Paincap

Paincaps are rather uncommon mushrooms found throughout The Gates, though they are far more likely to be found in damp, shaded areas such as in the forests. They were first catalogued by DAN Wildcloak after they encountered the mushroom while out looking for Wisps with Namina on Nurend 05, 308. They attempted to harvest it for future study, though through a series of unfortunate luck they found themselves experiencing the mushroom's effects first hand.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Paincaps are described as "a bulbous and rounded dark brown cap about the size of a fist. White spikes adorn this cap and each seems to be dripping with dark red liquid." This liquid may contain the spores of the mushroom, or could just be a defense mechanism as pricking one of the spikes did lead to DAN experiencing the painful poison that the mushroom carries. Pictured is an Amanita pantherina which vaguely resembles the Paincap.

Genetics and Reproduction

It was discovered by Hysteria and DAN throughout some downtime how this mushroom propogates. The pain seems to come from an incredibly violent reaction caused by the putrid dark red liquid that drips from the plethora of spikes decorating its cap. This liquid, as discovered by DAN while studying this mushroom, is actually filled with spores from the mushroom. The spores don't cause any damage until after the liquid causes an intense amount of pain by surrounding the nerves of whatever creature happened upon it. Normally they just drip into the ground and can spread like a normal mushroom, but when a creature comes into contact with it the liquid attacks the nerves directly. The result is an intense amount of pain that starts out isolated where the contact initially occurred, but can spread throughout the body if untreated. While the liquid targets these nerves, the spores that it carries begin to latch on to each individual nerve causing even more pain and slowly taking over the new host. A poison made from this would, unfortunately, not cause such an intense fungal infection, but it would cause a great deal of pain as the nerve toxin is still active.

Additional Information

Uses, Products & Exploitation

While harvesting this mushroom, DAN experienced severe and debilitating pain. The only observed symptom being this immense pain which prevented them from moving normally, concentrating, or performing their usual actions. The extent of this handicap was not thoroughly measured, however, as Namina healed DAN so that they could continue their hunt for Wisps. With that in mind, a poison could reasonably be created from these mushrooms, and it might be just as simple as dipping a blade in the strange goop. Further study is still required to determine all of its effects, and how best to utilize it.

Hysteria has been able to create a poison from the liquid found in this mushroom. It causes intense pain as expected, and the potency of the toxin utilized will make it quite challenging to resist.