Bloody Vines
Scratches are a small price to pay for the comfort and protection of the perfect campsite. At least they were a small price until members of the party aren’t waking up.
Getting towards the end of the traveling day, the scout sees a perfect resting spot well protected from the elements. To get to it the group is forced to struggle through some vines with thorns not unlike those on a rose. It is inevitable that most or all the group will receive scratches but it is a small price to pay for the comfort and protection of the perfect campsite. Funny that the scratches have trouble scabbing over.
That night the effects of the scratches start to take their toll. The thorns hold a toxin that slowly works into the bloodstream causing a deep meditative sleep to take hold. The more scratches the more powerful it is but everybody with scratches would be affected to some extent. Even those on watch can’t fight the effects and soon they will be drowsing.
While the sleep that takes hold of them more then doubles their healing rate, it also causes them to be unaware of the creeping vines that start crawling towards them. The vines will wrap themselves around their victims and extract their blood for food.
The vines are intelligent and if somebody on watch is not asleep then the vines will creep along the ground and go after those affected. The vines can innately tell who is affected and their mental state (aware or not). The toxins will keep the victims healthy for a very long time so they can continue to provide food.
1)Smart players, if they escape, will realize how useful it could be if they can extract some of this toxin for future use. Whether to heal themselves or to knock somebody out. Does one try and transplant one to sell?
2)Perhaps the toxins have a fountain of youth effect as well. Wonder who else may be laying around out there. Do they wake them or rob them?
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? Responses (12)
Aye, no good, seen this one before...
Can't remember, but a Planescape setting plant or so. Requires the warmth of a body to grow, so keeps you asleep but fed and all. Positive: one so affected cannot be found by any magic, as he doesn't live, sort of. Was used for payment by people who get you out in hundred years or so.
But wait! This is the ideal time-travel device!
There was something like this in Friedman's series "Black Sun Rising" as well but they worked different then this. I used my poor memory of that as a basis and *thought* I came up with something more original. Planescape, Friedman, that's ok ;) (Hey, not great, not horribly original, but an idea none-the-less.)
Will anyone with plant lore or some such skill notice these things? If they exist anywhere else in the world, you think someone might of figured out they might be dangerous. I mean 'Don't sleep near Blood Vines' would rank in there with 'Don't touch the poison ivy' and 'don't eat the mushrooms'.
I could of sworn I voted on this one.
I like it and I like the two notes at the end. Maybe its not completely original, but honestly almost all the posts here are taken from/strongly inspired by something else... it's how we come up with ideas.
I think that it is a great idea.
Can someone fix the image on this submission?
Kinda interesting, but it would work best for deep jungles or in a space faring sci-fi games as an unknown alien flora given (like Moonhunter pointed out,) once the danger becomes known most characters with wilderness survival skill (or wilderness experience) will recognize the danger and avoid it.
It could also be a nasty alchemicaly cultivated defense for some nobles manor perimeter (especially if the toxin took effect in minutes rather then hours.)
I am uncertain how the players would ever get out of the toxin-induced sleep but overall, I think this sub is of okay quality so a 3 it is.
It's new to me; though i'm not as versed in fantasy stuff as some others! I like it! Very insidious!
