Bodytaker plants were intelligent and malicious Plant creatures that sought to dominate their surroundings by replacing other life with their own Podlings. They appeared as a massive central pod surrounded by countless vines, supported by root systems that spread deep and wide through the soil. Destroying one was notoriously difficult, since even a single surviving root fiber could regenerate into a new plant unless the soil was poisoned or salted. Capable of Telepathy and Deep Speech, bodytaker plants combined cunning with physical strength, using their vines to crush or capture victims and drag them into their central pod.
Their most dangerous ability was the creation of Podlings, near-perfect replicas of creatures that were dissolved inside the plant’s pod. These copies carried the memories of their originals but acted only under the plant’s control, infiltrating communities, gaining influence, and delivering new victims to be replaced. Podlings needed no sleep and melted into goo upon death, revealing their unnatural origin.
Viewing themselves as superior organisms, bodytaker plants pursued absolute control of their environment, considering dissenters useful only as compost. Through deception, replication, and ruthless persistence, they posed both an ecological and societal threat wherever they took root.