| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Eilserus |
Posted - 30 Nov 2015 : 23:31:24
In Out of the Abyss, the player's make "contact" with the dreaming mind of Araumycos and it's in the Astral (where we know dead gods go to). It looks like a jawless skull the size of a mountain covered with lichens and big patches of mold, the same colors as Araumycos on Faerun. Inside the skull is a brain shaped fungus suspended by tendrils in the middle of the open space.
Since it's a brain, are we looking at some sort of Elder Brain created in the hollowed skull of a dead god that didn't turn out right? Or it's some sort of dead god or primordial?
I was curious what others will make of this since it's new lore. |
| 12 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Eltheron |
Posted - 06 Dec 2015 : 17:42:34
quote:
Originally posted by Eilserus
I would guess no since it blackens and dies almost immediately after being cut off the main growth. Maybe it'd be good potion ingredients though?
The new lore is strange. We know it's a Weave anchor and it pretty much stays within the bounds of the High Forest. Though considering it's infested huge swaths of Ammarindar I'd have to ask whether this is true for back in the day or present High Forest growth/coverage. The Greypeak mountains being outside the High Forest after all. Of course, we have connections to the Underdark and drow and illithid activity as of 1357 DR around the Endless Caverns area so I would assume Araumycos doesn't fill every single space under the forest.
I'd have to go digging, but wasn't it noted Araumycos as hiding Creator ruins? I had always figured it had something to do with the Crown Wars or the Aryvandaar Empire. Maybe even predating that to the Creator races.
This has always been one of my favorite things of the Keep, talking about new bits and seeing how they fit into the lore puzzle.
If memory serves, and I could be completely wrong, I think the original intent for Araumycos was intended to be a like a randomly opening/sealing door - meaning that it was this huge fungal thing that grew and shrank from time to time, unpredictably (aka DM's whim), so you could suddenly uncover or bury new areas of the Underdark. That way you could develop some new ancient ruin where Araumycos used to be, allow players access for a while, maybe even let them in and trap them for a while. Bursts of growth or receding might be something players could figure out, or not, but it was primarily meant as a DM tool.
They've added lore since that time, of course, but I believe that was the original design intent.
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| Eilserus |
Posted - 06 Dec 2015 : 16:21:43
I would guess no since it blackens and dies almost immediately after being cut off the main growth. Maybe it'd be good potion ingredients though?
The new lore is strange. We know it's a Weave anchor and it pretty much stays within the bounds of the High Forest. Though considering it's infested huge swaths of Ammarindar I'd have to ask whether this is true for back in the day or present High Forest growth/coverage. The Greypeak mountains being outside the High Forest after all. Of course, we have connections to the Underdark and drow and illithid activity as of 1357 DR around the Endless Caverns area so I would assume Araumycos doesn't fill every single space under the forest.
I'd have to go digging, but wasn't it noted Araumycos as hiding Creator ruins? I had always figured it had something to do with the Crown Wars or the Aryvandaar Empire. Maybe even predating that to the Creator races.
This has always been one of my favorite things of the Keep, talking about new bits and seeing how they fit into the lore puzzle. |
| Eltheron |
Posted - 06 Dec 2015 : 03:16:42
quote:
Originally posted by George Krashos
I had Araumycos pegged as being from Abeir and evidence of previous "Spellplague"-type events in Realms history.
-- George Krashos
You know, I'd be totally fine with Araumycos being a weird fungus from some alien planet. The Realms have always had that "leaky doorways" and "erratic gates" kind of problem.
Some kind of nearly dead god-brain though, just nah.
Maybe Araumycos feeds on energies in the Astral as well as the Weave, perhaps even phasing into other worlds through "weak spots" in the planes. But still somehow, it's all just one gigantic fungus.
I wonder what it tastes like. Would it be good as a replacement for truffles in cooking?
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| xaeyruudh |
Posted - 06 Dec 2015 : 00:51:35
WotC is infamous for removing lore by combining things that shouldn't be combined, so I just hope that this isn't another mistake like... the skull once sat on the shoulders of a primordial, whom we now know as Moander.
I'm with those who like Araumycos as a plant/fungal entity, and I'm not crazy about it being "humanized" with a skull shape. I remember elements of the descriptions of Araumycos that are consistent with neutral pathways, but that shouldn't have to mean it's a brain or has a brain.
We'll see what other lore pops up. |
| George Krashos |
Posted - 05 Dec 2015 : 23:41:54
I had Araumycos pegged as being from Abeir and evidence of previous "Spellplague"-type events in Realms history.
