unplayable [Event Creature] The Bryophites

[Sybbyl0127 618]

Bryophites

 

What is a Bryophite?:

 

    A bryophite, in basic terms, is a “plant person”. They are a type of character that has encountered what is called Verridian Moss, a parasitic type of moss that turns them into what they are today.

    They are replaced by the moss and mode entirely out of plant material, from their skin to the organs the moss decided to recreate, everything is crafted genetically from some sort of material that count be found in a plant around the world of LOTC.

    Often among them are things such as crawling ivy going down their leafy arms, vines and leaves for hair, flowers on their shoulders and collarbones, etc.

 

 

 

Verridian Moss

 

Why does the moss do what it does?

 

All plants have adapted to certain strategies to get through life. For a specific moss, it started with making more endurant spores, and having little specks of gold, as well as being cushy to spread spores by getting an animal to sit on some the appealing moss and spread spores via them walking. Sentient creatures tended to care more about the texture of something they sat on, so by detecting nearby conscious beings to coordinate release of spores became optimal. Eventually the moss tried with spores that grew on people and produced spores, and, though it was not liked by the host, it was perfect.

The moss got more aggressive progressively, until sitting would cause great puffs of spores which either caused avoidance or washing, which resulted in failure. Learning from its failure, the moss eventually developed sleeping powder, releasing vast amounts of spores once the victim was asleep. This, however, again resulted in failure, as hosts would die soon after as the spores either branched into vital organs or from nutrition deprivation.

It was here that the moss gained such names as 'Nether's Bed'. Undaunted, the moss eventually figured that out, and solved the problem by much trial and error. Doing the unreasonable because it had to, the moss developed a way to not damage the body's system by, well, seeing to the bodily functions itself. After success and success it came to depend on this technique and refined it to perfection.

 

What happens

 

 

As the victim is asleep, the Verridian Moss releases waves of airborne spores that enter them via their respiratory system. Slowly, the parasite begins to destroy and replace the body from the inside out, a completely painless process. The body is rebuilt by the parasites being controlled by the Verridian Moss, slowly made into a new body, deeply resembling the previous. Scars, injuries, and illnesses are usually not re-made, destroyed and replaced with healthy substitutes. At times this can lead to bryophite “birthmarks” which are patches where the moss was left to it’s own because it needed to replace something with a new portion that was not a duplicate of the original.

 

Things such as memories can be lost in the process, as the moss isn’t fully sentient, it does not understand the life of the victim and simply recreates that portion of the brain with as much of the original intact as possible. In most situations, a newly made bryophite will forget what names go with what faces, the names of towns, sometimes even their own names. The easier something is to forget, the more likely it is to be left behind.

Old memories will be more likely to be completely forgotten, for instance, if a 200 year old elf is changed, they are very likely to forget anything above 60-70 years ago.

 

Depending on the race of the victim, the way the body functions may be drastically changed.

 

Humans, for example, are strict omnivores, they can eat just about anything. A human bryophite will find that they now have a distaste for most kinds of meat, and would rather eat things such as sugary meals, sweets, grains and fruit or vegetables.

Many bryophites might also find the insatiable thirst, for sugar water.

 

They now breathe, not oxygen, but carbon dioxide, and exhale oxygen, just like a normal plant.

 

 

Many of the victim’s physical traits are changed, as well.

 

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Bryophite Harvesting

 

Some people have been cruel enough to capture and harvest from Bryophites. A body of Verridian Moss will re-generate almost 100% of the time [in rare occasions, the plants growing on the bryophite can indeed change or die off after harvesting] to the exact same plant material, this makes them easy to harvest from, as they grow all season, can live almost anywhere, and have been known to render better, fresher, stronger, and slower spoiling items. It is not unheard of to find bryophites enslaved or imprisoned by underground markets, bandit groups or slavers who wish to use them for the items they may or may not have an advantage for.

 

This list below contains things commonly sought for and why they are sought for.[things that are asterisked (*) will apply to all Bryophites, those without one only apply to certain Bryophites who are made up of or produce that material]

 

 

Bryophites producing normal plant life: At times, it has been known for the bryophite kind, being comprised of plant materials, to sprout average plant life in accordance with the materials that make their bodies. This does not mean the plants that grow on the bryophytes bodies are like limbs, they are simply, plants. If they grow vines for hair, they cannot move their hair like snakes or arms, it’s just normal, everyday vines.

 

 

Alchemical ingredients: If the Bryophite's body grows an alchemical plant ingredient in an easily accessible place (say, their skin, that will occasionally grow leaves), some alchemists will take advantage of this and use them like a tree for the plant. This is especially the case when the ingredient is either strong or a pain to find. Bryophitian ingredients tend to be more pure and, when doing recipes that require perfect balance or are going close to shattering equivalent exchange, they can be very helpful, giving you an edge.

