TEXT: EN World EN5IDER | Beware of Mold! (And Other Dungeon Hazards)
  EN World EN5IDER | Beware of Mold! (And Other Dungeon Hazards)
   
  writing GM Lent
   color art Sade
   
  editing James J. Haeck
   
  layout Eric Life-Putnam
  BewarE Of Mold
  and other dungeoN hAzards
  D
  ungeons, labyrinths, anD 
   ancient crypts house many 
   dangers for those brave or 
  foolish enough to explore them. Some 
  are easy to spot, like a lich’s chilling gaze, 
  or a group of bugbears loudly jeering at 
  one another as they eat. Others are more 
  subtle, like unstable floors or ceilings 
  lined with corrosive slime waiting to 
  drop down upon unwary adventurers. 
  This article introduces seven new 
  hazards for a Game Master to use in any 
  dungeon or building adventure. 
  
  Beware of Mold! (And Other Dungeon Hazards) | EN World EN5IDER
  Beware of Mold! (And Other Dungeon Hazards) | EN World EN5IDER
  While most of these hazards are not deadly on 
  their own, their presence can add an unexpected 
  twist to a combat encounter or make exploration 
  more treacherous. If used to enhance a combat, 
  treat the hazard as an additional monster for 
  the purposes of encounter building, and award 
  additional XP as if its challenge rating were equal 
  to the average CR of the other monsters.
  Bliss Mold
  Found in drier caverns and dungeons, bliss mold 
  is sometimes sought for use as an alchemical 
  ingredient or as a component in crafting 
  enchantments. Bliss mold can grow on any 
  surface, but seems to prefer stone. It normally 
  appears in patches covering three to five 5-foot 
  squares.
   Bliss molds emit spores that, when inhaled, 
  cause euphoria and happiness in living creatures. 
  The spores fill the air within 5 feet of a patch of 
  bliss mold, and any living creature that begins 
  its turn within the spore cloud must make a DC 
  11 Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the 
  creature must roll a d6 to determine its behavior 
  during the turn.
  Bliss Mold Spore Effects
  Roll
  Result
  1–4
  The creature is incapacitated and cannot take a 
  bonus action. The creature uses all of its movement 
  to move in a random direction.
  5–6
  The creature is stunned, staring dreamily into 
  space.
  Fire and water are both effective methods of 
  eradicating bliss mold. Saturating the mold with 
  water prevents it from releasing its spore cloud, 
  and a 5-foot square patch of elven mold can be 
  destroyed by dealing 5 points of fire damage, 
  though the resulting cloud of smoke briefly 
  intensifies the spore effects. Any creature that 
  breathes the smoke must succeed on a DC 11 
  Wisdom saving throw or suffer the effects of a 
  confusion spell until the end of its next turn. 
   Bliss mold has no effect on creatures that do not 
  need to breathe or creatures that are immune to 
  the charmed condition.
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  including maps and illustrations (including illustrations in the public domain), narrative and descriptive 
  text, character and place names, trade dress, “EN Publishing,” “EN World,” “EN5ider,” EN Publishing 
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  EN World EN5IDER | Beware of Mold! (And Other Dungeon Hazards)
  EN World EN5IDER | Beware of Mold! (And Other Dungeon Hazards)
  are covered by the illusion and cannot be seen.
   Patches of mirage blight that cover more than 
  15 squares have a saving throw DC of 16. On a 
  failed save, a creature is subject to the effect of 
  a phantasmal killer spell in addition to the silent 
  image effect. 
   A mirage blight of any size can be destroyed by 
  dealing 10 points of fire damage to it, and can also 
  killed if targeted by dispel magic or surrounded by 
  an antimagic field. 
  Living Wall
  A living wall is formed of magic so vile it is nearly 
  impossible to comprehend. Through foul rites, 
  the physical bodies of three or more warriors are 
  bound together in the shape of a wall, complete 
  with their weapons. Now mindless but detesting 
  all free life, the living wall seeks only to expand 
  itself and destroy the one who created it.
   A living wall looks like a normal wall in its 
  surroundings until it begins absorbing a creature 
  or responds to an attack (see below). A successful 
  DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check reveals that the 
  wall is of unusual construction, emits unsettling 
  sounds, and is made of an unknown material, but 
  reveals nothing else unless the wall is touched. 
  Truesight reveals the wall’s nature, and shows 
  faint, moving images of all the creatures that have 
  been absorbed by it. 
   A living wall fills one 5-foot square for each 
  victim it has absorbed (minimum of three squares) 
  and emits a low, tortured moaning that can 
  be heard up to 15 feet away. Any creature that 
  touches the wall must make a DC 15 Dexterity 
  saving throw or become stuck as the living wall 
  attempts to pull them into itself. On a successful 
  save, the creature frees itself and takes 5 (1d10) 
  necrotic damage. On a failed save, the creature is 
  partially pulled into the wall.
   On the creature’s next turn, it must make a 
  DC 15 Strength saving throw. On a successful 
  save, the creature suffers 16 (3d10) necrotic 
  damage and frees itself; on a failed save it is pulled 
  further into the wall. On its next turn, the creature 
  Elven Mold
  Among the least-understood of the molds, slimes, 
  and jellies, elven mold is a soft, greyish organism 
  with occasional splotches of purple and silver. 
  It smells slightly sweet, and is typically found 
  covering 10-foot squares. Sages have reached no 
  consensus on how or why elven mold is able to 
  interact with and affect magical energies. The 
  mold itself does not radiate magic, and is useless 
  as a spell component. Experiments in using elven 
  mold as an ingredient in magical potions have 
  met with no success; such potions are invariably 
  inert, and have no effect whatsoever when 
  consumed.
   While standing within 10 feet of elven mold, 
  a spellcaster’s spell save DC is increased by 1. 
  However, any creature standing in a patch of 
  elven mold has advantage on any saving throws 
  made to resist or avoid spells.
   A 10-foot square patch of elven mold can be 
  destroyed by dealing 10 points of fire, acid, or 
  cold damage.
  Mirage Blight
  The bluish-green fungal growth known as mirage 
  blight is mercifully rare, but can be one of the 
  deadliest hazards in a dungeon. Appearing in 
  patches on the ceiling, mirage blight can cover 
  an area as small as a 5-foot square, but has been 
  known to cover entire 30-foot square areas.
   Mirage blight generates a field of magical 
  energy that dulls the wits of any creature within 
  50 feet. Any creature within this range must 
  succeed on an Intelligence saving throw or fall 
  under the blight’s influence. The DC for the 
  saving throw and the exact nature of the effect 
  depends on the size of the blight patch.
   For patches of mirage blight covering 5 to 15 
  squares, the saving throw DC to resist its effects 
  is 13. On a failed save, a creature is subject to 
  the effect of a silent image spell, which makes the 
  surrounding area appear empty and safe. Any 
  pits or other openings (including those that would 
  normally reveal the presence of monsters or traps) 
  
