WEDDING CRASHERS
When any character enters Lhe skull or touches its
surface. the mind of Araumycos stirs and the Demon
Queen of Fungi senses it Read the following to the
players as Zuggtmoy uses the connection of the rapport
spores to push into Araumycos's mind."Who dares?" a voice shouts in your mind. "Who dares
disturb my intended nuptiaJs?" Spores and tendrils erupt
from the surface of the skull, coalescing before your eyes
into the image of the Demon Queen of Fung1, her dead
eyes glaring with inhuman fury.Zuggtmoy projects her psychic presence to confront
the characters, while at the same time maintaining
limited control over her material form. She intends to
complete the ritual necessary to grant her full power
over Araumycos. needing only to delay or destroy the
intruders in order to succeed. The split in the Demon
Queen's attention works in their favor. as Zuggtmoy's
demonic rivaljuiblex chooses that moment to launch its
attack and claim Araumycos for its own.
Before Zuggtmoy acts against the adventurers. the
demon queen is distracted, tu rning away to glance at
something they can't see. She hisses the name "juiblex"
like a curse, then recoils as if struck. Her image
then vanishes.THE SLEEPER WAKES
As the psychic din awakens Araumycos from its
trance. the shimmering colors piercing the silver of
the Astral Plane flare even brighter. The following
round, Araumycos enters into full rapport with the
characters and their myconid allies. The entity reveals
that Zuggtmoy has already infected its mind with her
demonic inAuence, which Araumycos can feel growing
in strength. It's only a matter of time before it falls
to the demon queen's will. Focused but fearful, the
entity asks the adventurers to cut out and destroy the
diseased part of its mind before it's too late.
The characters are guided to the far side of the
suspended fungus cluster inside the skull, where a dark
mass is spreading. The first time any character comes
within 20 feet of the dark mass, it erupts with the effect
of an Evard's black tentacles spell. The infected area
of Araumycos's mind has AC 13, 100 hit points, and
vulnerability to necrotic and psychic damage.
When the infected area first takes damage, Zuggtmoy
senses it and turns her attention away from juiblex in
an attempt to stop the characters. As she exerts her
will over Araumycos, a burst of spores spreads out in
a cloud from the infected area. Any creature within 20
feet of the infected area must make a successful DC 19
Constitution saving throw or take 3d6 poison damage
and become poisoned. While poisoned in this way. the
creature takes 3d6 poison damage at the start of each
of its turns. A poisoned creature can repeat the saving
throw on each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on
a success.
As the characters destroy more of the infected area,
the view beyond the bounds of the skull chamber
begins to darken. When the area reaches 0 hit points.
a powerful psychic wind howls through the area. Each
character must make a successful DC 15 Intelligence
saving throw to avoid the mental effect of a psychic wind
(see "The Astral Plane" in chapter 2 of the Dungeon
Master's Guide). This psychic wind has no location
effect, as the rapport ends thereafter and the characters
awaken back in their physical bodies. Physical damage
and ongoing effects suffered by their astral forms aren't
carried over to the characters' physical bodies.LET THEM SPEAK Now ...
If the characters free Araumycos from Zuggtmoy's
innuence. they weaken the power of the Demon Queen
of Fungi, fatally distracting her. With the loss of many
of her fungal minions and the amount of power she has
expended to perform her ritual, Zuggtmoy is weakened
to the point that]uiblex overwhelms her, destroying and
consuming her material form and casting her essence
back into the Abyss.
Characters reduced to 0 hit points in the battle on
the Astral Plane are catapulted back to their bodies on
the Material Plane. Their rapport with Araumycos is
broken, and they are helpless to intervene further in the
conflict going on within the entity's mind. You can have
a group of oozes or spore servants from the Araumycos
Encounters table appear in the cavern where the
adventurers entered into rapport with Araumycos. so
that characters shunted out of that rapport can defend
their compatriots' helpless bodies while the light
continues.
Tf all the characters are defeated on the Astral Plane.
the awakened Araumycos remains conscious enough to
resist Zuggtmoy with a final effort, sufficient to distract
the Demon Queen of Fungi and thereby allowing juiblex
to overwhelm her. In any event, the characters can hear
the battle betweenJuiblex and Zuggtmoy unfolding in
the ritual cavern just a few minutes ahead of them.RETREAT!
If the adventurers retreat from the sounds of battle.
they barely escape from a partial collapse of their
local section of Araumycos's cavern complex. They
race ahead of a small horde of Zuggtmoy's minions.
which are crushed by falling rock that also seals
off the charactc::rs' escape route. Basidia and some
of the myconid rebels survive, and will accompany
the adventurers out of Araumyeos's caverns before
re turning to Neverlight Grove to root out any remainder
of the demon queen·s infestation.To BATTLE!
If the adventurers head toward the battle between the
two demon lords after awakening from their rapport.
they arrive just in time to sec th<' grotesque display of
the Faceless Lord slurping up the defeated Zuggtmoy
into the mass of its body, enveloping and dissolving her
before turning its attention toward the newcomers.C H ,\PTER 16 J THE f'ETID \\'EDDJl'-:G
21~