Schattenalfen and Fungi
by HåvardI keep thinking about ways to make the Schattenalfen stand out more and ways to make them unique, interesting and fun to play.
I've been playing some Skyrim again and came across the Giant Mushroom tower on Solstheim in that game.
This made me think about mushrooms and fungi in Mystara and the possibility of the Schattenalfhen to be able to manipulate these fungi through plant growth spells etc. These techniques might be known to other subterran races as well, including other Shadowelves, but it might be fun to have this be soomething the Schattenalfen are particularly good at.
I've already identified several known Mystaran fungi here.
Perhaps we could model these after some of the Trees of Alfheim, so that the Schattenalfen could have:
- Home Fungi: Huge fungi towers that are constructed for families to live in
- Fungi of Life: Could Atzanteotl have created his own perverted version of the Trees of Life? What powers could they have?
Mycology
This is the lore of fungi. The Schattenalfhen might have turned this into their expertise. Not only knowing the properties of fungi, but also ways to grow them and change their properties.
Uses:
- Food
- Poison and hallucinogenes
- Healing and medicine
- Fungi grown to be used to craft clothes, armor or other items.
- Fungi fed to monsters or animals to change their behaviour
What do you guys think? Is this something that could be used in a campaign? What other races might have dabbled in Mycology? What are other ways which races could use fungi?