Rock Cactus, Bloodsucking

A small cluster of spherical rocklike plants that are found wherever water is rare, these cacti are a sandy brown in color and no more than a foot across.

Tactics
A bloodsucking rock cactus attacks in an identical fashion to its more common cousin. Once the bloodsucking rock cactus feeds, it begins to stand out from its fellows. The most feared characteristic of the bloodsucking rock cactus, however, is the tendency of its spines to break off in the wound, from where they subsequently work their way inwards, usually causing the death of the opponent.

Description
Approximately one rock cactus in every 500 is a bloodsucking mutation that feeds not on moisture but on the very lifeblood of its prey. Indistinguishable from the standard rock cactus, they are somewhat tougher and more precise in their attacks, seeming to home in upon blood vessels and major organs.

The rock cactus is edible if peeled, having a taste and texture similar to apples, and a single plant will yield up to a pound of flesh and 4 pints of fluid. The plants can be safely harvested by tricking them into attacking a dummy target and then snapping their spines before they have a chance to retract them. Live rock cacti will fetch as much as 5 Cp in most markets, but the flesh of a single cactus is only worth a ceramic or two.

Generally a foot across and weighing three pounds, a rock cactus will double in size and weight as it feeds. As it swells with moisture, the cactus will darken in color, eventually becoming black. During Sun Ascending and the first months of High Sun rock cacti are in flower and produce a bright yellow bloom that lasts for only a few hours.