Spore Carrier

Creatures & Mutants · Source: Fallout: New Vegas

Spore carriers are among the most insidious post-war threats — creatures that blur the line between animal and fungus, predator and infection vector. Indigenous to Vault 22 in the Mojave Wasteland and areas influenced by its catastrophic biological containment failure, spore carriers represent what happens when a genetically engineered botanical warfare agent escapes containment and finds human hosts.

Vault 22 was an experimental agricultural vault where scientists developed a fast-growing fungus intended to solve food production challenges. Instead, the fungus — designated Beauveria mordicana — proved capable of parasitizing human hosts, taking over their nervous systems, and converting their bodies into mobile spore-dispersal units. The resulting creature, the spore carrier, is a human body that has been partially or fully consumed by fungal growth, with mycelial networks replacing neural tissue, fruiting bodies emerging through ruptured skin, and the host's movements controlled entirely by the fungus.

Spore carriers are aggressive and will attack any non-infected creature on sight, using their fungal-enhanced strength to bludgeon and tear at prey. When killed, they release clouds of infectious spores that can continue the infection cycle. The fungus demonstrates rudimentary collective intelligence, coordinating groups of carriers to defend infected areas. The 'Spore Carrier Brute' variant represents a host with particularly robust musculature that the fungus has enhanced rather than consumed, while 'Spore Carrier Runt' variants are smaller, faster carriers that excel at flanking and harassment. By 2281, the Vault 22 infection had spread to the surface, with spore carriers and related fungal creatures appearing in Zion Canyon and other areas connected to the vault through the cave systems.

Tags: Fungus, Parasite, Infected, Vault 22, Mojave, Hive Mind, Spore, Horror