Blood Grove



Send comments and/or criticism to Simon E. Phipp
Created On 3 February 2001
Last Updated On 3 February 2001
Copyright © 2001 Simon E. Phipp

There are many strange places in Dorastor, one of which is known only as Blood Grove. Situated in the East of HellWood, near the Seven Hills, there is an area of HellWood that seems even stranger than normal. As one walks towards Blood Grove, the trees become even more twisted than is normal in HellWood. They seem to be taking on strange hues, their bark becomes reddish or grey, the leaves become bloated and blood red, the trunk become twisted and gnarled, their branches becoming long and threatening. There is a 10% chance of being attacked by a Blood Warrior here.

Closer to Blood Grove the trees become even redder and the landscape looks as though it has been splashed with blood. The trees have enlarged fruit, appearing to be bursting with juice, the branches are longer and more arm like and some of the trees develop gaping maws at the base of each branch. There is a 20% chance of being attacked by a Blood Warrior in this region.

On the outskirts of Blood Grove the trees have developed distinct mouths in their trunks with great toothed maws at the base of the main branches, the trees lean forward and try to catch any large (SIZ 7+) creature that passes within range. Many of the branches have tanglethorns and briars, trapping people as they pass by, sucking the blood from them. There is a 40% chance here of being attacked by 1D3 Blood Warriors. There are no sounds of birds or small animals here and the area is strangely silent (INTx5% to realise).

The thick trees clear to reveal a 100m diameter clearing. The grass here is very green and is carnivorous. Scattered around the Grove are clumps of trees surrounded by bushes. The trees are Spike Trees, the bushes are Draining Bushes. Pain Trees and Cage Trees dot the edge of the Grove and are scattered among the clumps of bushes and trees. In the centre of Blood Grove is a clump of very old trees, these look almost senile in appearance. The largest and oldest tree is the original tree of Blood Grove. Within this tree is a Dryad who is no ordinary Dryad. She has partaken of the Blood and is mad. The corpses of her victims lie around her tree and can rise at her command. Ghouls live in the shadows of her roots and protect her from enemies.

I used Blood Grove, or a modified version, in a scenario as a particularly nasty place for the PCs to visit. However, deep within any Aldryami Forest lie Groves like Blood Grove with equally nasty things present as Cage Trees and Pain Trees are not solely a product of HellWood but part of Aldrya.

Carnivorous Grass

This attempts to entangle its prey (roll STRx5% each round or be immobilised, if immobilised make a STRx3% roll or lose 1 hp from each location in contact with the grass, metal armour does not protect, leather armour protects until eaten away - this is the digestive process).

Blood Warriors

These are Chaotic Warriors of Wood with the extra property that they are carnivorous and have mouths. Each round they can use their branches as clubs as normal or they can use the branches to grab an opponent and draw them to their mouths where they can bite chunks off them. The Grab attack is at DEXx3% and the opponent must resist STR vs STR to break free. The Bite attack is at DEXx5% and has a damage of 1D10 + Damage Bonus. Blood Warriors have a POWx3% chance of being bloodsuckers - when they succeed in a bite attack, they can drain 1D3 General Hit Points per round.

Spike Trees

These cannot walk around like Blood Warriors, but they are more dangerous up close. When a large (SIZ 7+) creature comes within the tree's POW/3 in metres the tree will attack. Each branch is tipped with a number of long, hard thorns and will attempt to stab the victim with an attack chance of DEXx5% and a damage of 1D8 + Damage Bonus. If the branch penetrates armour it will remain embedded in the location struck and will drain 1D3 General Hit Points per round until removed. At the base of each thorn is a retractable set of thorns that act to keep the thorn in place. Removing the thorn takes a STR vs STR roll and does 1D6 damage to the damaged location. Large Spike Trees can attack a single target with up to 10 branches, sucking the life blood from the victim within seconds. Use the statistics for Warriors of Wood, but with no movement and with the modified attacks.

