Fantasy undersea plants?

[Hawksteel]

Has this ever been done whether in a book, online article or homebrew? I was just wondering about plant life found in oceans, like magical versions of coral, seaweed, etc but not intelligent monsters as such.

[Palanan]

There are probably a few obscure water-plants in Dragon Magazine, but it would take some searching to find them.

Corals are animals, of course, and there’s a coral-derived magic item in one of the Forgotten Realms supplements, but I think that’s about it. And nothing that I can recall involving eelgrass or mangroves, which is a pity.

However, if you need an oceanic encounter involving plants, allow me to recommend this excellent homebrew (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?279702-Floating-Algae-Island-of-Death-and-Meerkats-3-5-Encounter-Life-of-Pi-spoilers) by one of the Playground’s own.

[Saintheart]

If you want to go third party, consider Bastion Press's Into the Blue. They did a series of environmental books which delved into the areas Frostburn and Sandstorm didn't, and this one was directed to undersea.

[Hawksteel]

Thank you both.

[paladinofshojo]

Coral, kelp, and seaweed aren’t plants though… they’re algae, which are protists. True plants have roots, stems, and cell walls, which underwater flora lack.


Edit: On a side note you can use magical settings to create a lot of strange eukaryotic organisms

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by paladinofshojo
Coral, kelp, and seaweed aren’t plants though… they’re algae, which are protists.

Corals aren’t algae.

[Mechalich]

For clarification, there are a small number of true plants that are aquatic, but most are limited to freshwater environments. Seagrasses are the only flowering plants found in marine environments. Most of the plant-like organisms, known commonly as seaweed, are macroscopic algae. The various forms of algae are not necessarily closely related at all. Many coral species, which are cnidarian animals, also incorporate microscopic algae in their structures (corals are simply the best known case of this, other animals, such as sponges, have similar relationships) and contribute significantly to marine primary productivity are a result. Marine environments also have a much higher proportion, compared to terrestrial environments, of largely sessile animals that survive by filter feeding or stationary predation, many of which have broad, non-symmetrical sprawling appearances that appear 'plant-like' to the human eye, ex. Basket Stars (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basket_star).

Relatively few such organisms have been developed as monsters for D&D style games because non-motile organisms aren't really a threat when you can just move away from them (especially in an undersea environment where you can do so in three dimensions). Generally they make more sense as stationary hazards or traps - poisonous versions are quite plausible for many groups. They can also be given magical or psionic abilities that make them a threat even without mobility.

There are some examples in 3rd party supplements. The PF Cerulean Seas line of books includes many bizarre undersea beasties, including psionic brain coral, and is fairly high quality as such supplements go.

[Hawksteel]

Thank you all again.

[Phhase]

Here's the laundry list: https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?479663-Magical-Plants-and-Where-to-Find-them-WIP

[Hawksteel]

Here's the laundry list: https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?479663-Magical-Plants-and-Where-to-Find-them-WIP

Nice one, thanks.