Board Thread:Suggestions forum/@comment-26149161-20161210194935

In the second installment of the Biome Updates series (the first being found here), we will be discussing the Old Forest and its strange inhabitants.

1. The Biomes:

The Old Forest biome right now is a single expanse of forest. There isn't even a Withywinde River. I propose three new subbiomes to be added.

- The Northern Wood: Part of the forest with more spruce, pine, and fir trees, less Huorns, and more open space. The best part of the forest to travel in.

- The Withywindle Valley: The center of Queerness in the whole forest, the Withywindle Valley borders the brown, willow-and-lily covered river. It is sunny, and no Ancient Trees spawn here, though many midges and a few swans do. However, there are hundreds of grey and gnarled willows, including some Ancient Willows. Dried reeds and grasses spawn all around, there are pools of water, and quagmire spawns occasionally. A path will always spawn upon the length of the northern side, and the path would have strange piles of wood placed over streams.

- Master's Land: THe home of the Mster, the Merry Fellow, Tom Bombadil, is a tiny and peaceful biome at the end of the Withywindle. No tree spawns here, nor any Barrow-wight. Nothing but flowers and grass.

A large Hedge should be found at the border of the Old Forest, and also north of Buckland. These would keep Buckland secure from both invaders tfrom the Forest and ruffians on the Road.

2. Improvements to the biomes:

Not only the Barrow-downs were foggy. At night, a thick (though thinner than the Downs) mist should close about the player. Also at night, if they player looks up at the sky they should see faint gnarled faces out of the corner of his eye.

Paths should spawn randomly through the forest. These would criss-cross in long lines, going randomly about. These would, however, eventually point towards the WIthywindle valley.

Finally, a fixed hill north of the Withywindle called Forest Knoll should be added. It would be a bald hill with a vantage point of the Forest. Another, called Bombadil's Hill, should be found at the end of the Withywindle in the Master's Land.

3. The ​Structures:

Wait, what? Structures in the forest? Yes, that is what I'm suggestion. These would be limited to the ruts that the Hobbits came across. Called "Forest Ditch", they would be a small ravine filled with nettles nad brambles. If possible, they would always be harder to get up on the side facing away from the river, though if that is codable I don't know.

4. The Fauna:

Currently large animals spawn in the clearings. This is not fitting with the tree-filled forest, so I suggest that they be removed. The spawning of birds and rabbits should also be decreased.

Several new animals, which will probably be added anyway at some point, should be found here and in other places. These are listed below.

- Otters, found in the Withywindle River. Can be tamed with fish, which they will then catch for the player.

- Kingfishers, found on the Withywindle. They would dive into the water to catch fish.

- Badgers, found in the forest. They live in large "sets", or tunnels.

5. The Vegetation:

There is a lot of undergrowth in the mod, but in the book it is stated that there is none outside of the Bonfire Glade. I think that there should just be so many trees that any growth besides plain grass and podzol should be impossible.

The grass, wood, and leaves of all trees should be greyer in this biome as well.

6. The Trees:

The Dark Huorn, which is a rather strange name, should be changed to Ancient Tree. It would have several differences, such as being greyer, and a different attack style. THey would also have a far deadlier variant.

The mod's trees are very... unsubtle, in their attacks compared to the book. Rather than charging players and hammering away at them, I suggest that they instead fight in more passive ways. During the day, the trees can occasionally trip or hit a player, or throw a stick at them. These would be one-time attacks, and the player would not need to fight them off. At night, however, the trees are more aggressive. They would follow the player, incorporating stick throws and nudges into the pursuit. They would also surround the player and plant themselves near him, all the while whispering to each other in an unintelligible language. If the player attacks them, they would fight back in the way they currently do, save also attempt to surround him.

Now for the dangerous one. The Ancient Willow would be a large, grey, gnarled tree that spawns in the Withywindle Valley. They sing on the edge of hearing, and as they do the player slowly gets slowness, weakness, and blindness effects. As the player moves about in a stupor, the tree attacks and kills them. 