The Woodland Dressing One-Pager
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.
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Minor Woodland Events
A wolf howls in the distance; from the opposite direction, another wolf answers.
A tree falls across the party’s path about 200 feet in front of them. The crash of its fall resounds through the surrounds.
A hermit bursts out of the trees, screaming about a terrible monster pursuing him. The wild-eyed man disappears as quickly as he appeared. The characters can hear his screams disappearing into the distance until they are abruptly cut short.
Squirrels chatter at the characters from a nearby tree’s branches. The squirrels taunt the party and hurl acorns at them if approached.
A cloud of butterflies, comprised of several different species, flutter past the characters.
The wind creates a susurration in the treetops. It sounds like a humanoid whispering.
A dead branch drops from a towering oak and crashes to the ground.
A flock of startled birds erupts from a nearby bush.
A faint mist gathers among the trees at midday, but it does not appreciably affect visibility.
An owl cries “Hoo” at the appropriate time in response to the characters’ conversation.
Woodland Dressing
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.
A grove of willow trees sits within a ring of vegetation that appears to have been destroyed by frost.
Uneventful Day’s Travel
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.
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
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.
Credit
This is a short system neutral extract from Wilderness Dressing: Woodlands by Mike Welham. Wilderness Dressing: Woodlands is available from Raging Swan Press in 5e, Pathfinder First Edition and OSR editions.
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