Nunui and the Bloodsucking Manioc Garden - Jivaro Tribe pt.1

The Jivaro (headhunters of shrunken head infamy) live in the foothills of the Andes in the western Amazon.  I will come back to their head shrinking, magical soul possessing ways in a later post, but today I want to talk about their vampiric manioc gardens.

The Jivaro's land starts where the mountain waterfalls give way to tributary streams and rivers that are unnavigable because of rapids, and ends where the rivers begin to flow more slowly and can be traveled by canoe.  They live in scattered houses, each containing a polygynous nuclear family and occasionally a married daughter and step-son who have no children.  Each house is situated in the middle of a large cleared out garden, on a hillock near a stream.

The garden is the province of the women of the house; the men clear the garden by felling giant trees (which in turn take down many smaller trees as all the trees are connected through their canopies by vines) but the women weed, plant and maintain the garden.  The primary food crop is sweet manioc, grown for its large tubers.  Manioc is not only the primary food, it is also provides the exclusive drink for adults and weaned children - the Jivaro drink manioc beer in prodigious quantities (3-4 gallons a day for adult males, 1-2 gallons a day for adult females, ~ 1/2 gallon for 9-10 year old children).  The beer is typically weak, as it is usually drunk before it has fermented long enough to reach maximum alcoholic content (which takes 4-5 days).

The Jivaro also believe that the manioc plant has the innate desire and ability to suck the blood from any person touching it.  To protect themselves and their families from this ability of the manioc, the women turn to a type of earth spirit called Nunui.  Nunui appear as 3' tall, very fat women wearing black dresses.  Nunui are responsible for pushing plants up out of the ground and plant growth in general.  Nunui like to dance in clearings in the forest, and often many of them will come to dance in a newly cleared garden.  However, there is usually only one nunui associated with each garden once it has been planted.  The nunui stays underground during the day, and at night dances in turn with each manioc plant.  Nunui demand a well-weeded garden to give them the room they need to dance with the manioc.  The women also sing special songs to nunui, to give them respect and warn them when they are coming early in the morning to the garden to avoid frightening nunui away.

The female head of household will also hide three magic stones (unworked pieces of red jasper), known as the stones of nunui or the stones of manioc, in the garden - these magical stones are the babies of the nunui and ensure that the nunui will stay in the garden, the crop will remain plentiful and the women can call upon the nunui to make the manioc drink only the blood of trespassing enemies.  The woman gets the stones of nunui after a nunui reveals their location to the woman in a hallucinogen-induced vision.  Each vision only reveals the location of one such stone, which the woman must then immediately go out to find and place in the garden.

Vampiric Manioc
Anyone moving through a stand of manioc must save vs. spells each round (or make a CON save DC12 for 5th edition types) or take 1d6 damage from blood loss.  The plants are otherwise normal plants and can be easily cut down or uprooted.  Carrying a cut branch of manioc (or sticking it in one's belt) grants a +2 to this save.

Stones of Nunui/Stones of Manioc
Three pieces of magical red jasper.  Detect Magic will reveal the form of a baby inside them.  They are the babies of nunui and serve both to tie nunui to a garden and also as a conduit which allows their possessor to tap into the power of nunui to control the vampiric properties of manioc (and possibly ask other boons of nunui as well).  The women that tend the garden and the husband of the house are rendered immune to the manioc's blood drain if there are stones of nunui in the garden and the women regularly sing this magical song:

Don't suck the blood of my husband

And also don't suck the blood of my daughter.

When you want to suck blood,

Suck the blood of my enemies.

When my husband comes, 

he will look very beautiful and very clear.

But when our enemies come,

They will come very pale

And in the form of demons.

And you will know

Who will die,

Who will die.

And when they enter this garden,

They will have their blood sucked.

All, all I can call,

Even the plantain itself.

I am a woman of Nunui.

Note that children are not excluded; they are instructed not to play in the garden lest their blood be drained!

Figs and Faeries

Some hastily jotted and assuredly unfinished business that has been languishing in my Google Drive, pasted here for your pleasure. I only completed the random d8 ripeness/potion charts for two species of fig trees. I did not detail any of the faerie courts which inhabit the fig trees, or their unique potions (nor a single parasitic wasp imp species for that matter). More to come?

Figs = Potion Trees

The ripe fruit has magical properties - see d8 potion tables in individual fig tree entries below.

Each fig tree also has a special syconium, a particularly large fig (~2-4'), magically protected, with a single gate that shrinks those entering it - it is a difficult challenge to force entry past the gate if the keepers are unwilling. Each syconium is a faerie kingdom of blooming fig flowers bathed in a soft golden glow that dies down to a flickering glamer at night  - the faeries dwell in the fig flowers.

