Creative Director
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The concept of a fungus that turns a living creature into a sloppy fungus-like monster is nothing new for the game... things like vegepygmies and yellow musk creeper zombies come to mind (even though a yellow musk creeper isn't technically a fungus...)...
SO! What about other, more obscure monsters from d20 sources who are fungus monsters? What's your favorite?
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The concept of a fungus that turns a living creature into a sloppy fungus-like monster is nothing new for the game... things like vegepygmies and yellow musk creeper zombies come to mind (even though a yellow musk creeper isn't technically a fungus...)...
SO! What about other, more obscure monsters from d20 sources who are fungus monsters? What's your favorite?
Who can forget Zuggtmoy, the demoness queen of fungi, and her related fungus monsters (ascomids, phycomids, zygoms, ustiluagors, basidironds)?
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There was a pretty sweet fungus monster included in the Open Design Project: The Empire of the Ghouls. I'm not sure how available it is...
Honestly, there is not a lot of fungus among us.
Blackdirge has a great template here!
The Fungal Creature template in Advanced Bestiary
Dark Quest Games/Top Fashion Games has a few PDFs including the free The Arcane Tome Of Mycology which includes some monsters.
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...and here is a picture of the Deathcap.
My only reservation is that this fella could probably never play a good guy.
The OGL needs a good shroom-man!
I'd love to see somebody stat up the "House" from Sterling Lanier's Hiero's Journey--an awakened, Gargantuan fungus with LOTS of levels in psion.
Blackdirge has a great template here!
Thanks DF.
My Moldering template actually infects plant monsters with one of the varieties of dangerous dungeon fungi and mold (green slime, brown mold, etc.). It gives the base creature some of the parasitic organism’s abilities, but adds a few drawbacks as well.
BD
The Fungal Creature template in Advanced Bestiary
This is a fun template. Good eye, DF.
Honestly, there is not a lot of fungus among us.
I don't know, DitheringFool, I always thought of you as a real... wait for it... fun guy.
HAHAHAHAHA!!!
Mike I sure hope to be seeing you in August. Always need a good laugh, and you always seem to be able to deliver.
As for that picture of the Deathcap...is it just me or does it remind you of Mother Brain from Captain N?
And if you don't know who or what Captain N is....well...look to the 80s to find out.
I know I shouldn't, there's not mushroom left for puns here.... puns get mold fast....
As for that picture of the Deathcap...is it just me or does it remind you of Mother Brain from Captain N?
Hahaha! It does! Awesome! Not to throw this off topic too much, but if you look at the map of Golismorga in Dungeon #144 "The Lightless Depths," you can still kind of see the metroid I hid in my turnover. It's a gray building with three red dots, if you hold the map upside down, its on the west side of the city with its "tentacles" pointed toward the E on the compass rose.
Oh, back on topic, the dusanu. 'Cause it's a sporey plant monster with a Trick! (At least, I think it's spores.) It's all like, "Ha! You turned undead on me becuase I look like a mossy skeleton, but I'm really a plant! Eat Mushroom Death Do-Gooder!" See, tricky.
my favorite is the moldered man creature that I created... be happy to show it to you James ;-)
ahem...
I have always been partial to russet mold / vegipygmies myself, followed by Olive Slime / Olive Slime creatures and then with yellow musk creepers/zombies bringing up the rear... honeslty I think the fungal creature template from Advanced Bestiary(mentioned above by Ditheringfool) is very nice.
I have always liked the Dusanu (Rot Fiend) too, but I don't think that it is OGL
There is a 30-40 acre, 10,000-year-old single organism fungus colony in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (the humungous fungus among-us) that sends out normal looking mushroom caps as "scouts" for food. I see no reason why something similar couldn't develop sentience and become a genius loci (which just happens to be OGL) looking for a new favored slave.
Don't get any ideas Beeler.
Don't get any ideas Beeler.
Hey, I'd like to file that idea under "sane."
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Contributor
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Mike I sure hope to be seeing you in August.
Does anyone else think that sounds slightly like a threat? Anyone?
*crickets*
Uh oh... :\
;D
Always need a good laugh, and you always seem to be able to deliver.
You mean, let me understand this cause, ya know maybe it's me, I'm a little f*+$ed up maybe, but I'm funny how, I mean funny like I'm a clown, I amuse you? I make you laugh, I'm here to f%+~in' amuse you? What do you mean funny, funny how? How am I funny?
