The Red Warden

The Red Warden is a massive, sentient mushroom which the myconid village of Matango is built around. The myconids who live near it show the Red Warden great respect, caring for its needs in exchange for its protection. The Red Warden possesses the ability to see and hear everything within range of its spores, which have spread far and wide throughout the many tunnels near Matango. This combined with its precise control over the spores hallucinatory effects allow it to guide travelers who would do Matango and its citizens harm away from the settlement without them ever realizing they were being manipulated. It also tells stories of what it has seen to the myconids, both to entertain them and keep them informed about the goings on of the outside world.
The Red Warden is also noted to have a near perfect memory that rivals that of an aboleth. It is said that the Red Warden can recall anything it has observed, either directly or through its spores, ever since it originally achieved sentience centuries ago. Despite these many abilities, the Red Warden is uncertain exactly what it is or if there are any other mushrooms like him out there somewhere.