Subterranean
History/Background
... two centuries ago at the end of the aboleth civil war they were crushed by millions of gallons of water when the magic that created the bubble over the terrible slave city of Imhabba...
... water drained from countless miles of twisted tunnels and caverns along the shore of the dark sea.
Once exposed to air the sediment of a millennium was perfect for a fungus bloom and was the sign the myconid dream shaman had foretold.
The once submerged temples of foul aquatic aberrations still protected and cursed by...
The discovery of copper, rubies and sapphires brought the younger sons of duergar nobles and attracted the attention of minor drow merchant clans as well as slavers who sold their grim wares to both.
Abandoned when the mines played out these outposts and fortified temples still harbor...
Duergar skull with a jewel encrusted crown bolted to it. (Umbral template on a duergar).
In order to alleviate the constant grimlock attacks they built tunnels up to the surface.
Common Creatures in the Area
Campestri 1/6 see below
Neogi, Spawn 1/3 Lords of Madness
Monstrous Centipede - Medium 1/2 Monster Manual
Fungus, Shrieker 1 Monster Manual
Puppeteer 1 Expanded Psionics Handbook
Grimlock 1 Monster Manual
Troglodyte 1 Monster Manual
Planetouched, Zenythri 1 Monster Manual 2
Puppeteer, Flesh Harrower 2 Expanded Psionics Handbook
Grick 3 Monster Manual
Fungus, Violet Fungus 3 Monster Manual
Ooze, Gelatinous Cube 3 Monster Manual
Demon, Elemental - Air 3 Dragon Compendium Volume One
Swarm, Centipede 4 Monster Manual
Carrion Crawler 4 Monster Manual
Gibbering Mouther 5 Monster Manual
Ooze, Ochre Jelly 5 Monster Manual
Illithidae, Kigrid 5 Lords of Madness
Psurlon, Average 5 Lords of Madness
Mageripper Swarm 6 Monster Manual 4
Shambling Mound 6 Monster Manual
Vinespawn 7 Monster Manual 5 (modify it to mushroom spawn)
Troll, Cave 8 Monster Manual 3
Caller in Darkness 9 Expanded Psionics Handbook
Templates
Symbiont, Psionic Sinew 1/8 Fiend Folio
Element Creature, Wood Varies Manual of the Planes
Pseudonatural Creature Varies Lords of Madness, Manual of the Planes
Tomb Spider, Web Mummy Varies Monster Manual 4
Ravenous Creature +1 Dragon Compendium Volume One
Ghoulish Creature +1 Dragon Compendium Volume One
Cave Creature +1 Advanced Bestiary
Umbral Creature +2 Libris Mortis
Trap Haunt +2 Dragon Compendium Volume One
Death Knight +3 Monster Manual 2
Other Creatures in the Area
MM II
Jermlaine 1/2
Myconid, Circle Leader 6
MM III
Mindshredder, Larva 1
Mindshredder, Warrior 4
Seryulin 7
MM IV
Tomb Spider Broodswarm 2
Tomb Spider 6
MM V
Rylkar, Madclaw 3
FF
Varrangoin, Lesser 6
Abyssal Ghoul 10
Lords of Madness
Neogi, Great Old Master 6
CAMPESTRI
Tiny Plant
Hit Dice: 1d8 (4 hp)
Initiative: +0 (Dex)
Speed: 30 ft
AC: 12 (+2 size), touch 12, flat-footed 12
Attacks: Butt +0 melee
Damage: Butt 1d2-3
Face/Reach: 2 1/2 ft by 2 1/2 ft/0 ft
Special Attacks: Spores
Special Qualities: Sound imitation, tremorsense, plant traits
Saves: Fort +2, Ref +0, Will -1
Abilities: Str 4, Dex 11, Con 10, Int 4, Wis 8, Cha 9
Skills: Listen +5
Feats: Weapon Finesse (butt) (B)
Climate/Terrain: Any marsh
Organization: Herd (4-24)
Challenge Rating: 1/6
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 2-3 HD (Tiny)
Campestri are a tiny mushroom people, perhaps vaguely related to myconids. They look like little toadstools with faces, and have no limbs. They seem to have no concerns, and are carefree and oblivious to just about everything. They come in many colors, from white to tan to dark brown, but all have reddish or purple caps with speckles. Campestris move by expanding and contracting their roots to form a simple walking motion. Campestris sleep during the day, and only move around at night.
These fungi are just smart enough to have very simple reasoning capacities, and have developed a rather warped sense of humor. A campestri herd forms a sort of collective intellect, by which they seem to double their intelligence. Druids or bards may be vaguely aware of the existence of campestris through old legends.
Campestri are a musical people, and will flock to anyone singing or playing instruments, even if they music is extremely bad. They sing and dance along with the music, and are capable of imitating both words and instrumentation. They tend not to repeat the words very well, as they lack understanding of any language. A bard that can teach campestris to sing on key has accomplished an awesome task.
Campestri absorb salty soil, filter out the salt, and expel an oily paste of purified soil. This makes campestri taste salty, which does keep many swamp predators away, although bullywugs consider them a delicacy.
COMBAT
Campestris are very weak in combat, and only attack creatures as a distraction. They can make a sort of sprinting action to butt opponents, and can use this tactic to swarm spellcasters and break their concentration. They will usually release their spores in the first round of combat, as this is their only real defense.
Spores (Sp): Once per day, a campestri can release a spore cloud in a radius of 10 feet. These spores affect all breathing creatures as a slow spell if they fail a Will save (DC 10), for 1d4+4 rounds.
Sound Imitation (Ex): Campestris remember every sound they have ever heard, and are able to repeat it in their obnoxious, nasal falsetto. They do not remember words very well though, and tend to mispronounce everything they try to speak or sing.
Plant Traits: A campestri is immune to poison, sleep, paralysis, stunning, and polymorphing. It is not subject to critical hits or mind-affecting effects. The creature also has low-light vision.
Skills: Campestri receive a +6 racial bonus to Listen checks.
The campestri first appeared in Dungeon #41 ("Old Man Katan and the Incredible, Edible Mushroom Band," Ted James Thomas Zuvich, 1993?), and Monstrous Compendium Annual One (1994).