BY WOLFGANG BAUR, MATT CORLEY, JON SAWATSKY, AND JAMES INTROCASO
BY WOLFGANG BAUR, MATT CORLEY, JON SAWATSKY, AND JAMES INTROCASO
2 Midgard and Kobold Press are trademarks of Open Design. All rights reserved. Product Identity: The following items are hereby identified as Product Identity, as defined in the Open Game License version 1.0a, Section 1(e), and are not Open Content: All trademarks, registered trademarks, proper names (characters, place names, new deities, etc.), dialogue, plots, story elements, locations, characters, artwork, sidebars, and trade dress. (Elements that have previously been designated as Open Game Content are not included in this declaration.) Open Game Content: The Open content in this adventure includes the new monsters in the Appendix. All other material is Product Identity, especially place names, character names, locations, story elements, and fiction. No other portion of this work may be reproduced in any form without permission. ISBN: 978-1-936781-97-3 ©2019 Open Design. All rights reserved. www.koboldpress.com CREDITS Lead Designer: Matthew Corley Designers: Wolfgang Baur, James Introcaso, Ben McFarland, Jon Sawatsky Editor: Kim Mohan Editorial Assistance: Meagan Maricle, Thomas Reid Cover Art: Eric Belisle Interior Artists: Michele Giorgi, Miguel Regodón Harkness, Julia Metzger, Dio Mahesa, William O’Brien, Beatrice Pelagatti, Roberto Pitturru, Addison Rankin, Florian Stitz, Bryan Syme, Egil Thompson, Quico Vicens, Michael Witmann, Alena Zhukova Cartographers: Jon Pintar, Dean Spencer Art Director: Marc Radle Publisher: Wolfgang Baur Special thanks to the designers and editor of earlier Margreve Tales, Tim Connors, Eileen Connors, Michael Furlanetto, Scott Gable, Jonathan McAnulty, Ben McFarland, Richard Pett, Steven Robert, and Dan Voyce.
3 Table of Contents The Old Margreve Gazetteer ............................5 Mood and Mystery .......................................................... 5 Character Status in the Margreve.................................. 5 The Life of the Margreve................................................. 9 Powers of the Margreve ................................................ 10 Customizing the Margreve Experience ...................... 13 Random Encounters...................................................... 14 Margreve Sites, Inhabitants, and Adventure Hooks........................................ 21 Recent History ............................................................... 21 Geography ...................................................................... 21 Hearts of the Forest....................................................... 31 Meadow of Fey Revels................................................... 35 Bluebell Coaching Inn .................................................. 39 Bluebell Coaching Inn map...................................... 41 The Dancing Stones of the Margreve .......................... 44 Magic in the Margreve ..................................... 47 Non-Caster Casters....................................................... 48 The Margreve Spells ...................................................... 48 Hollow................................................................... 51 Adventure Background................................................. 51 Adventure Summary..................................................... 51 Levoča: A Troubled Village .......................................... 52 Before Today .................................................................. 55 Levoča Village map.................................................... 55 Day 1: The Wolves......................................................... 56 Day 2: The Hollow Man Comes Knocking ................ 57 Day 3 and Beyond ......................................................... 59 The Singing Tree ............................................................ 59 New Creatures and Magic Items.................................. 60 The Fingers of Derende..................................... 63 The Finger-Fortress of Family Starless........................ 64 The Finger-Fortress map........................................... 64 The Honey Queen................................................. 69 Adventure Background................................................. 69 Adventure Summary..................................................... 69 Adventure Hook ............................................................ 70 Part 1: In the Forest....................................................... 70 Part 2: Among the Effildawnan.................................... 71 Part 3: In the Honey Cave............................................. 73 Honey Queen’s Cave map ......................................... 75 Concluding the Adventure........................................... 78 New Creatures and Magic Items.................................. 79 The Vengeful Heart ........................................... 81 Adventure Background................................................. 81 Adventure Hooks........................................................... 81 Into the Margreve .......................................................... 83 Finding the Plants.......................................................... 87 Back to Wheedon .......................................................... 87 Conclusion...................................................................... 88 New Creatures and Magic ............................................ 88 Challenge of the Fang ...................................... 91 Adventure Background................................................. 91 Adventure Summary..................................................... 91 Adventure Hooks........................................................... 91 Part 1: Once upon a Time in the Fog.......................... 92 Part 2: The Paths of Gamayun...................................... 94 Part 3: The Belly of the Beast........................................ 98 Concluding the Adventure......................................... 100 New Creatures and Magic Items................................ 100 The Griffon Hatchling Heist ........................ 105 Adventure Background............................................... 105 Adventure Summary................................................... 105 Adventure Hooks......................................................... 106 Introduction................................................................. 106 Part 1: To the Tower.................................................... 107 Part 2: Stealthily through the Still Tower.................. 109 The Griffon Tower map........................................... 111 Part 3: Hatchlings! ....................................................... 115 Part 4: Escape from the Still Tower........................... 115 Concluding the Adventure......................................... 115 New Creature ............................................................... 116 The Tongue of Derende.................................... 117 The Dead Speak ........................................................... 118 Cavern of Whispers map ........................................ 118 Gall of the Spider Crone................................ 122 Adventure Background............................................... 122 Adventure Hook .......................................................... 122 Adventure Summary................................................... 123 Part 1: The Pregnant Woman Upstairs ..................... 123 Part 2: Into the Woods................................................ 126 Part 3: Mavra’s House.................................................. 129 Part 4: Back at the Inn................................................. 131 Concluding the Adventure......................................... 132 New Creatures and Magic Items................................ 133 Blood and Thorns............................................. 139 Adventure Background............................................... 139 Adventure Summary................................................... 139 Adventure Hooks......................................................... 139 Introduction................................................................. 140 Part 1: The Handfasting .............................................. 140 Part 2: A Thorny Problem .......................................... 141
