I keep feeling better Doc, slowly. It hurts like hell when I stretch, and I swear I can feel the grass tearing when I do, dozens of little popping sounds–but could be I’m imagining that. Maybe it’s still growing a little, I don’t know.
What scares me is the dreams, I’m still having them just as bad. I’m in a dark forest, jungle, and it’s hot and humid. I hear a voice, more like feel it, inside me but I don’t understand what She’s saying.
Then I fall to my knees, and I’m scared shitless, but I’m praying to Her.—Patrick Everson, Patient in a medical facility of undisclosed location.
Venom grass is a taint of Shub Niggurath. It is medium to dark green, wide-bladed, 3-4 inches in length, very lush, and always forms a perfect circle no more than 3 yards/meters in diameter.
SPECIAL POWERS
Binding and Conversion: When a human, it affects no other type of being, is nearby, the Venom Grass must succeed on a POW roll. Only if this succeeds may it act. On a failure, the passerby notices an alluring floral scent from the grassy circle, but this is accompanied by intense dread which requires a Sanity roll for 1/1D4.
If successful, it emits a pheromone which causes a contested POW roll with the potential victim. If the creature wins, the human is drawn to lie in the center of the patch, which is soft, comfortable, and has a pleasant floral scent. At this point, the victim drifts into a deep sleep filled with delightful dreams of enjoying various activities in a warm, spring day amongst plants and a wide spectrum of colors and fragrances.
As soon as the victim is asleep, the Venom Grass begins to grow through them, causing no pain, due an anesthetizing secretion, and drawing no blood.
After it has made its way a few inches into the flesh, the victim may make a contested roll of their Luck vs the Grass’s POW. If they succeed, they wake up and can tear themselves loose, taking 1 HP damage, and making a Sanity roll against 1/1D4.
Otherwise, after several minutes, they may make a contested roll with 1 penalty die of their Luck vs the Grass’s POW. If they succeed, they wake up and can tear themselves loose with a successful contested STR roll, taking 1D4 HP damage, and making a Sanity roll against 1/1D6.
After several more minutes, the victim has one final opportunity to escape. On a successful roll with 2 penalty dice of their Luck vs the Grass’s POW, they wake up and can tear themselves loose with a successful contested STR roll with 1 penalty die, taking 1D6 HP damage, and making a Sanity roll against 1D2/1D8
Failing this, they transform into a Plant Walker in 1D6 hours.
Should the victim escape at the first of the three opportunities, they will occasionally wake from deep dreams with vague memories of being terrified in a humid, dark forest or jungle.
If they escape at the second opportunity, they will be haunted by nightmares of various plants merging with their bodies and controlling their minds, in accord with the will of some powerful being. They will also have to succeed at a POW check to ever stand on grass again.
Success at the third and final opportunity results in a loss of 1D10 INT and the gain of 1D10 STR. For the rest of their lives, they will suffer nightmares in which they are in a deep, dark, humid forest or jungle. They are fearful, then drop to their knees in terrified, humble, and sincere supplication to an unseen female fertility deity.
Their skin will take on a faint green hue, and they will live in terrible pain until the grass naturally dissolves in their body over a period of 2D6 months. Sufficient time in freezing temperatures will halve this time, as with treatment with powerful antibiotics–a combination of both cuts the recovery time to 25%.
Spells: None
Venom Grass, alluring and deadly foliage
STR: 50 (25/10)
CON: None
SIZ: None
DEX: None
INT: 2
POW: 60 (30/12)
HP: Inapplicable.
Damage Bonus: 0
Build: 0
Magic Points: 12
Move: 0
ATTACKS
Binding and Conversion, as above under Special Powers.
Armor: None, but freezing makes Venom Grass dormant, and sufficient fire destroys it.
Skills: None
Sanity Loss: As above under Special Powers.
My name is CthulhuBob Lovely, I live in my childhood hometown of Columbus, Ohio, and have a son and two daughters. I volunteer at MisCon, which occurs each year on Memorial Day Weekend in Missoula, Montana and help out at other shows.
In my younger years I had seen H.P. Lovecraft’s books in the collection of my older brother, Brian, who is also responsible for introducing me to Monty Python, Star Wars and many other things geek.
I began running and playing Dungeons and Dragons in 1977 at the age of 15, and Call of Cthulhu since its original publication in 1981.
I believe geekery and gaming can have positive effects on math, reading and writing, and social interaction skills, as well as family togetherness. I have three published stories online at
http://www.bewilderingstories.com/bios/lovely_bob_bio.html
