Fungusaur

Dwelling in deep caverns filled with mushrooms and mold, fungusaurs are enormous remnants of a past era. These enormous plants are far more ambulatory and animal-like than others, almost nothing of their appearance giving clue to their true nature. But the fungusaur itself is little more than a large conglomeration of spores held together by a sponge-like network.   Gentle Giants Often mistake for predators due to their great size, fungusaurs are actually highly anxious and timid creatures, preferring to keep their distance from others. A full-grown fungusaur often has little reason to leave the cavern system it calls home, except in extreme cases. Those most often encountered are young fungusaurs leaving the place of their birth in search of a cavern of their own, but their size gives little clue to this fact. Adolescent fungusaurs are huge creatures which easily upset any underdark settlement that happens to find one on the outskirts of its territory. A young fungusaur which is attacked is likely to fight only long enough to gain an opening to flee, reticent to fight despite its strength and bulk. Unstoppable Potential The greatest defense a fungusaur has is its ability to grow stronger, larger, and sturdier when it is heavily injured. If a hunted fungusaur survives its injuries, it becomes all the more difficult to take down as its hide grows tougher, and the fungusaur itself grows even larger. Fungusaurs seem to have no upper limit on this ability to grow from injury, and the largest and oldest fungusaurs encountered in the Underdark are said to still be alive and well, having grown hides so tough they are almost impenetrable by contemporary weaponry. Contrary to common sense, the fungusaur actually grows more rapidly as an adult than as a child, with even relatively light injury triggering its growth process. However, the tough hide of an adult fungusaur does make it less likely to become injured enough to trigger the process, adding to the creature’s paradoxical growth.