Cultivate Mushroom (sage ability)

Cultivate mushroom is an amateur-status sage ability in the study of Fungi, governing the practice of growing mushrooms for food production or as a source for creating medicinal cures. Unlike plants, mushrooms have unique biological requirements for optimal growth, necessitating specialised knowledge and care. This includes understanding their need for specific conditions such as humidity, temperature and darkness, as well as the possible use of symbiotic creatures like leafcutter ants, termites, beetles and snails to enhance cultivation.

Mushrooms reproduce through spores, not seeds, and the high risk of spore contamination makes cultivation a meticulous process. Spores that become contaminated can devastate an entire crop, requiring cultivators to maintain a carefully controlled environment. Mushroom cultivation typically occurs in enclosed spaces designed for this purpose, such as growing rooms of approximately 200 square feet. These spaces must be tended for 8 hours every seven days to ensure optimal conditions. Neglecting the crop introduces a 10% chance of spore contamination for each day beyond ten days without tending. Once contamination sets in, the resulting disease will destroy 10% of the crop every three days until remedied or the crop is lost.

Under ideal conditions, a successful crop yields 50 lbs. of mushrooms per month. If the cultivator chooses to grow poisonous mushrooms, 3 lbs. of the resulting fungi mass can be substituted for vegetable matter in making ingestive poisons. This alternative use highlights the potential versatility of the skill, whether applied to food production, medicinal preparation or more nefarious purposes.

See also,
Druid Sage Abilities
Plant Life (sage field)