A sand cactus attacks very passively. Its
needles lie thrust up an inch out of the sand. Since the
needle exactly resembles the sand around it, there is only
a small chance of noticing the needles. A sand cactus has
26-50 needles in a circumference 15-24 feet. Anyone who
walks over a sandy area with sand cacti has a medium
chance of stepping on a needle. If needle goes far enough
into the appendage (about 1/2”), its ‘barbs’ to spring out.
The needle is very thin going in (about the size of a pin),
but the barbs spread out to about an inch across.
When the cactus penetrates, it starts to drains blood
from its victimuntil the victim is dead. The strands
connecting the needles to the plant are very tough and
nearly impossible to break by pulling. The needle can be
pulled free of the victim’s foot, but such an action causes
damage ot the foot. Since the barbs actually hook onto
nerve tissue, this also causes the victim quite a lot of pain.
A victim who is cut free still has the needle in his
foot. If not removed it will fester. Removing it can be
accomplished by the casting cure disease on the wound,
which dries up the needle, or by cutting it free, which
causes damage to the victim. If it is not removed, the
victim eventually gets blood poisoning, weakens and dies.
The blood poisoning may take up to a week to kill the
victim. Once the victim is dead, a new sand cactus
sprouts from the body.
When a needle lodges in an appendage, the victim
feels a sharp pain and his appendage is snared. Bipedal
creatures may fall down in the midst of the sand cactus.
This subjects the victim to more attacks from other
needles in the area. A victim who is rescued from a sand
cactus after passing out from blood loss recovers normally.
The cactus is very difficult to attack since its body
is 5-10 feet below the sand. If the body is exposed,
the sand cactus is easy to kill. Unless it is dug out by
magical means, however, diggers are exposed to attacks
from needles while digging.
Terrain: Sandy wastes
Frequency: Rare
# Appearing: 1
Sand cacti are well protected; the entire plant (except
the needles) is hidden below the sand. The body is from
5-8 feet across and about 4 feet thick. It has many barbed
needles attached to it with long, thin, fibrous strands.
The bulbous body of the plant and the strands are sickly
white, while the needles very closely resemble the color of
the sand in the area.
