TEXT: Fungal Burns | EN World EN5idEr
  Fungal 
  Bums
   
  WRITING Andrew Engelbrite
   COLOR ART Jeff Chen
   
  MAPS Dyson Logos
   
  EDITING Mike Myler
   
  LAYOUT Frank Michienzi
  A supplemental adventure for 4–5 PCs of 3rd–6th level.
  T
  hey say they’re only  
  hitching a ride but  
  can you really tolerate  
  a grove of talking  
  mushrooms sprouting from your 
  back? It started as a little itch after 
  defeating some mushroom beasts, an 
  ailment no healer seemed able to cure. 
  Then you started to feel stronger, better 
  than before—so you’re rationalizing, 
  thinking you should tolerate or even 
  trust the little bums. After all, they are a 
  part of you now...
  
  Fungal Burns | EN World EN5idEr
  Open Game Content | The game rule information in this 
  article is designated Open Game Content. All other material 
  in this article, including maps and illustrations (including 
  illustrations in the public domain), in-character and out-of-
  character narrative and descriptive text, character and place 
  names, trade dress, “EN Publishing,” “EN World,” “EN5ider,” 
  EN Publishing product and article titles, and  
  EN World and EN Publishing logos, are designated 
  Product Identity.
  Background
  Umamish are sentient parasites that siphon off 
  nutrients while slowly integrating their fungal 
  roots into a creature’s nervous system until the 
  infestation takes full control of the host, compelling 
  it to seek out dark damp places and lure or capture 
  others for infection. A local legendary swamp 
  monster nicknamed ‘Uncle Switchback’ is suffering 
  from the late stages of umamish infection, and the 
  normally gentle giant has begun snatching local 
  fisherman to deposit into her muddy cavern home 
  to be further vessels for the insidious fungus.
  Supplemental  
   Adventure
  This adventure is best played throughout a 
  campaign, starting with the Local Legend encounter 
  at 3rd level which results in a PC becoming infected 
  with umamish. The infection should be allowed 
  to progress over time (see the Umamish Infection 
  sidebar) as the party continues pursuing other 
  quests. Once the adventurers reach 6th level the 
  threat of the umamish should be made clear, and 
  Fungal Bums can conclude with the Mushroom 
  Samba encounter.
  Alternatively, this adventure can be a self-
  contained quest by using a hardened version of the 
  Local Legend encounter while the party are 6th 
  level, progressing rapidly through the infected PC’s 
  umamish infection and finishing with the Mush-
  room Samba encounter the next day.  
  Local Legend
  Fungal Bums begins in any town or settlement near 
  a lake, river, bog, swamp, or other natural body 
  of water that could hide a Large-sized creature. 
  Bartholomew Skinner (a halfling bandit captain) 
  has recently been attacked by Uncle Switchback 
  and is looking for brave adventurers to go after 
  the beast. Wherever he encounters the PCs, read or 
  paraphrase the following:
  A scraggly old halfling man runs up to you in a panic, “You 
  lot! You lot look likes you can handle yourselves, what 
  with all them armor and swords and things ya carrying. 
  It’s old Uncle Switchback, he’s gone mad! Every sailor 
  ‘round here knows the old Uncle, ‘tis a great big friendly 
  thing…or it was. Something’s got to him! Pulled both my 
  mates right off the boat! Didn’t kill ‘em neither, drug ‘em 
  off to his lair. I know’s where it is! I can take ya! 
  Bartholomew owns a small fishing vessel named 
  Low Tide that can take the PCs to Uncle Switch-
  back’s lair which is about half a day’s sail from 
  town. Bartholomew has little to offer in payment 
  except a promise to take the party anywhere they’d 
  like after this ordeal has passed—assuming his 
  shipmates make it out alive. He drops anchor a 
  few hundred feet from a roughly spherical cave 
  about 40 feet wide, half of which is flooded with 
  water 10 feet deep and the rest with thick mud that 
  counts as difficult terrain. Bartholomew’s trio of 
  crewmates (halfling bandits) have been stuck up 
  to their necks in the mud and are all infected with 
  umamish spores. Uncle Switchback (a plesiosaurus 
  suffering from 4th stage umamish infection) fights 
  until killed.
  Uncle Switchback is a sight to behold, covered in 
  muck, moss, and mushrooms, and filled with the 
  blind commands of rage sent directly to his brain 
  by the umamish. If by chance or ingenuity the PCs 
  manage to avoid infection, the adventurer with the 
  lowest saving throw result against his Umamish 
  Explosion becomes infected. One way or another, 
  at least one PC should end this encounter infected 
  
