Jungle setting (similar to amazon)?

[Kafana]

Is there a book or some online content that describes the jungle as a setting for playing DnD 3.5 (or any other version, I can adapt)?

We have Stormwrack, Sandstorm and Frostfell, so is there any articles or books similar to these, only having the rainforest as the primary setting?

[Vanitas]

Secrets of Xen'drik comes close.

[Sian]

there is 5 books that focuses on a single type of setting

Cityscape = Urban
Dungeonscape = Dungeon (duh)
Frostburn = Arctic
Sandstrom = Desert
Stromwrack = Aquatic

and arguebly Forgotten Realms Underdark, covers all underground that Dungeonscape doesn't ... To the best of my knowledge there aren't anything specificly focusing on Jungles

[Tvtyrant]

There are some online articles.

Demon jungles. (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20030414x)

Far Corners of the World. (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/arch/fw)

[Mighty_Chicken]

Jungles frankly aren't all that different from forests.

I believe Races of the Wild has interesting flavor and rules options for forests that absolutely work for jungles too.

In Brazil, though we have separate words for forest and jungle, people in Amazon call it a "forest". And some traditional people call themselves "people of the forest". I live near of what is left of the Atlantic Rain Forest, which is tecnically a jungle (less dense than Amazon), and guess what, I never heard someone calling it a jungle in my life.

"Jungle" ("selva") is how we call that stuff in India and Africa. In better words: jungle is an exotic forest. I bet "jungles" in India and Africa aren't that different from Brazilian forests.

The real difference is probably not flora, not terrain, but climate and fauna. About the climate, it's just warmer, I don't know what you can do with warm. Sure, psychologically it has its effects. The actual temperature is lower than in the desert, but your sweat doesn't help you to chill, so you could apply fatigue and nonlethal damage drom warmth with a lower temperature than in the desert.

Other than that, climate varies. In Amazon it rains every day, precisely at 3 PM. A popular joke say amazonians say to each other, "I'll see you tomorrow, after the rain", and I suspect it's true. In India, they have crazy weather with monsons.

About fauna, just think smaller animals, some of them poisonous; the tree tops cover the sky completely, so it's always dark, and utter dark at night, so silent predators like jaguars are dangerous, and there are plenty of stories about evil spirits and monsters. Remember, in such environment, jaguars, alligators and anacondas are big predators, so anything taller than a man may be seen as a giant.

About the dangers of exotic flora and fauna: that's mostly legendary, of course. If Brazilians from Rio de Janeiro would call it the Green Hell because of the moisty warmth, because they felt so unconfortable in their sweaty skins... the feeling that the "jungle" is just not a place for humans is strong. But natives are fine, they're used to the heat, and they're know the flora and fauna well enough to avoid danger (just like in any other environment; don't canadians know how to avoid giant mammals as moose and bears?), and the mother****ers are even used to the tropical diseases!

Too long, didn't read: a "jungle" is just a forest with closer, sometimes shorter, always greener trees; smaller animals; darkness; and the uncomfortable combination of moist+warmth. It has no exotic traits that any other environment couldn't have.

[BiblioRook]

Many named settings likely will have source books on the obligatory jungle area of that world, even if you don't want to use that setting specifically they still might have alot of useful information on running jungle adventures.
Pathfinder has a Heart of the Jungle (http://paizo.com/products/btpy8evh/discuss&page=2?Pathfinder-Chronicles-Heart-of-the-Jungle) book and I know the Forgotten Realms has a jungle called Chult (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Chult)if you can find an updated book on it (which is full of dinosaurs).


About the dangers of exotic flora and fauna: that's mostly legendary, of course.

Realism is fine and good (and informative, I honestly enjoyed reading all that), but keep in mind this is a RPG we are talking about (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AllMythsAreTrue)

[Mighty_Chicken]

Realism is fine and good (and informative, I honestly enjoyed reading all that), but keep in mind this is a RPG we are talking about (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AllMythsAreTrue)

Well thanks! And of course we're all about legends and exagerating legends to make they funnier and cheesier. I was just giving the perspective that just as a jungle can be defined by being uber-exotic (dinosaurs, venom everywhere), you could exagerated any other place likewise (temperate forests full of sprites and pagan rituals everywhere,etc), or treat the jungle in a more realistic manner as it's done with other environments - it may make it easier to imagine.

A side thought: what if the Aztecs had discovered Russia, how exotic would they feel Russia was, and what would their pulp fiction and RPGs about Russia be like centuries later?

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Mighty_Chicken
Jungles frankly aren't all that different from forests.

I presume you mean in game terms? Because an equatorial rainforest is a world apart from an Eastern woodland deciduous forest, or a dry tropical forest, or a coniferous boreal forest, just to name a few.


Originally Posted by Mighty_Chicken
In Amazon it rains every day, precisely at 3 PM.

...the tree tops cover the sky completely, so it's always dark....

This doesn't really square with my experience when I was working there.


Originally Posted by Mighty_Chicken
The real difference is probably not flora, not terrain, but climate and fauna.

Not sure if you mean the difference between Brazilian and African rainforests, or between equatorial or other kinds of forest, but I can guarantee you there are strong differences in forest structure between different kinds of equatorial rainforest, not to mention terrain as well. Dry tropical forest in Guanacaste, in Costa Rica, is much different from the spiny forest in Fianarantsoa in Madagascar. The forests of the Guiana Shield are different from those of the Bolivian lowlands.

For that matter, the forest can be very different on opposite sides of a major river, such as the Rio Madeira, owing to different soils and substrata. And since you're familiar with the Mata Atlântica, you're probably also familiar with restinga--a very different flora indeed.

[Kafana]

Just to be clear: While I would like additional rules regarding the humidity, etc. what I really want is a collection of examples and encounter ideas (magical manifestations specific to a rainforest, or something along those lines).

[Palanan]

In terms of published materials, as Vanitas mentioned, Secrets of Xen'drik is probably closest to what you're looking for.

If you want to come up with your own ideas, then think about the rainforest in terms of its structure. In a mature old-growth rainforest, much of the action is in the canopy, at least a hundred feet above the ground. Characters who can't get into the canopy are missing out--and they're also vulnerable, wandering around on the ground, easy targets for whoever or whatever lives above.

Also keep in mind that with the heavy rainfall, there are plenty of streams and rivers running through the forest--vegetation is often very dense on either side to take advantage of the light. At ground level, the forest between those rivers is likely to be sparsely populated; people will live on the rivers for the most part, and perhaps other societies in the canopy.

Keep in mind also that the canopy is quite dense--not enough to plunge the ground below into darkness, but certainly enough to prevent, say, a dragon from easily diving through the upper layers, unless there's a massive treefall gap--and even then the surrounding forest is dense enough with tree-trunks that a full-grown dragon wouldn't be able to fly.