where life is lost, death remains.
1. Vulturoot (“Carrion Tap”)
Type: Necro-parasitic root network
Timeline of Growth: 3 days from infection to bloom; dies in 8 hours post-bloom
Required Host: Corpse no more than 24 hours dead
Habitat Trigger: Grows only in extreme necrotic fields or blighted zones like the BURN
Description:
A wiry, fibrous root mass with oily black tendrils that burst from the mouth, eye sockets, or open wounds of fresh corpses. The plant extrudes a bloom like a gnashing beak — a brittle, chitinous flower with a pale, dead tongue. The Vulturoot siphons not only moisture, but soul echoes from the dead, briefly animating nearby small scavengers or insects as spectral husks.
Alchemical Uses:
- Soul Salts: The dried root can be ground into Vulturoot Dust, a necrotic reagent used to brew soul-detection tinctures or temporary speak with dead elixirs.
- Hexbinder’s Lacquer: Steeping the bloom in quicksilver creates a contact poison that causes uncontrollable visions of the death of the last creature slain by the weapon it coats (Will save DC 16 or be shaken for 1d4 rounds).
2. Ashmorrow Shrike
Type: Thorned bush-like fungal parasite
Timeline of Growth: 10 days to fruit; 1 day to rot completely afterward
Required Host: Mummified corpse or desiccated skeleton with marrow traces
Habitat Trigger: Grows only on bones interred in ancient battlefields, crypts, or places of cursed silence
Description:
A rigid, bone-white plant with blade-like leaves and curved thorns resembling broken ribs. It pierces exposed bone and replaces marrow with its own spongy core. It fruits a single obsidian-black berry the size of an eyeball that gleams with oily sheen and faintly emits whispers.
Alchemical Uses:
- Shrikeberry Poison: Ingested poison (Fort DC 18); causes hallucinations of torment and shadowy voices for 1d4 hours (1 Wis damage per hour).
- Memory Motes: If carefully dried and prepared, the berry can be used in memory-extraction rituals or as a catalyst for potions that allow dream-walking or necrotic scrying.
3. Embermoss of the Hollow Wake
Type: Luminescent moss with necrotic filaments
Timeline of Growth: Appears 36 hours after corpse death; fully burns out in 6 hours
Required Host: Mass grave or a corpse struck by fire or high trauma
Habitat Trigger: Requires a mix of dust from a thousand-year-old corpse and freshly spilled blood
Description:
This moss appears like smoldering gray ash scattered over the chest or face of a corpse. It glows from within with a dull, ember-like pulsing light, especially at night. It feeds on the residual heat and latent pain in the body, blooming only when the death was agonizing.
Alchemical Uses:
- Pain-Wine Elixir: When distilled into oil, it becomes a numbing anesthetic mixed with hallucinogens. Often used by pain cults and surgeons alike (+4 to saves vs. pain effects, but -2 to initiative and Will saves for 1 hour).
- Deadlight Fumes: When burned, the moss emits a faintly glowing smoke that reveals invisible or incorporeal undead for 1 round per ounce of moss.
Environmental Notes on the BURN:
- The BURN’s necrotic winds scour everything not hidden in corpse-shadow. Any plant must sprout, bloom, and perish quickly — leaving only spores or trace reagents behind.
- Soil is dust and bone-meal, but high in necrotic energy. Water is absent, but blood and bodily fluids offer short-lived moisture.
- The dead are the only resource, with their memories, marrow, and sorrow harvested by opportunistic flora.
1. Vulturoot (“Carrion Tap”)
Harvesting:
- DC 18 Heal or Survival check to identify a viable corpse (within 24 hours).
- DC 20 Knowledge (Nature or Religion) to recognize mature root growth.
- DC 22 Profession (Herbalist) or DC 25 Alchemy to safely extract bloom without rupturing soul-filaments.
Crafting (Alchemy):
- Soul Salts Tincture: DC 25, 1 day brew time. Requires 1 oz of dried Vulturoot and silver dust (50 gp).
- Hexbinder’s Lacquer: DC 28, 2-day brew, requires alchemist’s lab and 1 intact bloom. Application coats 1 weapon for 1 hour.
Mutation Effects Table (d6):
| Roll | Effect |
| 1 | Tincture becomes unstable: emits 1d3 wailing spirits (use howling spirit swarm, CR 2) when opened. |
| 2 | Causes user to relive random death from corpse’s past – Fort DC 20 or 1d4 Wis damage. |
| 3–4 | Minor misfire: duration halved or diluted (GM discretion). |
| 5 | Extra potency (+2 save DC). |
| 6 | Double yield or bonus effect: adds deathwatch effect for 10 minutes. |
Value:
- Raw root (per oz): 25 gp
- Tincture (Soul Salts): 150 gp
- Lacquer: 300 gp per dose
2. Ashmorrow Shrike
Harvesting:
- DC 22 Heal or Search to locate viable shrike (must be on a bone with marrow).
- DC 24 Alchemy or Profession (Poisoner) to extract berry without releasing spore-thorns.
Crafting (Alchemy):
- Shrikeberry Poison (Ingested): DC 26, 2 days, requires preserved berry and nightshade distillate (20 gp).
- Memory Motes (Dreamwalker Ink): DC 30, 3 days, only in midnight or using candle of black flame. Grants +2 to dream or scrying DCs.
Mutation Effects Table (d4):
| Roll | Effect |
| 1 | Poison becomes virulent: DC increases by +4, but user takes 1d4 Cha drain on contact. |
| 2 | Motes leak memories: caster suffers false visions for 1d4 rounds after using. |
| 3 | Enhanced clarity: +1 caster level to memory-reading spells for 1 hour. |
| 4 | Berry burns cold – add cold subtype to any poison crafted (1d4 frost damage). |
Value:
- Shrikeberry (raw): 100 gp
- Processed poison: 400 gp
- Memory Motes: 600 gp (sought by necromancer cults)
3. Embermoss of the Hollow Wake
Harvesting:
- DC 20 Spot or Knowledge (Arcana) to identify live moss within corpse ash
- DC 25 Alchemy or DC 22 Survival to collect glowing threads before burnout (must act fast — 6-hour window)
Crafting (Alchemy):
- Pain-Wine Elixir (Anesthetic & Vision Brew): DC 24, 1-day brew, requires ether solution and dreamleech blood.
- Deadlight Fumes (Inhalant): DC 27, 2 days. Moss must be burned in black-glass brazier.
Mutation Effects Table (d6):
| Roll | Effect |
| 1 | Smoke calls shadelings (1d3 undead shadows, hostile). |
| 2 | Inversion: reveals living beings through walls, not undead. |
| 3–4 | Delayed effect: fumes kick in after 1d4 minutes. |
| 5 | Enhanced potency: reveals undead with +10 ft radius and 1 round/oz extra. |
| 6 | Radiant backlash: any undead near fumes take 1d4 radiant damage per round. |
Value:
- Raw moss (per corpse): 75 gp
- Pain-Wine Elixir: 200 gp
- Deadlight Fumes: 350 gp per incense dose
Shermans fantasy world 