Once, taboo areas had been either areas of real danger or simply a matter of custom and belief. With the arrival of the spirits to Malatra, taboo areas have taken on a whole new dimension.

The spirits have taken an interest in seeing Malatra thrive and flourish. Ancestral Spirits, Nature Spirits, and Elemental Spirits can now be found all over the jungle. Villages attract ancestral and elemental spirits, as witnessed by the shamans and witch-doctors that converse with them. Places of great natural beauty and power attract many types of animal and plant spirits. Taboo areas attract some of the most interesting spirits of all.

Not all taboo areas are taboo for all people. For example, Dokuba Swamp? is taboo to most of the good peoples of Malatra, except, of course, the Lizardfolk that live there. Yet when an individual tries to enter an area that is taboo for his or her people, the spirits of the taboo area may rise up and try to prevent it. The spirits will not try to prevent the entrance of someone whose people do not recognize the area as taboo.

Taboo Spirits inhabit a locale for one of two reasons. The lesser spirits are there to warn away travelers, the greater to keep out strangers - by force if necessary. Both types may provide information about the taboo area they are associated with. Both may be avoided by a shaman or witch-doctor with skill.