Zuggtmoy the RETURN

 I decided that the main antagonist of the version I am making of "Keep on the Borderlands" is going to be the forgotten mushroom queen, Zuggtmoy. I plan to use the food chain as an explanation of how the evil entity gained access to the vicinity of Phandalin.

Reviewing the Abyss adventure...you can find some information regarding the effects that the presence of Zuggtmoy produces in the region, for example:

-Fungi that allow to transform the creatures of the region into zombies.

-Fungi that generate effects of temporary madness.

-Modify the biome of the region.

Based on the suggestions of the books the food chain is the only thing that is needed to expand the influence of the queen fungus without having to present the devil with all his power, the air and fur of the animals, is all that is needed to infest a region of fungi and mold. I plan to place Zuggtmoy in a lower state where it can only make one type of attack, making it difficult to approach.

Its presence wreaks havoc on nearby settlements, dozens of sick people in the border fortress, adventurers who barely approach the site, find a dead deer infested with brown fungi, unknowingly infected. Inside the fortress, they are told of the rewards and the caves, adding to all that has been said and seen the fact of a disease that is ravaging the place.

When the group goes outside they will be able to find more signs of the presence of the disease in the area and as more days go by, they will be able to notice some minor effects of the infection, they should hurry and find the root of the problem. While in the caves they fight for supremacy between those who have been dominated and those who follow the jellyfish, the more days go by, the stronger the Zuggtmoy will become.

The time will be reduced and adjusted according to the needs of the adventure, but in general those are the changes that I propose, being another big change to place other creatures instead of the cultists, which could be creatures of plant or fungi type. Being a giant face of Zuggtmoy instead of the bell of chaos, changing the alignments for effects that modify the sanity. The effects of sanity as described in the DMG.

It seems to me that the same thing can be done with different types of antagonists, adding variety to adventures that are sometimes left a little behind, but that don't cost anything to renew and bring new energy.