Warlords of the Mushroom Kingdom: Silent Ones and Mycon
The Silent Ones
The kingdoms of Agarica tell legends of the Silent Ones. That they all wear heavy robes and masks because they are so hideously deformed that children would scream if their faces were revealed. That gazing on an unmasked Silent One is death. That the Silent Ones are ghosts, with no true shapes beneath their robes at all. That there is only one Silent One, and all the different individuals are merely puppets of its will. And these are merely the common rumors.
In their own language, they are the Sha'aiga, the Exiled, inhabitants of the Dreamlands who were forced to flee for their lives when a darkness descended over their ancient homeland. As Zathoka'ah, the Devourer of Hope, tightened its grip, the Silent Ones packed up everything they had and translated entirely into the waking realm, becoming homeless nomads. It is for this reason that they are best known for their trading interests, as their connection to the Dreamlands allows them to dip shallowly into dream to bypass the dangers of the wild and travel far faster than the waking world would force them to. But they must be careful, because Zathoka'ah is always watching.
This dichotomy between a tie to the Dreamlands but a necessity to stay away drives almost their entire culture. The law forbidding anyone else to remain in the walls of the Scarlet City after dark is based on a need to avoid stray dreams drawing the Devourer of Hope's attention. The masks and robes shield their identities and keep them individually unmemorable. They are always on the move, with even the Scarlet City's population often rotating between living stationary for a time and then venturing out on the trade roads. The turmoil in the Kingdom of Flowers has seen more Silent Ones on its roads, trading with both the Dragon Emperor's armies and the rebel bands in the hinterlands, but as they always do, the Silent Ones have refused to ally with either side. They keep their own counsel, because entanglement could make them too noticeable.
The Silent Ones have developed artificing to an extremely high level, and some of them are convinced that this is the key to overthrowing the Devourer of Hope and cleansing the Dreamlands of its taint. Others think that the waking world is their home now, and all of the elaborate efforts to avoid Zathoka'ah's attention are no longer necessary. There are even rumors that some younger Silent Ones have been seen without their masks...though always a story from a friend of a friend, of course.
Statistics
Cost to Play: 0
Stat Modifiers: Wisdom -2, Willpower +2
Size: Medium.
Special Abilities:
Mycon
The mycon and the amanita look similar from a distance, but up close the similarities fall away. While the amanita gnarl with age, the mycon start gnarled and simply grow more and more twisted. While the amanita have delicate hands for working the soil, the mycon have twisted claws fit for rending and tearing their prey. While the amanita are peaceful, the mycon are bandits and reavers, the scourge of the Kingdom of Flowers. At least, the scourge before the Dragon Emperor came.
That's not to say the mycon are unthinking animals. There are other societies where they are full members and participate constructively, but they have always lived on the edge of Floral society. The mandragora nobility does view them as unthinking animals, and before the Dragon Emperor's conquest there was a standing bounty on mycon crests in many of the fiefdoms of the Kingdom of Flowers.
Mycon are nocturnal and tend to live in familial bands in the wilderness. Sometimes multiple families will band together to defeat a more powerful enemy, and there were legends about warchiefs uniting large groups of mycon into raiding parties that would ravage the Kingdom of Flowers, but this was the highest organizational level the mycon had attained within recorded history until the Dragon Emperor brought them over to his side. Suddenly, the small mycon tribes and bandit clans were a united part of the Kappa Horde, subjects of the Dragon Emperor and bound to his authority.
While most of the mycon seem content with being able to pillage the Kingdom of Flowers at will, some of them chafe under any authority but their own. A significant portion have resorted back to banditry, raiding the kappa with the same eagerness than they used to raid the villages of the amanita. There are even some groups who are led by dispossessed mandragora nobles, who hope to use the mycon against the kappa the same way the Dragon Emperor turned them against the Kingdom of Flowers. The one thing the mycon don’t have, however, is a leader who can forge a path for them to choose their own destiny. But with the current turmoil, there is no better time for one.
Statistics
Cost to Play: 0
Stat Modifiers: Speed +2, Dexterity +1, Constitution +1, Intelligence -2, Willpower -1, Charisma -1,
Size: Small.
Special Abilities:
The kingdoms of Agarica tell legends of the Silent Ones. That they all wear heavy robes and masks because they are so hideously deformed that children would scream if their faces were revealed. That gazing on an unmasked Silent One is death. That the Silent Ones are ghosts, with no true shapes beneath their robes at all. That there is only one Silent One, and all the different individuals are merely puppets of its will. And these are merely the common rumors.
