Phantom Wheat is required for making Ghost Toasties.
I can see Ghost Toasties being a children's cereal that is somewhat expensive, and the cause of many ground-flailing "cereal aisle tantrums" in protest of frugal moms who want to by the off-brand instead. XD XD XD
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391 and 392. I wanna make a character that takes a Glass Falcon as a familiar and a Blot Raven as an animal companion, and then have the Blot Raven take Greater Dirty Tricks.
Maybe Glass Falcons give the master +3 Stealth?
Makes sense. They would probably be preferred by macabre spellcasters, as their bones and some organs remain visible (so they remain visible, just with a reduced profile for the purposes of casting a shadow), like those little fish with translucent flesh and skins.
391 and 392. I wanna make a character that takes a Glass Falcon as a familiar and a Blot Raven as an animal companion, and then have the Blot Raven take Greater Dirty Tricks.
Maybe Glass Falcons give the master +3 Stealth?
Makes sense. They would probably be preferred by macabre spellcasters, as their bones and some organs remain visible (so they remain visible, just with a reduced profile for the purposes of casting a shadow), like those little fish with translucent flesh and skins.
Stealth-savvy Gravewalker Witches, Necromancy Wizards, and Undead/Animal domain Clerics are rejoicing throughout the lands.
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I love meeces. To pieces.
393. Wisprat Similar to Glass Falcons, these mice have translucent skin, fur and organs, however, their bones and a small of their rapid cycling quicksilver-like blood are quite visible. Their main defense mechanism is to play dead, and as their bones, highlighted by a sheen of milky-white resin look like a mostly fresh skeleton, all but the most desperate predators bother investigating beyond the occasional sniff or poke. Wisprat familiars give their masters +3 to Disguise, and are often seen as an advertisement that one is a necromancy specialist, but some illusionists enjoy the company of a wisprat as well.
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Ghost Toasties and evaporated milk are good for summoning or seancing ghostly children.
Grew up on evaporated milk...
Swans and geese can bite for 1-4 damage. Ice swans add a point or 3(on a crit) freezing damage. The wing buffet just does a point of subdual. Ducks can't do any damage to anything larger than a bug.
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395. Naked Mole Pandas These tiny hairless rotund rodents have black and white counter-shading, similar to the larger panda, on their otherwise wrinkly bare skin. Unlike larger pandas, they are not treasured, but despised, for their reliance on root vegetables like potatoes, carrots, beets and turnips, devouring them in great quantity, and then spilling out of their warrens (generally beneath a farm or garden they have despoiled) in search of fresh places to build a new warren beneath some garden or farm they have not brought to ruin. Their black patches serve as primitive eyespots, as they have no eyes, and give them only awareness of light and dark, so that they instinctively start away from sudden shadows when aboveground.
396. Mogund Certain stretches of river in the Mwangi expanse are infested by these carnivorous frogs, who devour all of the other tiny creatures in their area (and so are almost never found in ponds, as they tend to consume every small fish or large insect in the body of water and then die off, with nothing left to eat, a river at least brings them constant fresh bounty...). Mogund are no threat to larger life, such as humans or any animal larger than a rat, and are not normally inclined to swarming behaviors. These frogs are notable for the presence of a king, who sits in the center of their territory and feeds only on the smaller mogund, as it can no longer move under it's own power. One would think the smaller frogs would avoid the 'king,' who occasionally snaps up a smaller mogund with it's tongue, but the king releases pheremones that drive the smaller mogund into a mating frenzy, and they are otherwise incapable of breeding, save within close (too close!) range to the king, attempting to couple just outside of his reach (but the range of his tongue is greater than that of his pheremones). Fortunately for the species survival, the king only eats one in a dozen amorous visitors to his immediate presence. 'King' mogund are popular eating, but must be killed from a distance, such as with a cast spear, as the only time mogund become willing and able to swarm and attack larger creatures, like people, are if the king feels threatened and releases 'swarm' pheremones...
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I was designing a map the other day, and I wanted to include a lake called the "Turtle Shallows"-- basically it's a very shallow lake with lots of sandy berms and dunes throughout the lake where it is common for both turtles and tortoises to hatch their young in safety. So, I came here to the Flora/Fauna thread and searched for turtles/tortoises for a bit of inspiration of what these "Turtle Shallows" would look like and what kind of turtles/tortoises might use this lake, and I only found 1 entry for turtles: Set's entry for Pseudodragon Turtles, and zero tortoise entries.
Anywho, we need some turtles/tortoises.
397. Skurfing Turtle
The Skurfing Turtle has a shell that is entirely comprised of organic crystal and is highly similar to a leatherback sea turtle; it has flippers, can live up to 50-150 years, and measures roughly 2-3 meters long and can weigh between 1,000 to 1,500 lbs. However, what makes the Skurfing Turtle truly astonishing is that it can manifest the psionic powers Body Equilibrium and Skate in order to avoid or run from predators. Skurfing Turtle hatchlings can manifest Skate as soon as they are hatched, which exponentially increases their chances of survival by being able to flee and avoid predators as they make their way from the beach to the ocean, but Skurfing Turtles don't develop the ability to manifest Body Equilibrium until they reach adulthood, which is typically 5-8 years. Once they reach adulthood and face predators in the ocean, Skurfing Turtles use their Body Equilibrium power to quickly ascend or descend in the water, and can even use it in combination with Skate to skate across the surface of the water, and is highly reminiscent to the appearance of surfboarding.
398. Black-striped Spine Turtle
The Black-striped Spine Turtle is the cause of many debates amongst Great Thinkers and Researchers because it is still unresolved as to whether this turtle is truly a turtle, or whether it is a dinosaur that merely looks like a turtle. Regardless, this 3 to 4 ton turtle is primarily land dwelling, and thus has feet rather than flippers, but is strangely omnivorous. Not only does this creature consume plants like other turtles and tortoises, but it will also eat anything from rodents to ruminants, as well as various sea critters when it chooses to hunt in the ocean. Like its name suggests, it has a dark black colored line that extends the full length of the center of its shell where its "spine" would be, even though it technically doesn't have a spine.
399. Terroda
Also known as "Earth Tortoises" or "Earthmovers", these Gargantuan-sized land-dwelling tortoises can grow to 35-50 tons and 40-50ft long when fully grown. Due to their massive size, Terroda have many predators in the wild (typically carnivorous dire animals), and these creatures have evolved since prehistoric times to cast Expeditious Construction as a spell-like ability to quickly encapsulate themselves in a wall of earth, sand, and/or stone as a defense mechanism. These gentle giants are easily domesticated, and some cultures have even taught them to use this ability to construct large buildings and edifices, or even to quickly create walls in defense of their villages and towns from would-be marauders. Terroda are exclusively found in deserts, savannas, and similar desert-like climates, and thus have evolved to have low metabolisms, so they can subsist with minimal food and water for months. Their diet primarily consists of grasses, flowers, leaves, and cacti.
400. Tauseacea
This rather long-flippered, "shell-less" turtle has an interesting form of osmoregulation; Tauseacea cannot use osmoregulation to maintain their homeostatis to diffuse salt from water like other turtles can, so they are restricted to fresh water lakes and rivers only; instead, they can use osmotic pressure to convert fresh water from one state to another. In layman's terms, they can naturally create gaseous steam or frozen ice simply by using a combination of thermoregulation and osmoregulation. As such, Tauseacea are often compared to Terroda insofar as being called "Water Turtles" or "Watermovers", because as defense mechanisms, Tauseacea can create steam effects similar to an underwater Fog Cloud so they can swim to safety and hide amongst the river rocks, or even create and ice effects similar a Wall of Ice once cornered in the rocks, as to block their predator until they get bored and leave. Furthermore, and perhaps the most iconic feature of Tauseacea, is that they create their shell completely out of ice, and can retract their head and flippers into this ice shell as a last resort. Unlike Terroda, Tauseacea are small-sized creatures, and only grow to about 25-30lbs and roughly 2-3ft long.