Each fig tree species has a unique relationship with a type of faerie that dwells in the syconium - the faeries each have a set of unique spells that they derive from the potion fruit.

Parasitic Wasp Imps seek to take faerie syconiums as their own and have their own spells and magical abilities - great variation exists among the parasitic wasp imps. Syconiums that have been taken by these parasitic imps are quickly filled with their offspring, the magical wards of the syconium perverted to feed the growing brood.

Giant ants tend giant aphid-like bugs which secrete potions as well - ants protect their trees against any intruders deemed a threat

Giant insect ecosystems on the forest floor below depend on the fruit

Also magical birds

Fig sap hardens into a rubber, can be treated when fresh to make magical oils

Syconium Physics - objects are reduced to 1/8 their normal size and 1/4 normal weight when entering a Syconium.

Syconium Time - time passes very slowly inside the syconium compared to the outside world.  One day inside the syconium = 14 days outside.  From the faerie perspective every other fourth day they either leave the syconium to visit a neighboring kingdom or receive visitors from a neighboring faerie court that inhabits a different fig tree.  To the outside perspective these excursions or incursions are roughly 2 months apart.  When visitors come to the syconium it pollinates the tree; each tree bears a harvest about once every four months.   

Visitors, pollination and the special potion fruit - each visiting faerie court has a unique special potion associated with it. Any roll of an "8" on the d8 potion roll for a fig tree requires a second d8 roll - a second roll of "8" explodes, resulting in the unique potion of the visiting faerie court that pollinated the tree.

Banyan or Strangler Fig

Banyan or Strangler Fig - sprawls out, sends down aerial roots, covers other trees or stone structures indiscriminately with strangling roots.

Ripe Fruit:  Reddish brown skin, brown flesh - bitter - get darker and softer as ripen, 1d8 - fig properties, from unripe to ripe:

1. Fig of Climbing
2. Fig of Growth
3. Fig of Plant Control
4. Fig of Undead Control
5. Fig of Animal Control
6. Fig of Giant Control
7. Fig of Human Control
8. Fig of Dragon Control

Cluster Figs

Cluster Fig - figs grow in clusters directly from the trunk,  bark has healing properties, grind into paste in water to make healing potions - LOTS more on wikipedia, lots of cool Buddhist / Hindu traditions

Ripe Fruit: green skin, white flesh, very sweet and soft when fully ripe, firm and pleasant when younger - roll 1d8 on ripeness table:

1. Vitality
2. Philter of Glibness
3. Philter of Persuasiveness
4. Fig of Treasure Finding
5. Fig of Giant Strength
6. Fig of Heroism
7. Fig of Invulnerability
8. Fig of Super-Heroism

Pai-Gon's Hexagonal Experiments

Poking around in the arch-lich Pai-Gon's work room whilst trying not to draw the ire of the incredibly powerful crystal intelligence bound into the tree of human arms flesh golem thing, some members of my 4e group decided to open up some random sealed ceramic containers.

Pai-Gon's Work Room

These containers were roughly cubic, with each face of the cube being a hexagon and some odd faceted angular faces making up the difference.  Each container was stacked six high with the sealed opening facing out into the room, in three rows six containers long.

Each container held one of Pai-Gon's experiments, left to bathe in the mutating and energizing radiation emitted by the Huwawa Complex after Pai-Gon mysteriously disappeared.

I made some random tables to determine the contents of each jar.  They proved to be very stimulating in play, causing quite a few "what the fuck" moments amongst the players as they had no clue what they were getting themselves in to.

Roll on each chart.  4e Plant, Animal or Insect refers to an organism native to the "prime material plane" or whatever you want to call the normal plane of existence that D&D is played in.  Planet X refers to an inhabited planet in another dimension/plane of existence that has a considerably different periodic table and physics.

Chart 1: Physical Environment inside the container (d20)
1-3: Fresh Water
4-5: Salt Water
6: Acidic Liquid
7: Basic Liquid
8-9: Acidic Soil
10: Ph Neutral Soil
11: Basic Soil
12: Silt/Inorganic Mud
13-14: Organic Mud
15-16: Clay
17: Solid Rock
18: Crystal
19: Metal
20: Metallic Gas (some heavy metals in Dimension X have a gaseous state)

Chart 2: Subject of the Experiment (d20 - containers with plants have a magical light source and magically regulated growing conditions, containers with animal and insect experiments also contain appropriate food species - many containers are much larger inside than their external dimensions would suggest)
1-4: 4e Plant (roll d10: 1-2: Fungus, 3-4: Flowering Plant, 5-6: Succulent Plant, 7-8: Bush, 9-10: Tree)
5-7: 4e Plant / Planet X "plant" hybrid
8-10: Planet X "plant" (roll 2d6: first d6: 1-3: Carniverous, 4-6: Chemosynthetic, second d6: 1-2: Mobile, 3-             4: Anchored but moving parts, 5-6: Stationary)
11-12: 4e Amphibian (roll d6: 1-2: Frog, 3-4: Toad, 5-6: Salamander)
13-15: 4e Insect (roll d6: 1-2: Crawling, 3: Jumping, 4: Digging, 5-6: Flying)
16-18: 4e Insect / Planet X "insect" hybrid
19-20: Planet X "insect" (roll d6: 1: Crawling, 2: Jumping, 3: Digging, 4-5: Flying, 6: Teleporting)

