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Drakenred wrote:

LDMcFear™ wrote:OMG This got a Sticky! That Rawks Thanks Guys.

Remember If you want them In PDF send me a PM

Dude, you already Rawk, you did not need to be stickied to the top of a board by a mod to prove it!

The Lord of Bones wrote:I have to give credit where credit is due by saying thanks for all of these tables! These are all really well done and will save me, and anyone else who uses them, several hours of game prep time.

Thanks folks!

WorldofRifts wrote:They will be posted at The NEXUS POINT soon.

LDMcFear™ wrote:

WorldofRifts wrote:They will be posted at The NEXUS POINT soon.

Yeah well evertime I submit to you I get a fat error message, lol

WorldofRifts wrote:

LDMcFear™ wrote:

WorldofRifts wrote:They will be posted at The NEXUS POINT soon.

Yeah well evertime I submit to you I get a fat error message, lol

I got it.

Drakenred wrote:

taalismn wrote:Another Random background color submission...

Exotic Plants
We have charts for random monsters, but why not for alien plants?

“Egad...What IS this stuff?! Some kind of godforsaken alien invader?! That’s the third time I’ve had to stop and replace a tire because of a patch of this crud!”
“Elephant Spike....mutant hybrid of old pre-Rifts genetic design....They crossbred elephant grass with thorny acacia to make a better living fence...the ‘crud’s’ adapted to living in the wild since...Read about it in Lazlo’s library...”
“Well, whatever it is, I don’t care to see another accursed frond of it!”
“I kinda like it myself....My family farm had hedgerows of it, and it kept the coyotes, bandits, and thunderbeetles out like a charm!”

“I’d like to say I earned my bionics fighting off some murder-crazed mob of bloodthirsty Simvan or saving some sweet thing from virginal sacrifice to a hell-spawned monster, but truth is I didn’t listen to my fieldcraft instructor and kicked an over- ripe bang-fruit on my wilderness survival trials. Ever seen one of those things? Looks like a big bright red citrus? Well, the lab boys think it was somebody’s bright idea to create a nitrogen-fixing living chemical factory that makes nitroglycerine and stores it in its fruit....Somebody’s sick idea of a joke if you ask me...because that little pulpy gremlin went off like its name suggests and spread fruit-pulp, seed, and most of my legs over half the county...”

“Com’on, Mike, just try a slice of it....if it’s poisonous, we’ll name it after you....”

The Rifts didn’t just yield a horde of monsters, a menagerie of new animals, and a catina’s worth of intelligent aliens, but an even greater cornucopia of biological wealth in plants and plant-like organisms. Some of these species came through the Rifts by accident...burred seed pods caught in the fur of beasts or passed through their digestive tracts, or even carried in the packing of a d-bee’s luggage. Others have been brought to Earth deliberately, by D-bee colonists seeking to terraform their new home in some small way to something more compatible to what they’re used to, or as ornamentals to make their new homesteads prettier. A few are native-grown mutant hybrids, the result of unlikely combinations of irradiated/magic-affected local plants crossbreeding with alien plants. A few are the result of Golden Age experiments in genetic engineering, their ancestors set free from the labs in the destruction accompanying the Coming of the Rifts. Some of these plants are little different from their feral cousins, perhaps displaying a bit more color or producing extra amounts of a naturally occuring(and commercially useful) chemical, while more extensively bio-engineered species might produce tasty steaks or fully-formed natural latex rubber boots for the picking. Others are just plain nuisance species, crowding out native species or adding suffering to allergy sufferers.

These charts are actually less for producing intelligent plants or vegetable monsters and more for random exploration(for those Real Roleplayers who take Botany and Identify Plants & Fruits) or for ‘treasure’----paying off PCs with the discovery of some potential useful plant, a sprig of which might cure the illness of a deathly ill teammate or promise to be a real cash cow for the adventurers if they can learn how to harvest it or figure out how to sell its seed or cuttings(remember the Knights of the Dinner Table armor-piercing turnips in the Rifter?). They may also be fodder for low-key adventures and for adding more realism to travelling in the wild----One being’s fragrant scent is another’s allergen, and if the elven druid keeps picking and keeping flowers whose pollen makes the Grackle Tooth break out in painful itchy hives or go spacing out to lala-land, there could be trouble...Likewise, having one’s farm devoured by alien kudzu could cause bigger problems if the newly arrived tribe of aliens need the weed for sustenance....

