History[]
Aeons past, in the murky origins of The Blight, the nameless Godtrees fought a stemming battle against the encroaching Blightwoods. The fog of time has blotted many of the details of this conflict from the memories of the world. To this day, only this is said with confidence: whole forests, wizened kings, and exalted temples rose and fell while the battle raged. Though the day was won and The Blight was held at bay, victory came at a dire cost. The most elder Godtree was felled with a calamitous blow. It is this shrouded tale from whence the Myconids sprang.
Culture[]
The Myconids are a hearty race of fungus-like people. Though their population does not reach the staggering number of the more conventional races, the Myconids have more potential than presence. Each Myconid is a conciousness older than the body containing it, and each conciousness is but one mote of the vast collective of Myconid minds. The Myconids explain this as they are the decompositional force of an ancient felled Godtree, and that its essence, potent unto death, is what animated their vast yet finite identitites. This essence, while potent, can animate only so many bodies; far fewer than the minds it harbors. The Myconids explain that there is no proper queue for a conciousness to germinate to a body and that when a conciousness' time has come, it is by a will and design not theirs to question. When a Myconid dies, its remains (particularly what are called "revenant spores") are collected and incorporated back into a central mass. There is no ritual or celebration or mourning, as the Myconids know that their brethren are "merely resting." The import of the process is somewhat undercut by the lack of ritual, because the returned conciousness brings with it new information of its experiences and the world at large which is then shared with all non-germinated Myconid consciousnesses.
When a myconid is germinated, a small council of elder "monk-shrooms" will lead the newly formed body to the most defined structure of their colony; The Hall of Totems. Each Myconid identity has a personal affinity with an item they have bonded with in previous lives. While the newly formed Myconid isn't a full adult, they will have the base notions of their identity and an inexplicable draw to their item, shelved among the many thousands in the hall. The monks instruct the new body to reach for and touch only the item to which they feel "the pull."
Settlement[]
The Myconids hail from a semi-subterranean and loosely organized and defined colony, housed within the fallen husk of a gargantuan Godtree (lending credence to their origin.) Tucked away in a dark forest and half reclaimed by earth, the dank and dark colony is internally lit by phosphorescent lichens. The myconids do not claim individual domiciles, as their colony lacks many such defined structures. Instead, when Myconids are not tending to food stores or tending to totems, they spend a few hours in communal rest spots, in which their bodies recharge to keep up with their mind. These spots are typically to the side of the second most defined structures in the colony; heavily trodden paths.
Notable Figures[]
Those Myconids outside the colony fall into two categories. Notable emissary adventurers who travel to promote relations and trade with the other races of the world, and a special echelon of wanderers known as Spore Hunters. The Spore Hunters are Myconids that devote their lives to tracking down fallen Myconids across the land to return their Revenant Spores to the central mass. Once a Spore Hunter has found spores, they will trek back to the colony with dogged determination, refusing to rest until their brethren is returned. The Spore Hunters are uniformly outfitted with deadly totem weapons and are considered to be among the finest combatants in the world. Only fools and beasts without reason challenge to see a Spore Hunter's mettle. Seldom few survive the experience.
Myconid Spore Hunter
Statistics[]
Ability scores: +2 Wis, +2 Con/Str
Size: Medium
Speed: 5 squares
Vision: Dark vision
Languages: Telepathy 20
Skill Bonses: +2 Nature, +2 Endurance
Fungal Resiliency: A myconids body is a large colony of various fungi that work together like the organ systems of non-fungal beings. These fungi can work together to recover from grievous blows more quickly than other organisms. Myconids have a Regeneration value equal to their Constitution modifier.This increases to 3 + Constitution modifier at the 11th level, and to 6 + Constitution modifier at the 21st level.
Fungal Vulnerabilities: Myconids thrive in dark, dank places and typically avoid bright lights and open flames. Myconids have Vulnerability: 5 (fire, radiant), and a Myconid's regeneration doesn't work for one round after taking fire and/or radiant damage.
Racial Power:
Spore Cloud
Enounter, poison
Minor action, Close blast 3
Target: All creatures in area
Attack: Con +2 vs Fort
Hit: Target takes ongoing 3 poison damage (save ends.)
- Con +4, ongoing 6 poison damage (save ends) at 11th level.
- Con +6, ongoing 9 poison damage (save ends) at 21st level.
Feat Support[]
HEROIC
Envoy: Telepathy range is increased to 25.
Enlarged Spore Burst: Spore Cloud becomes a close blast 5.
Noxious Spores: Targets take an additional 1d6 poison damage when hit by Spore Cloud.
PARAGON
Focused Spores: Spore Cloud targets enemies only.
Persistent Spores: Spore Burst targets suffer -2 penalty to saving throw against Spore Cloud's effects.
Fast Recovery: Once per day, as a free action, a Myconid may ignore the fire and/or radiant damage type penalties to regeneration.
EPIC
Pernicious Spores: Targets are also weakened when hit by Spore Cloud (save ends both effects).
Adaptation: You lose your vulnerabilities to fire and radiant damage. (The penalties to regenerations still apply as normal).