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Scaling the mountains led the man to something he had never seen before in his life. Mushrooms as far as the eye could see; only they weren’t the kind you could just pop in your mouth. No, they towered over him, making him feel small in comparison. Little did the traveler realize he had come to an environment unique to the fantasy genre: fantasy mushrooms.
The mushroom biome is so different than many other fantasy environments in that there’s no real-world counterpart. It’s solely made from the creator’s imagination. As such, it presents a great opportunity to showcase what the fantasy genre is all about. Over the years, it’s become a popular environment and now is a staple in the genre.
One reason why fantasy mushrooms is enormously popular is because of Super Mario Brothers. There’s nobody on Earth who hasn’t heard of Mario. He popularized mushrooms by not just using them as a power-up but he also introduced a new world to everyone. You could now run through a fungi forest, jump off their tops, and so many more! Suddenly, the possibilities they offered were endless and they’ve only gotten more wild over the years since 1985.
Due to their uniqueness, the mushroom biome meshes with many other environments, making them one of the most versatile in the genre. No matter where, you can place them there and they’ll look stellar and invite people to come over to explore them!
When it comes to wildlife and plants, fantasy mushrooms offer a golden opportunity to introduce a great diversity of lifeforms. The beasts and plants that live there vary from world to world. The one thing they have all in common is that they only exist in fantasy; there’s no real-world counterpart.
Their popularity gives the mushroom biome many different ways they can be used in the story. In many plots, it’s used as a place the hero and his allies explore on their way to battle the big bad. The shrooms conceal many secrets, some with great power. Other stories feature them taking center stage where the whole world is filled with nothing but mushrooms!
This is the tenth in the series chronicling fantasy environments. As always, if you haven’t checked out the nine before this one, they’re available on our blog page.
With that said, let’s put our shoes on and discover what the mushroom biome has to offer us!
The reason why fantasy mushrooms is such an unique environment is that you can’t find anything like it on Earth. If you find it, let me know in the comments but I imagine you’ll have an awfully tough time.
They come in all sizes, from large, tall mushrooms that look like a forest to small, little ones you can stomp flat with your shoes. A dazzling array of different colors from red to purple appear on them, making them interesting to look at, for no two mushrooms are the same. In some cases, they even light up at night!
The mushroom biome also features many different shaped fungi. While the stalk remains the same, the difference is the top. It can be square or diamond or rectangular. There’s no rules when it it comes to what shape they ought to be so feel free to go wild designing how they’ll look!
Fantasy mushrooms are great just by themselves. You can create a forest out of them or make them as small as several blades of grass. There’s so many different things you can do here, so many different routes you could take. The sky’s the limit when it comes to your imagination!
But the best part of all is how seamlessly they integrate with their fellow environments. You can put some massive fungi in a jungle and nobody would think it odd to have them there. If you put it underwater, it wouldn’t be long before different kinds of fish started living there. Only a few others like mountains are capable of this.
Just remember that where you put the fantasy mushrooms dictates what wildlife will be found there. Just like you expect to see certain animals and plants in certain environments, the same holds true here, though they’re exclusive to fantasy.
The mushroom biome presents an opportunity to create wildlife unique only to fantasy. You have the potential to craft memorable creatures and plants that will be beloved (or hated) so feel free to experiment and see what works! Be sure to put them in places that work for them. Don’t put an animal that can’t handle the cold in a winter wonderland — if you choose to do this, explain why. The goal here is to create an environment that your audience can fully immerse themselves in.
Let’s look at some examples from several notable ones that’s appeared over the years. We’ll start with the most memorable one, the one that comes to mind whenever one thinks of fantasy mushrooms: Mario and the Mushroom Kingdom. Throughout his adventures, Mario traveled through many worlds where he fought Goombas, Koopa Troopas, and many more of Bowser’s minions.
One place he explored on the way through the years was filled with nothing but fungi. He found Goombas — based on real mushrooms, by the way — and many of Bowser’s soldiers living there. Besides Bomb-ombs, Lakitus, and Koopa Troopas, Piranha Plants and similar others like Pokey called the fungi world home.
Another example is The Legend of Zelda, notably Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. Both games featured a mushroomy area called Seres Scablands, found within Hyrule Ridge. It was populated by different plants and monsters like Bokoblins. The plants found there had several uses like cooking and the monsters dropped loot that could be used to upgrade clothes.
Seeing monsters and animals in fantasy mushroom worlds make these places feel full of life. They also make the audience want to learn more about them, for they harbor secrets. Moreover, these aren’t just the kind of place where you go through one time and never come back again. No, they leave you wanting more and that’s by design.
It’s very easy for the mushroom biome to become memorable, for it’s an unique environment. Just see how iconic they’ve become from the days of the first Super Mario Brothers way back in the 1980s to now!
The popularity of fantasy mushrooms means it’s capable of playing different kinds of roles in the story. No matter which route you take, it’s easy to drop them in the plot and you’ll have fun doing it!
The top role the mushroom biome plays is to act as one of the places the hero goes through on his journey. Part of the overall story takes place there and the hero must vanquish the evil plaguing the land before moving on.
While it appears in many other stories, the one it appears the most in is Super Mario Brothers. Many stories that take place in this world occur in the Mushroom Kingdom. The Kingdom is home to a wide diversity of locales, especially those of the fungi variety. Whenever Princess Peach is kidnapped by Bowser, Mario and his friends travel through many worlds, one of which is usually covered in nothing but shrooms. In this world, Mario must find the boss and defeat it before moving onto the next one; defeating it frees the world from Bowser’s clutches.
Fantasy mushrooms don’t have to just be an one-off thing. In fact, you can devote the whole tale, from the start to its end, to a fungi world! Going down this road gives you the opportunity to come up with a story that stands out from the countless others.
Let’s consider the Mushroom Kingdom again. There are many shroom-shaped objects, from platforms to houses to power-ups. Don’t forget the Toads who live there, who look just like mushrooms! This world takes center stage in a lot of the stories that take place in the Mario universe. The Mushroom Kingdom’s become one of the most popular fantasy worlds. Can you think of another world like the Mushroom Kingdom? If you can, drop a comment.
The mushroom biome can play whatever role you designate it in your story. It has a lot to offer and it’s easy to work with. A great story isn’t just about the characters, it’s also about the setting and you’ll have no problem crafting a memorable plot with this environment.
In conclusion, fantasy mushrooms is one of the best environments to work with. It’s easy to integrate with the others, meaning you can use them in just about any other environment. This gives you a chance to truly make a fantasy world that your audience will want to come back to time and time again.
One of the strengths of the mushroom biome is how it offers you the chance to place fantastical beasts and flora and fauna. You could opt to add real-world animals like wolves but imaginary-world ones work better here. Of course, it’s your world, so put whatever you think works there. Always keep in mind that the goal here is to get your audience to be fully immersed in your world.
You can’t go wrong in whatever role you designate for fantasy mushrooms in your story. They’ll add a splash of color and variety to your world and they’ll help you stand out from a crowed field of great stories. Let your imagination shine through here!
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Sunfire
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