| Characteristics | |
|---|---|
| Alignment | Usually Neutral Good |
| Type | Huge Plant (none) |
| Image | Wizards.com image |
| Stats | Open Game License stats |
| Publication history | |
| Source books | MM p244-245 |
| Based on | Ent |
Treants are creatures found in the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game.
Treants are sentient trees with human characteristics. They are typically portrayed as protectors of the forests and antagonists to industrialization and despoiling of nature. They are typically allies of druids and fey, opposing malicious races such as orcs.
Treants appear to have been inspired by the talking trees of many of the world's folklores, as well as the Ent from J. R. R. Tolkien's world of Middle Earth. The creature was called an ent in the original Dungeons & Dragons, and its name was later changed to treant.[1] See tree (mythology) for more information.
The name "treant" comes from combining "tree" and "giant," and is usually pronounced /|tree-ant/.
The ent (treant in later printings) was one of the first monsters introduced in the earliest edition of the game, in the Dungeons & Dragons "white box" set (1974), where they were described as tree-like creatures able to command trees, and lawful in nature.[2]
The treant appears in the first edition Monster Manual (1977),[3] where it is described as combining the features of both humans and trees, and dwelling in forests and indistinguishable from trees, and can cause trees to come to life and move.
The treant was detailed in Dragon #79 (November 1983), in the "Ecology of the Treant".[4] The rivertree treant variant appeared in Dragon #108 (April 1986).
This edition of the D&D game included its own version of the treant, in the Dungeons & Dragons Expert Set (1981 & 1983),[5][6] The treant appears as a player character class in Tall Tales of the Wee Folk in the "DM's booklet" (1989). The treant was also later featured in the Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia (1991).[7]
The treant appears first in the Monstrous Compendium Volume One (1989),[8] and is reprinted in the Monstrous Manual (1993).[9]
The lyrannikin (black treant) appeared for the Greyhawk campaign setting in From the Ashes (1992).[10]
The evil treant and the undead treant first appeared for the Ravenloft setting in Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix (1991). The evil treant (blackroot) first appeared in Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II (1993). All of these creatures were reprinted in Ravenloft Monstrous Compendium I & II (1996), and the evil treant (blackroot) also appeared in The Shadow Rift (1996).
The Athasian treant appeared for the Dark Sun setting in Ivory Triangle (1993).
A chaotic evil treant appeared in Encyclopedia Magica Vol. 1 (1994). The frost treants appeared in Dungeon #61 (September 1996).
The treant appears in the Monster Manual for this edition (2000).[11]
The elder treant is introduced in the Epic Level Handbook (2002).[12]
Suggestions for combat with treants are provided in Dragon #283 (May 2001).[13]
Savage Species (2003) presented the treant as both a race and a playable class.
The treant appears in the revised Monster Manual for this edition (2003).
The corrupted treant appears in Dragon #350 (December 2006).
The treant appears in the Monster Manual for this edition (2008), along with the blackroot treant.[14] The treant reappears in the Monster Vault (2010) along with the bramblewood treant and the treant grove guardian.[15]
The treant appears in the D&D Miniatures: Giants of Legend set (2004). The blackroot treant appears in the D&D Miniatures: Against the Giants set (2008).
They are also a level 6 unit for the Sylvan faction in the computer game Heroes of Might and Magic V.
In the online MMO Wizard101. Treants appear in the game. Some are enemies, others are Storyline NPCs and two cards are treant-realated. The first being "Natures Wraith" A life card that summons a treant to attack, and Polymorph Treant which a moon card that allows a temporary transformation in battle into a treant.
