Myconids are race of humanoid fungus who hail from the most remote of underground caverns. As a society, they are reclusive and extremely cautious in their dealings with other races, and as such are rarely seen by any other than their neighbors. Most individual myconids are diligent workers that singlemindedly spend their entire lives working for the colony, but they do have a sense of individualism - no matter how small - and occasionally decide to become adventurers.
Play a myconid if you want...
- To play a race with an unconventional method of communication.
- To play as a creature from a subterranean background.
- To be a member of a race that favors the cleric, druid, and monk classes.
Physical Qualities
Myconids are stocky humanoids with bloated, spongy flesh. Their skin tones tend towards shades of grey and tan, but occasionally include dull shades of red and purple. Their heads are topped with a fungal cap, which is usually a darker shade of the same colour as the rest of their skin. Their heads are barely separate from their body, and their faces are only distinguishable as such by a pair of large eyes. Myconids have no mouths and no visible ears. They eat by standing on their food, usually while they sleep, and prefer their food slightly rotten.
Young myconids are immobile and mature rapidly, reaching their equivalent of adolescence within a year. Once they reach this point they begin to move about and work for the colony, and slowly grow to full size in the next four or five years. After this point, their aging is unpredictable: they grow as needed to fill roles missing in their colony. Myconids typically live about forty years before showing any signs of age. At this point their movement begins to slow and within five years they become immobile and begin to decay. A decaying myconid releases spores that grow into new myconids.
Playing a Myconid
Myconids are quick to listen, slow to talk, and even slower to act. Although they are willing to act without planing, they are much less willing to act without a firm grasp of their surroundings and situation. Recklessness is unknown to them. Those who have adventured for some length of time will learn to act with less information if the situation forces them to, but a myconid straight from the colony is likely to be cautious to a fault.
Myconids, especially those removed from their colony, are hard workers, and prefer to finish an entire day's work in one continuous action. When the day's work is done their preferred form of recreation is a type of telepathically shared hallucination, but without other myconids to share the experience with they are likely to attempt to join in whatever form of recreation is common among those hosting them.
Myconids consider most people to be their friends, and enjoy large gatherings. Though loyal, they will not fight to help a friend unless to defend that friend. An enemy of a friend is not an enemy to a myconid, but someone who attacks that friend is.
Myconid Characteristics: Cautious, diligent, pacifistic, reclusive, calm, fatalistic
Names: Myconids have no language of their own, and thus have no name in the conventional sense. Adventuring myconids typically choose a name from the first culture they visit.
Myconid Adventurers
Most myconids never leave their colony, but instead spend their life working. However, though most never visit the outside world, they still prefer to keep track of events outside the colony. Colonies occasionally send scouts to explore the world and come back with stories; these scouts often join groups adventurers and spend most of their lives abroad before returning with what they know. Not all myconid adventurers are scouts - myconids have free will independent of their colony and on occasion get wanderlust. These individuals typically stay with their colony until a season where they are not needed, then strike off on their own.
Breakdown
+08 RP, Plant type
----- RP, low-light vision
----- RP, immunity to mind-affecting effects
----- RP, immunity to paralysis, poison, polymorph, sleep effects, and stunning
----- RP, no need to sleep
+00 RP, small size
-01 RP, slow speed
-02 RP, mixed weakness modifiers (-2 Dex, +2 Con, +2 Wis, -4 Cha)
+00 RP, xenophobic array (Sporespeech*; Common, Sylvan, Treant, Undercommon)
+01 RP, spore cloud (as 1/day obscuring mist spell-like ability)
+02 RP, cave dweller
+02 RP, darkvision 60 ft.
=10 RP, STANDARD RACE
* Sporespeech: Myconids are physically incapable of speaking and instead communicate with others that have been exposed to their spores via a limited form of telepathy called "sporespeech." Myconids may still cast spells with verbal components and/or make use of bardic music abilities (and any other effect that requires audible communication) using sporespeech just as well as a speaking creature can. Their passive spores travel as far as a voice can carry and a myconid can choose who "hears" their sporespeech about as well as a normal person can (in a manner similar to adjusting the volume of one's voice). Sporespeech can be "overheard" with a Perception check just as easily as a normal voice can. Myconids who are sufficiently bound cannot use sporespeech as it prevents the spread of their spores. A myconid may still use Silent Spell to cast spells while so bound, or without anyone "hearing" the verbal component of their spells.
Vital Statistics
Myconid Random Starting Ages
Adulthood; Simple; Moderate; Complex
8 years; +1d4; +1d6; +2d6
Myconid Aging Effects
Middle Age; Old; Venerable; Maximum Age
10 years; 18 years; 24 years; +2d6 years
Myconid Random Height and Weight
Gender; Base Height; Height Modifier; Base Weight; Weight Modifier
Male; 2' 8"; +2d4; 30 lb.; × (1) lb.
Female; 2' 8"; +2d4; 30 lb.; × (1) lb.