Hmm, I know mushrooms can grow underground where there is moisture, but this just seems off to me as he steps a little closer I want to be 20 feet away from it
Male Human Wizard(Conjurer)/1 | Current HP: 7 out of 7 | AC: 12 | Init: +2 | Perception: +0 | Fort +2 | Ref +2 | Will +2
I'd wager that my previous Knowledge(Nature) roll of 26 is sufficient to know that this is not, in fact, fungus. Though Utnapishtim doesn't know exactly what it is because he failed the subsequent knowledge check.
Utnapishtim finishes taking meticulous notes about the not-mushrooms.
Since we've been "stuck" here for over a day of real-world time, I'm going to nudge things along...
Utnapishtim has an Int of 20. He's not cruel and would not sacrifice summon creatures casually to set off traps and the like. He is, however, intellectually curious. Since he wasn't able to identify the not-mushrooms, he will use Summon Minor Monster to see if 1d3 rats think that the stuff is edible.
"Colleages," Utnapishtim addresses the group, "shall we conduct an experiment to see if we've discovered a new species of funus?"
Utnapishtim takes a 5-foot step and starts summoning.
Number of Rats:1d3 ⇒ 3
I've labeled where they will appear on the map, next round. Because of his Varisian tattoo, he casts summons as a 2nd level wizard. Because of Summoner's Charm, his summons lasts an extra round. Therefore, the rats will be in play for three rounds after they appear.
Smarmy scowls at the hold up, as everyone seems suddenly worried about a few mushrooms in a cave, but he quickly puts on a well-meaning smile, nodding along with Utnapishtim's suggestion.
Male Human Wizard(Conjurer)/1 | Current HP: 7 out of 7 | AC: 12 | Init: +2 | Perception: +0 | Fort +2 | Ref +2 | Will +2
Once the rats have been summoned, Utnapishtim will wait and observe if they try to eat the non-mushrooms. Rats are scavengers, after all, and should take advantage of the opportunity to obtain some "found" food in the absence of any enemies/predators.
Just having some RP fun, since we seem to have hit a slow point in the game.
Sense Motive:1d20 ⇒ 13
"I'm glad you so eagerly agree!" Utnapishtim replies. "I didn't know that you enjoyed intellectual discovery, too. Do you happen to have anything that might aid our research? Tools? Vials? I'd like to take a sample of these not-mushrooms back to the collection of slimes, molds, and spores in Kreighton Shaine's office at the Grand Lodge." He then goes on about fungi...
Wall o' Text:
"The anatomy of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizas formed by the various species from the Endogonaceae within subterranean roots can be compared with a very close, careful visual examination. In cultures of single species of fungi, each fungus forms a characteristic infection pattern within subterranean roots. Fungi from the genera Glomus (excluding G. tenuis), Acaulospora and Gigaspora are then readily distinguished from each other. Within each genus, species vary in the extent to which they formed hyphae or vesicles with dissimilar morphology. Differences among genera are always greater than those among species within genera. This emphasizes a role for infection morphology in taxonomic descriptions of the fungi which are usually limited to features of spores. These key characteristics are useful for distinguishing among species of fungi within roots of subterranean clover."
"There are several types of mycorrhizal symbiosis (ectomycorrhiza, endomycorrhiza, ectendomycorrhiza), and the interfaces between the host-plant and the fungal symbiont have different organizations. The interfaces between the partners are always limited on the one side by the fungal plasmalemma and on the other side by the plasmalemma of the host plant or the perisymbiont membrane derived from it The cytoplasms of the partners are therefore separated by a mixed apoplast consisting of a fungal wall and a host wall or an apposition layer."
The rats appear and start to have a chew at the mushrooms.
Yummy.
And then the whole patch of mushrooms flows. One moment the rats are there, the next the rats are engulfed in the mass. For a moment or two there is a small sign of movement, and then all is once again still. Of the rats there is no sign.
These are definitely not normal mushrooms.
knowledge(dungeoneering) DC12:
It is a slime mold. You must be trained in knowledge(dungeoneering) to attempt this check.
Male Human Wizard(Conjurer)/1 | Current HP: 7 out of 7 | AC: 12 | Init: +2 | Perception: +0 | Fort +2 | Ref +2 | Will +2
Well, Utnapishtim failed his previous Knowledge(Dungeoneering) check. So, he doesn't know what the not-mushrooms are. :-( I also removed the rats from the map.