401. Thousand Star Tortoise
When this 1,250-2,000lbs tortoise was first observed by Great Thinkers and Researchers some several centuries ago, it was sleeping in the middle of the night in an open meadow, and its light-reflecting shell was reflecting the light of the stars, and was thusly named Thousand Star Tortoise. It may be more aptly named "the most annoyingly garish tortoise ever", because during daylight hours, this reflective shell causes the tortoise's shell to constantly reflect the sun's light as if under a constant Daylight spell. While this may seem to this tortoise's detriment as being a bright shining beacon to its predators, it is actually a wonderful defense mechanism, because the light is so intense that those within 5ft of it become painfully blinded. . Most predators know that this tortoise will simply retract its head and feet and outlast them while they suffer being repeatedly and painfully blinded by intensity of this light, so Thousand Star Tortoises are usually left alone-- at least during the daylight hours anyway.
402. Anaconda Turtle
This sea-dwelling turtle appears as though it was a very long snake with a jagged shell that is broken up into several interlocking segments, and while it has 2 flippers near its head and 2 flippers near the middle of its body, it can "unlock" these shell segments so it can "slither" quickly through the water as it hunts prey, which are typically jellyfish and other amorphous gel-like planktonic organisms. And once the Anaconda Turtle encounters a predator, it can "re-lock" these shell segments to form one firmly solid shell, and then retract its head, tail, and flippers inside. Despite the name Anaconda Turtle, this turtle has no real relationship to snakes other than being a reptile and having a long thick body that appears similar to an anaconda. They grow to be about 15-20feet long, and roughly 600-800lbs. Some Great Thinkers are Researchers have proffered the thought that the Anaconda Turtle was the inspiration behind developing the Scorpion Whip and Whip Swords such as the Urumi, but these claims are in fact baseless.
403. Gemini Tortoise
The origin of this two-headed tortoise is a somewhat somber story that involves a highly unethical alchemist with an uncanny understanding of genomes, chromosomes, and reptilian breeding, and these tortoises were created after a long slough of unbridled animal cruelty and failed horrendous experimentation. When the authorities raided the disgraced gnomish alchemist Zavimwast Limzec's laboratory, they found several of these two-headed tortoises at various ages ranging from 2 months to 8 yrs old, and the well-documented scribblings of a madman about how he did it. Naturally, they imprisoned Limzec and burnt his laboratory to the ground, along with all his research, as to prevent any future mad science or continuations of his work.
However, these tortoises were in luck as it were, because one member of the posse who raided and razed Limzec's lab was a Firbolg Urban Druid named Virjor Elmsong who protested vehemently to spare the lives of these mutated creatures. After Limzec was sentenced, Virjor supervised the immediate care of these creatures and created a Sanctuary with the mission of responsibly introducing these tortoises to the wild, and affectionately named them Gemini Tortoises. This sad event only happened some 21 years ago and Limzec is still serving his 45 year sentence, but the Gemini Tortoise population has since flourished under Virjor's guidance and supervision.
The 8yr old Gemini Tortoises that were found in Limzec's lab were roughly 50 lbs at that time 21 years ago, but today they're still living in Virjor's Sanctuary at a whopping 450 lbs, and are cared for and observed in this Sanctuary for prolific and scientific reasons. Since Gemini Tortoises are a new species, no one really knows how large these creatures can get, nor what their lifespan is. But there are roughly 1,000 of these Gemini Tortoises currently living in Virjor's Sanctuary, and Great Thinkers and Researchers estimate that there are roughly 15,000 Gemini Tortoises now in the wild. Gemini Tortoises are herbivorous and typically eat grasses, leaves, fruits, and vegetables, and to one Sanctuary volunteer's dismay, also seem to enjoy unattended blueberry muffins.
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MOAR turtles and tortoises!
404. A'Tuin Turtle
Long ago, the island of A'Tuin was destroyed by a large meteor, and the crater that was left was deep in the ocean, and the island had been completely destroyed. Typically, turtles always return to the same beach to lay eggs, however the turtles could no longer lay their eggs on the beaches of A'Tuin. These particular turtles evolved to be instinctively migratory as a result, and today they lay their eggs on whichever beach they are currently near.
A'Tuin Turtles have a shell that is yellow in the center and then fades to black around the edges of their shell, and are roughly 5-8 lbs. These turtles make excellent pets and familiars (use Turtle stats, except master gets +3 Survival skill).
405. Dagon Turtle
This 200-300lbs demon-like turtle is rumored, and rightly so, that it is a direct descendant of the Prince of the Depths himself, the demon lord Dagon. Dagon Turtles have an ink-black shell, and rather than feet or flippers, they have 4 long nightmarish writhing tentacles that have a flipper on the end of each tentacle, and its mouth has long, needle-like teeth with wide gaps between each tooth. It is well known amongst sailors and seafarers that anyone who touches the shell of a Dagon Turtle becomes cursed.
The cursed person must drink a minimum of 8 ounces of salt water from the ocean once every 24 hours, or become fatigued for 24 hours. If the cursed person doesn't drink salt water after being fatigued for 24 hours, the condition worsens to exhausted for 24 hours on the following day. If the cursed person still hasn't drunk salt water after 24 hours of being exhausted, he remains exhausted and begins to lose 1d2-1 Con per day (No save, Min 0). Drinking 8 ounces of salt water will immediately cause the cursed person to become un-fatigued and/or un-exhausted, but will not restore any Con lost, if any. Any Con lost in this way can be recovered normally through rest, or with magical restoration spells, but only after they are un-fatigued and/or un-exhausted by drinking salt water.
The cursed person must drink the salt water from the ocean, so putting salt in normal fresh water and then drinking it will not sate the curse. Though, it is possible for the cursed person to carry salt water from the ocean in a canteen or waterskin if they need to be away from the ocean for an extended amount of time.
While the curse is active, the cursed person may walk on salt water and breath salt water as if under the effects of Water Walk and Water Breathing spells. These Water Walk and Water Breathing effects do not work in fresh water, only oceanic water. The curse can be broken with Remove Curse, Break Enchantment, Miracle, or Wish, or a similar spell powerful enough to break the curse (subject to GM discretion).
A Cautionary Sea Shanty about Dagon Turtles:
Aft o' the deck
Ol' MacAuley stands the cold
He turns the wheel and looks at his compass
He's right and true, but he
Never aware o' the danger
No, he's ne'er aware o' the danger
The storm upon him
Ol' MacAuley went over
His mates they throw 'im the hook
Behind him the Dagon, but he
Never aware o' the danger
No, he's ne'er aware o' the danger
The cursed shell of the Dagon
Ol' MacAuley did touch
And down to the locker 'e went
Drown and 'urvive he did, but he
Never aware o' the danger
No, he's ne'er aware o' the danger
406. Pago Gapo Tortoise
The Pago Gapo Tortoise is most typically found in tropical climates or in jungles, and typically weighs between 40-50lbs. "Pago gapo" comes from an ancient islander dialect, and roughly translates to "Charming Smile", and while this particular tortoise doesn't have a "charming smile", it survives predators by being able to cast Calm Animals and Charm Animal as spell-like abilities . The Pago Gapo Tortoise is herbivorous, and typically eats grasses and leafy foliage, as well as leaves that have fallen from trees.
Strangely enough, Pago Gapo Tortoises make excellent shepherds for unfenced livestock, and farm owners will employ these tortoises as "calming aids" because livestock enjoy their company and will typically not stray farther than a few hundred feet from them. Notably, cattle and sheep seem to enjoy being around Pago Gapo Tortoises the most; shepherds and farmhands often joke: "the dumber the animal, the more they enjoy Pago Gapos."
407. Chakra Tortoise
This extremely docile tortoise probably should've been extinct a long time ago, because not only does it move slower than other tortoises but it sleeps for 18 hours per day; it has without a doubt survived predation and extinction because of their usefulness in healing and realigning the chakras of humanoids, so these creatures are rarely seen in the wild and most commonly seen as pets. Acupuncturists, Massage Therapists, Chakra Specialists, and other healing experts often employ Chakra Tortoises in their healing sessions, and will lay the sleeping tortoise on the backs of their clients. The Chakra Tortoise's shell produces an invisible "chakra-enhancing field", similar to an electro-magnetic field, and realigns the Crown, Third Eye, Throat, Heart, Solar Plexus, Sacral, and Root Chakras. Clients have unanimously reported feeling a solid sense of self, renewed inner strength, and being spiritually centered and grounded after these healing sessions with Chakra Tortoises.
