Random Flora

Following on from my Random Fauna post here is the plant life side of things.


1. For plants, first determine what type of plant:
table 1 - roll 1d10
1 herb
2 spice
3 vine
4 fern
5 bromeliad
6-10 flower

table 1a - flower type - roll 1d20
1-4 orchid
5-6 rose
7 primrose
8 daisy
9 lily
10 tulip
11 lupine
12 crocus
13 geranium
14 nasturtium
15 thistle
16 peony
17 pansy
18 jasmine
19 carnation
20 other (snapdragon, sunflower, lavender, etc.)

2. Determine relative general size
table 2 - size - roll 1d10
1 dwarf/pygmy/pocket
2-3 small
4-7 average
8-9 large
10 giant

3. For flowers determine color
table 3 - roll 1d12
1 black
2 brown
3 green
4 blue
5 purple
6-7 red
8-9 orange
10-11 yellow
12 white

4. Determine descriptives
table 4 - roll 1d32? (or whatever it takes. ha ha. I've been adding to this list as I think of additional adjectives.)
1 creeping
2 wandering
3 weeping
4 shrinking
5-6 poison (by touch or by ingestion)
7 carnivorous
8 clinging
9 tangle(r)
10 strangle(r)
11 fuzzy
12 prickly
13 thorny
14 stinging
15 day
16 night(blooming)
18 afternoon
19 morning
20 evening
21 dawn
22 sun
23 moon
24 sweet
25 spicy/spice
26 sour
27 pungent
28-30 medicinal
31 animal (specify type - dragon, tiger, elephant, etc.)
32 pseudo
33

table 5 - terrain-based descriptive - roll 1d6 and choose from column that corresponds to terrain; if following a river, roll 1d6, 1-4 use terrain, 5-6 use water column
1 jungle grassland mountain        desert water
2 jungle grassland mountain        desert river
3 jungle field rock        sand(y) river
4 swamp savannah stone               sand(y) brook
5 forest savannah cliff        dune           lake
6 tree         veldt cave                dune           pond

Results are open to interpretation and don't necessarily have to be taken literally.

Examples rolled up for the Ballyfoole expeditions:
small morning grassland fern (maybe it opens up in the morning to catch any dew and then folds back up to retain moisture as the day wears on)
average sized strangler mountain geranium with "black" flowers (maybe it has tendrils or something that tend to catch on passersby, and since your average geranium is not that big the "strangling" is probably not serious or life-threatening)
thorny dwarf mountain bromeliad

Random Fauna

In the comments to a recent post --- Ballyfoole Expedition to Afrodesia --- Frank suggested providing the names and descriptions of the plants and animals discovered by the expeditions. So I've been playing around with the idea and have worked up the following tables to generate some of that. Now, I had no intention of trying to make the tables balanced based on actual percentages of various types of plants and animals in Africa or anywhere else for that matter, nor in trying to be all-inclusive or even relatively comprehensive in listing possible types or categories. Consider this a work in progress and open to revision and suggestions.

1. For animals, first determine what type of animal:
table 1 - roll 1d6
1 bird (roll on 1a)
2 mammal (roll on 1b)
3 reptile (roll on 1c)
4 amphibian (roll on 1d)
5 insect (roll on 1e)
6 other (roll on 1f)

Next, break it down further
table 1a - birds - roll 1d6
1 parrot
2 finch
3 songbird (warbler, lark, wren, cuckoo)
4 wader (crane, ibis, heron)
5 fowl (cock/hen, pheasant, pigeon)
6 other (hornbill, sunbird, bee-eater, mousebird, hawk)

table 1b - mammals - roll 1d12
1-2 monkey
3 cat
4-5 rodent
6 civet
7 genet
8 mongoose
9 bat
10 antelope/gazelle
11 hooved animal (table 1ba)
12 other (table 1bb)

table 1ba - roll 1d6
1-2 pig
3 goat/sheep
4 deer
5 bovine
6 equine

table 1bb - roll 1d8
1 fox
2 jackal
3 mole
4 shrew
5 hedgehog
6 hare
7 weasel
8 otter

