From the Stars Without Number Compatible – Alien Database
Electro-Discharge. Electrostatic and electromagnetic discharge that inflicts 4d8 electric damage to all living creatures in a range of 1d10 kilometers. Silicon Based creatures takes full damage. A ship in the area when the electrodischarge activates immediately triggers a Ship Crisis. A ship larger than a fighter immediately trigger the Electro-Discharge.
COMBAT & TACTICS
The Thunder Tree is not not intrinsecally hostile, however it is able to perceive a threat and react accordingly. The offensive reaction is to trigger the Electro-Discharge. In a cluster of Thunder Trees, usually numbering 3d10 specimen, only one tree at a time will attempt an electro-discharge.
DESCRIPTION
The Thunder Tree vaguely resembles a huge up to 10 meters tall tree. The main trunk has a section of up to 2 meters and is covered by crystalline-like scales protecting a fibrous core of organic tissues. The color of the crystalline bark varies from dull yellow to dark brown, which produces a cascade of various colors when overcharged with electrostatic energy. Attached at the top of the trunk are 1d3+1 secondary trunks, whilst at the bottom of the trunk is a thick web of root-like extensions that anchor the thunder tree at the ground. A cluster of thunder trees can be spotted by far and when one is active, sudden spark of blue electrostatic energy lighten the sky, much a like a thunderstorm. If spotted by radar or other sensors, the reading will display a strong discharge of electrostatic energy, and skilled sensor operator will be able to identify this phenomena as something produced by a living being.
HABITAT
The Thunder Tree grows on ecosystems usually hostile to standard human life. Arid and hot planets with an atmosphere rich in ammonia, hydrocarbons and acidic gaseous compounds are the optimal combination. The favored terrain are arid plateau whipped by strong winds and high density clouds. both favoring
the formation of electrostatic energy. In proximity of where this plantlike creature, it is possible to observe explosions and detonations of hydrocarbons caused by the electric sparks triggered while the creature feeds. Thunder Trees are considered a natural form of energy generator, and with proper equipment it is
theoretically possible to accumulate energy to power electric systems.
BIOLOGY
The Thunder Trees feed on the electrostatic energy that naturally forms in the atmosphere, with the trunks placed at its top acting as lightning rods. The bark is a crystalline tissue organized in plates or scale, depending on the species. When lacking winds and electrostatic energy to feed on, the thunder tree can enter a dormant state that can last multiple seasonal cycles, and when this happens, the interior part of the trunk shrinks so that the crystalline plates seals until better survival conditions arise. When a Thunder Tree reaches a height of 10 to 12 meters, the process of death starts. The whole crystalline structure become
fragile and the fibrous core of the trunk crystallizes as well, until it crushes under its own weight. Once the process of crushing is complete, a fresh bed of crystalline and conductive material will favor the growth of new specimens. A couple, sometimes three, new specimens will sprout from what is left of the
main trunk at which point, they will then gradually walk away, but will stay in the vicinity of the dead parent until they have grown to a height of around 3 meters, and this is the only moment during the life cycle where the thunder tree can freely move.