Below High Forest [Archive] - Wizards Community

Below High Forest [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Yogu
01-10-07, 05:22 PM Reading the underdark I found a description of Araumycos, a giant fungus.
Where I can read more informations about Araumycos?
Well, he lives in underdark between 1 and 3 miles below de surface...
But anyone know what lives at surface and 1 mile?

And the tree roots, they as larger as tree coup... They creat a undersoil forest if same size of high forest.
Correct?
DreamStalker
01-10-07, 05:38 PM I believe Drizzt Do'Urden's Guide top the Underdark from 2nd AD&D has a bigger description. I don't think there is any particularly huge underdark presence between it and the surface. Mostly orc caves and sunken elvish ruins. The northern area I think it opens more into more Underdark locations.
Old Sage
01-10-07, 07:04 PM DDGttU and the FRCS are pretty much it for sources on Araumycos.

In Eric Boyd's notes on DDGttU he wrote the following:

"The name "Araumycos" is derived from the dwarven word "great" as defined in FR11 - Dwarves Deep, p.11 and "mycos" an alternate root for "fungus". This idea springs from a phone conversation with either Ed Greenwood or Steven Schend in which the discovery of a gigantic fungus in the wilds of Canada was discussed."
Old Sage
01-10-07, 07:06 PM Additionally, Ed had this little tidbit to share:-

"March 12, 2004: The Hooded One here once more, carrying the words of Ed:

Prince Forge, well met! Your question concerns one of the great mysteries of Faerun -- and one, I’m afraid, that must remain largely mysterious. Eric Boyd may well be the sage who knows the most about Araumycos. All I could get out of Elminster is this:

“Araumycos is alive and sentient, but does not think as we do. It is magically bonded both to The High Forest above it and to the Weave which it in part anchors. The strong innate magic of that spot both feeds it and was the lure for those things it guards, simply by smothering them in its own body: the abandoned domiciles of ancient, now-vanished beings of several races who desired to master magic. Think of it as unslayable, un-conquerable -- and best left alone. There ARE a multitude of far easier foes and treasures in Faerun, awaiting even the most stubbornly foolish adventurers.”

Hmmm. Sounds like a ‘pay no attention to what’s behind THAT curtain’ warning to me . . .

Ed’s words end, for a moment. I’ve decided to split his answers by questioner, in case the overlong posts are the cause of display problems for others besides me. Your Hooded One will be right back."
Gray Richardson
01-10-07, 09:08 PM I like to think that Araumycos has some connection to the fungus god Psilofyr, venerated by the Myconids. Araumycos could possibly be an avatar of Psilofyr or perhaps his seraph, proxy or chosen.

My theory is that Psilofyr may once have had a strong association with the fairie gods of the fey creator race, just as Emmantiensien, god of treants and trees, also has a strong bond with the Seelie.

The fey pantheon once had a very strong presence in the North, especially in the High Forest and its environs. And Araumycos permeates the underdark beneath the High Forest. So I surmise that Araumycos has been charged as a unique protector or guardian of the underdark below the High Forest.

His duties may be to protect the High Forest from incursion from below. There are numerous conflicts that might have necessitated such a guardian. Perhaps he emerged after the Crown Wars to prevent fallen dark elves from establishing powerful beachheads beneath the forest from which to launch assaults on the surface.

Or maybe Araumycos originated in still oder wars. He might have been charged with protecting sprites and fey from yuan-ti, dragons, dire corbies, batrachi or even as far back as the sarrukh.

Alternatively Araumycos might have been created by Psilofyr or Myconid mages to protect a civilization of myconids that live below the High Forest.

Still one other explanation is that Araumycos is guarding some ancient magic or evil that is locked away below the High Forest.

Araumycos seems like a good foil for Ghaunadaur, and could conceivably have been at odds with the dark god for milennia.

I have always thought Araumycos was particularly cool. He reminds me of some stories in the old Swamp Thing comic that involved "the Gray" which was a transitive plane of fungus, similar to Swamp Thing's "The Green" which was the transitive plane of plants and life energy that Swamp Thing (as a plant elemental) could travel through and from which he gained much of his power. Swamp Thing's "The Green" reminds me a lot of the elemental plane of Wood from the Manual of the Planes. Whereas "The Gray" strikes me as similar to the way that Psilofyr's realm might be.

Here is an idea you might be able to use somehow in a plot hook. There is a species of fungus called Cordyceps. It is parasitic and mind-altering to ants and other insects. The spores of this fungus get into an ant and travel to her brain. The fungus alters the ant's behavior, driving her to seek the highest ground near her colony. Usually a stalk or twig, the ant climbs to the topmost point and then clamps on hard with her mandibles and dies. Soon the fungus sprouts from her brain case and grows into a fruiting body (spore stalk). When it ripens, it showers little spores down on the ant colony, thus perpetuating its life cycle. Here is a cool short video: Parasitic Ant Fungus Video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYgfdr9F9-s)

I thought this would be a really cool plot hook to use somehow--say for a colony of myconids at war with a group of formians. Perhaps formians that have enslaved the myconids to further their axiomatic goals. But it would also work with giant ants, orcs, kobolds, goblins, ankhegs, sprites, elves, or some other fun creature.

