Forest of Shadows

The central location of the campaign is the County of Blackwood.
Blackwood is mostly covered in forest, specifically the sinister and corrupted Forest of Shadows. It is known as a verdant place, but also dangerous, as life and (un)death exist side-by-side in a malignant partnership within its boundaries.
Rumors persist of a massive, throbbing evil heart in some central grove that pulses with sinister energies and gives direction to the forest's malevolent will. But heart or no heart, the forest teems with hazards. It is home to mundane predators such as wolves and bears, deadly monstrosities such as owlbears and wyverns, and no small number of worse things. A vicious druid sect called the Circle of Blood has claimed the forest as its own and their members blend life and undeath - their ranks include vampires and liches and many of them have the ability to animate the death with fungal spores.

Geography

The Forest of Shadows is a mixed coniferous/deciduous forest in a cold northern temperate zone. The forest grows over a series of rolling hills and contains a number of lakes, spring-fed ponds, and a river (the Strinth) that has its headwaters in the Titan's Fist mountains to the northwest. The southeastern portion of the forest merges into the Chokewater Swamp.

Fauna & Flora

The forest contains the usual mundane wildlife such as deer, wolves, bears, and various birds and small animals. The forest is also home to a terrifying variety of supernatural predators and horrors. Owlbears, fungal undead, vampires, and worse stalk within its boundaries.
Likewise, the forest is home to a lot of mundane plant life but also a good deal of supernatural plants. In particular, dangerous fauna from the Abyss itself have taken root in the inner forest in particular, forming a lethal maze of crushing branches, strangling vines, and poisonous thorns.

Natural Resources

The forest is full of mundane and magical plant life. Oak, pine, apple, and walnut wood are somewhere between "plentiful" and "not difficult to locate. Ironwood trees are also found occasionally within the forest.
The Strinth river is clean, clear, and safe to drink from and is also fast-moving enough to be a good place to use water wheels.
There is also abundant magical plant life to be found - the forest contains all manner of exotic plants with useful properties, but because it's also so dangerous, they are relatively un-catalogued.

Alternative Name(s)

Blackwood, Forest of Shadows, Gravewood

Type

Forest

Location under

Blackwood Viscounty

Owner/Ruler

Viscount of Blackwood