questions about disads for dryad-like race

[Lysando]

Hello all,

 

I've been inspired by a couple of article in Pyramid to put together a package deal for a race I call the Sylvani. They are sentient trees, or live with/in trees. Don't think "ents", think "dryads" or "hamadryads". As PCs they would leave their home tree to go into society, they can leave their home trees.

 

There are a few disads that I'd like to put in the package deal, but I'm not entirely certain how to build them...

 

1. A Sylvani must spend 6 hours out of every 24 "rooted" into the soil. This is similar to the need for humans, etc. to sleep. They are humanoid in form (in fact some of them are quite comely once you get past the green skin), but the bottoms of their feet are composed of many small rootlets. During this rooting period they grow into the soil.

 

I built this as a Dependence. Any other ideas?

 

2. Sylvani can't consume solid food. Instead they drink sugar water, honey water, fruit juice, anything where sugar is dissolved in water. Is this even a Disad or Limitation,or just a "quirk"?

 

3. Sylvani are capable of leaving their home trees and travelling great distances. However, no matter how far away they are, they are still linked to their home tree. If their home tree is damaged, so will they be. If their home tree is burned up or cut down they will die. Obviously they will keep the location of their home tree very secret, and the Sylvani tend to live very far away from humans, in unpopulated areas.

 

What would this be? Dependence? Dependent NPC? Susceptibility?

 

Thanks for any help you can provide.

[boomer]

Re: questions about disads for dryad-like race

 

The first is a definite dependency......as is the second really. They have specific types of nourishment and that may be hard to find. The last should be a susceptability with the tree being a Foci of some sort....essentially it's where the life essence is stored.

[sbarron]

Re: questions about disads for dryad-like race

 

I don't think I'd do anything with these three things except discuss with the player what it means. In reality, these disads are all similar to things that normal characters take for granted and don't get disads for. Those being, 1) must sleep, 2) must eat food that is consumable by humans, and 3) will die if they lose their soul.

 

But, for arguments sake, I guess these are marginally more limiting than the human needs. Like the must root in soil. This couldn't happen if the dryad where inside a rock mountain, where there is only rocky floors and no soil. Or at sea. So they'd have to take special care to bring some soil along in situations like this, or suffer the effects of not sleeping. Depending on how much soils is needed, you could make this a 5 pt. or 10 pt. physical disad, I guess. Can't sleep without soil.

 

Any place you have humans that have food, you're going to have something close enough to sugar and water for the character to get by, I'd think. So this isn't really much of a disad. As you say, more of a quirk. (And I don't mean that in the GURPS sense)

 

The last is really just a special effect of being a dryad. If their tree is hidden, and not identifiable as a dryad's home, then the only real concern would be mass de-forestation. Like a logging campaign or a forest fire. But since the GM is in complete control of this, I'd say its no more dangerous to a dryad than a human's concerns about having his soul stolen, or being posessed by a demon. Again, I'd just call this a sf of being this character, and therefore not worth any points.

[Thia Halmades]

Re: questions about disads for dryad-like race

 

1. A Sylvani must spend 6 hours out of every 24 "rooted" into the soil. This is similar to the need for humans, etc. to sleep. They are humanoid in form (in fact some of them are quite comely once you get past the green skin), but the bottoms of their feet are composed of many small rootlets. During this rooting period they grow into the soil.

 

I built this as a Dependence. Any other ideas?

 

This sounds like a Dependence: Nourishing Soil to me; you may want to specify what counts as "soil" for your purposes. FREX, if one of these is caught on board a ship for three days straight, they're pretty much boned. No soil, and the Empire is surrounded by salt water.

 

2. Sylvani can't consume solid food. Instead they drink sugar water' date=' honey water, fruit juice, anything where sugar is dissolved in water. Is this even a Disad or Limitation,or just a "quirk"?[/quote']

 

Again, I have to agree that this sounds like a Dependence to me, although I'm not sure how many points it would be worth. I'd have to think about that, honestly. I'll dredge it through HDv3 on Thursday and poke around with it.