 

 

Herbs: Some Bryophites can find themselves sprouting common or even in some cases uncommon or rare herbs. Things like herbs used for cooking, or even healing, have been know to grow on the shoulders and collarbones of a few curious Bryophites. It is unknown what determines the kind of herb that a Bryophite may sprout, or even if it will happen at all, but it is known that the herbs when harvested tend to be higher quality than what one can get from your average garden, giving it high demand.

 

 

Valuable Plants: Some of the more common but valuable plant materials that have been found to grow on Bryophites consisted of things such as Violets, or Lavender flowers, used in the expensive purple dyes that most nobles tend to keep for themselves. Dyes being the most commonly used of the valuable plants, there have been others such as fiber like materials in their hair that were often used to craft ropes and twines. Unfortunately, it is not unheard of to find female Bryophites whose hair had been cut for this very reason, as the fibers were more plentiful in this fashion, than harvesting actual fiber plants.

 

 

Incense Plants: There have been a few cases where Bryophites have been found growing certain herbs or plants that give off pleasing aromatic effects. A few different categories were made at one point, to describe these odd mixtures that at times will appear amongst the few.  These plants have been known to smell inexplicably better, people saying that although it smells the same, it feels (and even the orcs would struggle for the right word) "more pure" (as most say) or “BETTER-ER-ER-ER” (as most orcs said).

 

 

The Harvest: This type of incense is when a Bryophite grows the sorts of herbs that give off the aroma of the fall, pumpkin spices and the leaves of maple trees, these Bryophites are often sought after in the fall and winter seasons, though their incense continue to grow throughout the season.

 

 

The Frost: These Bryophite can be a curious mixture of things at times, from the clean and harsh mint herbs to the cool and sweet smell of winter grass, their incense is sought after in the winter and spring seasons. These incense are used a lot at times by taverns and other places with large gatherings, due to the fact that this particular type is the strongest smelling, and able to put strong odors at bay.

 

 

The Sweet: The sweet Bryophite, more often seen amongst the females, are a spring time category. They are the ones who grow things like sweet smelling flowers, honeysuckles, herbs that give off a calming sense. They are often sought after in spring and summer, and at times in the winter from those who dislike the season and try to replicate the warmth of spring in their homes.

 

 

Poison Ingredients: Some Bryophites have been found with deadly plants or ingredients that grow on them. This is extremely useful for poison brewers, as they can make the same poison again and again. As with other plants, these plants will reproduce and care for themselves [as long as the bryophite is healthy] and stay in optimum health, without needing the knowledge of the care for the plant itself to keep it alive.

 

 

 

*Bryophite Blood: Some have tried injecting rats with Bryophite sap blood to see if it is contagious. Bryophite blood is full of nutrients, more so than normal blood. When injected (in moderated amounts) it acts almost like a caffeine shot, however, if too much is injected, the animal or person will die from an overdosage of the nutrients and vitamins found in bryophite blood, do to the fact that bryophites are built to harbor the nutrients, while other races are not.

 

 

Bryophite blood has proved to be "DEE-LISH-SHUSH" (~Anonymous Orc who was halfway through a cup of it, slobbering it down) to Orcs, but other races find it "not pleasant tasting, but then again, not bad" (~Anonymous High Elf, coughing and spitting it out when we told him that he was drinking blood).

 

Fruit Bearing

 

Some Bryophites have been known to bear fruit. This is NOT very big, usually the fruit is only about as big as a grape. No, the fruit does not shrink, any fruit much bigger than a grape just doesn't grow. A Bryophite eating it's own fruit has no benefit whatsoever, as their body put its own energy into the fruit in the first place. The net gain is zero.

 

-On that topic, you cannot ‘plant’ a seed on a bryophite, or germinate a bryophite with a plant's pollen. Bryophites plants that grow on them grow because of how the bryophite developed during the transformation process. If you for instance make a bryophite eat grape seeds, it would be the same if a human had eaten them. At times it has been known for bryophites to “bloom late”, where when they hadn’t anything growing on them before, it would turn up after a year or so, but once something begins to grow on a bryophite, it will always grow and reproduce in moderation. Just as so, you cannot stop the product from being grown, it’s part of the Bryophite’s genetic makeup, remove it and cut it as you will, you will only make the Bryophite sick from lack of nutrition, as it is being put into the fruit and removed, and possibly kill it if you try much harder such as attempting to "dig it out from the root".

 

 

Clarification on Magic

 

In the original lore I stated,"During the Replacement, the Verridian Moss can’t replicate some parts of the brain as well as other sections of the body. While not stupid or even simple minded, Bryophites are not genius. This results in most Bryophite having a hard time becoming a scholar, enchanter or alchemist unless it was already learned before hand.” As clarification, Bryophites can learn most Deity magic, it's just difficult for them to learn things which take large amounts of understanding, or large amounts of new knowledge. Now, bryophites do have the capacity to learn dark magics like necromancy, however it's not very smart to do. Being a creature made the way they are, the practice of dark magics like that would simply cause them to be sickened, and die. Evocation magics, which already in the long run have negative effects on normal beings, are more harmful towards Bryophites, as their magical defenses are lower than other creatures.

 

On a non magical level, for instance, a bryophite who was a skilled carpenter as a human, would most likely not be able to learn another profession like traditional medicine that has nothing to do with carpentry. Their new brain just can't handle that kind of high function.

 

Bryophites as Druids

 

As their bodies are plants, they have a slightly easier time connecting with nature than other simpler races. They have an easier time learning druidism, but can't become any stronger than other druids simply due to being a bryophite, because of their nature from the previous race they had belonged to.

 

Bryophite Roleplay:

 

There are one or two things that weren’t clarified in the original post for bryophite lore. Just a few pointers here to be sure when the character is made, the players know how to keep up with the other bryophites and not get things mixed up:

 

• The word Bryophite does not exist in character, all bryophites are left without a name for their race, they have no idea what they are, or what may become of them. The race is rare, and the name ‘Bryophite’ is strictly an OOC name for the race itself. Bryophites are usually, commonly known as “plant people”, many other creative names have been discovered as well, use them as you will.

• Bryophites cannot control the plants that grow on them like arms, anything that grows on them will act naturally, and must be a plant currently existing in the world of LOTC in character.

• Bryophites look exactly the way they did before they were transformed, imagine looking into a green tinted mirror, now you are a Bryophite. The only differences is material, you can have long brown hair and then have it transformed into long dark green vines, but it still has the same shape. You won’t have extra limbs, you won’t be disfigured, you won’t be missing parts.

• Bryophites generally do not possess any “new” or extra supernatural abilities, there are a few things certain types of bryophites can do in accordance with the plants growing on them, with the exception of the instinctual mega-painkiller that every bryophite can perform. You can’t control the plants around you, unless you are a druid.

 

 

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Behavioural changes:

Let’s say, a sweet little girl gets changed into a bryophite. She will still be a sweet little girl, however, whether she liked staying inside all the time or not, she will feel more at home outside, in nature.

If a human who lives in a large city with more stone than grass is changed into a bryophite, it’s very likely they will simply no longer feel at home in this place, and would prefer to move somewhere near a large forest.

When changed, alignment is always kept.

Fear of fire is a constant amongst all bryophites, it’s a natural instinct, just as cats don’t like water, they do not like fire.

One thing that is common amongst them is the sudden loss of understanding how or why many things happen in social environments. As the Verridian Moss does not have the capability to understand everything about their host’s ways of living, mistakes are made. It is not uncommon to see that at times they have difficulty picking up on emotional cues, sensing dangerous situations like how the man in the cloak in the corner could be a murderer.

Common sense amongst the bryophites has to be re-learned, as the parasite is still inside them, controlling them.

Should a magi of the mind inspect the subconscious of one them, they would find that there is an extension, another section off the side of the mind there, like a small headquarters, learning and controlling by instinct and hormonal control as the body and mind work on their own.

Many of them as well, are found to be clumsy. Whether they were skilled in balance or not before, it is apparent now that it has been affected, and most likely decreased and needs to be re-trained.

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Advantages and Disadvantages

• Bryophites are completely infertile, and incapable of carrying living children, or becoming pregnant. Bryophites reproduce through a process unknown to them, in which once whilst in the flowering season, a bryophite will be suddenly and strongly urged to take a walk in the forest. While there, the parasites -still- in them will once again put the body to sleep, preferably on the base of a tree or rock, and then spores will be released through the body’s skin and hair onto the surface, creating new Verridian Moss.

• Bryophites have the ability to produce a “mega-painkiller”. Should they be gravely injured, the body automatically begins production of a natural pain killer that will numb the injured area. This however is not to be used as an excuse to “feel no pain”, the conscious mind has no control over this, it is an instinct. As well, the pain-killer acts much like morphine, or demerol. The person will be extremely disoriented, hallucinations are common, as well as slur of speech.

