Violent Fungus!

When I was a young man, just discovering Dungeons & Dragons, I thought it was hilarious that the game included a monster called 'violent fungus'.  In fact, it wasn't until years later that I realized that misread my Monster Manual*, and actually the creatures were called 'violet fungus'.  Disappointing.

Years later, after I had created my own fantasy game filled with monsters, I took the opportunity to correct this cosmic-level oversight. And so when I came to write Into the Breeding Pits for Frostgrave, the world gained mushroom men called violent fungus. Maybe nobody is laughing but me; but you know what, even if that is true, it was worth it.

With the truth finally revealed, it is perhaps surprising that I have only gotten around to painting my first violent fungus recently. This little guy is part of a two pack from North Star.  I love his big hands and his purposeful stride. This is a mushroom that has places to be! Just like the name, the model cracks me up.

When I sat down to paint him, I did a quick internet search for 'weird mushroom' images. I found a suitably bright yellow and red one which I used as the basis for the model. So a couple of yellow/brown layers with a purple wash, and then a red top with grey spots to finish it off. Very simple, but such a characterful model only needs a simple paint job, I think.

One of these days, I'm going to have to revisit the violent fungus and learn more about these strangely angry mushrooms.

* I just checked and violet fungus are in the 5th Edition Monster Manual. You can find them under 'fungus'.