 

3. Sylvani are capable of leaving their home trees and travelling great distances. However, no matter how far away they are, they are still linked to their home tree. If their home tree is damaged, so will they be. If their home tree is burned up or cut down they will die. Obviously they will keep the location of their home tree very secret, and the Sylvani tend to live very far away from humans, in unpopulated areas.

 

What would this be? Dependence? Dependent NPC? Susceptibility?

 

Thanks for any help you can provide.

 

This actually sounds like a Physical Limitation to me; the Physical Lim is that you share damage with it. The Phys Lim is Infrequent, Greatly Impairing; now you could additionally make an argument for DNPC, much as Deklin had "farmstead" as a DNPC; especially if you're the "oldest" member of the family or some such and can get called home to stop the evil deforestation by Saruman.

 

Wait.

 

Wrong story.

[Lysando]

Re: questions about disads for dryad-like race

 

Cool, thanks for the suggestions everyone, I will ponder.

 

As far as the home tree goes, my thinking was that this was something which could become a real concern if someone discovers your "home tree". For example, if a Sylvani acquired an enemy or Hunted (Hunter?) who was somehow able to discover your home tree, you could be in deep trouble. You might be able to "snap" back to your tree and defend yourself, but...it would be problematic.

 

I like to give GMs hooks on which to hang a plot, this is one of those sorts of things.

 

As far as the need to root, I imagined that a Sylvani who was going into a dirtless area could carry a bag of dirt and maybe a box to contain it, much like a human would carry a mat, pillow and blanket to sleep on/with.

[Thia Halmades]

Re: questions about disads for dryad-like race

 

As far as the need to root' date=' I imagined that a Sylvani who was going into a dirtless area could carry a bag of dirt and maybe a box to contain it, much like a human would carry a mat, pillow and blanket to sleep on/with.[/quote']

 

Sure, but then we get into discussions of nutrients; how often would you need to replace it? Once a month? Once a week? How long will the soil support you? This isn't dissimilar to the old Tzimisce requirement, "Must sleep in dirt from home soil." Meant every Tzimisce you met had, somewhere stashed away, a coffin literally full of the stuff.

[Tonio]

Re: questions about disads for dryad-like race

 

The first two I'd do as extremely minor Phys. Lims, if at all. They're really variations on the human norm. Maybe a little less convenient?

 

The third, well, either a DNPC, if you, as the GM, decide to never kill the character by killing their tree, or some sort of Phys. Lim (like Thia mentioned) and a Social Lim (to reflect the fact that they have to keep it secret)?

[Thia Halmades]

Re: questions about disads for dryad-like race

 

The first two I'd do as extremely minor Phys. Lims, if at all. They're really variations on the human norm. Maybe a little less convenient?

 

The third, well, either a DNPC, if you, as the GM, decide to never kill the character by killing their tree, or some sort of Phys. Lim (like Thia mentioned) and a Social Lim (to reflect the fact that they have to keep it secret)?

 

Er... I am the GM. It's good to be King! Although I don't have final say over how he does it for his own purposes, I have a personal investment in seeing this get devved.

 

I like the social lim, though, that's a nice touch! I hadn't thought of that.

[MorpheousXO]

Re: questions about disads for dryad-like race

 

I kinda think the first one should be a physical lim, but here's a little deeper delving. What happens when they get attacked while "sleeping"? Can they just unroot on the spot or are they stuck in lala land until their 6 hours is up? That would affect how much of a limitation it would be worth.

 

If they actually cannot eat/gain nutrients from solid foods/non sugary stuff, then wouldn't that ALSO be a physical lim? That way you can use the normal rules for lack of food/water (and no way of having only one but not the other) instead of have a dependency (sorry if the actual rules for lack of food/dehydration DO work like a dependency, rulebook not at had at the moment).

 

I also have to agree with the home tree being a physical lim. Not sure how foci would work, what part of you are you putting the foci on, BOD? Then you don't have any health unless you hold your tree. Also, I do think you could possibly have the physical lim AND the DNPC, but only if you want the whole party to have to go back to your tree all the time because it's in danger.

 

Ok, that's my 2CP worth of advice, buy some stats with it.