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408. Trinket Tortoises In the golden sands desert of greater kel, deep in Casmaron, the locals sometimes wear small golden tortoise shells as ornamentation, or trade them like currency, and claim it is an ancient custom of their people, to gild the shells of small tortoises they keep as pets when they are children to obscure the true origins of these golden trinkets.
Centuries ago, a emperors daughter was reaching the age at which she would be fashioned a crown of her own, as that was the custom of the time, each member of the royal family having their own crown, to be buried with them when they passed, and the emperor decreed a challenge to gather a thousand thousand grains of golden sand from the golden sands desert (where one in ten thousand grains is an actual particle of gold) to fashion her crown. A year was given, and many answered the call. The victor was a woman who made a bargain with the genies of the desert to simply purchase a bag of grains that they had already gathered over many lifetimes, but the most lasting result came from a failed challenger who spent many months crafting via wish magic a species of tiny tortoises who encrusted their shells with these golden grains as they foraged through the desert, surviving off of dew and insects, primarily, but also certain succulents. It took far too long for these tortoises to gather the requisite grains, and he had less than a dozen shells, each with only hundreds of grains, by the end of the year, long after the winner had handed over her thousand thousand grains and claimed her winnings.
Still the trinket tortoises thrive in the golden sands desert, and many thousands of their shells are used as currency by the nomads of the deep desert.
The base creature, unmodified, still also exists, a tiny tortoise that adorns it's shell with plain sand crystals, as a form of additional armor, but these tortoises have become almost extinct in the golden sands desert, as their far-more valuable kin are coddled and encouraged to thrive by the locals, who raise and release them in numbers, using a complicated system to keep track of which trinket tortoises were released by a specific nomad, and are part of that nomad's 'herd' (and a reasonably enlightened sense of appropriately returning wandering trinket tortoises to their 'owners' when they are found sometimes miles away). That the nomads would willingly hand over a small lump of gold to a stranger because their mark is on the bottom of it's shell, seems strange to an outsider who learns of the custom, but since the value of all those golden grains, once removed, amounts to about three gold pieces, it's hardly worth the loss of one's reputation for life, among these unforgiving folk, who value water more than gold.
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409. Glimmerdew
Sometimes called the "Ranger's Flower", this species of flower has long petals that are quite adept at capturing dew and becoming thickened and engorged to retain as much water as possible, and these flowers can be perceived from a decent distance due to the glimmering, glistening dew on the petals, especially early in the morning hours. It is well known amongst wilderness survivalist experts that one need only uproot the plant and carefully squeeze the geophyte (water storing organ) to extract the water into a trough or a basin. As long as the survivalist performs this extracting technique properly, the flower can be re-planted without harming it. It is quite common to be able to extract between 1-6 ounces of potable water from any given Glimmerdew.
410. Hirui Cactus
This rain forest and jungle-dwelling barrel-shaped cactus has a multitude of long spines that appear almost like sewing needles, and like other cacti, it is extremely efficient at storing water. However, since rain forests and jungles experience more rain than deserts, this particular cactus purposefully becomes "overly-turgid" and swells up to the point it could explode when its waxy skin is even slightly perforated by animals that would otherwise attempt to eat it, such as mice, rats, rabbits, and various robust-beaked birds such as woodpeckers. While one Hirui Cacti might give its life, the rest of the nearby Hirui Cacti are safe, because this explosion is enough to release hundreds of its needle-like spines omnidirectionally to kill the rodent or bird that perforated its skin. Most animals know well enough to leave them alone once they've completely swollen, but Hirui Cacti are rather vulnerable until they've reached this overly-turgid state. The skin of Hirui Cacti has a multitude of health effects though, and humanoids typically will harvest these cacti to make various salves and lotions for treating skin rashes and skin diseases, as well as a reagent for brewing potions of Youthful Appearance. Furthermore, if one successfully finds a Hirui Cactus that hasn't reached its overly-turgid state, they can extract the water inside the cactus safely without it exploding; drinking the water of a Hirui Cactus enhances your body's immune system for 24 hours as though under the effect of a Rite of Bodily Purity spell.
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411. Zealotthistle
This turquoise and lavender prickly flower has been the basis for starting many wars and oppressive inquisitions throughout the past centuries, because if you boil the root of a Zealotthistle, the water becomes a drinkable broth that produces the same effect as a Detect the Faithful spell. As such, in order to keep the peace, King Adonijah Wyvernstone banned them from his kingdom some several decades ago, and encouraged neighboring kingdoms to do the same. Today, consuming Zealotthistle is illegal in almost every kingdom, however it still happens, especially in evil or evil-leaning factions and religions.
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412. Heartweed This rare plant resembles a spider plant, but instead of sending forth smaller versions of itself on stalks, it produces a small red fruit during the light of the moon that doesn't seem terribly appealing, and is mildly toxic to humans (causing dizziness, upset stomach, irritability, blurry vision and a racing heart, but rarely being crippling, let alone fatal). It can grow in many environments, and is quite hardy, supernaturally so, in fact, but requires special circumstances to breed.
The plant is openly grown in some communities in Tian Xa, among Kitsune who know of it's properties, and is all-too common in Ustalav, among folk who do not suspect their proximity to danger, as the seed within the fruit can only gestate after it has passed through the digestive tract of a shapeshifter (being 'fertilized' when the shifter transforms during the time between eating the fruit and passing the seed). The fruit itself makes the process of shapeshifting easier, for lycanthropes and similar creatures, adding a small bonus to Control Shape rolls, and has no toxic side-effects to them, indeed being both nutritious and a bit of an acquired taste. (The fruit is also strangely able to nourish obligate carnivores, like cats, who require meat to survive, but they generally prefer meat anyway, and gain no benefits or harm from the fruit.)
If the plant's association with were-folk were openly known in Ustalav (currently it is firmly in the realm of 'peasant superstition' and not established fact), for instance, it's presence could lead to pograms against folk suspected of 'being the hidden werewolf,' and some clever and wicked types have instigated similar events, arranging for plants to be found near the homes of people they want suspected by their neighbors.
One other unusual property related to shapeshifters is that the leaves and stalk of the plant are unusually tough, with fibers that resist cutting or tearing, save versus the metal silver. (DR 1/silver) The leaves do dry out and become brittle very soon after cutting, and so are mostly useless for the purposes of weaving into armor, although a primitive and temporary sort of 'hide shirt' that provides the armor protection of cloth armor and DR1 / silver for 24 hours before it dries out and gains the broken condition can be fashioned. (It takes multiple plants to provide enough leaves to weave a single such shirt, and is generally not worth the effort and expense.)
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413. Cleaners The homes of the elves of Castrovel are composed of hardwoods local to the area, except for a baseboard of softer wood, intricately carved in swirls and coiling patterns, around the lower third of the structure. Small holes, large enough for a humanoid finger to enter, but no larger, dot these surfaces, and when the lights go down and movement ceases for the night, tiny fragrant insects scuttle forth and begin their nightly duty of cleaning all surfaces of the home, devouring detritus and leaving behind a fresh waxy coat on some surfaces, avoiding any warm (living) creatures or lit areas. They leave floors and dishes and discarded clothing alike spotless and fresh-smelling, and scurry back into the walls to sleep through the day, their work done.
It is elven tradition to leave a small amount of food on their plates, as a result, which some humans have mistaken as a gift to house fey and has been the source of some amusement, so as to 'feed the cleaners.'
It has also resulted in entire generations of elves coming over to Golarion and leaving their dirty dishes, clothing, etc. in a neglected pile, since they grew up with cleaners and have no idea how to launder their own clothing or wash their own dishes. So, basically, college kids.
'Cleaners' is just the translation. The elven word is something like 'rheum-bah.'
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Megafauna and Megaflora
414. Xidingo
This arid and desert dwelling herbivorous colossal creature appears similar to a kangaroo and its head has a large bony frill that protects the back of its neck, similar to the frill of a protoceratops; it is roughly 70-80ft long from nose to tail and can weigh up to 120 tons. Despite this one similarity to the protoceratops, Xidingos have no relationship to dinosaurs. Due to their massive size, Xidingos give birth to rather undeveloped young. So, similar to its kangaroo cousins, this creature has a pouch for its young like most other marsupials where its joeys can reside until they mature, which typically lasts between 14-18 weeks after being born.
