Cold swamps

[Desdichado]

In a more northerly region, what are some ideas for a fantasy swamp? I guess more in the North they're either called marshes or wetlands, but I'm looking for something more interesting than a log of ducks. I'm not a big fan of aberrations, but are there any other interesting creatures/challenges that a more northerly swamp would have?

 

[Schmoe]

The Crimson Death, from MMII, is a perfect fit.

 

[LGodamus]

What level is your group?

 

[omnimpotent]

Well, north of Edmonton here, we have swampy areas called muskegs. They tend to have soft, squishy ground rather than standing water, but they are pretty wet and you can sink in to your knees if you catch them at especially wet periods (usually spring, when all the snow melts) Of course, in the winter they're nice and solid. The soil and water are quite acidic. (not in the dissolve your feet way, but hard on equipment and plant life)

The dominant vegetation is evergreen trees, which are usually thin, stunted, sickly, or even dead in large swathes due to the soil acidity. Not usually the kind the characters can climb readily, and not the pretty kind you would want to take home for Christmas.

The largest wildlife tends to be moose and bears. And in fantasy, maybe catoblepas and swamp goblins.

I'm not a wilderness biologist or anything, so those in the know should feel free to correct me.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Peat bogs and Cranberry Fens.

Peat bogs are interesting because the land holds a lot of water and looks solid until you start walking on it, then it sinks. If the peat is thin, you can drop in like a pit.

Water is cold and dark, the peat clings to you, you also get that ground mist. Undead, at one time 'evil' people would be staked out after death in the bog. The peat would perserve the body, coloring dark. But hags are another good monster.

A couple of links...

http://www.wellfleetbay.org/pond/wetlands.html
http://www.esf.edu/resorg/rooseveltwildlife/Research/Orchid/Fens/Fens.htm

 

[megamania]

The above ideas are good. Also nasty things that could be there include Slimes and elemental creatures (use the templates). As for terrain, the moors would be foggy and ground iffy. Quick sand, mudpits and floating sedimentals make moving about dangerous. Cunning humaniods could easily use these natural conditions for traps including spike traps and vine related traps (swinging logs and the such)

 

[Drawmack]

I live in a swampy area in PA and here is how they are set up.

1) A cold swamp will usually happen in a derranged (that's the technical term) landscape like the one I live in. This means mountains and rivers that meander into nowhere and wind/water gaps abound.

2) Generally a cold swamp is a low area where the streams slow to a crawl and spread out very wide.

3) Insects (stirges anyone) abound in these areas as do retiles (or reptilians) and anphibians (I have seen reall life frogs that must have weighed 20 pounds and snapping turtles that could take off your leg). Generally the wildlife in a temperate swamp will go dormant in the winter.

Other things to take into account within a fantasy setting. Gelantinous cubes would have plenty of food there. It never gets really bright in a swamp so some orc may be hanging around there.

Plant life abounds in swamps. Assassin vines and the like.

 

[ninthcouncil]

Just a few random thoughts...

There's some mileage to be had even without getting into the fantasy element. Being relatively inhospitable and difficult to navigate, marshlands tend to develop their own distict, insular cultures. The people may be effectively independent of their supposed overlords - the last saxon resistance under Hereward was centered in the East Anglian fens, Alfred the Great took shelter in the Somerset Levels when the Danish invasion was at its height, even in more modern times the Romney Marsh in Kent was a hotbed of smuggling because the government's writ didn't run very far there, barely seventy miles from London. Marsh people tend to have a reputation for independence and bloody-mindedness. It's also a good place for some long-missing evil villain to be hiding out, if he's got on the good side of the locals.

As Drawmack has pointed out, wetlands, especially in summer, tend to have a vicious insect populatation. A good way to irritate the PCs without actually giving them anything to fight. And if that insect population was being manipulated/warped by some evil magician, cleric or druid....

The Camargue in southern France is famous for its wild horses (and bulls). Perhaps in a fantasy world these could have sentience, and be ruled by a powerful King of the Horses - maybe some unicorns in there as well. The same could be extended to the water-life; how about powerful, ancient carp magicians? Though obviously you'd have to get round the somatic components Or a fish god?

Loads of mist and spookiness as well, so undead are an obvious device.

 

[Gaius]

Check out Silver Marches for ideas on swamps of a more frigid clime. The Evermoors seem to fit the bill. They've got some frost giants lurking within, accompanied by a white dragon. Trolls, your standard swamp fare, have been displaced by the giants to the edges of the bog. There's a lot of other things in there, so the next time you're in your FLGS, flip through the book to see what ideas you can steal.

Gaius

 

[Guillaume]

Bogs have already been mentionned. However, I would like to add the following. Most bogs are highly acidic (from a biological perspective). This results in a rather difficult environment to grow in (the reason evergreen trees are so stunted). There are some interesting things with bogs, though. It is usually there that you will find carnivorous plants (the real ones, not the fantasy ones). The plants use insects for mineral input (particularly phosphates, IIRC) which are unavailable because of the acidity. Also, decomposition is slowed down to a crawl as bacterial activity is reduced. Finally, one of the dangers of certain types of bogs is the sphagnum moss. Although it has the wonderfull property of being able to suck up incredible amounts of water, it can sometimes create ledges that seem to be solid over open water. Once weight is put on it, it gives way and the individual sinks into the bog. Now in mid-summer that might be a bit disgusting but uneventful, but sink into water in mid-fall and try to keep warm after that !

Suggestions for creatures :

Giant carnivourous plants, giant insects, marshy creatures (goblinoids, reptile-men, etc), fleshy undead (zombies, ghouls, etc.), dragons.

Hope this helps.

Guillaume