4 Part 3: Kingdom of the Briar...................................... 143 The Briar Palace map............................................... 146 Concluding the Adventure......................................... 148 New Creatures and Magic Items................................ 148 Grandmother’s Fire ......................................... 155 Adventure Background............................................... 155 Adventure Summary................................................... 155 Adventure Hooks......................................................... 156 Part 1: Proper Hunted................................................. 156 Hut of Baba Yaga map ............................................. 159 Part 2: Into the Bush.................................................... 160 Part 3: The Heart of the Matter.................................. 162 The Vodyanoi’s Pool map........................................ 164 Concluding the Adventure......................................... 165 New Creatures and Magic Items................................ 165 The Vengeful Dragon ...................................... 168 Adventure Background............................................... 168 Adventure Summary................................................... 168 Introduction ................................................................ 169 Part 1: A Troubled Village .......................................... 169 Part 2: Hidden Agendas.............................................. 170 Part 3: Into the Heart .................................................. 173 Part 4: Beneath the Oak.............................................. 175 The Legion Oak map ............................................... 176 Concluding the Adventure......................................... 178 New Creatures and Magic Items................................ 178 The Heart of Derende...................................... 182 Heart of Derende map............................................. 183 Lair of the Abomination............................................. 184 New Creatures and Derendian Mutations ............... 184 Appendix: Forest Monsters ............................ 187 Playtesters Circle of Missfits GM: David “CastleDave” Ferguson; Players: Melissa Horadam, Kevin McDonald, Rebecca McDonald, “TBD” McDonald, Karen Tello BattleRealm GM: Zack Holmes; Players: Jonathan Grumball, Micah Holmes, Andy Lamers, Sören Mohrhusen, Devin Zaccardo Cat Herding GM: Adam Etherington; Players: Dan Lamothe, Timothy Major, Robb McGaw, Jacob Rahme, Amanda Schwerdtfeger, Jeff Watson Dead Men Walking GM: Sean Gahagan; Players: Sarah D’Apice, Michelle D’Apice, Christine Deitz, John Mynaugh DnD Role Players GM: SA Bright; Players: Adam, Blair, Spencer, Therai, Will Dragon Ballad GM: Teil Buck; Players: Gabby Andrick, Aaron Donahoo, Eric Heidbreder, Ruwani Kirin, Dylan Lloyd, Eric Salazar From the Gates of Hell GM: Winifred Chiang; Players: Justin K., Tyler R. Girls Like to Battle GM: Clayton Thomson; Players: Fiona Callahan, Lani Frost, Dawn Thomson, Gillian Thomson Glory Hounds GM: Joshua Sterrett; Players: Andrew Cousineau, Sara Davis, JB Little (DroptheDie), David Schwab, Leigh Shull Kindred GM: Valkyn; Players: Dwaine, Jed, Ken, Matthew Lou’s Table GM: Lou Anders; Players: Jonathan Anders, Lou’ Son, Nathan W. Ertel, Heath Robinson, Francisco Rodriguez Lute & Lyre, LLC GM: Janine Hempy; Players: Josh McDaniel, Jason Mollett, Loc Nyugen, Victor Palos, Jason Schwenker Morgantha’s Pie Server GM:Corry Rogerson; Players: Anthony B, Derrick Giselle, John Graczkowski Paul’s Group GM: Paul Wright; Players: Andy, Todd Team Owlbear GM: James Marko; Players: Jake Ezzo, Josi Hausman, Chris Magenta, Michael Mandel, David Van Arsdell The Dead-Liners GM: Garrett Colón; Players: Chris Balboni, Deb Berlin, Max Cushner, Derek DaSilva, Carlos Robles The Endurance GM: Nora Haynes; Players: Rose Acord, Tom Molley, Tony Segui The Last Refuge GM: Eugenio Vargas; Players: Robert Hupf, Karin Nilo, Alex Ward The Vanguard (Knights of Coggins) GM: Jordan Berry; Players: Connor Dea, John Horton, Emma Kennedy, Nick Kennedy, Luke Russell The Zobeck 14 GM: Rich Fraser; Players: Lucy B, Jeff D, Will F, Alex G, Christopher M, Tom W, Tristen World of Harthron GM: William Hart SR; Players: JD Gran, Billy Hart Jr., Dan Hunt, Alex Robinson, Seth Rowley Unnamed Group GM: Angella Coffee; Players: John Archambault, Cliff Coffee, Zack Colbeck, Max D, Eric Peterson Unnamed Group GM: Jeramie Cooper; Players: Kristine Cooper, Catie Ecklund, Kyle Garms, Elizabeth Klitgaard, Lauren Smith Unnamed Group GM: Brian Donnelly; Players: Vladimirledeux, Cosdyn Akers, Christopher “Oak” Caywood, Daniel ‘Alvyn’ Holland, Josh Lorentzen Unnamed Group GM: Melissa Doucette; Players: Erin Dwyer, Sheldon Jenkins, Kevin Mason, Raven Mikhail, Amy White Unnamed Group GM: Jeremy Hochhalter; Players: Bryan Gillispie, Emilie Gunderson, Jaime Will Unnamed Group GM: TJ McKay; Players: Aoibhinn Manak, Jim Semkiw, Zach Sromalla Unnamed Group GM: Tim Rose; Players: Stephanie Botsford, Anna Rose, Jennie Rose
5 The Margreve unsettles the nerves of interlopers, evoking fear and trembling, especially in first-time visitors. It conjures awe and intimidation as the intruder delves deeper. And nearest the heart of the forest, the unsettling feeling of being in proximity to a supernatural or divine “other” is intensified. Most describe this faceless “other” as a dark, sinister presence, but perhaps they are simply not in touch with the natural order of this ancient place. Deep-woods druids cast the Margreve in a brighter, if not wilder, light, describing the supernatural presence as beautiful, terrible, and bestial. They talk of “Margreve” as if it were a living creature with a personality and a will of its own. Religious figures reject the idea that the forest is alive but acknowledge that some great presence lives therein. Worshipers of Porevit and Yarila claim to hear the whispers of a withdrawn aspect of their Green Gods. Others sense older gods, inimical to man and dwarf, brooding in the forest’s vastness and waiting for the age of man to pass. Perhaps they are all right. Even Baba Yaga confesses, “The Margreve came before such recent inventions as gods and spells and names and language.” Character Status in the Margreve The forest is encompassed by an antediluvian intelligence with a personality all its own. Natives know that the Margreve is quick to anger, slow to forgive, and will hold a grudge that passes from generation to generation like a powerful curse. Races, classes, and creature types that have a strong connection to the The hills rise wild, and there are valleys with deep woods that no axe has ever cut. There are dark, narrow glens where the trees slope fantastically, and where thin brooklets trickle without ever having caught the glint of sunlight. … The old folk have gone away, and foreigners do not like to live there … The place is not good for imagination, and does not bring restful dreams at night. —H.P. Lovecraft, “The Colour Out of Space” The Old Margreve Gazetteer The Old Margreve Forest is an ancient place, already old when most of the gods were young. In time immemorial, it cradled the great spirits of nature, and its loam felt the footfalls of the old ones. As millennia passed, its roots swallowed rivers, its canopy stole the sun from vast tracts of land, and its groves crested mountains that have since weathered to hills. In all that time, the Margreve has changed little. Time seems to flow around it, lapping at its edges like the sea around an island. As kingdoms rise and fall beyond its borders, the Margreve remains a world apart—a place where memories and old magic linger in the rings of trees and where new ideas never quite take root. Mood and Mystery Very little is known in the world at large about the Margreve’s interior. There is simply something wrong with the place, something that unsettles the nerves, plays upon fears, and discourages exploration. Too many stories of danger exit the wood, and too many travelers do not. The few adventurers who dare the Margreve’s deep trails return with strange scars, stranger stories, and too few prizes to warrant either. From the outside, the Margreve looks like any Old World forest. In some places it is dark, tangled, and foreboding. In other places, it is sun-dappled and open, like an evergreen palace of towering tree pillars, ivy carpet, and wind-rustled canopy. But there is something more to it. Something hiding behind the wind and the leaves and the trees. Something living and vigilant. A presence that none who stand dwarfed among the trees can deny.
