Disclaimer: The Cavernworld concept is based on, and draws on, material originally

from TSRs Dungeons and Dragons and/or Paizos Pathfinder

The Barrens
Most of the caverns in Cavernworld fall into a general form of ecosystem simply
known as The Barrens. These are the caverns that most resemble those found in
our world, regions where faerzess is either absent or too weak to support
faerzotrophic organisms. Living things are largely absent here, and those that can
be found survive largely off of detritus originating from other ecosystems. Most
animal life in the barrens is comprised of insects and other arthropods; closer to
sources of organic material, tiny cave fish and cave salamanders may be found.

Faerzic Shrubland
Where faerzess is stronger than normal, rich shrublands may form, regions
dominated by a thick layer of faerzic shrubs. The density of growth in these
shrublands depends on the strength of faerzess; in regions where faerzess is
stronger, more leaves can grow closer together before faerzess is depleted. It also
depends somewhat on availability of water and nutrients. In regions where faerzess
is strong, but water and nutrients are lacking, it resembles a shrub-steppe with
more compact bushy plants. Where strong faerzess overlaps with high availability of
water and nutrients, vegetation may be so thick that only small animals and insects
can get through. Thus, larger animal life is most common in faerzic scrubland of
intermediate thickness.

Faerzic Forests
Despite their name, faerzic forests bear little resemblance to the thick forests that
once grew on the surface. Like faerzic shrublands, these forests grow in regions of
strong faerzess. When nutrient availability is very low however, faerzic forests are
found rather than shrubland. Here the flora is dominated by plants such as the
sussar tree, which can completely deplete faerzess for several meters around. Thus,
such forests appear as rocky (or more rarely, sandy) regions with trees growing
every several meters. Some of these plants, including the aforementioned sussar
tree, actually consume other forms of magic as well, generating a region with
effects similar to an Antimagic Field. In forests dominated by such trees, the effects
of individual trees can overlap, creating large regions in which magic largely fails to
function.

Fungal Realms
Regions dominated by faerzotrophic fungi grow in the same kinds of regions that
faerzic forests and faerzic shrubland do, and may be immediately adjacent to or

overlap with such biomes. Regions where faerzotrophic fungi and plants intermix
are surprisingly rare, suggesting the two groups may have some negative impacts
on one another when they grow too closely together.
These are some of the oldest existing ecosystems in the underdark of Cavernworld,
and therefore can show remarkable diversity. In fact, there is evidence that some of
these ecosystems have been negatively impacted by the dimming of the sun, due
to the introduction of invasive species as surface life adapted to the depths. Others
however have only increased in diversity.

Fungal Groves
Fungal groves are dominated by the sponges of common faerzic fungi. Usually these
sponges will form individual or clustered masses throughout the grove, varying
wildly in size and shape. A variety of small to medium-sized fungivores are
inevitably found in these places, and in turn may serve as food for dangerous
predators. Because fungal groves are more open that mushroom forests, faerzic
forests, and some faerzic shrubland, they are the ecosystem that most commonly
features flying vertebrates, usually mundane or monstrous bats.
Occasionally however, the fungal sponge mass may entirely fill a cavern. The forms
of fungal sponge that usually fill caverns have unusually large pores, allowing small
vermin to navigate through them.

Mushroom Forests
Forests of giant mushrooms have always been associated with the underdark, even
before the dimming of the sun (see Faerzess for details on the biology of giant
mushrooms).

Blackwater Wetlands
These are wetlands that formed in the blackwater groves described in Dragon
Magazine #303. Here, water dripping from the ceiling has dissolved soluble
minerals below, creating pools of silt, muck, and intensely mineral-rich water. The
abundance of water, soil, and potentially useful minerals means that virtually all
blackwater groves in Cavernworld are now colonized by faerzic plantlife. Blackwater
groves with large amounts of open water, and in particular those with significant
flow, tend to develop into blackwater marshes or swamps, while groves with little
open water become fens or bogs.

Blackwater Marshes
Blackwater marshes are dominated by grasses, mostly faerzic versions of common
wetland plants like cattail and bulrush.

Blackwater Swamps
Blackwater swamps are dominated by faerzic trees adapted to living in wetlands.
Since faerzic trees deplete faerzess in a large area around themselves, blackwater
swamps tend to be much more open than marshes.

Blackwater Fens and Bogs

In blackwater groves lacking open water or significant flow, the form of faerzic
vegetation most likely to dominate is moss. This mass grows in relatively dry
patches, up walls, and even on the ceiling of the grove, hanging down in great
sheets. This is considered a blackwater bog. If the moss builds up enough to rise
above the water level, it is considered a blackwater fen.

