Nass Forest

Straddling the Weit river in the north-eastern reaches of the Frontier Lands the Nass Forest is an expansive mix of deciduous and coniferous trees. Sitting on the northern edge of the Frontier Lands on the border of the wildlands the Nass Forest is a gloomy realm of wild creatures and monsters. Few of the civilized races have braved the reaches of the Nass Forest and those who have never penetrated far, but those who returned brought back tales of fell creatures that haunted the shade of the tall trees.

Geography

The forest itself sits in a broad river valley formed by the Weit River, and much of the forest is gently sloping towards the center where the river runs. The central area features a large relatively flat area where water from the Weit and an unnamed river back up forming a vast swamp. The flood plains of the river are broad throughout the forest stretching at least a mile from either bank of the river. The tress have been growing for a long time and are tall leaving little underbrush except for lush carpets of ferns and moss. The tress thin out near the rivers and in the reaches of the swamp.

Ecosystem

The Nass Forest sits in the northern regions of the temperate zone just south of the subarctic. Consequently, the forest has relatively short cool summers and long but mild winters. The result is that the Nass Forest experiences significantly more rainfall then surrounding areas, but somewhat less snowfall. The deciduous trees make do with a significantly shorter growing season. This means more indirect sunlight which allows for the growth of ferns and moss on the forest floor. The trees are an even mix of deciduous and evergreen trees in the south with evergreens becoming ore prominent as one goes north. The branch of the forest north of the swamp is almost entirely evergreens, with just a few deciduous trees (mostly oaks) sprinkled in. Years of leaf mold have rendered the soil in the forest extremely fertile, however trees prevent anything except ferns and moss from growing on the forest floor.

Localized Phenomena

The barriers between the material plane and the first world are believed to be thin especially in the depths of the Nass Forest. Some claim this results in areas where the planes overlap allowing passage between the worlds. These alleged passages are believed to be rare and very temporary, and some posit that some of those who visited the forest and never returned accidentally wandered into the first world and were trapped there when the portal closed behind them. It’s theorized that portals are more common and longer lasting in the depths of the forest. This theory is supported by the unusual number of fey creatures that have been encountered in the forest.

Fauna & Flora

In the southern regions oak trees predominate with pines being most common in the northern reaches. In addition, many other species of trees can be found throughout the forest including larch, spruce, hornbeam, beech, ash, holly, poplar, willow, and linden. The Blaueholz is a tree unique to the Nass Forest known for its bright blue flowers and deep blue wood. In addition to the trees the rich forest floor is covered in ferns and mosses. Ivy is also common in the forest as is mistletoe. Other herbs are found throughout the forest in the rare glades that dot the area. In addition to the mundane flora monstrous plants are found throughout the forest including assassin vines, mandragora, quickwood, scythe trees, shambling mounds, tendriculos, viper vines, yellow musk creepers, sards, xtabay, and calathgars.

The animals of the forest range in size from tiny mice to the giant moose, and include rabbits, deer, boars, badgers, wildcats, otters, beavers, marmots, bats, weasels, voles, ermine, ferrets, squirrels, flying squirrels, hamsters, marmots, muskrats, porcupine, megaloceros, racoon, raccoon dogs, hedgehogs, bears, lynx, foxes, and grey wolves. Unique to the forest region are the Nass cattle, and the wild Nass horses, which are found nowhere else in the Frontier Lands. The birds of the forest include, falcons, eagles, pheasants, grouse, owls, swans, storks, avocets, warblers, shrikes, pipets, swallows, buzzards, loons, ravens, cuckoo, ducks, geese, orioles, heron, hoopoe, jackdaws, kingfishers, magpies, nightingales, quail, robins, sparrows, thrush, vultures, woodpeckers. Frogs, snakes, newts, salamanders, lizards, tortoises and turtles, are found throughout the forest but are more common in the lower areas near the Weit River. Finally various Insects, and butterflies, spiders along with giant earthworms round out the many animal species.

In addition to the mundane creatures found throughout the forest many more dangerous creatures have been spotted in the forest including aranea, aurumvorax, blink dogs, brownies, centaurs, decapi, goblin dogs, donkey rats, forest drakes, dryads, ercinees, ettercaps, forlarren, taiga giants, wood giants, goblins, grigs, gryphs, mute hags, huldras, jabberwocks, kobolds, korreds, krenshars, larabay, leprechauns, leucrottas, nymphs, verdurous oozes, owlbears, pixies, pseudodragons, quicklings, redcaps, satyrs, spriggans, terror wolves, treants, twigjacks, unicorns, winter wolves, witchfires, and worgs.

Natural Resources

Having not been explored very well, the full depth of the resources available in the forest are unknown. What is known is the forest is home to an enormous number of old growth trees, and very fertile soil. However even these resources have yet to be exploited owing to the distance to any of the Frontier Land kingdoms and the large number of dangerous creatures in the forest.

History

Little is known about the history of the Nass Forest; the peoples of the Frontier Lands have only recently begun to explore the verges of the forest so know little about it. The barbarian peoples of the north seldom came this far, and the few who did brought back rumors of the forest being haunted. Consequently, there is little in the lore of the north men about the history of the forest. The surviving writings of the Iliosgy have little about the history of the forest, the few references seem to indicate the region was forest even during their time.

Type

Forest

Location under

Frontier Lands