Fen (5e Race)

Fen

“

The mushrooms of death are one thing. When they can move... Now that's another.

”

Physical Description

By Jonathan Valiente

Similar to the myconid, fen are humanoid-shaped fungus beings. They have caps that are usually either pale, purple or a dark color like deep green and grey. Their faces resemble that of skulls, with striations for mouth slits and small eye holes on the membranes of the stalk under their cap. The majority of their limbs appear to be wooden, held together by the central mushroom's complex network of mycelium fibers. They speak through emissions of air from their mouth slits as well as the gills of their mushroom cap, giving them a rasping voice. Other varieties of fungi often grow around their main body, living in mutualism with the main mushroom.

History

The fen were originally a creation of the drow. In one of their twisted experiments, the drow took some slave myconids and tried to turn them into weaponized variants. This created the fen, who were darker, more sinister counterparts of their original myconid relatives. These experiments were discovered by the myconids when they raided the drow hold and they were appalled by these twisted versions of them. To the myconid, the fen were beings that should not exist. Thus, they tried to eradicate and contain them to drive them to extinction. Unfortunately, the fen managed to seize a myconid town and turned it into their own origin city, Khedaklan, where they worship Zuggtmoy.

Society

Khedaklan is the main city of the fen, located on the Araumycos in the Underdark. They seek peace, like the myconids, but they actively cause it. Following the decorum of their goddess Zuggtmoy, they see using their spores as weapons as a birthright. The fen are aggressive hunters. In their hunting groups, they ruin prey with their toxic spore touch with little regard. These spores in their hands are primarily toxic to other creatures. Spores from their caps are like scents for animals, carrying messages to others. A fen's cap is also capable of bioluminescence, which they use to send messages when spore trails are unneeded. While hunting takes up a lot of their day, the fen do have hobbies that they learned from humanoids they have killed and devoured, like gambling. They prefer the dark and shy away from places of light.

Fen Names

The fen see themselves as a single entity under one name of "fen." They do not use names to differentiate themselves from one another among their own. When among others, they will usually call themselves "fen." The concept of names is foreign to them. More often, other people will give them nicknames if they are allies, though fens are largely indifferent to enemy or ally.

Fen Traits

Deathly mushroom people
Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 2 and your Dexterity score increases by 1.
Age. Fen, due to the experiments, do not live too long. They tend to be elderly by 40, and live up to about 50 on average.
Alignment. Usually, fen are lawful only to their own. They are chaotic and often evil to others.
Size. Fen are tall but thin and light on average. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Superior Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 120 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Sunlight Sensitivity. While in sunlight, you have disadvantage on attack rolls, as well as on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.
Underdark Hunter Training. You are proficient with quarterstaffs, shortswords, shortbows, and hand crossbows.
Fungoid Body. Your creature type is plant instead of humanoid. You can attempt to Hide even when you are only lightly obscured by foliage, heavy rain, falling snow, mist, and other natural phenomena. However, when you take fire damage, you are frightened until the end of your next turn.
Toxic Spore. Your fingers are tipped with toxic, contagious spores. Your unarmed strikes deal poison damage instead of bludgeoning damage as normal.
Decaying Touch. You absorb the rotting flesh from your enemies as you kill them. As a bonus action, you can make a special attack with your unarmed strike. If the attack hits, it deals its normal damage, and you gain temporary hit points (minimum of 1) equal to your Constitution modifier, and you can't use this trait again until you finish a short or long rest.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Undercommon.

Random Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier*	Base Weight	Weight Modifier**
5′ 0''	+3d6	120 lb.	× (1d4) lb.
*Height = base height + height modifier **Weight = base weight + (height modifier × weight modifier)

4.00

(one vote)

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