Volcanic Steamforests
These are similar to rainforests, and grow in places where there is both abundant
faerzess and lots of mineral-rich steam from geothermal springs. They resemble
tropical forests in terms of productivity, but have lower biodiversity, with nowhere
near as many specialized species. The latter is partially because they have not
existed as long as tropical rainforests, and partially because they tend to be
somewhat transient, due to shifts in geothermal springs.
Again, because faerzess does not come from any particular direction, the plants in
these rainforests are really closer to massive bushes, leaves growing throughout the
volume occupied by their branches. IN most cases faerzess in these regions is not
strong enough to allow overly dense growth, but it is dense enough to impede
movement somewhat, as in tropical rainforests.

Deep Tundra/Cold Lands/Everfrost

Known by many names, this is the region just below the surface. The terrible chill of
the world above permeates the very stone in the highest reaches of the deep
tundra, and the lack of either faerzess or sunlight means virtually nothing grows
here. The only living things regularly found in these environments are a few fungi
that survive off of mineral-rich meltwater, and some cold-resistant arthropods.
Where open caves still lead to the surface, wind currents may form. These currents
alternate between carrying warmer air up from the deep, and colder air down from
the surface; as such, they are often called the breath of the earth. However, such
open connections between surface and underdark are rare.In most places
connections to the surface world have been sealed. This may be natural, caused by
cave-ins or cover by ice sheets. In other places the seals are intentional, created in
the distant past to try and stem the tide of surface refugees, or more recently to
keep out the few dreaded things that still move above.

It should be noted that while life is life is largely absent in these zones for natural
reasons, these lands also contain occasional magically-maintained recreations of
lost surface environments. Increasingly rare, such places may be inhabited by
organisms otherwise extinct. Such recreations are never perfect however. Whatever
force dimmed the sun seems also to inhibit attempts to create continuous magical
recreations of sunlight. While spells or effects that create brief bursts of what is
effectively sunlight may still function, any attempts to make this light continuous
fails. Thus, these artificial preserves are instead illuminated by other light sources,
such as enchanted luminescent crystals or globes of continuous light. Over the long
ages, this difference has subtly altered the plant-life that grows in such regions, and
other life as well, resulting in what to a knowing observer would appear like washedout versions of the long-gone surface world.

Geothermal Waters
Found mainly in the lower reaches, or in other areas of volcanic activity, these are
rivers and lakes of high-temperature mineral water, similar to that found in
geothermal hot-springs. Conventional fish cannot survive in such low oxygen
environments; especially since most such waters are rich in hydrogen sulfide.
However, some strange bacteria and algae have adapted to use hydrogen sulfide as
a replacement for oxygen. These microorganisms in turn can support larger animals
resembling those found near hydrothermal vents. These rivers and lakes are usually
rich in aquatic life; their lower beds are typically coated with a layer of bivalves,
freshwater barnacles, and other sedentary organisms.

Oceans
The upper surface of the ocean of Cavernworld has frozen solid, and the dim red
light of the weakened sun cannot penetrate this ice sheet. Thus, the seas are utterly
black throughout, lit only by magic or bioluminescence.
Initially, the loss of sunlight killed off most of the high-productivity ecosystems, such
as coral reefs and kelp forests. Survivors of the sentient aquatic races were forced
to retreat into the deep, seeking the oases of hydrothermal vents and cold seeps.
For the most part these refugees were unsuccessful, driven off or enslaved by
already present monsters, particularly the dread aboleths (see Pathfinder Bestiary
or D&D Monster Manual).
Just as it seemed all was lost, the desperate magical transformations wrought by
surface spellcasters reached the ocean, resulting in the creating of faerzotrophic
seaweed, sea grass, phytoplankton, and corals. These organisms proliferated
around the middle ranges of continental shelves, where faerzess from the earth
extended into the ocean. The aquatic sentient races who had not already died out

or been fully enslaved retreated to these new ecosystems, where their descendents
remain today.

Faerzic Kelp Forests and Algal Turf

These ecosystems are found mainly in rocky regions of the open continental shelf
that were deep enough to avoid being frozen over. Their proximity to the frozen ice
layer above makes the water here bitterly cold, but this also allows for increased
levels of dissolved oxygen, making such regions rich with life. A balance exists
between the faerzic kelp forests and the faerzin algal turf similar to that between
their photosynthetic predecessors, but the roles once fulfilled by predatory marine
mammals are instead fulfilled by sentient aquatic races. Where more sentient
aquatic beings dwell is where the kelp tends to dominate, as most races prefer the
increased availability of food provided by kelp forests.

