Shanjuheed Forest

Shanjueed Jungle is one of the largest Mabar manifest zones on Eberron. The center of the zone lies in the heart of the forest. It expands slowly each year and now covers a circle nearly as wide as the forest. Within the zone, it is as if Mabar were coterminous with Eberron (ECS 97). In addition, anyone slain in the forest rises as a random type of undead the next night (usually a zombie). Several terrible cysts (DMG2 248) also exist within the corrupt jungle.

At the forest's very heart, where Wyndurgha's monolith once stood, the traits of Mabar hold complete sway in a 300-foot sphere that is also expanding.

The wall that holds the jungle back is manned by Edgewalker troops who see it as their honor to keep the evil within. No gate bridges the outside world and the jungle. Nobody is allowed to enter or leave the Shanjueed, under penalty of death.

Still, the forest does have uncorrupted inhabitants. A woman (CN female elan druid 13/telepath 7) with wild red hair and a young face lives in the southern jungle. Animals and plants are her only friends, and she speaks only with her mind. Following are the details of her living area in the Shanjueed.

Hut and Surrounds: A plain wooden hut sits in the midst of many trees and under one particularly massive one. Its roof is made of bark and grass. The doorway faces north, covered only by a tangled curtain of vines. No windows are set into the walls.

Near the hut, the ground is clear, but elsewhere it is choked with light and heavy undergrowth. Freshwater bogs, shallow and deep, make the area treacherous. A dire ape (MM 62, the elan's animal companion) watches the hut from nearby if the druid is home.

Secret Chamber: Although the hut appears simple and has a grass pallet for sleeping, underneath a grass rug in the center is a hidden trap door (Search DC 20). Beyond the door is the nameless druid's true living space carved out of living rock. The place is cool and dry, except for a small pool of pure water that wells up from deep underground. A comfortable bed of furs occupies a small place on the floor, which is otherwise empty. The whole cave is painted with scenes of life and death in the Shanjueed, images layered one over another.

A small side cave contains paints, brushes, and the tools for making them. It also holds the blackened and polished skulls of three humans and two shifters (one of these is all that remains of Bruus—see Development). A woven vine curtain hangs over a portion of the eastern wall, barely hiding a passage there.

Hideaway: A natural rock seals this hidden area (Search DC 25). The elan hides here when she needs to, but the sealed wall would make it dangerous to sleep here or stay here long.

Hidden Stump: A passage from the secret chamber runs nearly 300 feet to a stump. Actually a doorway into the druid's abode, the entrance is nearly impossible to detect from the surface (Search DC 30).

Getting into Shanjueed means passing the wall and the Edgewalker guardians. Edgewalkers—3rd level or higher—attack first and ask questions later. Still, they're the easy part. Navigating the nightmare that is the Shanjueed is far more difficult.

While characters travel through the Mabar part of the jungle, they have a 10% chance each hour of a significant encounter (see the table below). This chance doesn't change if the characters are camping, and it doubles at night. Feel free to substitute any undead you want. The untainted parts of the forest are home to more normal animals and dinosaurs than supernatural creatures. About 30% of the creatures in the Shanjueed have the quorbred template (see page 151).

The nameless druid attracted the attention of the Edgewalkers one day when she approached the wall. Thinking she was an altavar come to free the forest from the bonds of the wall, the soldiers on the wall attacked her. The bravest among them, a mighty shifter ranger named Bruus, went into the Shanjueed with several hand-picked warriors to find and slay the evil spirit. They never returned. Since then, lightning storms, unnatural hail, swarms of insects, and even fire have assaulted the wall at unpredictable moments. A few of the fallen have risen as zombies and ghouls. Clearly the altavar still lives, and it must be put down for the good of Corvagura.

News of the altavar of Shanjueed has reached the elders of Tashalatora. They suspect this spirit isn't a spirit at all, but the creature that was once Wyndurgha. If she could be secured as an ally for Adar . .

Legend speaks of a Corvaguran necromancer who lived in the center of the Shanjueed Jungle in Sarlona's ancient past. He is said to have had great power. Some who know the tale, such as the Keepers of the Word in Tashalatora, say it indicates he found a relic left by giant explorers in ancient times. Who knows what other magic lies hidden within the Shanjueed.

This forest doesn't need to be in Corvagura. It can be placed anywhere in Riedra, Xen'drik, Aerenal, or even the Gloaming in the Eldeen Reaches. Outside Sarlona, the nameless one is a powerful and legendary drow druid 13/rogue 7, Aereni elf druid 13/necromancer 7, or halforc Child of Winter druid 15/barbarian 5 respectively.