;D
You mean, let me understand this cause, ya know maybe it's me, I'm a little f~*~ed up maybe, but I'm funny how, I mean funny like I'm a clown, I amuse you? I make you laugh, I'm here to f~*~in' amuse you? What do you mean funny, funny how? How am I funny?
Goodfellas reference! WIN!
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There is a 30-40 acre, 10,000-year-old single organism fungus colony in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (the humungous fungus among-us) that sends out normal looking mushroom caps as "scouts" for food. I see no reason why something similar couldn't develop sentience and become a genius loci (which just happens to be OGL) looking for a new favored slave.
Is this a leg pull? If not I would like to see a link.
Is this a leg pull? If not I would like to see a link.
There's quite a few scholarly articles about it, but here's the Crystal Falls Fungus Fest link instead.
Hard to tell when I'm being serious, isn't it?
Too bad the idea of a giant fungus creature with immense psionic abilities was already used in the forgotten realms.
Although it could be used in some other way:
Create one that covers over 100 acres, and is below a whole island - in fact, it *IS* the whole island, there's just a couple dozen feet ground above it, and at the sides it has some corals.
And this thing doesn't sprout honey shrooms, it spreads fungians, a hive-minded group of mushroom creatures that has workers, fighters, and even stronger forms like overminds.
In short, a mix of formians, zerk, and a bee-hive
Too bad the idea of a giant fungus creature with immense psionic abilities was already used in the forgotten realms.
Never was much of a FR fan, so I missed that one. Do you have a reference?
There is a 30-40 acre, 10,000-year-old single organism fungus colony in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (the humungous fungus among-us) that sends out normal looking mushroom caps as "scouts" for food. I see no reason why something similar couldn't develop sentience and become a genius loci (which just happens to be OGL) looking for a new favored slave.
To take it one step further, the fungi could have a symbiotic relationship with a species (or multiple species) of insects, a la Dutch Elm Disease. Might be an interesting way to introduce a hivemind-esque component to a bunch of monstrous insects that are not otherwise social.
Never was much of a FR fan, so I missed that one. Do you have a reference?
I think the FRCS and/or Underdark have information on it, and it appeared in the War of the Spider Queen novel line.
SO! What about other, more obscure monsters from d20 sources who are fungus monsters? What's your favorite?
Myconids! The only monsters in the Monster Manuals you can eat!
Actually, I love these guys. I use them as often as I can, and I've developed several varieties including one that makes a pretty decent PC race. IMC, myconids are every bit as prevalent as drow, duergar, or any other underdark race; they just live a little deeper down.
Myconids! The only monsters in the Monster Manuals you can eat!
Who says you can't eat the others? Constructs might be a problem, because they're mostly stone and metal (though you do need minerals and iron!), undead are simply rotten and elementals are mostly a problem, too (though chocolate paraelementals are a different matter). But what's against eating things like horse, blink dog (very nice, because there's a good chance that it will disappear from your stomach, so you get all the taste but none of the calories), roc (I can never eat a whole one, though I always try), octopus? Or assassin vine in case you're vegetarian.
In fact, the perfect cattle would be some magical beast with fast healing. Harvest a ham and let it heal up. No need to butcher a whole beast for some light dinner.
In fact, Myconids are among the less healthy monsters, because you start seeing smells and hearing colours when you eat one.
The concept of a fungus that turns a living creature into a sloppy fungus-like monster is nothing new for the game... things like vegepygmies and yellow musk creeper zombies come to mind (even though a yellow musk creeper isn't technically a fungus...)...
SO! What about other, more obscure monsters from d20 sources who are fungus monsters? What's your favorite?
Aside from campestri, migo and myconids all on my short list of favored fungi, I would have to point to Sehan (the substance, the god, or the flavor of Kool-Aid, you decide) as my favorite. Not only are the children of Sehan (Dungeon 145) as soothing to have around as the campestri, but they are more threatening than the shroomfolk, and as Lovecraftian as the migo being 'themselves' (if such a word is appropriate) extensions of a living god. Also, while they are green they are definitely parasitic after a fashion while in the short term they may seem to be symbiotic. Still I'm not sure they/it could be considered a proper fungus by our rather limited knowledge of the universal standard of such things, though my yak folk masters tell me that they let it slide.
