Sporeborn

Tree Thralls · Shroom Striders

Once noble, peaceful tree giants, now slaves to a fungal blight searching for more stone to consume.

Before the fall, the noble, peaceful tree giants lived quietly in their forests, away from the battles and power struggles of the smaller peoples. When the sparkstone fell from the sky and the world was plunged into despair, the tree giants withdrew deeper into their sanctuaries and were not seen again for centuries. When they emerged they were horrifically changed, plagued with some infectious fungal blight all over their wooden bodies and a hunger for sparkstone that cannot be sated for long.

When their sparkstone has been drained they stride forth from their forests of fungi, scratching at the mushrooms that spread over their bark and groaning mournfully to themselves. They attack the nearest mining city they can find, pushing their roots into the ground and releasing sporelings that fly across the battlefield to latch themselves on enemies and settlements alike. Those sporelings that land in settlements grow roots themselves and unleash monstrous mushroom men on the populace.

Fire, or any weapon that can destroy organic matter rapidly, can do significant damage to the tree thralls but once they have taken root and bloomed they regrow rapidly and are impossible to uproot. A cohort of sporeborn need to be completely destroyed to ensure they do not continue to grow out of control. Who knows whether these once wonderful wood-men know what they have become but they are not the proud creatures they once were and no doubt would prefer their suffering to end.