Complete Dark Forest Concepts

Below is a basic synopsis for my ideas on what would happen in the forest world. I will format it more like Kepler's Complete Desert Concepts page when I have the chance.

Backstory
With the beginning of better transportation technology several years before, settlers crossed over to the forest world in the search of resources. They found them, and have set up a small society in the area as they prepare these resources and the world itself for more inhabitants and for a trading system, once further transportation technologies continue to be innovated. There is one main village settlement, though it does not have to be the only one. In their travels, the explorers also established contact with the dwarves, some of whom are excited at the prospect of being able to assist in this future trade. Several of the dwarves present themselves as vendors to the player in the village, and the others reside on/in the mountain.

Not all of the minifigures are pleased about their arrangement, however, and wish to control the world themselves, without having to work with their superiors or the dwarves. The mutineers come into contact with the Doekkanda, dark, shadowy shape-shifters who hate the dwarves and as such tutor the some of the mutineers in the art of manipulating Acrea's energies, allowing them to increase their abilities. The mutineers call themselves the Knights of the Forest, and largely remain deep in the forest, only coming out occasionally to attack the other minifigures in a plan leading up to the overthrow of the current estabilshment. The Guardsmen Scouts of the settlement do the best they can to patrol the surrounding area, searching for signs of another Knights of the Forest attack or escorting villagers who need to travel away from the guarded settlement, but so far, nobody has been able to launch an attack on the Knights themselves.

Plot/Gameplay Synopsis
The player starts out on the edge of the island, and, after a little bit of walking, comes across a small communications outpost there, established so that the settlement can remain in contact with the hub world. One of the main paths through the forest is blocked by a gate controlled by the outpost, so the player talks with the sole worker there. He is busy fixing some of the equipment after the outpost was attacked by the wildlife, and asks you to help fix the transmission tower as he works on the power supplier. After you finish the quest and he gives you the code, he also tells the player to be on the lookout for not only the wildlife, but also the Knights of the Forest, whom he calls “the bandits”, as they will likely attack the player in the hopes of stealing some of his belongings. Sure enough, as the player goes on his way, they are attacked by the Knights, but they eventually make their way to the main settlement. There, the Guardsmen are fending off some wolves (actually influenced by the Doekkanda) who have been attacking the gates, and one of the guards asks the player to defeat a certain number of these wolves. After the player does so, they receive a reward and information on the location of the secret entrance.

After entering the village, the player does several upkeep missions for the inhabitants. One of the ones I thought of was, after being granted an axe, being sent out to chop down trees for firewood. The axe would be the only weapon used to break the trees that would yield “wood” to pick up. In addition to being part of the mission, wood the player gathers later could be used to craft items. Another mission could be some errand relating to the dwarves. By meeting with them, you could choose to take a break from the village missions and focus on the Korri subplot for a while instead, but more on that later.

After a while, you are sent out on a mission to check on one of the smaller workplaces that is being set up deeper in the forest. First, you encounter some scouts under attack by the bandits, who want to steal some of the resources they have been transporting. One of the scouts is injured, but in stable condition, so the NPCs can remain in the same place all the time with a reasonable explanation: they’re caring for the wounded scout. Finally, you come across the small workplace, which is under attack by the Doekkanda and Doekkanda-controlled wolves on a larger scale than the village was, so the quests you perform there are more action-orientated and involve defending the workers. After this, you are finally told the story of what happened, and you go search for the Knights’ camp. There, you fight the Knights and face off against the boss, the leader of the Knights. He is the main non-Korri boss.

Now, for the Korri subplot. The Inferion have been looking for some artifact buried in the mountain, and have as such came in contact with the dwarves, who live on the mountain and, to a lesser extent, mine within it. You travel deeper and deeper into the mine until you eventually come across the Korri boss. Also, considering the dwarves are engineers, I was thinking that this could be one of the few non-Tier 1 worlds where players have the opportunity to ride the odd vehicle or two. They wouldn’t be very futuristic, but they might look cool.