The Forest of the Grasping Vines is characterized by its dark, ominous trees that cling tightly to one another, lashing their limbs together with ropes of creeping vine that cast shadows along the forest floor even in the brightest of summers. Many beasts make this forest home, and at its heart the trees grow taller than the greatest human palace tower and are spaced far enough apart that Vlugzul can zip down through the canopy and race in tight turns around and between their dark, oily trunks. A rider must be careful not to overestimate the size of a gap in the vines, though – any creature that becomes entangled is likely to find itself facing down any one of a wide variety of predators that capitalize on anything that starts to send the vibration of struggle along the network of vine-linked canopy.

From poison-fanged tree leopards to giant centipedes, the residents of this forest are well represented by species that have no fear of Vlugzul. The more terrifying of these creatures are found deep in the center of the forest, and so the edges are somewhat safer for novice hunters, foresters, and trappers. Even the outskirts contain creatures dangerous to goblins, though – this is no place for a picnic, unless your intention was to invite owlbears to join your feast.

For all its fierce predators, the forest has a hundred times the plant-eaters... not to suggest that these are any less dangerous. The Great Stags and their harems of blue-nosed doe are more than capable of taking out a careless hunter, and even the spiderhares that scamper across the map of vines above them are intensely territorial and incredibly bold when gathered in number. This is a lush, life-filled place to take your hunter to find game, but remember the old village saying: “A fat forest boar in your stomach is only good if it didn’t get there tusk-first.”