In their own language, they are the Sha'aiga, the Exiled, inhabitants of the Dreamlands who were forced to flee for their lives when a darkness descended over their ancient homeland. As Zathoka'ah, the Devourer of Hope, tightened its grip, the Silent Ones packed up everything they had and translated entirely into the waking realm, becoming homeless nomads. It is for this reason that they are best known for their trading interests, as their connection to the Dreamlands allows them to dip shallowly into dream to bypass the dangers of the wild and travel far faster than the waking world would force them to. But they must be careful, because Zathoka'ah is always watching.
This dichotomy between a tie to the Dreamlands but a necessity to stay away drives almost their entire culture. The law forbidding anyone else to remain in the walls of the Scarlet City after dark is based on a need to avoid stray dreams drawing the Devourer of Hope's attention. The masks and robes shield their identities and keep them individually unmemorable. They are always on the move, with even the Scarlet City's population often rotating between living stationary for a time and then venturing out on the trade roads. The turmoil in the Kingdom of Flowers has seen more Silent Ones on its roads, trading with both the Dragon Emperor's armies and the rebel bands in the hinterlands, but as they always do, the Silent Ones have refused to ally with either side. They keep their own counsel, because entanglement could make them too noticeable.
The Silent Ones have developed artificing to an extremely high level, and some of them are convinced that this is the key to overthrowing the Devourer of Hope and cleansing the Dreamlands of its taint. Others think that the waking world is their home now, and all of the elaborate efforts to avoid Zathoka'ah's attention are no longer necessary. There are even rumors that some younger Silent Ones have been seen without their masks...though always a story from a friend of a friend, of course.
Statistics
Cost to Play: 0
Stat Modifiers: Wisdom -2, Willpower +2
Size: Medium.
Special Abilities:
- Creature of Dreams: The Silent Ones were born and bred in the Dreamlands and a remnant of that tie remains within each of them. Every Silent One has a number of Dream Points equal to their Wisdom, which may be spent in the following ways: 1 point) Send a dream-message to someone whose name they know or who they have a material link for. They will hear the message when they sleep next. 5 points) Enter the Dreamlands during sleep. 10 points) Enter the Dreamlands bodily while awake. This requires some kind of reflecting material, like a pool of water or a mirror. Silent Ones may also use this option to half-enter the Dreamlands, flickering in and out of it and only half-existing in the waking world. This doubles their travel speed and allows them to treat all terrain as a well-paved road.
- Visions: Silent Ones can tap into their connection with the Dreamlands to induce visions of other times or places. Their Power Points are based on their Willpower.
Mycon
The mycon and the amanita look similar from a distance, but up close the similarities fall away. While the amanita gnarl with age, the mycon start gnarled and simply grow more and more twisted. While the amanita have delicate hands for working the soil, the mycon have twisted claws fit for rending and tearing their prey. While the amanita are peaceful, the mycon are bandits and reavers, the scourge of the Kingdom of Flowers. At least, the scourge before the Dragon Emperor came.
That's not to say the mycon are unthinking animals. There are other societies where they are full members and participate constructively, but they have always lived on the edge of Floral society. The mandragora nobility does view them as unthinking animals, and before the Dragon Emperor's conquest there was a standing bounty on mycon crests in many of the fiefdoms of the Kingdom of Flowers.
Mycon are nocturnal and tend to live in familial bands in the wilderness. Sometimes multiple families will band together to defeat a more powerful enemy, and there were legends about warchiefs uniting large groups of mycon into raiding parties that would ravage the Kingdom of Flowers, but this was the highest organizational level the mycon had attained within recorded history until the Dragon Emperor brought them over to his side. Suddenly, the small mycon tribes and bandit clans were a united part of the Kappa Horde, subjects of the Dragon Emperor and bound to his authority.
While most of the mycon seem content with being able to pillage the Kingdom of Flowers at will, some of them chafe under any authority but their own. A significant portion have resorted back to banditry, raiding the kappa with the same eagerness than they used to raid the villages of the amanita. There are even some groups who are led by dispossessed mandragora nobles, who hope to use the mycon against the kappa the same way the Dragon Emperor turned them against the Kingdom of Flowers. The one thing the mycon don’t have, however, is a leader who can forge a path for them to choose their own destiny. But with the current turmoil, there is no better time for one.
Statistics
Cost to Play: 0
Stat Modifiers: Speed +2, Dexterity +1, Constitution +1, Intelligence -2, Willpower -1, Charisma -1,
Size: Small.
Special Abilities:
- Claws: Mycon have jagged claws with Damage 3. They may learn a skill to use them properly, which is not automatically treated as a Favored Skill.
- Darkvision: Their nocturnal nature makes Mycon at home in darkness. They have Darkvision out to 10'.
- Poison: Mycon claws secrete a viscous poison that causes crippling pain in its targets. Anyone affected suffers a -1 penalty to their rolls per point they failed the Save by for thirty minutes.
- Tough Hide: The mycon's fibrous flesh gives them AR 4. They do not suffer any additional penalties from wearing armor.