We live in a jungle that is devoid of metal and stone. A giant vine forest hanging high above everything. We’re totally reliant upon the plant life to supply to our every need. Which isn’t all bad, there’s a large variety and it’s all around us. We’re seeking ways though to improve our ability to hunt…and perhaps do something about those troublesome neighbors on a neighboring vine cluster.

Available Resources

• Vines, we got a ton of them! Of basically any size you want!
• Mosses, Ferns, Small fibrous bushy plants
• Various berries and roots that are poisonous. We’re pretty good at making things to assist in hunting, but we can also make some nasty toxins.
• A few pitted fruits. They make decent sling material.
• We lack much in the way of hardwoods. Those that exist don’t get much thicker than arrows, which is a great use for ones we personally have tended to make sure they don’t get knotted up.

Special World Resources –

• Heart Vines

  • These amazing vines grow to dozens of meters thick and are filled with streams of super-hot water. Punching holes risks burns and newly cut vines take up to 2 hours to die, splinters from newly cut vines may start trying to grow into the unfortunate person’s body. We only gather the outer most layers, destroying the whole vine is a taboo against nature and will cause widespread devastation to the region.
  • Once they’ve died, if soaked in water the become easy to shape and mold. Then with the addition of heat and drying they’ll become the most sturdy and solid substance known to our people! It’s very difficult to get a sharp edge on them but they can make good spears, a bit too rigid for bow shafts.

• Disadvantage that it’s a very thirsty material and must be protected from water or they lose their shape quickly.

• Cinder Moss

• This strange moss sparkles and glows red and green in the dark and is nearly immune to fire. A necessity for any tribe to shield fires. Also, decent illumination on its own.

• Great for retaining heat for long travels that don’t allow fire. Can keep a person warm for 3-4 days.

• Must be kept moist and warm or it will die. When dead it turns into a powder and loses its previous properties. We soak it in boiling water every few weeks.

• The powder causes itching but is good for hiding scents.

Assumptions in place

• We are very slowly building up supplies from the local areas, but it will be a long time before we can have enough material for our own people.

• Animal bones are also available, but living high in the canopy many are hollow or very lightweight. They're not particularly robust in general.

• We're ok with chemical warfare if needed, but it's hard to control just how much damage it does. It can also be bad to use on something you want to eat.

Problem
The predators in this region have an armored shell, vastly reducing our ability to hunt them and protect ourselves. The local tribe has taken advantage of this adaptation and has armor themselves.
We have slings, bows, spears, and axes. They're all fairly dull, and our poisons are useless unless we get lucky and bypass armor. Also a huge downside that a simple pouch of water exploding over us weakens both our weapons and armor quickly.

With only plant materials available how do we improve our ability to hunt and wage war? Especially the later.