“A Walk in the Woods” – Out of The Box D&D Encounters #37

“A Walk in the Woods” – Out of The Box D&D Encounters #37

January 27, 2017

Introduction: The Players Handbook is loaded with spells that could be the key to an interesting encounter. One that strikes me as having a lot of potential is Awaken (Players Handbook, page 216). According to the spell, it grants a 10 Intelligence to a single plant or beast under the right circumstances. It also allows plants the ability to move. Speech in one language is also included. From what I can see, this effect is permanent. Now, imagine applying that entire array of abilities to any number of beasts or plants. Not only can this spell effect expected beasts like horses, dogs, elephants and fish, as well as plants like trees and shrubbery, but also to fungi and “giant” beasts. The only limit is a starting Intelligence of 3 or less and size of Huge or less, and the category of “beast” or “plant.”

This awakened beast or plant could fulfill multiple roles in your campaign or encounter. Since it has average human intelligence, human-like senses, and can speak a language, you could run this as a roleplaying encounter in addition to a combat or puzzle encounter. That’s your choice. This beast or plant could be a full NPC or companion to another NPC. In this case, “A Walk in the Woods” is intended as a social encounter, but also a more specialized version of a social encounter in that the NPC in question is an Awakened Tree with a service to offer. In essence, this is a merchant who happens to be a tree.

For this encounter to work, you’ll need a forest. This forest should be of a decent size, but one that is hard to traverse for more reasons than just having trees in it. Treacherous gullies, jutting rock formations, or even a forest that exists on a steep incline of a mountain are all valid choices. Feel free to use these or any others you might think of.

For the purposes of this encounter, the Awakened Tree will be acting as a way to connect two parallel roads at different (and difficult to access) elevations. This encounter is a method of arranging travel through difficult terrain that would otherwise slow, hamper and endanger the party. I would only use this encounter if those conditions are met, or if you have need to insert something akin to this in your world.

Environment: Wilderness/Forest
Suggested level: Any, depending on your campaign. Recommend 2-4.

Description: The party finds themselves at the end of a path through the wilderness. The trees and underbrush have become thick and overgrown. Nettles and vines make the journey even more frustrating. The terrain rises despite this growth, making forward movement even more arduous. Frustrated, the party will typically start discussing or arguing about what they should do. Should they turn back, camp and start fresh tomorrow morning, or plug on and make what progress they can before it becomes too dark to safely proceed?

All you’ll need as DM is for the players to ask something akin to the following: “What do we do now?”

If they do, then they’ll hear a voice, deep and methodical, speaking from above them. It will offer, “You could ask.”

Many Leaves (the Awakened Tree) will then wait and watch the party. He’ll judge their actions and questions/comments to ascertain if they will do him or the surrounding wood any harm. If they question him further, he will be elusive in his answers. Remember, he is trying to find the truth behind their motivations. Should Many Leaves think the party will do him harm, he will not reveal himself. If they try to engage him in a positive and meaningful way, then feel free to have Many Leaves reveal himself.

This is not only an opportunity for great roleplaying, but a chance to reveal Many Leaves’ story. Social engagements like this can be hard to gauge. If you need a guide, consult “Conversation Reactions” (page 245, DMG) to figure out if Many Leaves will answer any given request or question. Start with him as an “Indifferent Creature.” Treat him in every regard as any other NPC, despite the fact he is an Awakened Tree. Should the players gain his trust, he will reveal himself the next morning (or sooner should they wish to move through the thick wood before then). You can then have Many Leaves tell his tale to those who would ask.

Many Leaves will weave a tale of a former friend and ally (Feel free to insert an important figure from your own world here … note that only Bards and Druids currently have access to the Awaken spell). He will tell them in his ponderous manner about how he was once only a simple sapling, but was sung into awareness many years ago by a young girl named Elise. Of course, to an “old sap” like Many Leaves, these “fleshy two-legs” are all “young.” He will tell them of their many walks though these woods, and how he had carried her through these treacherous woods so she would never come to harm in its many crevasses and tangles of nettles. He will not know of any current political or other events that the player characters may be currently enduring, unless the DM chooses to have such event affect the current woods in which Many Leaves presides. He will wax nostalgic about his time with Elise, and will have no understanding of what the vagaries of class or race are when pressed for specifics. He may go on about simpler times, when few roads carved through his “people,” and he may yearn for such a time again.

Should the players actually be patient enough for him to ramble on about this at length, he will recognize them as “soulful beings” and may offer to travel along among his boughs to cross this wood. Should this unfold in this manner, crossing this wood to the upper reaches will take only an hour or less, as Many Leaves’ superior knowledge of the terrain as well as his ability to avoid obstacles due to his size and expertise, will allow him to travel in a near straight line upward. Even a Ranger with Forest or Mountain as Favorite Terrain will not be able to move as fast, as Many Leaves is considered to have both as “favorite.” The only faster way over this terrain will be to fly.

Should this event unfold as such, he will regale his passengers with tales of saplings growing to full trees, of litters of fox kits living under his roots, and of the time a Goblin tried to chop him down – and was kicked over a gully for his trouble.

This is also an excellent opportunity for the DM to drop any vague lore about the surrounding region that an Awakened Tree might have experienced. Odd weather conditions, noises, sights or unusual creatures travelling his forest might be valid clues to pass on while he transports the player characters. Once he has gotten them to the top where they need to be (likely at the edge of a forested area), Many Leaves will bid them farewell. However, Awakened Trees have long memories of all the good and the bad. If they treat him well, he will never forget and may even return to help them back down the mountain. However, should they treat him poorly, he will likewise never forget and may take the chance to make future travel through these woods hazardous for cruel and evil characters.

Monsters: “Many Leaves” – Awakened Tree (Monster Manual, page 317)

Treasure: A possible future ally. Priceless.

Complications: The complications are pretty clear, and are all based purely on the player characters’ social interactions with Many Leaves. They will need to be on their most respectful and patient behaviors for this odd NPC. However, if they can pull that off, they may well end up with a loyal ally who can help them through the local treacherous wooded terrains for years to come.

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