Jorgenfist and Plant Travel

[Sandpoint Streetsweeper]

I have a party of Druid, Barbarian, and Monk about to approach Jorgenfist. Plant Travel is really their only method of "faster than foot" travel and I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts or experience as to what type of flora would be in the valley where Jorgenfist is located.

Seems like a tall order to find all that much that would be big enough for them to use so close to a fortress, but I don't want them to feel like they don't have any mobility options.

Thanks!

[mousmous]

If you google the plant life of eastern Washington or eastern Colorado you might get some ideas. When I think of the high plateau, these are two areas that come to my mind. Also, there isn't a stream running down the valley to the river along Jorgenfist. All the water that comes off the valley-side of the mountains has to get soaked up by something for that to happen. I know it's depicted as a barren area, but the plants don't have to be pretty, just thirsty and big enough for travel. If you don't find anything that you like there, you can always have a part of the canyon the river runs through that has collapsed and created an oasis out of the river bank, far below the cliff overlooking the river. Wouldn't have to be close to Jorgenfist to be useful, and you could easily explain a tree growing there.

[Misroi]

Personally, I think they'd be able to get within a few days' walk of the fortress, so long as they're using a tree that would be found in the Iron Peaks. Something coniferous, maybe? It would let them skip past the incidental encounters along the way, like the ogre cattle rustlers and the giants at the Storval Stairs, but they'd still have to deal with getting into Jorgenfist proper. An army that size has probably already clear-cut all readily available trees for wood, so there's no way to infiltrate the stronghold using that spell.

[Stebehil]

This spell gives you all the leeway you need to put the group exactly where you want. I would allow just any kind of tree big enough to succeed. Coniferous sounds like a good idea, but until the Iron Peaks are indeed quite high, and Varisia quite cold, deciduous trees might well survive there also.
(I always imagined Varisia as having a middle to norther European climate, with the vikings and ice witches to the north, and with the Inner Sea being akin to the Mediterranean, which puts Cheliax as Byzantium or Italy. The deserts on the southern continents´ north coast seem to point in the same direction.

[Tinalles]

Let them get within a day's travel or so. It'll be fine.

And if you're feeling generous, give them some Feather Tokens of the Tree variety so they can easily plant trees where they want them.

[Bellona]

One of my groups is using the same ability (menhir savant Druid).

I've ruled that most (if not all) of the Storval Plateau itself is lacking in big enough plant life for the ability to work (being parched badlands terrain).

The foothills of the Iron Peaks do have some fertile enough areas in the valleys, where mountain streams supply enough water for larger plant life.

The Valley of the Black Tower, on the other hand, I've ruled to be completely clear-cut by the giants (their patrols not only have to hunt for food, but also forage for fuel). What was there in the first place was probably no more than large bushes/scrub.

They have bought a tree version of the Feather Token to use in order to bug out in case of an emergency. I've ruled that if the soil is not fertile enough (as in the case of the Valley of the Black Tower), such a tree would only be alive (and therefore useful) for ca. 24 hours.