Mycologist's Primer
Mycologist’s Primer is a guide to real-world magical fungi, lichens, and slime molds.
A mix of ethnomycology, folklore, green witchcraft, occult, and science.
A fully-illustrated, thoroughly-researched resource for writers and world-builders.
An all-in-one book for druids, healers, alchemists, and poisoners—perfect as an in-world item and applicable in all fantasy (and most modern) settings.
A system-agnostic toolkit for game masters everywhere, complete with tips on including the mushrooms in your campaigns—and creating new, exciting fungi.
About
Mycologist's Primer
Mycologist’s Primer is a system-agnostic illustrated guide to real-world magical mushrooms, lichens, and slime molds. Inspired by 19th-century field guides and millennia of folklore, myths, legends, and occult writings, it brings a carefully curated collection of delectable morsels right to your gaming table.
From agarikon, a favorite snack of nature spirits, to antler-growing yellow stagshorn, the Mycologist’s Primer provides thoroughly-researched and fully-illustrated information on 100 species of fungi, lichens, and slime molds. Whether you’re looking for a taste of mycological science or a whimsical charcuterie board of magic, gaming material, and world-building inspiration, this book is for you!
Each entry in Mycologist’s Primer provides basic biological information, notes on habitats and distribution, and practical advice on mushroom hunting. Wherever relevant, it also sprinkles in a dash of culinary and medicinal properties, together with information about toxicity. Each entry comes with extensive notes on magical properties, based on real-world folklore and ready to be transplanted into your games, novels, and imagination.
Important caveat: This book does not replace respectable local fungi guides for real-life mushrooming. Instead, it gives you all you need for doing so in your made-up, fantastical adventures in tabletop roleplaying. It is, like other books in the series, a work of fiction.
Mycologist’s Primer is the third volume in the Natural World Library by Double Proficiency, following after Herbalist’s Primer and Geologist’s Primer. It is brought to you by Hunters Entertainment, creators and publishers of the award-winning Alice is Missing, Gods of Metal: Ragnarock, Kids on Bikes & more.
Inside the book
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A full-color, hardcover book (6″ x 9″) with 360 pages of mycology, legends, folklore, and tabletop roleplaying materials.
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100 illustrated, detailed descriptions of magically-inclined fungi, lichens, and slime molds from around the world–from agarikon to yellow stagshorn.
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Concise, useful, and imaginative lore chapters on the basics of mycology, mushrooming, fungal magic, culinary mushrooms, mushroom ecology, and fungi-adjacent crafts and trades to enhance your worldbuilding toolkit.
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Quest prompts, random mushroom generation tables, fantastical fungi, magical and medicinal resources, and other tools for creating plot hooks, dangerous locations, legendary items, and more.
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An index, a detailed table of contents, references, bibliography—everything you’d expect from a popular-science publication that will make your inner mycologist proud.
Meet the fungi
Each of the hundred entries includes:
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a beautiful full-color illustration, true to the fungus's real-world appearance
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basic mycological information, including biological family, habitat, usual size of the fruiting bodies, spore print, commonly foraged parts, and more
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quick reference tabs for easy navigation
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scientific and common names, including alternates
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at-a-glance description (a TL;DR for when you need quick info!)
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a detailed description listing characteristic physical properties, nutritional habits, texture, taste, and other details helpful in identification
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notes on habitat, cultivation, foraging, and preparation to enhance your storytelling
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wherever applicable, culinary properties (for imaginary purposes only!)
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magical and alchemical properties for all the druids, wizards, and other magically-inclined individuals
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when relevant, notes on toxicity, symptoms of poisoning, and antidotes
The book also contains introductory chapters on mycology, mushrooming, fungal magic, culinary mushrooms, toxins and medicines, mycoremediation, ecology of fungi, and use of fungi in crafts and trades: textiles, leatherworking, arts, construction, and make-up.
In addition, the Appendices chapter includes useful tables and other tools for world-builders and game masters! Get ready for:
• Medicinal Uses of Fungi
• Magical Correspondences
• Mushrooms in Culture
• Fantastical Fungi
• Fungus Generation Tables
• Adventure Spores
• References
• Bibliography
• Location Guide
• Visual Guide
• Index
