In preparation for a one-shot (that may end up becoming a campaign), I'm building a few custom races. One of them is a plant-based sentient race. I've already got the Attributes, wound and strain thresholds all figured out. All that remains before finalizing how much XP such a race would receive is to figure out what abilities/skills the race should start with. Any thoughts?
Abilities for a Plant-Based Player Race
A knowledge of the world maybe or if magic is present in your realm you could give them primal.
as for abilities maybe some kind of extra soak given their woody skin or an explosive growth ability? Or a natural weapon of some sort
Rapid healing from Wounds and Crits when in the sun?
Some ideas:
-Ability to communicate with plants (e.g. make a Survival or even Leadership check to direct vines to create a ladder for the character, etc.).
-Natural weapons (think Groot with extending limbs).
-The species does not need food and simply relies on water and sunlight for sustenance.
-They automatically trigger the burn quality when attacked with a weapon that has the quality (this is a negative trait, but you could raise starting XP in turn).
-Free rank in Survival or Primal
Generally, depending on the type of setting, I'd try to take inspiration from media where plant people exist (Dekus from Legend of Zelda for example, or Groot from Marvel as mentioned before)
A rank in Cool, Discipline, Knowledge (Nature or Geography), or Resilience all make sense.
Possible abilities/flaws:
Twig and Leaf (-5 exp) - One Boost die to Stealth checks when in a natural setting.
Tied to the Earth (+5 exp) - For every 24 hours the character does not completely immerse their lower appendages in earth, they add a Setback die to all rolls.
Immovable (-10 exp) - Once per encounter the character can perform the Immovable maneuver. Until the beginning of their next turn the character is immune to the Knockdown weapon quality, the Manupulative magic effect, or any other forced movement. The player may choose to extend the duration of this ability by sacrificing one maneuver each turn.