Which path would you take --Swamp or Forest?

[RUMBLETiGER]

It would depend upon the personality of my character.
The Halfling Druid in my current game would choose swamp, for the adventure.
The Human Factotum from my previous game would have chosen the Forest, to minimize encounters and increase the odds of arriving at the destination at all, because he's more practical.

 

[Mark1733]

Thanks to all of you for your responses to the poll and he commentary. Based on the little poll, 3:1 forest is a clearer choice. My takeaway is to boost the time factor / urgency to make the swamp a stronger option and an overall tougher choice. I can make the swamp more certain and the forest less certain time wise. For example, the swamp could be a solid 2 days. The forest could be 5, and that is if you can find a way across the river. (And, oh by the way, there is a way across the river). Any other suggestions on how make this a good party discussion?

 

[Sunseeker]

I believe I would choose the forest. Higher probability of attack in the swamp not only means it's likely to be a more severe attack, but that it's likely to happen more than once. I would argue that a really bad fight, or multiple smaller fights is going to be more draining on the party than is made up for in quicker travel time. A serious fight, or one while the party is low on health and power could set the travel time back several days. Further, the less passable terrain and the constant, pervasive terrain hazard(fog) is going to make it more likely you get lost and thus incur an attack, it will also make it more difficult to get a "full rest" at any point during the travels. In addition, if you do decide to force-march through(having had no fights) the drain of doing so on the party will make any successive combat even more dangerous.

I would pick the forest because the lower chance of attack and generally more passable terrain will probably cause the trip to take about the same about of time. With a lower risk of attack, forced-marching is more likely to cause fewer problems, getting an extended rest will be easier, and a single large terrain hazard will be easier to handle than pervasive terrain hazards through a swamp.

So, forest.

 

[Sunseeker]

Thanks to all of you for your responses to the poll and he commentary. Based on the little poll, 3:1 forest is a clearer choice. My takeaway is to boost the time factor / urgency to make the swamp a stronger option and an overall tougher choice. I can make the swamp more certain and the forest less certain time wise. For example, the swamp could be a solid 2 days. The forest could be 5, and that is if you can find a way across the river. (And, oh by the way, there is a way across the river). Any other suggestions on how make this a good party discussion?

Make sure the differences are clear, but ensure that the players have good reason to question traveling through the swamp. Maybe increase the attack rate after you lower the travel time, so: 2 days, 70% chance of attack v. Forest @ 5 days w/30% chance of attack. Conversely, provide good reason that a wide, slow river could be dangerous, such as if there is a *insert season* rain or substantial winter snow. The Swamp provides high attack uncertainty, but quick travel time, while the forest provides longer travel time, but more "river crossing" uncertainty, as opposed to the pervasive "hard to find path" and "lots of fog" of the swamp, which once solved are solved throughout the length of the swamp, while the river presents variable danger. It could be a dry season, 2 feet deep and easily crossed. It could be a heavy winter and a wet spring leading to high, raging waters.

It's also worth presenting a rough idea of what sorts of combats they might encounter in the swamp or the forest. Undead, black dragons, etc... vs wolves or bandits. I would personally set the swamp danger to a medium-high level of danger, but the forest would have a much more random level of danger, ranging from simple bandits to ogres and green dragons or mischievous pixies. IE: the swamp danger is severe, but predictable, you could preemptively arm yourself against the dangers and be safe no matter what you find. The forest however would be more unpredictable and preemptive measures less reliable.

In addition, if the players are leaving from a town, there may be vendors selling "supplies" depending on which route you take. Because of the above-mentioned ability to prepare or not, one of these vendors might seem more trustworthy than the other. IE: because the swamp is predictable, people who buy from Crazy Gypsy had more success in the swamp because her products are more in line with the dangers, but she charges a higher price for them. On the other hand, Wizened Elf Guy sells a wide range of things that might help with the forest, but as the danger is more random, people express less use for it, even though his prices are lower.

 

[frankthedm]

Forest. I'd rather fight bears or wolves than crocs, sinking in the muck a greater danger for characters wearing the heaviest armor they can afford.

In fiction, swamps are often portrayed as godforsaken places that no man enters willingly. When they aren't infested with undead horrors, they hide tribes of hideous frog-, lizard-, or fish-men (or possibly fishlizardfrogmen) who slink from their half-sunken temples to grasp the unwary with their cold hands and drag them beneath the still black water. At the very least, they are the home of poisonous snakes and strange, incurable diseases. Often, there are ancient curses that cause travelers to become lost and wander the swamps forever. Will o' the Wisps (also called corpse candles and Ghost Lights) lead the unwary into quickbogs to die. For extra horror, people who get lost in the swamp may themselves become one of the monsters infesting it. Swamps are also a popular home for witches, voodoo ladies, families of inbred cannibals, and other unsavoury types, like zombies.

There is an element of Truth in Television to this: Swamps were long regarded as dangerous and unsanitary. They tend to attract a lot of insects, which can spread disease; the sodden terrain can make traversing them on foot difficult; many swamps are prone to heavy fog because of all the water, which can make it easy to get lost; and some swamps are also inhabited by dangerous animals, such as alligators. More realistic depictions will have swamps as dangerous and unpleasant rather than outright evil. Expect lots of complaining about mud, leeches, and over-sized mosquitoes.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SwampsAreEvil

 

[Argyle King]

Second thoughts...


If I'm required to cross a river, the forest also gives me (I think) more options when it comes to improvising a way across. Fell a few trees and you have a makeshift bridge.

 

[Mark1733]

Got something against swamps, frankthdm?

Forest. I'd rather fight bears or wolves than crocs, sinking in the muck a greater danger for characters wearing the heaviest armor they can afford.

Okay, if I read them that quote, I will make the choice too clear.

Some changes I can make:
1) I think I can throw a rumored treasure in the swamp...
2) Time is a greater factor, so faster route would be better. a forced march could shave off time in ekther case? what if the swamp trek was only a day and one half in that case?
3) The fog is low and you can see the top of the foresaken mountain, so getting lost isn't an issue.
4) Make the river a bigger wild card. There is magical bridge, but they won't know of this or its possibility until they get into the forest.
5) Fog provides you concealment as much as anything else, except maybe undead.
6) The swamp has a definite "dry" path--that's how the hag gets to and from the forest. the road guardians have heard her mutter to her self on her way back and forth for spell components. this puts threat of a hag in either location...where will she be?
7) No one has come or gone either way in a long time, so is one way really safer than the other?

I think the party can gear up for the swamp easier, because they can picture the hazards better, I think. The forest simply can have more of anything, and be even more unpredictable. The river is wide, deep and fast. Also, tne guardians can shed some light on goings on that allude to greater time urgency.

 

[Jacob Marley]

The characters are 2nd level? Drop rumors of a huge green dragon in the forest. That will get them into the swamp!

Seriously though, this is a threat assessment/time management issue. I think you are on the right path trying to offer them a compelling choice. My advice to you would be to give them enough variables to make evaluating the routes difficult, without creating analysis paralysis. Perhaps 4-5 known encounters in the swamp and 5-7 known encounters in the forest. Be sure not to be too stingy with information or you may make the choice crystal clear!

 

[MarkB]

If you want to really confound them, offer them a choice between the Fire Swamp and the Dead Marshes.

 

[Jacob]

The mountain. #YOLO

I'm actually for this (but really, screw YOLO ). Playing it safe and having precaution is incredibly boring. The best adventures have some risk. That's one of the things I regret from my past games: not taking the challenges before me, especially if there was risk. A lot of good could have come from those circumstances in hindsight.