Some character options that ask the player to choose a terrain have forests, but not jungles, listed. Others have jungles, but not forests, listed.
Is this an error? Are there supposed to be forests and jungles, or should one option cover both?
Maybe someone who lives in a tropical location can provide a better answer, but it has always been my understanding that "jungle" is synonymous with "tropical forest". Can anyone else confirm that?
If my guess is correct, then jungle would be a subset of forest (as the term jungle would exclude temperate and arctic forests).
As far as character options are concerned, I would think that jungle should be a subset of forest. Often, the listed options are far less specific than what we are used to. So they should be interpreted in the widest possible sense.
I'm less interested in the real world definitions than I am in the game's terminology, RAW, and RAI.
In short, I'm wondering if the way it is presented is a mistake, and that there's supposed to be a finite list of specific terrain choices that are consistent across all abilities (sort of like the ranger's favored terrain was in 1st edition).
Alright, so the official list is:
- Aquatic
- Arctic
- Desert
- Forest
- Mountain
- Plains
- Swamp
- Underground
- Urban
So why then, do some rules reference jungles?
What are the rules that reference Jungles? The context might help.
What are the rules that reference Jungles? The context might help.
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So, 5 monsters, 1 background, 6 feats, 3 ancestries, and 1 page of rules include the word jungle according to AoN.
Monsters: All 5 use jungle in the flavor text or simply in the name of the monster, no rules text involvement.
Backgrounds: The background introduces "Jungle Lore". Since by design lore skills are meant to be more specific than general, this seems fine. Similar to having "Lore Vampire" rather than "Lore Undead". Notably it does translate jungle to forest when the Terrain Expertise feat comes into play.
Feats: Of the six feats none of them refer to only jungles in a rules sense. Either the word jungle is used in the flavor text (as in wildborn adept), or they refer to "forests and/or jungles" (such as Wandering Heart or Woodcraft). The repetitive use of "forest or jungle" tied together leads me to believe they are just covering for people who might read forest and think it only applies to temperate forests.
Ancestries: The references to jungle in the ancestries were ancestry feats already covered by the last section, moving on.
Rules: Flavor text.
In conclusion I can't find a problem. From looking at every use of the word jungle in rules text it's either actually flavor text, or it's serving as a reminder that the more exotic jungle environment is included in the more mundane sounding forest environment.
Thank you Lost in Limbo for your analysis.
Care to guess what background I happen to have? XD
Where does it matter? Favored Terrain for Ranger and/or Horizon Walker. If my Favored Terrain is for Forest, but I'm in a tropical jungle, do I get the bonuses?
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Where does it matter? Favored Terrain for Ranger and/or Horizon Walker. If my Favored Terrain is for Forest, but I'm in a tropical jungle, do I get the bonuses?
As referenced above, forests are defined as including jungles.
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So far the ONLY thing with mechanical rules that I found that seems to actually care about if something is a Jungle is Forest Stealth as its requirements to use indicates you need to be in a Forest or Jungle, almost like the author was used to 1st ed where they were (mechanically) different environments. Given that the Feat was released in the Character Guide instead of a hardcover I think this is most likely just an oversight given that ... historically, the smaller books always had less editorial polish on them.
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I do not believe one can catch jungle fever in a coniferous forest.