Chart 3: Broad area of Pai-Gon's interest that the experiment falls into (d20) (combine with subject matter and environment to determine purpose and exact contents of each experimental container)
1-2: Protection from Damage
3-4:  Controlling Agression
5-6:  Controlling Emotion
7-8: Protection from Fire
9-11: Love
12-13: Dispelling Magic
14-17: Plant Propagation
18-20: Insect Breeding
21-30: Shadow Plant Analogs (I put this entry in the chart because we use the d30 houserule - once a session replace any roll with a d30 roll.  What exactly a shadow plant analog is might be a subject for an entire post on its own I think)

Chart 4: Current State of the Experiment (d6)
1-3: Experiment existing in stasis and performing as designed by Pai-Gon
4: Stasis failed due to Huwawa field, contents destroyed
5:  The experiment succeeded but the intended results have run wild for thousands of years
6:  The experiment failed but a secondary organism in the controlled environment has mutated and thrived (flies included as food for a spider experiment might still be thriving, or a plant included as food for an insect experiment has mutated and taken over the container, etc.)

Obviously these charts are going to give suggestions of categories, not specific results:  It is up to the DM to interpret what an acidic liquid environment, Teleporting Planet X Insect experiment about Love that has succeeded but run wild means, exactly.

My party ended up with worms that burrowed through solid rock and consumed magic, a green gas spore cloud that left sickly mutant flowering plants springing up wherever the spores encountered moisture, a burbling pot full of mud with a fire-resistant salamander in it and a crystal matrix that served as an artificial growing medium for a Planet X insect grub.  Hammer the warforged barbarian opened the container of magic consuming worms, much to his disgust as he realized that they were consuming the very magical lifeblood that flowed through his constructed body.

Five Minute Friday Map

This is my first Five Minute Friday Map, inspired by this meme on Google+.

It is a cross section of a spherical mini-dungeon.  The PCs start in the center, teleporting or gating or dimensional shifting or somesuch to arrive there in the first place.  There is a large window that looks out over a gap to a much larger window opening into a lush garden chamber lit from above.  The light that comes out the window of the garden room is the only illumination inside the structure, providing indirect lighting all around the central opening.  The only door out of the start room opens onto a log bridge over a gap.  A demon beast of some variety is lurking below out of sight.  Roll 1d6 1: Giant Demon Porcupine 2: Two Headed Demon Wolf with Human Hands 3: Demon Bear 4: Giant Demon Spider 5: Giant Demon Toad with Toothed Tongue 6: Demon Minotaur with Battle Axe from Hell

The light source is a miniature sun that hangs in the air in the middle of the room above the Garden Room.  It does not produce heat but inflicts 2d6 damage per round to anything inserted into it, melting metal in 2d6 rounds.  

All of the plants, bushes and trees in the Garden are contained in large ceramic pots glazed with magical symbols.  They are a rare mixture of medicinal and poisonous herbs, trees bearing magical fruit and bushes with shadow berries useful for summoning dark creatures.  Both the pots and the plants radiate magic.

Defeating the Demon Beast causes a portal to open up in the Start chamber that leads back to wherever the PCs came from.  This portal will remain open for 2d20+4 rounds.  It will begin flickering with blue light when 5 rounds remain.

The chambers directly above the start chamber are a wizard's comfortably furnished living room appointed with indestructible lounge couches and low tables (lower chamber with two doors and a ladder to a trapdoor above)

and a wizard's mostly looted and totally ransacked laboratory/library with a secret door to the wizard's back door, a teleportation chamber.

The secret chamber below the demon beast contains the magical machinery that generates the light source, controls the humidity of the garden chamber and links with the magical pots to keep the plants in perfect health, and summons a new beast automatically 1d4 days after the death of the last

Synergistic Effects and Contraindications in Herbal Magic

One of the things I wanted to do when I introduced a bunch of magical herbs in my 4e campaign was to eventually come up with some kind of mechanic to resolve the unintended consequences of mixing medicines.    I decided early on that I didn't want to try and make an exhaustive chart of every possible combination, because that would get ridiculous very quickly with the number of different magical herbs and elements we are talking about here.

