I have been thinking of how to make the plant life more alien in a SG2 game.
One option is Beth's Triffids
(http://www.cygnusx1.info/xeno/triffids.asp)
But I was looking to add flavor to an otherwise normal game of Stargrunt
(rather than make the flora the major opponent). Some ideas that I have been
toying with are:
Tar-Baby Plant:
The Tar-Baby Plant exudes a sticky sap that serves two purposes. First
it
sticks to large animals which subsequently pollinate other Tar-Baby
Plants. Second, it traps insects, avians, and other small animals which it
digests to supplement the nutrients from the soil. Game Effect: Soldiers
moving into
contact with Tar-Baby Plant is given a suppression marker.
Scare-Me-Nots:
The Scare-Me-Not trees are very delicate. They extend long wispy strands
into the atmosphere to harvest the multitude of gnats and bacteria prevelent
in the planet's atmosphere. However, these strands are a favorite of the
local fauna. To protect themselves, the Scare-Me-Not trees pull in these
strands whenever it senses movement. Game Effect: When a soldier moves
within 2" of a Scar-Me-Not tree replace the tree with a few small sticks
(as it pulls in its foliage). The sticks provide no cover. This also gives
away the possition of the soldier.
Herd Bushes: The Herd Bushes move arround an area searching for nutrients and
insect nests. They tend to break up the ground which provides areas for other
plants to exploit. This effect is very slow, but noticable over a period of
days. Game Effect: The Herd Bushes do not move fast enough to be modeled in a
game. However, they do move enough that paths are almost impossible to keep
clear, so satelite photos of an area are often incorrect (the photo shows a
clearing, but it is choked with bushes.) Often runways and other "improved
areas" fall to the Herd Bushes.
Nervous Nettle: This bush has two defenses. First, it is full of sharp
nettles. Animals often look for easier food. Second, emits a pheromone that
causes uneasyness in most warmblooded creatures (including humans). Game
Effect: A unit with a soldier within 2" of a Nervous Nettle plant, will panic
if it fails any morale or confidence test. The unit may test again on
subsequent activations (out of the effect of the NN plant) at TL:0, and if it
passes regains the confidence level it had before testing under the influence
of the NN.
Chromoplant: This plant has the strange behavior of changing its color when
touched. It is thought that this is a byproduct of a chemical change the plant
produces to make it taste bad to animals. Game Effect: When a soldier comes
into contact with a Chromoplant, replace it with a plant of another color.
Opponents observing, should notice the change in color. This is bad for
snipers trying to use hidden movement.
Kindling Grass: This grass grows, and produces a seed pod. It then dries
itself out (dieing in the process), but leaving a very flammable chemical on
the surface of the plant. The grass catches fire eaisly (heat from the sun,
lightning,
etc.).
The heat of the fire ignites chemicals in the seed pod shooting the seeds high
into the air to be deposited by winds upto miles away. Game Effect. Almost any
fire action (shooting, artillery, etc.) will set the grass alight. Soldiers,
vehicles with Chemical Fueled Engines (CFEs), ammo caches, etc. may be
effected by the fires (use rules on p. 57 of Stargrunt).
Beth and others probably have some additional ideas.
Bell, Brian K (Contractor) schrieb:
> I have been thinking of how to make the plant life more
Another idea:
Smoke trees The wood of these trees does not splinter when hit, rather the
section hit disintegrates into fine dust. If the plants are shot at with
explosives, the effect is similar to smoke grenades.
Faraday trees As a defence against being eaten, the plants have incorporated a
fine network of metallic fiber into their bark. Main efffect in game terms is
that it conducts electricity, enhancing ECM levels around the plant.
Greetings Karl Heinz
KH.Ranitzsch@t-online.de schrieb:
> Bell, Brian K (Contractor) schrieb:
And some more:
Tanglefoot wood When the plant's wood is damaged, the damaged part falls apart
into long tangly fibers. Explosives produce an area that is difficult to move
across.
Glass trees: The tree's wood is quite transparent, so it's possible to discern
shapes behind the trunk (think of a thick glass or water column). Poor visual
cover, but as solid as any normal wood.
Lake grass: Vegetation that floats on ponds and looks like solid ground.
Unable to carry men (or just vehicles over a given weight?) Effect depends on
the depth of the ponds.
Greetings Karl Heinz
as a veteran of both the book and movie version of THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS by
JOHN WYNDHAM and THE MONSTER FROM EARTH'S END by MURRAY
LEINSTER, i have used mobile plants in my sci-fi games for many years.
