Forests

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 Not Just Wander by
Country

Role-playing game
adventuring parties often
find themselves in a forest.

Their quests take them

through or near or beyond
great wooded lands on many
occasions.

Fill your RPG campaign with mystery and wonder. Don't allow yourself as a GM to
simply rely on clichés or to brush past opportunities. Leave a lasting impression on
your players.

It is easy to throw a few creatures in here or there. Perhaps a few bandits, or

other standard encounters and that's it.

The party breezes through the forest and there are a few episodes of minor
combat. Then the party reaches the temple, the dungeon, the castle, or the town.

However, as a serious Game Master you should be looking for ways to give every
part of your campaign the chance to live and breathe.

Forests are no exception.

This short guide will give you some ideas on how to bring forests alive. It will help
you seize an opportunity when crafting a new campaign.

A forest should be a place of mythology and folklore. A forest can be filled with so
much more than simple combat encounters.

A journey through a forest can set the tone of your campaign or adventure. It can
provide an atmosphere that will make your world come alive.

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 Describing Forests
The description is where it all begins.

When your players are all gathered around the table and they have put down
their phones. All eyes are on you as Game Master.

Even if you only decide to skim over the party’s journey through a forest, the
description is crucial.

Think about the forest in broad terms at first. There are many types of forests.

Tropical

The tropical forest can be a nice change of pace for players who are used to
adventuring in northern lands.

These forests can be either wet or dry and contain vast varieties of tree and other
plant life as well as nearly innumerable insect and animal species.

When adventuring in the

jungle, keep in mind humidity
and visibility.

In a rainforest, a perpetual
drizzle will greet the characters
on their trek. Even if it is not
raining, the humidity will have
them dripping in no time.

The party should be tramping

through puddles and rivulets.

A dry tropical forest can have the opposite effect, draining the characters and
leaving them parched.

Visibility in some jungles is no more than a few feet.

The sides of the path or road simply become walls of vegetation.

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 If there is no path, hacking and slashing one is difficult, backbreaking toil.

Temperate

Temperate forests are the most common, but a little imagination can bring them
to life again.

Ferns, mosses, and fungi intermingle with saplings and ancient trees. Think about
the season in which your party is travelling.

In temperate deciduous forests, the trees’ leaves change to vibrant colors in the
fall. This could be an amazing backdrop for an adventuring party.

In winter, the leaves have fallen. Trees rise like skeleton specters.

Spring brings a new leafy green as well as a fresh budding hope. A return journey
home in the spring can brighten spirits after months of toil.

The heat of summer can be used to oppress characters and make them yearn for
rest.

Boreal

Boreal forests are the

true forests of the north.
Sometimes called snow
forests, they are typified
by evergreens and low
ground cover.

Taiga and tundra become

common the farther
north one dares. However, larch and pine are more widespread.

Strange Forests

A petrified forest can be a strange site indeed. Think of its impression on the
characters.

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 It would be like walking through a forest of stone, if the trees still stand. If they
have crumbled long ago, surely they would paint a ghostly, apocalyptic picture.

A forest of crystal would be a unique experience that could pepper an

adventurer’s tale with wonder.

Giant mushrooms can make an eerie, unearthly forest. The spores can have a
hypnotic or intoxicating effect or even a comical one.

A forest with no noticeable animal

or insect life, like the Sea of Trees
at the foot of Mount Fuji, can be
unnerving. A deafening quiet can
be maddening.

Use Everything to Your Advantage

Any of these forests can be

populated with sacred trees or
living trees or any type of
encounter.

Being able to describe the type of

trees and other vegetation will give
more of a sense of immersion to
your players.

Describe the path. Is it leaf-covered

and damp? Is it dry, hardened earth
with bare roots exposed?

Don’t forget about rocks and boulders. Moss-covered boulders that lay like a
giant’s shoulders next to the road, inspiring awe in the characters. Small rocks,
strewn about as if by malicious fairies, weary the feet of travelers and create
another obstacle for adventurers.

Thorns, thorns, thorns. Always remember to include thorns.

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 Be sure to describe the sounds of forest. Birds, insects, and the sounds of other
creatures bellowing in the distance. Wind awaking the leaves. Creeks babbling or
rain softly dripping.

Think about the smell as well. Each plant, flower, and every type of vegetation has
its own unique smell.

Use all your tricks to paint a picture your players will never forget.

Types of Magical Forests

Since we are talking about role-plying
games, magic certainly can play a large
part in the forest you are creating.
They are several types of magical
forests to consider.

Elder Forests

Some forests are old, ancient beyond

ancient. When the elder races first set
foot in them, they were old. These are
elder forests.

In the elder forests, wonders lurk

behind every leaf and stem.

They are drenched with symbolism.

When creating an elder forest, be sure

to include certain characteristics.

The foliage should be dense. Murmurs and whispers play among the trees.

A heavy intelligence, mind, or emotions should weigh upon any visitor.

Any party moving through an elder forest should be in awe.

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 Respect should fall upon them.
Talking should be labored.
Mirth and laughter suppressed.

They're in the presence of their

elders.