6 natural world are looked upon favorably. Undead, gearforged, and other creatures anathema to the natural order are scorned. The rules presented below offer the GM a more nuanced approach to the guidelines presented under Margreve Attitude for determining how the characters’ actions and inaction ultimately affect their experience in the Margreve. The inhabitants of the Margreve learn quickly that their every move, action, and word are witnessed by the nearly omniscient forest. The Margreve’s ancient and alien presence cares not for social niceties, and the standing of characters in other lands has no bearing there. But in the forest, a character’s status with respect to the Margreve is a critical consideration. Each player character’s status can be determined by using the information below, first to generate a starting value and then to adjust it according to actions the character undertakes. As a rule, status determines which player character most NPCs will defer to; they will address the character with the highest status as the default party leader. Conversely, characters with low status will be treated with suspicion or even outright hostility. While characters are in the Margreve, the forest’s disposition toward them has tangible effects on them too. DET ERMINING STATUS A character’s beginning status is equal to 1d6 + 1 plus the character’s Charisma modifier. That value is then subject to further change because of class and race. For any race not listed, the forest views such creatures either as natives (no bonus or penalty) or outsiders (–1 to beginning status), as determined by the character’s back story. Any class not listed has no adjustment to a character’s beginning status. RACE/CLASS STATUS Alseid +2 Bearfolk +2 Centaur +1 Darakhul –4 Dhampir –4 Elf +2 Elfmarked +1 Erina +1 Gearforged –4 Gnome (Niemheim) –2 Goblin –2 Human (Kariv) +1 Minotaur +1 Piney +2 Ratfolk +1 Ravenfolk +1 Shadow fey +1 Winterfolk +1 Druid +2 Ranger +1 Wizard +1 Cleric +1 Sorcerer +1 Bard +1 Warlock +1 ADVENTURES IN THE MARGREVE Even though all the adventures in this anthology share the dark-forest, Old World theme, each adventure stands alone. They can be played individually or linked together into a sequence that takes the characters from 1st to 10th level and beyond. Three of the adventure sites are interconnected, providing locations and a framework for weaving a common thread into the characters’ exploration of the Margreve. The sites, collectively titled “What Remains of Derende,” are each designed for a different tier of play. The first one, “The Fingers of Derende” for levels 1 to 4 (see page 63), contains background information that applies to all three adventures, including “The Tongue of Derende” for levels 5 to 9, and “The Heart of Derende” for levels 10 and higher. The adventures in this anthology do not typically take into account the powers of the Margreve as described in this gazetteer. Thus, DMs who want to locate these adventures in a standard forest setting can do so without modification. DMs who want to run these adventures in the Margreve are encouraged to review The Vengeful Heart as an example of how to mix the forest’s powers into an adventure.
7 A character’s beginning status fluctuates whenever the character performs certain acts that increase or decrease their status. See the table below for examples. ACTION STATUS Damaging the Margreve –1 to –4 Break a sworn oath –2 Destroy a creature acting on behalf of the Margreve –4 Cast blight –1 Cast horrid wilting –2 An ancestor was an invader of the Margreve –1 to –4 Cast an 8th-level spell +1 Cast a 9th-level spell +1 Save an agent of the Margreve +1 Defeat an intelligent undead of at least CR 5 +1 Protect the Margreve from an imminent threat +1 or +2 Restore a damaged portion of the Margreve +1 or +2 EFFECTS OF STATUS A character’s status with the Margreve, of course, affects how the forest conducts itself in that individual’s presence. Refer to the following table, moving up or down as the character gains or loses status. STATUS STANDING 0 or lower Invader of the Margreve: The forest will periodically (at the GM’s discretion) act to hinder you. The forest is hostile toward you. 1–10 Uninvited Guest of the Margreve: You are largely ignored as the forest monitors your deeds. The forest is indifferent to your presence. 11–20 Guest of the Margreve: You have proven to the forest that your actions will not cause it harm. The forest is friendly to you. While you act on behalf of the Margreve, it might favor you in times of duress. 21–30 Friend of the Margreve: Your actions have benefited the Margreve, and it is friendly toward you. Once per week you can use an action to call upon the forest to aid you. Additionally, while you act on behalf of the Margreve, it might aid you of its own volition. 30 or higher Hero of the Margreve: You have shown time and again that the forest is under your protection, and the Margreve reciprocates by aiding you. Once per day you can use an action to call upon the Margreve for aid. Additionally, while you act on behalf of the Margreve, it might aid you of its own volition.
8 HELPING AND HINDERING The tables below offer examples of how the Margreve might aid or hinder a character. Roll a d12 and refer to the appropriate table, or choose a result. STATUS REWARDS FOR ADVENTURES If you use the rules for status while playing the adventures in this book, apply the following changes as each adventure concludes. Hollow: If the characters prevent any additional villager deaths, they receive a +1 bonus to their Margreve status. The Honey Queen: Characters who come to a peaceful agreement with the Honey Queen receive a +1 bonus to their Margreve status. Characters who destroy the queen instead receive a –2 penalty. The Vengeful Heart: Characters who successfully guide Chairo and the children to Wheedon receive a +1 bonus to their Margreve status. If they also cause Eagehrt to pay for his deeds, they receive an additional +1. Challenge of the Fang: The character who successfully completes the challenge receives a +2 bonus to their Margreve status. The Griffon Hatchling Heist: If Lesharrk’s final attitude toward the heroes is helpful, they receive a +1 bonus to their Margreve status. If her attitude toward them is unfriendly or hostile, they instead receive a –2 penalty. Gall of the Spider Crone: If the heroes rescue Flawn and prevent him from harming himself, they receive a +1 bonus to their Margreve status. Blood and Thorns: If the heroes destroy all the undead allies of Catchweed, they receive a +2 bonus to their Margreve status. Grandmother’s Fire: If the heroes destroy all the Ghost Knights of Doresh, they receive a +1 bonus to their Margreve status. The Vengeful Dragon: If the heroes befriend Mama Cana and secure her aid, they receive a +1 bonus to their Margreve status. If the heroes battle the Heart when it awakens, they receive a –4 penalty to their Margreve status. What Remains of Derende: If the heroes rid the forest of Captain Thoulous and her ghouls, they receive a +2 bonus to their status and may harvest the Tongue with no repercussions. Characters who damage any body part of Derende, except as noted previously, receive a –2 penalty to their status for each part damaged. Friendly Margreve Effects D12 EFFECT 1 You find ample trails, spoor, and deer-sign around every corner. Once daily the character automatically succeeds on a Wisdom (Survival) check to hunt wild game. 2 A stream, brook, or small pond seems to always be just off the trail. Once daily the character automatically succeeds on a Wisdom (Survival) check to find clean, fresh water. 3 The inhabitants of the forest are uncharacteristically curious of you. Wisdom (Animal Handling) checks targeting beasts in the forest are made with advantage. 4 A cool breeze and plentiful shade aid your trek through the forest. Constitution saves to avoid levels of exhaustion due to environmental effects are made with a +2 bonus in the forest. 5 The flora and fauna of the forest reveal their secrets to you. All Intelligence (Nature) checks in the forest are made with a +2 bonus. 6 The forest alters the path to aid you in your journey. While traveling, your party covers an additional 1 mile per hour. 7 The ground always seems to be clear wherever you travel. Difficult terrain does not slow your travel. 8 A branch, tree, or cover is always nearby. Once per day the character has advantage on a Dexterity (Stealth) check to hide. 9 Your steps are muffled by the soft undergrowth and terrain. All Dexterity (Stealth) checks in the forest are made with a +2 bonus. 10 The inhabitants of the forest watch over you protectively. Wisdom (Perception) checks in the forest are made with a +2 bonus. 11 The canopy of the forest extends over your every step. Characters who have Sunlight Sensitivity are never in direct sunlight. 12 There is always a branch or handhold within reach. All Strength (Athletics) checks to climb in the forest are made with a +2 bonus.
