Roleplayer #22, November 1990
Bestiary: The Yrl- Tree
An Enlightening Encounter
by Scott Maykrantz
Yrl-Trees, also known as World Trees, are incredibly old, solitary plants.
No one has yet discovered more than one Yrl-Tree on a single planet, nor
have any Yrl-Trees smaller than 500 feet tall been found. No one knows how
Yrl-Trees are born. Very, very few people have ever encountered an Yrl-Tree;
the experience is said to be of an almost religious quality.
ST: n/a Move/Dodge: -/- Size: 75 (1,000' tall)
DX: n/a PD/DR: 7/45 Weight: Huge
IQ: 20-35 Damage: - Origin: SF
HT: 21/400 Reach: - Habitat: Forest
Each Yrl-Tree is incredibly intelligent, but its thought pattern is radically
different from that of humans, or any kind of animal life. Yrl-Trees "think"
slowly and fully, with a perception of the universe much like that
of a Zen master who has reached the highest level of consciousness. An Yrl-Tree
may be located at the center of a village of primitives, who worship and
protect it. In turn, the Tree will use its powers to protect the primitives.
Yrl-Trees need rich soil, sunshine and water like normal plants. They do
not have mouths, faces, or brains, and cannot move their limbs or walk on
their roots. An Yrl-Tree looks like nothing more than an unbelievably huge,
old tree. Each Yrl-Tree can live as long as the planet on which it makes
its home.
Each Yrl-Tree is highly telepathic. Each has Telepathy Power 23 (see pp.
B 165-171, and pp. 46-49 of GURPS
Supers) and the following telepathic skills: Emotion Sense,
Illusion, Mental Blow, Psi Sense, Suggest, Sleep, Telereceive, Telesend,
Telescan. All skill levels are equal to the Yrl-Tree's IQ.
The Yrl-Tree can use its telepathic ability to protect itself. Illusions,
Mental Blows, Suggestions and Sleep can persuade or deter characters or
animals that can damage an Yrl-Tree.
But the Yrl-Tree also uses its telepathic abilities to contact and enlighten
other intelligent beings. When intelligent creatures approach, the plant
will scan their minds and get an idea of the basic nature of each individual.
This lets the Yrl-Tree know if the visitors intend to do it harm or if they
come in peace. If they are violent or may cause harm to the Yrl-Tree, it
will try to protect itself using its telepathic abilities. Or, if it detects
the intruders before they see it, it will hide by creating an Illusion that
it is not there.
If the visitors do not intend to harm the Yrl-Tree, it may decide to telepathically
contact them, initiating a mind-to-mind conversation. Because of the "higher"
thought processes of the Yrl-Tree, anyone with an IQ less than 21 will be
mentally stunned during this telepathic contact. The Yrl-Tree will
ask the visitors about themselves; it will not say anything about itself
except "I am the Yrl-Tree."
The Yrl-Tree then tells them about the planet they are on, giving them some
helpful information. For example, it may tell them where to find a place
they are searching for, or it may tell them about dangerous people or animals
nearby. The visitor will sense, through the telepathy, that the Yrl-Tree
has great knowledge, much more than it is willing to tell them.
If they ask for more information or harm the Yrl-Tree, it will break the
contact and then use its telepathic abilities to send them away. If they
thank the Yrl-Tree for the information but do not ask anything of it, it
will enlighten them.
Enlightenment from the Yrl-Tree will give the enlightened character some
insight into himself and the world around him. This enlightenment is a sort
of awakening of the inner senses, allowing the character to see his life
a little differently and to tap into special, previously unknown reserves
in the soul.
The game effect is this: each player, after his character is enlightened
by the Yrl-Tree, has 20 character points which can be used to buy off a
mental disadvantage or to buy a new mental (or mind-related) advantage.
The player cannot spend the points on more than one advantage or disadvantage.
For example, someone suffering from an Addiction may find himself able to
control his urges as a result of being enlightened -- he buys off an Addiction
worth 20 (or less) points. Or perhaps one of the characters establishes
a mind-body link as a result of the enlightenment, allowing him to make
better use of his senses -- he gains 4 levels of Alertness. The most common
use of the points is to buy two levels of the Telepathy Power. If the player
cannot decide how to spend the points, the GM can let the character "discover"
some new abilities later.
Each Yrl-Tree can sense if a visitor has made contact with another Yrl-Tree
in the past; if so, the Yrl-Tree will not enlighten them again. However,
it would be very unlikely for anyone to meet more than one Yrl-Tree in a
lifetime.
Of course, giving each character 20 free points is not recommended for every
game session! Keep in mind that an encounter with an Yrl-Tree is a rare,
highly significant event in a person's life, and does not always result
in enlightenment.
("Yrl" is pronounced "eer-ull," beginning with the
same sound as "eerie." This article was inspired by Viking folklore.)
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