Xidingos have extremely strong, muscular tails, and large claws on their hind feet, so when threatened by predators, it will attempt to grapple its predator with its forelegs, and then lift off the ground with its tail, and then repeatedly rake its aggressor with the claws on its powerful hindlegs. Despite its rather large size, Xidingos are not easy prey for smaller pack predators because they are quite quick, as well as being adept with tail swipes and slaps if forced to fight the pack off. However, they are weak to gargantuan and colossal-sized predators that can bite its unprotected throat when it attempts to grapple and rake them, so Xidingos will usually try to keep their head down while grappling.
In Wild Megafauna Illustrated magazine vol. 68, it was noted that Xidingos have four stomachs similar to ruminants, and like cattle, will regurgitate its food to chew it twice. They typically eat grass, leaves, ferns, fruit, and vegetables, and Great Thinker Abnerfeld Billinghurst claimed in that article that although they are herbivorous, Xidingos sometimes will chew on bones or consume insects and eggs if food is scarce.
415. Goliath Sabre Fern
This colossal-sized fern can grow fronds that are up to 80ft in length, and the stipe of these fronds can be used as a versatile and robust building material, which can be used like "longer bamboo" in constructing homes and other edifices, livestock fencing, plumbing for water collection systems, river rafts, and fishing vessels. However, the pinna (leaves) are exceptionally robust, but despite the name "sabre" these pinna are not sharp, but are named "sabre" because each frond happens to look like a curved sabre. These pinna can be "soak-treated" by submerging them in heated water for several days, and once they've softened they can then be sharpened and/or formed into weapons or armor, and the product created in this soak-treating process is known as Foliumite.
While most humanoids favor steel and iron for weapon material, Foliumite is a favorite amongst druids and primitive tribal communities for creating anything from daggers, spears, and shields to weapons with complex shapes, like axes, falchions, and halberds; and the weapons created from Foliumite are just as strong as their metal counterparts once they've dried from the soak-treating/sharpening process. Many steel and iron clad warriors jest and chide such weapons and armor as "grass weapons" and "fern armor"... at least until their own armor has been sundered and own flesh has been pierced by one.
Lastly, the rhizome of a Goliath Sabre Fern is highly dense with proteins, nutrients, and starches, and can be consumed as a "superfood" of sorts. The taste of anything created with this rhizome tastes absolutely disgusting though, and has been described as "drinking goblin piss from a hobo's boot", so it is commonly used to feed pigs and other livestock.
416. Flamigeen
Also known as "Dire Flamingos", these ocean- and sea-dwelling wading birds have legs that are roughly 120-145ft long, and when standing upright, can reach heights of 180ft tall. They typically wade in the shallower zones of oceans and seas, and use their high vantage point to pinpoint and strike prey, which are crustaceans, decapods, insects, and fish, but will also eat kelp and various sea plants as well. Unlike Flamingos, Flamigeens have incredible eyesight and are proficient divers, and while in flight, they can not only see to the bottom of the epipelagic zone (if the water is clear, 1000meters max) but can also quickly dive to 1000m to retrieve their prey; Flamigeen have been recorded as holding their breath for up to 6 minutes, but in Wild Megafauna Illustrated magazine vol. 101, Great Thinker twin sisters Amaedrid and Gilderette Magmadelver co-authored a column stating that they believe Flamigeens can hold their breath for up to 10 minutes due to studying their lung capacity during autopsies.
Like Flamingos, Flamigeens have the unusual property of changing the color of their plumage and feathers based upon what they consume for a diet; so if their diet primarily consists of shrimp and fish, their plumage will be pink, but if they've been eating decapods and crabs, then their plumage will be orange, and if they've been eating plants, then their plumage will be green and blue. It is not uncommon for a Flamigeen's plumage to be a mix of all these colors, though.
417. Giant Cipherberry Bush
The Giant Cipherberry Bush grows to be about 100ft tall, and produces thousands of small orange berries that have black polka dots on them. If you and another living creature both consume a Cipherberry from the same Giant Cipherberry Bush, both creatures benefit from a Share Language spell, and may communicate with one another for up to 10 minutes as if you shared a language. This affects any living creature that has a mouth or some way of communicating (such as fingers and hands for sign language), including birds, beasts, and humanoids. It is possible to join 3 or more living creatures to benefit from this effect as well, and is not limited to only two living creatures.
418. Aerocetacean
This ballooned-up flying whale-like creature is tropovorous, aeroplanktonivorous, and palynivorous, meaning that it consumes atmospheric gasses, aeroplanktonic organisms, and pollen. Although Aerocetaceans have no wings and weigh between 300,000-400,000 lbs when fully grown, you'd never know it, because they gracefully navigate the skies and appear to float as if under a constant Fly or Air Walk spell. Aerocetaceans have cosmopolitan distribution in terms of their migratory behavior, so they can be found navigating the skies all around the world; they seasonally migrate to the different hemispheres from the beginning of Spring til the end of Summer months, and at the end of summer, they will migrate to another hemisphere to enjoy the beginning of that hemisphere's springtime, and this is to facilitate the maximum amount of food intake.
Great Thinker Elvira Wrayburn studied these creatures for 17 years in the wild, all while on a Flying Broomstick no less, before publishing the first Wild Megafauna Illustrated magazine vol. 1, and she concluded that Aerocetaceans consume airborne detritus particles, viruses and germs, as well as airborne bacteria, and wrote verbatim "Aerocetaceans are a godsend for mysophobes, bacillophobes, germaphobes, and humanoids who suffer from hay fever and seasonal allergens due to their diet", and ever since that first article, Aerocetaceans have been considered to be highly beneficial megafauna. She also determined that these creatures have vast control over vacuumancy magic as spell-like abilities, and use this to both suck their food into their mouth like a wide whirlpool-like funnel, but they also use this vacuumancy to keep themselves apparently floating; in that article, Elvira wrote "...by creating massive air pockets above them that are completely void of nitrogen or oxygen molecules that literally PULL them upwards, while simultaneously creating massive air pressure pockets of densely packed nitrogen and oxygen molecules directly beneath them that also PUSH them upwards, Aerocetaceans are able to maintain continuous flight, even while sleeping; however, it would be a disservice to call what they do 'flying', because it would be better described as being 'buoyant in air' through their powers of vacuumancy".
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419. Squeakgrass.
The proper name for this ground cover is unknown to all but the most educated scholars. A bright green grass, this plant grows to about six inches in height and looks very much like any other low-lying grass. What earned it the name 'squeakgrass' is that walking on it creates very loud squeaking noises. Attempts to cross this field take a -20 penalty to Stealth checks as every step triggers squeaks. Many skittish animals actually like foraging near or in fields of the plant as it provides an early warning system for predators. However, it is not very nutritious as the blades are very vacuous so it does not make a good food source. It is hypothesized that it was the creation of either an off-kilter druid or a wizard with a warped sense of humor. Squeakgrass is found in any terrain suitable for grass but favors savannahs and prairies.
413. Cleaners The homes of the elves of Castrovel are composed of hardwoods local to the area, except for a baseboard of softer wood, intricately carved in swirls and coiling patterns, around the lower third of the structure. Small holes, large enough for a humanoid finger to enter, but no larger, dot these surfaces, and when the lights go down and movement ceases for the night, tiny fragrant insects scuttle forth and begin their nightly duty of cleaning all surfaces of the home, devouring detritus and leaving behind a fresh waxy coat on some surfaces, avoiding any warm (living) creatures or lit areas. They leave floors and dishes and discarded clothing alike spotless and fresh-smelling, and scurry back into the walls to sleep through the day, their work done.
It is elven tradition to leave a small amount of food on their plates, as a result, which some humans have mistaken as a gift to house fey and has been the source of some amusement, so as to 'feed the cleaners.'
It has also resulted in entire generations of elves coming over to Golarion and leaving their dirty dishes, clothing, etc. in a neglected pile, since they grew up with cleaners and have no idea how to launder their own clothing or wash their own dishes. So, basically, college kids.
'Cleaners' is just the translation. The elven word is something like 'rheum-bah.'
You stole my idea, you!
Yours is muuuuch better than mine...
