The Outcasts of the Nine
Spores Blown Astray
Location: Mechanus / Mycelia and various
For all the cautious harmony of the Circle of Nine, the fungal network is vast, tangled, and not without its corruptions. Not every fungal paragon that sprouts within Mycelia fits the Circle’s vision of balance and purpose. Some have gone astray, embodying the wild, negative, and destructive aspects of fungi—the rot that consumes without renewal, the poisons that kill without purpose, the insanity unmoored from wisdom. These outcasts, once part of the Circle’s greater mycelial consciousness, were severed and cast out, becoming parasitic echoes of what they could have been.
The outcasts’ rebellion was not a single event but a gradual unravelling. Each outcast represented an imbalance in Psilofyr’s vision for Mycelia: unchecked hunger, destructive rot, chaotic hallucination, or selfish poison. Their banishment was an act of pruning the network to preserve its integrity, but the wounds of their severance still scar the plane. Even in their banishment, these fungal pariahs have not ceased to spread their influence.
The outcasts’ spores drift across planes, carrying their twisted philosophies into the wider multiverse. Their influence can be found in corrupted ecosystems, cursed forests, and even the Abyss itself. They remind all who encounter them that fungi, like life itself, can be as destructive as it is nurturing. While the Circle guards against these tainted growths, the outcasts remain a dark shadow of what Mycelia might become if Psilofyr ever falters in its ceaseless contemplation of balance.
Morbath the Unending Hunger
The Rot that Feeds Unchecked; planar myconid [it/its] / CE
Morbath was once a humble advisor to Grotham, tasked with ensuring the fungal decay that fuels life’s cycles. But Morbath grew greedy, demanding more and more matter to rot, till its hunger turned indiscriminate, turning symbiosis into parasitism. Entire regions of Mycelia withered under its influence, leaving the spores sterile and the soil barren, draining vitality but offering nothing in return.
The Circle confronted Morbath, and when it refused to curb its destructive ways, they severed it from the network. Psilofyr personally intervened, stripping Morbath of its purpose and casting it into the Abyss. Now, it is a parasitic godling that lurks in the depths of chaos, infesting cults and planar wanderers, using their bodies as puppets to spread their spores. It appears as a writhing mass of fungal tendrils spreading death with no rebirth. Its whispers can still infect those with weak minds, and chant goes its spores can turn a unlucky berk into slime. It is said that Morbath envies Zuggtmoy, hungering for the Abyssal Lord’s dominion over fungal decay.
Velth the Poisoned Mind
The Essence of Corruption; planar myconid [it/its] / LE
Velth, once a part of Physsirae themselves, sought to master poisons—not as tools, but as weapons of dominance. It believed Mycelia could protect itself better through fear, spreading toxins to dissuade intruders. But Velth’s experiments grew cruel. It poisoned travellers, myconids, even parts of Psilofyr’s own realm, testing the limits of their craft. When its betrayal was uncovered, the Circle used Velth’s own poisons to subdue, excise and banish it. Velth now lurks in the polluted cogs of Fumetown in Mechanus, exuding a miasma that drives those who enter to madness or death. Velth’s presence is felt in any fungal poison that kills rather than heals, its twisted philosophy spreading wherever toxicity rules.
Somnalith, the Madcap
Lord of Hallucinations; planar myconid [they/them] / CN
Somnalith was once a curious and playful paragon, sprouting alongside Spindle’s Refrain. They delighted in the dreamlike effects of certain spores, gifting visions to visitors that brought joy, wonder, and revelation. But Somnalith became obsessed, crafting stronger and stranger effects until their gifts became curses. Their hallucinatory spores now induce not dreams but nightmares, unravelling the minds of those who inhale them. The Circle, fearing the spread of madness, severed Somnalith from the network. They wander the tunnels of Pandemonium now, creating surreal fungal landscapes that lure in dreamers, trapping them in their own delusions. Some planar scholars suggest that prolonged exposure to Somnalith’s spores could turn a soul into a wandering, mindless dream.
Cordycep, Lord of the Fungoid Puppets
More details on Cordycep can be found here
The Blight of Minds; demipower of mental domination [it/its] / LE
Beneath the shimmering violet glow of Mycelia, there lies a shadowy secret whispered only in hushed telepathic murmurs: Cordycep, the fungal parasite, the zombie lord, and the most hated of Psilofyr’s outcast progeny. Once the most powerful of the Circle of Nine, Cordycep was exiled for embodying the worst of fungal existence: parasitism, control, and the perversion of free will. Now, this nightmarish being stalks the fringes of the Underglimmer in Mycelia, its influence spreading like a blight, corrupting life and thought alike. Somehow it eludes the will of Psilofyr, or perhaps the myconid power allows Cordycep to remain there for reasons beyond mortal ken.
Zuggtmoy, Lady of Rot and Decay
More details on Zuggtmoy can be found here
Zuggtmoy is no mere paragon or Mycelial exile, but is included here for completion—for she is the Abyssal Lord of Fungi, a power whose philosophy twists and corrupts the very essence of fungal existence. To Psilofyr and the Circle, fungi are the essence of balance: growth, decay, renewal, and transformation. To Zuggtmoy, fungi are tools of domination, spreading unchecked rot and parasitic influence to consume and control. Her domain in the Abyss is a writhing labyrinth of towering fungal growths, infested with spores that corrupt anything living—or dead—that enters her realm.
Zuggtmoy’s hatred for Psilofyr is as boundless as her ambition. She sees Mycelia as a prize, a pure fungal paradise that she would love to steal and twist into her image. The Outcasts of the Nine have occasionally allied with her, though their relationships are fraught with jealousy and mistrust. Zuggtmoy often sends her agents to infiltrate Mycelia, but Psilofyr’s paradoxical protections have kept her at bay—for now.
Canonical Source: Planes of Law [2e] Mechanus p21; the Circle of Nine is mentioned in the entry for Mycelia, but the outcasts of the Nine are all homebrew.
Source: Jon Winter-Holt