Beaver
A patient gnawer whose visit leaves a visible mark on the forest.
A brown beaver with a broad, flat tail sometimes wanders along a woodland bank. Most of its time passes quietly between trees and water. Occasionally it stops before a trunk and begins to gnaw. After a while the tree leans, visibly tips over and falls to the ground in a small cloud of dust.
A rare intervention
The beaver looks for clear routes near clean water in the forest. A suitable tree must be reachable; trees close to a nest entrance are left standing. The work begins with an approach and a longer spell of gnawing. Threats can interrupt it. Around Magma and rats, the beaver seeks distance rather than defending its place at the trunk.
When actually struck, the beaver may interrupt its work and defend itself with a bite against the attacker. Serious wounds eventually send it fleeing. Its quiet journeys along the bank do not become a hunt for slimes.
What the forest keeps
A stump remains where the trunk stood; a usable fallen trunk lies beside it. Low vegetation may be crushed beneath it. The deadwood is no separate kind of supply. Undead can use it just like other rotting trunks. This change remains after the animal has moved on. Such interventions are rare and limited: a beaver does not gradually clear the whole forest. It is not prey; should it die anyway, a small carcass remains.