Here is another idea. A legend is told in the FRCS that the Fey Creator Race may have been nearly wiped out in ages past by some sort of plague created by the dragons or perhaps demons. If so then Araumycos might have a demonic origin, sent by Zuggtmoy, the demon queen of fungi, as some sort of biological weapon or plague bearer against the fey creator race.

If you wanted to use Araumycos as a more sinister influence, you could have your party lost in a fungus labyrinth beneath the High Forest, searching for lost artifacts, confronted by an assortment of fungus skeletons, fungus zombies, or even fungal clones of the party members themselves... very eerie.

All in all, it is unclear whether Araumycos is good, neutral, evil, or merely serves its own mysterious interests. Araumycos is a wonderful plot device for a DM to develop, and you could go a lot of different ways with it.
Gray Richardson
06-29-07, 12:50 AM Eytan Bernstein is one of my favorite Realms designers. He mentions Araumycos in his latest article regarding psionic races of the underdark here:

Psionic Races and Classes - Ghostwise Halflings, Githyanki, Mind Flayers, Yuan-ti, and Psionic Bestiary (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/frcc/20070627)
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/frcc/20070627

Eytan rocks!

:coolcthul
MarkusTay63
06-29-07, 03:31 AM lol, thats because he agrees with you on that one. :D

I remember reading 'something' regarding this, probably in a very early source (The North?), that indicated that there was something between the fungus and the surface.

Maybe all those tunnels running under the northeast corner of the forest?

Sorry, I can't recall the exact reference, but I know its not just 'unused space' - something is definately there.
dragonheart
06-29-07, 09:23 AM yes something is there - the ruins of Aryvaandar and quite possibly ruins of a sarrukh city as well.
MarkusTay63
06-29-07, 03:00 PM You just gave me a notion... suppose that the fungus STARTED in the ruins off a Sarrukh city? Perhaps an experiment gone bad, or even that 'disease' thing against the Fey mentioned by Gray above? The very heart of the Fungus could be a portal to a Fungusverse, or even an artifact!

Oh what fun. :dancin:

