Anima tree
 | This article relates to content added by Royalty (DLC). Please note that it will not be present without the DLC enabled. |
Anima tree
A rare tree with warm, skin-smooth bark and long iridescent leaves. Infused with bioluminescent micro-organisms, anima trees develop a unique form of psychic symbiosis with surrounding lifeforms, allowing them to grow in a wide variety of biomes.
If a person (psycaster or not) meditates near an anima tree, it will grow anima grass around its base. Once enough grass is grown, it becomes possible to carry out a psychic linking ritual with the tree and upgrade a person's psychic powers. Only tribal peoples know the secret of this ritual. Tribal psycasters are also able to draw psyfocus from anima trees while meditating to them.
Anima trees' psychic properties are weakened if artificial structures are placed nearby. They refuse to be caged or studied, and must remain part of nature.
Most tribes believe that anima trees are not simply trees, but are rather the physical extremities of a single world spirit.
Base Stats
Stat Modifiers
The anima tree is a tree added by the Royalty DLC. It provides both a meditation focus for psycasters and a way to create psylinks for them. If a person (psycaster or not) meditates near an anima tree, it will grow anima grass around its base. Once enough grass is grown, it becomes possible to carry out a psychic linking ritual with the tree and upgrade a person's psychic powers. Only pawns with a tribal backstories know the secret of this ritual. Tribal psycasters are also able to draw psyfocus from anima trees while meditating to them. Anima trees' psychic properties are weakened if artificial structures are placed nearby. They refuse to be caged or studied, and must remain part of nature.
Growth
A single anima tree spawns on each embark tile. While it is not flammable, nor susceptible to Toxic fallout, it can be eaten by dendrovores. The grass will not be eaten by grazing animals however, though it is flammable. Destruction of the anima tree causes the anima scream debuff. This debuff causes a -6 mood penalty, which scales with psychic sensitivity, and lasts for 5 days. Anima trees will grow back as a random event after being destroyed. As such, the time it takes for the tree to reappear is highly variable. As it regrows in a random location within the map, this random regrowth can be used to move a tree in an inopportune location if the mood penalty can be dealt with.
Meditation Mechanics
Meditating at an anima tree requires a Natural meditation focus which a pawn can only get from its childhood background. Multiple pawns can meditate at the same time to speed up the spawning of the anima grass. Pawns do not need to have psylink levels to meditate, nor are pawns with psylink levels or higher Psychic Sensitivity better at growing grass. It takes 1 pawn meditating approximately 5 in-game hours to grow one anima grass.
Anima trees provides the second best additional meditation focus strength for Natural meditation, after animus stones.
Building an artificial building will reduce the meditation strength with 1-5%. However, there are some exceptions:
- Animus stones increase the focus strength by 2% each, up to 4 stones (8% increase total).
- Large and small nature shrines increase the focus strength by 1% each, up to 4 shrines (4% increase total). This limit is shared with animus stones.
- Torch lamps, campfires, roofs, and all flooring have no effect at all.
Once a certain amount of meditation has been done, grass growth will slow down. Grass growth slows to 50% of normal growth rate once 12 hours of meditation time, summed across all pawns meditating at the tree, has elapsed during a day. It slows to 25% of normal growth rate after a sum of 24 hours of meditation time has occurred during a day. Finally, it drops to 15% of normal growth rate after a sum of 48 hours of meditation time has occurred during a day.
Once 20 grass has been grown, a level of psylink can be granted to a pawn with the Natural meditation focus type. The linking ritual takes approximately 5 hours. This ritual can grant a psylink to a pawn without one, or improve the level of an existing psylink, even one granted using a Psylink Neuroformer or through an Empire bestowing ceremony.
Tips
To maximize grass growth, one or more pawns with the Natural focus type can be scheduled to meditate for the entire day only stopping to eat and sleep. Meditating will provide some recreation however the pawn will quickly become bored of it, reducing its effectiveness in this regard. It is recommended to install attractive floors, or to plant flowers around to improve the beauty of the area and improve mood without affecting the tree. If the tree spawns next to either a rock wall or cave, this can be useful to place the meditation spot under a roofed area without affecting the tree with an artificial structure. A bed and dining room just outside of the radius are also recommended to minimize travel time to and from the tree and avoiding the Ate without table debuff.
While the grass does not grow faster when meditated at by a psycaster, it can be worthwhile to assign them to this role. The psyfocus gain from meditation not only replaces their need to meditate elsewhere, it also all but guarantees that they will be consistently at 100% psyfocus. This especially synergizes with high-psyfocus-cost, non-combat psycasts such as Word of Trust or Word of Inspiration, and is valuable for keeping casters combat-ready as well.
Version History
- 1.1.2647 - Added.
- 1.1.2654 - Regrowth check cycle: 40 days -> 30 days. Added warning message when designating an anima tree for cutting and using it to give a psychically dull or deaf pawn psylink. Now sends a letter when enough anima grass is available for linking.
- 1.2.2719 - Anima tree are enhanced by nearby animus stones. Will no longer be destroyed by meteors, crashed ship parts, or shuttles. Anima grass progress rate now reduces after they're heavily used within a single day. All Psylink levels now take 20 anima grass instead of 18 for levels 1 and 2, 20 for 3 and 4, and 22 for 5 and 6. Soften anima tree glow. Remove anima grass glow.
- Domesticated plants
- Cocoa tree • Corn plant • Cotton plant • Devilstrand mushroom • Haygrass • Healroot • Hop plant • Potato plant • Psychoid plant • Rice plant • Smokeleaf plant • Strawberry plant • Tinctoria • Fibercorn
• Gauranlen pod • Nutrifungus • Toxipotato plant 
- Decorative plants
- Dandelions • Daylily • Rose • Bonsai tree
- Wild plants
- Agarilux • Agave • Alocasia • Ambrosia bush • Astragalus • Berry bush • Brambles • Bryolux • Bush • Chokevine • Clivia • Giant rafflesia • Glowstool • Grass • Low shrubs • Moss • Pincushion cactus • Tall grass • Wild healroot • Anima grass
• Gauranlen moss - Trees
- Bamboo tree • Birch tree • Cecropia tree • Cypress tree • Drago tree • Maple tree • Oak tree • Palm tree • Pine tree • Poplar tree • Saguaro cactus • Teak tree • Willow tree • Timbershroom • Gray pine tree • Pebble cactus • Rat palm tree • Witchwood tree
- Special
- Anima tree • Gauranlen tree • Polux tree • Harbinger tree
- Tree stumps
- Burned stump • Chopped stump (Gauranlen , Anima , Polux , Harbinger ) • Smashed stump (Gauranlen , Anima , Polux , Harbinger )