The primary terrain features of a forest
are trees and other plants.
A forest may be sparse, medium, dense, or a combination of all of
these. An immense forest could be sparse at its outer edge, dense at
its heart, and medium in between. A forest may be warm, cold, dry,
damp, bright, or dark.
TREES
The presence of a typical tree in a square doesn’t otherwise
affect a creature’s ability to fight in that space, because it’s
assumed that the creature is using the tree to its advantage
when it can. Larger and older forests may have massive
trees that take up entire squares, and provide cover just
like a wall does.
UNDERGROWTH
Vines, roots, and short bushes cover much of the ground in a
forest. Undergrowth is difficult terrain. Heavy undergrowth is easy
to hide in. Charging through heavy undergrowth is impossible.
Squares with undergrowth are often clustered together.
Undergrowth and trees aren’t mutually exclusive; it’s common
for a 5-foot square to have both a tree and undergrowth.
OTHER FOREST TERRAIN
Fallen logs generally stand about 3 feet high and provide cover
just as low walls do. They cost 5 feet of movement to cross.
Forest streams average 5 to 10 feet wide and no more than 5
feet deep. Pathways wind through most forests; creatures can
move normally on pathways, and pathways don’t allow cover
or concealment.
STEALTH AND DETECTION
The forest blocks line of sight after a certain distance, making
it impossible to use the Perception skill to see anything farther
than that (though you can still hear beyond this distance). In
a sparse forest, this maximum distance is 3d6 × 10 feet. In a
medium forest, this distance is 2d8 × 10 feet, and in a dense
forest it is 2d6 × 10 feet.
Because any square with undergrowth provides concealment,
it’s usually easy for a creature to use the Stealth skill in the
forest. Logs and massive trees provide cover, which also makes
hiding possible. The background noise in the forest makes
Perception checks that rely on sound more difficult, increasing
the DC of the check by +2 per 10 feet, not +1.
TYPICAL TREE
(HP 150)
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AC 4; touch 4; flat-footed 4
Defensive Abilites
hardness 5
Climb DC 5
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MASSIVE TREE
(HP 600)
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AC 3; touch 3; flat-footed 3
Defensive Abilites
hardness 5
Climb DC 5
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HEAVY UNDERGROWTH
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EFFECTS
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MOVEMENT 4 squares, no charging
SKILLS
increase Acrobatics DCs by +5, +5 bonus on Stealth
checks
SPECIAL
provides concealment (30% miss chance instead of 20%), no
charging.
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