Biomes - environments that fall into a certain category - are a great way to set the atmosphere for a specific adventure. We all know of deserts, forests, swamps, mountains, and so forth, and each of these biomes have their own iconic adventures and adventure sites.
But the real world is full of obscure, unique environments that aren't known to many people - let alone #ttrpg players, which makes them a great option to bring variety to a game - and fantasy and science fiction has come up with all sorts of further biomes that aren't known on Earth. So what are your favorite obscure biomes?
Personally, I am fascinated by so-called "Cloud Forests" ever since I heard of the concept. They are usual tropical or subtropical forests which, due to their geographic locations, are shrouded in fogs for much of the year. In RPG settings, forests often hide many dangers due to their low visibility - and so does fog. It's two great tastes that go well together!
Swamps. There's a good one in Baldur's Gate 3 that I would like to see expanded in some future game. Basically the swamp is just a wetland when you first show up but if you pass an investigation check it becomes a fetid swamp. There are some dangers like plants that cause you to bleed and then if you don't heal you get infected with a disease. Unfortunately it's just a small area but it'd be so fun as like a whole campaign I think. Maybe with a spore druid, gloomstalker, and necromancer.
Baaaaa
I did a short lived and heavily modified Ghosts of Saltmarsh campaign once. I made it kind of a lousiana bayou vibe, complete with spooky voodoo swamp gnomes. Wished it went further cause I loved the setting, but scheduling did it in in the end!
I was gonna say this too, except i always found swamp biomes really nice and comforting. Something about it not being a wide open space I guess
swamps in Valheim are fuck
God fucking damn they suck when you first encounter them. But in the appropriate way.
The island I spawned into on my first play through didn't have swamp. Eventually I started to sail a raft in a straight line. Oops.
My favorite biome! I always make a permanent home in the Swamp!
The traps there are brutal