This issue came to the fore again last session when Tilia was faced with a daunting magical challenge and she ate some vile smelling fungal growth and a wing of the staring moth to gain bonuses they would give to her arcana check (both items collected during the course of the campaign).

This is still tentative but I have a rough mechanic.  For each pair of herbs ingested, roll 1d20.  A result of 1 indicates a contraindication and a result of 20 indicates an unexpected beneficial effect.  When more than two herbs are ingested at once, roll for each individual pair and also once for the entire unique combination.

 I have a very rough start on contraindication and unexpected beneficial effect tables (these definitely need to be expanded to at least d20 tables - leave suggestions in the comments?):  EDIT:  Mike, player in my 4e campaign and sometimes poster on this blog, sent me an email with a bunch of great suggestions for this that I will be incorporating into these tables soon.

Contraindication Table: 1d12

Remember to tell your doctor about every magical herb you are currently taking when discussing a new prescription!

1. This combination of herbs severely strains the heart.  If strenuous physical activity is engaged in the next 2d6 hours there is a risk of heart attack (this could be a Fort attack in 4e with the potential to do enough damage to kill, or a Save vs. Death in earlier editions).

2.  This combination of herbs inhibits the body's ability to process alcohol for 1d4 days.  Not only will alcoholic beverages be dramatically more potent, the drunk will last for the entire duration and a number of drinks = 1/3 Constitution could result in death by alcohol poisoning. 

3. Combining these herbs interferes with the efficacy of magical healing.  -2 per die on all magical healing for 1d4 days.

4.  These herbs just don't work very well together.  1 (1-5 on d6) or both (6 on d6) of the herbs work at 1/2 normal effect (whatever that is) when combined.

5.  Severe light sensitivity results for 1d6 days, blinded in full daylight and -2 to hit in bright to moderately lit rooms.  If a 6 is rolled for duration, the light sensitivity continues for another 1d6 days.  If a 6 is rolled on 3 successive checks, the effect is permanent.

6.  A numbing of all physical sensations occurs, causing a -4 penalty to Dexterity and the inability to feel pain for 2d4 hours.  

7.  Do not combine these herbs when pregnant.  This could be as simple as a chance of miscarriage or as crazy as a chance of magical birth defects.  Alternatively this could pollute the semen of male characters for 3d10 days, either causing sterility or hyperfertility for the character and magical birth defects for any children conceived during that period.

8.  One of the herbs (randomly determined) does not function at all while the other functions at 150% normal efficacy.

9.  A severe drowsiness results, a fast and unavoidable sleep descending in 3d6 rounds and lasting 2d30 hours.  Although pain or sudden loud noise can wake the character, sleep will return in 3d6 rounds until the original duration has passed.

10.  A slow process of petrification starts.  This initially manifests as +2 to AC and -4 to REF.  Over the next 2d6 days, roll a save at -1 cumulative per day the petrification has progressed.  Each failed save results in an additional +2 to AC and -4 to REF.  Each successful save reverses one days effects (if the first save is made the petrification ceases).  When REF reaches 0, the body is turned completely into stone and can only be cured through magical means.
11.  Dehydration/nausea results (Thanks Mike!).  Rolling a 1 on any attack/skill check dazes you for 1d4 rounds. Rolling a 1 twice without stopping to rest and rehydrate causes dehydration to the point where you fall unconscious for 1d4 rounds and can not be roused by normal means. Falling unconscious twice in this manner causes you to fall into a coma for 1d4+1 days, where you must seek proper medical treatment via someone trained in the Heal skill. Failing to do so within 2 days means you make a Death saving throw, if successful you stabilize and remain in the coma for an additional 1d4+1 days (added on to the first roll) You may also suffer permanent Ability damage. After 2 more days without medical treatment you automatically perish. Receiving proper medical treatment within 2 days prevents the Death saving throw, but you will remain in your coma for the full duration of your total days rolled. (Min 4 - Max 10)
12.  Combining these herbs can be instantly fatal.  Saving throw or die in 4e (or savings throw vs. Death).

Unexpected Beneficial Side Effect Table: 1d10

1.  A random stat is increased by 1d4 for 1d6x10 minutes.  

2.  These herbs work great together.  1 (1-5 on d6) or both (6 on d6) work at 150% normal efficacy.

3.  This combination reduces fatigue and hunger.  No food or sleep needed for 24 hours.  No side effects.

4.  This combination of herbs restores 3d6 HP or grants 3d6 temporary HP that disappear if not used within 2d8 hours.

5.  Lucky combination: +1 to all rolls for 24 hours

6.  A metabolite of this combination is sweated out and is irresistible to a random species (25% chance of being the same species as the ingester), acting as a love potion upon first exposure and a charm person/monster for subsequent suggestions made by the ingester, for 1d4+1 hours.  Even species not affected will find the body odor of the ingester very appealing for the duration.