(also some less well known UK and American 1950s sci-fi epics involving
mobile plant horrors or alien /human mutations)
since there were no triffid or TMFEE models available, and my modeling skills
(then) were not up to making my own, i bought and used el cheapo plastic cacti
from bakery supply stores ( both the short flat leafed
version and the tall finger shaped versions-cannot remember the proper
names).
generally, triffids/TMFEE were mobile carnivourous plants, caused
terror moved slowly (in the case of TMFEE only during hours of darkness) could
sense their prey within a fixed range (6"), were very tough and hard to kill
(multiple hits, high armor value), were vulnerable to fire, and very hard to
"see" with the MARK I EYEBALL and
non-specific sensor scans.
and reproduced rapidly where there was a good food supply. the triffid had a
rangd attack and a close combat attack. both poisonous. TMFEE had a close
combat attack only, and this too was poisonous. solitary hunter or packs of
carnivores on the prowl. TMFEE will each each other if NO OTHER FOOD SUPPLY IS
AVAILABLE!
other favorite boogery plants featured in my games were immobile carnovores
similar to the VENUS flytraps or AUDRY II (from THE LITTLE
SHOP OF HORRORS-both versions). this is one of my favorite really
stupid movies-especially V2 in which AUDRY II became a rock star!
I even bought 4 or 5 lead models (now OOP) of AUDREY II made by LASER AND
LANCE MINIATURES, and have placed them on nicely terrained bases,
among my other sci-fi terrain , for years.
LOL, in just about every game appearance, AUDREY II manages to eat one or two
incautious soldiers! solitary (usually) but can grow in clusters (colonies).
here are some of my other plant boogers;
THE BAG-BEAST (from book by JOHN BRUNNER). this carnivore is immobile
and always lives near a body of water. it is very hard to detect with
the MARK I EYEBALL or sensors. the beast uses water pumped from the
nearby source to work with its own secretions to disolve a victim within
minutes of the unfortunate falling into the beast's camouflaged but open gut!
solitary.
ARCHER BUSH (from MEN, MARTIANS, and MACHINES by ERIC FRANK RUSSEL). immobile.
fires flights of "clothyard arrows" at ny warm blooded critter or moving
critter that gets too close to it! poisoned and barbed "arrows".range 12 ".
solitary.
i just had minor braindeath and cannot remember the details of the very
obnoxious tree from the same book.
BLACK WATER; this horror appears as a pool of black water in jungle areas. it
is always surrounded by thick vegetation and trees., but is a large immobile
carnivourous plant that has several inches or a foot of water floating on top
of a fast acting digestive juices! penetrate the water layer to get a drink,
and meet the fast acting and poisonous digestive acids! from REDLINERS by
DAVID DRAKE.
STICKY TREES and LOGS; another immobile horror that can as a standing tree or
as a tree or a rotting log. anything that comes in contact with it is
IMMEDIATELY stuck to same, and is unable to break free. the
tree/logs then secrets digestive acids that disolve the unfortunate!
from REDLINERS by DAVID DRAKE.
SPIKE GRASS; from a story by CC MACAPP in WORLDS OF IF magazine way back in
the early 60s. apears as "normal" grass up to 12" tall until it is trod upon
by the unwary. WHEN TROD UPON, the grass reacts as if it
were punj-stakes, able to penetrate most foot wear and unprotectd legs
or other parts of the anatomy that comes into contact with it. once the victim
is impaled, barbs engage the flesh making removal almost impossible (as well
as escape!), and poisons enter the victim's bloodstream. solitary patches, any
size up to 12"x 12"
FLYING CARPET; do not who to credit for this mobile monstrosity, but it was in
either WORLDS OF FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION or AMAZING or ASTOUNDING or
ANALOG way back in the late 50s or early 60s. this is a flying, mossy looking
plant carnivore that either lies on the ground or hangs from tree limbs
waiting for its dinner. the mossy surface is chameleon like, and the carpet is
A LOT TOUGHER than it looks. fire is the most effective weapon to use against
them. the carpet envelopes
its prey, sting ing he/she/it with thousands of paralyzing and
poisonous barbs. the carpet then eats the prey by disolving he/she/it
with digestive acids. solitary hunter, but, with ample food supply can be
found in large packs. fly up to 12". close combat attack only.
SUNFLOWERS; plants that can use sunlight to create heat rays. this
nasty is from the RINGWORLD by LARRY NIVEN, but i am not able to
remember the details about it right now. it was immobile and grew in small,
large, or huge patches, able to project those heat rays in 360 horizontal or
180s vertical fields of fire.
there are others but this ought to be enough to provide some ideas for the GM
to use on those who venture in the alien wilderness today!
DAWGIE
On Tue, 2 Apr 2002 09:28:35 -0500 , "Bell, Brian K (Contractor)"
<Brian.Bell@dscc.dla.mil> wrote:
> I have been thinking of how to make the plant life more alien in a SG2
LISA: Would a rose by any other name not smell as sweet?
BART: Not if you called it a stench blossom.
Stenchblossoms are lovely plants, truly: renowned throughout the galaxy for
their lovely hues and delicate structures...as well as for their nearly lethal
funk. It's an incredible smell, combining the worst qualities of rotting meat,
spoiled cheese, and burning plastic, and it is fully capable of knocking a
buzzard off a dung heap at a distance of 200 yards.