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Yogu 01-10-07, 05:22 PM	Reading the underdark I found a description of Araumycos, a giant fungus. Where I can read more informations about Araumycos? Well, he lives in underdark between 1 and 3 miles below de surface... But anyone know what lives at surface and 1 mile? And the tree roots, they as larger as tree coup... They creat a undersoil forest if same size of high forest. Correct?
DreamStalker 01-10-07, 05:38 PM	I believe Drizzt Do'Urden's Guide top the Underdark from 2nd AD&D has a bigger description. I don't think there is any particularly huge underdark presence between it and the surface. Mostly orc caves and sunken elvish ruins. The northern area I think it opens more into more Underdark locations.
Old Sage 01-10-07, 07:04 PM	DDGttU and the FRCS are pretty much it for sources on Araumycos. In Eric Boyd's notes on DDGttU he wrote the following: "The name "Araumycos" is derived from the dwarven word "great" as defined in FR11 - Dwarves Deep, p.11 and "mycos" an alternate root for "fungus". This idea springs from a phone conversation with either Ed Greenwood or Steven Schend in which the discovery of a gigantic fungus in the wilds of Canada was discussed."
Old Sage 01-10-07, 07:06 PM	Additionally, Ed had this little tidbit to share:- "March 12, 2004: The Hooded One here once more, carrying the words of Ed: Prince Forge, well met! Your question concerns one of the great mysteries of Faerun -- and one, I’m afraid, that must remain largely mysterious. Eric Boyd may well be the sage who knows the most about Araumycos. All I could get out of Elminster is this: “Araumycos is alive and sentient, but does not think as we do. It is magically bonded both to The High Forest above it and to the Weave which it in part anchors. The strong innate magic of that spot both feeds it and was the lure for those things it guards, simply by smothering them in its own body: the abandoned domiciles of ancient, now-vanished beings of several races who desired to master magic. Think of it as unslayable, un-conquerable -- and best left alone. There ARE a multitude of far easier foes and treasures in Faerun, awaiting even the most stubbornly foolish adventurers.” Hmmm. Sounds like a ‘pay no attention to what’s behind THAT curtain’ warning to me . . . Ed’s words end, for a moment. I’ve decided to split his answers by questioner, in case the overlong posts are the cause of display problems for others besides me. Your Hooded One will be right back."
Gray Richardson 01-10-07, 09:08 PM	I like to think that Araumycos has some connection to the fungus god Psilofyr, venerated by the Myconids. Araumycos could possibly be an avatar of Psilofyr or perhaps his seraph, proxy or chosen. My theory is that Psilofyr may once have had a strong association with the fairie gods of the fey creator race, just as Emmantiensien, god of treants and trees, also has a strong bond with the Seelie. The fey pantheon once had a very strong presence in the North, especially in the High Forest and its environs. And Araumycos permeates the underdark beneath the High Forest. So I surmise that Araumycos has been charged as a unique protector or guardian of the underdark below the High Forest. His duties may be to protect the High Forest from incursion from below. There are numerous conflicts that might have necessitated such a guardian. Perhaps he emerged after the Crown Wars to prevent fallen dark elves from establishing powerful beachheads beneath the forest from which to launch assaults on the surface. Or maybe Araumycos originated in still oder wars. He might have been charged with protecting sprites and fey from yuan-ti, dragons, dire corbies, batrachi or even as far back as the sarrukh. Alternatively Araumycos might have been created by Psilofyr or Myconid mages to protect a civilization of myconids that live below the High Forest. Still one other explanation is that Araumycos is guarding some ancient magic or evil that is locked away below the High Forest. Araumycos seems like a good foil for Ghaunadaur, and could conceivably have been at odds with the dark god for milennia. I have always thought Araumycos was particularly cool. He reminds me of some stories in the old Swamp Thing comic that involved "the Gray" which was a transitive plane of fungus, similar to Swamp Thing's "The Green" which was the transitive plane of plants and life energy that Swamp Thing (as a plant elemental) could travel through and from which he gained much of his power. Swamp Thing's "The Green" reminds me a lot of the elemental plane of Wood from the Manual of the Planes. Whereas "The Gray" strikes me as similar to the way that Psilofyr's realm might be. Here is an idea you might be able to use somehow in a plot hook. There is a species of fungus called Cordyceps. It is parasitic and mind-altering to ants and other insects. The spores of this fungus get into an ant and travel to her brain. The fungus alters the ant's behavior, driving her to seek the highest ground near her colony. Usually a stalk or twig, the ant climbs to the topmost point and then clamps on hard with her mandibles and dies. Soon the fungus sprouts from her brain case and grows into a fruiting body (spore stalk). When it ripens, it showers little spores down on the ant colony, thus perpetuating its life cycle. Here is a cool short video: Parasitic Ant Fungus Video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYgfdr9F9-s) I thought this would be a really cool plot hook to use somehow--say for a colony of myconids at war with a group of formians. Perhaps formians that have enslaved the myconids to further their axiomatic goals. But it would also work with giant ants, orcs, kobolds, goblins, ankhegs, sprites, elves, or some other fun creature. Here is another idea. A legend is told in the FRCS that the Fey Creator Race may have been nearly wiped out in ages past by some sort of plague created by the dragons or perhaps demons. If so then Araumycos might have a demonic origin, sent by Zuggtmoy, the demon queen of fungi, as some sort of biological weapon or plague bearer against the fey creator race. If you wanted to use Araumycos as a more sinister influence, you could have your party lost in a fungus labyrinth beneath the High Forest, searching for lost artifacts, confronted by an assortment of fungus skeletons, fungus zombies, or even fungal clones of the party members themselves... very eerie. All in all, it is unclear whether Araumycos is good, neutral, evil, or merely serves its own mysterious interests. Araumycos is a wonderful plot device for a DM to develop, and you could go a lot of different ways with it.
Gray Richardson 06-29-07, 12:50 AM	Eytan Bernstein is one of my favorite Realms designers. He mentions Araumycos in his latest article regarding psionic races of the underdark here: Psionic Races and Classes - Ghostwise Halflings, Githyanki, Mind Flayers, Yuan-ti, and Psionic Bestiary (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/frcc/20070627) http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/frcc/20070627 Eytan rocks! :coolcthul
MarkusTay63 06-29-07, 03:31 AM	lol, thats because he agrees with you on that one. :D I remember reading 'something' regarding this, probably in a very early source (The North?), that indicated that there was something between the fungus and the surface. Maybe all those tunnels running under the northeast corner of the forest? Sorry, I can't recall the exact reference, but I know its not just 'unused space' - something is definately there.
dragonheart 06-29-07, 09:23 AM	yes something is there - the ruins of Aryvaandar and quite possibly ruins of a sarrukh city as well.
MarkusTay63 06-29-07, 03:00 PM	You just gave me a notion... suppose that the fungus STARTED in the ruins off a Sarrukh city? Perhaps an experiment gone bad, or even that 'disease' thing against the Fey mentioned by Gray above? The very heart of the Fungus could be a portal to a Fungusverse, or even an artifact! Oh what fun. :dancin: