Knicks & Knacks

Halophytes [Setting]

I'm done posting mechanics for a while, since mine are...

Instead, I'm gonna be talking flora and fauna of the Flats, taking inspiration from real-world examples of halophytes. Here are three in-game trees very loosely based on real-world halophytes.

Mean Old Bastard (Colloquial)

It's known on sight by its unique shape. The trunk of the tree grows straight, then gradually curves to parallel with the ground, taking the pose of a hunched over old man. It's branches grow upwards, sprouting green branches along its "back".

When the mean, old bastard was a mean, young bastard he stood straight, his branches stretching to highest heaven. He scraped the clouds with his fingers, cutting the clouds to ribbons. This drove away the rain, and so the druids placed a curse upon him, curling his spine and forcing him to look ever downwards. His fingers still stretch upwards, however, a testimony to his meanness.

"Bastard wood", as it is often called, is highly desired because it is an incredibly hard wood. Shafts, armors, shields, clubs, wagon wheels, carts, walls - pretty much any wooden object meant to take abuse is ideally made from bastard wood. It grows amid patches of saltbrush and cordgrass, usually the solitary tree among the tall, swaying grasses. It's roots go incredibly deep, and many a successful well has been found around it.

Eelwood (Colloquial)

Eelwood is common near mudflats. It is called "eelwood" because it grows where mud eels are often found and the eels often find places to hide within its tangled roots. It's a short tree with a wide, largely exposed root system and a wide canopy of expansive branches. It's trunk and roots function as a sort of measuring stick - an eelwood grove with muddy trunk is a sign of a lot of water.

Eelwood is often ground to a powder and used to cure infections from animal bites. The eels, those voracious devils, bite the root that houses them to make more room for themselves. Eelwood disciplines its merciless intruders by making itself bitter and mean to them. Occasionally an eelwood tree can be found knocked over, its roots chewed through. Take note if you see this, as it likely means there are a lot of eels in the mud.

Saltwick (Colloquial)

Saltwick is an incredibly brittle tree, but a blessing to any weary traveler. Saltwick only grows in pools of water and it feeds off of salt. The bigger the saltwick tree, the fresher the water it sits in. It is recognizable by its incredibly wide, knotted trunk and thick, reaching branches. It can grow to become one of the largest trees if there is enough water nearby. Saltwick wood is often used as an emergency form of desalination - fast enough to make the water good enough to drink quickly.

Saltwick has been cursed with gluttony. It must eat the salt, the very thing that causes it to break so easily. It's crime is lost to time, but some of the Outsiders tell the story of a thief who ate from the sacred grove. Thin and emaciated, he stumbled into the grove and took from the first fruit he could find. It instantly filled him and fleshed him out. Amazed, he ate more and more until he was a gargantuan blob of flesh, desperately trying to stave off the feeling of hunger he had known all too well. The heavens above cursed him for his trespass, transforming him into a tree on the spot. A tree forced to eat salt and continually fall apart in the process.