Playing on Lamannia

[starburns]

So I'm a DM for a group of players with an average party level 14, and they just confronted their recurring villain. It's hard to tell a clear victor because the party's barbarian sundered a staff of power wielded by the villain in an area affected by 3 Reality Maelstrom spells. With that whole in the plane torn in addition to the release of power caused by the breaking of the staff, the entire party along with the villain and his right hand man and and a non evil dracolich (friend to the party) under the villains control, were blasted so far through the planes they ended up in the Eberron cosmology. They started in a generic D&D cosmology and to represent how significant of an event they switched material planes and cosmologies. The villain and his group ended up reappearing in the Mournland of Eberron, but the party was deposited on Lamannia, the twilight forest.

I want to have the party set up headquarters on Lamannia (no one has access to planar travel) and play from there for a good while. While the Eberron campaign setting has limited information on inhabitants and states any natural geography is present, that's all that is said. I'm looking for any suggestions on how life will play out, any dangers, assumed attitude of intelligent inhabitants, or anything else that anybody would like to add that would make this situation more interesting, or anything about how to deal with the possible lack of treasure or very limited access to magic items. All suggestions are welcome.

[Gildedragon]

Books you ought check:
Races of the Wild (has some foresty fluff)

Planar Handbook has the Were Glade (pg 164) that might tickle your fancy and imagination; the Spire of Thorns (pg 170), and the Fields of Autumn (pg 178) as well as guidelines for planar encoutners

Manual of the Planes has the Beastlants (141) which sould a lot like Lamannia
as well as the Spirit World (206) and the Elemental Plane of Wood (207)

The ECS has a fair bit of info on what sorts of outsiders are found.

Elemental Weirds might be living around there, as well as fey-er elves like star elves.

[Syltorian]

Check out the first reply on this thread: http://community.wizards.com/content/forum-topic/3692471

It's Keith Baker, the setting creator's own take on Lamannia.

Beyond that, take what you know about nature, and magnify it: the Amazonas rainforest is a small city park compared to a forest on Lamannia and the Niagara falls are ten times bigger. It's a land of huge animals (legendary animals, MM2 I believe), lycanthropes (and the PCs might find they acquire the template without being bitten, simply through the influence of the plane) and elementals (air, earth, and water, anyway).

Also, this plane is nature at its wildest, and we have had suggestions that some planes have a kind of sentience (Dal Quor, for instance). You might have the entire plane turning against the 'civilised' PCs, like the living forest of the Margreve (if 3rd party material is OK, check out the "Tales of the Old Margreve" book). There also was an article on places tainted by evil, or at the very least, inimical to humanoids in one of the Dragon Magazines. One of them was the primeval scar, in which signs of civilisation (including non-natural beings) simply disappear (Dr336:31-32). You might also want to check the "Far Corners of the World" series on WotC (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/arch/fw).

On the other hand, you might get parts of the plane which help the players, like a garden of nature's rage (DMG2).


I'm looking for any suggestions on how life will play out,

Wild and primal. It's an unspoiled environment, that, even if you are not playing with the primeval scar does not look kindly on signs of civilisation (like campfires and lean-tos). The campfire might be drowned in the fiercest rainstorm the PCs have ever witnessed, and the lean-to might sprout leaves and become a tree overnight.


any dangers

Legendary animals, inclement weather, poisonous plants, assassin vines, shambling mounts, treants, areas where the forest itself creates briar webs, entangle, creaking cacophony, and other wood-related spell effects (or else, desert-related, swamp-related, etc.), people slowly turning into animals (or lycanthropes) or plants (leaving the PCs to find a way to hold off the effects), or taking negative modifiers on Intelligence until they become animals (Int 2, pure instinct instead of thoughts),


assumed attitude of intelligent inhabitants

Unfriendly to hostile. Even intelligent inhabitants should react very much on instinct, and be wild. They should consider the PCs to be intruders, who bring with them things alien and unnatural, like worked metal, treated leather, tools and weapons, fire and non-druidic magic.


anything about how to deal with the possible lack of treasure or very limited access to magic items.

Create natural treasures, and natural magic items. Goodberries growing from trees replace healing potions. No need to cast the spell, they grow naturally here. Some trees provide wood for clubs with enhancement boni, as well as natural-themed weapon properties. Pelts of animals provide protection from weather (endure elements) or the ability to speak with animals. PCs aquire plant grafts (Magic of Eberron) gradually and naturally (i.e. without anyone grafting them, it's a side effect of the plane).

I hope that helps a bit. Let me know how it plays out!

[J-H]

From Syltorian's post... you could even have the hides of some of the legendary animals be naturally magical, and easy to adapt to Hide armor. Hide+4 may be better than Breastplate +2.

Never seen anyone use Hide armor, so it's an opportunity for a change-up.

[starburns]

Thanks for the advice guys, I like the way this is going :) I'll report back on how it plays out.