9 Hostile Margreve Effects D12 EFFECT 1 The animals of the forest avoid you at all costs. Any Wisdom (Survival) checks to hunt game in the forest are made with disadvantage. 2 Sinkholes, quicksand, and brambles appear in your path. While traveling, your party covers 1 less mile per hour than normal. 3 When given the opportunity to flee or attack, beasts will choose to attack you. 4 Difficult terrain is riddled with brambles that deal 1 piercing damage per 10 feet traveled; succeeding on a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw prevents this damage. 5 Tree branches are out of reach, and rock faces are sheer or choppy. Strength (Athletics) checks to climb in the forest are made with a –2 penalty. 6 Brackish, still water is abundant, and clean water is rare. Wisdom (Survival) checks to find potable water in the forest are made with a –2 penalty. If the check fails by 5 or less, water is still found, but it is tainted. Characters who drink tainted water must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution save or be poisoned for 1d4 hours. 7 Malevolent intent emanates from the forest, putting the character on edge. The character has a –2 penalty on saving throws against fear effects. 8 Shadows and strange sounds are everywhere, confusing your senses. Wisdom (Perception) checks in the forest are made with a –2 penalty. 9 Foliage and objects in the forest move away from you at inconvenient times. Dexterity (Stealth) checks in the forest are made with a –2 penalty. 10 A root is always underfoot. When taking the Dash action, a DC 12 Dexterity check is required or the character falls prone. 11 Biting insects plague the character, making it difficult to focus on fine tasks. Intelligence (Investigation) checks in the forest are made with a –2 penalty. 12 Toxic plants line your path. The character inadvertently leads the party into a patch of poisonous plants. All characters must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution save or be poisoned for 1d2 hours. The Life of the Margreve The Margreve is three quarters location and one quarter magical beast. Its personality, will, and mindset are ancient, bordering on alien. It has perceptions and powers beyond understanding—and often beyond the notice—of those who dare to enter its bounds. It nourishes itself. It defends itself. And it remembers those who have challenged it in the past. It is in many ways like any other creature, with the notable exception that it is the size of a country. Senses: The Margreve feels. Keenly. It enjoys forestwide tremorsense, keen enough to pinpoint the location of any creature and identify it by species. Some say the forest recognizes individuals by their unique footfalls; although this assertion is not true, it spawns from the accurate observation that deep woods inhabitants sometimes “step” like other creatures to protect themselves from the surveillance of the ever-vigilant trees. Inhabitants also worry that the forest “feels” their voices, so secrets are often spoken in whispers while rapping loudly on a tree. The Margreve can indeed recognize individuals— not by their footfalls, but by the blood they spill. The first time an individual bleeds on the forest floor, the Margreve knows of that creature. It tracks such individuals with its tremorsense until they leave the forest. If an individual reenters the forest and bleeds again, the forest “remembers” the uniqueness of that blood and connects the individual’s current activity to the past deeds it has witnessed. Often the Margreve connects newcomers to blood relatives who spilled their blood in the past, perhaps many generations or even centuries before. Those whose ancestors performed dark deeds in the Margreve’s borders feel a great threatening presence all around them. In many ways, the rumor that the Margreve punishes men for the sins of their fathers is correct. During times of intense stress and/or need, the forest may act. The manifestation is largely determined by
10 what will have the most impact on the situation and how the forest views the character. Memory: What the Margreve consumes, it remembers. In addition to recognizing and remembering creatures by the blood they spill, the Margreve absorbs many of the memories and much of the knowledge of those who expire beneath its canopy. To something as old and alien as the Margreve, this knowledge is rarely valuable on an individual level, but it helps to refine the forest’s viewpoint of the individual’s species. Attitude: The forest dreams of ancient times, of the behaviors of long-dead creatures and pre-civilized forest dwellers, just as people dream of idealized crops, forests, or orchards. What the fledgling races of humans and elves call progress, the Margreve considers pale shadows, intolerable deviations into the madness of civilization, and corruptions of the green and ancient state of life. As a consequence, the Margreve considers those behaviors of old to be correct, and incorrect behavior must be pruned. Movement: Like all intelligent creatures, the Margreve knows that the element of surprise provides a great tactical advantage. The forest tends to act when creatures are not looking. Since the forest cannot see normally, it uses its tremorsense to determine when target creatures are still and their heartbeats are slowed. Its activity typically occurs when creatures are sleeping, but it is not uncommon for a relaxed (or drunken) person on watch to hear or notice movement while sitting quietly at a campfire. The Margreve can move paths, add forks, or redirect game trails at will. Explorers who wake in the Margreve might feel disoriented, as if their camp had rotated during the night. Trails that should lead deeper into the forest now lead out of it. Landmarks cannot be trusted. A compass is the explorer’s only friend. The best advice comes from a handful of successful trappers and furriers. “Don’t make any appointments,” they say, “A path may take three days, or it may take a fortnight. It just depends.” Cautious parties go around large, ancient trees on the same side, lest they risk being separated. Night comes early in the Margreve. This is true not only because of the forest’s canopy but because the Margreve can thicken (or thin) it at will. During the day, the Margreve filters the sun’s rays, blocking most before they reach the forest floor and creating an area of dim light centered on targets whose species suffer in such conditions. Vampires and undead travelers experience the opposite effect, as the canopy opens above them and subjects them to the full glare of the sun. At night, the Margreve typically hides the moon and stars, making navigation by celestial bodies impossible and the prospect of getting lost dangerously likely. The exception is for lycanthropes, whose wildness the Margreve favors and from whom the Margreve never conceals the moon. One of the Margreve’s most insidious defenses against interlopers is to starve them. It moves its roots to redirect streams underground and withhold fresh water. It shakes its branches to spook game and withhold fresh food. An old Margreve saying, “Deer and rabbits dance around the starving man,” has been memorialized in wood sculptures whittled by emaciated men and found near their bones. Voice: In addition to the challenges of disorientation and starvation, an interloper must come to grips with the forest’s haunting sounds and voices. The Margreve has the power to listen to vibrations and repeat them anywhere within its borders. It does not understand languages or the meanings of sounds to those who hear them, but it often experiments with the repetition of sounds, and it has cataloged the reactions that species have to various noises. The Margreve might repeat the roar of a mountain lion or the wail of a banshee to scare interlopers into perilous terrain or the domain of a territorial creature. These strange, disconnected sounds have prompted many rumors among neighboring folk. Some wrongly believe that the Margreve has the power to teleport creatures within its borders, which explains why dreadful creatures can be anywhere (Can’t you hear one now?!) and why people get lost inside the forest. Most folk simply believe that the Margreve is haunted. It is, but forest crones know that the sounds the forest makes are not true evidence of that fact. In fact, some listen to the leaves to gather imprecise information about distant areas of the woods. Baba Yaga and her sisters have even mastered a type of clairaudience they can enjoy by stepping into trees or burying themselves next to roots that vibrate with carried sounds. Powers of the Margreve The Margreve has a number of magical properties, most of them equivalent to or similar to spells, that affect how visitors interact with the forest and vice versa. The following descriptions supplement the information given in the sidebar “The Margreve in the Game.” Aura of Rust: Iron and iron alloys rust quickly in the Margreve. Though the effect does not destroy thick blades overnight, the sharpening and replacement cost of rusted axes and saw mill blades make large scale logging unprofitable.
