A Crying Tree?

[Strolen]

I have had this core idea for months and have no idea what to do with it.


Behind my work is a grove of very tall coniferous type trees. They are basically shaped like really tall broccoli and they are old and very fragile and brittle. Branches come falling down during every large, windy rainstorm...along with these lead weighted pine cones from hell.


All that aside, the thing that fascinated my one day is that it hadn't rained for over 18 hours but when I was walking under the trees I was getting plastered with these huge rain drops. I was perplexed. It seemed to me that the trees were able to store all this rain water and then allow it to continue "raining" under their canopy for an undetermined amount of time. So that had me thinking about trees that could continue to "rain" for days or weeks after a true rain. Then why, and how and all that flooded me but I got nothing. Zip. Zero. Zilch.


I very much like the idea of trees that create their own rain but don't have any idea what to do with it.

[JPatterson]

That's a neat idea. Your Crying or Raintrees or whatever - would they be desert trees, or best staying in temperate areas where maybe there is a lot of moisture but which doesn't get a lot of actual precipitation? A true "rain forest"? That is a really intriguing concept. Maybe they store up enough water to grow to a certain maximum ability (fill up their taproots or something) and then shed the excess back out. I don't know, that's quite a tidbit.

[Silveressa]

For a more fantasy slant one could have such magical trees planted over the graves of revered royalty, the tears of the trees symbolizing the mourning of the kingdom/empire for their loss. (Perhaps the "tears" keep the bodies magically preserved so those who pay their respects can view the person as they were in life?)

For a more non magic sci-fi slant the trees could be carnivorous, existing in arid climates. During the dry seasons they would be one of the few sources of water for thirsty creatures, and then use strangling vines, or paralytic poison spines to immobilize and kill some of the animals that venture to them for nourishment. (The rotting body would provide fertilizer or the plant could be capable of engulfing and digesting it similar to the Venus fly trap.)

[Strolen]

A true rain forest. I should have used that one first. hehe

Those are some good ideas Silveressa, both of them! Maybe it needs to be a 30 Reasons for the Raining Tree

The tree is unable to retain water for a length of time so instead of being able to store it internally, it recycles it back on itself. The roots are shaped as large bowls under the ground so it holds the water in the soil above it while it cycles it. The roots of the larger trees are able to be dug up and used as small canoes. If enough of the trees are around and it rains often enough they have been known to develop their own lake/marsh twisting amongst the trunks.

[Mourngrymn]

For a more fantasy slant one could have such magical trees planted over the graves of revered royalty, the tears of the trees symbolizing the mourning of the kingdom/empire for their loss. (Perhaps the "tears" keep the bodies magically preserved so those who pay their respects can view the person as they were in life?)

That is perhaps the creepiest thing I could think of when going to a cemetery to put flowers on my ol grappas grave. See him laying there all perfect almost staring up at me... ooooh d**n. A necromacers wet dream. A feild full of fully fleshed zombies.

[Silveressa]

That is perhaps the creepiest thing I could think of when going to a cemetery to put flowers on my ol grappas grave.

From someone with the nic name Mourngrymn to call my idea creepy means it must indeed be something special.

Nothing like adding in such unexpected creepy changes to fantasy cultures to shake jaded players out of their rut of expectations and make them start taking notice of the world around their characters again. 

[Cheka Man]

As well as all those ideas that have been said I have one of my own-a TreeMan or Ent trapped by powerful magic for running riot. It knows important infomation but will only give it if the PCs set it free.