Adaptation Omake: Stormshredder Grass
This rare relative of of cannibal grass was discovered when a biologes monitoring crew observing a thundabeast migration witnessed a section of the stampede's vanguard messily exploding. It was quickly determined that this effect was limited to a specific roughly 10 meter radius zone. While the stampede eventually split to avoid the patch, it was not before several hundred animals had been forced over it, resulting in a nightmarish charnel house region. After observing that the scavengers attracted to the bloodbath were able to access the region, a small scouting operation was authorized. While initial servo-skull resulted in serious damage to the skull's gravity manipulation components ground based efforts were able to take samples of this new stalk.
Stormshredder grass exhibits long, wispy hairs that grow from the tips of their seed pods. When in the presence of a variety of kinetic and gravetic manipulation effects these hairs will rise and begin waving and writhing in an agitated manner. In this active state the hairs will interface with, usurp and disrupt the effects that triggered them. The forces will be erratically and unevenly redirected, creating a zone of kinetic sheer planes and tidal gradients. While for remote telekinetic manipulation this effect is just disruptive and damaging to whatever the effect was meant to manipulate, when turned on fields used for personal protection or propulsion the result can be seriously damaging.
This effect does not change the intensity of the forces, merely their direction and cohesion. A lone, resting thundabeast experiences only mild discomfort when exposed to the effect, while an instance that is charging experienced severe lacerations and an instance exposed to a kinetic attack will actually suffer increased damage* as their defenses are turned on them. As discovered in their initial observation, a thundabeast that is part of a stampeding herd when it is exposed to the effect will be subjected to the full power of the herd, with devastating results. Experimentation with power weaponry resulted in the test instances violently tearing themselves apart in a cloud of shrapnel; while hover tanks and jetbikes experienced serious damage to their propulsion.
* An imperial era stubber inflicted injuries more in keeping with the results of a bolter round used against unarmored flesh.
Only a few patches of this hazard have been discovered. Worryingly, all examples beyond the first have been found in areas regularly patrolled by thundabeast mounted rough riders.
ADDENDUM: Lindon bushwalkers recently brought in a sample of a new fern that displays hairlike growths similar to those of found in stormshredder grass.
@Durin