Draining Bushes

These have a heady scent and attract prey to them. Any creature passing within the bush's POWx5 metres must roll their own POWx(Distance / Bush's POW)% or be drawn to the bushes. Once in the bushes they will be surrounded by brambles and briars and pricked to death by the poisoned thorns. Each round the victim takes 3D6 damage to each location enveloped, with armour protecting until overcome. These bushes have 3D6 STR, 1D6 POW, poison of POT 1D6 and 3D6 Hit Points per cubic metre. These bushes take double damage from fire as they burn quite well.

As an example, Holgrath the Horrendous, POW 12, passes a clump of Draining Bushes that have a POW of 10. He passes by them at 50 metres and must roll 12 x (50 / 10) = 60% in order to resist the attraction, but he fails and walks into the bushes to be entangled; when they start to scratch him he fights back and starts to burn the bush, but he has taken 3D6 damage to his arm and succumbs to the POT 10 poison from the thorns. He thus becomes another meal that is not so horrendous for the Bush.

Pain Trees

These contain the souls of those killed by the Blood Dryad and enchanted into the trees as Wraiths or Passion Spirits. The faces of those killed can be seen in the knots and shapes on the trees. Anyone touching these trees is instantly attacked by all the Spirits trapped in the tree. If they are slain then they will themselves be enchanted into the tree when the Dryad has time.

Cage Trees

These monstrosities contain the eternally living bodies and souls of those captured by the Blood Dryad and imprisoned within these trees. The victims are stripped naked and are placed in the centre of a strange type of tree with many small, long stems protruding from a central trunk. The stems then grow around the victim, ripping the skin off and inserting themselves into every orifice and break in the skin. As the trees grow older, the stems grow longer and thicker, boring through the body cavities, causing intense pain but keeping the body alive. One of the stems enters the ears or mouth and penetrates the brain, keeping the victim aware but unable to act except to cry out in agony and pain. If the tree is killed the victim is released and can be healed. However, the tree leaves a legacy of tiny parts of itself buried within the victim's body and acts as a permanent Pain Spirit with the regular outbreak of intense pain as the tree attempts to regrow from the inside.

The Blood Dryad

This is a normal Dryad except for the fact that she is carnivorous, can drain blood, has HeroQuested to various gods of Hunger and has created Blood Grove as part of her magic rituals. As a Dryad, she can command any Fixed INT creature born in her Grove, this includes all the Undead she has ever created there and also the Blood Warriors she has enchanted. This makes her a very powerful opponent.
 

Blood Dryad

Chaotic Dryad, Priestess of Aldrya and HeroQuestor
STR 20 CON 20 SIZ 10 INT 23 POW 40 DEX 30 APP 26
Move 4 Fatigue 40 DEX SR 1 Magic Points 40 Hit Points 30  
HP 30
FP 40
Weapon SR Attack % Damage Parry % AP
Bite 6 220% 1D6 + 1D4    
Drain Blood* 1 300% 1D6 General Hit Points    
MP Drain** 1 300% 1D6 Magic Points    
Blow Pollen 1 150% Special    
* Once Bite has penetrated armour the Drain Blood automatically happens on subsequent rounds 
** MP Drain is normally performed at the same time as the Blood Drain
Location Melee Missile AP/HP
Head 19-20 20 6/20
Left Arm 16-18 18-19 6/16
Right Arm 13-15 16-17 6/24
Chest 12 11-15 6/28
Abdomen 09-11 07-10 6/20
Left Leg 05-08 04-06 6/20
Right Leg 01-04 01-03 6/20

Spirit Magic

Location INT/POW Spells
Dryad INT 23 POW 40 Strength 6, Demoralise, Vigour 6, Fanaticism, Spirit Screen 6
Allied Spirit INT 19 POW 30 Heal 12, Mobility 7
Spell Spirit 1 INT 12 POW 18 Ironhand 12
Spell Spirit 2 INT 12 POW 18 Protection 12
Spell Spirit 3 INT 12 POW 18 Shimmer 12
Spell Spirit 4 INT 4 POW 4 Food Song, Peaceful Cut
POW Spirits POW 10, 15, 10, 10, 20, 10, 15

