Soul Merger

Monsterpedia

Blood Rose

Monster Level - I

Soul Type - Composite

Intelligence - Animalistic

Strength - Human level

Magic - Human level

Rarity - Common

Bloodrose appear similar to a thick rose bush, with long vines and (usually) rusty brown flowers. At least until someone gets within range, at which point the creature lashes out with thorny vines attempting to capture and kill the victim. Their thorns and roots have vampiric capabilities, draining the blood out of their prey and into their flowers. A well fed Bloodrose has bright red flowers.

It would be easy to dismiss the plant as useless outside an ambush, but they have shown the ability to pull out their roots and crab walk towards prey or creatures attacking it from out of reach. Standing back and throwing sharp objects and herbicide is not going to be a valid tactic. Some variants can even throw their thorns as a defensive measure, though that's only going to cause pain not death.

Still it is a plant. It's not much stronger than a human, and it needs to be rooted to pull in prey. Cutting the vines is effective, and fire is very effective. Destroying the root bulb will kill the plant permanently.

Bloodrose tend to plant themselves next to previous victims, hoping that foolish delvers will rush up and try to loot the body without checking to see what killed it. Before approaching a corpse, make sure whatever killed it is gone!

Merge

Common Name : Rosefolk

Benefits : Plant analysis, Photosynthesis.

Weaknesses : Salt dependence

Rose merges are very popular in the countryside as one of the plant focused merges that can easily be shipped from a labyrinth. Physically rosefolk get a greenish tint to their skin, and a shift towards vibrant hair colors. However their magic tends to be greatly improved giving even magically deaf people a strong understanding of plants and flowers. While not an ability to 'talk' to plants it does let them know if a particular plant needs water, nutrients, or has issues with the amount of sun it's getting. This makes farming much easier, especially over large farms or with very touchy plants.

Rosefolk also tend to have a floral scent, and their bodies can even photosynthesize a little meaning they need less food so long as they're getting sun and water. However Bloodroses aren't standard plants, and rosefolk tend to need more salt in their diet to compensate for their changed metabolism. Blood dishes have become more popular because of that, and shipping salt to rural areas is always a good business plan.

One of the best blood dishes is Bloodrose salad. Bloodrose that have recently fed have both an excellent blood content and a very strong savory taste. Modern butchers usually have a plant wrangler on hand to properly use the blood from their work.