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| Spore-ghoul stalking a foot patrol |
Beneath the Great Universal Veil, deep underground, there exists a world dominated by mycelium. Spurred by mycorrhizae, vast mushroom forests are known to sprout with extreme rapidity, filling the endless caverns in karst regions, as well as bore wyrm dens. The mighty Stipate shrooms can grow up to 100 meters tall in a matter of months.
Over time, they petrify into an incredibly hard fibrous material that is often used for construction by troglodytes. Mushrooms provide for almost all troglodyte needs, including food, dyes, clothing, filtration, fire starting, telepathy enhancement and medicine.
On the flip side, poison mushrooms are an ever present threat; the ghulpore fungus infects the brain of those who eat it, or inhale an ejected spore cloud, turning them into spore-ghouls.
These hideous beings then stalk, and infect, other underworlders, creating an army of protectors for the source fungus. A few mycophile ambassadors have been able to negotiate agreements with fungoid nerve hubs, usually after imbibing hallucinogenic shrooms to establish a compatible telepathic link.
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