On a Yellow Dingo's Fungus Guide XVI-XXI

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A long time ago, a blogger, Yellow Dingo posted many weird and wonderful things. Sadly (s)he is no longer with us. The best work by yellow dingo was a series on weird and dangerous fungus that was posted to his blog.. Sadly, that blog is now lost, to a spammer. However, some members of our community managed to save that information.

In the spirit of archival and rejuvenation, I am without permission (and with no charge to my patrons), reposting that wonderful series here on this blog. All writing and art is credit to the original poster at Yellow Dingo. All fungus statted up for Labyrinth Lord, but easily convertable to any system from Original Dungeons and Dragons to 5th Edition. Anyone who feels strongly that this is a bad (or good) idea, feel free to contact me with your concerns. My personal hard drive and OSR back channels are not nearly as resilient as the cloud. Enjoy.

From the defunct Yellow Dingo Appendix blog:

A Guide to Dangerous Fungi XVI-XXI

Asawi

Environment	Swamps, Any Morning Mist	Alignment	Neutral
Armour Class	5	Hit Dice	9*
Move	60' (20')	Intelligence	18
Attacks	2 Claws	Damage	3d6+2
No. Appearing	1 (1)	Save As	Magic User: L25
Treasure Type	Nil	XP Value	N/A
Morale	12

Description:Asawi wanders the Plane of Decay and can only rarely be encountered on the Prime Plane – and only in the morning mist. From a distance it appears to be an Ostrich up to ten feet tall but it is only closer that the differences become apparent – the illuminating fire in particular.  Asawi is one of the dominant forces on the Plane of Decay. It is a Magic-user of considerable power though it seems entirely focused on Charm and Quest Magic. Asawi is a Bard with considerable talent in Singing, Music and Mimicry. It is also a skilled Tracker.
Stats: Magic User L25; Claws 3d6+2; Str (22), Dex (18), Con (9), Int (18), Wis (11), Cha (18); Skills: Tracking (I+2), Mimicry (I), History of the Plane of Decay (I), Alertness (D), Danger Sense (W), Singing (CH+2),Musical Instrument (Ch+2)

Bather's Light

Environment	Dungeons, Caves, Mushroom Forests	Alignment	Neutral
Armour Class	9	Hit Dice	1/2*
Move	0'	Intelligence	1
Attacks	Special	Damage	1d6/round
No. Appearing	1(1)	Save As	Fighter: LX
Treasure Type	Nil	XP Value	6
Morale	12

Description:This Primordial fungi looks more like a flower yet atop its clustered ash-gray stalks a collection of fluorescent white heads illuminate the darkness with their iridescent glow.  Bathers Lights can often be found in proximity to a pool of still water of absolute purity as it causes contaminants to settle out. This is the problem with the fungi – it will do the same to water in living organisms within ten feet of a fungi.

Black Smoker

Environment	Dungeons, Caves, Mushroom Forests	Alignment	Neutral
Armour Class	7	Hit Dice	4*
Move	0'	Intelligence	1
Attacks	Foul Poisonous Miasma	Damage	See Below
No. Appearing	1 (1)	Save As	Fighter: L4
Treasure Type	V	XP Value	125
Morale	12

Description:Growing 4’-7’ tall, these fungi grow partly on the Plane of Decay and give off a black smoke which causes any victim unable to save vs. Dragon-breath to change to a chaotic and evil alignment until cured with a wish.

Cockatrice Fodder

Environment	Dungeons, Caves, Mushroom Forests	Alignment	Neutral
Armour Class	6	Hit Dice	4-7
Move	0'	Intelligence	1
Attacks	4-7 Tentacles	Damage	1d4 per tentacle
No. Appearing	1 (1-10)	Save As	Fighter: L4-L7
Treasure Type	Special	XP Value	75, 175, 275, 450
Morale	12

Description:Amber tentacles growing from the soil can stretch up to 10 feet to attack prey in an attempt to strangle them for nutrients. Its real value is as a food source. Anyone consuming Cockatrice Fodder should save vs. disease or they gain the ability to move fast (triple their current movement rate). Some Barbarian tribes are known to chew this fungus when they need to travel great distances quickly.

