Leather Seed (3.5e Spell)

''When we first saw it, it looked like the dragon had a really weird accident. And then we saw it sway in the wind...''

This spell can be used in one of two ways. The first way involves casting the spell on an empty space of land. The Leather tree created in this way will grow to Medium size in approximately an hour, after which it will continue to grow at its normal growth rate.

The second way this spell can be used is on the fresh remains of a creature. If the seed is placed in the (relatively intact) corpse of a creature with a discernible skin, it will consume all the creatures soft tissues to grow faster than normal. Over the course of a minute it grows to the same size as the creature who's corpse it devoured, using the creatures skin as its balloon. Using the tree in this way is mostly done to make skinning large creatures a lot easier however after the initial harvest the tree will remain as normal, ready to be harvested again in later years. Note that creatures consumed in this way is no longer an eligible target for the Raise Dead spell but the tree leaves enough remains (obviously the skin but also bones etc.) for a successful Resurrection.

The maximum size of the creature the spell can use depends on the caster: Medium + 1 size category / 2 casterlevels above 1st (meaning a 9th level caster can affect creatures of Colossal size and smaller). Attempts with a too low casterlevel result in a partially consumed creature with a tree growing inside it. As the target creature has to have both soft tissues and a skin, Leather trees usually cannot affect creatures of the Ooze, Elemental, Construct, Plant, Vermin, Incorporeal or Swarm (sub)types but the DM has the final say in this.

The Leather tree

A typical Leather tree looks like a willow tree trapped in a loosely fitting, leathery balloon. This balloon is made of a material that is mostly identical to leather made from animal skins, something the tree developed as a defense to certain parasites. As the tree can survive without the balloon and will even grow a new one over time, it can be used to provide leather in places where appropriate animals are scarce. The Leather tree grows best on rich soil and can be harvested once a year to produce an amount of leather equal to a creature of its size. If lacking proper nutrients, Leather trees can also consume the remains of animals. Under normal conditions it will grow to a maximum of Huge size in about a decade and remain like that for the rest of its lifespan, which can be several hundreds of years.

Leather prices

The leather created by a normal Medium tree, or one grown from a Medium sized creature without special qualities in its skin, is worth 5 gold. The following properties each increase the worth by the listed amount:
 * 30 gp per point of natural armor bonus
 * 10 gp per point of energy resistance, immunity is counted as 30, count only the highest resistance
 * 50 gp per point of damage reduction
 * every size category above Medium doubles the final price, every one smaller than Small halves is (so Huge is X4)

Examples:
 * Giant Crocodile: Huge with Natural Armor bonus of +7. This means 5 + (7 * 30) * 4 = 845 gp
 * Wyrmling Gold Dragon: Medium, 7 Natural Armor and Fire Immunity. This means 5 + (7 * 30) + (6 * 10) = 275gp
 * Very Old Green Dragon: Huge, 28 Natural Armor, Acid Immune, Damage Reduction 15. This means 5 + ((28 * 30) + (30 * 10) + (15 * 50)) * 4 = 7565gp
 * Dretch: 5 Natural Armor, Immune to electricity, Damage Reduction 5. This means 5 + (5 * 30) + (30 * 10) + (5 * 50) = 705gp

The worths of other special qualities are adjudicated by the DM.

Material Component: A normal plant seed folded in a freshly cut of piece of animal skin.