11 Aura of Wildness: A mild aura of wildness permeates the Margreve. Bardic tales counsel travelers to abandon or kill animal companions that grow aggressive under the Margreve’s canopy. In one famous song, a ranger’s cat transforms into a smilodon and spears him with its saber-teeth. In another, a snake transforms into a chthonic creature with horned plates and gliding membranes. Though exaggerated and romanticized, these songs communicate the core truth that, in time, tamed beasts regress to feral states. And occasionally, devolved creatures do emerge from the forest. Animating and Controlling: The Margreve’s ability to move trees, roots, and branches is a very minor and temporary version of its full ability to awaken and control Margreve-born flora and fauna. No one knows the limit of this power. The forest awakens animals to speak and to help travelers, spawns green hussars (see page 100) as guardians, and creates permanent protectors like treants and leshy (see Tome of Beasts) to ward certain springs, runestones, groves, and ley line sites. All serve the forest, and many act as extensions of the forest’s defenses. Some creatures the Margreve does not awaken but merely controls for a time. Stories abound of biting ants invading bed rolls, poisonous grubs spoiling food, and wasp swarms gathering on weapon hafts. The Margreve’s power to awaken and control animals, vermin, and plants transcends death. A dead animal, even one already cooked, animates if the Margreve so chooses. Though rare, such an event has occurred often enough to prompt forest dwellers to ritually bless their food. They have a saying: “Thank the Margreve for your breakfast, for the forest has let you catch it. Thank the Margreve for your supper, lest it rise up and flee.” Reincarnate: The Margreve’s power over death enables it to spontaneously reincarnate fauna, sometimes in the bodies of dead humanoids. Disturbing stories of “the ferals” describe ordinary folk who wandered into the Margreve as people and reemerged with the disposition of a rabid animal. In truth, these unfortunates perished in the wood, and while their souls have passed on, their risen bodies now host the awakened soul of a badger, an owl, or a wolf.
12 THE MARGREVE IN THE GAME The Margreve is not a creature in most respects, and thus it doesn’t have a true stat block. But it does have a suite of traits and abilities that are defined in game terms. SENSES Using bloodsense and tremorsense, the Margreve tracks individuals until they leave the forest. When an individual returns, the Margreve can recognize it again by its blood. Until then, the forest knows only its species. Bloodsense. The Margreve can identify individuals by their blood, when any has been spilled in its environs. Tremorsense. In addition to the normal functions of tremorsense, the Margreve can also identify an individual’s species. TRAITS The very environment of the Margreve has properties that affect objects, creatures, and spells inside its borders. Absorb Knowledge. The Margreve absorbs and remembers the knowledge possessed by those who die on the forest floor. Treat the Margreve’s knowledge of a particular fact as if it had cast speak with dead on the corpse. The Margreve understands any language that has been spoken within its borders. Aura of Rust. Nonmagical ferrous metal objects take a permanent and cumulative –1 penalty to damage rolls each day. If the penalty drops to –5, the object is destroyed. A mending spell effectively repairs rusted objects. Bottles of deer tallow, linseed oil, and other special oils can prevent rusting. Each bottle costs 5 sp and holds five applications. Each application treats an item no larger than a weapon or shield for 1 day. Armor requires two applications. Ferrous creatures take 3d6 damage per week from rusting. Aura of Wildness. Domesticated creatures must make a successful DC 19 Wisdom save once daily or become untamed, as the snap the leash spell (see page 50). Lycanthropes may attempt to assume humanoid form only once per day with a successful DC 15 Constitution saving throw, and individuals with the Wild Shape class feature must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution save to change to humanoid form. Siphon Magic. All spells cast within the Margreve are hampered in some way, as the forest drains some of their essence. See the “Magic in the Margreve” section, page 47, for details. INNATE SPELLCASTING The Margreve’s innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 19, +11 to hit with spell attacks). It can cast the following spells without needing any components. Animate Objects. At will; forest-wide. As the animate objects spell, except the target must be a dead Margreve-born animal, and the effect ends if the target leaves the forest. Animate Plants. At will; forest-wide. As the animate objects spell, except the target must be a Margreve-born plant, and the effect ends if the target leaves the forest. Typically used to redirect or remove paths, add forks, thicken or thin canopy, move branches, and channel or relocate water by moving roots. Awaken. 1/day per square mile. As the awaken spell, except the target must be a Margreve-born plant or animal, and the target serves the forest indefinitely. Charm Person. At will; forest-wide. As the charm person spell, except the target must be a Margreve-born plant or animal—including familiars and vermin—and the charmed target understands the forest’s desire. Reincarnate. 1/day per square mile. As the reincarnate spell, except the target must be a Margreve-born animal, and the new body may be either newly formed (per the spell) or the body of a whole creature that is less than 1 hour deceased. If the target is nonintelligent, the Margreve can awaken it after it is reincarnated. Thaumaturgy. At will; forest-wide. As the thaumaturgy spell. The sound might include speech, and it must be a sound currently being produced somewhere else in the forest. Warp Wood. At will; forest-wide. The forest can cause wooden objects (but not living wood) to warp and bend, effectively rendering them useless. Ranged weapons and ammunition that become warped are ruined, and attacks with warped melee weapons are made with disadvantage.
