Dress Up Your Woodlands
Woodlands are ripe locales for adventure. Under their boughs old ruins moulder, bandits lair and evil humanoids plot their next raids. Almost every adventurer will one day sally forth into a woodland in search of gold and glory.
Minor Woodland Events
The characters’ travels should not be boring affairs wherein either they encounter no one of note or end up fighting everyone (and everything) they meet. Use the minor events below, to add flavour and detail to their journey.
A gnarled tree stands in an otherwise normal grove; its trunk looks like a petrified humanoid.
A dry ravine cuts across the path; it is five-foot-wide and ten-foot-deep.
An abandoned campsite sits a few hundred feet from the trail; the campfire still burns, and camping gear litters the area.
A hut stands nearby the path; it is uninhabited, but many shrunken heads decorate the place.
The trail forks into two separate trails that meet up a mile further (a mile and a half for the other, meandering trail).
A wide river cuts across the trail; a covered bridge spans the river.
A huge footprint crosses the path; the print is a couple hundred years old and does not lead to other footprints.
The crowns of this grove of trees uniformly bend in the same direction.
This old battleground shows signs of arcane fire magic; no weapons or treasures remain.
A series of underground homes line the path; they are abandoned but appear to have housed a gnome clan.
Woodland Dressing
Woodlands are full of interesting, diverting features. Notable trees, twisted streams and signs of the place’s other denizens abound. Use these features to add flavour and detail to the characters’ woodland adventures.
A gnarled tree stands in an otherwise normal grove; its trunk looks like a petrified humanoid.
A dry ravine cuts across the path; it is five-foot-wide and ten-foot-deep.
An abandoned campsite sits a few hundred feet from the trail; the campfire still burns, and camping gear litters the area.
A hut stands nearby the path; it is uninhabited, but many shrunken heads decorate the place.
The trail forks into two separate trails that meet up a mile further (a mile and a half for the other, meandering trail).
A wide river cuts across the trail; a covered bridge spans the river.
A huge footprint crosses the path; the print is a couple hundred years old and does not lead to other footprints.
The crowns of this grove of trees uniformly bend in the same direction.
This old battleground shows signs of arcane fire magic; no weapons or treasures remain.
A faint mist gathers among the trees at midday, but it does not appreciably affect visibility.
Uneventful Days
Some days, an adventurer’s life is full of danger and excitement. Other days are boring and uneventful.
The day is quiet. Birds sing, and small creatures rustle about in the undergrowth, but the characters see nothing of note all day.
The party follow a wide, clear trail deeper into the woodlands but see no one all day. Light rain falls in the afternoon.
Around mid-morning, the sound of distant barking reaches the party, but otherwise, the characters’ journey is uneventful.
Dark clouds gather over the woodlands, casting them into deep gloom. The woods are quiet—as if they are waiting for something to happen, but nothing does.
The pitter-patter of rain is the characters’ constant companion all day.
A wide, sluggish river bars the party’s progress in the early afternoon, but an hour’s searching uncovers a good place to cross.
Bright sunlight sends shiv lights through the trees’ canopy. The day is warm and pleasant.
This stretch of woodland is agreeably lacking in obstacles and dense undergrowth. The party make good progress.
Mist drifts among the trees in the morning but burns away by midday. The forest is quiet all day.
The party pass through a series of large interconnected clearings, which greatly speeds their progress. The weather is good.
Campsites
Travellers in the wilderness are wise to seek a good campsite.
A broad grassy bank by a gurgling stream provides a tranquil place to camp.
A stand of closely-packed trees provides shade and concealment. The soft ground is free from vegetation, giving the party space to spread out.
A small pool of calm, clear water part-fills a steep-sided dell.
A rocky tor rises from the forest floor. Shallow caves stud its eastern flank.
This old campsite—perhaps a bandit hideout—has rudimentary defences. Someone has piled branches around the site to form makeshift walls.
The path dips into a natural fold in the ground. A small burial cairn lies a dozen feet from the trail, amid a clearing filled with wildflowers
A huge tree fallen long ago has begun to sink into the earth. It provides shelter.
A jagged gash in the ground serves as the entrance to a steeply sloped cave with ample room for the party.
An old cabin lurks in the shade of a huge tree.
A burial mound fills much of a wide clearing; someone has dug into the mound’s interior to reach the chambers within.
Death from Above (by Matt Morrow)
This is an extract from Wilderness Dressing: Woodlands by the incomparable Mike Welham
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