7.  Magically toughens the ingester, +2 to AC for 3d6 hours.

8.  Grants telepathy to 50'.  This requires concentration and can only be used on one subject at a time.  Does not require line of site.  All living minds within 50' can be detected and contacted with concentrated effort.

9. Moment of Zen.  Exact effect of this is up to the player and DM.  Suggestions of a mechanical nature would include temporary bonuses to Wisdom, initiative, diplomacy, reaction checks, perception; suggestions of a more flavorful nature would include giving the DM a blank card in the form a character "revelation" (the DM gets to either reveal a secret or make up some shit about the campaign world) or some kind of breakthrough on a personality or character flaw.  This effect can never be intentionally recreated, only occurring as a random side effect of different herbal mixtures.

10.  Restores youthful vigor - lose 1d4 years of age.  Each time this combination of herbs restores youth there is a 1% cumulative chance of developing an irrational and overriding fear of aging.

Standardizing Doses and Duplicating Results

Unless very exacting precautions were taken to both accurately measure the potency of each herbal specimen and the exact amount consumed, combining the same types of herbs will not necessarily yield the same result.  I think a good start would be to give a 25-75% chance of recreating a contraindication or beneficial side effect, with the care taken to measure dosage determining the exact chance.  This assumes the same batch of herbs was used - I would lower these chances if this was not the case.  The 25% chance of failure even given the same herbs and very careful measurement of dosage means that there was some other factor present the first time that is missing.  Perhaps a fly flew in the preparation, or it was a hotter or colder day and the reaction depends on a certain temperature, or it was mixed in a copper bowl the first time and a wooden bowl the second, etc.

Addiction 

Yes of course there should be addiction rules but I really haven't nailed that one down yet.  I am still kicking around what sort of mechanic I want to use for addiction.  I don't want it to be a record keeping game of tracking doses used per period of time, I know that much.

Alien Spore Thrasher

The Alien Spore Thrasher is a parasitic organism that propagates with special spores that drift around looking for a suitable, moist, living environment to start growing in.  A tiny intermediary form is assumed by the thrasher, barely anything more than several sacks that produce a mixture of venomous secretions and a set of mouthlike tubes that connect to the host organism.  The spore thrasher kills its host in short order and consumes its body to grow the thrashing fruiting body depicted above.  The stats below are for the fruiting bodies of large spore thrashers that grow in the metal arm forest ecosystem from the body of fallen metal arm trees.

HP: 1d4 x 100 HP 

AC:20  FORT:22 REF:25 WILL:18

Basic Attack:  melee reach 1 Thrash +12 vs. REF, 5d12 dmg

Minor Recharge 4,5,6:  Release Poison Spore Cloud Close Burst 1d6(6's explode on the radius of the burst roll- roll an extra 1d6, all subsequent 6's also explode) (choose 1 spore type)

Spores:

Redirecting Cloud : Until the end of the Alien Spore Thrasher's next turn, if any enemy rolls a natural 1-4 on a melee attack roll, the thrasher chooses a new target for the attack and the enemy must reroll against the new target.

Stupifying Cloud: Persists for 1d6 rounds.  Any creature beginning its turn in the cloud or entering the cloud must immediately make a save or become dazed, save ends.

Blinding Cloud: Persists for 1d8 rounds.  Any creature beginning its turn in the cloud or entering the cloud must immediately make a save or become blinded, save ends at -2.

Infecting Spores:  +20 vs. FORT vs. all in burst.  Those hit are infected.  The tiny growing organism rolls Stealth +30 to hide its presence (and avoid future heal checks).  1d4 days incubation period.  -3d12 HP from Max HP total.  Save at -2 each extended rest or the infection progresses, -1d12 additional HP from Max HP total.  Three consecutive saves ends the infection, as does magical healing specifically targeted at the infecting organism.

Where does magic come from, Pa? (And how does it work?)

As much as I am a free-wheeling, seat-of-the-pants, gonzo, over-the-top DM, I actually have an underlying desire to have it all make sense.  I make up the weirdest monsters you cannot imagine, but there is always a perfectly reasonable explanation for how they came to exist and what they are doing where the party ran into them.  Evolution is a crazy thing - give it enough time, and throw magical abilities and pressures into the mix, and everything is fair game.

At the same time, I try very hard not to let any more slip out about the method in my madness than the characters would have learned in play.  I love nothing more than listening to the group after a session as we are all wrapping things up, getting our stuff, grabbing another slice of pizza, finishing the beer and soda... I love testing my poker face as they throw hypothesis after hypothesis out there, sure that THIS TIME they have finally figured it all out.

I don't care if the players know how it all makes sense, and sometimes they don't either.  But sometimes they do, and they start prodding and asking and pretty soon they start figuring out that there are underlying logical principles and secrets to uncover.  This is especially the case when it comes to magic.