13 Siphoning Magic: Sun, rain, and soil are the basic needs that must be met for any forest to thrive. The Margreve takes more. It siphons magic from every spell cast within its borders. This effect usually evidences itself in small ways, depending on the spell. For example, when the Margreve feeds on a fraction of the magic of a cure wounds spell, the grass around the spell recipient becomes lush and vibrant. Such “spell marks” last for days and, for those who have learned to read them, can reveal a great deal about the nature and power of the spell that was cast and the events that may have transpired around it. The Margreve wants casters to cast more spells, so that it can siphon more spell energy. The siphoning encourages them to do so, because the spell just cast was not as effective as hoped, and thus the caster might feel it necessary to repeat the casting or try a different spell. When spellcasting visitors are not in great profusion, the Margreve’s few permanent inhabitants provide a base amount of magic for the forest to feed on. The energy is woven into daily rituals, blessings, curses, sacrifices, and children’s rhymes. These cantrip-level spells hold little magic individually, but they are an integral part of every inhabitant’s daily life, repeated at meals, before and after rest, and during many common tasks. The energy from each usage is slight, but provided so frequently that it sustains the forest, much in the way that a whale subsists on krill. Baba Yaga suspects that the Margreve hides “reservoirs” of siphoned spell energy somewhere in the Heart of the Wood. She has yet to locate one. If one does exist, it could hold devastating potential—an accumulation of magical energy collected across a country-sized area over a period of centuries. Customizing the Margreve Experience The degree to which the Margreve uses its powers to intervene against interlopers depends on the mood you want to elicit. A less aggressive Margreve tends to evoke a more mysterious atmosphere, filled with occasionally justified superstitions, unexplained disappearances, strange creatures, and terrifying stories. Fear derives from the unknown, and it is never quite clear whether the Margreve or its inhabitants are responsible for the effects that the characters experience. The Margreve reacts subtly and sporadically. One cannot learn from cause and effect. One cannot trust one’s senses. Perhaps darkness has fallen unnaturally early, or perhaps it is just later than one thinks. With a less aggressive Margreve, the setting is one of ominous foreboding, as much about mystery as about terror. Lower aggression could result from the forest’s relatively slow responses to stimuli. Or the forest might simply not always address concerns as small as humanoid trespassers. With this option, the powers of the Margreve function something like an immune system, designed to deal with trivial invaders without requiring conscious will or much energy. This does not imply that the Margreve does not have a consciousness, but simply that the phenomena detailed above pale in comparison with the true powers of the Margreve, should it ever deign to turn its eye and attention to confronting a grievous assault on its body. To elicit feelings of a major power at play, ratchet up the Margreve’s aggressiveness. Outsiders are never welcome and rarely tolerated. Hostile leshy patrol the borders and thwart casual exploration by thickening the underbrush with vines and brambles. The forest responds to undeterred interlopers quickly and consistently. Stepping into the Margreve demands the same amount of care taken when entering a dungeon. The forest shifts from backdrop to active participant, warping and rusting outsiders’ weapons at critical moments, forcing spellcasters to deplete their power whenever possible, and twisting trails so that they lead toward peril rather than away from it. This elevated aggression might be temporary or permanent. If it is long-lasting, inhabitants and outsiders can, through experience, predict the Margreve’s reaction to their actions, and through trial and error, learn something about how the Margreve works. Feelings of fear and mystery diminish as characters begin thinking of the Margreve as a foe with predictable reactions, which naturally suggest clever tactics and spells to blunt those reactions. The use of obsidian blades can eliminate the problems of warping and rust. Levitating casters can fool the forest’s tremorsense. Until the Margreve turns its full attention against the invaders, an appropriately equipped party, armed with spells to deceive the Margreve, might enjoy a measure of success. Whatever level of aggression you choose, factor in the Margreve’s demeanor toward each character. This allows the characters some control over their environment, and through their actions, the opportunity to temper (or inflame) the Margreve’s aggression toward each of them.
14 Encounters on the Great Northern Road (CR 1 to 4) D12 ENCOUNTER 1 Trees have fallen into the road, blocking it. For travelers on foot the obstacle presents little challenge but would be problematic for a caravan. Something or someone caused the trees to fall into the path. 2 The faint sound of bells precedes a caravan of brightly covered wagons. Kariv crab hunters eye you warily as they pass by. A successful DC 12 Wisdom (Insight) check indicates they are hiding something. 3 Six mendicant travelers (acolytes) are heading away from Zobeck into the forest. Their robes are nondescript, and they proselytize to all they meet. 4 A party of supplicants traveling to Zobeck passes you. The leader, a stern woman (cult fanatic) in muted red robes, appraises the group with a wary eye. A successful DC 12 Wisdom (Religion) check identifies her as a Blood Sister. 5 Wary travelers (passive Perception of 13 or higher) feel that they are being watched from (or by) the forest. The forest is too thick to see much else without further investigation. A pack of awakened wolves (see page 100) are shadowing the party. 6 The sound of powerful wings precedes the appearance of a flight of Griffon Knights as they speed across the sky toward the interior of the forest. Are they descending? 7 A band of children traveling by themselves spot the heroes and rush them, asking for help getting home. The “children” are a mix of halfling and gnome urchins (commoners with Sleight of Hand +2) intent on picking the pockets of travelers. 8 As you walk around a large puddle, its odd shape catches your attention. A successful DC 12 Wisdom (Survival) check indicates the puddle is in fact a footprint of a gargantuan beast. 9 You hear the sounds of a struggle coming from over the next rise. A gearforged cleric of Rava (priest) is being dragged into the forest by a vine golem (page 189). 10 The road slopes gradually downward, easing your journey. Near the bottom of the slope, the forest turns boggy and you hear the sounds of frogs, dragonflies, and other swamp denizens. A clutch of exploding frogs (see Creature Codex) make their home near the edge of the road. 11 An overgrown trail leads off the road. The trail leads to an alehouse drake (see Tome of Beasts) that refuses to leave its home, even though the inn has long since been reduced to rubble. 12 A tiny figure in gem-studded armor flies up to you and demands that you move out of the way, despite the fact that he could easily fly above or around you. His name is Pexl, a chernomoi (see Tome of Beasts), and he is traveling to Zobeck. Random Encounters While characters adventure in the Margreve, it is recommended that you check for random encounters three times a day: morning, midday, and night. Roll a d20 at those times, and on an 18 or higher an encounter occurs. The time of day, party level, and general location will guide you to the correct table; then roll a d12 to determine the encounter. Alternatively, you can choose entries from the tables based on pacing, thematic appropriateness, and personal preference.
15 Encounters with the Fey of the Margreve (CR 5 to 9) D12 ENCOUNTER 1 Four shadow fey (see Tome of Beasts) are canvassing the forest in search of the nest of a peluda drake (see Creature Codex). They’re convinced they are close and would welcome the assistance of a few adventurers. 2 A faded marker appears in a shadowy clearing. The ground is flat, covered lushly, and a middling sized tree grows up from what could be the center of a grave. Two guardian shadow fey (see Tome of Beasts) watch from a distance, ready to intervene if any approach too closely. 3 The character with the lowest Margreve status makes a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw to avoid being tripped by a hidden vine or root. The character can slow to half her normal speed to avoid the check. 4 A beautiful, haunting melody is heard deep in the forest. If investigated, the song leads to a banshee, singing to a bundle cradled in her arms in a darkened corner of the Margreve. 5 An unearthly roar shakes the trees, and shortly afterward you see an enormous beast coming your way. Two shadow fey forest hunters (see Tome of Beasts) have a bukavac (see Tome of Beasts) on the run, and you’re in its path. 6 Five shadow fey led by a shadow fey duelist (see Tome of Beasts) are bored and wandering through the Margreve. The natives have been uninterested in playing, and they don’t last long anyway. The adventurers look much more robust. 7 The smell of rotten eggs leads you to a volcanic vent in a rocky outcropping. The boulders all around the vent are deeply covered in black soot; an ash drake (see Tome of Beasts) has its home here. 8 A watchful character (one with passive Perception of 14 or higher) notices a vine and moss-covered figure partially buried off the path. Investigating, the heroes find the remains of a clockwork myrmidon (see Tome of Beasts) that has been bludgeoned to death. 9 The party comes across a trail of small tracks. A successful DC 15 Wisdom (Survival) check identifies them as belonging to burrowlings (see Tome of Beasts). The tracks disappear into a burrow after a mile. 10 Three awakened trees are looming over a fallen man, their branches raised to pummel him. One of the trees has two gashes in its trunk, clearly from the axe that is just out of the man’s reach. 11 Several deer run swiftly across your path and disappear into the bush. The smell of smoke comes quickly afterward, and you see the fingers of a forest fire spreading out before you. 12 A mated pair of arboreal grapplers (see Tome of Beasts) are getting the upper hand on the party of shadow fey (see Tome of Beasts) that came upon their nest.