  Beware of Mold! (And Other Dungeon Hazards) | EN World EN5IDER
  Beware of Mold! (And Other Dungeon Hazards) | EN World EN5IDER
  must make a DC 20 Strength saving throw. On a 
  successful save, the creature frees itself but takes 
  an additional 27 (5d10) necrotic damage; on a 
  failed save the creature is absorbed completely. 
  Once absorbed into a living wall, no magic short of 
  a wish can restore the creature to life. An absorbed 
  creature increases the living wall’s area by one five 
  foot square. The GM may make it grow more if the 
  absorbed creature was of Large size or larger.
   Whenever an attack is made against the wall, 
  the wall immediately responds with an attack of 
  its own and the weapon of one of its constituent 
  beings lashes out. These attacks automatically 
  hit whatever creature made the attack and deal 
  1d6 slashing or piercing damage. A living wall 
  does not initiate combat except under specific 
  circumstances (see below).
   If a creature spends more than 30 minutes 
  within 15 feet of a living wall without moving, the 
  wall begins pulling the creature into itself. The 
  creature is drawn irresistibly toward the wall at 
  a rate of 5 feet per hour, and once it touches the 
  wall is absorbed as above. A sleeping creature 
  may make a DC 10 Wisdom saving throw once 
  per hour, awaking on a success. A creature 
  automatically wakes up once it has begun to 
  be absorbed unless a spell or other condition 
  prevents it from doing so. 
   Living walls have no capacity for rational 
  thought, and the personalities of any creatures 
  absorbed into the wall are subsumed by the foul 
  magic that sustains it. If the living wall’s creator 
  comes within 10 feet of its creation, the wall 
  savagely attacks with every capability it has. Its 
  reach extends to 10 feet in these circumstances, 
  and it makes one melee attack for each square 
  of area it covers (the creator does not need to be 
  near every square for this factor to be effective; 
  standing adjacent to a living wall which covers 
  a total of 10 squares is targeted by 10 attacks, all 
  originating the same section of the wall). For this 
  purpose, the wall has an attack bonus of +8 and 
  its rage grants it advantage on all attacks. Each 
  successful attack inflicts 1d8 damage on the target. 
  An arcane living wall (see sidebar) casts one spell 
  for every 5 squares it covers on each of its turns in 
  addition to the physical attacks.
   A living wall can be destroyed the same way 
  as any stone structure or object. It has an Armor 
  Class of 17 and each 5-foot section has 27 (5d10) 
  hit points. A living wall is immune to piercing 
  and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks, 
  and has resistance to bludgeoning damage from 
  nonmagical attacks. 
  Arcane Living Wall
  The standard living wall is a horrifying and fearsome 
  hazard, but assumes that none of the creatures that 
  have been absorbed were spellcasters. If spellcast-
  ing creatures have been absorbed, the living wall 
  has the ability to cast spells. The wall is still mind-
  less and casts spells at random. As with physical 
  attacks, the living wall casts spells only in response 
  to aggression and never initiates combat (except 
  upon encountering its creator).
   A Game Master may assign spells as they see 
  fit, or roll randomly on the table below. Any spell 
  that requires an attack roll uses a bonus of +5, and 
  any spell that requires a saving throw has a DC 
  of 13. Against the living wall’s creator, the spell 
  attack bonus increases to +8 and the spell save DC 
  increases to 16. 
  Arcane Living Wall Spells
  1d10
  Spell
  1
  hideous laughter
  2
  vicious mockery
  3
  scorching ray 
  4
  inflict wounds
  5
  poison spray
  6
  thunderwave
  7
  fog cloud
  8
  shocking grasp
  9
  sleep
  10
  burning hands
  