I have never been willing to accept "its just magic" as a good explanation for magic.  I need something that is not self-referential.  I need to fit magic into the logical framework of my rpg multiverse in a way that can translate across different systems.  I need magic in the Mutant Future to work the same way as it does in my D&D 4e game.

Magic is a name for the ability to manipulate energy directly without bothering with a stage by stage transformation of the current form it is taking.  You and I have to painstakingly flake away wood with a knife to carve a perfect miniature poodle - a magician can just cause the energy forming the wood to take the form of a wooden poodle.  Or the energy in the air to take the form of a living poodle.

The question isn't where does magic come from, it is where does energy come from?  And while I have answered that in my own campaign cosmology, I don't believe it needs to be answered once magic is understood to be simply another form of energy manipulation that follows rules (albeit different ones) just like dropping a ball or lighting a match.  You don't need to know where energy comes from to accept that there is energy in the universe and it can be manipulated.  You just need to know how to do it.

There are many different forms that energy can take.  There are many different ways to manipulate it directly.  These are magical traditions.  Some claim that the ultimate source of their power is divine, others that it comes from hours of meditation on musty tomes, memorizing arcane formulas.  Some promise magical power at the cost of sacrificing your immortal soul.  Most cultures have at least one cooking tradition that imbues magical properties into food.  There are those who have taught that magical energy can be manipulated through controlled physical activity, graceful movements that trigger magical effects.  Others invite ancestral spirits inside themselves and assert that the spirits are the ones doing the magic.  All are correct.  Each is one way to manipulate energy, one small facet of the truth.

I have created and explored many different optional magical systems for characters in every edition of D&D that I have run.

Creatures often have magical powers as well.  Where does the magic come from in this instance?  Intelligent monsters have their own cultures and are little different from humans in that regard.  Magic often comes from diet in the case of animals, and from the land in the case of plants.

Animals feed on magical plants and seek out magical elements and trace minerals to lick at.  What they do with this magical energy, how they evolved the ability to perform that particular manipulation of energy and why that ended up being a competitive reproductive advantage varies from species to species.  The greatest diversity in form and magical function is to be found (not surprisingly to those in the insect know) in the Insect Kingdom.

Plants absorb energy directly from the sun and the earth.  Plants contain more genes than animals.  Many of these genes code for plant structures that produce magical effects; plants are always the greatest factories of the multiverse, both chemically and magically.

When I create creatures or jot down notes on areas for my campaign worlds, I also might jot down some notes about organs and their uses in the case of animals, or uses for various plant parts.  These components can be discovered and eventually utilized by the clever player.

As a result of this, the last few sessions in my 4e game I have seen my players dissect several genetically engineered, partially-robotic insect warriors, harvest their energy-retaining cell tissues, remove the blasting systems from two insect-robot legs, hook the cell-tissue up to the "dark organs" that they had harvested sessions ago from the larval spawn of an elder god to create a magical energy circuit (they had already discovered that the dark organs would accept energy in almost any form as an input, and would then generate invisible broadcast power that could be used to power devices within a short range), in an attempt to make two laser cannons (the bugs shot off a nasty blast of energy when they were alive, and the party wanted in on that action once they were dead!).

Roll your Nature and Arcana checks, guys...

Of course they succeeded wildly.

At the end of last session there was talk of mounting what have proved to be rather unwieldy and impractical weapons for melee combat (although they certainly did a ton of damage the couple of times anybody ever managed to get a shot off that hit anything) onto the party's hot air balloon.  The party is talking of recruiting some of the Yanomamo to accompany them as gunners on the hot air balloon.  Oh shit.  I just realized that I never posted about the session Beautiful Bob talked a bunch of lonely miners into making him a hot air balloon.  Maybe next time...

Random d20 Chart of Magical Plants for 4e

Here is a d20 chart of magical or otherwise useful plants for 4e.  This is lifted directly from a spreadsheet a player in my campaign compiles and updates between sessions.  All abbreviations and effects are as notated by him based on what I said at the table; as my notes are scattered and disorganized, his spreadsheet has more or less become a better resource than my original notes!  For simplicities sake I have left out the unique effects created by combining different plants.

 d20 Roll -  Type     -      Effects                          -                      Side Effects