  Fungal Burns | EN World EN5idEr
  ALTERNATIVE CREATURES
  If a dinosaur doesn’t fit in with the rest of the 
  campaign, after adding in the statistics of 4th stage 
  umamish infection the following creatures can stand 
  in for Uncle Switchback: manticore, 
  mummy, 
  owlbear, wight,  winter wolf,  yeti.
  with umamish, though the symptoms take days to 
  appear and the GM’s discretion, their saves may 
  be rolled secretly. The old sailors are somewhat 
  sad that their local legend had to be put down, but 
  thankful for the party’s help. Bartholomew pledges 
  his crew to aid the PCs, and from this point forward 
  the adventurers can count on the motley halfling 
  crew of the Low Tide to transport them across the 
  local waterways.
  UNCLE SWITCHBACK
  LARGE BEAST, UNALIGNED
  Armor Class 14 (natural armor)
  Hit Points 76 (8d10+32)
  Speed 20 ft., swim 40 ft.
   STR 
  DEX 
  CON 
  INT 
  WIS 
  CHA 
   20 (+5) 
  17 (+3) 
  18 (+4) 
  2 (–4) 
  12 (+1) 
  5 (–3)
  Skills Perception +3, Stealth +5
  Damage Immunities poison
  Senses passive Perception 13
  Languages —
  Challenge 3 (700 XP)
  Hold Breath. Uncle Switchback can hold his breath for 
  1 hour.
  Umamish Explosion. When Uncle Switchback dies, his 
  corpse explodes with a burst of spores. Each creature 
  within 50 feet of him must make a DC 15 Constitution 
  saving throw, becoming infected with umamish on a 
  failed save.
  ACTIONS
  Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one 
  target. Hit: 14 (3d6+5) piercing damage plus 4 (1d6) 
  poison damage and the creature must make a DC 15 
  Constitution saving throw or become infected with 
  umamish.
  Umamish Infection
  Umamish are unique amongst fungi as they are 
  the only known parasitic fungus to have gained 
  sentience. These parasites extract their host’s nutri-
  ents while invigorating the victim to keep it alive 
  long enough to spread further spores. When a 
  beast or humanoid creature is exposed to umamish 
  spores it must make a DC 15 Constitution saving 
  throw or become infected.
  It takes 1d4 days for the infection’s first symptoms 
  to manifest in an infected creature. The umamish 
  then grow slowly and their rate of growth varies 
  greatly depending on their host.
  Whenever the infected creature advances in a 
  class level, their umamish infection progresses to 
  the next stage (if running this adventure as a short 
  self-contained quest, progress the infected PC 
  immediately to stage 4 infection when they wake 
  the following day.) For NPCs or creatures without 
  class levels, umamish infection progresses to the 
  next stage every 1d4 weeks. If the infected crea-
  ture spends the majority of its time in a damp 
  and dark environment such as a cave, swamp, or 
  dungeon, it’s infection progresses to the next stage 
  every 1d2 weeks.
  1st Stage Infection. 1st stage symptoms 
  include warty growths and a persistent rash 
  that covers most of the back and shoulders. 
  The infected creature regains only half the 
  normal number of hit points when spending hit 
  dice during short rests as the fungal infection 
  syphons off its vitality. The umamish also act as 
  a blood filter for their host, giving the infected 
  creature immunity to poison damage and all 
  other nonmagical diseases.
  