Faerzic Sea Grass Beds

These are found in the open continental shelf, like kelp forests and algal turf, but in
regions with sediment-rich bottoms as opposed to rocky bottoms. Freed from the
need to remain close to the surface, the faerzic sea grass grows far taller than its
ancestors did, tall as the height to which the faerzess extends into the sea from
below. These sea grass beds are actually slightly less diverse than the kelp forests,
despite being just as productive. This is because the beds grow at very different
depths from their predecessors, compared to the kelp and algal turf who have only
moved somewhat deeper. As a result, fewer animals adapted to the light-using sea
grass beds managed to transition to their faerzic counterparts.

Faerzic Coral Reefs and Deep Water Reefs

Faerzic coral reefs are grown by coral polyps whose symbiotic dinoflagellates have
adjusted to using faerzess in place of sunlight. The corals growing in these reefs
combine aspects of extinct shallow water corals with those of deep water corals.
The reefs themselves grow mainly on the slopes marking the transition from
continental shelf to open sea and abyss. The animals inhabiting such reefs are
closer to those found in the (still extant) deep water reefs, as the seas are too cold
for the tropical fish that inhabited shallow water reefs.
Deep water coral reefs have been left relatively unchanged by the dimming of the
sun. They are essentially identical to the faerzic coral reefs, but smaller, and found
in regions without faerzess.

The Open Ocean

The open ocean above the abyssal plain is essentially uninhabitable, and
uninhabited. Even before the dimming the lack of nutrients made life scarce in this
region. Now there is no energy source either; the sun is gone, and faerzess does not
extend out this far from the earth. Little if anything dwells here permanently; most
living things found in these vast reaches are migrating between more favorable
environments.

Hydrothermal Vents and Cold Seeps

At hydrothermal vents, geothermal activity creates plumes of superheated mineral
water emerging from the deep sea floor. These plumes can lead to the accumulation
of minerals, generating stony smokestacks called smokies The chemicals in the
water around smokies feed rich communities of bacteria. Larger sessile organisms
have evolved to either filter these bacteria from the water for food, or even grow
such bacteria in their own bodies as a symbiotic source of food; the famous tube
worms are an example of the latter strategy. These organisms can in turn support
larger predators, including crustaceans and fish alike. Cold seeps are much the
same, but the chemicals in the water come from deposits of natural gas or
petroleum just under the surface, so water temperatures are much lower. Either
community can be identified by the coating of mollusks, worms, and barnacles that
form around them.
Even before the dimming, these environments were nearly unique in being
independent of energy input from the sun. They have thus hardly changed at all in
the new world, especially since the open abyss in which they are found lacks
faerzess for unclear reasons. Most of these places are controlled by aboleths, but
the transitory nature of such ecosystems means the long-lived aboleths rarely
bother to actually build their main communities around such sites, unless they can
guarantee it will last.

Deep Fissures
Here and there in the abyssal plain, fissures cut wider, longer, and far deeper than
any terrestrial canyon. Surprisingly, some of these fissures are permeated by
faerzess, though not all. In those that do have faerzess, one can find bizarre
organisms that evolved to use faerzess long before the dimming. The biomes in
such fissures bear little resemblance to one another; each is an entirely unique and
entirely alien realm.
Those fissures that lack faerzess are largely unchanged save that they may be
slightly more desolate than before, without the rain of dead phytoplankton that
once covered the abyssal plains.

The Surface
The surface is dead. Nothing living can grow here, where there is scarce light,
scarce heat, and no faerzess. The sun is but a large red star in the sky, bathing the
world in dull-red light. The only things that move up here are those that shouldnt.
Terrible frozen undead lay in stasis, appearing as frozen corpses until living things
grow near. Others wander actively in search of ways into the underdark, seeking to
extinguish the heat of other life, just as their own was taken. Ancient golems and
other constructs might be found in frozen ruins, still carrying out orders from
masters long dead.
Some elemental beings may also survive here. Legends tell of cities of Chilblain (see
TSRs Frostburn), creatures who once sought to eliminate all warmth. Now their
communities linger in stagnation, convinced that they have accomplished their
goals, but now unable to find a new purpose. Twisted devotees to icy deities,
granted un-aging bodies by their patrons favor, rule over small kingdoms of
similarly gifted people and creatures; but such places are becoming rarer, those
that remain staving off the end with cold-immune plants grown in artificial light. The
presence of such communities is a large part of why most entrances to the
underdark are now sealed.
Alternately, perhaps the end left other things above. If the dimming was brought
by father Llymic, then he and his terrible brood may yet dwell above, occupied by
unknowable alien designs. Woe to all should they decide to bring father Llymics
infection into the depths but so far they seem satisfied with having extinguished
the light, caring not one way or the other about the lightless warmth below. If it was
the killing frost of ___________, then ______________ himself may have manifested at
some point, bringing unknowable changes. Or perhaps the presence of warmth
below stifles him, and only when his frost overcomes whatever stops it from sinking
into the depths will he truly be victorious.