Crystalshroom

Environment	Dungeons, Caves, Fungi Forests	Alignment	Neutral
Armour Class	-5	Hit Dice	5*
Move	0'	Intelligence	1
Attacks	1 explosion	Damage	5d6
No. Appearing	1-10 (1-100)	Save As	Fighter: L5
Treasure Type	As seed gem/number appearing	XP Value	300
Morale	12

Description:This fungus contaminates gems with its ‘spore’ causing them to grow into large ‘false crystals’ of that particular gem type. The ‘crystalline Gem’ Explodes on contact unleashing terrible damage. Adventurers don’t get experience points for this one unless they can prevent it from exploding with something along the lines of a hold monster spell.

Eye of the Beholder

Environment	Dungeons, Caves, Mushroom Forests	Alignment	Neutral
Armour Class	9	Hit Dice	1 hp
Move	Rolling 3' (1')	Intelligence	10
Attacks	Disease	Damage	See Below
No. Appearing	2 (as a pair)	Save As	Fighter: L1
Treasure Type	Nil	XP Value	6
Morale	12

Description:The spore of this fungus causes the eyes to fall out (save vs. Disease to avoid) and continue to live on as fungi stalks rupture from the eyeballs and cause the eye to swell and bloat to a huge size. The fungus stalks become eye stalks as the eye becomes a beholder.
Consequently when an adult Beholder dies it will eventually dry out and become a ball of spores that will explode and disperse. It takes a while for the ability to fly to kick in – they are unable to do so until they become beholders after a year rolling about.

Glammour

Environment	Dungeons, Caves, Mushroom Forests	Alignment	Neutral
Armour Class	9	Hit Dice	1 hp/spore
Move	0'	Intelligence	1
Attacks	special	Damage	see below
No. Appearing	1-100 spores	Save As	Normal Human
Treasure Type	Nil	XP Value	6
Morale	12

Description:This fungus contaminates the pollen of certain rare flowers and is harvested by wee folk. Sprinkled on the eyes it causes the victim to be vulnerable to illusion magic—making the ugly reality a more palatable beautiful dream—by lowering the victim’s wisdom to three (save vs. Poison to avoid).
Fairies use it to lower their own wisdom so they will believe in any old rubbish—like their own existence – indeed a fairy free of glamour might think their selves out of existence.

Ichor

Environment	Plants (mostly)	Alignment	Neutral
Armour Class	9	Hit Dice	1 hp/square ft*
Move	0'	Intelligence	1
Attacks	Smother	Damage	1 hp/day
No. Appearing	1 (1)	Save As	Special
Treasure Type	Nil	XP Value	6
Morale	12

Description: The mother of all fungi is a refugee from the Plane of Decay this white slime spreads on living things (particularly plants) slowly causing damage and discharging a foul smell (save vs. Disease or vomiting the first time it is encountered).
It’s immune to everything but fire. And will spread unchecked to devour the countryside reducing entire forests and crops to a rotten slimy mass. It is because of this immunity to damage that Trolls will deliberately coat themselves in this—making fire their only vulnerability.
In the end a policy of scorched earth will destroy this fungi—leaving agricultural, forest, and even swamp reduced to badlands.

Ironshroom

Environment	Dungeons, Caves, Mushroom Forests	Alignment	Neutral
Armour Class	1	Hit Dice	7*
Move	0'	Intelligence	2
Attacks	6 fungi-stalks/round	Damage	1d8
No. Appearing	1 (1)	Save As	Fighter: L7
Treasure Type	Nil	XP Value	850
Morale	12

Description:The main body of this shroom is below the surface. It erupts from the surface and smacks against ankles of feet that are putting pressure on the Fungus from the surface like a War-hammer.

