FREQUENCY: Uncommon
NO. APPEARING: 10-100
ARMOR CLASS: 10
MOVE: Nil
HIT DICE: 1 hit point
% IN LAIR: 100%
TREASURE TYPE: Nil
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 explosion
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-2
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Deafening
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard
INTELLIGENCE: Non-
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
SIZE: S (1 inch high, 2 inch diameter)
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil
    Attack/Defense Modes: Nil
LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: I/8

    Explodestools appear to be normal, edible
mushrooms, and are only discernable for
what they are by a ranger or druid of 5th
level or higher, or by a sage who has studied
plants and fungi. They are 50% likely to be
found with normal mushrooms, and they
grow anywhere above or below ground
where other fungi grow.

    If a ripe explodestool is touched, it will
explode like a firecracker, doing 1-2 hp
damage to the disturber and 1 hp damage to
all others within a 10' radius of it. All
beings within 10' will be deafened for 1
turn if they fail a saving throw vs. paralyzation.
The deafening causes a ringing sound
in the victim's ears. This ringing has a
chance of ruining a spell that the victim is
trying to cast if the spell has a verbal component
(because the ability to hear has a
great effect on the quality of one's speech).
The chance of failure is 50% minus 1% per
level of the caster, plus 1% per level of the
spell. Thus, a 12th-level magic-user trying
to cast a cloudkill spell has a 43% chance
(50% -12% +5%) of having the spell ruined
if he is deafened before the casting ends.

    A bursting explodestool has a 90%
chance to set off any other explodestools
within a 10' radius of it. This phenomenon
can cause a chain reactoin that can be devastating
to a group. (A seperate saving
throw vs. deafness must be attempted for
every explodestool that is set off within 10'
of a potential victim.) Explodestools can be
destroyed by fire or cold-based attacks
without setting them off, but any attack
involving physical contact with a ripe explodestool
will cause it to burst -- including
a real blow form a weapon such as a frost
brand or flame tongue sword. However,
these weapons will an explodestool if
they are held near it without touching it.

    When an explodestool bursts, it scatters
spores in a 50' radius if there is no wind, or
up to 200' away in the direction of the wind
current if one exists. These spores can be
collected and stored in a dry container for
up to a month without losing their potency.
It takes four days for an explodestool to
become fully grown from a spore and able
to explode. Most explodestool colonies have
immature specimens growing on the edge of
the colony, so adventurers will usually have
trouble identifying an explodestool colony
unless they are in the middle of the group.

    Some castle owners plant explodestools
(often mixed with normal mushrooms, so
the enemy won't know where it's safe to
step) around the structure's outer walls as a
warning and protective device.
 

    by Alan Zumwalt