I don’t pretend to be a botanist, so feel free to make suggestions....

Type:
01-20 Grass/Moss---Low-laying, forming dense ground-level mats
21-40 Shrub---The plant is low-lying and leafy
41-54 Tree---The plant typically has a single thick woody stem/trunk, branching out into a large foliage canopy(even if that canopy resembles a satellite TV antennae array or cluster of toy ballloons).
55-64 Fungoid----Organism relies less on any sort of photosynthetic process and instead survives by breaking down decaying materials.
65-77Lichen---Organism has BOTH traits of a fungus and a photosynthetic plant...may actually be a symbiotic organism, or use energy from one feeding process to power the other(like using solar energy to break down rock).
78-85 Motile, Vegetable---The plant possesses the ability to move(root tendrils, vine network, natural levitation, etc....) to burrow underground or move to avoid danger(forest fires, drought, etc.) or find more fertile soil to settle in.
86-89 Motile, Carnivorous---The plant is an animal-like mobile predator that actively hunts and kills its own food.
90-94 Jelloid---The organism resembles a giant stationary amoeba or jello mold, but is actually a plant.
95-00 Crystalline---The organism has a faceted, angular form and glassy appearance, and could easily be mistaken for a mineral formation.

Environment:
01-39 Jungle---Grows best in hot, humid conditions
40-69 Temperate---Grows best in temperate conditions with plenty of moisture
70-84-Arid---Grows best in dry, hot, desert-like conditions
85-90 Tundra---Grows in cold, permafrost conditions
91-94 Water---Lives/propogates only in water(fresh or salt)
95-98 Contaminated---Only grows in badly polluted environs(toxic chemicals, radiation, etc.)
99-00 Anywhere----This organism can grow just about ANYWHERE(and may be more akin to a fungus, nanite colony, or mineral growth than anuthing else) on Earth, and may also grow in total vacuum, in total darkness, or deep underwater.


Size---How Big?
01-19 Groundhugger----May cover large surface areas, but the individual plant itself is very small...like groundhugging lichens.
20-49 Small---Typical of grasses and flowers....stand 2-5 ft tall
50-69 Fair-sized----The size of a large shrub or bush...5-7 tall, 8-15 ft wide.
70-79 Big----Size of a small tree 8-15 ft tall
80-94 Large---Forest tree sized; 20-50 ft tall
95-00 Giant----Typically stands upwards of 60 ft or more tall or in diameter, per individual stalk or plant...Redwoods and Seqouias are typical of this

Numbers---How is it found in relation to other plants of the same type?
01-14 Isolated---A single plant is typically found...no other plant of the same kind will be found for miles....
15-29 Solitary----Individual plants tend to be widely separated...requiring a ‘free zone’ of 10-50 yards around each plant.
30-49 Small---Small, close patches or thickets of 2-6 plants
50-69 Moderate---Fair sized collections of 10-25 plants
70-97 Large--Large patches or groves of 50 or more plants
98-00 Massive----Massive patches of hundreds, if not thousands, of individual plants, so densely packed that they may intertwine to form one larger organism(like grasses).

Possible Useful Qualities:

01-20 Nothing---As far as anyone’s been able to determine, the plant is not sturdy enough, edible, or possesses any qualities of commercial use(might make good low-grade firewood, or mulch, but not much else). The plant may be prolific, and a hardy survivor, but people haven’t found a use for it (yet).

21-25----Ornamental----The plant looks really beautiful(may also smell good), and is likely to be of interest to gardeners and landscapers, not many other people. If an aromatic, its oils MAY be of commercial value to perfumers and beauticians.

26-28----Bioremediation---The plant is incredibly hardy, disease resistant, and can purge contaminated soil, water, and air of contaminants, including possibly even radioactives, without harm to itself, making it of value to ecologically-minded restorationists or community planners.

29-33----Bio-Mass---The plant is excellent for producing usable biomass, like mulch or wood alcohol, suitable for burning as fuel, like kudzu, or for simply fertilizing and enriching the soil for later plants.

