Encounter/terrain ideas — Kudzu

Of all places the party could have chosen to use as their home base, they decided to start in the part of the map where the terrain can be described as "Kudzu". A large area of creeping, invasive vines that choke out all other plant life, and which the locals are trying to control by intentionally overgrazing with sheep and finding every possible use for the stuff.
I'm sure there are lots of creative ideas for what kind of things would be found in this terrain, but I don't have familiarity with it myself. I'm not even sure if I should compare travel speed to grassland or to thick forest. Any thoughts?
If it helps, the system is EZD6, and the party races are all originals. Fantasy.

I really like the idea of some small fey thing(s) living under the kudzu. Corrupt little nature spirits that like the dark, want to choke out the other flora and fauna with their vines and mushrooms...maybe great beds of decay from rotting vegetation underneath. Though only the seed of an idea, I think that could bloom into something fun. Could maybe have a extremist druid type, if the game supports that...not a lot (read: any) familiarity with EZD6 beyond the idea that it is an ultralight.

- M

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Originally Posted by Mordar

Could maybe have a extremist druid type, if the game supports that...not a lot (read: any) familiarity with EZD6 beyond the idea that it is an ultralight.

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Three paths can be overtly nature-ish: Warden gives tracking and foraging, Beastmaster speaks with animals and has an animal companion, and one of the magic circles available to the Conjurer (Botanicalist) can create and control plants, though they wither and rot away as soon as the spell stops being anchored (concentration). So there's a few routes for that.
I also introduced my own version of the underdark in the area — Mold Forests which are underground hives of coexisting insects and fungal creatures that feed on decay and undermine things.
There's also a lot of constructs, as I reflavored necromancy into animating things like scarecrows — there's a bunch of basically low budget rogue golems out there.

I'm a little shy on specific landmarks to want to visit, though, or random encounters.

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Originally Posted by JusticeZero

Of all places the party could have chosen to use as their home base, they decided to start in the part of the map where the terrain can be described as "Kudzu". A large area of creeping, invasive vines that choke out all other plant life, and which the locals are trying to control by intentionally overgrazing with sheep and finding every possible use for the stuff.
I'm sure there are lots of creative ideas for what kind of things would be found in this terrain, but I don't have familiarity with it myself. I'm not even sure if I should compare travel speed to grassland or to thick forest. Any thoughts?
If it helps, the system is EZD6, and the party races are all originals. Fantasy.

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I'd say thick forest unless in recently-grazed areas, or perhaps permanent paths controlled by constant grazing.

I'd also have, I think, something akin to Old Man Willow and the Withywindle at the center of the area. The vines create their own paths, trying to draw the unwary or the careless into the heart of the ravenous growth. That entity could be some sort of plant elemental, like a shambling mound or a treant or something, or it could be something more like a genius loci.

Kudzu affected areas are a lot like jungle.
So some ideas based off jungle warfare.
1) paths and clearings are far more important than hills. There's not much point holding the high ground if you can't see anything from it.
2) Navigating off paths is very difficult and it is extremely easy to lose your bearings. You lose contact with the sky so you have no convenient way to orient yourself as to North/Sourh/East/West and no ability to orient by landmarks. I've been in kudzu affected areas and with all the leaf litter on the ground once you go more than 5 or 6 meters off the path you can no longer see the path.
3) Rivers are like freeways. Fast ways to get around but with an extremely limited number of places to get on/off.
4) The most difficult part to traverse is the border between a clearing and the interior. That's where the plant growth extends from canopy to carpet. Inside the kudzu is easier to get around. The border is usually only 2 or 3 meters wide, but is effectively impenetrable without machetes. You can force your way in without machetes but it is quite a pain. Once you penetrate inside all the greenery is in the canopy blocking out most of the light. It can be a bright sunny day outside, but inside the kudzu it will be three quarters dark.

As for encounters Tengu are a classic Japanese monster that is often associated with Kudzu

Google says kudzu vines can only grow 100 feet long. Some tree species can get 300 feet tall, so a town built up in the branches of such trees would be untouched.

The players could get surprised by a deliberate fire set to clear land for agricultural use. Or they could be attacked by some exotic creature brought in to eat the kudzu. Monsters that require darkness could have taken up residence in the newly shaded landscape. Maybe a tribe of weregoats view this place as a paradise given to them by their nanny goat deity.