1. Cidna Berries - Restores 1 Healing Surge - None
2. Vine Milk Ingest - +2 init, +2 AC, +2 to Hit for 2d6 rounds. - Nausea for 1 round. -2 Hit and -1 dmg.
3. Leaf - Cure any ongoing poison damage and if taken after poisoned, neutralize previous poison damage. - None
4. Vile Smelling Fungal Growth Ingest - +10 to any ritual check with Arcana for 1 hour.   -4 Will Defense for duration.
5. Odiferous Sap - Use as incense - Close Burst 1: +2 Hit and Damage for encounter. -   None
6. Leaf (Evergreen) Grants Sv. To end Domination with a +4 bonus.-  None
7. Seeds (Licorice) +5 Streetwise and Diplomacy for 1 hour. Hangover for 1 hour aftereffect: -1 to all rolls. -  none
8. Sap Coat Gear - +2 AC/Fort for encounter. -2 Reflex for duration.
9. Brush with Spongy Core Spongy Material - Minor Action - Clamp spongy material over a wound to stop poison. Consume - Susceptible to coercion: -5 Will Defense.
10. Oily Solution When heated the oil turns anything it is coating invisible. +10 stealth, lasts 1 encounter. - None
11. Sap (Evergreen) Incense - +5 Insight and Knowledge checks. Blissful Aftereffect: -8 to Initiative(stoned)
12. Ebene Tree - Cambium Layer of Bark Powdered and Dried - Snuff - Enter spirit world for 2d4 hours. Can't return to physical world in that time. - None
13. Hisioma Seed Ground Seed - Snuff - Returns spirit body to self. - None
14. Ryath Root Healing - Spend a healing surge, but gain 2d4hp. - None
15. Fungus - Grew out of network of mycelium. Super fast growing. Edible. Only needs water and innate magic to grow. High protien. 1 inch cube fills a mason jar with just a few drops of water. More magic and water equals a MUCH faster growth. - None
16. Sweet Red Berries Minor Action - Grant a 2nd Second Wind once per encounter. - None
17. Leaves and Root (Wolfsbane) Infusion - Contact Poison. +10 poison damage on contact and ongoing 5 damage (Save Ends). One application lasts one encounter. - None
18. Flowers (Wolfsbane) Used to create a wash - Potency degrades quickly in light - Coat item and it becomes a +1 magic item for one encounter. Requires total immersion. 1 flower create 1 gallon of wash. Twice the uses if you can keep it unexposed. Newt people coat their ritual knives in the wash. - None
19. Seeds (Wolfsbane) Used by Newt female casters to invoke their patron witch spirit. - None Known
20. Fruit (Cucumber Like) Slices placed over eyes - Invoke spirit projection. You control spirit, fly 60 miles per house, lasts 2d6x10 minutes. Have to get back to body before duration runs out or your soul may be lost. DM rolls time and gives a 20 minute warning. Cucumber lasts d6+1 days after being cut open. - None

Magic Mushrooms

Two random charts: One for the primary effect and one for the side effect of a magic mushroom.  I will spare you guys the addiction and overdose charts for now.  This is pasted from a spreadsheet, so the formatting is a little funky:  Duration of the effect follows the short description.  Sub charts follow the primary charts.  I grant non-commercial rights to use these charts in private games.  I retain all other rights.

Roll on both charts.

Primary Effect Chart (d30):

1. Cures 3d6 HP worth of damage. instantaneous
2. Grants one extra attack per round. 2d6 rounds
3. The mushroom secretes a contact poison which does 50 damage (Save vs. Poison for 1/2 damage) instantaneous
4. The ingester grows to 10 x her original size.  HP and Strength double, Dexterity is halved and AC receives a -4 penalty. 1d4 hours
5. The ingester shrinks to 1/10 her original size.  HP and Strength are halved, Dexterity is doubled and AC receives a +4 bonus. 1d4 hours
6. The ingester receives +8 to one randomly determined attribute and -4 to another.   2d10 rounds
7. The ingester receives 15 temporary HP which disappear in 1 hour if not used. 1 hour or less
8. Sticky sweat: +2 bonus to AC and the ability to stick to and climb on vertical surfaces and ceilings. 4d6 rounds
9. Spore breath: The ingester takes 2d6 damage and can spray a 15' cone of spores that do 10d6 damage (Save vs. Poison for 1/2 damage) to all in their path.
10. The ability to see in darkness as if it were daylight 2d6 hours
11. Irresistible aroma: +2 to Charisma and most members of the opposite sex are strongly attracted. 1d4 days
12. Magic Resistance: A percentage chance that any magical attack or effect will completely fail to work against the character.  Roll 1d10 on the Magic Resistance sub-chart. 1d10 rounds
13. Grants the ability to see invisible and shadow creatures, and to discern the true nature of illusions. 2d12 rounds
14. Doubles movement rate. 1d4 hours
15. Breathing is unnecessary.   1d4 hours
16. Cures all diseases. instantaneous
17. Cures blindness. instantaneous
18. Cures deafness. instantaneous
19. Cures muteness. instantaneous
20. Ingested poison: roll 1d10 on the poison types chart in Mutant Future, a kick-ass post-apocolyptic RPG freely available in text format from Goblinoid Games.
21. Turn into a shadow (cannot be targeted by physical attacks, can slip through even the tiniest cracks, all equipment is transformed but no other physical objects can be picked up, carried or manipulated while in shadow form) 1d12 rounds
22. Time slows: +2 to AC, +2 to hit, +2 to Dexterity, 1 extra attack per round. 1d4 rounds 
23. Dried mushroom functions as a grenade: roll 1d10 on the Mushroom Grenade sub-chart. special
24. If cultivated on a body within 1d4 hours of its death, this mushroom will re-animate the body as a free willed zombie with all of its former memories minus the last 4d6 days.  The mushroom-zombie sustains itself by consuming magical radiation, and can only "live" for 1d4 days without it.   special
25. Body becomes slightly lighter than air.  Without at least 10 pounds of ballast, the ingester will slowly float away at the rate of 20' per round. 1d4 hours
26. Immune to fire and heat damage. 2d6 rounds
27. Immune to cold damage. 2d6 rounds
28. Ingester must tell the truth. 1d4 hours
29. Roll on the Side Effect Chart instead.
30. Roll twice on this chart, ignoring any result of 29.  This result may be rolled more than once.

