Astragalus astracantha

Astragalus astracantha, commonly known as star-thorn, is low, stoloniferous shrub of the legume family Fabaceae. Its runners stretch for kilometers beneath the surface of the sand, concealing thorns as long as a Human forearm. It is pollinated by migration of the large, shaggy boötha, and there is also evidence to suggest it has a symbiotic relationship with the massive swarms of carnivorous sandfleas that plague its habitat.

Utilization of A. astracantha was key to the development of the Meek civilization, as the plant provides a number of useful materials and substances. Its thorns are hard and strong enough to be used for tool and weapon construction, and the plant exudes a sap which hardens into gum astracanth, which has a myriad of culinary, material, medical, and spiritual uses.

It has also awakened the latent psionic tendencies of humans and revolutionized space travel.

Before the psionic properties of A. astracantha were discovered, interstellar drives were crude affairs that relied on primitive ‘bending’ the space-time continuum. Star-thorn allows a cosmogator to pierce the very fabric of reality.

Unfortunately, it only grows in one place in the entire universe: Arið, the desertified planet better known as Sere. It was once covered in deep oceans, but large-scale desertification turned the world into a desolate wasteland. Yet as inhospitable as the planet is, it is also the center of a vast interstellar conflict where a multitude of alien species vie for control of the planet’s primary commodity.

St Bebe's Palsy

I enjoy injecting material based on rock songs/albums into the RPGs I run. My 13^th Age campaign was largely based on Queen II.

So here's the band Heart looking like a group of D&D adventurers from Little Queen.

They're probably going to be my players rivals, as the current ones are likely dead.

Ann's clearly the Magic-User.

Nancy is likely a Bard or Thief.

Howard Leese is an Elf and/or Illusionist.

Michael DeRosier is the fighter back there tending to the horses while the rest of the band memorizes spells. In this live footage he has some sort of Dracula trophy hanging off his neck, so I'm not counting out Paladin.

Steve Fossen and Roger Fisher are likely multiclassed:

Steve's jacket on the cover makes me think he's a Cavalier, but the strange harness he's wearing in this clip seems like thieving gear of some sort...

Roger is a clearly Ranger in cover photo, but in most concert footage he seems to be wearing some sort of halter-kimono, suggesting he multiclassed into Monk at some point.

(This clip is a bit rough but still awesome.)

Here's a Heart-inspired malady to afflict your Magic-Users with:

St Bebe's Palsy aka 'Magic Hands'

One miracle performed by St Bebe was ridding the town of Whitehart of a warlock who used his witchcraft to enthrall the young maidens of the village. The story goes that as he attempted to coerce a maiden at the Winter Feast, the young Bebe intervened, exhorting him to 'Make no foolish fight!' His hands then became spasmodic, unable to form the gestures needed to complete the enchantment. Enraged, the vile sorcerer lunged at Bebe whereupon his hands tore themselves from his wrists and skittered away. The warlock exsanguinated and the community was safe from his predation.

Every time a user of occult magicks gains a level, there is a percentage chance equal to their new level that they aquire St Bebe's Palsy. Once the palsy has been contracted, whenever the sufferer casts a spell, they must save vs paralyzation or have the spell fail. If the spell is offensive and targets another intelligent creature, the caster must save vs death or have their hands rip off and crawl away, each becoming their own separate creature. They are still considered parts of the original Magic-User for the purposes of magics that require a portion of the body.

No. Enc.: 1d2 (1d2)
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 60' (20')
Armor Class: 4
Hit Dice: 2
Attacks: 1 (claw)
Damage: 1d4
Save: Hands save as a MU the same level as the original host.
Morale: 9
Hoard Class: None
XP: Based on MU's HD, divided by 2

For each hand, roll 2d8 for every level of the magic-user.

Each result allows casting the spell once per day, repeat results increase castings per day.

2 Feeblemind

3 Arcane Eye

4 Charm Monster

5 Confusion

6 Arcane Lock

7 ESP

8 Hold Portal

9 Charm Person

10 Sleep

11 Knock

12 Hold Person

13 Polymorph Other

14 Polymorph Self

15 Remove Curse ®

16 Hold Monster