TEXT: The World of Aden originAlly creATed by ShAne lAcy henSley
  Credits
  Written by: Shawn Carman & Patrick Duke
  Editing: Shawn Carman
  Interior Artwork: Jacob E. Blackmon
  For Kyoudai Games
  Shawn Carman, Creative Department
  Rich Wulf, Mechanical Design
  Ryan Carman, Logistics & Development
   
  Butch Carman, Chief Financial Officer
  Mike Brodu, Graphic Design & Branding
  Original Graphic Design: Robert Denton
  Far to the southeast of the Misland Republics exists a large 
  archipelago that represents the edge of the known world. The 
  seas beyond it are caught in a perpetual storm that rages far 
  beyond what nature can produce of its own accord, and the storm 
  is generally regarded as a magical phenomenon of some sort. 
  Its origin remains unknown but for centuries it has stymied all 
  attempts at exploration beyond the archipelago, and the storms 
  that frequently spawn around its perimeter have made even the 
  archipelago itself difficult to reach safely. The Misari Expanse, 
  as the archipelago is called, remains only partially explored 
  and one of the most dangerous and unpredictable environments 
  known to the people of Aden. It is home to strange people, 
  strange creatures, and secrets that can only be guessed at.
  This is one of those secrets.
  The Belua Legacy
  Centuries ago, an enchanter named Octavia Belua was one of 
  the most brilliant members of the Celestial College in Aramyst. 
  She was fascinated by, some said obsessed with, the elusive 
  qualities that separated intelligent life from other creatures, and 
  studied it much of her life in an attempt to replicate it in some 
  small way. It was her life’s work, her constant experimentation, 
  that led to the creation of the ferran race. The experiments, as 
  history now recognizes, were successful beyond her intention, 
  1
  
  leading to a race that was truly as intelligent as any other, and it was 
  Belua’s hope to see them recognized as such. Unfortunately, her treach-
  erous son Contemtus Belua betrayed her and saw her committed to an 
  asylum while he continued to manipulate events and see the ferrans 
  treated as slaves. It would be almost a century before the ferrans were 
  truly freed. Even then, another in the Belua line, Luesti, would do all in 
  his power to see the animal-people subjugated or slain outright. Fortu-
  nately, his schemes, while exacting a terrible price, were ultimately 
  unsuccessful.
  The Belua line did not end with Luesti. The family continued until 
  the modern era, a constant fixture in the politics of the Celestial College 
  and Aramyst in general, although much reduced from the glory days 
  of Octavia Belua. The family is believed to have been wiped out in the 
  Darkfall, based as they were in the capital city of Reggora. However, 
  the shameful conduct of both Contemtus and Luesti centuries before 
  had made them very cautious and conservative, and they had little toler-
  ance for those among them who would not conform to societal norms. 
  One such individual, a bastard half-breed with outrageous notions about 
  the application of Octavia’s original research, and was cast out from the 
  family in disgrace long ago. Through a series of unlikely events, this 
  outcast found himself on the Misari Expanse near his one hundredth 
  birthday, ready to begin his life’s work at long last.
  Mercato Belua is a half-elven arcanist who has, without a doubt, 
  inherited his ancestor’s brilliance. Unfortunately, he shares a bit of his 
  other ancestors as well and has very little sense of restraint when it 
  comes to experimenting with his ideas without full consideration for the 
  potential consequences. Upon arriving in the Expanse, a location chosen 
  because he would be able to conduct his experiments with no outside 
  interference whatsoever, Mercato quickly established a base of power 
  and then began his experiments in earnest. For almost a century, he has 
  perfected his art and answered the question that plagued both him and 
  his distant ancestor: is there a barrier that be crossed when bestowing 
  intelligence? Octavia Belua answered the question concerning lower 
  animals, including mammals, birds, and reptiles, although the latter 
  two would come to be undone by her descendant Luesti. Rapacians 
  and naga confirmed the presence of intelligence among that kingdom, 
  slurgithians among fish and fish-like creatures, and the ilithix among the 
  insect kingdom. There was but one true frontier left, and Mercato Belua 
  vowed to forge ahead into it at all costs.
  In his laboratory in the Misari Expanse, far from the prying eyes 
  of the Known Lands, Mercato Belua has created intelligence life from 
  the plant kingdom. He calls his creations the florrans, and he continues 
  to experiment and perfect them as much as possible, although he has 
  no long-term goal in mind and they exist largely as slaves to his will. 
  Naturally, in true keeping with his legacy, he has never through to take 
  this into consideration and if he did, it would likely have no bearing on 
  his experiments.
