Khizar
Khizars are intelligent plants who live in harmony with nature and have learned to communicate telepathically with other creatures.
Khizars evolved in the deep jungles of Ukulam on Castrovel, beginning as carrion-feeding plants who hunted dying animals with crude empathic senses and slow, patient movements. Many scientists believe they evolved from the same parent clade as ksariks, who share genetic similarities but lack the complex nervous systems that have allowed khizars to develop true sapience and the ability to communicate with other species.
Khizars thrive on Castrovel, but they've also spread to other ecosystems such as Aballon's Ice Wells and the Idari's contained nature preserves. Khizars often gravitate to positions of leadership where they can nurture community growth or establish wilderness lodges and outposts where they can help others learn to safely and respectfully enjoy the outdoors.
If you want to play a resilient, patient character with a deep connection to nature, you should play a khizar.
Khizars thrive on Castrovel, but they've also spread to other ecosystems such as Aballon's Ice Wells and the Idari's contained nature preserves. Khizars often gravitate to positions of leadership where they can nurture community growth or establish wilderness lodges and outposts where they can help others learn to safely and respectfully enjoy the outdoors.
If you want to play a resilient, patient character with a deep connection to nature, you should play a khizar.
You Might…
- Care about the environment or spend time in nature.
- Speak and move slowly or take your time making decisions.
- Drastically alter your attitude and appearance when the season changes or if you move to a new climate.
Others Probably…
- Notice how nature influences your appearance and health.
- Turn to you for guidance in the wilderness.
- Are curious about your appearance, culture, and origins.
Physical Description
When a khizar germinates, they begin as a tiny glowing seedpod surrounded by a delicate lattice. Over a period of weeks, tender shoots sprout from the seedpod and cling onto any source of nutrients they find—usually an animal carcass or a parent caring for the baby khizar. Over time, the seedling's first shoots toughen and lengthen into vine-like growths. Khizar seedlings spend their first years of life learning to control the vines and don't move much on their own. During this time, seedlings don't need supervision, only nutrition. It's common for a parent to abandon seedlings with an animal carcass and a source of entertainment—such as a datapad playing reruns of Zo!'s classic productions—for long periods while they search for their family's next source of food.
Once khizars settle into a favored body shape, they enter the sapling phase of life. The sapling grows their vines into strong, malleable limbs. Some saplings begin training their bodies into familiar shapes to put others at ease, growing two arms, two legs, a torso, and a large seedpod where a head would be, but many khizars prefer shapes that mimic the flora and fauna of the wilds where they first took root.
Sometime between 15 and 30 years of life, a sapling matures and flowers. The first flowering is culturally significant for many khizar populations and signals the passage into adulthood. Khizars rarely change their forms after flowering, and this phase of life is when they're most likely to take up adventuring or settle down in a remote wilderness community, such as the isolated, frozen jungles of Aballon's Ice Wells.
Khizars naturally live for hundreds of years, but they can die of disease or injury. Wildfires and illegal logging operations are responsible for the deaths of khizars every year.
Once khizars settle into a favored body shape, they enter the sapling phase of life. The sapling grows their vines into strong, malleable limbs. Some saplings begin training their bodies into familiar shapes to put others at ease, growing two arms, two legs, a torso, and a large seedpod where a head would be, but many khizars prefer shapes that mimic the flora and fauna of the wilds where they first took root.
Sometime between 15 and 30 years of life, a sapling matures and flowers. The first flowering is culturally significant for many khizar populations and signals the passage into adulthood. Khizars rarely change their forms after flowering, and this phase of life is when they're most likely to take up adventuring or settle down in a remote wilderness community, such as the isolated, frozen jungles of Aballon's Ice Wells.
Khizars naturally live for hundreds of years, but they can die of disease or injury. Wildfires and illegal logging operations are responsible for the deaths of khizars every year.
Society
Some khizars lead solitary lives, competing for resources and only coming together for the mutual protection of germinant seedlings—far from mating for life, these loose pairings last a few years at most before the family group disperses to resume their lonely lives scrounging for resources and communicating through complex long-distance signals such as the cultivation of moss and trunk drumming.
But in the heart of Ukulam and other secluded places, vast groves of khizars dwell in living cities made from the preserved bark of their ancestors, alongside ksariks, who coexist as pets and hunting partners.
To them, a khizar who leaves the pristine wilds for new horizons or germinates far from home is a wildseed. Wildseeds are everywhere in the galaxy.
But in the heart of Ukulam and other secluded places, vast groves of khizars dwell in living cities made from the preserved bark of their ancestors, alongside ksariks, who coexist as pets and hunting partners.
To them, a khizar who leaves the pristine wilds for new horizons or germinates far from home is a wildseed. Wildseeds are everywhere in the galaxy.
Beliefs
Khizars live long, slow lives spent existing in the moment. Some meditate on the nature of reality or commune with divine or primal forces, but khizars find religious dogma needlessly confining and tedious. Instead, most khizars prefer to seek enlightenment through a depth and breadth of life experience.
Popular Edicts enjoy the moment, grow wild, protect nature
Popular Anathema harm a living creature, exploit natural resources, hinder growth
Popular Edicts enjoy the moment, grow wild, protect nature
Popular Anathema harm a living creature, exploit natural resources, hinder growth
Sample Names
Moon Halo Warning, Turning Leaves, North Face Moss, Last Rain Before the Drought, Green Locust Prophecy
Khizar Mechanics
Hit Points
8
Size
Medium
Speed
20 feet
Climb 20 Feet
Attribute Boosts
Constitution, Wisdom, Free
Attribute Flaw
Dexterity
Languages
Common
Khizar
Regional language of your choiceAdditional languages equal to your Intelligence modifier (if it's positive). Choose from the list of common languages and any other languages to which you have access (such as the languages prevalent in your region).
Limited Telepathy
You can communicate mentally with creatures within 30 feet. You can communicate only with creatures that share a language with you. This doesn't give you any access to their thoughts, and it communicates no more information than normal speech would.