Deku Scrub
Table of contents
Shy as a flower bud, light as a leaf, and
persistent as poison ivy.
Overview
Average Height: 2’ 6” – 3’ 6”
Average Weight: 40 – 60 lbs.
Life span: 20 – 30 years
(Mature in 2-3 years)
Skin colors: Brown (wooden)
Eye colors: Yellow, Orange, rarely Red
Leaf colors: Brown, Green, Orange, Red
Vulnerability: Fire
Bonuses:
- You treat Thick Brush and other plant-based Difficult Terrain as normal terrain.
- With your bright, glowing eyes, you can see just as well in the dark as in the light. In addition, when Blinded, you are merely Dazzled instead.
- You can glide (but not fly) under your own power. So long as you start from grassy terrain, a tree, or a flowering plant, you are a Natural Glider.
- When you use a Reaction to reduce an attack’s damage, you may ignore all Push, Pull, or Prone effects from it.
- During any Rest, you may choose to photosynthesize. Doing so restores (base Fortitude / 2) Health, or (base Fortitude) if you rest in direct sunlight. You may choose to photosynthesize regardless of whether you consumed a Dish this Rest. If using the Hunger rules, photosynthesis staves off Hunger for that Rest.
Play a Deku Scrub if you want…
- …To be a part of the forest, and live off pure sunlight and fresh water.
- …To be stubborn, skittish, and small.
- …To strike from the bushes, unseen.
- …To never back down in a conversation.
Description
With skin of wood and hair of leaves, the Deku Scrubs hide in the grass and ground, peacefully soaking up the sun until their respite is interrupted. While some adventurers would characterize them as nuisances – or worse, overly-pushy salespersons – many Deku simply want a peaceful life, just like anyone else.
Deku Scrubs are made of plant matter, and are biologically more akin to bushes than anything else. Their skin is made of thin-barked wood, their heads covered in a bushy clump of leaves (rich green or autumncolored), and their eyes are featureless amber pools. Deku Scrubs have a large, open snout, shaped like a trumpet, working as both their nose and mouth.
Deku Scrubs tend to live in mossy grottos, holes in the ground, or hidden amongst the bushes in forests and plains. Large groups of Deku Scrubs might create buildings or even fortress-like trading posts made of logs and vines; however, it’s rare that Deku Scrubs gather together like this, as most prefer to live alone or in very small groups.
Deku Scrubs are renowned all over Hyrule as merchants, and it’s not uncommon to find a lone Deku Scrub with rare (and expensive) wares to sell, hidden in a copse of trees or within a forgotten cavern. Some Deku Scrubs have even served as neutral parties in important negotiations, like peace treaties, thanks to their reputation as open-minded, profit-driven merchants.
Playing a Deku
Many Deku are introverts, preferring quiet contemplation to raucous social groups. They can also be quite patient – some would say ‘stubborn’ – and will hold their ground in the face of social pressure. Travelers will tell tales of Deku Scrubs that have held firm in the middle of a road for days or weeks, just to prove a point or win some small concession.
When faced with a new culture, most Deku Scrubs will quietly walk around and observe the people and how they act, acting for all the world like a simple bush as they plop down to watch. Once they have confidence in how to interact with these new people, though, a Deku Scrub will often dive right in, trying to make friends and integrate themselves into that culture.
Their legendary stubbornness makes Deku Scrubs well-suited to handle foes who use their social skill to their advantage, whether on the battlefield, at the negotiating table, or in heated discussions before the throne.
Some Deku Scrubs prefer to ambush foes: waiting in bushes or thickets, and popping up to strike passing foes. They thus tend to prefer small, easily-concealed weapons, like crossbows, clubs, and daggers. Deku Scrubs also often have a bit of magic to them, using the Vanish spell to blind opponents before scurrying off, or using Kyameron’s Splash to cause damage and snuff out flames.
Characteristics: Greedy, Lonesome, Neutral, Skittish, Stubborn, Quiet
Names: Unlike most races, Deku Scrubs do not have given names, recognizing one another by the unique sound of their rustling leaves. When they do take on names, they tend to start with “De-“, such as Decci, Dekki, and Deppi.
A Deku Scrub’s Solitary Life
Unlike most of the races of Hyrule, which naturally tend to band together to form communities and build cities, this is a rarity among Deku – instead, they tend to stake out a single bit of land as their own, and live in isolation. Despite this, many Deku Scrubs enjoy talking with passers-by, and seem to be quite friendly. Scholars who study Deku Scrubs have long been curious about this seemingly contradictory mindset.
Some theorize that this desire to live alone, or at most, in a small group, stems from a kind of plant instinct: much as one tree might shade another, preventing it from getting the sunlight it needs to grow and thrive, so too might too many neighbors crowd a Deku Scrub out of hole and home.
However, a simple passer-by poses no such threat: much like an animal passing by a tree, a moment’s shadow is no concern, particularly when weighed against the benefits of having that animal nearby.
While most Deku Scrubs might not be able to explain whether this theory is right or not, they can feel it in their bark: too many people, all in one place, is no place for them. While they might be eager to visit a new town, they’ll often be just as eager to head back out into the wild, where things are much quieter and more spread out.
Conveniently, a typical group of adventurers is just at the upper limits of the group-size that most Deku Scrubs’ instincts will tolerate.
Deku Scrubs and Koroks
In the deep forests and hidden places of some worlds, there may exist a race that appears similar to Deku Scrubs at a glance: the Koroks.
Koroks are small wooden people, numerous as the leaves on a tree; where you find one Korok, there may be a dozen more hidden in the bushes and under rocks nearby. Though they may first sprout in forests watched over by powerful nature spirits, Koroks are insatiably curious, and are prone to wander.
Observant scholars have noted the similarity between Koroks’ origins, and the origins of the Kokiri. Some theorize that these two races are directly related; others suppose their similarities to be mere coincidence.
Mechanically, Koroks are identical to Deku Scrubs, with the same Vulnerability and bonuses.