Dreamvine

Warning: This page concerns archaic world setting information from the I.C.E. Age of GemStone III. It is not canon in contemporary GemStone IV, nor is it canonical for Shadow World as the details may be specific to GemStone III. It is only historical context for certain very old parts of the game and these things should not be mixed.

Dreamvine is a parasitic plant in the Shadow World history which was first represented on the Coastal Cliffs. They creep at the base of trees until something lies down on their black leaves, which will expose the victim to a hallucinogenic poison that seduces them with feelings of dreamy euphoria. They will be lulled into a perpetual dream state while the vines suck the fluids from their body, and they will have no will to escape even if they wake up. Its symbolic value as related to Bandur and Kestrel Etrevion is the dreamlands allusions of their associated areas including especially Purgatory.

It is not to be confused with the Dreamer or "Dreamdeath" lichen, which is another archaic flora of the region from the I.C.E. Age. This fungus will produce similar bliss or terrifying delirium often ending in death. There is a recurring motif of using fungi in these locations which make obscure references to stories by H.P. Lovecraft, most notably below The Graveyard and The Broken Lands.

I.C.E. Age Example

[Coastal Cliffs, Overgrown Path]
Wiry vines with shrivelled black leaves creep over the exposed roots of some of the larger trees.  Looking closer, you see the bloated carcass of a deer entangled as if the vine were devouring its flesh.
Obvious paths: north, southeast

>look carcass
Its eyes are peacefully closed, as if lost in a dream where deer were the hunters and man the prey.  Insidious tendrils of Dreamvine have sunk their roots deep into its flesh, and sapped the life out of the creature.  

The dense foliage around you seems to taunt you with its hidden secrets.

Behind the Scenes

Dreamvines have been brought back into the modern history of the game, one early example being the ruins of Vorn Ahvis near Solhaven. Most recently they were made into an active environmental hazard for the Red Forest, analogous to the poisonous dirge-vaon vines outside of The Graveyard. This gave modern basis to their hallucinogenic quality in addition to their being carnivorous. While the room descriptions show there are extensive "tangles of vines" and "shriveled black leaves", the environmental hazard is a special form, which is actually blue with purple flowers producing pixie dust.

Ilvari Example

The Ilvari can be regarded as a lore change from the Iylari of the Blue Forest, which was not finally implemented until twenty years later. The Red Forest was given an isles of transfer quality.

The vines will attempt to lock you into hard RT. The poisons and enchantments of the area temporarily modify character statistics. The dust is a -15 Agility penalty.

[Red Forest, Inner Weald]
Patches of unsightly greenish-brown moss thrive here, coating the ground and trunks of nearby trees.  An enclosure of barbed vines has grown along the area, the vestiges of several unidentifiable creatures trapped within their bristly embrace.  You also see a direbear.
Obvious paths: southeast, south, northwest

[Red Forest, Inner Weald]
A patchy coat of swirling mist extends through the crowded trees, periodically shifting and peeling away to reveal tangles of vines and shriveled black leaves nestled amongst gnarled roots exposed along the ground.  Some branches have bent along the gloomy path, stretched out like wooden claws digging at the dirt.  You also see a warped tree spirit.
Obvious paths: north, east

[Red Forest, Inner Weald]
The indistinct echo of whispering voices carries through the area, seeming to originate in many directions all at once.  Gloomy columns of mist drift about, slowly twisting and reshaping in the slightest of breeze.  You also see some writhing dreamvine.
Obvious paths: north, southwest

J>look dream
You see soft blue-hued vine.  Numerous purple blossoms dot its length, each occassionally emitting a small puff of twinkling dust.  It writhes about languidly, but occassionally shifts position with surprising alacrity.

The writhing dreamvine moves about languidly.

The writhing dreamvine attempts to wrap around XXX!

The writhing dreamvine attempts to wrap around you!
You are dragged to the ground!
Your thoughts run wild as your mind no longer feels bound by thoughts of reality.
Roundtime: 13 sec.
Forced to stance forward.

The writhing dreamvine attempts to wrap around you!
You are jerked roughly around on the ground!
Your thoughts run wild as your mind no longer feels bound by thoughts of reality.
Roundtime: 13 sec.

The writhing dreamvine suddenly explodes in a burst of twinkling dust!
XXX manages to avoid the dust!
Sparkling dust coats you, numbing your body!
You get the feeling that you were lucky and things could have been a lot worse!

The numbness of your body fades away.

The writhing dreamvine attempts to wrap around you!
[SMR result: 109 (Open d100: 34, Bonus: 11)]
You are dragged to the ground!
Your mind goes completely blank.
Forced to stance offensive.

>crawl n
That is impossible to do while unconscious!

Some writhing dreamvine suddenly sprouts from the ground before you, sending off tiny puffs of twinkling dust!

The writhing dreamvine suddenly explodes in a burst of twinkling dust!

See Also

• Salorisa
• Dirge-vaon
• Delphinuris
• Dreamdeath
• Bladderwrack