Homebrew Myconid Species Details

Myconids are a strange race of sentient plant life found almost exclusively in the Feydark, the Feywild's equivalent to the Underdark realm. They live in large and interconnected communities far below the world's surface, often in biomes full of mushrooms, fungi, and other dark-dwelling plant life. A myconid group — called a troop — consists of several dozen Myconids, Myconid spores, and a single Myconid Sovereign. The Sovereign protects their troop and manipulates the environment using a series of carefully controlled spores, ensuring that their people are kept safe and healthy within their territory.

Myconid Society

Myconids are generally docile by nature, but will defend themselves if threatened. They can be quite shy and prefer to hide from danger rather than face it. When a Myconids does decide to attack, they rely on their spores to incapacitate, charm, and otherwise influence their opponent's mind.

Every Myconid possesses the ability to speak telepathically with most intelligent creatures. They do not possess the ability to form oral words or phrases, but can make soft whistling and humming noises instead. They communicate mostly through telepathy and hand gestures, and emphasize abstract emotions and feelings over words.

Myconids reproduce asexually. They spend their lifetimes growing and developing the spores within their body until, in their old age, they're mature enough to release them. These released spores take root in plants, soil, and living material (such as a corpse) and develop into a Myconid sproutling to begin the cycle anew. Once these spores are released from a Myconid's body, their life force diminishes and they perish soon afterwards.

Myconid Names

Myconids, as a rule, don't usually assign themselves names or titles. They refer to themselves merely as "I" or "me," and have little use for identification within their troops. Among other races and communities, however, they often adopt or earn names to better assimilate into foreign societies. These names can come from any language or culture, but are often a reflection of their appearance to some degree.

Nicknames: Toadstool, Longleaf, Enoki, Parasol, Ergot, Lichen

Myconid Traits

Your myconid character has certain characteristics in common with all other myconids.

Ability Score Increase

Your Wisdom score increases by 2, and your Constitution score increases by 1.

Size

Myconids vary between 1 and 8 feet tall, depending on their age, but adults stand around 5 to 6 feet tall. They weigh approximately 15 times their height. Your size is Small or Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 25 feet.

Languages

You speak via telepathy, and rely on rapport spores to link your mind to others. Although you cannot speak them, you understand Common and one other language of your choice.

Rapport Spores

As an action, a 20-foot radius of spores extends from your body. These spores can go around corners and affect only creatures with an Intelligence of 2 or higher that aren’t undead, constructs, or elementals. Affected creatures can communicate telepathically with one another, including you, while they are within 30 feet of each other. The effect lasts for 1 hour. You have as many uses of these spores equal to your proficiency bonus, and regain all expended uses after a long rest.

Superior Darkvision

Accustomed to life underground, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 120 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.

Sun Sickness

While in direct sunlight, you have disadvantage on ability checks, attack rolls, and saving throws.

Spore Strike

You fungal composition makes every forceful impact you make a potent delivery for toxic spores. If you hit with an unarmed strike, you deal 1d4 poison damage in addition to the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.

Creature Type

Myconids are a species of sentient fungi, born from the ecosystem of the Feydark. Your creature type is Plant.