  The Florrans
  Like the ferrans, with whom they share similar arcane energies, the 
  florrans are an incredibly diverse people. They share different qualities 
  depending upon the type of plant from which they were created, and 
  while Belua has experimented with dozens of different plants, only a 
  few have proved truly reliable, and it is from their stock that almost all 
  florrans presently in existence are drawn. His first experiments, years 
  ago, drew from existing species of plants, some of which were very 
  dangerous, that had the capacity for movement. His first successes were 
  mobile plants that were largely mindless but which would respond to 
  external stimuli and move toward water, sunlight, or whatever else they 
  needed. With that success easily reproduced, Belua began altering the 
  plants’ forms. Certain creatures that already existed, such as shambling 
  mounds, leshy and the like, that possessed at least a rough humanoid 
  form, if perhaps not functional intelligence (the latter of the two being 
  creations of the fey, and not reliably reproducible results). 
  Despite their nature as plant-based beings, florrans are different 
  from their predecessors in numerous important ways. First and fore-
  most, because of the level of activity and cognitive ability that florrans 
  possess, they cannot gain all their nutrients from soil and sunlight as is 
  typical for most plants. They must ingest calories to maintain a normal 
  level of activity comparable to that of other races. Most florrans prefer 
  high-calorie vegetable matter or sugar as a mean of gaining this energy, 
  and prefer to leave the consumption of meat to animals. This is not to 
  say that they cannot consume meat; they certainly can, and do when 
  necessary, but it is something of a cultural taboo among their kind. 
  Florrans do not possess a gender as such things are understood by 
  other races. Some prefer to adopt the aspect of male or female to facili-
  tate their interactions with outsiders, but the majority simply exist as 
  asexual beings. Reproduction is a purely practical matter and is also 
  asexual, with the production of seeds or buds eventually resulting in 
  new beings. The vast majority of florrans have no predisposition toward 
  their offspring, and rarely know who they are. There has been a trend 
  in recent years, as Belua has continued to evolve their intelligence, of 
  some florrans taking a keener interest in their offspring. Others among 
  their kind find it strange, and Belua seems to find it amusing, but for 
  now has not done anything about it. 
  The creation of the florrans is not yet a perfected process. For all 
  the similarities between ferrans and florrans, plants are vastly more 
  different from the pre-existing intelligent races than common animals, 
  and the process by which they have been evolved was more intricate, 
  with greater room for error. At present, roughly one in fifty florrans that 
  are created via the race’s typical asexual reproduction is a monstrous, 
  massive creature more comparable to the aforementioned shambling 
  mounds than anything else. These creatures are cunning, but not truly 
  intelligent, and ruthlessly destructive. The florrans regard these entities 
  as kinsmen of sorts, but will not suffer their presence, as the monstrosi-
  ties do not recognize anything else as an ally. When possible, they are 
  pushed out of Belua’s domain to exist in the wilderness, but when that 
  is not possible they are destroyed. Belua regards the creatures as a 
  curiosity, and as an additional layer of security ensuring that the lands 
  surrounding his claimed area of the Expanse are difficult if not impos-
  sible to cross. 
  2
  
  Florran Racial Traits
  Players wishing to play a florran may choose any one of the following 
  racial profiles when making their character.
  Sturdy Florran Racial Traits
  Use the Sturdy Florran racial profile when creating a florran whose 
  abilities and appearance draws from large, rigid plants such as trees or 
  other particularly hardy types of flora.
  +2 Constitution, +2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma: Sturdy florrans are hardy 
  and observant, but tend to be socially incompatible with others.
  Size: Sturdy florran are Medium creatures.
  Normal Speed: Sturdy florrans have a base speed of 30 ft. 
  Plant Type: All florrans are Plants, and have the Plant creature type. 
  However, because they so closely mimic human form, they do not 
  possess any of the standard immunities possessed by most Plant crea-
  tures (mind-influencing, paralysis, poison, et al.).
  Verdant Nature: The florran race is naturally diverse. Florrans all 
  choose three abilities from the Verdant nature racial traits.
  Barky Flesh: Sturdy florran have thick, barky hides, which grants them 
  a +2 natural armor bonus to AC.
  Massive: Sturdy florrans count as large creatures when calculating their 
  Combat Maneuver Bonus, Combat Maneuver Defense, and Intimida-
  tion skill checks. They calculate equipment encumbrance and make 
  Strength checks as if their Strength was 2 higher. They receive no attack 
  penalty for using weapons intended for large creatures. However, the 
  limits on using oversized weapons remains unchanged.
  Tangler Florran Racial Traits
  Use the Tangler Florran racial profile when creating a florran whose 
  abilities and appearance is inspired by vine-based, creeping plants.
