Vegepygmy

Template:Infobox Greyhawk creature Vegepygmies are small, fungus-based humanoids of low intelligence that grow from russet mold.

Ecology

Vegepygmies keep thornies as pets and use shriekers to guard their lairs; they have the ability to pass by shriekers without them noticing. They like to associate with the similarly fungal myconids, but avoid shambling mounds.

Their diet is composed of carrion and meat, though in times of desperation they have been known to eat myconids or even vegepygmies of other tribes. They can reproduce either via russet mold or by budding. Russet mold will usually be found in their vicinity.

Environment

Vegepygmies favor warm, underground areas, though they can also live in dense forests.

Typical physical characteristics

Vegepygmies range from around two feet in height to an inch and a half higher. Subchiefs are yet another inch taller, and their leaders are a half inch taller than that. There are rumors of extremely powerful vegepygmies up to seven feet in height. Their coloration tends to match their surroundings, so they'll be a mottled brown if their environment is mottled brown, or green if their environment has a lot of green in it. As a result, they tend to blend in well.

These creatures have short, thornlike claws and their shoulders, abdomens, and all four of their limbs are fringed with leaflike tendrils. Their heads are capped with a topknot-like mass of leaves. Their fibrous bodies are tough and stringy, comparable in texture and density to sugar cane.

Alignment

Vegepygmies are neutral.

Society

Every vegepygmy band has a leader, the tallest member of the tribe, who is defended by two to eight sturdy bodyguards. For every fifty vegepygmies there will be a subchief and two to five bodyguards.

Vegepygmies consider animal intelligences to be inferior, and myconids too limited in their interests. They tend to be motivated more by curiosity than by wealth. Some see themselves as protectors of plant life.

Language

Vegepygmies do not have a spoken language, but they are capable of vocalized cries. They communicate via chest-thumping and slapping. Vegepygmies are capable of learning Common with difficulty.

History

Mold cultures in the hydroponic chambers of the Barrier Peaks ship were mutated by exposure to radiation. After infecting members of the ship's human crew, the mold transformed itself into the first vegepygmies. Vegepygmies are now able to bud and propagate on their own without needing additional human hosts.

After several decades buried underground, a computer malfunction caused the ship to send robots to clear debris out of the way and unload the ship's cargo. This offered many exotic species, including the vegepygmies, an opportunity to escape out into the world, starting with the Grand Duchy of Geoff. While some creatures died, the vegepygmies managed to survive and propagate.

Bibliography

• Brown, Lloyd III. "Primitive PCs." Dragon #265 (TSR, 1999).
• Gygax, Gary. Expedition to the Barrier Peaks. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1980.
• -----. Monster Manual II. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1983.
• Stewart, Doug, ed. Monstrous Manual. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1994.