Zuggtmoy

Zuggtmoy, also known as the Demon Queen of Fungi, and the Lady of Rot and Decay, was a demon lord.

"Fear not for your future for now you must sleep In Zuggtmoy's Cradle your body shall steep. Your flesh a fine banquet of delicate food Your gift to the Lady shall nourish the brood. What births from your leavings and grows in her nave Shall feed from your ruins and fat from your grave."

- A traditional lullaby sung to those in Zuggtmoy's Cradle

Description
This foul demoness resembles a human only from the torso up. This portion of her body is composed of thick rancid sheets and coils of fungus that just happens to have grown into the shape of what would, otherwise, be an attractive woman. Four fibrous antlers grow from her brow, and her hands bear cruel talons. Her lower torso is a coiling pillar of lashing ropey tentacles and other fungus growths. Her skin is a nauseating swirl of greys, blues, purples and blacks.

She appeared almost alien and inhuman as a skeletal-thin humanoid shape draped and veiled in mycelium and lichen. She and her servants were almost a soulless mockery of living creatures.

Activities
Her only desire was to infect living creatures with her spores, making them her mindless slaves and, eventually, into rotting and decomposing hosts for mushrooms, moulds and spores that she spawned.

Zuggtmoy's lair was in Shedaklah, a massive palace of two dozen mushrooms, all interconnected with bridges and lined with countless chambers and tunnels. It was located on the same layer as Juiblex's Slime Pit. The Demon Queen of Fungi and the Faceless Lord were driven by their insatiable hunger to destroy and devour others.

Servants
Zuggtmoy long struggled with maintaining viable cults on the Prime Material Plane; as the opportunity to worship fungi did not seem too appealing to its&mdash;primarily humanoid&mdash;population. To counteract this, the Lady of Fungi was often worshiped through fictitious cults manipulated in ways that supported her own initiatives.

Though small, there were some rare sects of devout fungi-worshipers, comprised mostly of misguided druids, clerics, and, to a lesser degree, maddened academics such as wizards. These insular collections often fantasized about the domination of fungi over their local surroundings.

In counterbalance to this, many more of her cultists followed her unwillingly and unknowingly, having somehow become infected with her spores, becoming either mind-controlled or transformed and serving as extensions of her will until they were utterly consumed.

Zuggtmoy's influence extended most prominently with fungi themselves, with her ability to exert her will to demand their servitude and assistance. Alongside this, the demon lady, with the power of her status, could field powerful demons of varying strengths.

Enemies
With a vested interest in the Prime Material Plane Zuggtmoy often finds herself in conflict with other demon lords. The most notable of these clashes includes Lolth, who she competes with for control of the Underdark; though since Lolth's ascension as a deity this quarrel has tapered off to little more than the occasional skirmish between their respective cultists.

A more immediate rivalry, and one which has existed far longer than any other, would be Zuggtmoy's infamous war with Juiblex, with whom she shares her realm unwillingly.

History
In the late 15 century DR, Zuggtmoy found herself transported to Neverlight Grove in the Underdark, where she proceeded to enthrall the myconids Phylo and Yestabrod. After becoming aware of the being Araumycos, she began making plans to merge with the organism in a mock wedding.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * Out of the Abyss