Brain Leaf

Brain Leaves are creatures which appear in Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40,000 universe, and in particular its Necromunda skirmish-level wargame.

Description
Intelligent plants which occupy the lowest levels of Necromunda’s Underhive and Hive Bottom, Brain Leaves are vine-like in appearance, with a greyish colouring which enables them to effectively camouflage themselves amongst the debris and old cables which litter these disused areas. Each of a Brain Leaf’s tendrils ends in what appears to be a single leaf, and it is these leaves which makes the plant so dangerous.

Once an unwary victim comes into contact with one of the leaves, a series of microscopic hooks embed themselves into the victim’s flesh; these hooks then extrude a system of nerve fibres throughout the poor unfortunate’s body, the leaf detaching itself from the main growth and allowing the intelligent part of the plant to effectively control the creature’s actions. What the Brain Leaf wishes its new puppet to do depends entirely upon the situation: it may wish to be transported to a more favourable location, require protection from some other denizen of the wasteland, or may simply use the victim as compost in order to grow larger and send it’s grasping limbs further afield.

Those afflicted by a Brain Leaf’s possession may be subdued and cared for by any suitably-inclined individual, although the removal of the controlling fibres is a slow and agonising process which will leave the victim with permanent nerve damage if it succeeds at all.

Trivia

 * Some believe the Brain Leaf to have been transported to Necromunda from the death world of Catachan at some point in the distant past.