34-37----Chemical Feedstock----The plant sequesters chemicals and substances that may not be immediately useful, but serve as precursors for other industrial processes. Examples include exuding crystals of mineral salts, sequestering nitrogen and nitrous compounds, turpentine, and leaching gums and saps(like latex and rubber).

38-42----Flammable---Properly harvested and processed, the plant makes decent firewood, producing good heat values with low mess

43----Explosive----Not merely good firewood, the plant burns extraordinarily well, and care should be taken lest it burn too fast or out of control. At the extreme end, examples of this category are essentially organically grown explosives or propellants.

44-50----Fiber----The plant produces strong fibers suitable for weaving or ropemaking(hemp, junte, cotten)

51-55----Hardwood---The plant produces wood material suitable for construction or artistic work, like black walnut or teak.

56-57----Megadamage Material---The plant produces wood or fiber of megadamage quality. This may require special tools to harvest or proccesses to acquire. Ironwood is a prime example.

58-60----Tasty---The plant’s food value may be negligible, but it tastes really good, and makes a good sidedish, drink, or seasoning....Truffles, parsley, cinnamon bark, pepper, and coffee are all good examples.

61-64----Nutritional----The plant is chock-full of good nutients, vitamins, and minerals....Makes for a good potential staple crop, like cassava, potatoes, and squash. High starch contents also make suitable fodder for fermentation and alcohol production.

65-66----Water Reservoir----Of particular interest in dry regions. This plant takes up water in large amounts and can be tapped to obtain usable drinking water. Cacti are an excellent example of this.

67-70----Medicinal Qualities----The plant has mildly medicinal qualities(usually pain relief), like aloe, willow, or Saint John’s Wort.

71-72----Potent Medicinal Qualities---The plant produces truly powerful disease-fighting substances, such as anti-cancer drugs or anti-virals

73----Healing Powers---The plant’s medicinal qualities border on the magical....Typically restores 1d6-3d6 SDC/hit points simply by eating a single fruit, chewing its bark, or drinking its sap.

74-76----High Sugar Content---Can be harvested and processed to produce sweeteners or fermented into alcohol like sugar beets or cane.

77-80----Mild Stimulant/Narcotic----The plant can be smoked, chewed, or drank to produce a mild relaxant effect, like tea, coca leaves, or tobacco. Not immediately addictive or dangerous, but long-term usage may lead to such problems.

81-83----Narcotic----Can be processed to produce a powerful narcotic drug; that can be used as an addictive recreational substance or as the base of painkiller drugs... pure base coca, marijuana, heroin poppies(morphine), are all good examples.

84-87----Psychoactive---The plant’s tissues produce a powerful drug that actually has certain mind-expanding qualities bordering on the Psionic...Non-Psychics will likely suffer mild out of body experiences and clairvoyant flashes, while Psychics may find their abilities amplified for the duration of the drug’s effectiveness. Peyote, prized by some Indians of the American SouthWest, is a mundane example of this.

88-91----Mild Poison----The plant produces a mild poison that can be used as a weapon(likely to produce mild effects like unconsciousness, dizziness, debilitating sickness, or painful rashes and itching for brief periods of time), and can also be used to produce natural insecticides and repellants.

92-94----Lethal Poison---Plant produces natural toxins akin to curare, and may even effect megadamage beings. In diluted form, the toxin may have medicinal qualities.

95-97----Magical---The plant possesses an active magical quality---it may be a tappable reservoir of PPE, catalyze techno-organic processes, or the plant’s material may possess an active repellent/damaging effect on specific types of supernatural beings(double damage to lycanthropes, sends grig leapers leaping in terror, causes Winged Monster Men to temporaily lose their sight, etc....).

98-99---Roll Twice

00---- Roll 1d4 times

Other Characteristics(Optional)

01-10 Fecund---The plant is incredibly fertile and grows/reproduces at an incredible rate, It flowers/fruits frequently, and all that is needed to propogate the plant is a small sprig, shoot, or spore.

11-20 Long Lived/Slow Growing----The plant has a long lifespan, allowing it to remain alive and producing for a long time. Often, though, it has the Limited Fruiting quirk.

