Taiga

The largest forest type on any fertile world, and the most uniform: the same few conifer species for a thousand miles, standing on ground that is frozen for two thirds of the year and waterlogged for the rest. Navigation is hard because no feature stands out as a landmark. In winter the frozen bogs bear weight and the forest is the fastest ground on the continent, and in summer the same route is impassable.

Regional environment Terrestrial (land)

Continental Polar

Lowland Highland

Crossing it

Navigate: DC 17
Forage: DC 13
Notice: DC 13

No feature works as a landmark. Travel on frozen ground is twice as fast as on thawed ground.

Exposure

Extreme Cold

Temperatures below about zero degrees Fahrenheit, or any water near freezing, made worse by wind.

CON save, DC 10, rising by 1 for each hour after the first. End of each hour. One level of exhaustion.
- Cold-weather gear
  
  Proper layers, a sealed suit or a heated shelter removes the save. Wet layers give disadvantage on it instead.
- Immersion
  
  A creature in near-freezing water makes the save each minute instead of each hour, and is Incapacitated at three levels of exhaustion.
- Gear
  
  Unheated power cells lose half their charge, and any check made with bare hands after an hour of exposure has disadvantage.
- Adapted
  
  A creature native to a cold world, or with resistance to cold damage, ignores the save.

In play

Featureless

Wisdom (Survival) checks to navigate have disadvantage without a compass, a star fix or a watercourse to follow.
Thaw

From thaw to first frost, off-trail ground is difficult terrain and the day's distance is halved.
Deadfall

Fallen timber gives half cover anywhere in the encounter and costs 10 feet of movement to cross.

Variations

Frozen

Eight months. Bogs bear weight, the going is fast, and Extreme Cold applies to any night spent out.
Thawed

Four months. Standing water, insects, and half the day's distance.

Worlds it occurs on