16 Daytime Encounters in the Outskirts of the Margreve (CR 1 to 4) D12 ENCOUNTER 1 A dejected and sullen alp (see page 89) walks boldly up to the party, at first demanding and then begging them desperately to help it find its missing cap. 2 Partially wrapped around a tree is the shed skin of a Large snake. A successful DC 10 Wisdom (Survival) check reveals that the skin was shed recently, and if the DC is exceeded by 5 or more you identify the snake as a scitalis (see Creature Codex). 3 The tracks of an animal cross your path and continue a mile before abruptly stopping at a bulbous violet (see page 187). The tracks are too ill-defined for identification, but a successful DC 16 Wisdom (Survival) check indicates they are days old. 4 A flight of three Griffon Knights (each a knight mounted on a griffon) are circling a spot a few hundred yards from your current position. 5 A pseudodragon is searching the Margreve for a master and hasn’t found anyone that meets his standards. He confronts the character with the highest Margreve status and begins to interview her for the role. 6 An old, but well maintained, bridge spans a brook. One shellycoat (see Tome of Beasts) hides under the bridge and a second in the brook. A character can spot a glint of light off the cloak of the one under the bridge with a successful DC 16 Wisdom (Perception) check. 7 A family of bearfolk (see Tome of Beasts) are on a pilgrimage deep into the heart of the Margreve to make an offering to the Bear King. 8 Sutureflies (see Tome of Beasts) suddenly appear. They are so thick that they obscure all vision beyond 10 feet. The sutureflies disperse after 1d4 rounds. 9 The silence of the forest is broken by yells in Dwarvish. Four dwarves and two dogmoles (see Tome of Beasts) are working to open the mouth of a collapsed cave. They’re having a hard time of it. 10 A miremal (see Tome of Beasts) emerges from the shadows and walks carefully forward. His skin is covered in toadstools and moss, and it looks as if he hasn’t eaten in a very long time. He politely introduces himself as Gryzvald and offers his services as a guide. 11 A pristine meadow fills the expanse before you. Marring its beauty are a handful of large mounds. At the top of each is a hole large enough for a Small creature, leading to the home to a tribe of erina (see Tome of Beasts). 12 A small, fiery figure is traveling from tree to tree, setting them ablaze. It is vaguely humanoid, covered in wisps of black smoke and spots of bright red-orange flame. The firegeist (see Tome of Beasts) ignores the characters unless they attack it.
17 Daytime Encounters Deep in the Interior of the Margreve (CR 5 to 9) D12 ENCOUNTER 1 A ray of sunlight shines through the forest canopy, illuminating a tree-like creature with four root-like legs, and a pair of flower “eyes.” The child of Yggdrasil (see Creature Codex) is sunning itself and otherwise placid. Characters succeeding on a DC 17 Wisdom (Perception) check see a trio of tree skinners (see page 196) stalking the child. 2 The path has gradually become more overgrown and covered with vines. The heroes have inadvertently stumbled into the lair of a razorleaf (see Creature Codex). 3 A trio of small ponds, each partially covered by wisps of fog, are grouped closely together. A successful DC 14 Wisdom (Survival) check reveals that signs of local wildlife are notably absent. The ponds are the home of a vallowex (see page 198) 4 Three survivors of a squad of wolf reaver dwarves (see Tome of Beasts) find you. They are lost, starving, and dying of thirst because the Margreve hates them. 5 You surprise a child of the briar (see Tome of Beasts) and it immediately runs away, leaving behind a half-dozen acorn shells full of blood. 6 The air grows heavy with the promise of rain, and you hear the persistent thunderous crash of heat lightning nearby. Characters who follow the sound come across a spark (see Tome of Beasts) emerging from the lightning. 7 A young green dragon is wandering the forest looking for just the right spot to make its home. It’s not immediately hostile and is interested in hearing of other parts of the Margreve. 8 The swirling green form of a wolf spirit swarm (see Tome of Beasts) howls in the distance and pursues the party. If the wielder of Wolf Killer (see page 104) is in the party, it focuses all its attention on that character. 9 Your journey takes you to a dark corner of the forest. The trees are diseased and misshapen, and through the scarce foliage you see a beautiful woman with red skin (a red hag; see Tome of Beasts) worrying at something in her lap. 10 A still lake in an idyllic glen greets the characters after a long day’s travel. The sun is hot, and the water is cool, clean, and inviting. A satiated storm boar (see page 194) sleeps on the bank. 11 A faint glow emanates from the cave before you. The cave is home to two colonies of cavelight moss (see Tome of Beasts). 12 The pervasive sounds of the forest slowly fade to nothing as the characters approach the lair of a qwyllion (see Tome of Beasts).
18 Daytime Encounters in the Heart of the Forest (CR 10+) D12 ENCOUNTER 1 The characters look up and, as if appearing from nowhere, they see a pegasus grazing. 2 Bright Day, one of Baba Yaga’s horsem*n (see Tome of Beasts), is traveling the Margreve with a scroll from Grandmother that contains a message for a red-haired woman born during Harvest Tide twenty years past. 3 A manic kobold trapsmith (see Tome of Beasts) is seeking investors for a venture to capture an ychen bannog (see Tome of Beasts). He’s got schematics and a well-rehearsed pitch. 4 The large nest of an owl harpy (see Tome of Beasts) can be seen high in the trees. The nest contains three eggs, one of which is notably larger, metallic, and has veins of rust in its shell. A DC 18 Wisdom (Survival) check identifies this egg as belonging to a rust drake (see Tome of Beasts). 5 A family of bearfolk (see Tome of Beasts) have sought out and been given an audience with the Bear King (see Tome of Beasts), and the characters have stumbled into it. As recompense for the interruption, the Bear King has a task for them. 6 A vine troll skeleton (see Tome of Beasts) bursts from the forest, immediately attacking the character with the lowest Margreve status. On the following round a duskthorn dryad (see Tome of Beasts) joins the fray, screaming, “Interloper!” 7 The landscape gradually turns marshy, and wisps of fog rise from the ground. A pride of three vapor lynxes (see Tome of Beasts) are hunting the party, and they try to separate the most lightly armored character from the others. 8 A pair of feyward trees (see Tome of Beasts) surround a sinkhole just large enough to admit entry by a Medium creature. 9 A small lake with an island appears before you. On the island you see a solitary tree. The lake is home to a swarm of gerridae (see Tome of Beasts), and they guard it ferociously. The island is a long-dormant dragon turtle. 10 A mound of vines, vaguely humanoid and four feet long, contains the still-living body of a devilbound gnomish prince (see Tome of Beasts) that has run afoul of the Margreve. Did it just move? 11 You see looming cliffs in the distance. A character who succeeds on a DC 18 Wisdom (Perception) check can make out the signs of a roc nest. It is empty. 12 A naina (see Tome of Beasts) in the form of a human crone appears suddenly from behind a tree. She’s looking for a kiss from a chaste divine spellcaster. Grandmother has set her on this quest, and she cannot return until it is completed.