An elder forest can take upon

itself a cosmological
significance. The very Tree of
Life could stand at the center.

If characters chop or cut any wood, grave consequences should befall them. They
should know they are in the very heart of nature herself.

No insolence will be tolerated.

An elder forest can be a nice change of pace from light and breezy forests or from
darker cursed forests.

Be creative and evocative in your descriptions. Even if your characters just pass
through the edge of an elder forest, it should leave an impression upon them.

They should know that their game master is taking this world seriously. And that
you have provided a history and there are consequences for the slightest action.

Enchanted Forest

Another type of forest is the enchanted forest. These are the forests of medieval
romances.

Such a forest is filled with melodies and gaiety and a light heartedness.

Enchanted forests hold wonders and mysteries that can enchant player and
character alike.

The air should be light, the atmosphere clear and fresh. New wonders and
marvels should be around every corner.

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 Fantastic trees or plants that the characters have never seen should populate the
groves and glens.

Fantastic folk, ready to offer weary travelers a fine meal and a taste of ale.

Encounters in an enchanted forest should be mysterious. Combat should be

minimal.

More appropriate encounters are riddles, strange folk with information, lost
lovers flitting among the trees.

Caravans or celebrating bands of wood elves, moving through their homelands

without a care in the world, stop to chat briefly with the strangers.

Enchanted forests also carry romance. The feeling should be around the
characters.

Princesses or princes, with their retinue passing along, tempt the party to leave its
quest. Enjoy life. Indulge in worldly pleasures.

Cottages and cabins can be stumbled upon. In these homely shacks, the players
can be confronted with a respite or an enigma.

Another feature of an enchanted forest could be the great hunt with a mythical
stag or boar as the object.

Cursed Forest

Any fan of Tolkien will

remember Mirkwood.

A forest can labor under a

foul curse or the influence of
evil beings.

Don't ignore these in your

games when constructing a
campaign.

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 Has the villain’s influence spread even to the forests around his lair? What
changes have fallen upon the landscape? Has a once-pleasant forest turned into a
den for bandits and thieves or foul creatures?

The trees should be blackish. The ground like dark dried blood. The sun blocked
out. The odors foul and reeking.

Players should know they have entered a damned place.

There should always be a way to rid the forest of the curse.

The hunt could be used here as well. The great boar or the mythical stag darkens
the forest. Once slain and the skin taken to the king, the curse is lifted. Once the
evil wizard’s tower is overthrown and his staff broken, the polluting influence on
the forest is dispelled.

Whenever your party is traveling through a cursed forest, make your descriptions
so vivid that they are uncomfortable.

Make resting difficult. Make eating difficult. Let them know that they travel
through an abomination.

The Sacred Grove

Druids are most

familiar with these
places.

The sacred grove is a

hallowed place.

The meeting place for

elders and students.

A place of worship.

The place where

nature's business is

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 discussed and conducted.

The sacred grove can have a guardian of supernatural power. If disturbed, the
characters will feel its wrath. Or, perhaps the guardian is a simple druid.

Either way, character who desecrates anything within the sacred grove will do so
on pain of death.

The sacred grove can contain a mythical being in the center. Perhaps an ancient
druid, who holds valuable information for the party. Perhaps an elven maid
forever weeping for her lost love.

The grove could have

been made sacred
through several means.

First, something terrible

could have happened on
the spot. A grove such as
this will be melancholy.

Second, something
wonderful happened on
the spot. This type of
grove should be light and
refreshing.

Third, the grove can hold either magical or religious significance.

Groves such as these should take on the tenor of the religion or the magic they
represent.

Groves can also be hiding places.

A place where peasants flee if their village has been burned by the villain’s fell
minions.

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 Introducing a sacred grove can give your campaign a feeling of mystery,
mythology, and folklore.

You can show your players that this world has been populated long before their
characters existed.

The world of this campaign is not just a shell constructed for their amusement. It
is a living, breathing thing.

Conclusion
In conclusion, use your
imagination. Imbue your
forests with life. After all
they are living things.

Think of the sounds. The

smells of the different
types of trees and other
vegetation. Describe
flowers or mosses and
gigantic trees.

Don’t let this opportunity go to waste. Give your players something that they'll
never forget. Show them that you are a GM that takes your campaigns and
adventures seriously.

Take some time. Look up pictures of forests online. Find a soundtrack if you like.

Think about tales or myths or legends involving forests. Roll some of those
themes into your campaign.

Lend weight and substance to the world in which you are adventuring. You can
give your players a sense of wonder.

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 A forest is not something to be treated lightly. Don't let an opportunity like this
go to waste.

Use your creativity. Spend a few minutes giving your forests more character. It
will transform your sessions.

Forest Resource List

Enchanted Forests - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enchanted_forest

Forests - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forest

Old-growth Forests - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old-growth_forest

Jungles - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jungle

Temperate Deciduous Forests -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temperate_deciduous_forest

Ancient Woodlands - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_woodland

Forest Sounds - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUbfUsJ38qE

Jungle Sounds - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOR8p_xMczg

Larch - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larch

Forest Sounds with River (nine hours!) -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Nwn-TZfFUI

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