Matnarn's Gill

Environment	Dungeons, Caves, Mushroom Forests	Alignment	asdf
Armour Class	7	Hit Dice	4*
Move	0'	Intelligence	1
Attacks	Special	Damage	See Below
No. Appearing	1(1)	Save As	Fighter: L4
Treasure Type	Nil	XP Value	125
Morale	12

Description:Matnarn’s Gill is a strange fungi—it doesn’t pose a threat until the Victim exposed to its invisible Miasma attempts to swim underwater then it adapts the victim to a water-breathing environment making any attempt to return to the surface world near-impossible.
Only a wish can reverse the effects.

Poisoner's Cup

Environment	Dungeons, Caves, Mushroom Forests	Alignment	Neutral
Armour Class	9	Hit Dice	1/2*
Move	0'	Intelligence	1
Attacks	Poisonous Splash	Damage	See Below
No. Appearing	1(1)	Save As	Normal Human
Treasure Type	Special	XP Value	6
Morale	12

Description:This fungus produces a black juice in its ‘cup’ which it will deliberately spill in the direction of its prey in an attempt to splash a victim with the poison. The poison itself is a cruel death—the victim will age a year every day they do not make a save vs. Poison. Making the Saving throw only staves off the effect for twenty four hours—in the end only a wish can cure this poison though the effects are forever.
The poison is worth 5000gp per cup though it is impossible to get at.

Rot-Iron

Environment	Dungeons, Caves, Mushroom Forests	Alignment	Neutral
Armour Class	9	Hit Dice	1/2*
Move	0'	Intelligence	1
Attacks	Special	Damage	Special
No. Appearing	1 (1)	Save As	Normal Human
Treasure Type	Nil	XP Value	6
Morale	12

Description:This fungus has come from the Plane of Decay. Its food source is Iron so Swords and Armour are an obvious meal which it will cause to decay and rot quickly (a turn per pound weight).
Its real threat is to Iron in blood—quickly infecting open wounds and the whole body with rotting fungi—reducing the Constitution at the rate of one per turn until constitution drops below three and death occurs. Only a wish can cure a victim of this fungus as it is immune to all else. It will also feed on Ironshroom.

Totem-shroom

Environment	Dungeons, Caves, Mushroom Forests, Plane of Decay	Alignment	Neutral
Armour Class	6	Hit Dice	1*
Move	0'	Intelligence	1
Attacks	Special	Damage	Special
No. Appearing	1 (10-100)	Save As	Normal Human
Treasure Type	Nil	XP Value	950
Morale	12

Description:These are used by the lords of Decay to isolate a region of interest. The Totem-shroom serves as a symbol of insanity—hough non-magical in nature. Any looking upon them is driven mad (requires a charisma check to avoid madness).

Constrictor

Environment	Dungeons, Caves, Mushroom Forests	Alignment	Neutral
Armour Class	5	Hit Dice	5
Move	90' (30')	Intelligence	1
Attacks	1 Squeeze	Damage	1d10
No. Appearing	1 (1-10)	Save As	Fighter: L3
Treasure Type	U	XP Value	175
Morale	12

Description:What initially appears as a either a short mushroom or a Long Stalked Shroom will in proximity to a foe cause a root-like tail to erupt from the soil to entangle and squeeze the victim or in the case of the long stalk cause the upper half of the shroom to wrap around the victim. Either way the Shroom will constrict until the victim is nutrients. It is also possible that the constrictor will be travelling when encountered.
A Strength Roll to escape its grasp is required otherwise it will exert squeeze damage each round.

Touchmold

Environment	Dungeons, Caves, Mushroom Forests	Alignment	Neutral
Armour Class	9	Hit Dice	1 hp/square ft*
Move	0'	Intelligence	1
Attacks	Special	Damage	See below
No. Appearing	1(1)	Save As	Fighter: 1L/8 square feet
Treasure Type	Nil	XP Value	6
Morale	12

Description:This leathery yellow mould patch can often be found growing in moist conditions on wood or stone. Its insidiousness is its curse—any fool touching this patch of mould will be marked for life. Fungi of all types will go out of their way to respond with hostility toward the Victim.