Divine Magic

Sanctify (Aldrya), Spirit Block 10, Worship Aldrya, Create Blood Warrior, Command Blood Warrior, Create Draining Bush, Create Spike Tree, Bear Fruit, Accelerate Growth 10, Chameleon 3, Shield 10, Create Ghoul 6, Create Zombie 4, Strengthening Enchantment, Divination 6, Spell Teaching 

Skills

Dodge 180%, Sneak 250%, Scan 170%, Search 150%, Disguise 130%, Fast Talk 130%, Orate 111%, Hide 210%, Listen 190% 

Languages (Speak/Read + Write)

Aldryami 115%/115%, Chaosspeech 70%, Tradetalk 100%/90%, EarthTongue 100%/100% 

Powered Crystals

Blood Dryad: Vivamort's Blood (POW 20) when attuned to this crystal, it only takes 1 POW to create Undead, no matter what the normal POW cost, any extra cost is provided by the crystal as Magic Points. 
Blood Tree: Poison Touch (POW 15) gives the ability of Poison Touch, skin/bark is coated with a poison POT = Attuner's POW. 

Magic Pollen

The Blood Dryad has HeroQuested for the ability to grow and process several types of magical pollen. She will have 2D3 sachets of each type of pollen with her at any time. She can blow the sachets of pollen through a small blowpipe at opponents, this counts as an attack. The effects of the pollen are:
  1. Lust Pollen - When blown in the face of a person, roll POW vs POW to make the person try to have sex with the nearest visible person of the opposite sex
  2. Sneezing Pollen - When blown in the face of a person, roll POW vs POW to make the person sneeze uncontrollably, becoming functionally incapacitated for 1D6 rounds
  3. Itching Pollen - When blown in on the flesh of a person, roll POW vs POW to make the person itch uncontrollably and be functionally incapacitated for 1D3 rounds
  4. Paralysis Pollen - When blown in the face of a person, roll POW vs POW to paralyse the person for 1D10 rounds

Heroic Abilities

  • Vampiric Hit Locations (Double Hit Points)
  • Resists spells and spirit combat with POW rather than Magic Points
  • Appears as normal Dryad
  • Blood Drain, Magic Point Drain and Paralysing Touch abilities
  • Can move through undergrowth without being entangled

Notes

  • Poor in combat, she will rely on her servants to attack any enemies, only revealing herself to those entangled in her bushes where she can attack with surprise and drain before they can escape
  • She will use her magic pollen to create confusion among the opponents where possible
  • If necessary, she will discorporate and return to the safety of her Tree
  • When meeting Wind Lords, she will insist on the Green Woman greeting and will direct them against the Giant King of Neverdead who she says tried to kill her. In return she will cast any of her Fertility Spells for them.
  • She has Geases that she must use Peaceful Cut when eating any non sentient being; she must not let an elf suffer needlessly and must eat trolls burned, so she does not attack them unless they are burning

 
 

Blood Dryad's Tree

Spike Tree, physical body of Blood Dryad, also acts as her awakened Allied Spirit
STR 50 CON N/A SIZ 60 INT 19 POW 30 DEX 30 APP 1
Move 0 Fatigue N/A DEX SR 1 Magic Points 30 Hit Points N/A  
HP 60
FP 40
Weapon SR Attack % Damage Parry % AP
Branch Stab * 4 150% 1D8 + 7D6    
Drain Blood 1 Auto 1D3 General Hit Points    
Touch 4 Auto Poison POT 30    
* Can Impale
Location Melee Missile AP
Branches 20 20 15
Branches 19 19 15
Branches 18 18 15
Branches 17 17 15
Branches 16 16 15
Branches 15 15 15
Branches 14 14 15
Branches 13 13 15
Branches 12 12 15
Branches 11 11 15
Trunk 01-10 01-10 30

Spirit Magic

Heal 12, Mobility 7

 

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