Okay, since I have a story taking place mostly in a forest, I'm going to need some info on trees and forests. A. Are there huge forests that have trees going into and past the 20 foot tall range? When I mean huge, I mean at least 15 miles in size, and much bigger would be nice. B. In such a forest, would there be lots of dangerous wildlife to worry about? Keep in mind these characters have no firearms and little wilderness experience at best. C. How dense is the average forest? Are the trees tightly packed together, or is there a fair amount of space imbetween them? Assume it has the trees of the type in part 1. So, I hope you guys can help me.
I don't know where you live or where you're specifically asking about so I guess I'll just answer for what I know.... A. Yes. I have trees that are over 60 ft in my yard. The state land that starts across the road from me is WELL over 15 miles and the trees are much larger than the ones in my yard. (Maple, Ash, Oak, Pine, etc.) B. Where I live, yes. I have wolves, bears, coyotes, mountain lions, etc. They don't always stay in the woods though, lol. Sometimes they come in the yard too. C. Here where I am (and in most woods I've been in) there are both. You have areas with thick underbrush that can be problematic, but there are game trails you can follow if you don't have the ability to make your own. (game trails are trails made by deer and other animals that travel the same areas repeatedly). EDIT: I do wonder though, why do you need 15 miles of forest? That's a LOT of forest. To put it in perspective I live in a town that is 38.1 square miles of land and 1.9 square miles of water. 28 of those land miles are forest. There are 1100 households as of the 2010 census. So, there are 1100 households in 10 square miles. The majority of those are in a "village" and the rest are on the edge of the state land like me. But if you can fit the majority of 1100 households into 10 miles........
Well, I'm trying to make it where they can't get out of the forest. Wait, where do you live? I guess I should've realized that tall trees like that are actually quite common in certain areas. But anyway, the overwhelming sense of isolation, and that they can't just walk out of the forest is what I'm looking for. Hope this helps.
Bigger trees will be further spaced apart and have less between them. It's all about competition between the plants. When you have lots of little small plants they fight among themselves. Big trees dominate the landscape and little can grow between the, as they use all the nutrients/water and make a lot of shade in return. Forests with huge trees will be comparatively bare to say, a new plantation (in the last few hundred years) where the trees are still quite slim, and there's plenty of room for light. If you want a lot of undergrowth, space your trees out more or don't make them too enormous Not that many people will know or care as long as you're within a reasonable degree of logic.
I'm trying to get one of those scary gothic forests that has trees that dwarf the size of our characters. They also can't leave the forest because of how well... huge it is. For more details about the story, read my post in plot creation called," Story from a Dream."
I've read your post in plot creation. The premise was fine, but have you thought of how a 15,16, & 12 year old are going to get food in the gothic forest?
A: The largest tree in the world is the Giant Sequoia ~300 ft. Of course huge forests exists (15 sq. miles you mean?). Getting lost is one, but you could go for other ways of seclusion, like deep chasms, wild water surrounding the forests, etc. This may also be the perfect excuse to get some unknown animals in the forest.... B: Primitive weapons (bows/arrows, etc) can be made from what the forrest has to offer. Maybe check out some survival websites for realistic survival techniques, like fishing, haunting, shelters, etc. C: Forest density: see Trish's great answer.
Oh, actually, yes. They can grow food, and they have enough to begin with to last until that stuff is ready. They found the seeds in the house.
I'm not attacking your plot so please don't take it that way, I'm trying to provoke thought... What are they going to do in the winter? Have you ever chopped firewood? (I'm guessing the mansion has a fireplace) and do you know how soon they have to start gathering that wood so that it will be dry enough to burn when they need it? How will THEY know that? Also how will they preserve their grown food (or even hunted food) for the winter? Especially if no one has taught them these things. Even if they're in a warm climate it still gets cold and damp at night in the winter in most places. There is so much potential for injury here (which is AWESOME for your plot) I just want to make sure you've thought of what needs to be thought of....
Ah, I see. Well, my plan is that each character fulfills a distinct role. The eldest has construction skills, allowing her to maintain the house and also knows how to chop wood. The second oldest is a fighter, and, given some time, a good hunter. The youngest is the farmer, who not only can grow the food, but also knows how to preserve it. They know all of these things from... well their weird lifestyles. The oldest learned to be a carpenter, in an attempt to keep her former home from outright falling apart and, sort of, to get away from her abusive alcoholic mother by going out to chop wood. The second oldest has had to fight, A LOT. But, she also has learned lots about stealth, in order to steal stuff and to sneak around the more dangerous parts of the city she used to be in. These skills take time to adapt to a forest, yes, but it does happen. The youngest knows from helping her mother take care of a massive garden, (yes this is the mother who left her out in the middle of the forest one day,) and from having learned from her food preservation stuff. I have no idea how they will preserve meat without electricity though. They probably wouldn't have access to truck loads of salt so... I guess they have to eat in that day whatever they hunt, although perhaps they could make an improvised ice box.
Actually, they can do it, if you find a way to account for their knowledge. Meat can be air dried, sun dried, smoked, etc. No need for salt. You may want to google "pemmican" to get an idea of the process (a Native American staple made from dried meat, fat, and sometimes berries). That would be a good jumping off point anyway.
Ah. Interesting. Actually, judging by the experiences of the youngest, she would probably know how to do one of those things. Lets just say the youngest is worth like three times her weight in platinum from the knowledge she has of plants, food preservation, and food preparation.
Hmm, for another research question, how does one smoke meat? Do you need charcoal, or is wood just fine? How long does this process take? Very curious about this.
You don't need charcoal (charcoal is, after all, wood that is burned to a certain point, in a certain way), or rather, you need charcoal before it's been charcoaled, heh. To smoke meat you need smoke As to the rest, Google is awesome
Ah, I see. Okay, thanks guys. I'm thinking they should smoke it, considering they have plenty of wood which is only going to replenish.
yes... all kinds of forests, in all parts of the world... google for 'world's forests' 'lots' is too vague, but of course there would be some in any forest... but dangerous to what is the question... if you mean dangerous to man, just google the part of the world and particular forest area you want and check out the list of wildlife found there... that depends on the individual forest area, its age, and the species of trees... could be either... you can find out all of this info on your own, y'know, with just a bit of googling...