21-35 Limited Fruiting----The plant will flower/fruit/produce a usable effect only a limited number of times during its lifespan....It may take a LONG time (several years) to produce, or it may produce ONCE, then die, or transform to another form.

36-39 Parasitic---The plant survives by feeding off other plants or by aggressively choking off all competitive species. This could cause problems if it escapes controlled cultivation or has the property of being Fecund.

40-54 Passive Defensive Systems---The plant has evolved a passive self-defense mechanism to protect itself from predators, like thorns, thick bark, bad taste, horrible smell, or mild irritant poisons.

55-60 Active Defense Mechanisms---The plant has more active mechanisms like poisonous clouds of spores, lashing tendrils, spring-loaded flying thorns, and acidic sap.

61-65 Symbiotic Relationship----The plant requires a specific animal symbiote to prosper, in order to fertilize, protect, or propogate it. Without identifying the specific symbiont and successfully raising it or finding a suitable replacement, commercial cultivation of the plant is impossible.

66-75 Multiple Stage Evolution----In the course of its lifespan/development, the plant undergoes several radical phases of form/environment change....This may include motile stages, or even evolution into a sentient form. This could pose a challenge for cultivators.

76-85 Limited Fertility----The plant requires special processes to breed true and continue propogation...This is particularly true of artifically-created strains. Biotech firms sell seeds for new plant species that produce sterile plants(cannot produce viable seed on their own) in order to prevent the new species from going feral, and to protect their copyrighted investment(farmers must come back to them to buy new plant stock). The Coalition uses this method to protect their agriculture. Or the particular fruit may actually be a graft onto another plant(thus, requiring some care as to finding the correct seed/pollen). In this case, the plant is most likely an artifical creation(and maybe its creators are nearby), rather than a truly wild species.

86-90 High Mutation Rate---The plant has a high level of mutation, generation to generation. This can be either a bonus in that the plant is easily bred into a variety of strains for special purposes, or can be a nightmare, in that the plant’s desired qualities and values become lost or diminished with the next crop season.

91-97 Soil Exhaustive---The plant takes a serious toll on the soil, rapidly depleting it and requiring constant fertilization to keep propogation. Expensive artificial fertilizers or destructive slash-and-burn agriculture are common in the cultivation of such crops as tobacco.

99-00 Sentient----Unknown to everyone, the plant is actually borderline(possibly fully) sentient....GMs might want to look into reformatting the plant as an RCC/NPC monster, with new qualities(motile, psionic abilities, etc.) determining its reaction to other life forms.

Cheesy One wrote:Drakenred... one of your random tables has a 101 for one of the random numbers.... who the [MODERATED] has a d101

Drakenred®™© wrote:

Cheesy One wrote:Drakenred... one of your random tables has a 101 for one of the random numbers.... who the [MODERATED] has a d101

Actualy, if you take all of the lists, combine them into a mega list, then remove each item as you roll it up. . . .

LDMcFear™ wrote:

Drakenred®™© wrote:

Cheesy One wrote:Drakenred... one of your random tables has a 101 for one of the random numbers.... who the [MODERATED] has a d101

Actualy, if you take all of the lists, combine them into a mega list, then remove each item as you roll it up. . . .

That could take decades

Kuseru Satsujin wrote:Would you believe a couple of days?

LDMcFear™ wrote:

Kuseru Satsujin wrote:Would you believe a couple of days?

Bah! Math skillz are for... well people who like to use them, lol

Oh great ninja please tell us lesser creatures how you came to such a divine insite

Cinos wrote:LDMcFear, I think you may have done the world a favor with these lists... Reminds me of Fallout and all the crazy random encounters. Great job on making and ordering these, I hope to see more

Cinos

Drakenred®™© wrote:

LDMcFear™ wrote:OMG This got a Sticky! That Rawks Thanks Guys.

Remember If you want them In PDF send me a PM

Dude, you already Rawk, you did not need to be stickied to the top of a board by a mod to prove it!

Midnght wrote:OMG that's too funny.

Shorty Lickens wrote:As much as I love these lists, I always forget to use them in my games.

Shorty Lickens wrote:You bumped a six year old thread just to say that?!?