When glowing spores come into contact with:
Standing water (ponds, pools, basins) OR Rainfall while outdoors They trigger a spontaneous fungal rebirth:
3d6 Lichen Babies appear within 1 round. They act as an unarmored swarm, each with 1 HP. They last for 3 rounds unless bonded.
Lichen Babies
Behavior: Not hostile but rationally move toward the nearest organic target (leather, wood, or flesh) and seek to hug and bond, but not harm. If they make contact, they extend tiny hyphae tendrils (hairlike vines) that enter surfaces and graft a life-giving, and property altering bond.
Lichen Bonding Table (d20)
Roll 1d20 when a Lichen Baby successfully bonds with gear or flesh.
d20 Result
1 Player's choice: a piece of inventory transforms into edible flakes (1d4+1 rations).
2–5 Shield or armor loses 1 +1 condition level (decay).
6–17 Lichen bonds symbiotically to shield/armor. Adds +1 condition as long as it receives 1 ration of water and 1 hour of sunlight daily. The bonded armor lasts 30 days before flaking.
18–19 Lichen bonds with the PC’s flesh: Grants telepathic sense of water & organic life within 15 ft radius. It may appear (player's choice) as mossy scars, glowing veins, bark-like skin, or other obvious organic fusion.
20 The PC becomes immune to sickness, poison, fatigue, and other physical ailments for 30 days, as long as they meet these conditions: Spend 1 hour in sunlight per day, and. Stay 2× rations hydrated daily.
Note: Only one lichen-bonded item or effect may be active per PC at a time—unless the party befriends a Mycelial druid or finds a Lichen priest.