One of the things that impressed me the most about Avowed was how much care was given to the flora of the Living Lands. It's often vibrant, awe-inspiring and, most important of all, gameable. Want to upgrade your gear? Go harvest some plants. Need a way to deal with large groups of enemies, but don't want to invest in magic? Well, some plants are basically grenades, molotovs or acid bombs. Oh, and you know the cool looking ruins you've spotted on the horizon? They're probably overgrown by giant roots, or if you're lucky, something even cooler!
The way Obsidian managed to seamlessly integrate flora into so many aspects of Avowed made me think of how some of my favourite fantasy writers usually pay a lot of attention to the flora of their own worlds, and how important those details are to making an immersive setting.
In my experience, however, most GMs overlook this aspect of world building completely, myself included. Sure, some of us pay lip service to it, dropping a few references to coniferous trees, berries and stuff like that when prompted by the players, but that's usually as far as it goes.
And honestly? That's completely fine by me. We're just nerds facilitating a game, we can't all be expected to be master world builders who spend hours and hours researching what sort of flora would make the most sense for each region of our settings. Simply put, this is the type of effort that rarely pays off, like developing intricate economies for every city or kingdom.
Still, the reason behind my enthusiasm for Avowed's flora wasn't related to realism or research at all, but how fantastic and unique it felt. And that, my friends, is much more achievable for us lowly GMs. Achievable and gameable.
TABLES ARE ALWAYS THE ANSWER
Well, maybe not always, but that's what I usually default to whenever I want to generate interesting things fast. I quickly settled into six different categories:
• Appearance: Usually the first thing the PCs will notice about a plant, and surprisingly useful for setting the mood, too. Drop some fleshy, writhing plants in the woods and your players are probably going to be immediately wary of the area.
• Biome: The sort of region your weird plants are located in. Try generating at least a couple of plants for each major area in your setting, but don't be afraid of reusing a plant in multiple regions.
• Interactions: Plants don't exist in a vacuum. Defining a few key ways they interact with their environment and the fauna that inhabits it is essential (and a lot of fun, too!).
• Smell: Never underestimate the impact of describing a
smell. Our olfactory memory is unreasonably powerful, and you should
wield it responsibly.
• Useful properties: I did mention this would be gameable, right?
• Rarity: While most of the categories above are player-facing, this one is more relevant to GMs. You can outright tell your players how rare or common a plant is, but isn't it more interesting to let them work for that knowledge?
Now that we've established what each table will explore, let's dig in!
| Appearance | Biome | Interactions |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Glowing tendrils | 1. Rainforest | 1. Calms nearby creatures |
| 2. Umbrella-like leaves | 2. Desert | 2. Makes observers hallucinate |
| 3. Gem-like flowers | 3. Tundra | 3. Attracts and feeds wildlife (prey) |
| 4. Thorny, enormous vines | 4. Swamp | 4. Burrows when it rains |
| 5. Fuzzy, humming moss | 5. Mountains | 5. Shrieks when approached |
| 6. Spiral petals | 6. Grasslands | 6. Protected by predators |
| 7. Color-changing fronds | 7. Volcanic | 7. Attracts lightning |
| 8. Knotted roots | 8. Coastal | 8. Unroots itself and migrates |
| 9. Maw-like blossoms | 9. Swamps | 9. Trips travelers |
| 10. Skin-mimicking bark | 10. Rocky hills | 10. Changes color near magic |
| 11. Feather-like leaves | 11. Fjords | 11. Hosts friendly insects |
| 12. Stained glass bark | 12. Lakes | 12. Attracts fairies |
| 13. Skeleton-like branch | 13. Graveyards | 13. Worshipped by undead |
| 14. Sparkling stems | 14. Savannas | 14. Boosts plant growth |
| 15. Fur-like shrubs | 15. Prairies | 15. Houses prey animals |
| 16. Covered in red sap | 16. Riverlands | 16. Contaminates water |
| 17. Crescent moon flowers | 17. Islands | 17. Darkens surroundings |
| 18. Iridescent spores | 18. Wastelands | 18. Taints the soil |
| 19. Bioluminescent patterns | 19. Overgrown ruins | 19. Repairs structures |
| 20. Pulsing, organic growths | 20. Underground | 20. Infested with spiders |
| Smells | Properties | Rarity |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Rotting meat | 1. Healing salve | 1. Common |
| 2. Sweet honey | 2. Disinfectant | 2. Uncommon |
| 3. Fresh rain | 3. Stamina potion | 3. Rare |
| 4. Burnt sugar | 4. Strong adhesive | 4. Very Rare |
| 5. Spiced wine | 5. Powerful antidote | 5. Legendary |
| 6. Crushed metal | 6. Alchemical marvel | 6. Seasonal |
| 7. Bone dust | 7. Armor-like bark | 7. Endangered |
| 8. Vanilla | 8. Highly nutritious | 8. Abundant |
| 9. Cinnamon | 9. Fire-starting oil | 9. Cultivated |
| 10. Wet fur | 10. Insect repellent | 10. Regional |
| 11. Lavender | 11. Poison enhancer | 11. Corrupted |
| 12. Dragon's breath | 12. Dye-making flowers | 12. Ancient |
| 13. Sea salt | 13. Paralyzing sap | 13. Interdimensional |
| 14. Goblin sweat | 14. Fermented alcohol | 14. Sentient |
| 15. Blood | 15. Magic enhancer | 15. Transient |
| 16. Sulphur | 16. Demon bait | 16. Infernal |
| 17. Arcane fire | 17. Charming fragrance | 17. Artificial |
| 18. Fairy dust | 18. Rust removal | 18. Sacred |
| 19. Wet stone | 19. Highly explosive | 19. Cursed |
| 20. Phoenix feathers | 20. Water purifier | 20. Mythical |
WEIRD GREEN WONDERS
Yeah, that should do it. I'm excited to start making some truly bizarre plants and dropping them in my campaigns, and if y'all end up doing the same, I'd love to know how it goes!
