Fungustus
ancient staff-bearing patriarch of the fungal warband
Fungustus — The Encounter
ancient staff-bearing patriarch of the fungal warband · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Fungustus
The Fungustus is the eldest of the host, a colony grown so vast and old it commands the lesser caps by scent and will alone. Its root-staff is part conduit, part bludgeon, and its breath storms with spore that rots lungs and routs the brave. So long as it stands, the warband does not break; the Sporelarks run bolder, the Mycelions hold harder, the bladework caps strike on its silent cue. Grove-lore names it the moss-father, the seed from which a whole warband springs, and warns that to scatter the host you must fell the elder first. It can stand alone when it must, lashing with staff and storm and turning its own wounds to poison, but its true power is the warband moving as one beneath it.
Run Fungustus in Sixty Seconds
- Open with Spore Storm then drop the cone on the thickest enemy press.
- Act through allies then Rally the Caps gives a bruiser a bonus move and attack.
- Punish melee then Lingering Spores hurts anyone who hits you up close.
- Stay standing then while the patriarch lives the warband never routs.
- Spend legendaries then Staff Sweep and Drifting Spores between turns.
Fungustus
Large plant, neutral
CR 4 · 1100 XP · GUIDELINEWarband Patriarch. Allied Shroomkin within 30 feet of the Fungustus have advantage on saving throws against being frightened or charmed. While the Fungustus lives, the warband does not rout.
Lingering Spores. When the Fungustus takes damage from a creature within 10 feet, that creature must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution save or take 4 (1d8) poison damage as ancient spores burst from its caps.
Actions
Multiattack. The Fungustus makes two Elder Staff attacks.
Elder Staff. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6+3) bludgeoning damage plus 3 (1d6) poison damage.
Spore Storm (Recharge 5-6). The Fungustus exhales a 20-foot cone of spores. Each creature there must make a DC 14 Constitution save, taking 14 (4d6) poison damage and being poisoned for 1 minute on a failure, or half as much and not poisoned on a success.
Legendary Actions (3/Round)
Staff Sweep. The Fungustus makes one Elder Staff attack.
Drifting Spores. The Fungustus releases a cloud at a point within 30 feet; each creature within 5 feet of it must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution save or have disadvantage on attacks until the end of its next turn.
Rally the Caps (Costs 2 Actions). One allied Shroomkin the Fungustus can see within 30 feet may immediately move up to its speed and make one weapon attack.
An ancient, towering colony crowned in a thicket of stacked caps, leaning on a gnarled root-staff, the patriarch whose breath sets the whole warband marching.
Guideline numbers — formula-tuned and read from the miniature's design, not yet table-proven. Tell us how it ran in the comments.
How It Fights — by Tier
Same creature, scaled threat. The traits never change; only the numbers move.
Anchor behind the warband and open with Spore Storm into the thickest enemy press. Spend legendary actions to Rally the Caps and keep allies attacking on your turn and theirs; Lingering Spores punishes anyone who closes.
Command the field as the warband's heart: storm clusters, sweep with the staff, and use Rally the Caps to give a bruiser a bonus surge. Keep it screened; while it lives the colony never routs.
Lead a full warband. Alternate Spore Storm and legendary Rally surges to act through your allies, sweep the front with the staff, and weaponize your own wounds. It can solo in a pinch, but shines orchestrating the whole colony.
Put Fungustus on the table
Download the presupported STL and run the fight tonight — the model, and the encounter that comes with it.
Get the STL on MyMiniFactory →Clay Cyanide Companion Rules v1
How a bound creature acts
- A companion acts on its owner's initiative, immediately after the owner.
- It uses the Companion block above — roughly ×0.6 HP and damage, no recharge abilities, and at most one reaction trait.
- It moves freely; it takes its Action only while its owner is conscious.
- At 0 HP a companion is broken, not dead — restored on a long rest unless your table rules otherwise.
Original Clay Cyanide material © Clay Cyanide LLC — explicitly not the non-SRD official sidekick rules.
Questions, Asked at the Table
What CR is Fungustus?
Fungustus is CR 4 (1,100 XP) at native Tier 1, the warband's leader. Use AC 17 / ~133 HP for Tier 2 or AC 19 / ~207 HP for Tier 3; the traits and legendary actions stay the same and only the numbers scale.
How does Fungustus fight alongside the rest of the Shroomkin?
It commands. As the patriarch, the Fungustus keeps the warband from routing, storms enemy clusters, and uses Rally the Caps to act through its allies so the colony moves and strikes as one body.
Is Fungustus a solo threat?
Yes, modestly. It carries legendary actions, a recharge breath, and a punishing reaction, so it can hold its own alone, but it is strongest orchestrating a full Shroomkin warband.
Tell Us How It Ran
This work includes material taken from the System Reference Document 5.1 ("SRD 5.1") by Wizards of the Coast LLC and available at dnd.wizards.com/resources/systems-reference-document. The SRD 5.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License available at creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.
Clay Cyanide Miniatures is not affiliated with, endorsed, sponsored, or specifically approved by Wizards of the Coast LLC. This content is compatible with the fifth edition of the world's most popular fantasy roleplaying game. Companion rules, lore, names, and original mechanics © Clay Cyanide LLC.
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