Zygom

Zygoms were a species of semi-parasitic fungi that could sustain themselves living in soil, but greatly preferred infecting living creatures, feeding on their flesh and bone.

Description
Individual zygom mushrooms were small fungi with tiny and thin stems under egg-shaped caps. An individual zygom plant creature was a colony that consisted of proximately twenty minuscule mushrooms. Each individual zygom colony had a flat, sprawling mycelium that grew just under the ground's surface or in a host.

Behavior
When infecting a target, zygoms started from the head, neck, or spine due to nervous system access. The most common targets for infestation were giant ants, giant rats, osquips, large badgers, young bears , and even small humanoids.

The infestation could be triggered when a creature, any creature, physically interacted with zygom. The more aggressive the interaction was, the more likely the fungi were to secrete light blue-colored "milk." With a casual touch, the chances of the secretion were one to six. This substance was kept under each mushroom's cap and, when broken, spread onto the culprit. This "milk" was incredibly adhesive. The glue-like property lasted from two to five days on average before drying out and flaking off. When the blue "milk" touched flesh, zygoms' spores immediately infested the new host, starting to grow, thoroughly taking control by the time this substance dried and disappeared.

Combat
Zygoms could not participate in combat on their own. Only when infecting a creature, the mushrooms controlled their actions, moving, attacking, and defending, guided by self-preservation.

Abilities
Like other mushrooms and plant creatures, zygoms' intelligence was completely alien and incomprehensible to humanoids. This made the fungi and creatures that carried the infestation immune to mind-altering magic.

Ecology
Zygoms were dangerous but rare mushrooms, often encountered small numbers, from one to three specimen. When a zygom colony was planted in soil, it jumped on the first opportunity to infest a living creature. Once infected, the victim fell under the fungi colony's complete control through the corruption of nerves and brains. Past the infection, the victim's fate was death within one to eight weeks, depending on the victim's size. Even after death, zygoms remained planted on the body, consuming it until there was nothing left but clean bones.

Zygom infestation could only be removed by remove disease, alter reality, or wish , spells. Remove disease could not remove the adhesive "milk."

Even though zygoms were considered to be creatures of low fungal intelligence and evil alignment, they did not maliciously sought the pray nor hunted, simply preferring the nutrition of living creatures.

Zygoms were a present danger for travelers in Chult, alongside other "slime" creatures, such as green slimes and yellow molds.

Outside of the Prime Material plane, zygoms could be found serving the Demon Queen of Fungi in the Caverns of Zuggtmoy on the Pazunia level of the Abyss, as well as Shedaklah, the Slime Pits, 222nd layer of the Abyss.

Apart from Toril, zygoms were present on the world of Oerth, where they were thought to be alien invasive species or malicious agents of an unknown nature from another plane.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * The Throne of Bloodstone