Drowned Forest

Perched at the edge of the Hool Marshes, the Drowned Forest was once a verdant region. A few decades ago. the marsh began to encroach on this area. As the water level rose, the forest was transformed into a more foreboding place. Shambling mounds and blights appeared in the forest in increasing numbers while the water rotted away the trees themselves. In time, strange mushrooms and fungu s sprouted throughout the woods.

Today, the Drowned Forest is perhaps the most dangerous location in the region. The trees remain standing, but they long ago lost their foliage and are little more than dead, rotting timbers projecting out of the mud. Mushrooms and other fungi sprout everywhere. A thick cloud of spores fills the air and blots out the sun. allowing the unnatural growths to flourish.

Abyssal Incursion

The Drowned Forest is the site of an ongoing Abyssal assault. Years ago. a group of cultists dedicated to Zuggtmoy shambled into the forest. They had long ago succumbed to the fungal spores that made t hem into thrall s. and Zuggtmoy had a plan in mind for t h em. T he cultists possessed a twisted decanter of endl ess water that tapped into the seas of the Abyss. By shattering the vessel. they created an unstable portal to that awful realm. Luckily for the folk of the region, Zuggtmoy was imprisoned in the ruins of the Temple of Elemental Evil before her plan was complete. Without their mistress's direction, the cultists fell to infighting. Today, Abyssal portals still sometimes draw demons to the world, and the fungal spores spread by the cult have transformed the forest into a deadly realm.

Fungal Spores

The air in the forest is thick with sickly-colored fungal spores that make breathing difficult at times. Characters who expend Hit Dice while in the forest regain only half their normal hit points, and after each long rest a character's maximum hit points decrease by 1 per Hit Die. This reduction ends the next time a character completes a long rest outside the Drowned Forest.

Malevolent Fungi

A variety of strange, twisted fungi grow among the rotting trees of this region. If a fight breaks out, roll a d20. On a 15 or higher. 1d6 violet fungi erupt from where they are hidden around the area among debris and mundane plants and mushrooms. The perpetually soggy fungi tend to attack the loudest interlopers.

Shriekers' Call

It's difficult to travel unnoticed in this place because of shriekers that are found throughout the forest. Rather than check for random encounters as normal. once per day have each character make their choice of a Wisdom (Perception) or Intelligence (Nature) check. If any character's check total is 20 or higher, the group's journey passes safely. Otherwise, if more of the party's check totals are less than 10 than greater than 10, the party accidentally stumbles across and awakens a stand of shriekers. Their keening wail draws monsters to the area.

Forest Oddities

The Abyssal influence on this region is responsible for a variety of strange effects and weird events. You can use the Drowned Forest Oddities table to inject a sense of the surreal as characters travel through the region.