Mushroomfolk

The Underworld is teeming with danger and death. The ravenous and unrelenting darakhul seek domination over everything in their path. The inscrutable madness of the derro make them dangerous to creatures in reach of their domain. The calculating and dispassionate drow put their own survival above everything else. With so many inhospitable, or openly evil, forces at play in the Underworld, one race lives a more-or-less peaceful life in the depths of the world: the mushroomfolk.

A Diverse Physiognomy

The physical appearance of mushroomfolk is even more diverse than their flesh-and-blood counterparts. They have evolved appendages resembling arms and legs, as well as organs for taking in sensory information. Beyond that, they can be as different from one another as surface fungi are from each other, even within the same clan. Some mushroomfolk are tall and thin with caps like toadstools, while others might be short and squat like puffballs. Their diversity strengthens the survivability of their race and their clan. Mushroomfolk have no gender, and they are capable of both sexual and asexual reproduction. Roughly once a year, a mushroomfolk is capable of creating a copy of itself via a specialized spore, which takes about 5 years to become an adult mushroomfolk. It’s also possible for two mushroomfolk to combine spores and create a completely new type of mushroomfolk. This process takes longer, and usually only takes place when the clan is in a settlement phase. An adult grows from this process after about 10 years, but such individuals are considered hardier and a good omen for a clan. Clans of Wanderers and Settlers

The lives of the mushroomfolk are concerned mainly with the search for, or the tending of, sources of nutrition. This concern dictates the lifestyle, religion, ethos, and survival of the mushroomfolk. Clans of the creatures wander the Underworld until they find an area rich in the nutrition they need to survive. If a large area of potential nutrition is found, the wandering clan changes its mode of operation. Specialists in raising creatures or farming vegetation take over, letting the scouts and wayfinders rest for a bit. At the same time, the scouts and wanderers from other clans might encounter a settled clan. Wandering newcomers join the settled clan for a time, learn from them, share spores to strengthen the clans, and determine if the clans must combine or split to ensure optimal chances of survival. Clans may settle for a few weeks, a few months, or even a few years. At some point, however, the nutrition runs out. Then the clan switches survival modes again, repeating the process as scouts are deployed and the clan goes on the move. Mushroomfolk Religion

The mushroomfolk gain sustenance from death and decay. Unlike the darakhul, however, they feed on creatures and vegetation that have died naturally and started to decay. This reliance on putrescence as a form of food often seems ghoulish to outsiders—or at least it seems so until the outsider encounters the true ghouls of the Underworld. During important times of the year, the mushroomfolk perform elaborate rituals involving the finding and the harvesting of food: when scouts leave or return, when important sites of sustenance are found, when scouts of other clans join them or leave, etc. Even during less important times, the mushroomfolk have small rites and rituals they perform that others might not even notice. Experts in religion who watch these rituals recognize them as a spattering of rites from different faiths. The most prevalent offerings revolve around the worship of Anu-Akma, the Lord of the Underworld and one of the main deities of the darakhul. However, the mushroomfolk have no idea of the power they are worshipping: they simply revere the force that brings the decay and rot that they need to survive. Relations with the Darakhul

The mushroomfolk have an interesting and unique relationship with the darakhul. They are no threat to the darakhul, but nor are they a potential food source. The darakhul, on the other hand, are a tasty treat to the mushroomfolk—even when still in an undead state, but especially after they have been destroyed. This is disconcerting to the darakhul. On the other hand, the trusting and placid nature of the mushroomfolk makes them a useful tool for the darakhul. Darakhul spies can count on getting honest intelligence from mushroomfolk scouts or clans they encounter, which might be useful in their subjugation of the Underworld. The mushroomfolk also understand that where darakhul armies march, there is often death, with rotting bodies to give them sustenance. Mushroomfolk Names

A mushroomfolk is given a name by the clan leaders when it becomes old enough to take on important work for the clan. The individual receives a name for itself, and it also takes on the name of its clan. A mushroomfolk without a clan only uses its given name, or it might take on a pseudonym if it lives in shame for past misdeeds. Individual Names: Arhk, Bussle, Carntul, Darvish, Furnum, Garbelt, Haredt, Jarbish, Lever, Mivel, Paruuk, Qibble, Staphle, Vassil Clan Names: Aaughot, Chough, Dousku, Guush, Hoovush, Kushuk, Nouhuph, Phushmug, Shublum, Unugh, Wurnush Mushroomfolk Traits

Your mushroomfolk character has certain characteristics in common with all other mushroomfolk. Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 2. Age. Mushroomfolk reach maturity by the age of 5 and rarely live longer than 50 years. Size. Mushroomfolk size is determined by their subrace. Alignment. The limited interaction mushroomfolk have with other creatures leaves them with a mostly neutral view of the world in terms of good and evil, while their societal structure makes them more prone to law than chaos. Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet. Darkvision. Accustomed to life underground, you can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.  Fungoid Form. You are a humanoid, though the fungal nature of your body and your unique diet of decayed vegetable and animal matter marks you with some plant-like characteristics. You have advantage on saving throws against poison, and you have resistance to poison damage. In addition, you are immune to disease. Hardy Survivor. Your upbringing in mushroomfolk society has taught you how to defend yourself and find food. You have proficiency in the Survival skill. Languages. You can speak, read, and write Mushroomfolk and your choice of Common or Undercommon. Subrace. Three subraces of mushroomfolk are known to wander Midgard: acid cap, favored, and morel. Choose one of these subraces. Playing a Mushroomfolk

The close-knit nature of mushroomfolk clans generally makes the tales of mushroomfolk PCs hard-luck stories. Most likely your clan was destroyed by some Underworld threat, and you now wander the world looking for a new family. Maybe you were exiled from your clan for some reason, and you were adopted by some other race or a group of adventurers. You even might be off on a long-term mission to collect information about an area, serving your clan in that way, and you will return only when you feel you have enough interesting data to provide. Mushroomfolk Subraces

Because of the multitude of physical makeups of mushroomfolk, there are great differences among and within the clans. However, there are three main subraces of mushroomfolk that are most likely to become adventurers. • Acid Cap
• Favored
• Morel