Fungal Scratcher

Without exception, the sickness that has infected the Weald corrupts any and all who stay there too long. For years, countless unfortunate souls have gotten lost among the endless serpentine paths that make up the Weald and fallen victim to the corruption, becoming nightmarish abominations known as Fungal Scratchers. These shambling terrors are little more than mindless creature who lash out at those who have not yet been tainted by the darkness. Perhaps the poor soul within the leathery, fungus-ridden hide does not slay its prey of its own accord; rather, it moves and acts at the will of the spores, turning this victim into victimizer.

Behavior
Fungal Scratchers, a Human/Eldritch hybrid that only appears in the Weald, while possessing formidable protection, is not terribly accurate, nor is it a heavy hitter by itself. However, if one of its allies Mark a Hero, it will know exactly where to strike for lethal damage, using Rend the Marked rather than its typical Groping Swipe. Killing it is no easy task either, because of its fungal infection that protects it. If you encounter these undead fiends it may be wise to destroy any enemies that can Mark your heroes, and have any Heroes in the front line retreat to the back if they become Marked. In veteran and champion areas, the Grabber and Crawler gain the ability to Blight. Caution should always be taken when fighting these vile zombies, or your heroes may never leave the Weald.

Abilities
Apprentice =

Veteran =

Champion =

Strategy
At all levels, these enemies can absorb a full party's worth of damage with relative ease, and they often come in pairs. Fighting them with raw damage is a losing proposition. However, they bleed easily, and their blight resistance is manageable with trinkets. Both of these forms of damage allow you to bypass their massive protection, and hopefully finish the fight before reinforcements arrive. Their move resistance is also poor and their only option is to harmlessly swipe their way to the front, so any way to send them to the back rows greatly limits their threat. With some luck and a few speed debuffs, you can trap two fungal scratchers into using "Harmless Swipe" for a few turns.

Finally, at veteran and champion level, their "Groping Swipe" can blight your party members, but "Rend the Marked" will not. The blight damage can add up relatively swiftly since fungal grabbers and crawlers can take multiple turns to kill, so one option to mitigate this is to have a party member mark themselves through some skill that also provides protection. The extra protection will offset the increased damage, and you won't have to worry about the stacking blight damage. The Crusader's "Bulwark of Faith" is particularly well suited to this strategy since it lasts the entire combat, leaving him free to support his allies.