-Tam
Scribe of the Pagoda of the Inscrutable Ones
PS On that note the Cult of Sehan is the only religious movement that consistently can show you actual physical proof that its members have in fact really become one with god.
Who says you can't eat the others?
Well, yes, but there are a lot more recipes for mushroomoids on recipezaar.com than there are for orcs and dragons. I checked.
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Contributor
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Wait, do we have to use D&D sources, or can we drag outside fiction into this?
Then we get fun stuff like the Pod People from Invasion of the Body snatchers (pick a year), Day of the Triffids and similar stuff...
The Yellow Musk Creeper is one of my favourite "villains" in the game, though the Myconid and Ettin dungeon in Icewind Dale definitely gets the random monster award for monsters thrown together in my books...
In fact, the perfect cattle would be some magical beast with fast healing. Harvest a ham and let it heal up. No need to butcher a whole beast for some light dinner.
This has appeared at least in one Dungeon adventure,
Gigantic hive mind fungus covering, say, a whole dungeon sounds rather intriguing. And spores, when inhaled, take over your body making you a mindless slave for Fungal Overlord (or maybe just pushing poisons to your bloodstream, causing permanent hallucinations...)
Mi-Go in varasia is an intreguing idea, I could see a remote mining outpost located in some inhospitable region.
Who says you can't eat the others?Well, yes, but there are a lot more recipes for mushroomoids on recipezaar.com than there are for orcs and dragons. I checked.
Mushrooms don't all taste the same, so you'd have some variations in recipes. What's good for champignons doesn't have to work for myconids. But there are probably similarities.
The same goes for meat and salad (assassin vine and so on). Minotaur Stroganoff, stuffed achaierei...
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RPG Superstar 2013 Top 4, RPG Superstar 2011 Top 16
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Too bad the idea of a giant fungus creature with immense psionic abilities was already used in the forgotten realms.Never was much of a FR fan, so I missed that one. Do you have a reference?
It's called the Arumycos and it lives below Turlangs wood in the High Forest. It reaches down into the Upper Northdark and is rup[uted to have tremendous psionic potential.
not EXACTLY a fungus, but the Orcwart tree was always my favorite plant monster. change or template it and write an adventure about an isolated mountain town being preyed upon by wartlings...you know, POD PEOPLE!
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32
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campestri
Wow... it must just be Aussies 'cause Song of the Fens was one of my fav 2e Dungeon Adventures. The Campestris were totally cool and I had a Bard/Dandy when we played it that actually grabbed some and taught them how to be foppishly musical. He had his own little choir which pissed the other characters off no end! =)
Do you know if anyone did up 3.5 stats for the Campestri? I would seriously love to get my hands on that!
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32
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There is a 30-40 acre, 10,000-year-old single organism fungus colony in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (the humungous fungus among-us) that sends out normal looking mushroom caps as "scouts" for food. I see no reason why something similar couldn't develop sentience and become a genius loci (which just happens to be OGL) looking for a new favored slave.Is this a leg pull? If not I would like to see a link.
I think this is the same Fungus that Rambling Scribe sent you to, but another site.
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The Mi-go would be awesome in PF.
Also I loved the adventure "Lord of the Scarlet Tide" from Dungeon #85 by James Jacobs.
I also heard on the radio recently of this type of fungus thats kills frogs and threatens extiction of many types if not all of the frog population on earth.This is bad because frogs are a major part of the ecological balance on our planet. Basically because frogs absorb food and water through their skin they absorb this fungus which then suffocates them to death.frogs also act as an early warning system much like a canary in the mine, that warns us if the environment has been polluted and what not. I could see a really cool adventure based on this concept. It would be based in a region where maybe bullywugs or some other type of amphibans live. the frogs have been dying of this fungus and it threatens the bullywug population. In an effort to stop the fungus the Bullywugs have been raiding humans settlements more and more searching for a cure. the fungus could be magical or a druidic curse or just an act of nature.Any way thats just a rough idea that need to be played with a little.
The concept of a fungus that turns a living creature into a sloppy fungus-like monster is nothing new for the game... things like vegepygmies and yellow musk creeper zombies come to mind (even though a yellow musk creeper isn't technically a fungus...)...
SO! What about other, more obscure monsters from d20 sources who are fungus monsters? What's your favorite?
Intellect Devourer. Can't foeget those nasty little beasts. Came up with idea or an intellect devourer variant based along the lines of a centaur. They're an outcast species like the driders. Hmmmm, need to work on them.