* Stone Heart (rare) - Superficially, this resembles a normal piece of stone carved into the shape of an anatomical human heart. When the heart of a deceased human is replaced with this, and the body has not decayed too badly, it will begin to move again, as though animated by some dark magic. The risen body can follow simple instructions, but does not retain the personality or memories from its life, and cannot speak.
* Vampiric Desire - A dagger that can steal the lifespan of a victim, transferring it to the wielder. Extended usage has diminishing returns, but it's possible to live for centuries using this method.
Special: This creature can attack four times during it's turn.
Description: A mass of various flying insects, most likely disturbed by a climber's activity or some other passing creature. Swatting it away is enough to make it disperse.
## Devilfish
Health: 10
Difficulty: 8
Attacks: None
Special: None
Description: A harmless, but delicious source of meat found largely in the waterways of the first two tiers. There are old tales of Devilfish climbing vertically up the Gambler's Bluff; these are usually dismissed as a metaphor of some kind, but there is a confirmed population living in the Mycelium Jungles.
## Knee Weasel
Health: 6
Difficulty: 6
Attacks: Bite (1d6)
Special: The difficulty of this creature is increased by 2 if there is at least one other allied Knee Weasel nearby.
Description: A variety of black grass-dwelling weasel. On their own, they pose little threat, but they normally travel in large family packs, and can sometimes overwhelm climbers who get too close to their territory. Found mainly in the dense tree clusters of the first and second tiers, they're known for attacking humans by targeting their legs and knees, causing the target to fall to the ground, and swarming them with bites.
## Siphon Colony
Health: 50
Difficulty: 15
Attacks: 4x Tendril Whips (1d10), 4x Spore Shots (2d6), Body Slam (1d12), Static Discharge (2d12)
Special: When attacking, the Siphon Colony may only use one listed attack, with the multiplier indicating the number of times it uses that attack. If a spore shot attack hits a target, the residual spore material causes a burning sting, dealing 1 damage over the next two turns.
Description: Siphon Colonies are born from many small eggs. Soon after hatching, they clump together and fuse into one large mass, and remain this way for the rest of their lives. They are almost exclusively seen within the Mycelium Jungles, and are not naturally aggressive. The nature of each colony depends largely on what kinds of, and how many of, the eggs contributed to the mass. Some individual components have developed into offensive or defensive weapons, while others developed to consume nutrients, and process it before passing it along to the rest of the colony via internal vein-like structures.
**Developer's Note**: This is very strong - probably too strong. But as a starting point, it's fine. This is actually inspired by a kid's idea, where a D&D beholder is formed from multiple "eggs", each of which having a mind of it's own, and contributing a different power to the creature as a whole. I knew about Siphonophores from nature, and even added a creature called a "Siphon" to a previous game, but this one is very much it's own thing.
...I definitely need a ranged attack system now - the spore shots don't work properly without one.
...Should I add elemental damage, like lighting?? This discharge should only be possible once, I think.
..."brain" components could be interesting - they form the minds of conscious colonies.
| Unearth the Past | - | You have some understanding of the peoples and civilizations that proceeded you up the mountain. After rolling for excavation, you may spend a number of obsession points up to your level in this skill to boost the die roll. |
:question: **TODO:** Fill out excavation mechanic, and potentially revise "unearth the past"
| Name | Prerequisites | Effect |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Rope Up | - | To prevent a catastrophic end while climbing, you may tie several people together in sequence via a rope. While ascending, if any one person fails their roll, any other characters who are roped to that person may lower their result by up to their level in this skill. If they do, the failed roll is increased by each point that is lowered, until it becomes a success (if a success can't be obtained this way, it is still considered a failure). |
:question: **TODO:** Fill out ascension mechanic, and potentially revise "rope up"
Some skills may refer to a "Retaliation Attack", which is preformed in response to some event. Retaliations themselves cannot be responded to.
| Name | Prerequisites | Effect |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Near Miss Retaliation | - | Your trained reflexes allow you to respond to a failed hit attempt with an attack of your own. When a hit roll against you fails, if the difference between the hit result and the target value is less than or equal to your levels in this skill, you may immediately make a retaliation attack against the attacker, if able. |
:question: **TODO:** simple Ranged weapon - rock? A throwing skill?
:question: **TODO:** Pickaxe needs digging bonus, pitons need a climbing bonus
