Re: Thorny Speculations

In <URL:news:local.spelljam> on Tue 03 May, DarkTouch wrote:
> I remember working on a similar idea with Infinity vine.
>
> The idea focused around the fact that infinity vine had outer limits.
>
> Specifically in an air envelope too large it shrank up.. and at certain
> practical limits it would stop growing. The specifics involved using
> psionics. Psychic Surgery in particular to permenantly put some telepathic
> impulses into a vine's mind (in 2E psionics you could connect to a plant
> mind with just a penalty to the roll) so that it 'thought' that its air
> envelope was ship-shaped.
>
> You then had a constantly regenerating ship that would also clean the air
> for you.. couldn't take it out into the phlogiston for very long though.

I suppose doing Psychic Surgery on plants is getting a little
strange...

Even if this isn't possible, due to using different psionics rules,
there should be some alternate way of getting the same effect. A
permanent polymorph effect that affects hereditary? Growth Plant or
Charm Plant enchantments? Special Plant Control plant feed?

Real world humans have been tinkering with plants in so many
different ways throughout recorded history, and likely before, so I
don't see why SJ peoples shouldn't try the same.

Also, what is the problem with taking the product of this process
into the phlogiston?


> On 5/3/05, Dreamer <dreamer@??????.?????.??.uk> wrote:
> >
> > Blackberry in Spelljamming - ROM, 02/May/05
> >
> > A friend tells me he has been discussing, with another RPG/SJing
> > friend, the relevance and application of the blackberry plant,
> > possibly combined with non-oak tree dryads, to spelljamming.
> >
> > The blackberry is a plant with long runners, moderately nasty
> > thorns, and a considerable resistance to gardeners who want to
> > control where it grows - there is also of course the fruit.
> >
> > The main suggestions involved tinker gnome agro-biotech, generally
> > with giant versions of the plant.
> >
> > The first was a space elevator or 'beanstalk', requiring quite a big
> > blackberry bush, with a runner reaching all the way to orbit. You
> > could use the thorns to climb on, but, it's a long way, and some
> > gnomish cog-wheeled vehicle, driven by giant space hamsters on
> > treadmills, which interlocked with the thorns, seemed a reasonable
> > idea to me. This might allow you to move a lot of cargo between ground
> > and orbit in quite a cost effective way, rather than relying on
> > spelljamming ships.
> >
> > Spelljamming ships not capable of landing safely on planets could
> > load and unload cargo at the top end of the 'thornstalk'. Of course,
> > gnomish ingenuity might lead to some strange pendulum clock-like
> > climbing device, with counter-weights...
> >
> > The second suggestion was a blackberry bush as a spelljamming craft,
> > with the runners reaching out in many directions and giving a large
> > air envelope. Living inside this, the thorny-leaved outside of the
> > bush would give quite a bit of protection from attack, though
> > all-over leather armour might be needed for protection (not, of
> > course, at all kinky!), and the gravity plane might be a bit
> > strange. Or, if the major thorns are removed on the inside of the
> > bush, and suitable platforms added, you could be living in a very
> > strange kind of tree house.
> >
> > You will need soil or hydroponics to keep your bramble happy... But,
> > it was pointed out to me, soil may be easier to store and transport
> > than air.
> >
> > If you had one or more dryads in your bush, they might be able to
> > control the brambles to give extra protection from attackers, and
> > open paths for residents or welcome visitors. Or, even use the
> > runners for grappling attacks on other vessels. If people cared to
> > use fire on a blackberry bush, while the leaves are easily damaged,
> > the wood is quite resistant to burning. If you want real trouble,
> > your bramble might be sentient, with some huorn influences in it...
> >
> > I wondered if it might be possible to make (spiky) armour from the
> > skin of blackberry plants. And, if you could make the equivalent of
> > leather from it, it was speculated this might produce gnomish
> > grappling armour, a nasty martial art form!
> >
> > The third suggestion was blackberry runners and an asteroid belt,
> > with the asteroids being held together, amounting to a sort of belt
> > of thorns. Worse than infinity vine? An extra wildspace hazard!
> >
> > Just a few thorny speculations!

--
Dreamer
dreamer@??????.?????.??.uk
http://www.romsys.demon.co.uk/