Zygom
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the zygom is a type of plant creature.
Publication history
The zygom first appeared in first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons in Dragon #69 (January 1983), and then appeared in the original Monster Manual II (1983).[1]
The zygom appeared in the second edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons for the Greyhawk setting in the Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Appendix (1990).[2]
Description
A zygom is a communal creature, made up of numerous small individual fungoid growths which consist of a short, thin stem with an ovoid cap, and which are joined together by a rhizome structure. A zygom can exist in earth, but prefers to infest living flesh and nourish itself on the host's blood and tissue. This infestation controls the host creature by brain and nerve connections, leading to the death of the host after a few weeks. The zygom remains until the whole of the dead body is consumed and then moves on. While the host lives, the zygom controls it to move, attack, and defend according to the dictates of the possessing zygom. The infestation is typically on the head, neck, and back along the spine. Whenever a colony of zygoms comes into rough contact with any creature, there is a chance that the pale blue "milk" of a broken cap will stick fast to the creature. If this extremely sticky milk is glued to flesh, a colony of zygom spores will infect the creature and begin growth by the time the glue powders after a few days, allowing the zygoms to infest and control the host.
References
- ^ Gygax, Gary. Monster Manual II (TSR, 1983)
- ^ Breault, Mike, ed, et al. Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Appendix (TSR, 1990)