Megafauna Mummification
[Revision Weights: 3, 3. Roll: 5, bug removal success, no features]
The job of the mortician has long been to prepare the dead to be seen by the living, to preserve them for as long as possible in something as close to their living state as possible. The First step of megafauna mummification is, then, a sort of veterinary battle-mortician. With wire, bolt, and prosthesis, dead animals are carefully sewn together to preserve as much of their combat potential as possible.
While this has largely ameliorated the issue of animals losing their importantly pointy bits before meeting the enemy, the difficulties in creating the kits to repair most animals and in training the new post-healthcare professionals has left little time for experimenting with improved methods of truly mummifying and preserving flesh.
Sun Arrows
[Uncommon Deployment]
[2 Minerals, Auspicious Hours 4, Juxtematic Catalysts 3]
A mixed-magic refinement of Sun Spears, Sun Arrows are much smaller, single use arrowheads. Originally made of iron-pyrite, these heads have been enhanced via sacred lunacy to store sunlight much as gold does. While they lack the solar shockwave ability of the spears, they are still capable of generating a burning nimbus in order to burn through many materials on contact- assuming that random chance doesn’t cause burning miad to instead be generated by the interaction. Primed mentally by the archer when fired, these arrows burn furiously during flight, and the head and wood shaft closest to the head have both been juxtematically reinforced with ceramic heat tolerance in order to withstand the flight with no loss of range or accuracy. This does, however, require juxtematic scholars to be on hand to regularly reinfuse the arrows to preserve their range.
[Minor Design, d6-2: 2]
[Minor Bug, Fascinating]
Despite tests verifying that the juxtemantic enhancements are properly preserving the shaft and head of the arrow, and the fletching remains intact throughout, there is a slight but noticeable ‘wobble’ in the flight of sun arrows, making them less suitable for precision fire at long range.
Possessed Trees
[Uncommon Deployment]
[Fruit of the land: 3 Soul Dregs: 5]
The creation of the ‘Possessed Trees’ is a relatively simple process. Cut tree down. Cut some of the bigger limbs off the tree to make into arms/legs, stick arms/legs back one. Cut a face into the tree for giggles. Garnish with a powerful spirit from below, and serve fresh to the enemy. While, on paper, a force to be reckoned, actual mock battles and limited trials in the field have been… disappointing. The limb structure of the Possessed trees is the first concern. The ‘legs’ and ‘arms’ are little more than stumpy/point pieces of wood that have been literally glued on. In order to give them movement and articulation for the Deep entity to walk, they, and the glue fusing them to the body, has to be possessed by the entity. While the limbs suffer no more than the body (more on that in a moment) the resin has a difficult time coping with the increased entropy.
The legs, under the tremendous stress of the tree’s weight, frequently fail first. The glue on one ‘hip’ will degrade, causing the connection to fail. This will force the tree to use its spiked arms to pull itself into the fray along with its remaining leg, until one of the arms or the remaining leg fails. After that point the deep entity will usually resort to dragging itself forward via a combination of inchworming the trunk, pulling with its ‘hair’ of remaining branches, and spiking along with any remaining limbs.
These issues are exacerbated considerably by fact that the organic wood of the tree is far from decay resistant, rapidly becoming pulpy, splintery, and brittle. While the unarguable mass of the tree means that such constructs can drink in arrows and blades and not be destroyed, they decay rapidly. The very movement of the deep entity, flexing branches, grafted limbs, and tremendous trunk to attack and balance, rapidly breaks down the rotting tree.
Even without these issues, there’s something rather singularly ungainly about a tree-trunk thumping around on two jointless legs, and the deep entities frequently have to fall into a quadrupedal or tripedal lurch to cover ground at speed.
In battle, the creations are difficult to destroy and capable of smashing into enemy lines with unforgiving force. Their issues with rot and mobility, however, frequently relegate them to the role of defense and semi-mobile cover, where they wormeaten but timbrous bulk allows them to shelter advancing infantry behind trunk and branch - though such a defensive roll limits the utility of their scream.
[Moderate Design, d8: 7]
[Minor, Eldritch]
One of the most peculiar issues with the possessed trees is that the deep entities attracted appear to be of a particularly primeval candor. Not necessarily more powerful for their age, the minds of these entities are even more removed from the mortal world than most of their peers. They can be manipulated with basic commands, but they are either reluctant to follow, or unable to understand, more complex commands.
[Crippling, Hidden behind Primeval Spirits]
An overwhelming issue with the possessed trees lies in a form of violent ‘insanity’ that seems to grip the creatures as their decay worsens. When their carven form becomes too damaged, by the depredation of the enemy or time, possessed trees have the tendency to expel the last of their energy in a berserk fury- killing and consuming any nearby regardless of allegiance. While this has the seemings of madness, it’s more likely a grim calculation on the part of the entity to use what strength it has left to drag all the souls it can back with it before its body fails.
[Hidden Fault!]
[Minor, Intractable]
The resin requirements during construction present an issue in terms of available materials, needing both a specific kind of tree during a relatively specific part of its life cycle. While these trees are fairly common, initial harvesting reveals a potential paucity that will affect widespread deployment. (+1 Fruit of the land cost while this bug exists)
[Minor, Simple]
A final, minor, issue with the possessed trees is that they deploy their screams with no consideration for allies in radius. While the effects of this tend to even out in the wash, as both allies and enemies are disturbed and repulsed, it decreases their already questionable utility.
It is the 4th Design, Revision, and Research Phase
Author
Topic: Zehlin Team Thread - FR20 [~4 Players] (Read 8694 times)