The arboreal entry in the bestiary comes to us with two variants and a third related stat block - namely, the basic warden, then the regent (also known as your classic tolkinean treant) and finally, a stat block used for animated trees.
Brinewood is an ancient forest made entirely of animated trees, known to migrate endlessly across the continent of Gunguska. While its diligent treant shepherds obviously have some sort of agenda, occasionally herding the thousands of trees towards war-torn regions and reviving ecosystems, no-one seems to be able to divine the idea behind the forest forming a dense, almost impassable ring around the trade hub of Blotvensk. The Grand Prince of the city knows better than to send woodcutters out, knowing that they would quickly be cut down by the wood's legendary wardens - but he knows all too well that reaching the heart of the forest, where its fabled regent resides, is no ordinary task. Even if the envoys he sends are granted audience, though, there is no knowing what the timeless master of the woods may ask of them.
Arboreal Regents were instrumental during the Green Revolution of Eire. They and their numerous wardens brought down man-made structures more quickly than any natural magic could, and were initially hailed as the heroes of the new Druidic state. After peace was won, however, and all of the numerous factions created a Grand Moot to decide what comes next, the more humanoid races of the newly created state realized that the treants' slow and deliberate manner, as well as their general lack of interest in the day-to-day operations meant that making any decisions would take literal years. In the first few months of the post-revolution period, it was Master Gerardo, the man who started and lead the revolution, keeping the humans, halflings and elves from turning on the tree-men, but when he finally succumbed to the wounds he got during the battle of Lake Killarney, a motion was put forward to revoke the voting rites of the arboreals, effectively making them second-rate citizens. As distrust grows among the other constituent races, a fairly young (not even a full millennium old) treant puts forward an idea - he will create a group of Leshys, imparting in them some of his knowledge, but none of his race's timeless care, to act as mediators.
While arboreals are clasically depicted as having the characteristics of trees commonly found inland on the continent of Epoure, those with other characteristics also exist. The Peaceful Lady is a treant who dwells in the Southern Olivelands, The Knotted Wiseling resembles a squat baobab, and Greenmane is a palm-like arboreal regent known to gift his own coconuts to those who show him respect. Legends also speak of The Heavenly, possibly the tallest existing living being, an impossibly large specimen resembling a giant Sequoia.
Recently, a team of wizards and druids decided to test whether the chicken or the egg came first - they planted a large number of grafted trees around woods known to be home to a large number of arboreal wardens.
Several days later, the monastery where this team of researchers resided was leveled by an unknown force. Just this morning, a herald of the nature god Malgerufion appeared before his devoted cleric and his trusty compatriot, and in a weeping tone asked them to put down "the bleeding trees", before fading from existence.
Brinewood is an ancient forest made entirely of animated trees, known to migrate endlessly across the continent of Gunguska. While its diligent treant shepherds obviously have some sort of agenda, occasionally herding the thousands of trees towards war-torn regions and reviving ecosystems, no-one seems to be able to divine the idea behind the forest forming a dense, almost impassable ring around the trade hub of Blotvensk. The Grand Prince of the city knows better than to send woodcutters out, knowing that they would quickly be cut down by the wood's legendary wardens - but he knows all too well that reaching the heart of the forest, where its fabled regent resides, is no ordinary task. Even if the envoys he sends are granted audience, though, there is no knowing what the timeless master of the woods may ask of them.
Arboreal Regents were instrumental during the Green Revolution of Eire. They and their numerous wardens brought down man-made structures more quickly than any natural magic could, and were initially hailed as the heroes of the new Druidic state. After peace was won, however, and all of the numerous factions created a Grand Moot to decide what comes next, the more humanoid races of the newly created state realized that the treants' slow and deliberate manner, as well as their general lack of interest in the day-to-day operations meant that making any decisions would take literal years. In the first few months of the post-revolution period, it was Master Gerardo, the man who started and lead the revolution, keeping the humans, halflings and elves from turning on the tree-men, but when he finally succumbed to the wounds he got during the battle of Lake Killarney, a motion was put forward to revoke the voting rites of the arboreals, effectively making them second-rate citizens. As distrust grows among the other constituent races, a fairly young (not even a full millennium old) treant puts forward an idea - he will create a group of Leshys, imparting in them some of his knowledge, but none of his race's timeless care, to act as mediators.
While arboreals are clasically depicted as having the characteristics of trees commonly found inland on the continent of Epoure, those with other characteristics also exist. The Peaceful Lady is a treant who dwells in the Southern Olivelands, The Knotted Wiseling resembles a squat baobab, and Greenmane is a palm-like arboreal regent known to gift his own coconuts to those who show him respect. Legends also speak of The Heavenly, possibly the tallest existing living being, an impossibly large specimen resembling a giant Sequoia.
Recently, a team of wizards and druids decided to test whether the chicken or the egg came first - they planted a large number of grafted trees around woods known to be home to a large number of arboreal wardens.
Several days later, the monastery where this team of researchers resided was leveled by an unknown force. Just this morning, a herald of the nature god Malgerufion appeared before his devoted cleric and his trusty compatriot, and in a weeping tone asked them to put down "the bleeding trees", before fading from existence.
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