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415. Goliath Sabre Fern
This...
This is also an idea I had...for my campaign setting mind. Hub. Back to back great minds thinking alike?
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You stole my idea, you!
I'm in yer brain, readin' yer thots!
But seriously, I just loved the idea of elven homes being infested with roaches, but they put them to work, the lazy freeloaders, and made them clean for their room and board!
Experiments with an organic self-cleaning carpet ended abruptly when the designer fell asleep on the floor and ended up half-digested...
This is also an idea I had...for my campaign setting mind. Hub. Back to back great minds thinking alike?
415. Goliath Sabre Fern
This...
Since Foliumite is like steel, I'm wondering if I should make a plant-based Adamantium and/or Cold Iron equivalent... hrmm..
How were you thinking of implementing this in your campaign?
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@Ryze Kuja,
Do you actually have these "great thinkers" created in your universe?
Could a party find a book about Elvira Wrayburn's decades-long adventure, maybe an autobiography, journal, or 3rd-party biography of her findings as she flew around on a broom for 17 years? Could a party encounter her studying frogs or whatever in the wilds on your universe?
Is Abnerfeld Billinghurst just a name, or do you actually have a spectacled face, long white beard, and smoking pipe to go with it?
Given the emaculate detail and thorough descriptions of your entries, everything you post seems like it 100% exists within a connected universe. Like you have already experienced all this, none of it was made up on the spot, and you are pulling quotes/excerpts/summaries from memory or greater volumes of texts...
It's incredible.
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Everything I post here I just make up on the spot, but also "enters" my world at that same time as well. The only exception to this was my entry for Amber Wasps and Amber Banyan Trees, those existed in my homebrew world first and then I wrote about them here.
I'm actually building this world in hopes that it becomes a VR MMORPG someday, and I have over 53,000 years of storyline. I've been working on this world since Aug 2009, so just over twelve years. It's way more than 53,000 years though, I don't know how long it actually is, I tried counting it all up about 2 years ago and I stopped counting at 53,000 because it was taking too long :P I've got concept art, maps, and movies created for the whole thing too. It's very cool :) I just need a gaming company to build it because I don't know how to code, and honestly I think it would take a small army of coders and artists several years to build it.
My Pathfinder group plays in this world during "time-critical" parts of the story, and anything that they do becomes actual canon and lore in the story. They've created their own "Mount Rushmore" with their character's faces using a Wish, they've sundered/broken continents, created religions, all kinds of stuff. We've played 4 good campaigns and 1 evil campaign in this world, and the evil campaign took 2 years irl. The rest of the campaigns were 6, 9, 10 and 15 months each.
As far as great thinkers created, I have a bunch already but I keep adding more through posts like these as well, and yeah you could find these great thinkers out in the world doing stuff during whatever campaign we run, and find their biographies sure :) I think it would be kinda cool to see Elvira's 17 yr Broom as an honored piece of paraphernalia mounted on the wall in a tavern somewhere ;)
Abnerfeld Billinghurst ABSOLUTELY has a spectacled face, long white beard, and a smoking pipe to go with it haha :D
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420. Blood Orchid The Blood Orchid is most notable for the many lies told about it. A brilliant scarlet orchid that grows high in the canopy of trees in the jungles of Mediogalti, the blood orchid is rumored to be the source of blood-curdling toxins and blood-stimulating narcotics used by the Red Mantis assassins in sacred rites and deadly murders alike, and to be fed a steady diet of blood, in the wild from small animals that succumb to it's soporific pollen and are devoured by larger predators, and in Red Mantis 'gardens' by human sacrifice. It's all nonsense. The plant dies in captivity if 'fed' blood in any significant quantity, and it's pollen is only useful to make a musky perfume that smells vaguely like hickory smoke and is generally preferred by those with less discerning senses of scent. It is harvested in the wild by the kobolds of Mediogalti (the monkey goblins avoid it out of religious terror, believing many of the lies about how dangerous it is, and that it is sacred to the Mantis God, to boot), and grown in some greenhouses for experimental use by mages and alchemists in Rahadoum and Thuvia, as well as having spread in the wild to trees in the Sodden Lands.
421. Blood Orchid Mantids These mantids share the bright scarlet coloration and ornate shapes of blood orchids, and any cluster of the plants is generally frequented by a female blood orchid mantid, and one to three slightly smaller male suitors who generally lurk nearby. The males generally feed on moths and other insects, but sometimes the females (particularly when preparing a batch of eggs) prey on the bats who come at night and the hummingbirds who visit during the day to pollinate the flowers!
The mantids are large for their species, about the size of a child's hand, in the case of the larger females, and aggressively territorial, prone to flying in the face of intruders and even attempting to bite them. Only the females are large enough to do even a single point of (nonlethal) damage, and, like the sting of a whip, cannot damage a creature with even a single point of natural armor, such as a kobold (which is another reason why they are the sole species to harvest the blood orchid successfully in the wild). The real danger is not this not-terribly-dangerous bite, or the impotent attacks from the male suitors who also flutter to repel the threat to their lady, but that the harried and startled target of their attacks lose their grip and plummet a dozen or more yards to the ground, as the blood orchid only grows in the cleft of trees, high up in the jungle canopy...
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422. Millennium Rose This popular and beautiful plant is a weed, not a flower- it looks very much like white clover, although it comes in a variety of colors depending on environmentand local nutrients. It is known for shedding its petal-like leaves towards the end of its lifespan at specific intervals of time, and some fortunate souls have encountered a millenium rose at the right time and place so that they shed their leaves akin to an hourglass. These are usually kept for luck by people in fields that respect time moreso than most, such as clockworkers, guards, town criers and the like. On occasion a wizard or sorcerer of a Lawful bent might cast a cantrip on one to "bring it back to life" every 24 hours so that they have a magical clock of sorts.
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423. Ghost Pepper This insanely hot pepper is commonly grown in warm marshy areas. Many communities near where tragedies have occurred will have one in each household as a good luck charm. In addition to its extremely high heat levels, enough that some scholars are looking in to classifying it as an ingested poison, the fruit of this plant have one anomalous feature: the peppers exist partially on both the material and ethereal planes. The bright red of the fruits are especially eye-catching to any ethereal denizens amidst the ghostly gray mists of the plane. Any ethereal being foolish enough to eat one or more of the peppers learns very quickly what a bad idea that is and develops an aversion to even closing within a certain distance of the plants. Whether the communities who cultivate ghost peppers are aware of this property or merely cultivate them out of superstition varies.
You stole my idea, you!I'm in yer brain, readin' yer thots!
422. Millennium RoseThis makes me want to make a small grey bird of prey rumored by the elves to live for a thousand years or more called the Millenium Falcon.
But I shall resist.
DO EET
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You stole my idea, you!I'm in yer brain, readin' yer thots!
This gives me a GREAT and REUSED and EDITED FOR FREEHOLDIAN/THREAD PURPOSES IDEA
424. Careless Whisper- These incredibly fragile(DC 15 to simply harvest, DC 20 to dry) hallucinogenic mushrooms are usually found in idyllic forests, grown from rainwater that naturally collected in the footprint of the women running from a satyr(for those who prefer men) or the hoofprint of a satyr chasing them(for those who prefer women). When ingested, these mushrooms provide a "trip" that allows them to observe the fantasies of the runner featuring the runee, along with more than occasional visual demonstrations for things too complicated for words alone. Most who enjoy these mushrooms do so right before going to bed to inspire an exotic dream, and the senory overload usually causes even people who are not prone to it to talk in their sleep, whispering the most lascivious actions. There are those who try to take it while awake to inspire themselves when with a partner, but the visual aspect of it is notoriously overwhelming and confusing, and often come out of their trip lovingly fondling a pillow, doorknob or some other inanimate or inappropriate object, leaving their partner frustrated. There are also varieties that are found in fairy rings(when those particular rings are used for more carnal purposes) and on trees belonging to nymphs (who are rumored to claim the innocence of young folk), but these last are known for being unpleasant or extreme "trips" due to the somewhat alien First World mindset of the beings involved. Some druids do not care for the popularity of this mushroom and spread tales of it being poisonous or dangerous to keep boorish city-folk out of their woods. Fey druids are,
perhaps unsurprisingly, the most dedicated to keeping these mushrooms unharvested, and the carnal thoughts of their fellows out of the minds of others to avoid fetishization(which is already a problem).
