Throughout the Underland flows Vril, a form of liquid magic. This fluid has, over the years transformed many smaller animals in to large ones, and large animals into dangerous ones, but what happened over that period of time to the plants.
In Generally, nothing, but where a change did occur, it was dramatic to say the least. The plants that changed the most used their root system to attach themselves to an animal's circulatory system and feed off that instead of gaining nutrients from the ground.
After a time, people began to take notice of these new parasitic plants and saw uses for them, thus began the cultivation of the plant symbiotes. The symbiotes of the Underland are the results of millennia of directed propagation by people who use the symbiotes the most.
The symbiotes can bond onto any creature as long as it has blood, regardless of whether the creature is M.D.C. or S.D.C. The roots burrow their way into the skin and make themselves part of the host's veins, as a result, the host loses of some hit points from their permanent hit point base for as long as the symbiote is attached, the exact amount varies from symbiote to symbiote. They feed off their host's blood, adapting themselves to any blood type (iron base, copper base or even acidic base) as long as it's free flowing. Despite the fantastic nature of these symbiotes, they are still plants, and can be affected by spells that affect plants. The symbiotes are considered as supernatural plants for the determining of any effect a spell might have. If the spell can not affect supernatural plants, it can not affect a plant symbiote. Furthermore, they receive an additional +3 to their saving roll.
A note about the damage the symbiotes inflict, they normally do M.D.C. damage but when attacking an S.D.C. creature they automatically adjust them selves accordingly. The symbiotes goal is to feed off living creatures and have the ability to detect whether or not the target is an M.D.C. or S.D.C. being. They do this by noting that the first cut of an attack is penetrating too far and thus retract many of the barbs that do the damage back into the stem, resulting in an S.D.C. attack. Please note that the plant cannot tell the difference between M.D.C. armour and M.D.C. skin so they can be used to attack armoured vehicles and personal, but once past this armour the damage is adjusted instantly.
Bark skin is a single plant that covers a area about 2" X 2" square anywhere on the body where there is skin even if it is covered by hair. The most unusual feature of Bark skin is that when two or more are touching each other they merge to become one plant, like any other of the Underland symbiotes. Bark skin looks and feels exactly like very rough bark, its colour is a very dark brown with various hues of green and red spread throughout.
Host type: Any creature with a circulatory system.
Host Environment: The skin - feeds off the hosts' blood.
Hit Points: A Mega-damage plant with between 5 and 50 M.D.C.
Average Life Span: Equal to its hosts.
Alignment: Not applicable.
Powers: The main thing that Bark skin offers is protection. Each symbiote offers 5 M.D.C.
but can be layered to a maximum of 50 M.D.C., any attempt to layer more than 50 M.D.C. will cause
the new Bark skin seedling not to take root and die wasting the hosts credits. Bark skin also
regenerates it M.D.C. at a rate of 5 M.D.C. an hour, this regeneration doubles if immersed in a
Vril river. In the first 10 minutes of planting Bark skin, it is soft and can hold an impression,
after that the markings stay and will return even if the plant is almost destroyed (1 M.D.C. left).
Many people use this ability of Bark Skin to place their symbol or to mark out places for jewels
to be fixed in or even etch out a false muscular abdomen. While others are more practical by
holding weapons against it to mark out a holster or embed studs into it for pouches and pockets.
Side Effects: Host loses 1 hit point per M.D.C. per Bark skin plant from his maximum while
the symbiote is attached. The hit point loss is calculated at the maximum M.D.C. coverage the
host has. Even if the host has his entire body covered by 5 M.D.C. Bark skin and only a small
area has been layered to 20 M.D.C. the cost is 20 hit points. The hit point loss is cumulative
for each Bark skin, that is to say that if a host has both arms covered with Bark skin for
50 M.D.C. but with no connection between the two will have a cost of 100 hit points. But, if
there is a connection between the two, even if it is only a 5 M.D.C. band across the shoulders,
the cost would be 50 hit points. If the Bark skin is removed, the host will regain the hit point
he had lost to the symbiote.
Bark skin, whilst being very tough, is quite flexible and so no P.P. loss is incurred. The only
stat loss is to P.B. if the Bark skin is on a visible and uncovered place (face and legs for
example). If the entire face is covered, the P.B. loss is -10, each leg or arm at -5 and the
torso and groin area at -5 (most of the torso is covered normally hence the lower P.B. loss).