• Bryophites, though incapable of photosynthesis, do in fact need sunlight. The body takes energy from sunlight, nulling the need for sleep. Should a bryophite be without sunlight, then it would be basically the same as being without sleep. They become tired, and cannot last longer than three consecutive days without sunlight. They can survive on a minimum of 4 hours of strong sunlight a day.

• Bryos need twice as much water as their previous race, needing to water the copious plant materials their bodies are made of, and at times the smaller plants growing on them.

• Bryos are more prone to being affected by temperature change, preferring the climate of the plants they most resemble, and tending to get sick in climates that do not correspond with their own body’s needs.

-----------------------

A quick recap:

1. Bryophites don’t know the word Bryophite [Think of it like a child that has lived it’s life only around other children and has never seen an adult before in it’s entire existence. It does not know what they are or why, would it automatically know they are an “Adult” ? Or would they say “Big person”?... ]

2. Memories are likely to be lost

3. Cannot become pregnant or make others pregnant

4. They do not sleep, but meditate in sunlight

5. “Mega-painkiller” - instinctual, and disorienting like a high power drug

6. Harvestable, within reason

7. Body parts are not replaced with full plants, but made from plant material [AKA: from eyeballs and legs to fingernails, it stays as a leg, eyeball, or fingernail, etc.]

8. No natural affinity for druidism, simply easier for them to learn, but no easier for them to perform.

9. Distaste towards meat, thirst for sugar water, big sweet tooth

10. Bryophites need twice as much water as their previous race

11. More vulnerable to temperature change [Flammable and freezable!]

12. Difficulty with emotional cues, common sense, balance, all need to be re-trained. [-Every- new bryophite is a clutz.]

13. Breathe carbon dioxide, exhale oxygen.

 

Things to Note:

 

 

1.           Because of the link between the moss’s semi-conscience and the person’s conscience, in times of great emotion or feeling the body might respond, this response is sometimes logical to the situation, and sometimes just weird. [Examples:(all Bryophite body reactions are different between people, each person's body might respond differently, but this one thing is always consistent, reacting the same way to the same emotion. These are examples) see strength number three; if a Bryophite is very happy or pleased, the moss might start to grow along the skirts of their clothes; if a Bryophite is sad, the moss might begin to release water droplets into their hair, making it look like their hair is crying]

2.      ALL races can become a Bryophite.

3.           If interrupted it the middle of Replacing after the moss has formed a cocoon (say by someone cutting the moss open) the person will be in a coma, and the moss will be attached to them and will keep growing until the process is complete, you cannot be saved from being a Bryophite once the cocoon is formed.

4.           If shown a silhouette of before and after being Replaced, a person could not tell a difference. Bryophite bodies are exact copies with plant material. The moss is sensitive to changes in color though, so a Kharajyr Bryophite will have the same markings, but the coloration would be off, and its fur would be of a given plant material.

5.           Everything is changed, down to bodily fluids too. Bryophite blood is full of literal plant blood cells, that replicate regular human cells. When oxygenated, their blood is yellowish-green, when deoxygenated, it is a dark green. Saliva is like the liquid found in a pitcher plant.

6. During the process of Replacing, the moss ignores physical objects like clothes or weapons.

7. Bryophite can NOT control their body to grow or change at will.(e.g. a Bryophite can not grow his arm to reach or shoot roots from his hand)

8.           Verridian Moss is one of the only plants not able to be controlled by any form of magic. (e.g. a sorcerer can NOT manipulate a Bryophite’s body or control it)

9. Bryophites also usually have natural liking to plants. It is rare to find a lumberjack Bryophite, yet not unheard of. (See weakness  6)

10.           During the Replacement, the Verridian Moss can’t replicate some parts of the brain as well as other sections of the body. While not stupid or even simple minded, Bryophites are not genius. This results in most Bryophite having a hard time becoming a scholar, enchanter or alchemist unless it was already learned before hand. (See weakness 6)

 

 

Personality:

 

          This is extremely varying, as they are virtually the same personality type as they were before being Replaced.  However, their motto/goal/guideline given to them be the moss is definitely a definer of their personality. They find it extremely hard, if not impossible, to give up that view or goal in a situation, and its presence is inextinguishable. This trait also doesn’t necessarily govern everything they do, in situations where it can’t be applied, the Bryophite does not try to force it to be applied and govern his or her actions actions.

 

Strengths:

 

1. Because their bodies are made out of plants, they can regenerate 1.5 times faster than normal humans and can regrow whole body parts that are as strong as the ones that they lost. That is, providing that they don’t bleed out initially.

2. Plant bodies don’t die from age, however, if the life force of the person runs out, they will die. This means that Bryophites usually will live only to about 100-110 years longer than their previous race’s life expectancy rate.

