Discussion Brainstorming Carnivorous Plants in Lustria or Fanciful Seraphon Dominated Realms

[Scalenex]

Carnivorous plants are mentioned a fair bit in both official and unofficial fluff but it is rarely fleshed out a lot.

Here is a video link with factoids about carnivorous plants and absolutely no poorly bleeped out swear words or crude bathroom humor.

Real carnivorous plants only eat very small things but Lustria had the danger level of the flora and fauna magically enhanced. The various realms of the Age of Sigmar also are prone to have over the top magically empowered dangers.

I am having a very hard time picturing how a plant would be able to eat a human or a skink without wrecking my suspension for disbelief.

So I'm asking for brainstorming assistance to creating interesting carnivorous plants for inclusion in fluff pieces.

 

[Nazqua]

due to the sheer size and amount of insects, I think closing and trapping mechanisms would have to be very strong. I think the plants would mostly resemble pitcher plants in high treetops laced with nectar.

 

[Nazqua]

I also believe dew drop plants would be one of the more common types, such as draping vines covered in these, that ensnare large animals coming past and coil it up before slowly receding upwards into the tree canopy. Or massive collections near water holes and bogs that ensnare anything swimming or drinking using the water to drown the prey.

Another Idea is plants that produce an almost toxic chemical into the air that destroys lungs and stops animals from breathing, then when the body falls down in the area around the plant its roots would seek out the mineral and nutrients high areas before finding the body and dragging it into the soil before slowly sucking the nutrients out.

 

[Scalenex]

Another Idea is plants that produce an almost toxic chemical into the air that destroys lungs and stops animals from breathing, then when the body falls down in the area around the plant its roots would seek out the mineral and nutrients high areas before finding the body and dragging it into the soil before slowly sucking the nutrients out.

That is a very awesome idea! That be exactly the sort of carnivorous plant that would be an aid to passive defense. Assuming the plants don't move a whole lot, it would be fairly easy for Lizardmen to avoid them but it would catch a lot of warmblood invaders by surprise. You could passively bait enemies. If you are fighting an enemy known for being sneaky a small Lizardmen taskforce could leave an "open and exposed" flank to goad skaven or goblins to try a sneak attack route through the death trap.

It could also be burdensome gruntwork to cull their growth. While these plants would be useful for passive defense, if they spread into areas the Lizardmen wanted to go, skinks would have to raze and burn the area.

Looking through our Saurian dictionary, there are a lot of words that involve "loq" the Saurian word for death. "Teploq" or "Loqtep" would be a direct translation for "Death Air." I couldn't find a direct word for plant. I guess we can make something up or just use English. I like "Flower of the Death Air" or maybe call it something poetic like "stolen breath". Or "drowning air."

 

[Nazqua]

Sounds great can’t wait to see the inclusion of carnivores plants in your fluff.

 

[gb2098]

note that real world mythology includes some fairly nasty man eating trees (mostly african and south american mytholgy.), which given the quasi-magical origins of lustria and the magic induced weirdness of the mortal realms, could easily exist in some form there.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man-eating_tree

which might get interesting if you add in mimicry base bait, using concepts like the Vegetable Lamb myth.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetable_Lamb_of_Tartary

 

[Nazqua]

which might get interesting if you add in mimicry base bait

I feel as if that would be a very goods way to attract animals rather than waiting for them to come to you, It would be especially potent with the vines that are full of sticky dew drops that can constrict and suffocate animals that come into them, for example. the plant grows a massive fruit/ animal like appendage and hangs it down from a vine into the jungle, when an animal or insect comes into contact with it the vibrations trigger all of the other sticky suffocating vines to quickly drop down and ensnaring whatever was trying to eat the fruit/other. and after killing it it slowly recedes the body back up to be digested, furthermore if we use some of the magic element we could even have the plant saving a bit of the animal to hang down again meaning it always has bait.

 

[Scalenex]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man-eating_tree

The vampire vine in this article sounds like a good fit for Lustria though I'd probably name it after something other than a vampire. A mosquito vine or leech flower for instance.

which might get interesting if you add in mimicry base bait, using concepts like the Vegetable Lamb myth.

I can see some form of mimicry catching insects but something like the Vegetable Lamb seems like a better fit for Nurgle's Garden than the jungles of Lustria.