Jorus Merrill
is mek bote
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: It's a trap!
- Image Credit: Stinging Death Cactus, by Aaron Verzatt, found at https://www.artstation.com/artwork/KVzBy
- Canon: N/A
- Links: N/A
- Name: Zonju Cave Cactus
- Homeworld: Zonju V
- Other Locations: You might stumble across a Zonju Cave Cactus in caves throughout Wild Space and the Outer Rim.
- Classification: Cactus
- Average Growth Cycle: Tiny pollinators or scavengers carry pollen into burrows, caves, or large carcasses. The cactus typically grows to adult height within six months.
- Viability: The Zonju Cave Cactus thrives in dim, cool environments, preferably slightly-damp caves on arid planets. It needs a steady supply of small critters. Extreme sunlight will stunt its growth. In optimal conditions, the Cave Cactus will live for years. It is inedible.
- Description: This lumpy cactus fires tiny venomous needles and absorbs nutrients from its decomposing prey. Bioluminescent flowers and appetizing pollen lure said prey.
- Average height: 1-2 meters
- Average length: Flowers and needle range can extend 5-10 meters from the central stalk.
- Color: Green, brown, brownish-green.
- Nutritional Value: N/A
- Distinctions: Cave-dwelling saprotrophic predatory cactus.
- Strengths:
NEEDLES: The Zonju Cave Cactus expels three-centimetre needles fast and hard enough to pierce light armour (relevant resistances of Low or lower). The needles contain a paralytic venom. A few impacts will slow or numb a humanoid; repeated impacts will cause full paralysis for an hour or more; continued contact may cause blindness, fever, or death. - MULTIPLE TARGETING OPTIONS: The cactus can fire based on air disturbances, pressure on its extensive root system, contact with its flowers, etc.
[*]Weaknesses:
- LIGHTS: The Zonju Cave Cactus is highly visible in its preferred environment, and easy to avoid if you know what it is.
- FRAGILE: A few swings with a machete will make short work of the cactus - assuming you survive the needles.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
The cactus has always lurked in the desert caves of Zonju V. Though inedible, the cactus saw historical use as a guard for remote tombs. It's not uncommon to plumb the depths of a ruin - of which Zonju has many - and find a cactus lying in wait. Still, a few explorers survived, and their boots carried pollen to dank crypts across the Rim. The cactus menace grew in secret. Though collecting the venom is a deadly prospect, some hardy souls use droids to harvest and process it. The end result is a cheap homebrew anesthetic known as cactus juice, cave sap, or Zonjuice. It's popular in backwater infirmaries and tramp freighter medbays.