table 1c - roll 1d6
1-2 lizard (gecko, chameleon, skink, agama, monitor)
3-4 snake
5 turtle
6 crocodile

table 1d - roll 1d6
1-2 frog
3-4 toad
5 newt
6 salamander

table 1e - roll 1d8
1-3 butterfly
4-6 beetle
7 moth
8 grasshopper

table 1f - roll 1d6
1 spider
2 scorpion
3-4 snail/slug
5-6 fish

2. Determine relative general size
table 2 - size - roll 1d10
1 dwarf/pygmy/pocket
2-3 small
4-7 average
8-9 large
10 giant

note: this is relative to average animals of that type. So a giant beetle might only be a few inches long, while a giant otter might be the size of a large dog. It's more of a descriptor than an actual size tied to real units of measurement.

Next determine color patterning
table 3 - roll 1d10
1-2 single solid color
3-4 lighter underneath (roll on normal color table for animal type, and then again on color table 4 and subtract 4 from the die roll. Lighter of the two colors goes underneath - belly, chin, etc.)
5 spotted (large spots like a cheetah or rosettes like a leopard, or other similar large spot-like marks)
6 speckled (small spots)
7 striped across (like a zebra or tiger)
8 striped lengthwise (like a skunk or one stripe on each side like some antelopes)
9 banded (a few wide bands of color)
10 two-toned (like a giant panda or tapir or other)
For 5-10 roll once for primary color and then roll again for the secondary color

Colors
table 4 - mammals - roll 1d10, subtracting 4 in desert terrain
-3 white
-2 light tan
-1 light gray
0 pale yellow
1 yellow (like a leopard)
2 orange/tawny (like a tiger or like a lion)
3 red (like a fox)
4 medium tan
5 medium gray
6 medium brown
7 dark gray
8 dark brown
9 black-brown
10 black
Suggestions are just that, suggestions. Interpret color how you like.

table 5 - colors for other animals - for reptiles roll 1d4 for main color; all others roll 1d10
1 black
2 gray
3 brown
4 green
5 blue
6 purple
7 red
8 orange
9 yellow
10 white

Determine tail length
table 6 - tail length - roll 1d6
1 long
2-4 medium (relative to animal type)
5 long
6 none

Determine descriptives based on features and/or terrain
table 7 - distinctive feature - roll 1d20
1 spiny
2 scaled
3 bushy-tailed
4 maned
5 flying (as in gliders)
6 ring-necked
7 tufted (ears)
8 crested
9 bearded/mustached
10 masked
11 ringtailed
12 snubnosed (short-nose for animal type)
13 spectacled
14 webfooted
15-20 distinctively colored feature, roll on table 7a for feature and on color tables 4/5 for color)

table 7a - distinctively colored feature - roll 1d10, subtract 1 for flyers, add 1 for monkeys
0 -wing
1 -breast
2 -belly
3 -footed
4 -tailed
5 -faced
6 -cheek
7 -throat
8 -nose
9 -eared
10 -tongued
11 -handed

table 8 - terrain-based descriptive - roll 1d6 and choose from column that corresponds to terrain; if following a river, roll 1d6, 1-4 use terrain, 5-6 use water column
1 jungle grass mountain desert water
2 jungle grass mountain desert river
3 jungle field          rock         sand(y) river
4 swamp savannah stone sand(y) brook
5 forest savannah cliff         dune           lake
6 tree         veldt cave         dune          pond

This might be over-complicating what is just some "fluff". But for fun I rolled up a few recently discovered animals. These are:
A small flying forest snake, with green and brown stripes running down its length.
A large red-throated swamp crocodile, two-toned in green and yellow.

Flags and Heavies

First, a few units have received flags. Starting with the Mongoose Infantry of Djahli.

Mounted hill tribesmen of Ollistan

And the Muttonshire (1st) Regiment of Grand Thidwick

Next, something disturbs a family of wild pigs...

Ah, it's the von Rotten Cuirassiers, the heavies of the Bossanovan cavalry. Also known as the "Black and Blues". Commanded by Colonel von Bruizer.

And finally, the Marquis Maurice l'Oeuf, ambassador from Batrachia.