Peculiar Plants & Fabulous Fungi

The world of plants and fungi is a wild and wonderful place, full of characteristics that can help or harm, provided you know what to look for. From the wildest places to the controlled environments of wizards’ labs, plants are everywhere—and for those curious enough, wonderful properties (and painful lessons) can be found among them. This article presents a number of plants, some real, some magically enhanced, and others entirely fantastical, that can provide benefits or pose obstacles to your players as they venture forth on their adventures.

Each of these fantastical flora are designed to be dropped into any campaign to provide Narrators with added environmental flavor, whimsical additions to exploration challenges, or merely a way to reward player curiosity and interaction with the world. While some of them can appear almost anywhere, others are tied to specific areas.

Each entry lists regions the plant or fungus is commonly found in, followed by a specific area or biome it favors. These regions are not absolute, however; as long as a region includes the correct biome, that form of endemic life can potentially be found there. For instance, a homeowner in an Urban Township may utilize a specialized garden as part of their security measures.

Each entry states whether it is mundane or intrinsically magical (which can be seen with abilities or spells such as detect magic), but there are also several other descriptors that may apply.

Boon. The plant or fungus provides some magical or mundane benefit.

Hazard. The plant or fungus poses some sort of environmental hazard and can be used in place of or in conjunction with an exploration challenge.

Material. The plant or fungus can provide some sort of harvestable material that can be sold or used in crafting.

Finally, the plants and fungi below, as well as m any of their materials, do not have a price assigned to them, as many have utility only in their natural habitats and several are either too delicate, too hazardous, or too magically connected to the land to be safely removed. If a material is commonly sold, the price is listed in its description. For similar mechanics, consult “Curious Creatures: Endemic Life" in Gatepass Gazette Issue #18.

Table: Harvestable Materials

Alarm Orchid || Arrowwood Viburnum || Bubble Kelp || Canteen Cactus || Caustic Sundew || Corpse Flower || Dartspine Cactus || Death Cap Mushroom || Elysian Sunflower || Frostbud || Gloweed || Lantern Flower || Lady's Favor || Pepperberries || Puffball Mushroom || Wisteria || Yarrow || Zombie Spit