Treant (/ˈtɹiːɛnt/)
The True Protectors of Nature
A large, ancient tree, with face-like features on its bark. It has long branches that serve as arms and a division between its trunk that forms legs.
Treants (pronounced as "tree-ahnt") are awakened trees that dwell in ancient forests. Although treants prefer to while away the days, months, and years in quiet contemplation, they fiercely protect their woodland demesnes from outside threats.
The Sleeping Tree Awakens. A tree destined to become a treant meditates through a long cycle of seasons, living normally for decades or centuries before realizing its potential. Trees that awaken do so only under special circumstances and in places steeped with nature's magic. Treants and powerful druids can sense when a tree has the spark of potential, and they protect such trees in secret groves as they draw near the moment of their awakening. During the long process of awakening, a tree acquires face-like features in its bark, a division of the lower trunk into legs, and long branches bending downward to serve as its arms. When it is ready, the tree pulls its legs free from the clutching earth and joins its fellows in protecting its woodland home.
Legendary Guardians. After a treant awakens, it continues to grow exactly as it did when it was a tree. Treants created from the mightiest trees can reach great sizes while developing an innate magical power over plants and animals. Such treants can animate plants, using them to ensnare and trap intruders. They can call wild creatures to aid them or carry messages across great distances.
Protectors of the Wild. Even after awakening, a treant spends much of its time living as a tree. While rooted in place, a treant remains aware of its surroundings, and can perceive the effects of events taking place miles away based on subtle changes nearby.
Woodcutters who avoid culling healthy living trees and hunters who take only what they need of the forest's bounty are unlikely to arouse a treant's ire. Creatures careless with fire, those who poison the forest, and those who destroy great trees, especially a tree close to awakening, face the treant's wrath.
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The Mighty Menagerie helped one named Eldertwig who had a problem with a rot and required Rot Grubs to combat it. He gave them Treant Draughts for their assistance.
|Session 20: An Errand for a Tree Report, Session 21: The Yawning Portal Report
Basic Information
Anatomy
Treants were a wide variety of awakened trees.
Description
Treants typically had face-like features on their bark, a division between their trunk that formed legs, and long branches that served as arms. Their wood appeared to be solid like stone, but it was actually filled with tubes that carried water from its roots to the areas where it was needed. Diseases such as tube wilt could affect these tubes and therefore the health of the treant.Species
Cormanthor
The treants in the forest of Cormanthor became hosts for rot grubs, which lived off rotting wood. If a treant was affected by tube wilt, it would open up a small crack and let the grubs in. The grubs would eat through all the rotten wood, eating the fungi causing the disease, and usually remain for good and tackle subsequent rot. This relationship did not harm either party, and older, larger treants might contain up to a hundred of these grubs. In order to ward off predators such as woodchucks or wood-eating horses, the Cormanthor treants surrounded their roots with up to six Cormanthor violet fungi, whose roots tapped into the treant itself, using its sap as sustenance, and they would attempt to rot the flesh of any would-be predators. In order to combat the threat of bark beetles and leaf ants, which could damage the treant, they encourage azmyths and large bats to make their homes in their branches. Black squirrels fed on the female treants' shoots, which helped to limit the treants' population.Rimwood
The rimwood area contained birch-like treants with very long roots to reach water. The sap contained an aroma of lemon and mint that could be used as a flavoring or perfume. Most had rot grubs, black squirrels, azmyths, and purple fungi.Midwood
The midwood treants looked like golden willow and black locust trees. They protected themselves against brush rats by using the violet fungi. Their bark could be boiled to make either golden or black dye depending on their appearance.Starwood
The starwood area contained treants that looked like dark brown oaks and grey elms. Half were peaceful, but the other half were quite hostile, although they did utilize rot grubs, fungi, black squirrels, and azmyths. The leaves of these treants would cure certain fevers and plagues.Maztica
The treants that inhabited Maztica were fairly similar in appearance to those found in Faerûn, though they were not hostile to creatures foreign to their woods and instead preferred to ignore them. They considered themselves to be royalty of the forests they inhabited and expected other creatures to treat them as such, including giving them gifts.Western Heartlands
Many young treants in the Western Heartlands resembled duskwoods, while those in their adolescence often chose to resemble bluewoods.Behaviour
Personality
In their adolescence treants were often more energetic, rebellious, and reckless. But as they aged treants preferred to while away their days in quiet contemplation, rooted in place as though they were a normal tree.Additional Information
Social Structure
Society
Trees destined to become treants meditated through a long cycle of seasons that could last decades or centuries, awakening only under special circumstances. Druids and other treants could sense this spark of potential within trees and would protect them as they drew near their moment of awakening. During this process a tree's body gradually morphed, taking on the features common among treants. After awakening, they continue to grow as they did when they were simply a tree.Uses, Products & Exploitation
Harvesting
Instructions
Instructions: Because this creature is an Plant, the player should roll a Nature Check using the DCs in the table below. On a success, the player is able to harvest the item. On a failure, the item cannot be harvested (either because the character is not skilled enough, or because the item is ruined). The DM should note that many of the items have an expiration, and can not be sold or used after the expiration has passed.
| DC | Item | Description | Value | Weight | Expiration | Crafting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Treant Sap (3 vials) | A treant's sap is an extremely thick, highly viscous, reddish brown fluid filled with nutrients and minerals. The sap is edible, but farmers often use the sap to create rich fertilizer. | 5 gp | 1 lb. | 14 Days | - |
| 15 | Treant Bark | The treant's bark is the hard, outer covering of its trunk and branches. The bark can be removed in large plates, which can then be crafted into wooden armor. | 150 gp | 20 lb. | ∞ | Breastplate (Wooden) |
| 20 | Treant Heart | Somewhere inside a treant's thick trunk is a mass of tangled roots, that bleed a thick reddish sap. This roundish ball of roots act as the creature's heart, and is prized by spellcasters and artificers. | 500 gp | 10 lb. | ∞ | - |
This kind of creature does not normally carry treasure. This kind of creature does not normally have or collect treasure. However, the creature may have a lair full of bodies, or reside somewhere that treasure already exists.