  EN World EN5IDER | Beware of Mold! (And Other Dungeon Hazards)
  EN World EN5IDER | Beware of Mold! (And Other Dungeon Hazards)
  Mire Mold 
  Greenish and reeking of rot and decay, mire mold 
  clings to stone, slowly digesting the mineral 
  content over time. Mire mold can cover anywhere 
  from two to twenty 5-foot squares.
   The mire mold’s secretions eat away at the 
  grain of stone, leaving it soft and spongy. A 
  wall covered in mire mold has vulnerability to 
  bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage. 
  Traveling over such eroded surfaces is difficult, 
  and a surface covered in mire mold counts as 
  difficult terrain. Particularly old patches of mire 
  mold can even develop into sinkholes.
   Mire mold, once it has begun dissolving stone, 
  is very difficult to remove. Dealing even 1 point of 
  fire damage can kill a 5-foot square patch of mold, 
  but does not reverse the damage it has done. 
  Putrid Slime
  Putrid slime can be found in any cavern 
  that houses living creatures. Feeding off the 
  microscopic solid and liquid residue left by the 
  breath and movements of organisms, putrid slime 
  emits noxious odors as its digestion proceeds. 
  Putrid slime can stick to any surface, and is 
  generally found in 5-foot square patches on 
  ceilings and walls.
   Any creature that begins its turn within 15 feet 
  of putrid slime must succeed on a DC 11 
  Constitution saving throw or be poisoned until 
  the beginning of its next turn as it retches from the 
  horrid stench.
   Dealing even 1 point of cold damage kills a 
  5-foot square patch of putrid slime instantly.
  Umber Mold
  Among the most hated and feared of dungeon-
  dwelling oozes, umber molds are incredibly 
  slick, and make any area they inhabit extremely 
  precarious. An umber mold usually covers a 10-
  foot square, and the air within 30 feet of it reeks of 
  rot and decay.
   Any area covered by an umber mold is slippery 
  and counts as difficult terrain. In addition, if a 
  creature makes a melee attack while standing in 
  an area coated in umber mold, they must succeed 
  on a DC 12 Strength (Athletics) check or fall 
  prone. The attacking creature can choose to avoid 
  the Strength (Athletics) check by attacking with 
  disadvantage.
   Umber mold is moist and sticky, and it cannot 
  be harmed by weapons or electricity. Damage 
  from any effect that deals cold or fire damage 
  destroys a patch of 10-foot square patch of umber 
  mold instantly. e
  
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