Fiber sources for rope making

[DeanF]

Using vines to make coils of rope is a bit... contrived?  We can certainly come up with better ways.  So, just limiting myself to sources used in great quantity:

How about hemp?  Yes, there will be jokes, but it's a great fiber for making rope and cloth.  And you can press oil from the seeds, so now that we have linseed and olive oil this could be added.  (This is not the same as hash oil, which is made from the flowers.)

Add abaca for warmer regions.  This is actually a species of banana plant, which is broken for it's fibers.  It is often called Manila hemp.  It can also be used to make lustrous textiles.

Finally jute, also for warm regions.  This is a plant from South Asia- principally Bangladesh- that needs a lot of water, and makes great rope.  Clothing has been made from it, but was always considered very crude.

As an option for early stone-age gameplay, nettle has long been used for it's fibers, and makes excellent cordage.  I don't think that it was ever mass manufactured, though.

[coolAlias]

Palm leaves are also used to make primitive cordage - they can be dried, split into strips, then soaked and braided together. These are also used for weaving mats, baskets, hats, etc. This is common in e.g. sub-Saharan Africa.

[Facethief]

Yucca would probably work for this, I think.

[PineReseen]

If we're on the topic of adding fibrous plants, then I must mention rushes. They're a cosmopolitan plant, meaning they grow almost everywhere, and they can be used for thatching too!

Rushes could spawn in temperate and cold environments, to provide sub-freezing places with a way to progress in the game effectively, which currently they do not have.

[Bruno Willis]

On 4/23/2026 at 2:07 PM, DeanF said:

As an option for early stone-age gameplay, nettle has long been used for it's fibers, and makes excellent cordage.  I don't think that it was ever mass manufactured, though.

I'd also love to fall into a dense tangle of nettles while running away from a bear. That sounds like a perfect V.S. experience. 

[DeanF]

On 4/25/2026 at 3:29 PM, Bruno Willis said:

I'd also love to fall into a dense tangle of nettles while running away from a bear. That sounds like a perfect V.S. experience. 

AT the very least they could slow you down, in the way that berry bushes do since 1.22.

[Bruno Willis]

7 hours ago, DeanF said:

AT the very least they could slow you down, in the way that berry bushes do since 1.22.

Or give you the status effect: Horrible Itching Pain. Which would occasional and randomly damage you a tiny bit, (very distracting), and also cause your seraph to stop what they're doing and scratch themselves every now and then (sort of like when you're in the desert and you raise your arm to shelter your eyes, but more annoying).