Primal Forest Dressing
Home to myths and legends, the ancient, primal forests of the world hold many strange sites, otherworldly civilisations and overgrown ruins. Such places are ripe for adventure.
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Minor Primal Forest Events
An owl swoops past the party and grabs a mouse from the nearby underbrush.
A gust of wind rushes over the party and topples a nearby dead standing tree.
An emaciated fox watches the party from a narrow opening between a pair of trees before bolting.
As the party travels along a rough trail, a clearer trail presents itself a few hundred feet away; the trail is illusory.
A dozen sabre-toothed squirrels scattered among the branches of several trees, watch the party and chatter at each other.
Motes of multi-coloured light beckon the party off the trail; if followed, they stay ahead of the characters and eventually wink out never to return.
At dusk and dawn, the party spot a ghostly white stag in the distance; the creature stares at the characters for a while before snorting, shaking its head and leaping away. The stag leaves no tracks and cannot be followed.
Three raccoon kits tumble playfully with each other, crossing the party’s path.
At noon, and for an hour afterward, the air stills and a thick fog surrounds the party.
One of the characters steps in a snare; the ancient ropes used in the snare are rotten and have a 50% chance of breaking when pulling up a target weighing more than 100 pounds.
Primal Forest Dressing
A giant termite mound rests near a rotting, ancient oak tree; the mound seems to pulsate as thousands of termites scuttle about.
A pair of birch trees have fallen so that they form a large “X” on the ground.
A stone plinth juts from the ground; carven eldritch runes warn of a terrible danger ahead.
The rotting carcasses of a dozen treants litter this clearing; the treants appear to have fought a major internecine battle.
Wind chimes hang from a willow tree’s branches; close inspection reveals them to be of silver.
Rusted handaxes rest at the foot of five different saplings; each tree bears a cut as if it had taken a stroke or two from the axe.
A large river flows through the forest and a number of tributaries branch off from it; all are crossed by simple clapper bridges.
A circle of eleven large toadstools stand evenly spaced, except for one spot where a toadstool appears to be missing.
Wild mistletoe has infested the trees in a 50-foot radius. Ten uses can be harvested1; used as a material component for druid spells, they increase the spell’s caster level by 1.
Twilight covers a 100-foot radius section of forest; here, the clustered trees block out the sun.
Uneventful Day’s Travel
It is cool and shaded throughout the day as the party head deeper into the woods. Normal woodland sounds seem subdued in the morning.
Several streams slow the party in the morning. Dense forest slows them in the afternoon.
The party traverse a section of gloomy forest where virtually no light reaches the floor. It is preternaturally quiet for much of the day.
It is a brilliantly sunny day. Innumerable shiv lights illuminate the party’s trouble-free progress.
Light rain falls for much of the day. The constant pitter-patter of rain on the forest canopy is alternately soothing and irritating.
The forest floor gently undulates for much of the day. The party pass a small lake in the afternoon.
Minor Lair Features
Tumbled walls delineate the outline of an ancient ruin. Enough remains to provide shelter.
A stream runs through a steep-sided, shaded valley. Here, the mossy ground is comfortable and overhanging trees provide privacy.
A closely-clustered stand of oaks atop a small hill gives good sight-lines over the surrounds.
A dell boosts a small, dry and spacious cave in the flank of one of the adjacent hills.
A narrow causeway leads to a low island amid a placid lake. The causeway is defensive and the fishing is good in the lake.
One path winds up a three-sided craggy hill. The hill’s summit makes a good, if breezy, campsite.
Credit
This is a short system-neutral extract from Wilderness Dressing: Primal Forest by Mike Welham.
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