[Botany] Monster - Carrionette Spore (Patreon)

Yup, these are based on cordyceps, a bit of Last of Us, and a combo word between carrion and marionette. Weird that we still don't have neutral fungal zombies yet.

There's three kinds of carrionettes - the regular zombies, the faster zombie beasts, and a sorta-boss-hive for adventurers to build up to!

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The parasitic carrionette fungus infests corpses and uses them to better spread its spores. Each colony uniquely reanimates its prey by forming fungal meshes that simulate limited brain activity and muscle movement. As the corpse continues to decompose, the carrionette consumes and replaces much of its flesh itself, allowing them to travel far from their home.

Carrionette spores typically spread to corpses through aerial dispersal, but can infect living creatures through direct injurious contact. Infected wolves and bears make especially effective spreading agents for the carrionette thanks to their bites. Carrionette zombie outbreaks sometimes plague swampside villages enough to require a cleric’s presence.

When a carrionette colony collects sufficient biomass, it grows into an enormous fungal entity called a carrionette mother. Such plants find homes in damp caves far from civilization, directing its offspring to collect corpses until it has amassed an army. These supercolonies spell trouble for the local ecosystem and threaten the well-being of nearby villages if left unchecked.