Adventuring in Island Jungles at Night

One of the things that grounds me in the tropical archipelago setting of the Nebulith is the sound of the island jungle. Jungles are different, they look different, feel different and smell different than any place Ive ever been. This is especially true at night ….the nighttime jungle is eerie to the point of being scary at times. And most importantly it is loud, almost deafeningly so. Deep jungles aren't new-age relaxation listening material as Youtube would have you believe.   It is a cacophony of warnings, mating calls, carnivorous hunts and their subsequent kills.  It has strange crescendos and de-crescendos at random intervals all night, every night with the possible exception of typhoon periods.   Here is a small sample I recorded on my cell phone by just stepping outside at 2am.

In this context,  it would be extremely difficult for a character to perceive someone or something creeping-up on them before it is very close, especially if that creeper is adept at moving through a jungle.  Items traditionally used to aid perception often have the polar opposite effect in the jungle.   A fire or torch has multiple unintended consequences: 

1. Illumination and the bright reflection of firelight off of nearby dense foliage (usually moist and damp) renders sight beyond a few feet virtually impossible.  
2. The jungle moves.  Winds, falling canopy water, rain, insects, amphibians, rodents, and larger animals set the leaves and hanging vines in motion causing constant, moving elongated shadows.  
3. Light is a beacon for life.  Light in the jungle attracts things..... like flying insects or far worse, and lot of them….  Things that buzz, bite, sting and swarm; as well as those things eat the things that buzz, bite, sting and swarm! ...like giant spiders, bats, frogs, mongoose and geckos. The amount of insects is only tempered by the amount of smoke (if applicable) from the light source suppressing them. 

Jungle Light and Sound, Effects on Characters

For characters, insects will lower their perception. One simply cannot see or hear effectively through hundreds of various types of insects constantly swarming a jungle light source. Insects are annoying, if not worse, trying to sleep or rest in the vicinity of a night time jungle light is an exercise in futility. And some insects will harass or attack en masse to the point of minor damage upon characters that remain in the same position in the presence of a light source. Lastly, a light source and any associated rising smoke against a canvas of relative darkness will stand out like a sore thumb in the jungle ecosystem attracting larger predators and possibly much worse, people, as it flickers and glows under the foliage viewed from a distance.

Historically in these islands, no one ventures through the jungle at night. Period.   But if unavoidable, it is best to let character eyes adjust and use no light if the path is known; or, use some type of overhead light (mechanical, magical or otherwise) at a distance away from the characters on an as needed basis then douse, proceed cautiously and repeat.  Sporadic use of paper lanterns on the end of a ten foot bamboo pole is one of the best and classic examples.   

If characters must camp, smoldering fires work the best as the smoke will keep the insects at bay and the smoke will dissipate among the foliage and canopy creating a layer as opposed to a distinct plume which will identify a party’s location. 

For the GM

All of the foregoing, I would let the characters discover or deduce for themselves unless they interact with a local NPC and specifically inquire.  Local NPCs traveling with the party will know these things instinctively.  Characters that move, or generate light, or smoke will cause a dead-spot in jungle noise unless practiced at moving in such terrain, but disruption of the natural audio of the jungle maybe preferable as the lesser of potential evils!   

However, the inverse is also true. Things not adept at moving through the jungle will face the same hurdles as the party.  GMs can use the absence of sound (sudden or otherwise) as a warning;  for tension;  or simply as an indicator that something is not quite right.