Savage Menagerie: Crumble Mold

No. Enc.: 1
Alignment: None
Movement: 0
Armor Class: 9
Hit Dice: 1
Attacks: None
Damage: None
Save: F1
Morale: None
Hoard Class: None

Crumble Mold appears as a featureless brown mold in a patch about a foot across. The mold is often found growing in caves and caverns or on statues, stone walls, and other stonework. It is rarely, if ever, found in an outdoor setting. Crumble Mold feels surprisingly dry and dusty to the touch.

However, Crumble Mold grows very aggressively on wood. If Crumble Mold or its spores comes into contact with a wooden surface, it will rapidly spread, encompassing 1 square foot of surface area per round (reaching a maximum area of 2d6 square feet). Once the object is engulfed or the mold reaches maximum size, the mold will begin burrowing into the wood's porous surface, leeching out most of the moisture, tissue, and cellulose. Within a matter of 1d6 turns, the wood has been converted to a grey, brittle, fragile, balsa wood-like material. The mold dies off shortly thereafter. An Ancient house infested with Crumble Mold is a dangerous place to investigate as the unwary could drop through several floors, or even have the entire house collapse upon them.

Crumble Mold does not affect living plants and trees (or mutant plants, for that matter), and the mold and its spores cannot survive long in direct sunlight. Crumble Mold has been nicknamed “Nature's Door Opener” and will often be carried in an airtight, black jar by savvy survivalists for just such a purpose.

Mutations: none