A Druid’s Pharmacopoeia

Numbneedles

Description

Numbneedle bushes are often used to guard druid groves, and so they were created with the intent that they be difficult to distinguish from other thorny bushes. However, they have managed to escape the bounds of the druid groves, and are now found scattered throughout the forests.

The thorns of these bushes have a powerful anaesthetic effect on any limb they scratch. It is not uncommon to find intruders lying beside the thick brush, their limbs numb and useless for hours. A far more benevolent fate than normally given to unwelcome intruders.

Effect

Properly and most carefully harvested, numbneedle thorns can be used to anesthetize limbs prior to major surgery or amputation. Usage is simple: the numbneedle thorn is jabbed into the skin near the wound, which removes all feeling from the surrounding area for up to two or three hours. The process may be repeated at any time without harm, but the effects do not accumulate: the effect lasts only for the few hours since the most recent application.

Once harvested, numbneedles quickly dry and become brittle, remaining effective for only 2 to 3 days.

Unfortunately for the more militant members of my order, numbneedle thorns are not particularly aerodynamic, nor are they very sturdy. Attempts to use them as blowgun darts or other projectile weapons have proven frustratingly futile. Attempts to prepare arrow venoms from the thorns have also proven futile.

In addition to their use within surgery, there have been reports that, among my lesser civilized brethren, numbneedles are used to confine prisoners and to ensure coöperation in the preparation of live sacrifices.

[Numbneedles anaesthetize limbs, affecting an area approximately 6″ in diameter. It affects both surface feeling and underlying musculature.

Any attempt to harvest numbneedles requires a Wilderness Lore check at DC 25 to locate and identify them, and a Reflex check at DC 20 to harvest them without getting scratched. Numbneedles seem to have an uncanny ability to locate and scratch unprotected flesh. The thorns are tough enough to piece soft or thin leather, and anything more protective, such as a metallic gauntlet, will prove to be too restrictive to harvest them correctly.

Numbneedles require a Healing check at DC 10 to use correctly. Failure indicates a failure to affect the intended area of effect. Fresh numbneedles take one round to take effect; otherwise, they take 1d3 rounds.

Price: 10 gp per needle. Availability: scarce.]

Share
The short URL of the present article is: http://www.terryobrien.me/rBsVu

Page 4 of 7
First | Prev | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Next | Last
View All