A host with the torso or groin area covered can find it difficult to find clothes that fit and
physical intimacy virtually impossible (watch out for splinters people). Palm spikes cannot
grow on a palm which has Bark skin on it, but Talon thorns and blood whip can. Bark skin
cannot grow over any symbiote that exists on the outside of the body, including those from
Rifts Atlantis and Wormwood.
Means of Removal: Surgery is the only viable method of removal. After the surgery the
area where the Bark skin covered will be extremely sensitive for at least one month. If Bark
skin covered the whole body the host will not be able to move for at least six weeks.
Cost & Rarity: 10,000 credits per 2" X 2" seedling and Rare.
Resurrection seed is the most valuable symbiote in the entire Underland. It looks very much like an acorn but its colour is a very dark blood red. The Resurrection seed is placed on the abdomen and covered with a small amount of Vril. From there the seed slowly sinks into the body and takes root inside, there is no mark on the body or any where to indicated that the host carries within him a Resurrection seed.
Host type: Any creature with a circulatory system.
Host Environment: The inside of the body cavity, not a part of any of the organs - feeds off the hosts blood.
Hit Points: N/A, can not be targeted on its own.
Average Life Span: Equal to its hosts.
Alignment: Not applicable.
Powers: Resurrection seed's power is as the name implies, it will resurrect the host,
the only thing that will stop the resurrection is the total destruction of the host by
disintegration. Upon the death of the host the seed will take root in the ground and start
to regrow the entire body, if the host had been missing an arm before his death, the new
body will have it. The soul of the new body is that of the host, the Resurrection seed
regrows the body and then brings the soul back to join with its new body.
The process takes about three weeks once the Resurrection seed is in the ground, after which the earth will open up and the host will be able to crawl out, without any of his previous body equipment. If the body was not totally destroyed; i.e. killed by poison, gunshot wounds or by a psychic attack. The regrowth time is only two weeks and the new body is grow inside the old one, once this time is over the host removes the old skin to carry on with a new life. Any other symbiotes the host may have had will not be regrown, even the Resurrection seed no longer exists. The new body is exactly like the old one minus any injuries, for example; missing arms, scars, diseases or deformities not inherit to the body. In fact, the symbiote regrows the body exactly as the host's DNA dictates it should be. When the regrowth time has ended the host will then become aware of his surroundings and will then be able to carry on with his new lease on life. The host will be fully rested, all hit points, S.D.C. or M.D.C., I.S.P. and P.P.E. will be at maximum.
Remember the new body has none of the other symbiotes, and will not feel the need for food or water nor will he be affected by adverse weather conditions for three days, after that everything will effect the body as normal. The Resurrection seed will not be triggered until its host is dead and the seed has found some viable area to take root. This symbiote can not be dissolved by any fluid, so even if the body had been eaten and digested, the seed will wait until it has reached the ground. Either by the death of the creature or by any other normal biological functions which take place. The Resurrection seed can even survive deep space and will wait until it has drifted to some planet on which to sprout and give new life. This assumes that the original body was totally destroyed (totally destroyed refers to remains which are no longer recognisable for example those charred skeletal remains left behind by most dragons). The new body will still have any curse that the old body had and those who have tattoo magic will find them reappearing slowly over a period of between one and two weeks. Extra bio limbs will not be on the new body nor obviously cybernetic ones, neither will any non-magical markings.
Side Effects: Host loses 5 hit points from his maximum while the Resurrection seed
is attached. The Resurrection seed can not be removed at all. The Resurrection seed can not be
used in energy beings and those creatures that exits in multi-dimensional (Splugorths for
example). Those who have also had their torso rebuilt completely can not carry a Resurrection
seed, although those with cybernetic limbs can. The only other real side effect is that of time
loss. The host does not know how much time he has lost to death. Many changes could have taken
place in the meantime, (there is a story of one individual who was gone for over one hundred
years, the creature that ate him was eaten as well which in turn was eaten and so on and so on).
Means of Removal: Impossible. Removal means death, which triggers its powers.
Cost & Rarity: 50 million credits and Rare.
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