  Fungal Burns | EN World EN5idEr
  2nd Stage Infection. At the 2nd stage of 
  infection the umamish sprout as full mush-
  room caps with eyes and mouths, gaining the 
  ability to speak and understand any language 
  their host knows. The umamish lie and plead 
  with their host to keep them ‘happy’ about their 
  presence, presenting themselves as ‘symbiotic’.
  The umamish make Charisma (Persua-
  sion) and Charisma (Deception) checks with a 
  +8 bonus.
  As the mushrooms intertwine with a 
  substantial amount of muscle tissue, the 
  infected creature gains a +2 bonus to both its 
  Strength and Constitution ability scores. 
  3rd Stage Infection. At the 3rd stage of 
  the infection, the umamish fully integrate 
  into their host’s nervous system. The infected 
  creature gains a +2 bonus to its primary spell-
  casting ability score (or Dexterity if the infected 
  creature does not have the Pact Magic or Spell-
  casting features). The umamish also become 
  constantly aware of the infected creature’s 
  surface thoughts as per the spell detect thoughts.
  4th Stage Infection. At the 4th and final 
  stage of infection, the umamish attempt to 
  control the mind of the infected creature and 
  spread their spores. The infected creature 
  becomes charmed by the umamish as per the 
  spell geas, and it is compelled to infect other 
  creatures with umamish spores and to take 
  infected creatures to damp dark places. When-
  ever the infected creature hits another creature 
  with a melee attack, that attack deals an addi-
  tional 3 (1d6) poison damage and the creature 
  must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw 
  or become infected with umamish. In addi-
  tion, when the infected creature dies, its corpse 
  explodes with a burst of spores. Each creature 
  within 25 feet of it must make a DC 15 Consti-
  tution saving throw, becoming infected with 
  umamish on a failed save. For every size cate-
  gory larger than Medium the infected creature 
  is, the radius of this trait doubles. 
  Roleplaying Umamish
  Umamish are mischievous, mean-spirited, and 
  manipulative. Having an umamish infection is 
  like having a crowd of hecklers on one’s back. An 
  umamish infestation usually consists of about a 
  dozen individual mushroom caps that all chatter 
  away at each other and poke fun at their host 
  when it fails at something. However, they’re excel-
  lent at pleading for their continued ‘partnership’ 
  and endlessly proclaim the many ‘benefits’ from 
  allowing them to hang around.
  Curing Umamish Infection
  An umamish Infection is extremely difficult to cure 
  and normal medical and magical means such as 
  the lesser restoration and greater restoration spells are 
  ineffective, as is a paladin’s Lay on Hands.
  Umamish are still acting as a blood filter for their 
  host however and can be overloaded by particularly 
  strong toxins. The infected creature is immune to 
  poison damage, but when this immunity would 
  prevent the infected creature from taking 20 or 
  more poison damage from a single attack, the 
  umamish infestation withers away and the crea-
  ture fully recovers from the disease.
  
  Fungal Burns | EN World EN5idEr
  
  Fungal Burns | EN World EN5idEr
  silence them for good. Though I’ll warn you, the medicine 
  for this particular little ailment is tough to swallow—are 
  you absolutely sure you want the cure?”
  Pendlewine is vague about the nature of his 
  ‘cure’ and the umamish are quick to denounce him 
  as a charlatan. Assuming that the PCs decide to 
  accept the strange gnome’s cure, the druid instructs 
  them to ‘get ready’ and begins preparing a spell. 
  Pendlewine casts transport via plants and passes 
  through a large mushroom, leaving the adventurers 
  understandably bewildered for a moment before an 
  even more confused young green dragon is uncer-
  emoniously flung back through the same portal!
  The dragon is confused, angry, and fights until 
  killed, starting with its poison breath attack that is 
  conveniently a perfect cure for the umamish infec-
  tion. The poison overloads the fungus that then 
  withers away and dies. Pendlewine returns once 
  the dragon is killed, smugly asking, “How do the 
  patients feel? I normally whisk the dragon away after 
  it breathes out that lovely cure but you all seemed to be 
  having such fun.”
  Resolving the 
   Adventure
  In addition to finally ridding themselves of the 
  umamish plague, the PCs should now find them-
  selves in possession of a valuable dragon carcass. 
  The horns, scales, and teeth are worth a total of 1,850 
  gold once properly harvested. Pendlewine can also 
  be counted on to help with any odd ailments in the 
  future, though his ‘cures’ are usually as bad as the 
  disease. Finally, Bartholemew and his crew still feel 
  indebted to the party and can ferry the adventurers 
  where they need to go for any future adventures. e
  Mushroom Samba
  As the party progresses through 4th and 5th level, 
  infected PCs deal with their unwelcome passengers 
  throughout numerous encounters as their incur-
  able infections continue to become more severe.  
  Once the adventurers reach 6th level, the infections 
  are at the 4th stage and the umamish’s true inten-
  tions become clear as they attempt to assert control.
  The PCs are offered a lifeline as Bartholemew 
  Skinner tracks down the party to give them the 
  good news—his crew came down with the same 
  umamish infection that afflicts the adventurers and 
  he found a solution. A druid named Pendlewine 
  (who specializes in fungi living deep in the marsh-
  lands) was able to cure his crew, and he offers to 
  take them to immediately see the healer.
  Pendlewine (NG gnome druid 15) lives within 
  a secluded grotto above a wide marshland. His 
  cavernous home has a natural stream running 
  through it and is coated in countless species of 
  exotic fungi. Once the PCs reach his home, read or 
  paraphrase the following:
  The umamish chuckle and mock the recumbent gnome 
  with jeers of “This is it? You think this pudgy thing will get 
  rid of us? HAH!” 
  The gnome takes a puff of his pipe and says, “I see the 
  problem, persistent little buggers ain’t they? Well young 
  pilgrims you’ve found just the humble healer who can 
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/5th Edition (5e)/3rd Party/EN World EN5ider/EN5ider 333 - Fungal Bums.pdf