Mushroom, Shrieker

Family: Fungi

Small beast, any evil

Armor Class 11 (unarmored)
Hit Points 10 (3d6)
Speed 0

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
1 (-5)	1 (-5)	10 (+0)	1 (-5)	3 (-4)	1 (-5)

Condition Immunities blind, deafened, frightened, paralyzed
Senses blindsight 30 ft. (totally blind beyond this radius)
Speed –
Challenge 1/8 (25 XP)

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Camouflage. When shrieker mushrooms are still, they look like everyday fungi and sometimes hide among normal mushrooms.
• Micro-movement. Shrieker mushrooms move too slowly to register as having a speed for practical purposes. While a normal creature may not notice a shrieker on the move, they can slowly “crawl” from area to area. Generally it takes many hours or even days to cover a few feet of actual movement.

ACTIONS

• Shriek Symbiosis. Shriekers try to position themselves in such a way as to help herd victims toward a killing zone, where the creature they have a symbiotic relationship with dispatches the prey. When something comes into range, they scream and screech at a frequency painful for most hearing creatures within 30 ft. The shriek itself is audible from 300 ft. away. The mushrooms continue to shriek until whatever disturbed them has moved out of their 30-ft. range. Eardrum Bursting. After three rounds, anyone still within 30 ft. of the shrieker mushrooms starts taking 1d4+1 damage every round they remain within the radius. Deaf people with intact eardrums do not perceive the shrieking as auditorily painful but do still suffer damage from bursting and bleeding eardrums. Normal ear protections do not help to counter the effects.

ABOUT

These annoying creatures come in a variety of types, and shriek when disturbed. Though they look like mushrooms, they are in fact a symbiotic insect that lives on cave walls, warning a larger predator of potential prey and then scavenging off the remains. When a creature nears them, they emit a very nasty scream at ear-piercing volume to herd victims toward the greater threat. People living outside cities and villages sometimes cultivate these mushrooms as alarm systems for homes or shops. There are even unverified rumors of one old orc who is trying to cultivate them into a singing variety.

Shriekers can be cultivated as an early warning system, but there are a few rules to remember. Always plant shriekers in a place with 24-hour shadowy conditions; they shriek when exposed to light. Best if fed daily, meat paté is preferred. Starving shriekers become violent and scream at a frequency that induces seizures, aneurysms, and sometimes insanity, in order to seize whatever meat is available to feed.