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[inspired by the above, but, as is my wont, less fun]
425. Ragevine When demons travel from their abyssal realms to ours, they often carry a virulent contagion unimaginatively known as 'demon fever.' Those who die of the fever sometimes, it is uncertain exactly why some do and some do not, grow patches of lichen on their discolored flesh, sprouting in the suppurating wounds and bruise-like lesions that form in the last deadly stages of the disease. This lichen has gently waving cilia that resemble tiny vines and proves a threat to small insects that might land to feed on the carrion, as the vines close around them and crush these tiny lives, as hateful and destructive to life as all things spawned from the Abyss. The tiny vine-like growths only lasts a few days, at most, and cannot abide the touch of clean water, 'drowning' within moments of a light rain or morning dew. But if scraped away and boiled, the resultant 'tea' can produce dark rages and destructive fits in the imbiber that dark elven arena-keepers like to feed their charges, before goading them into fighting to the death for the amusement of their jaded patrons. (If neither the scraping away or boiling processes are handled with care, those involved may end up just becoming the next victim of demon fever...)
There are rumors that variants of ragevine 'tea' can produce nigh-demonic strength or capabilities for a short time, but these were spread after a legendary arena-keeper combined ragevine with various alchemical extracts to enhance fighters physiques or abilities to make fights more... interesting. As a result of these rumors, which some unpleasant forces seem to keep alive, there's always some backwater somewhere where someone is willing to experiment with ragevine tea to enhance themselves or 'steal the power of demons,' only to end in the inevitable bloody rampage as they go berserk.
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426. Pestilents In some regions where incorporeal undead haunt, small flittering black midges can be seen out of the corner of one's eye, and living creatures occasionally feel an unseasonal chill in the air.
Such manifestations only occur at dusk or during the twilight hours, as these incorporeal vermin are unable to manifest during sunlight hours (and indeed are destroyed if brought into sunlight, or sunlight appears unexpectedly when they are present). Their origins are unclear, but it is theorized that during some rare cases, a wraith, specter or shadow can form from a dead body hours after death, instead of suddenly, particularly in areas saturated with negative energy, and when this happens, any flies that were supping on the corpse at the time are struck dead by the emerging incorporeal undead, becoming incorporeal undead themselves! Being so incredibly tiny, they are incapable of causing harm, only an annoying visual perception (unaccompanied by sound, as their tiny ghostly wings move no air) and a faint chill from the minute amounts of life-energy they subsist upon. Being also quite rare, they are almost never encountered as a swarm, and pose no real threat in that manner either, nor do they venture from the regions of strong negative energy that created them, limiting them to places like Geb and the Island of Dread.
About the only true relevance to these tiny pests is that their presence almost always signifies that A) you are in a bad, bad place, and B) incorporeal undead lurk nearby...
This is also an idea I had...for my campaign setting mind. Hub. Back to back great minds thinking alike?
415. Goliath Sabre Fern
This...
Since Foliumite is like steel, I'm wondering if I should make a plant-based Adamantium and/or Cold Iron equivalent... hrmm..
How were you thinking of implementing this in your campaign?
The Shuu(referred to as True Elves by others) have a unique bamboo like plant that they use to create the golarion equivalent of leaf blades and thorn blades.
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Forgot to add;
426. Pestilents
During the day, pestilents hide inside the corpses they spawned from, which sometimes results in their destruction when scavengers tear said corpses open (helping to explain their scarcity), or more successfully hide within trees, where their miniscule life-draining properties often contribute to the withered and scraggly appearance of flora in these regions of high negative energy.
And this is why I shouldn't post a critter idea the very instant I think of it, but let it stew around in my brain for a few hours first...
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427. Gryshjongr
Also known as "leaf men" or "tiny treants", these 1/4lbs to 1/2lbs diminutive-sized creatures appear as an anthropomorphized mixture of twigs, leaves, and foliage, and despite their anthropomorphic appearance they considered insects and are not sentient. These insects are fiercely beholden to the specific tree that they were born under; however they are both coprovorous and detritivorous, so it is quite common for them to venture out in search for dung heaps and piles of decaying and dead foliage, and then bring it back to that tree. They then use this dead/decaying foliage and dung to feed their tribe and to nurture and feed the tree that they are beholden to, and they create small tunnels so that they can have access to that tree's roots so they can strategically place the dung and detritus and lay their eggs. Unlike other insects, Gryshjongr do not have queens, and female Gryshjongr typically lay up to 30-40 eggs every 7-9 days.
Gryshjongr continually monitor the health of their tree, and will even venture out to find water during summer months or periods of drought, and carry the water back in crudely fashioned "leaf pouches and baskets". There are many species of Gryshjongr (at least 1 species for every different species of tree in the world) and can be found in almost any climate, but they all typically have lifespans between 42 to 54 days. These different species of Gryshjongr will always look similar to the specific tree they are beholden to, as to facilitate being able to hide on that tree's bark and within its foliage when necessary, so almost every tribe of Gryshjongr will appear differently.
Ironically, these creatures were originally named by vikings who believed these creatures to be fey, and in their ancient tongue "Gryshjongr" roughly translated to "tree guardian". Great Thinkers and Researchers have since corrected this by correctly taxonomically categorizing them no longer as fey but as insects, and when they performed the study that corrected this, they observed exactly how crucial these creatures are to the food chain and the evolutionary cycle of trees-- not only do Gryshjongr feed birds, rodents, and larger predatory insects, but their fiercely protectorate instinct can save the lives of trees that are near death, even if these trees have been scorched in forest fires or partially-uprooted by storms. Additionally, in this study, the Great Thinkers concluded that Gryshjongr are absolutely pivotal in the evolutionary process in creating new species of trees, because sometimes they are forced to search far and wide for dung and detritus that would be considered foreign to that particular forest, and the foreign nutrients they provide can slightly alter the seeds their tree produces.
It is not uncommon for Gryshjongr to wage all out wars with other tribes of Gryshjongr while collecting dung, detritus, and water for the tree that each tribe holds sacred, even amongst the same species of Gryshjongr that are trying to protect the same species of tree. It is also not uncommon for Gryshjongr to wage all out war with other dung collecting insects.
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428. Bookwyrms These diminutive dragons are capable of folding themselves flat and becoming nothing more than an illustration on a flat surface, lurking there unnoticed (or mistaken for artwork) before they expand to lunge after some tasty insect, hiss at someone attempting to steal one of the tomes in their 'hoard' or belch forth their breath weapon, a cloud of 'dead air' that causes fires to fade and sputter.
It is generally assumed that they were a creation of ancient Thassilon, as their abilities are far too convenient for protecting libraries of ancient lore from the ravages of fire, or damage from paper-devouring insect life, but no mention of their creation is listed, and records just sort of gloss over them almost as if they were either extremely rare, or so ubiquitous as to escape observation.
There definitely seems to be some relation between them and the process by which 'tattoo familiars' are able to transform themselves into inkantations on the flesh of their tattoo sorcerer masters, but other than the obvious similarities, proof remains elusive.
Like the bookwyrms themselves. Little more intelligent than animals, bookwyrms regard the libraries they inhabit as their lairs, and the books therein as their 'hoards,' growing irate and screeching petulantly if anyone attempts to remove books from the premises. Their breath weapon is little more than an elaborate threat display to man-sized targets, and their teeth and claws do no more damage than the attacks of an angry housecat, making them not terribly effective guardians. They can fly at approximately the speed of an adult human, through apparently supernatural means, since not all bookwyrms have wings, appearing a mix of serpentine and more traditionally 'draconic', with some being 'in-between' and looking more like a drake or wyvern, of appropriately diminished stature. Despite an array of colors and patterns, none seem to have any sort of affinity for or resistance to elements of fire, cold or similar forces like acid or electricity, all breathing only their cool dry exhalation that smothers fire and causes mild irritation to eyes and throats (no mechanical effect, it's just annoying).
Bookwyrms appear immortal, and if they reproduce, or are even truly alive and not some persistent magical creation like a golem, remains unclear. In any event, they are only found in the most ancient of libraries, and there is never more than one in a single room, unless the room is truly enormous and crammed with books (in which case the individual bookwyrms will have their own 'sides' of the room, and not intrude on each others territories, behaving in all ways as if other bookwyrms and their territories do not exist).
