I like it. I wish there was a little more information as to why the wood is so special and what they do to make the bows continue with their unique abilities after carved from the trees.
Perhaps a long dead Goddess of Nature laid to rest in the grove of the Astor trees which gives them the benefits. Perhaps it only grants the bonuses to those of like minded hearts as the Astormen and in the hands of simple murderers they are normal bows of simple make and design. Just a thought. Go to Comment
Interestingly, the plot hooks bring this all together for me. And I for one, prefer the mysteries of the Astormen, their trees and their bows, to remain just that, mysteries. Adds a certain je ne sai quoi to their tale.
It simply could be some natural quality of the wood, or one bred into it by the many generations of the Astormen. These changes that make it a very good wood for bows also make it difficult to grow without the constant tending of the Astormen, which explains its unavailability outside of their lands.
This was one of those ideas I wanted to write to get it out of my head but wasn't enthralled enough with it to give it the full treatment. I made a conscience decision to stop worrying about things and just do it! I will start posting more and not worry about being Scras. ;) Go to Comment
Those are outstanding questions that I have no intention of answering. ;)
1) No magic inherent in the bush. Given to it by those that use it.
2) You have to touch the bush and only the bush. Roots are useless as they are only small branches whereas the bush is the central nervous system so to speak.
3) There are empty spots between the bushes. (good plot point I didn't think of earlier) Those that understand the bushes and know the pattern of the roots in that area can use the dead zone between the bush's roots to move unnoticed. Not sure that you couldn't replant. Didn't think of that part, interesting.
It maintains a distance just cause. I was of the thinking that the roots are so invasive that there wouldn't be room for another to overlap so they avoid each other after a root probe identifies another plant. They would react somehow with each other and just naturally not grow any more in that direction. Go to Comment
A nice enough treatment of magical flora, and I am fan of anything that adds dimension and player interaction to walking through the woods. I get the feeling you were on the fence about how much detail you wanted to add to this one. But the basic idea is sound and useful. Go to Comment
I have a thing for magical plants, so this is cool. I could easily see these fitting in the myriad defences of the Unseen Fortress, and with your permission, would like to add it into that submission.
I rather like this one -- it's a simple idea, with potentially profound consequences for a game world. A few points that could use clarification:
1. Is the Tracker bush inherently magical, or does it only retain magic energies once it has been used by a spellcaster? If so, how long does it take for those magics to fade entirely?
2. What are the mechanics for using the bush? I understand that you have to touch the bush to set the spell up, but after that how close do you have to be to gain information from it? Does the spellcaster have to touch the bush again, or can he just be standing on top of the root system? Can this be done at an even greater distance?
3. If the bushes spread via root systems, and it is possible to extract part of the living root, I don't understand why it would be so hard to cultivate these things. Even more puzzling -- if the plant spreads via its roots, how can it possibly maintain a distance from others of its kind? Seems to me they'd have to overlap at least some.
Let me say again, I really like this idea and I would love to see it expanded on a little more. A natural pressure plate is just a really cool image! Go to Comment
Uh oh, is that the ONLY error you saw in that sentence? You wouldn't make a very good grammar nazi. LOL. It was on purpose.
Dazed and Confused is a forum title. You have to be more active in the forums. You can also update your author page info like that in your forum profile. Go to Comment
Items (Ranged Weapons) (Combat)
Perhaps a long dead Goddess of Nature laid to rest in the grove of the Astor trees which gives them the benefits. Perhaps it only grants the bonuses to those of like minded hearts as the Astormen and in the hands of simple murderers they are normal bows of simple make and design. Just a thought. Go to Comment