Side Effect Chart (d20):

1. Sleep (15 minute onset time). 1d4 hours
2. Sharp Headache: 1d6 damage and -1 to all attacks. 1 hour
3. Blind in daylight, sensitive to low light 1d4 days duration
4. Nausea and intense vomiting.  No other actions possible. 3d6 rounds
5. Double vision results in a -2 penalty to hit. 4d6 rounds
6. Persistent diarrhea.  Effects adjudicated by the GM. 3d4 days
7. Skin turns a random color (roll 1d10 on the Skin Color sub-chart) 3d12 days
8. Deafness (roll 1d6 on the Deafness Duration sub-chart) special
9. Strong odor is emitted (roll 1d6 on the Strong Odor sub-chart) 1d6 hours
10. Clumsy: -4 to Dexterity 1d4 hours
11. Strong intoxicant: -5 to Intelligence and Wisdom 1d4 hours
12. Weakened:  -4 to Strength 1d4 hours
13. Save vs. Poison or the ingester must attack the nearest living creature (must save again each round). 2d4 rounds
14. Blindness (roll 1d6 on the Blindness Duration sub-chart) special
15. Muteness (roll 1d6 on the Muteness Duration sub-chart) special
16. All of the ingester's hair falls out over the course of the next day until the ingester is completely hairless. Hair begins to regrow in 1d4 weeks
17. Intense visual hallucinations: -4 to hit.   3d6 hours
18. Terrible nightmares: No benefits can be gained from resting, and the ingester takes 3d6 damage each time she begins to dream after falling asleep. 1d4 days
19. Roll on the Primary Effect Chart instead.
20. Roll twice on this chart, ignoring any roll of 19.  This result may be rolled more than once.

Magic Resistance Sub-Chart (d10):

1. 15%
2. 20%
3. 25%
4. 30%
5. 40%
6. 50%
7. 60%
8. 70%
9. 80%
10. 90%

Mushroom Grenade sub-chart (1d10):

Duration Note: Clouds left by a grenade dissipate naturally, lingering longer in still, contained areas than outside.

1. 15' radius cloud of smoke
2. 10' radius spore cloud; Save vs. Poison or sleep for 2d6 rounds
3. 10' radius blast for 4d6 damage
4. 10' radius spore cloud; Save vs. Poison or hallucinate for 1d4 hours
5. 10' radius blast for 6d6 damage
6. 500' radius flash of light (Save vs. Energy Attacks to avoid 3d6 rounds of blindness if looking at the light)
7. 10' radius blast for 8d6 damage
8. 25' radius magical darkness (permanent)
9. 10' radius blast for 10d6 damage
10. 10' radius spore cloud (Save vs. Magic to avoid petrification)

Skin Color sub-chart (d10):

1. Red
2. Orange
3. Yellow
4. green
5. Blue
6. Indigo
7. Violet
8. Black
9. White
10. Tie-died swirl of every color.

Blindness/Deafness/Muteness Duration sub-chart (d6):

1. 1 hour
2. 1d4 hours
3. 2d6 hours
4. 1 day
5. 1d10 days
6. permanent

Strong Odor sub-chart (d6):

1. Skunk: -10 to Charisma 
2. Rotting Meat: -5 to Charisma, carnivorous and scavenging predators attracted.
3. Syrupy sweet: swarms of insects are attracted.
4. Shadowy Aroma: The shadow world draws closer.
5. Aggressive pheromone:  The ingestor must make a successful Charisma attack to avoid being attacked by any creature that comes within 15' of her.
6. Fear pheromone:  Any creature coming within 15' of the ingestor must make a Save vs. Poison or flee for 1d4 rounds