Stalking the Seas of Sand

XHOSS CACTI (#14/31, #288/365) [TTHA] 

Appearance: This is a large segmented, lobe-shaped cacti with pink or purple flowers, that grows in hot arid upland areas.

Distribution: Deserts, hot barren plains and wilderness areas across Titan.

 

Effects: Although it appears edible, the flesh of this cactus is poisonous. Anyone who eats a Xhoss cacti must Test their Luck or fall asleep for 1-6 hours. The mysterious race known as Sand Stalkers (see below) extract fluid from this cacti to create the sleeping venom for their weapons. A vial of Xhoss poison can be smeared onto a bladed or pointed weapon, or even onto one's gloved hands as contact venom (Sand Stalkers are immune to the venom and can use their bare hands). Anyone wounded by such a weapon or touched by venom-coated hands must immediately Test their Luck or be rendered unconscious for 10-60 minutes. It lasts for one battle only. 

 

Cost: City 20gp, Town 26gp, Village 32gp (per vial)

 

Availability: Uncommon

 

Further Notes: As it is a cactus, Xhoss is related to other cacti examples including the Barbthorn (see The Titan Herbal, p. 21), the Green Spikeball (see The Titan Herbal, p. 38), Hurscht (see The Titan Herbal, p. 40), Spiked Flesh-Eating Kakti (see The Titan Herbal, p. 63), and the Dragon Fruit Tree (see p. XX).

SAND STALKER (#15/31, #289/365) [OOTP IV]

SKILL: 8

STAMINA: 7

ATTACKS: 1

WEAPON: Sword, Longbow or Spear

ARMOUR: Light

DAMAGE MODIFIER: +1 to the Damage Roll

HABITAT: Desert, Plains, Wilderness, Volcanic Areas

NUMBER ENCOUNTERED: 1-6 or 4-24

TYPE: Animal/Humanoid

REACTION: Unfriendly-Hostile

INTELLIGENCE: High

Since time immemorial the SAND STALKERS have trekked across the dunes, from the Badlands and the Eternal Desert of the Irritarian era, to the current continents of Allansia and its Desert of Skulls, or the Scythera Desert and other wastelands of central Khul. They are tall and thin creatures, of scrawny build and with unusually long heads, wearing scraps of leather armour and armed with swords, longbows and spears, while carrying large sacks to collect loot. Sand Stalkers have large brown eyes and long, narrow tongues which dart out of their small mouths from time to time to wipe the wind-blown sand away from their eyes. Some may call them Camel People, for that is what they overwhelmingly resemble, but never to their face!

For Sand Stalkers are mean, evil hunters, patrolling the arid deserts as bandits and robbers, trapping their victims in pit traps and challenging them, in their high-pitched yodeling voices, to the game of Death Arrow in a bargain for their survival. Death Arrow is a game whereby an arrow is fired into the distance and the victim must reach it before the Sand Stalkers. The victim may be granted a head-start of the distance they can throw a rock, if they look especially pitiful or have companions they may have to carry on their race. Winners of Death Arrow go free, losers cede all their possessions to the Sand Stalkers and are tied up and left to the sun and the ants.

Though rumoured to have magical powers, where the simple touch of their sweaty hands shrivels the brain of a Sand Stalker opponent, actually, the Sand Stalkers are masters of the use of vials of Xhoss poison, a contact venom brewed from cacti. A vial of Xhoss poison can be smeared onto a bladed or pointed weapon, or even onto one's gloved hands as contact venom (Sand Stalkers are immune to the venom and can use their bare hands). Anyone wounded by such a weapon or touched by venom-coated hands must immediately Test their Luck or be rendered unconscious for 10-60 minutes. It lasts for one battle only.   

In addition, the weapons of all Sand Stalkers are razor sharp, allowing them a +1 Damage Roll bonus. This is because grindstones maintained by the Sand Stalkers use secret processes involving various cacti essences and different types of sand and dust to sharpen their weapons to deploy the absolute maximum in a cutting edge. Sand Stalkers typically operate in small bands, but are sometimes encountered in larger communities, known as 'herds', where one Sand Stalker will be either a leader (SKILL 10 STAMINA 12 ) or a Priest of Assamarra, the God of the Desert. One such infamous leader was Q'sar Quickbolt of the Found Tombs of Arvakaten, who led from the front to ensure the primacy of his Sand Stalker marauders! Sand Stalkers are generally on good terms with Caarth and Desert Lizard Men, less so with Laupers, Gnolls and Desert Elves.

Dagger of Dervish-Killing (#16/31, #290/365) [EA:V2] (Enchanted Item) 

This appears as a throwing dagger with a bronze blade and a hilt shaped like a cat that is inlaid with jewels. They have been enchanted to slay Dervishes, who are the holy people of the Nomads of the Twin Sun Desert, many of whom follow Krsh the God of Death. If thrown at a Dervish Priest of Krsh (for it does not work against Dervishes who follow other gods), the Dagger of Dervish-Killing will hit automatically, causing 3-18 STAMINA points of damage. It has one use of this power only. Against other opponents the dagger counts as a regular Throwing Dagger, requiring a normal Missile Weapon Thrown attack, albeit one that is magical. However, once the Dervish-killing power has been used, the dagger, though now a regular weapon, is no longer an enchanted one. This is one of many enchanted trinkets often accumulated by the wandering trading race known as the Laupers (usually as protection against marauding bands of Dervish-led Twin Sun Nomads).  

85 gp