Grapes of Medium Disquiet

GRAPES OF WRATH (#23/31, #297/365) [OOTP IV]

SKILL: 7

STAMINA: 8

ATTACKS: 3

WEAPON: Vines (as per Small Claw) and Acid Grapes (see below)

ARMOUR: None

DAMAGE MODIFIER: None

HABITAT: Hills, Plains, Forests

NUMBER ENCOUNTERED: 1-3

TYPE: Plant/Monster

REACTION: Neutral-Hostile

INTELLIGENCE: None

On Titan the stench of mutating Chaos springs up in the most unlikely of places, and even vintners and winemakers are not immune to its taint. One fine day, your vineyards are abundantly prospering in the seasonal sun, your rows heavy with bunches of ripe grapes. The next day, disaster! They are poisoned with Chaos, and this year's Dragon's Blood Pinot Noir has warped into the dreaded GRAPES OF WRATH! These appear as a mess of leafy grape vines, laden with fruit; roll on the following table to determine what the type of grape is:

Roll Grape Type and Colour

1 Pinot Noir: Deep purple

2 Merlot: Dark blue

3 Cabernet Sauvignon: Dark red

4 Semillon: Golden

5 Riesling: Yellow-green

6 Chardonnay: Green

Now however, the vines are creeping thorny tendrils, and as if this was not bad enough, the bunches of grapes are full of acidic goo, explosively showering nearby victims. The Grapes of Wrath are aggressive carnivorous plants and will attack anyone in the immediate vicinity with both their vines and their acidic grapes, in search of a meal. The vines cause regular Small Claw damage. Every Attack Round, roll a die; on a roll of 1, a bunch of grapes has exploded causing 2 STAMINA acidic goo damage to all combat participants (except the Grapes of Wrath, which are immune to acid damage). This acid must be wiped or cleaned off or it will continue to cause 1 STAMINA damage per Attack Round as it eats into flesh.

Grapes of Wrath can occur anywhere there is decent wine-country, from the warmer plains and hills of southern and central Allansia, and Arantis, across much of the northern Old World, and from Khul; Ximoran, the lands of the Inland Sea, and stretches of the north, around the cities of Ashkyos, Kalagar, Arion, and especially Corda (and south from there to Arkand). However, for some reason reports of these weird vine creatures are particularly prevalent on island archipelagoes, including Pangaria and the Arrowhead Isles. The Pangarians are even reputed to deliberately cultivate Grapes of Wrath to harvest their acidic grapes which are useful in various Technomancy procedures. Here, skilled gardeners, such as Silas of Cirrus, who work with the plants are called Vine Wranglers, and no doubt use plenty of Calming Potions!