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429: Green and yellow striped Cringe snake. It's venom makes humanoids(including humans) to save DC30 or throw off all but their underwear and do the underpants dance. If anyone can be coerced to act this out, upload it to tictoc or somewhere labeled only "Main element of CRINGE".
Cringe snakes may lurk under rocks where they wait for bugs or other small creatures to eat.
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431. Eorosfanor
Known as "Elf's Gypsum" by non-elves, the Eorosfanor flower is a deep purple, dark blue, and pearl-white colored carnation that is similar to the gypsophila flower, and is primarily used by elves (Wood, High, Sun, and Wild elves primarily) as a symbolic flower during ceremonies honoring elves who have fallen in combat. Eorosfanor has a potent "ethereal" or "otherworldly" smell, as if a hundred springtimes filled your nose at once, and the ancient elves of the First Era would carry these flowers onto battlefields after combat had ended and plant them near the corpses of their fallen elven kin because they believed this flower grew in abundance in the Summerlands of Eoqarial, the heaven-like plane amongst the Seven Heavens belonging to the elves, thus ensuring their spirits would find their way to Eoqarial. Not only do they plant Eorosfanor where the elves have fallen, but they transport their bodies and perform funeral rites with their bodies enshrined in bushels of Eorosfanor as well. This tradition has persisted from the earliest generations of the First Era, and is still performed today. Eorosfanor grows in almost every clime except cold or arid/desert climates and can be found on nearly every continent. However, only elves will keep and cultivate Eorosfanor in their gardens; the smell is enjoyed only by elves, and is far too strong for non-elf humanoids to truly enjoy. Non-elves have almost zero use for Eorosfanor, and often avoid fields that have it due to its potent odor. And frankly, the elves would have it no other way.
432. Scythe-tailed Uakari
This jungle-dwelling, dark-maroon-faced primate weighs roughly 38 to 45lbs and is roughly 85-110cm long from snout to tail, with its tail accounting for 50-55cm of its total length. At the end of its muscular prehensile tail, as its name suggests, is a 4-5 inch sharp scythe-shaped blade of highly-dense cartilage (similar to shark teeth), and is sharp enough to penetrate coconuts and other fruits that have indehiscent shells, as well as the hides of any would-be predators. Many other animals' naturally-occurring weapons are comprised of bone, and one significant advantage that the Scythe-tailed Uakari has over "bone-weaponed animals" is that the cartilage in this "scythe" heals much faster than bone, so if its scythe is damaged while fighting off a predator, this Uakari is not disabled in the same way that a broken bone would disable other creatures. While Scythe-tailed Uakari have long incisors that would be beneficial for consuming flesh and meat, these creatures are frugivores, and their diet consists primarily of fruits such as mangos, coconuts, bananas, hehiabana, oco oco, figs, papayas, tangerines, and pineapples.
433. Hehiabana
The Hehiabana fruit is highly similar to a plantain, except it is much, much larger; a single plantain fruit typically weighs about half a pound, but a single Hehiabana fruit weighs about 30-35 lbs. Also known as "Trebuchet Trees" as a cautionary name, Hehiabana trees primarily grow in jungles and rainforests and produce wood that is almost rubber-like, and strangely, its core is hollow as to promote maximum flexibility. Like plantains, Hehiabanas form three to six groups of 20-25 or more fruits at the top of its tree, and these groups of Hehiabana are so heavy that they cause the top of this 12-15 meter tall tree to nearly touch the ground. As a defense mechanism, this tree has evolved to exude a sticky goo-like substance over its stalks that temporarily "glues" any would-be predators to it, and when it senses this, it "intelligently" and purposefully disconnects its entire batch of fruits on the ground, which launches the would-be predator like a catapult or a trebuchet. Once this occurs, the Hehiabana tree takes roughly 3-4 months to fully produce another batch of Hehiabana fruits.
434. Oco Oco
Oco Oco are ground-based fruit plants that are reminiscent of strawberry bushes, but this bush produces hard-shelled indehiscent fruits that become slightly ajar like pistachio nuts when ripened. The fruit inside this hard shell is similar to the consistency of softened-butter or custard that has many small seeds in it, and the fruit begins to "ooze" out of the shell when ripe, and has a sourly tart but pleasant taste. Oco Oco are highly dependent upon animals eating their fruits and then defecating its seeds elsewhere. They grow in warm and hot climates only, but require a consistent amount of water to grow, so they don't thrive in arid or desert-like climates. These fruits are highly sought after by bakers because this butter-like fruit can be mixed with sugar to create a "sweet and sour" whipped cream that is commonly used on lemony desserts, tarts, pies, and other baked goods.
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435. Petrifying Nettle
Nearly all plants become dormant in winter, and this huge-sized 25-30ft tall perennial nettle is no exception, except when the Petrifying Nettle becomes dormant, it petrifies itself into solid stone to survive the winter, and then becomes unpetrified from the beginning of the springtime until the end of fall (the root of the Petrifying Nettle never becomes petrified during winter though, only the stalk and the leaves become petrified during winter). The Petrifying Nettle is a species of "Burning Nettle", and the leaf blades and the stalk have thousands of 2 to 3-inch long stinging hairs that "burn" the skin of humanoids or hide of animals that touch it; though, this can only happen during spring, summer, and fall-- while this nettle is dormant and petrified for the winter, its hairs are also petrified and cannot sting you.
Those whose skin becomes burnt by a Petrifying Nettle begins to burn intensely for several hours as it turns to stone. This petrifying wound begins to spread throughout the entire body if not treated and/or if the victim continues to fail saves, and emulates an effect similar to a Flesh to Stone spell. However, this petrification process is not immediate; it can take up to 1d4+1 days before the victim becomes completely petrified, but each limb that becomes petrified becomes unusable (and the victim gains the -4 Dex secondary effect noted above). If the victim's head becomes petrified during this process, he becomes unconscious and fails all subsequent saves as the poison continues to spread. Neutralize Poison, Stone to Flesh, Lesser Wish, Wish, and Miracle counter this effect, as well as similarly powerful magic and effects can counter this petrification effect at the GM's discretion.
Ironically, the root of this plant is the victim's salvation, and its root can be boiled and reduced to a paste-like salve that can prevent and cure this petrification process; this salve can also be used to coat a previously petrified creature, such as those petrified by a Flesh to Stone spell or a Medusa's gaze, and if the petrified victim is entirely coated in this paste-like salve, then it will emulate Stone to Flesh effect, and un-petrify the creature over the course of 1d4+1 days. The root of this plant is exceptionally difficult to harvest while the plant isn't petrified, and must be carefully up-rooted while wearing leather clothing covering their entire body (or armor covering their entire body that is stronger than leather, because the stinging hairs can penetrate normal clothing). If leather clothing covering one's entire body isn't available, one can still uproot it but this is extremely difficult, and must succeed at Survival check DC: 25 to uproot the plant without being burned by the stinging hairs. If it is winter and the Petrifying Nettle is currently petrified, then the root can be easily harvested with no rolls required.
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436. Molten Rock Pitchers
This astonishing plant resembles a common carnivorous pitcher plant, except it has the extraordinary ability to consume molten rock, and can even survive while completely submerged in lava or magma. Due to the evolutionary path of this plant, it has evolved to be geophagous and mineralvorous and can consume lava or magma that becomes trapped inside its pitcher, and due to centuries of lack of sunlight, Molten Rock Pitchers have evolved to use thermosynthesis rather than photosynthesis, so it converts heat energy into the chemical energy it needs, which in turn produces oxygen.
Ostensibly, Molten Rock Pitchers cannot grow in any area that doesn't have extreme heat, so they are exclusively found in the conduits, side vents, dikes, sills, and throats of volcanos, as well as underground fissures, magma caverns, and magma chambers, and can even sometimes rarely be found on the earth surface in lava flows, but only if that lava flow has a consistent source of lava. Great Thinkers and Researchers around the world would pay a king's ransom to get access to studying these plants while they are alive, but the environment in which they live is so hostile that this task is certain doom. Very little is known about these plants, and what little IS known about them is only due to collecting dead Molten Rock Pitchers in the surface lava flows once a lava flow has ceased flowing. Usually, by the time it is safe to gain access to the Molten Rock Pitchers in an expired lava flow, the Molten Rock Pitchers have been dead for several days or weeks.