  +2 Strength, +2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma: Tangler florrans have great 
  fibrous strength, but lack humanoid social skills.
  Size: Tangler florrans are Medium creatures.
  Normal Speed: Tangler Florrans have a base speed of 30 ft. 
  Plant Type: All florrans are Plants, and have the Plant creature type. 
  However, because they so closely mimic human form, they do not 
  possess any of the standard immunities possessed by most Plant crea-
  tures (mind-influencing, paralysis, poison, et al.).
  Verdant Nature: The florran race is naturally diverse. florrans all 
  choose three abilities from the Verdant Nature racial traits.
  Reach Bonus: Because of its vine-like limbs and elasticity, Tangler 
  florrans have Reach with any weapon, including their natural weapons.
  Natural Weapons: Tangler florrans can whip with their vine-like 
  extensions for 1d4 damage. They may use their vines with the Weapon 
  Finesse feat, and tangler florrans with Two-Weapon Fighting may treat 
  their vines as their off-hand weapon. Although the player may declare 
  the tangler to have any amount of vines, only one natural attack is 
  allowed.
  Natural Grapplers: Tangler florrans have Improved Grapple as a 
  bonus feat.
  Thorny Florran racial traits
  Use the Thorny Florran racial profile when creating a florran whose 
  abilities and appearance are based on lithe, thorned plants, including 
  various bushes and flower- or berry-producing plants.
  +2 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma: Thorny florrans are naturally 
  mobile, but lack social acumen.
  Size: Thorny florrans are Medium creatures.
  Normal Speed: Thorny florrans have a base speed of 30 ft. 
  Plant Type: All florrans are Plants, and have the Plant creature type. 
  However, because they so closely mimic human form, they do not 
  possess any of the standard immunities possessed by most Plant crea-
  tures (mind-influencing, paralysis, poison, et al.).
  Verdant Nature: The florran race is naturally diverse. Florrans all 
  choose three abilities from the Verdant nature racial traits.
  Natural Weapons: Because of the thorns covering portions of their 
  bodies, Thorny florrans’ unarmed attacks do 1d4 lethal damage.
  Thorned Body: Any creature who attempts to grapple a thorny florran 
  suffers 1d4 damage (plus the grappler’s Str bonus) per round grappling.
  Verdant Nature racial traits
  Florran characters do not receive alternate racial traits as the florran 
  race is already naturally diverse. All florran characters select three 
  racial traits from the following list: 
  • Bountiful: The florran can produce enough edible fruits or nuts to 
  feed four medium-sized creatures for a single day each week.
  • Bouquet: The florran produces a mild pollen that has a pleasing scent 
  to most civilized beings. The florran gains a +1 circumstance bonus 
  to Diplomacy and Bluff rolls with non-hostile beings who possess a 
  sense of smell.
  • Fibrous: The thickness of the fibers running through the florran’s 
  body makes it tough to hack. It has DR 2 against slashing weapons.
  • Floral Empathy: The florran can communicate with plants to get a 
  general feel for the area (recent weather, whether certain types of 
  creature have passed recently, nearness of water sources), granting a 
  +4 bonus to Survival checks when in an area with verdant plant-life.
  • Low-Light Vision: Florrans with this trait can see twice as far as 
  humans in conditions of dim light.
  • Photosynthetic: Although most florrans cannot subsist on sunlight 
  alone, florrans with this trait have particularly robust chlorophyll 
  that they can fall back on. The florran requires only half the normal 
  amount of food and drink to remain healthy, as long as it gets at least 
  two hours of direct sunlight exposure per day.
  • Phototropic: The florran has particularly active chlorophyll and can 
  draw higher than normal sustenance from sunlight. As long as the 
  florran receives a minimum of four hours of direct sunlight per day, it 
  has no need to eat. Water is still a necessity. 
  • Sappy: Once per round, if the florran has previously been struck with 
  a piercing or slashing weapon during the same combat, the florran’s 
  may use its flowing sap to hold fast a weapon used against him. The 
  attacker must make a Reflex save vs. DC 10 + florran’s Con bonus to 
  avoid this affect. Otherwise, he must make a Str check vs. the same 
  DC, or use a full round action during which he is flatfooted, to free 
  the weapon.
  • Spined: Any natural weapons that the florran possess particularly fine 
  points and can be used to inflict more damage than usual. The critical 
  range of the florrans natural weapons increases to 19-20/x2.
  3
  
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  Thunderscape The Aden Gazette #15, Secrets of the Misari Expanse 1. © 2018 Kyoudai Games, LLC; Author: Shawn Carman & Patrick Duke.
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