-- George Krashos |
| Drustan Dwnhaedan |
Posted - 05 Dec 2015 : 17:51:09
quote:
Originally posted by Shadowsoul
quote:
Originally posted by Eltheron
Personally, I prefer having Araumycos as just a strange bit of plant life native to the deep Underdark. Rather like how the deep, deep ocean has some bizarre plant and animal life unique and slightly alien. I'm fine with Araumycos having some unusual properties, even phasing into the Astral, casting off magic radiation, or being tied to the Weave. But I prefer having it be just weird plant life that has some unusual attributes and not some kind of fallen power or an entity (beyond being very large).
I'm the kind of person who likes the little details, like how the Underdark has a variety of interesting but relatively normal mushrooms, blind cave animals, even weirdly unique monsters that inspire study. Everything doesn't have to be tied to some RSE or former deity, or "change everything you thought" in a flashy way.
I agree with this 100%.
Same here. I think it's far more interesting as a giant plant with some unusual and unique properties, rather than some fallen deity's brain. |
| Shadowsoul |
Posted - 02 Dec 2015 : 11:38:21
quote:
Originally posted by Eltheron
Personally, I prefer having Araumycos as just a strange bit of plant life native to the deep Underdark. Rather like how the deep, deep ocean has some bizarre plant and animal life unique and slightly alien. I'm fine with Araumycos having some unusual properties, even phasing into the Astral, casting off magic radiation, or being tied to the Weave. But I prefer having it be just weird plant life that has some unusual attributes and not some kind of fallen power or an entity (beyond being very large).
I'm the kind of person who likes the little details, like how the Underdark has a variety of interesting but relatively normal mushrooms, blind cave animals, even weirdly unique monsters that inspire study. Everything doesn't have to be tied to some RSE or former deity, or "change everything you thought" in a flashy way.
I agree with this 100%. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 02 Dec 2015 : 05:45:13
Here's a way to spin all that... The skull is, indeed, the remnant of some fallen deity. My proposed collective worshipped that fallen deity. For some reason, they thought that this nifty fungus they found would strengthen their mental abilities and thus the amount of worship they offered, facilitating the return of this deity. So they took some of the fungus to that skull, and surrounded themselves with the rest (perhaps immersed themselves in it and/or ingested it, and then did some ritual they thought would awaken the deity. Instead, they were absorbed into the fungus and became Araumycos.
The leaders of this whole thing were at the skull and did the ritual at the same time. So both the entity in the Realms and the one in the skull are linked; because the leaders were at the skull, their section of the dispersed intelligence is slightly dominant to the rest of the entity, and would thus be perceived (by limited, mortal minds) as the mind of the entire thing.
If the original fungus had its own intelligence to begin with, the human collective having merged with it would wind up with an intelligence that was quite alien to anything else. |
| TBeholder |
Posted - 02 Dec 2015 : 01:49:40
quote:
Originally posted by Eilserus
In Out of the Abyss, the player's make "contact" with the dreaming mind of Araumycos and it's in the Astral (where we know dead gods go to).
[...]
Since it's a brain, are we looking at some sort of Elder Brain created in the hollowed skull of a dead god that didn't turn out right?
Obviously. The only things to b found on Astral plane are dead gods. And the Elder Brain is the only thing with brain. Everyone knows this.
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| Dalor Darden |
Posted - 02 Dec 2015 : 01:37:40
I always thought it was neat as simply a giant fungus. Very similar to the one in Oregon that is like 2,200 acres!
Not so sure how I feel about it being "god-like" or something.  |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 01 Dec 2015 : 17:04:30
I, personally, would like spin Araumycos as some sort of formerly human collective that was engaged in some big experiment, and wound up forming into - or being absorbed by their creation of - this fungal entity. |
| Eltheron |
Posted - 01 Dec 2015 : 15:08:48
Personally, I prefer having Araumycos as just a strange bit of plant life native to the deep Underdark. Rather like how the deep, deep ocean has some bizarre plant and animal life unique and slightly alien. I'm fine with Araumycos having some unusual properties, even phasing into the Astral, casting off magic radiation, or being tied to the Weave. But I prefer having it be just weird plant life that has some unusual attributes and not some kind of fallen power or an entity (beyond being very large).
I'm the kind of person who likes the little details, like how the Underdark has a variety of interesting but relatively normal mushrooms, blind cave animals, even weirdly unique monsters that inspire study. Everything doesn't have to be tied to some RSE or former deity, or "change everything you thought" in a flashy way.
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