The Vile Fungus appears to be a mass of regular mushrooms from a glance, yet they can cast out tendrils that can infect those they touch. The victim is then progressively overcome by the fungus until they are unable to move and the cycle starts over.
In the RPG...
I wasn't sure if I should still include Vile Fungus or not, as I feel that Blighted Ones may have taken their place, but they are not quite the same. These are more about the fungus itself and Blighted Ones are about the affected, so I ultimately decided to leave them in. Another big difference is that Blighted Ones actively try to attack and infect others, whereas those affected by the Vile Fungus choose to hide away in dark, damp places that a fungus would thrive in.
Being immobile, the Vile Fungus relies on its filament tendrils to snare an unsuspecting victim. Infection has a 100% chance of success, though strong fungicides or chemical solvents will kill it if used within 2-20 minutes. If this window is missed, then infection is permanent and the victim's body will slowly be consumed by the fungus, taking 10 points each of STR, CON, and DEX each month until they all reach 0, at which point they have changed entirely into a Vile Fungus themselves. Though it has no armour, attacking it with physical weapons will simply shred its flesh, scattering the material into the air where it can more easily infect. Fire or chemicals would therefore be the best means of killing it.
Being immobile, the Vile Fungus relies on its filament tendrils to snare an unsuspecting victim. Infection has a 100% chance of success, though strong fungicides or chemical solvents will kill it if used within 2-20 minutes. If this window is missed, then infection is permanent and the victim's body will slowly be consumed by the fungus, taking 10 points each of STR, CON, and DEX each month until they all reach 0, at which point they have changed entirely into a Vile Fungus themselves. Though it has no armour, attacking it with physical weapons will simply shred its flesh, scattering the material into the air where it can more easily infect. Fire or chemicals would therefore be the best means of killing it.
In a video game...
I like the idea of an immobile enemy that could infect a hapless victim, but being that the infection can take up to 9 months to complete, I'm not sure how it would work. Perhaps if the timer for infection ran down, the game would just end as in death, possibly showing the player's unfortunate fate.
In a film...
The Vile Fungus' M.O. kind of reminds me of the Creep Show episode, "The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill". The big difference being that Jordy's transformation was over the course of a night, rather than months. A movie of this premise could work, though its obviously morbid ending might not be to many people's tastes.
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