An Infinity vine is a plant from the Spelljammer campaign setting.[1][2]
Overview[]
An infinity vine is a spaceborne plant native to wildspace that grows very rapidly and continues to grow as long as it has air and light available. Most spelljamming crews consider infinity vines to be an environmental hazard,[1] whereas the elves have successfully used the plant to protect isolated asteroid colonies that have come under attack.[3]
Description[]
An infinity vine is a solitary leafless, bright green plant that consists of an enormous number of thin, interwoven stems. Numerous bright blue flowers, 1/2-inch across, grow throughout the vine and draw nutrients and moisture directly from the air itself. The plant thrives so long as it remains within a crystal sphere's wildspace and is exposed to both breathable air and light of any kind. An infinity vine grows very rapidly, seeming to create plant material out of thin air.[1]
Behavior[]
An infinity vine is considered a hazard in wildspace by most spelljamming crew. Bits of the plant often break off or are discarded by infested ships, and are left to drift through space. Sometimes these dormant pieces end up in the atmospheric envelope of a passing spelljamming ship. If a piece of vine lodges on or against a celestial body less than a 100 miles in diameter (including spelljamming ships and asteroids), the vine begins to grow at a rate of ten cubic feet per minute. If unchecked, the vine will eventually grow to a depth of ten feet over every available surface until it completely covers the exterior of the ship or asteroid (but it will not grow in any dark spaces).
The gravest danger posed by an infinity vine is that it adds to the overall tonnage of any spelljamming ship it covers, and it does so very quickly. When a vine has covered an entire ship it will have increased the ship's tonnage by up to four times its original value. This has obvious and immediate effects on spelljamming, considering that most helms have specific operational limits.
An infinity vine absorbs the waste gases given off by air-breathing creatures, and in exchange gives off large quantities of oxygen. It is harmless to living beings, though it will grow around and bury slow-moving or immobile beings. A being can slowly tear through an infinity vine (which regrows behind them as they pass) using their bare hands or sheer bulk. A being with claws or a short-bladed weapon (dagger or smaller) can expedite the process somewhat, but the best option (beyond magic or fire) is to use a bladed weapon at least as large as a short sword, which can be used to hack a path through the overgrowth.
A vine can be destroyed by direct contact with open flame, and stops growing (but stays green) if placed underwater or in total darkness. Since fire is usually not the most practical solution for clearing an infested ship, a spelljammer must either head for the phlogiston to scrape off every bit of dried vine; stop within a planet's shadow out of the sunlight, or land on a large planet (size C or larger), where, after an hour's delay, the infinity vine will disappear just as quickly as it grew (ten cubic feet per round) until it has vanished completely.
Fire-, acid-, and electricity-based spells can destroy all of the infinity vine within their areas of effect, though the vine regrows from unaffected areas. Cold-based spells cause the vine to stop growing for a few minutes (but only within the area of effect). A darkness spell will cause it to stop growing. Haste, slow, entangle, spike growth, anti-plant shell, plant door, transport via plants, and enlarge/reduce spells all affect an infinity vine as per normal, though an enlarged or reduced plant will immediately shrink or grow at a proportionately altered rate to fill its original volume (10-feet thick over all available surfaces). Damage caused by a magic missile spell is regrown almost instantly. Plant growth spells cause it to grow at a rate of 100 cubic feet per minute (though it is still limited to ten feet deep over all available surfaces). Charm plant and hold plant spells can be used to stop a vine growing within their area of effect.
An infinity vine is immune to all known plant diseases and poisons (including the cloudkill spell). It cannot be polymorphed, energy drained, or slain by death magic.[1]
Habitat[]
An infinity vine will not grow on any planetary bodies over 100 miles in diameter (size C or greater), regardless of how much light or air the plant receives. When exposed to the phlogiston, the plant immediately shrivels, becoming dark brown and extremely brittle. It is not dead, however, but merely dormant; if taken back into wildspace and exposed to air and light, the plant will revive, regrowing all damaged areas after a 10 minute delay.[1]
Uses[]
Infinity vine can radically transform small asteroids into havens with bizarre ecosystems. The vine will expand the air envelope around any object it engulfs, to the point where the envelope is twice as thick as normal. Since infinity vine is edible, though unappetizing, castaways and exiles can sometimes be found on such bodies, since the vine provides a steady supply of air and food.[1]
The elves have also adopted the use of infinity vine on their more isolated asteroid colonies, such as Lurienia. During times of siege, the inhabitants can deploy the vine to engulf the colony, creating what is known as a "vine fortress". The vine prevents the enemy from landing ships, and provides air and food for the inhabitants until reinforcements arrive.[3]
The elves of the Astromundi Cluster have even established permanent settlements around or protected by enormous growths of infinity vines, including Avarien[4][5] and Giltiond.[6] The elves have also "trained" the infinity vines that surround their settlements to entangle enemy ships that draw too close.[7]
Midnight vine[]
When a spelljamming vessel is infested with infinity vine, the crews of these ships generally scrape the stuff off out in wildspace, leaving large patches of vine scattered throughout space. Most of these patches are easy to spot and avoid, but a new strain of vine is much harder to detect. Known as "midnight vine", this strain of infinity vine is as black as the depths of wildspace, making it very difficult to spot. Fortunately, the black vine is still relatively rare and is much more difficult to maintain than standard infinity vine, which limits its usefulness to the elves.[2] In addition, the black vine cannot abide the touch of shadowstone.[8]
Appendix[]
External Links[]
- Infinity vine article at the Forgotten Realms Wiki, a wiki for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting.
- Infinity vine article at the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition Wiki, a wiki for official Dungeons & Dragons content from 2nd edition AD&D.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Roger Moore, MC7 Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix, 1990, TSR 2109, ISBN:0-88038-871-4, Vine, Infinity
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Sam Witt, The Astromundi Cluster, The Celestial Almanac, 1993, (TSR Inc.), Navigational Hazards section, Clusterspace chapter, page 9
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Curtis M. Scott, CGR1 The Complete Spacefarer's Handbook, 1992, (TSR Inc.), sidebar, page 121
- ↑ Sam Witt, The Astromundi Cluster, The Astrogator's Guide, 1993, (TSR Inc.), Celestial Features section, The Astromundi Cluster chapter, page 17
- ↑ Sam Witt, The Astromundi Cluster, The Celestial Almanac, 1993, (TSR Inc.), Avarien section, The Almanac chapter, pages 18-20
- ↑ Sam Witt, The Astromundi Cluster, The Astrogator's Guide, 1993, (TSR Inc.), Celestial Features section, The Astromundi Cluster chapter, page 16
- ↑ Sam Witt, The Astromundi Cluster, Adventures in the Shattered Sphere, 1993, (TSR Inc.), Elves section, Astromundi Powers chapter, page 33
- ↑ Sam Witt, The Astromundi Cluster, The Celestial Almanac, 1993, (TSR Inc.), sidebar, page 9