Homebrew Mushroom Born Species Details
Mushroom Born are creatures who live in little groups in forests and caves alongside Myconids and other such creatures; in early life they were humanoids and beasts who may have had a particular attunement to nature or the Feywild, be them pixies, tree folk, or druids.
Mushroom Born are not truly Myconids, but are typically born because of, if not from them, in the following ways:
- A young pixie, fairy, or the like may have come to the material plane on accident, and excursion intended to be merely for fun, but resulted in poachers or kidnappers to capture them and keep them for themselves: harvesting the creatures wings and leaving them to die. Being that this pixie is only a child she may be lost and fearful in her last moments, only for a peaceful group of Myconids to come about her and nurse back to health. With no way of returning her to the Feywild the Myconids take her in as their own and raise her, eventually forming an almost literal symbiotic relationship with their nature and magic.
- A middle aged Wood Elf Guardsman from a nearby village has been sent with others to track down a group of strange looking bandits. Along the way the find themselves within a large intricate cave system leading to the Underdark. The bandits ambush and lay the entire party to waste. A roving Myconid, hearing commotion comes to investigate after much of the noise has subsided and he knows it to be safe. He sees the Guardsman on the cusp of death, breathing his last breath before him. With some magic his body is preserved and brought to his coven. Here they perform and ancient ritual to give their own life force to this being, introducing some of their own spores to his blood. The ritual continues in hopes that the dead's connection to nature inspires their magic to allow the spores to take hold: giving him a second life in the form of this forced symbiote. They are no longer truly dead, but they are not at all what they once were.
In either of these instances the symbiosis imposed upon the creature causes changes in physiology, psychology, and sometimes even personality. These transformations can cause literal spikes or fungal pods to grow off of the skin, the flesh may become hard as bark, a large mushroom like protrusion may grow from the top of the head, some parts of the previously dying body may decay before the symbiosis sets in leaving their eyes vacant black spheres. These transformations are also a lot to handle to those that aren't ready: They may not believe what is happening and become insane, they may be enraged and what has become of them, or perhaps their soul did not remain intact in revival leaving only the husk of a consciousness behind.
Those who take well to the symbiosis, or those who are raised with it, and come to understand what they have gained and what they have become learn to use their new form and gifts to their advantage. Mushroom Born may be resistant to poison, offer healing by way of an ancient ritual dance, or disappear in a cloud of spores. Nature has bestowed upon them many items for survival, but even then no has seen a Mushroom Born die of old age. It is even said that those with full understanding of who and what they are have gained the ability to, over time, change their very appearance and physical form.
~~ Artwork by 'qheist'
~Inspired by a post found on Reddit, most if not all of which has been completely changed.
Mushroom Born Traits
Your Mushroom Born character has the following traits. A few of the traits give you a choice; consider how your choice reflects your characters past life [if they have one] or where exactly they were raised by Myconids.Ability Score Improvement
Mushroom Born are versatile creatures originating from different continents, if not planes of existence. The fungal nature of what you have become has changed you, however: your character's previous life may have involved them being extremely nimble creatures, or perhaps they were a goliath lumberjack! These different avenues allow for versatility in your bonus ability scores. You gain +1 to Constitution, and you may choose on Ability Score to increase by +1.
Age
Mushroom Born have been around for a long time, some much longer than others. They usually mature by 20 but are known to live naturally for hundreds upon hundreds of years.
Alignment
Generally community minded, Mushroom Born look out for the best of the group lending themselves to a Neutral Good alignment. However, there are those who were driven mad by their transformation or have been seduced by their previous evil ways, or evil forces that have touched them upon rebirth that may render them evil.
Size
Mushroom Born adopt the size of their previous forms, especially since most do not undergo intense changes. However, some of the changes that few Mushroom Born put themselves through via magical alteration, meditation, and even forceful physical changes, may render them taller or shorter than normal.
Symbiote Soul
Being born from nature, with the Myconid's own magic, you are imbued with and a part of the essence of nature itself. Given your fungal make-up it is natural for you to become symbiotically attached to certain plant-life. This of course depends on your place of origin or where you typically live: You can lend yourself to the massive hardwood trees of an ancient forest, or other moss and fungi of a lost grotto. This symbiotic ability allows you to attach yourself to a host and remain in a dormant state, feeding from and off of your host, for an almost indefinite amount of time. Upon leaving your host though you must begin sustaining as normal, and if you fail to do so soon after leaving you will suffer 2 points of exhaustion.
Your Symbiote Soul also allows you to Speak With Plants at will. Whether you choose to become a neighbor to your host and strike up friendly conversation, or simply talk to all of the plants in your garden, it is natural for you to speak to your own kind. You also gain proficiency in Nature.
Spore Cloud
Any traveler will warn you not to go eating any mushroom you find as you venture through the forest, and they would be wise to do so. While your character may be kind hearted you are not to be trifled with...or should I say *truffled* with. During your turn of combat, as a Bonus Action, you may release a cloud of spore that has a chance of poisoning nearby foes. When this ability is used all enemies within a 5ft radius must make a DC 15 Constitution save or become Poisoned until the end of their next turn. All enemies who become poisoned may not take an attack of opportunity against any nearby beings until the effect ends. This can be done once per long rest, you will gain more uses as your character grows.
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