Hungry Mushroom Patch

[MeinCookie]

This idea originally struck me with the Lantern Mushroom as a really cool mixture of natural terrain obstacle, hostile neutral trap and a creature . Its main specialities are area denial, powerful Area of Effect attacks, using corpses to heal itself and eventual self-resurrection after death.

I may suggest several species of mushroom, but they aren't necessarily a group. Just different ideas for what they could be in game.

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LANTERN MUSHROOM

The Lantern carnivorous mushrooms are unique and hard to classify. It blurs the lines between trap, terrain and creature - it doesn't move and is fixed to a single square. That said it is a living entity none-the-less and it is unique in being flora not fauna. It has health that regenerates over time and faster after eating. They attack like a trap, using poison to slowly kill and sticky sap to reduce the movement speed of their prey, which can be multiple enemies at a time given the AoE nature of these. When an enemy dies it is then eaten and digested.

These mushrooms can be killed or dispatched, but they leave behind a thick hardy protruding roots which cannot be removed, claimed or built upon. Unlike traps they eventually regrow themselves, lignotubers in their root system allowing them to resurrect themselves.

The second important thing about the mushroom is that it is hostile neutral only. You can't torture something that occupies a fixed point and you can't get them out of a portal either. You can't manufacture life in a workshop or pack it into a crate.

Overall, areas inhabited by these natural menaces are some of the most deadly and tricky in the underworld. Because of their powerful AoE attacks and using of creature corpses to heal themselves, these are lethally effective against low-level poorly trained armies. Whilst it is a constant struggle, these can, however, be fought and suppressed with higher level, well trained creatures - most effectively using ice-related spells. Also a good choice would be flying creatures who obviously can't be attacks and can proceed with impunity.


Stats

Health ~ Medium/Medium-Low

Attack Speed ~ Very Slow

Attack Damage ~ Medium-High (Including Poison), also AoE

Levelling Speed ~ Fast

Weaknesses ~ Ice

Spells/Jobs/Behavior

Level 1 - Melee/Poison ~
An not-quite standard melee attack on anything that comes to close. Mushroom patch shrivels and clusters of long thorns burst out of their tops. These thorns do area-of-effect poison damage.

Level 1 - Resurrect ~
When and if a mushroom patch dies, their old root system renders the tile unusable, and after 5-10 minutes of game-time the mushrooms will reappear, sprouting from lignotubers in their roots. Whilst this may seem a long time, plants naturally operate on a different clock to animals.

Level 2 - Digest ~
Absorbs any corpses in the vicinity of the mushroom patch, accelerating the Mushroom's own natural healing.

Level 4 - Slow ~
Sticky sap oozes from the mushrooms, area-of-effect slowing anything passing over them.

Level 10 - Special Toxins~
Special toxins are mixed in with plants poison and sap, targeting the brain, they can cause delusion and hallucinogenic effect. There is a 1-in-20 chance in an attack that enemies will be affected by turncoat.

Appearance
Look Down.

Concepts


Me, experimenting - trying to make a DK-looking Mushroom.


A fairly good visual representation of the suggestion.

[Keeper_Infernal]

This idea sounds very interesting,I really love it!

(question,if it was my moshroom terrein idea who inspired you, then I wont mind if you will take more ideas from there.. (the mine reason is that you simply make ideas to look better, with your fine writing. ) and I wont mind if you will add something new to them.

Edit:if you dont know what am i talking about,then again,you can take ideas from here: http://keeperklan.com/threads/2072-Different-Landscapes

[MeinCookie]

Didn't get it from you... but I'll admit that is very similar in concept. I've been studying fire-resistant and carnivorous plants for a while, and I've always felt there needed to some mosses/mushrooms in the underworld. So yeah.

I might consider it, but I'm still a bit busy atm.

[Keeper_Infernal]

Oh okey,then check out those ideas after you will have time.

If your so much in plants,then i have another thing that might suit the Underworld as a plant, Thorns. (i wont even try to discribe the concep,since if you will deside to take it,you will probelly do it better then me.)

[Dizzi]

How do they appear? Do the map designers place them or do they spawn in random areas?

I would say ditch sleep and make attack/proc rate slow and aoe. Bring resurrect down to 5-10 mins and have moderate health making it hard obstacle but really easy to chop with a small well trained army.

[MeinCookie]

Well they are essentially hostile neutrals so they would be placed in editor. I agree with what you say there also, btw. That seems the best way to balance it.

[Dizzi]

This is one of the best suggestions I've heard so far. Not sure about the appearance though. I imagine mario land mushrooms lol!

[Zyraen]

Since we're going with the Mario references, may I add that Piranha plants are extremely fitting? Lolz

But seriously, my concern is that its just a different terrain type and is going to diverge from the DK theme. That's really all the concern.
And of course, it may be interesting to see how the Developers code an AI that takes advantage of this terrain.

[MeinCookie]

May I just be clear that these are demonic mushrooms, lol? Focus on the massive thorns which emerge. Also, each square is not one big mushroom (because that would look odd) but clusters of smaller ones.

In terms of DK aesthetic? These are rare in common circumstances, they only appear in large numbers with a couple of exceptions. If there were entire fields of mushrooms everywhere you go you might ask... is the underworld really like that? Hell no! They are rare.

Also, I do believe it fits if visually designed carefully.

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EDIT ~ What would people say to giving this a creature leveling? They are essentially neutral creatures, even if they share features with traps and terrain. Level would reset every-time they resurrect, but levelling would give them access to different attacks.

Spells/Jobs/Behavior

Level 1 - Melee/Poison ~
An not-quite standard melee attack on anything that comes to close. Mushroom patch shrivels and clusters of long thorns burst out of their tops. These thorns do area-of-effect poison damage.

Level 1 - Resurrect ~
When and if a mushroom patch dies, their old root system renders the tile unusable, and after 5-10 minutes of game-time the mushrooms will reappear, sprouting from lignotubers in their roots. Whilst this may seem a long time, plants naturally operate on a different clock to animals.

Level 2 - Digest ~
Absorbs any corpses in the vicinity of the mushroom patch, accelerating the Mushroom's own natural healing.

Level 4 - Slow ~
Sticky sap oozes from the mushrooms, area-of-effect slowing anything passing over them.

Level 10 - Special Toxins~
Special toxins are mixed in with plants poison and sap, targeting the brain, they can cause delusion and hallucinogenic effect. There is a 1-in-20 chance in an attack that enemies will be affected by turncoat.

Also added Ice as its weakness.

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EDIT II ~

I've tried my hand at a little concept art. Yes, no, maybe? Does it look DK enough or does it need more work? Which looks best?

[Metal Gear Rex]

http://img837.imageshack.us/img837/3386/iart0072.jpg

How's that thing gonna fit in a dungeon? It's going to be pretty hilarious looking at the top of it going through the ceiling.

Though I haven't read through the whole suggestion/thread, I've seen this one part of your post Cookie and I just want to say one thing in response...

May I just be clear that these are demonic mushrooms, lol?

Demonic Unicorn.