This creature produces no meat, it is a tree. A plant-like creature doesn't have any actual meat, but may be composed of edible plants and fungi. Dungeon Master's discretion.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Abilities
Any treant that rooted itself in a stand containing a particular sort of tree for at least a year could, over a tenday or so, alter themselves to resemble and possess the physical properties of that type of tree. Certain elder treants were capable of doing this within half a tenday.Senses
Treants remained aware of their surroundings while rooted in place. They could perceive the effects of events happening miles away based on subtle nearby changes.Magic
Treants that came from the mightiest of trees could develop innate magical powers, allowing them to animate plants and call upon woodland creatures. Using them either as protectors or messengers.Civilization and Culture
Major Language Groups and Dialects
Treants were generally capable of speaking Common, Elvish, Sylvan, and the Druidic language. In addition, they had their own unique language.
History
Toril History
According to the Encyclopaedia Deifica, the existence of treants in Faerun allegedly predated the arrival of elves and illithids.Historical Figures
Notable Treants
Sequaxion,
a treant who lived in the garden of the For-Rest Inn in Ravens Bluff and acted as its gardener.Seven seedlings of the verdant sages,
a group of immature offspring of the most ancient and wisest treants of the North known of in the mid–14 century DR.Turlang,
a treant who guarded the northwestern region of the High Forest, a grove known as Turlang's Wood.Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
Relationships
Some treants willingly allowed sprites to build little villages within their boughs. Treants were opposed to creatures that were careless with fire, poisoned trees, or destroyed great trees. Especially those that destroyed trees close to awakening into a treant.Sources
Source(s):
- Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, Christopher Perkins (2014-09-30). Monster Manual 5th edition. Edited by Scott Fitzgerald Gray. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 289. ISBN 978-0786965614.
- Mike Mearls, Stephen Schubert, James Wyatt (June 2008). Monster Manual 4th edition. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 251. ISBN 978-0-7869-4852-9.
- Skip Williams, Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook (July 2003). Monster Manual v.3.5. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 244–245. ISBN 0-7869-2893-X.
- Doug Stewart (June 1993). Monstrous Manual. (TSR, Inc), p. 346. ISBN 1-5607-6619-0.
- Gary Gygax (December 1977). Monster Manual, 1st edition. (TSR, Inc), p. 96. ISBN 0-935696-00-8.
- Carl Sargent (May 1992). Monster Mythology. (TSR, Inc), p. 122. ISBN 1-5607-6362-0.
- Colin McComb (October 1996). On Hallowed Ground. Edited by Ray Vallese. (TSR, Inc.), p. 175. ISBN 0-7869-0430-5.
- James Butler, Elizabeth T. Danforth, Jean Rabe (September 1994). “Cormanthor”. In Karen S. Boomgarden ed. Elminster's Ecologies (TSR, Inc), p. 27. ISBN 1-5607-6917-3.
- Ed Greenwood, The Hooded One (2012-12-31). Questions for Ed Greenwood (2012). Candlekeep Forum. Retrieved on 2020-11-22.
- Eric L. Boyd (September 1997). Powers & Pantheons. Edited by Julia Martin. (TSR, Inc.), p. 2. ISBN 978-0786906574.
- Jeff Grubb and Tim Beach (September 1991). Fires of Zatal. (TSR, Inc), p. 21. ISBN 1-5607-6139-3.
- Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, Christopher Perkins (2014-09-30). Monster Manual 5th edition. Edited by Scott Fitzgerald Gray. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 283. ISBN 978-0786965614.
- Mike Selinker (September 1989). “The Living City: The For-Rest Inn”. In Jean Rabe ed. Polyhedron #49 (TSR, Inc.), p. 29.
- R.A. Salvatore, The Seven Swords (March 1999). The Accursed Tower. Edited by Dale Donovan. (TSR, Inc.), p. 18. ISBN 0-7869-1337-1.
- Richard Baker (August 2004). Forsaken House. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 130. ISBN 0-7869-3260-0.
Conservation Status
Treants are generally protected by most who understand how they benefit the nature around them.
5E Statistics
Treant
| Size | Huge |
| Type | Plant |
| Alignment | Chaotic Good |
| Challenge Rating | 9 |
General Information
| Patron Deity | Emmantiensien |
| Vision | Low-light vision |
| Homeland(s) | Feywild, Prime Material Plane |
| Language(s) | Common, Druidic, Elvish, Sylvan, Treant | Favored climate | Temperate | Favored terrain | Forests |
Appearance
| Average height | 30 ft (9.1 m) |
| Average weight | 4,500 lb (2,000 kg) |
| Skin color(s) | Brown |
History
| First appearance | Monster Manual, 1st ed. |
Session Reports
See Also: Treant on Forgotten Realms Wiki