The Bestiary Malitiae X-mas "Tree"
Another entry for the bestiary! This one I was inspired to write when I was on a train through the english countryside and saw balls of mistletoe parasytising a whole grove of trees.I've been quite enjoying the freedom of using mothership statblocks, most entries from now on will probably be using them. Thanks to Luke Gearing for suggesting the name to this entry when I was struggling to come up with one.
X-Mas "Tree"
The X-Mas Tree is a psychomemetic parasite first found on the shadow side of Kepler-1652b and has since breached quarrantine. It has a 3-stage lifecycle. The Seed stage begins when a prospective host makes prolonged ocular contact with the Tree stage. The host then begins to display photophobic behaviour as the parisite takes over their nervous system. Within a 2-4 weeks, the Sapling stage begins as the parasite completely consumes the hosts nervous and ocular systems. The consumed systems are replaced with polychromatic fractal structures as the host frantically searches for the darkest point they can find at all costs. The Tree stage begins once a suitable dark space is found. During this stage, the hosts entire body is consumed and turned into a vaguely human shaped fractaline "tree" that pulses with bright prismatic colours. Measurements show that the structures radiate the entire spectrum of light from radio wavs to gamma rays.
Sapling Stage [C:50 I:40 Infection graduates stages when a sufficiently dark space is found.]
Tree Stage [I:20 Body & Sanity save or be infected. Infection graduates stages in 2d4 weeks]