Archives of Nethys

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Infinite Worlds / Plains

Plains Toolbox

Source Galaxy Exploration Manual pg. 78
See Biome Subsections on page 46 for advice on how to use the following tables.

Plains Inhabitants

D%SapientThreat
1–4AnaciteApari
5–8Angel, barachiusAssembly ooze
9–12Cerebric fungusBloodbrother
13–16CorpsefolkDemon, pluprex
17–20Dragon, blueDinosaur
21–24Dragon, copperElemental, air
25–28EmbriFlayer leech
29–32GhoranGolem, nanotech
33–36Giant, moonHaeshi-shaa
37–40Giant, stoneHashukayak
41–44Haeshi-shaaHerd animal, plains
45–48IzalguunHesper
49–52MaraquoiJubsnuth
53–56NuarKhefak
57–60OsharuLiving apocalypse
61–64PahtraMagmin
65–68QuorluMoonflower
69–72RyphorianNyssholora
73–76ScyphozoanPredator, plains
77–80SpathinaeRobot, assassin
81–84RaxiliteRobot, siege
85–88TroxScavenger slime
89–92VerthaniValnarum
93–96VlakaVelstrac, anchorite
97–100WitchwyrdVoid palm


Plains Adventure Hooks

D20Adventure Hook
1 Local predators have evolved to cope with the thick grasses by developing highly attuned psychic senses that lead them to prey. A recently formed settlement of telepathic sapient creatures, unaware of the threat, has become a smorgasbord for the dangerous creatures.
2 An entire settlement’s populace is convinced that a rival settlement is involved in the recent and unexplained disappearance of dozens of domesticated herd animals while they were grazing on a nearby plain.
3 Unusual weather conditions combined with a quirk of life cycle have given rise to vast clouds of local insects. Trillions of hungry swarms sweep the plains, consuming all in their path—vehicle hulls and building materials included.
4 Every few years, the standing monoliths that dot the plains shift positions. No one quite knows why or how, but anyone who studies the problem too closely develops the affliction of the eyes that locals call “spire sickness.”
5 Capacitor trees gather static electricity in highly efficient organic batteries and then eventually explode, leveling the surrounding area and spreading their seeds far and wide. Recently, someone or something has been provoking these plants into exploding prematurely, causing widespread damage to the ecosystem.
6 Local tornadoes are combining with the razor-sharp amnion shards of local carrion-eaters to turn an already-dangerous weather phenomenon into a destructive force that can shred starship armor easily.
7 A recently discovered patch of leathery, waving grass was the site of a massive sinkhole that swallowed an entire vehicle— except this sinkhole has teeth, digestive juices, and internal parasites the size of dogs.
8 Void dragons have used these plains as ritual burial sites for eons, and mammoth skeletons dot the expanse. Dragon bones and funerary objects fetch a high price for anyone bold enough to offend the draconic hierophants.
9 Decades ago, unknown entities manipulated a chalk flat, cutting grass and scraping away the topsoil to form a desperate message. The incongruous emergency cypher is visible only from high altitude, and for that reason has only recently been discovered.
10 The sound of wind whistling through gnarled graytrees has long inspired local music. Recent research has shown that so-called graysong contains meaning-bearing patterns. Are the trees aware of their messages, or did someone engineer them?
11 A rare cyclical drought has revealed the outlines of an ancient city not detailed in any known records. Closer investigation reveals ruins deep beneath the earth.
12 The Aggregate Throne, an irregular rock formation that towers over the surrounding veldt, is the subject of numerous improbable local legends. The recent discovery of technological relics suspended in its inner layers shows some of these legends might be true.
13 Travelers to a mysterious section of a nearby windswept plain report that companions vanish in front of their eyes, even though there’s nothing but flat grassland in every direction.
14 Curious lights manifesting above a community resemble a distress call signature detectable many miles away. When nearby rescuers arrive, the town is abandoned, the soil blasted, and the plant life withered in odd patterns.
15 Nearby hydrocarbon fields provide an exceedingly lucrative resource, one that is harvested despite protests from locals and the sentient environment. Several opposing factions are planning decisive action and enlisting outside aid.
16 The farms and ranches of the region provide food for countless communities, but their production has ground to a halt after a recent campaign of sabotage. The perpetrator’s manifesto is about to become public.
17 The occasional trees that dot a local steppe share an immense root system. Their pollen has numerous medical uses but causes dangerous hallucinations in concentrated doses. A pollen-launch season, unprecedented in magnitude, is about to begin and a complacent populace is woefully unprepared.
18 Implausibly titanic sauropods amble slowly across the plains. Their physiology violates several laws of physics and mystical theory, attracting many researchers and trophy hunters.
19 A swath of verdant fields is unusually fecund and adapted to a sapient civilization: all the grasses bear large grains, the grazing creatures are well-fed and docile, and scattered plant life bears succulent fruits. However, there is no evidence of sapient life anywhere nearby.
20 Every cycle, the plains flood with several feet of water as rivers overflow their banks. Countless aquatic animals take the opportunity to wake from hibernation and breed, including an aggressive species of venom-spitting reptiles.