Ardande
Ardandes are geniekin descended from the union of mortal humanoids and creatures of the Elemental Plane of Wood, such as wood elementals, kizidhars, dryads, and forest dragons. Some were also born to mortal parents while influenced by powerful elemental energies of the Plane of Wood or the First World.1
Appearance
Each ardande bears unique physical traits resembling plants and trees, including skin colored green, brown, or gray and moss, bark, or knotted-wood features. The hair of each is similarly unique and plant-like; some have vines for hair or leafy beards. They naturally smell of lush plant growths, including dewy grass, wildflowers, or moss.1
A few ardandes also have more detailed features, such as nails made of amber or bark, leaves or petals within their skin, or resinous rot that sheds spores. Their appendages might also be thinner and more branch-like.1
Ardandes descended from wood scamps are shorter and bushier than those of other parentages and more closely resemble leshies and conrasus.1
Adventurers
Many ardandes feel misunderstood in broader societies and are driven by a desire to understand their lineage, which in turn inspires them into adventuring. Ardandes often become scholars and elementalists to research their origins and nature. Those of kizidhar descent also take up arts such as woodcraft and sculpture to express themselves in ways that connect them to their ancestors.1
Society
The Plane of Wood re-emerged very recently, and too few ardandes exist to form societies or cultures of their own. Most belong to only individual families within larger communities. Two such families, both descended from one forest dragon, live in Tian Xia, while more families who frequently interact with fey live in Arcadia.1
The few ardandes born before the plane's re-emergence trace their lineage to creatures such as forest dragons and fey who still bore the spark of elemental wood, or to kizidhars stranded on Golarion before the dawn of mortal life on the planet. Many such lineages stopped producing ardande children generations ago but have since rediscovered their heritage, and scions of these lines are now prominent explorers of the Plane of Wood.1
Religion
Most ardandes relate to deities of nature, including Gozreh, the Green Mother, and Shyka, as well as the elemental lords of wood Shumunue and Verilorn. Some worship the green men of the leshies or follow the Green Faith of druids.1
Those influenced by evil view destruction, disease, and rot as part of the natural order of renewal and follow deities who exemplify those aspects, such as Groetus and Urgathoa. Others venerate the demon lord Treerazer.1
Lineages
Ardandes are of one of at least three lineages, which are sometimes reflected in their place or nature of origin:1
- Ambersouls, who embody the oils, fragrances, and resins of plants and descend from kizidhars
- Moldersouls, who embody the decay and decomposition of plants and might originate from the Darkblighted Southern Fangwood
- Springsouls, who embody the blossoms, fruits, and seeds of plants and might originate from the Grungir Forest in the Lands of the Linnorm Kings
Known ardandes
- See also: Category:Ardande/Inhabitants
- Selan Lin, a Pathfinder kineticist based in the Woodsedge Lodge2
References
Paizo published an article on ardandes in Rage of Elements.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 . “Elemental Characters” in Rage of Elements, 46–49. Paizo Inc., 2023
- ↑ . Year of Unfettered Exploration, 8. Paizo Inc., 2023