Fungal Garden Encounters, Hazards and NPCs

" A gelatinous mound oozes across the ground, carrying objects, plants and fungi along with it. Ignores other creatures unless attacked."

Simple encounter tables for fungal gardens in any fantasy setting. Tables for Fungal Garden Encounter Prompts, Fungal Hazards & Distractions and Fungal Garden Quick NPCs.

[Art by Henrik Karppinen]

Fantasy Fungal Garden Encounters

A huge cavern with a fungal ecosystem, faerie woods covered in all manner of mushrooms, dank swamps with slimes and a strange garden. A goblin gardener dragging a corpse, a grey stone with muttering faces, pigs rooting for truffles and a squat hunter on their monstrous snail mount. Associated with themes of decay, caves, cultivation and gloom.

It's a place of oozes, bats, lichen, fireflies, compost and fungi of all kinds.

There is a fantasy encounters generator at ChaosGen. There is also a pdf of these and more tables at the DriveThruRPG as Fungal Garden Encounters.

10 Fungal Garden Encounter Prompts

1d10	Fungal Garden Encounter Prompts
1	Ghostly fungi grow on a pile of corpses. One body has a glowing ring.
2	A gelatinous mound oozes across the ground, carrying objects, plants and fungi along with it. Ignores other creatures unless attacked.
3	A few dog-sized spiders weave glowing webs into intricate art pieces.
4	A grim trio of priests have just finished planting a sacred berry bush
5	A compost troll has two humanoid fungal helpers and considers itself ruler of this area. They demand tribute in metal or physical labour.
6	A few fungal dwarves sing old songs as they harvest 'fungi cheese'.
7	A huge vampire bat feasts on a boar. Nearby is a saddle, but no rider.
8	Several goblins dance around a steaming pot of of hallucinogenic fungal brew. They are painted in bright patterns and await a guest.
9	A few miners are lost, seeking a cave where they can harvest crystals.
10	A pig is rooting for truffles, leading a pair of hunters discussing bats.

Fungal Garden Hazards and Distractions

1d10	There is (or are)...
1	animated tools digging a hole or an illusion concealing a cave mouth
2	a light source, ... d10 (1-2. a luminous fungus 3. fireflies 4. a small fire 5. glowing slime 6. fire beetles 7. a torch 8. bright runes 9. flickering wisps 10. crystals)
3	a fungus that shrieks when light (or movement) is near
4	a grey stone covered in muttering faces or a disturbance of many bats
5	the strong smell of ... d10 (1-2. bat guano 3. something sweet 4. compost 5. foul magic 6. musk 7. salt 8. vegetables 9. something cooking 10. sulphur)
6	a pile of discarded clothes or a bush with poisonous orange berries
7	a swarm of ghostly rats (or harmless insects); or a diseased corpse
8	sounds of ... d10 (1-2. buzzing 3. strange laughter 4. horns 5. angry insects 6. slurping 7. digging 8. moaning 9. disturbing humming 10. splashing)
9	a swirling fog of hallucinogenic (or poisonous) spores; or a snare trap
10	a cluster of musical mushrooms or a patch of mould that drains heat

Quick Fungal Garden NPCs

1d10	Descriptor	Profession	who...
1	fungi-folk or feral	hermit	is arguing with a toadstool (or mole)
2	squat or badgerkin	mycologist	is digging (or lying in) a trench
3	gnome or reclusive	artist	has a gift (or warning) for the group
4	perplexed or faerie	gardener	grows red mould (or bright moss)
5	reptilian or infected	hunter	is dragging a corpse (or a boat)
6	mossy or gelatinous	alchemist	seeks a musical cave (or a way out)
7	bestial or boneless	forester	is spreading manure (or mulch)
8	renegade or elf	witch	is harvesting slime (or poisons)
9	goblin or sightless	berserker	has a loyal snail (or pig) mount
10	alluring or catlike	scout	is felling (or hugging) a mushroom

More Encounters