Hyphāran

By Maiez Tridé

“That which they decay and decompose to eat must be shown respect. A hunter respects its prey and uses it as much as possible, and a decomposer respects its meal before it can eat.” - Elder Krofe

A race of walking and talking Mycelium who call the Fvold home, surviving, and thriving off of anything in the land that came and died within the Fvold. They are known for their ability to scavenge and consume most soft, natural elements; allowing them to thrive off unexpected sources of sustenance. The main form of communication between Hyphāran is via touch and connective mycelium, which enables them to share information and emotions. During said communication if one Hyphāran has knowledge of something such as a language, then the other can learn it; to a basic, unpracticed degree. Only with rigorous practice can a Hyphāran learn a spoken language, and develop something similar to a humanoid mouth.

Hyphāran society is communal and deeply connected. If two are given even a short span of time together, an underground connection can be made and thoughts and emotions can be shared and understood. Many communities live within naturally carved or formed living compartments within massive, interconnected caverns beneath the Fvold. Many are taught and told to give reverence to "that of the ‘oldest hand’ which reaches into the deepest and darkest grounds of the land,supposedly the first and oldest of their race somewhere in the Fvold, though no living Hyphāran has seen or heard of such an individual. As such, they’re generally relegated to myth. Hyphāran typically live 200 - 550 years, with elders sometimes reaching 700 years if they choose to root themselves permanently.

Creation of new Hyphāran usually stems from rituals connected and conducted with a village's “piece of the reaching one”. After said rituals, new Hyphārans are born and are raised by the village communally. Hyphāran are born without a predetermined sex, as such certain social norms in other cultures are lost to them. Most if not all Hyphāran’s are named through a partial name, word, or sound and what they first consume after being “born.” For example, the name 'Bo,' and the first thing eaten being a wood, would result with bood.

A piece of the "Reaching One" varies in size from village to village, commonly small enough to fit in one’s hand, though on rare occasions said to reach the size of a grown beast of burden. Said pieces have the appearance of a lump of seemingly pure mycelium varying in a range of color and species. Said lump exudes a slight mist of spores that never ceases, nor exceeds a distance greater than a hand's length from it. The weight is surprisingly light and the texture is soft. I was allowed to examine a lump from a local village kind enough to allow me to hold their piece. Another surprising feeling from the examined lump is that it felt as though breath was flowing through it on a rhythmic timing, and a slight physical humming.

  • Folk Talent: Natural Decomposer - You are able to consume biological materials once per Round to regain 1d6 Life Points.
  • Folk Talent: Nature’s Filters - Gain +2 dice in defense against any roll that would impose the Poisoned Tribulation.
  • Folk Talent: Spore Production - Once per Encounter, produce a suffocating and eye watering veil of spores around one’s self. Make an Opposing Survival roll against all characters Near to you. Regardless of successes, all characters take a -2 to Awareness and Endurance rolls for 1d6 Rounds, and those who fail the Opposing Roll take the Impaired Tribulation (sight based).