Infinity vine

Infinity vines were rapidly growing plants that thrived within small atmospheres in wildspace, such as those kept by spelljammers and small asteroids.

Description
An infinity vine was a bright green leafless plant composed of numerous tangled thin stems with several blue flowers about 0.5 in (1.3 cm) in diameter. The flowers were responsible for the plant's intake of nutrients, absorbing moisture and gases from the air and using light to create matter at an extremely fast rate.

The plant thrived only in small atmospheres sustained by objects smaller than 100 mi (160 km) in diameter. Its growth was halted if exposed to the atmosphere of a larger body, if submerged, or if removed from its light source. If exposed to the phlogiston, it rapidly wilted, turned into a brown color, and became very brittle, but did not die. An infinity vine exposed to the phlogiston revived within one minute of reentering wildspace if a light source was present.

In adequate conditions, the plant grew at a rate of 10 ft³ (280 l) per minute. If left unchecked, the vine covered the entire illuminated surface of the infested ship or celestial body in a 10-ft (3 m) deep thick tangle of plant matter.

If a spelljammer became completely covered by the plant, its tonnage would quadruple. This rapid increase in mass significantly affected the ship's maneuverability and spelljamming operation, but did not have any negative effect on its air envelope. Instead, since the infinity vine recycled toxic byproducts of animal respiration and released oxygen, it expanded and thickened the breathable atmosphere of objects it infested.

Behavior
Infinity vines were harmless to living creatures, although they could grow around and bury anyone who did not move out of the way. A creature trapped in this fashion could still cut or dig its way out with no difficulty, while the plant rapidly grew back to fill the tunnel left behind.

Combat
Infinity vines were immune to poison and were impervious to negative energy, but were extremely sensitive to fire, acid, and electricity. Cold temperatures could slow down its growth, but any spell that either halted or destroyed the plant was limited to its area of effect. The unaffected parts of the plant kept growing normally.

Other than scraping off a wilted infinity vine while in the phlogiston or a halted vine while in another object's shade, the most effective way to get rid of the infestation was to land on a sufficiently large planet. After one hour there, the plant shrunk at the same rapid rate at which it originally grew, until it disappeared completely.

Ecology
Scraped off pieces of infinity vine were a constant hazard in space. As soon as the plant came into contact with a small atmosphere in the presence of light, its growing cycle started. For that reason, it was also common to find small asteroids completely filled with the vine, that created strange and alien ecosystems whose abundance of oxygen and food could sustain creatures indefinitely.

Infinity vine was edible, but not particularly flavorful. Crates of infinity vine stalks were regularly stored in Stardock for its githyanki inhabitants in the late 15 century DR.

Appearances

 * Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage (mentioned only)