Psylopods

Physical Traits

The Psylopods are a strange, semi-sentient race of mushroom-like creatures. They often thrive in wet, dark spaces, similar to more common mushrooms. In fact, they share many commonalities with common, non-sentient mushrooms. Their appearance can vary wildly, depending on what species of non-sentient mushroom are in the area. This makes for an amazing camouflage tactic, because when they hide, they are almost indistinguishable from non-sentient fungus. They can range in size from 1 inch high to about 3 ft tall.

Psylopods have very small, simple eyes, and sprout arms and legs to walk around and interact with the world. They serve a very important role in nature as decomposers. They often follow smells of decay and death, and feed on those who have passed. Despite their cute appearance, their presence often suggests the aftermath of a very bloody battle or a large calamity.

Community

Psylopods have no mouths, and therefore cannot audibly communicate. However, the network of fungus present in the earth connects with the roots of trees, plants, and other fungus, and it spreads far and wide throughout the planet. Psylopods can use these networks to “telepathically” communicate with nature and with each other. As long as two Psylopods are touching the ground, they can send messages and speak through the interconnected fungal pathways in the ground. If they are cut off from the earth, they lose the ability to communicate with others. Also, these creatures have no spoken language and no ears, therefore they cannot communicate with other sentient races. If one were to find a way to connect themselves through the fungal pathways, they could communicate, but mostly people try body language and gestures to communicate with Psylopods. If they are not hostile, Psylopods will attempt to communicate this way as well, but it results in very rudimentary communication. Also, their eyes are much more effective in the dark than the light. To compensate for this, they have honed their connection with the earth, and use this connection as a “blindsense”. They can feel the vibrations of other creatures through the ground, which warns them of predators and trespassers.

Psylopods create very rudimentary communities of nomadic groups. They travel from place to place looking for new detritus to latch onto and decompose. Because Psylopods are essentially walking fungus, they have no need to make a fire or build shelters. This makes them extremely difficult to track. Only the most seasoned tracker can spot the tiny little footsteps that they leave behind. Migration takes place primarily under cover of night, when prying eyes are fast asleep. Since these communities have very few roles that need to be delegated, the primary reason for creating communities is for mutual self-preservation and social connections. While there are Psylopods who are more the lone wolf type, they often become very lonely when without a community. Fortunately for them, their reproduction occurs quickly through the use of asexual spores. They can build a small (literally) colony of Psylopods within the course of a month by spreading their spores onto nutrient-dense areas.

Tactics in Combat

Many Psylopods prefer to run away than fight, but some Psylopods employ more lethal methods. In combat, some use toxic spores to fend off their opponents, while others have developed acid attacks that can burn assailants. If Psylopods are very very hungry, they may attack unsuspecting victims with these attacks in order to create some dead matter to chow down on. As an unintentional “defense mechanism”, almost all Psylopods have mildly hallucinogenic spores continuously floating around them. When other creatures enter close proximity to Psylopods, they begin having a slight hallucinogenic episode, ultimately manifesting in paranoid feelings. Prolonged exposure leads to loss of sleep, increasingly permanent paranoia, and in extreme cases, insanity. If a colony of Psylopods moves into a populated area, citizens will often turn against each other in distrust, until they eventually find and drive out the Psylopods. There are defenders of Psylopods purely because of their cuteness, but it is common knowledge in those groups that they are to be observed from a distance.