Typically, Molten Rock Pitchers grow in inflorescences and its pitchers are roughly 4-7 inches long. However, a century ago, Mount Innisjor experienced a volcanic eruption with an uncharacteristically large amount of lava, and some several weeks after the eruption, Great Thinker Philomon Parkes led an expedition to the top of the mountain to ascertain if the volcano was dormant. To his amazement, he found an inflorescence of dead Molten Rock Pitchers in the throat of this volcano that had pitchers that ranged from 38 to 41 feet long! Unfortunately, the lava was subsided enough that these amazing specimens had died, but the volcano was still active so the expedition had to leave immediately before any significant research could be performed. So, it is truly unknown how large these Molten Rock Pitchers can get, or whether this incredible find was simply a dire version of the Molten Rock Pitcher species.
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437. Dire Whelk
This gargantuan-sized gastropod is a 30-35ton, 45-55ft long sea snail, and there are many Dire Whelks in the wild but they are most commonly seen in Merfolk communities as domesticated beasts of burden. Even though these creatures are slow, they are exceptionally strong, so Merfolk primarily use them for hauling heavy loads and constructing large underwater edifices. Not only do the Merfolk use Dire Whelks as beasts of burden, but they also use them as a food source and as a source of poison for coating their weapons. Dire Whelks naturally produce a poisonous matter in their salivary gland that causes headaches, extreme vertigo and dizziness, and seasickness in most humanoids and animals, so Merfolk would extract this poison and coat their weapons before going to war, as well as for hunting.
Dire Whelks primarily live in oceans and seas, but they are amphibious so they can breathe both on land and in water, and roughly 50 years ago, an Aquatic Elven Weapons Dealer named Lorsan Talveryn realized the untapped potential that the poison of the Dire Whelk truly had. Although Talveryn was an Aquatic Elf, most of his business dealings took place on land, so he purchased a group of Dire Whelks and brought them to his headquarters, and commissioned a small army of alchemists and researchers for an expensive R&D session to ascertain the best way to weaponize this poison. This 8-month R&D session produced two significant results: a poison called Dire Whelk Extract and a drug called Twist.
Dire Whelk Extract
DETAILS
Type poison (contact); Save Fortitude DC 18; Frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; Cure 1 save.
EFFECT
Staggered for 6 rounds or until cured
Twist
DETAILS
Type: drug (injury-injected); Addiction: severe, Fortitude DC 18
EFFECTS
Initial Effects
For 1d6 hours, imbibers increase their size as per an Enlarge Person spell (and gain all associated bonuses/penalties of Enlarge Person) and gain the benefit of the Die Hard feat, and furthermore gain an additional 1d4+1 alchemical bonus to Strength and Constitution, and the imbiber's eyes become bloodshot and take a -4 penalty to sight-based Perception checks; the imbiber's blood veins along the arms and neck, as well as their bloodshot eyes, glow phosphorusly turquoise while affected. Additionally, if addicted, the user also gains 1d4+1 alchemical bonus on initiative checks and 1d4+1 alchemical bonus on Reflex saves for as long as he is addicted.
Secondary Effects
After the initial effects expire the creature gains the fatigued condition lasting 2d4 hours. (No save) This fatigue effect even affects those who would normally be immune to fatigue, and cannot be removed by restorative effects that would normally remove fatigue.
DAMAGE
If Fort Save DC 18 is failed, suffer 1d2-1 (Min 0) Con damage and 1d2-1 (Min 0) Wis damage; this ability damage occurs after the secondary Fatigue effect has abated. This ability damage is cumulative, and if given enough uses, could potentially lead to death or unconsciousness if the victim's Con or Wis is reduced to 0. This ability damage can be restored via restorative effects, but cannot be restored naturally via rest until the victim is no longer addicted.
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Severe Addiction
Type disease; Save Will DC 18
Onset 1 day; Frequency 1/day
Effect –2 penalty to Dex, Con, Str, and Wis; target cannot naturally heal ability damage caused by the drug that caused this addiction; Cure 3 consecutive saves
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438. Electric Kelp
This extraordinary species of kelp has the ability to manipulate ions in salt water to become positively or negatively charged, and when in "kelp forests", the positively and negatively charged individual strands of kelp will helically-wrap around each other. It is not uncommon for 5, 10, 50, or more positively and negatively charged strands of Electric Kelp to helically-wrap around each other to form massive rats' nest-like formations of kelp. As a defense mechanism, this kelp potently shocks animals that touch it, emulating an effect similar to a Jolt spell ; though, this shock cannot occur if a positively or negatively strand of kelp is by itself, it must be wrapped around at least 1 oppositely charged strand of kelp for this shock to occur. Despite its plant-like appearance, Electric Kelp is technically not a plant because it has more than one clearly differentiated tissue in its cellular construction, and these differentiated tissues are what aid the constant flow of ions as if it were a battery; so Electric Kelp is rather considered a heterokont, or a eukaryotic organism that is technically a protist, so it is neither an animal nor a plant, but rather something primordial that predates the evolutionary abiogenesis of animals or plants. Due to this incredible discovery, many Great Thinkers and Researchers who exclusively study Protistology believe Electric Kelp to be one of, or a direct descendant of, the first forms of life on the planet.
I don't think you could ride a Hectic Elk into combat, unless several loopholes are exercised. Maybe if it's crossed with a southern reindeer, a special class, and or a special feat chain, ect.
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Plant-based adamantium!
440. Verniumite
Nearly 800 years ago, a meteorite impacted the earth's surface and formed a large crater in an infertile, barren land. Unbeknownst to anyone, trapped inside this meteorite was the alien seed of a species of tree that was accustomed to growing in a harsh climate on a planet that had a 3-state precipitation system (rivers, clouds, rain, lakes, & oceans) primarily comprised of Sulfuric, Nitric, Phosphine, and Hydrochloric Acid. This highly acidic planet had its surface slightly skimmed by a comet, and the resulting debris became scattered to the cosmos, and a large chunk of this debris became a meteor that eventually found its way to earth. Suffice to say, this planet had a climate that was much harsher than earth's climate, and certainly much harsher than the moistureless arid landscape where the meteorite had landed on earth. At first, the meteorite appeared uninteresting and lifeless for a period of some 20-ish years after it had landed, but then miraculously, a tiny sapling emerged from a crack in the meteorite. Once word got out that alien life had developed out of the meteorite, the Viridian Veil, an ancient order of Druids, arrived to confirm if the rumors were true.
The tree grew to an incredible 3,800 feet in its first century on earth, so the Druids from the Viridian Veil named this tree Vernocedrys and spent centuries guarding and preserving the crater as if it were their own holy sanctuary, and soon after the entire crater was teeming with life under the careful watch of these druids. Today, the nearly-800 year old Vernocedrys towers over this now-verdant crater at a whopping 17,281 feet tall, and its impressive height already rivals mountains and is still growing, and produces bark that is as hard and dense as adamantium and foliage that is naturally resistant to acid. Unfortunately, Vernocedrys produces only female seeds, and Veridian Veil has been unsuccessful in figuring out a way to fertilize these female seeds; the druids have postulated that the planet where this tree was originally from must have had animals, pollinating insects, or some other type of male fertilization that was critical in its reproductive process. So as for now, this tree's reproductive process remains a mystery and Vernocedrys is the only tree of its kind on earth.
The druids have had to protect Vernocedrys several times throughout the centuries from those who might abuse its alien usefulness, and were forced to create weapons and armor out of its bark in order to defend it; as the centuries passed, the Viridian Veil became adept at removing its bark and healing it, and creating armor and weapons from the resulting material affectionately named "Verniumite". The Viridian Veil also has perfected the art of removing Vernocedrys's foliage for the creating of acid-resistant armor and shields as well. Being highly over-protective of Vernocedrys, the Viridian Veil only allows other druids and certain verdant-minded fey into their sanctuary, and allows them to create armor and weapons from its bark and foliage, but only if their need for such arms is deemed dire enough by the High Council of the Veridian Veil.