DREADWOOD: EASTERN LANDS OF SESAMAR
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| Dreadwood, Eastern Lands |
This dense wooded zone has tall, wide trees that at times form a tight canopy. Much of the sunlight is blocked from falling on the forest floor. At even a few yards underneath the thick canopy reveals a smell of rotting meat. It is caused by an excess of fungi. Farther into the forest, travelers will come upon an abundance of peat moss that gives off the smell of sulfur.
The forest is known to be home to aggressive insects, like biting flies and stinging mosquitoes. It is said to contain giant spiders, too. It is likely that there are orc outposts within or on the border of Dreadwood. Orcs still rob the area of wood to make their shanty towns.
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Dreadwood needs no introduction. Long before you reach its edge, the air itself thickens, carrying the fetid stench of decay on its breath. Twisted, skeletal trees claw skyward, their branches tangled in a grotesque parody of an embrace. No sunlight pierces the choked canopy, leaving the forest floor in perpetual twilight. The silence here is broken only by the occasional snap of a decaying bough, a sound that chills the soul with its finality.
The telltale stench of rotting flesh hangs heavy in the air, a grim reminder of the forest's other denizens – orcs, their savagery as old and primal as the gnarled trees themselves. Dreadwood serves as their sanctuary, a launchpad for brutal raids on the unsuspecting settlements of Vullaria, Poxmuth, and even the vibrant Brightwood beyond. Any who dare venture into this shadowed realm tread a perilous path, for within the grasping embrace of Dreadwood, even the bravest heart can succumb to the whispers of fear.
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Dreadwood goes from the cities of Poxmuth and Vullaria to the west, the City of Gnilderoth to the east, Brightwood to the north, and Orc Lands to the south.
Here are the known flora and fauna of Dreadwood:
Plants
- Dread Trees: Unlike soul trees, these trees wish to preserve a foul nature to the forest. They desire polluted marshes that propagate insidious insects, vine-choked trees that lend structure to spider webs, and conditions that are inhospitable to typical woodland creatures. Dread trees are extremely tough, despite their degraded appearance. Their long branches can stretch more than 10 feet to attack. They can also rake the ground for rocks, stumps, and clumps of heavy moss to toss at distances up to 50 feet with good accuracy. Dread trees can let out a loud, terrible wailing noise to attract more dread trees and any other nearby monsters.
Animals
- Blood Crows: These crows are larger than normal crows. Their claws and beaks are razor sharp. They operate in large numbers (a murder) of crows. Typically, from 10 - 40 (1d4 x 10) of these crows will attack a small party of travelers. They will attack and blind eyes, interrupt spells, and steal objects. They are thought to be very intelligent and have been known to track a party for several miles to find perceived weaknesses for attack benefits.
- Giant Spiders: Parts of the forest are covered with thick, sticky webs. Those parts of the forest are home to giant spiders. Some variants hide in trees while others spring from traps in the ground. The tree spiders operate in numbers and have poisonous stingers. The ground spiders are hairy, quick, and strong. They like to drag single victims back into their holes.
- Orcs: Orcs have several outposts in and around Dreadwood. Orcs have been known to use traps around the perimeter of their encampments.
Fungi
- Spore Tree: Fungus that inhabits and takes over a dread tree become a spore tree. A spore tree looks like a dead tree. When the spore tree senses movement within 30 feet of it, a section of bark will part and reveal barbed tendrils that can catch and drag prey back to the tree. Once dragged to the tree, the jagged opening mimics a chewing behavior using sharp bark to mangle its prey. These trees are carnivorous in the sense they kill prey and use carcasses to create more fungi.
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