Game effect: Any squad within 3" of a stenchblossom grove gains a Supression
marker at the beginning of their activation. This will happen every turn that
the squad is subjected to the awful smell. Troops wearing sealed gear may be
immune to the effects of the stenchblossom: GM's call.
*****
The land anemone has a thick trunk surrounded by long, trailing fronds. These
fronds, which appear slightly furry when examined closely, are actually coated
with thousands of tiny needles...needles which will easily break off and imbed
themselves in anything that touches the fronds. The resulting wounds are too
tiny to be noticed, but the poison that they contain is *highly* irritating,
causing the victim to feel as though his skin is actually burning. Land
anemone wounds are rarely fatal; a cheap and effective antitoxin is readily
available. They remain, however, highly annoying.
Game effect: whenever a figure comes into contact with a land anemone grove,
he suffers an automatic attack with d8 firepower and d4 impact. If a hit is
scored, treat the victim as Wounded until he can receive medical attention.
*****
As a side note, let me recommend Wayne Barlowe's _ Expedition : Being an
Account in Words and Artwork of the 2358 A.D. Voyage to Darwin IV_.
It's an incredibly detailed look at a very alien ecology, and includes a lot
of things that could be adapted for gaming purposes. And man, the art is
fantastic.
And of course, there's always the Shrieker fungus, straight out of D&D: an
oversized mushroom that produces a high pitched screech when approached
too closely. Make a nice low-tech security fence, wouldn't it?
Another factor to throw in: Local forces (militia, civilians) would have a
better chance at identifying any of the plants.
During a briefing before going to Haiti (or was it Panama?), we were
informed that there were trees with seed-pods that would "explode" if
disturbed...
After the seed-pods were "ripe" they dry out and internal fibers would
shorten, compressing the pulp at the center. while anaerobic decomposition
would release gases from the pulp which were trapped by the fibers (and a
membrane, I guess) so that eventually, either some disturbance would cause
them to burst or they'd just pop on their own.
The force of the scattered seeds was enough to embed them into bare skin if
you happened to be within 10 feet of an exploding pod.
To xeno-ficate that type of tree:
Make the released gases pyrotechnic-ally reactive with oxygen (something
that wasn't an issue until we terra-formed the planet, meddling
eartlings) or maybe even nasty enough to qualify as a chemical agent.
Make the seed-pods "launch" themselves by some kind of tensioned fibers
that are arranged in the stalk when the tree is disturbed/damaged.
Symbiotic relationship with beetles that eat the decaying pulp and wind up
with seeds stuck to their bodies, the beetles survive the bursting (sans fire)
and burrow into the victim.
Another concept applying the stored-energy or tensioned fibers is
"Twitch Trees". Plants with a relatively supple trunk that has fibers running
up and down it's lenght as well as in bundles crossing it in diagonals. When
"attacked" the tree uses the energy stored in the fibers to whip it's trunk
down and smack the offending critter that's gnawing on it's bark.
This could be made nasty if it had thorns/sticky sap and a carnivorous
nature. Though only harmful to infantry. If a heavy bulbous top was
added, (for storing water/etc) it could also prove disruptive to light
gev's or over vehicles.
> On Tue, 2002-04-02 at 09:48, KH.Ranitzsch@t-online.de wrote:
> Bell, Brian K (Contractor) schrieb:
Moving thru area causes plants to give off puffs of pollen, acts as smoke
(this isn't all that alien, my red car spends a couple of months being a light
green car due to the pollen around here).
Poison ivy or similar--units who move through are okay, but units which
go In Position in these plants drop one quality level due to being distracted
by itching. (There's a scene in The Gods Must Be Crazy which is appropriate).
G'day
I think you've pretty much covered the plant defences of spines/hairs,
sticky exudates, poisons and tough fibres. The only major class of defences
I didn't see was the use of protective fauna (attracting ants/wasps that
in turn look after the plant).
Cheers
An additional fun thing are Imitators using protective colouration which
look like dangerous plants but are not (animals also do this).
In game turns you have a dangerous plant type that has an imitator. you don't
know which is which on the battlefield until some poor sod walks within its
activation range and tests it the hard way (roll a die, even numbers harmless,
odd ones are the real thing) John
> At 15:02 03/04/2002 +1000, you wrote:
Dr PJD Lambshead Head, Nematode Research Group Department of Zoology The
Natural History Museum London SW7 5BD, UK.
Tel +44 (0)20 7942 5032
Fax +44 (0)20 7942 5433
John Lambshead schrieb:
> An additional fun thing are Imitators using protective
> poor sod walks within its activation range and tests it the hard way
> (roll a die, even numbers harmless, odd ones are the real thing)
Or, even more confusing: The plants have developed a general "warning"
colouration. The actual palnt could be an irritant (most common), harmless
(rare) or absolutely deadly (rare, too).
Greetings