3. In events of damage to the body, the Verridian Moss will sometimes emit small doses of the same sleeping powder that it used during the Replace stage. This results in two things: relief from pain and a soothing aura around them(which might help if someone was angry)(see things to note one)

4. They don’t get sunburn.

 

Weaknesses:

 

1. Fire, as they are made of plants.

2. Generally outcasted or make people feel uncomfortable because they are different.

3. Because they are made out of plants, they are generally weaker than their former race.

4. Will freeze to death faster than humans because their bodies are more susceptible to cold.

5. Unless they were previously one before the Replacement, Bryophites aren’t scholars, enchanters, alchemists, or lumberjacks.(see things to note 11 and 12)

 

What Does One Look Like?

 

Description

    A Bryophite looks like it formerly did in shape, but everything is made plant material. This term is vague, because a huge variety of plants have been found in use, some Bryophite have been found with eyelashes of venus fly traps, others with roots for hair. Only thing that has never been seen is tree bark.(ie, don’t use tree bark)

 

Some people have been known to go insane. The fact that their body has changed to a plant is too much for them to handle mentally. This Elf Bryophite has run off into the woods and lived alone. It is important to note that this insanity has no direct connection to body changing, the concept of being different for the rest of their life is what drives them mad.

 

 

 

 

Want to be a Bryophite?

There are a few steps/requirements:

1. You must have an existing character

2. You must read Lore

3. You must roleplay the Replacement and take a screenshot of the roleplay, and post it in a comment to this thread before beginning to play the character. Descriptions of the new bryophite body must be included in the comment, to be sure that there are no misconceptions in what is allowed and not allowed.

4. You must make and change your skin according to the Lore (after roleplaying)

5. You must add that your character is a Bryophite in their bio (/persona bio)

6. Once this is done, you have 1 IRL week to decide if the transformation is truly what you want. After that point, the change is permanent and you cannot go back.

 

Thats it! You dont have to perma-kill the character, as they retain almost all of their memories (and therefore skills) and, since their bodies are copies, they retain the same buffs (race stays same).

 

[Sybbyl0127 618]

Example Bryophite SKins:

 

 

Sorry they're all female, I have yet to find a really good male one. I'll see if Osmium can give me his

[TeaLulu 1783]

Can we please not

[The Fact Core 511]

I don't like the name of "Ent's children". That's something...weird, since Ents are something whole different. All in all, they were there before and it's a neat read.

[GodEmperorFlam 3447]

Can we please not

While I agree byrophites and other such lore shouldn't be accepted, we already have this particular one LotC. This is just a re-write I believe, since the last lore was **** and had players who RP'd it poorly.

 

As for Sybbyl, please enlarge the text saying that you /need/ to post here before you start playing a byrophite.

[meg 1993]

While this is a large improvement over the original lore, I just don't think its something the server needs. The moss thing is still just freaking weird. If the moss completely replaced them, they would have none of the original memories or habits. I don't see how this moss could replicate the intricate synapses and nerves off the brain well enough to copy it. No thanks.

[Fishy 1578]

These are literally monsters, not people.

[osumanduas 1436]

Lol no

[Space 2332]

I don't see why not?

[Old-Rattlesnake 1477]

The lore is alright, the idea is fine, I just really don't think we need another minority species drawing RP away from what we already have.

[mmat 7461]

First of all, I'm one of those people who just do not like any kind of playable creatures and anything along those lines at all, so my next words might be a bit blunt.

 

Bryophites in character have become an absolute joke, I have not seen you personally roleplay so I can't gauge the quality of the RP that you personally offer. However, I personally have seen a fair amount of Bryophites playing their characters, and it's almost embarrasing to watch, to be quite honest. Most of them I've seen have two extremes; just behaving like a regular person, just with some super quirky grass on them, or never stopping mentioning how they are made out of plants and how horrible their life is, there's no middle ground. And that's not mentioning that the RP quality is generally just bad, but that's more a people problem than a problem with the lore.

 

Occasional event characters? Eh, sure, whatever. But I personally don't want them being things that any shmuck can play.

[cmack1028 548]

You've obviously put an insane amount of work into this, but I'm just not a fan of the idea. Sorry, -1.

[ski_king3 0]

If the lore's already on the server, and this is an improvement, then let is persist and be improved upon. This way, it seems like we'll be able to be rid of the shitty bryophytes and perhaps give folks who are better have a shot.

 

That being said, I wish the name wasn't something that had a strict meaning in the real world, although I suppose this is perhaps just confusing to me because I'm in a plant biology class.

[Parkins 549]

These are literally monsters, not people.

[Rassidic 470]

Got more lore than Aeldin +1