just over 3 feet tall, and commonly weigh just over 40 pounds. Your size is Small.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet.
Darkvision. 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.
Lightweight. You have advantage on ability checks and saves made to jump or to fall safely.
Scurry. When both of your hands are empty, your walking speed increases by 10 feet. If you have climbing or swimming speeds, they are also increased by 10 feet.
Speak with Small Beasts. Through sounds and gestures, you can communicate simple ideas with Small or smaller beasts.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Sylvan.
Subrace. The talents of a particular weald folk often correspond to the sort of animal they resemble. Choose one of these subraces.
The most common forms among the weald folk are those of animals that are quick and clever, such as chipmunks, dikdiks, foxes, jerboas, rabbits, raccoons, sables, and wildcats.
Curious. You gain proficiency with the Investigation skill.
Nimbleness. You can move through the space of any creature that is of a larger size than yours.
Sometimes weald folk take after arboreal creatures like genets. gold-handed tamarins, linsangs, opossums, red pandas, sloths, squirrels, and tree kangaroos.
Acrobat. You gain proficiency with the Acrobatics skill.
Natural Climber. You have a climbing speed of 25 feet.
At home in the denser copses and thicker cover, other weald folk are well-practiced in hiding and slipping through vines and roots. They commonly resemble caracals, fossas, hedgehogs, mice, mongooses, mouse deer, ocelots, shrews, and pikas.
Sneaky. You gain proficiency with the Stealth skill.
Underbrush Runner. Your speed is not reduced by plant-based difficult terrain.
Weald folk from boreal regions tend to be adapted to the cold winters with gray or white fur that helps them to blend in. They commonly resemble animals like arctic foxes, collared lemmings, ermines, polar rabbits, siberian hamsters, snowshoe hares, weasels, and white-tailed jackrabbits.
Survivor. You gain proficiency in the Survival skill.
Winter Coat. You have advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made to hide in snowy conditions.
In watery areas, with many rivers or ponds, weald folk often resemble beavers, capybaras, otters, platypi, sea minks, swamp rats, water chevrotains, and yapoks.
Athletic. You have proficiency in the Athletics skill.
Swim. You have a swim speed of 25 feet.
| Base Height | Base Weight | Height Modifier | Weight Modifier |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2’7″ | 35 lbs | +2d6 | x1 |
Your agile hands are never idle. You gain the following benefits:
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System Reference Document 5.1 Copyright 2016, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, Chris Perkins, Rodney Thompson, Peter Lee, James Wyatt, Robert J. Schwalb, Bruce R. Cordell, Chris Sims, and Steve Townshend, based on original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.
Weald Folk, Heart of the Woods Copyright 2019, Malachite Idol; Author Patrick Johnson.
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