19 Nighttime Encounters in the Outskirts of the Margreve (CR 1 to 4) D12 ENCOUNTER 1 Two mylings (see Tome of Beasts) are playing a game of tag in the woods, and the sounds reach the ears of the character on watch. 2 A tiny ball of light, a witchlight (see Tome of Beasts), floats over the adventurers’ camp. 3 As the sun sets, an obscuring fog rolls in and limits visibility to 15 feet. Growls and shuffling sounds are amplified by the fog and come from all directions. 4 A curious lunarchidna (see page 190) has spotted the characters from its vantage spot in the trees and is waiting until the dead of night to engage them. 5 A character has unknowingly offended the fey. In response, two vile barbers (see Tome of Beasts) have been dispatched to dispense fey justice. 6 The wind changes, and with it an awful stench assails your senses. If the characters investigate quickly, they witness the birth of a death butterfly swarm (see Tome of Beasts) as it consumes the corpse of a fiend. 7 A faint song breaks the silence of the night. A pair of shadhavar (see Tome of Beasts) are following the party from a distance, consuming creatures they have defeated in battle. 8 All magical and nonmagical light sources are suddenly extinguished. 9 Characters on watch must succeed on a DC 12 Wisdom (Perception) check to notice a pair of eyes watching from a distance. For every 2 by which the DC is exceeded, another pair of eyes is spotted. 10 A bewildered young Kariv man with a bloody nose comes into your camp, requesting succor. The youth has been recently possessed by a sap demon (see Tome of Beasts). 11 A kot bayun (see Tome of Beasts) lazes on a tree branch near the party’s campsite. He remains invisible while observing the group as he decides what to do with them. 12 A torrential rain begins with no warning, and the characters are soaked to the bone. If they continue traveling they come across a trail, still dry despite the rain. Nighttime Encounters Deep in the Interior of the Margreve (CR 5 to 9) D12 ENCOUNTER 1 Three ghasts of leng (see Creature Codex) have ventured from their subterranean home in search of fresh meat. The forest has hindered their hunt, and they have begun to fight with one another. 2 Your dreams are invaded by visions of future battles and challenges. Each character gains advantage on a single attack roll or ability check thanks to this foresight. 3 As you’re preparing to set up camp, you find the fresh remains of a pair of wild horses, the only evidence of the recent feast of an elder shadow drake (see Tome of Beasts). 4 A shadow beast (see Tome of Beasts) is barking orders in Umbral to three shadow fey (see Tome of Beasts) as they frantically search the forest. 5 The trail left by the characters has inexplicably changed—they now leave behind the tracks of forest animals. 6 A shadow fey enchantress (see Tome of Beasts) is trapping eala (see Tome of Beasts) for the Queen of Night and Magic. 7 The twisted, cracked face of a weeping treant (see Tome of Beasts) appears in the darkness. As an agent of the Margreve, its disposition toward the heroes is the same as the forest’s. 8 A redcap (see Tome of Beasts) whose hat is drying up stalks the characters, desperate to spill some blood. 9 A herald of darkness (see Tome of Beasts) is exploring the Margreve, looking for a pliant soul to corrupt. She offers boons to whoever will listen in exchange for a promise of future aid. 10 The character with the lowest Margreve status hears a voice spewing insult after insult at her. A likho (see Tome of Beasts) is hiding in the forest, using message for its entertainment. It can be spotted by someone who succeeds on a DC 20 Wisdom (Perception) check. 11 The baying of wolves pierces the night, rapidly comes closer, and abruptly stops. If a character possesses Wolf Killer (see page 104), a hound of the night (see Tome of Beasts) and two dire wolves attack immediately. Otherwise, they watch patiently, hoping their prey comes to them. 12 You come across a mushroom patch in the shape of four large concentric circles. A solitary ruby red mushroom the size of a small gnome stands at the very center.
20 Nighttime Encounters in the Heart of the Forest (CR 10+) D12 ENCOUNTER 1 The Moonlit King (see Tome of Beasts) strolls into camp with a satyr. He produces empty cups for each member of the party and invites you all to share a drink and tell tales. 2 A wraith bear (see page 199) bursts from the forest undergrowth and immediately attacks the characters. 3 A mavka (see Tome of Beasts) and her nightmare steed have been dispatched from Morgau by order of Prince Lucan, and she comes across the characters. 4 An ogre, draped in shadows and holding its decapitated head (a dullahan; see Tome of Beasts), points a finger directly at one of the characters. In a voice so deep it causes your ears to ache, the creature speaks a single word: “Betrayer!” 5 The quiet murmurs of night are broken by a snoring sound so loud it wakens everyone. Following the noise is easy and leads to an elderly man, actually a shapechanged stuhac (see Tome of Beasts), napping in a nest of bones. 6 Sleeping characters dream of their greatest triumphs; but in their dreams the heroes fail at a critical moment, and the consequences unfold before them. Any character who gets a failure on a DC 17 Charisma save wakes up with white hair and gains 1 level of exhaustion. 7 A humanoid figure in voluminous, obscuring rags greets the characters cheerfully. An abominable beauty (see Tome of Beasts) has heard whispers about the character with the highest Charisma, and she wants to judge that individual for herself. 8 Black Night, one of Baba Yaga’s horsem*n (see Tome of Beasts), is traveling with a writ signed by Grandmother requesting a pint of blood from an elven character. If his request is granted by a party member, he might bequeath a boon. If spurned, he leaves without a word. 9 An unearthly roar reverberates through the night. A huge creature can be heard crashing through the forest and it is coming closer. A rampaging gug (see Tome of Beasts) is searching the forest for psychotropic mushrooms. 10 Whispers emanate from the forest in an incomprehensible language from the forest’s past. 11 The emotions of the characters have drawn a fear smith (see Tome of Beasts) to them. He watches from the shadows before making his presence known. 12 A fruit-bearing bush appears in the middle of camp. If eaten, the fruit acts as the berries of a goodberry spell for creatures that the Margreve is indifferent or friendly toward. For others, it is tasteless and unsatisfying.
21 Recent History The Margreve endures while the city-states, duchies, kingdoms and empires surrounding it change. The rumblings and machinations of recent events have had little effect on the forest. The Margreve is a primal wilderness outside the influence of mortals. As such, it could be seen as the board upon which the greatest powers of Midgard play their games. The foolish do not realize that the board too is a player, one with infinite patience and nearly omniscient knowledge of the pieces in play. The Scathsidhe (shadow fey) have been thwarted in their attempts to take the Free City of Zobeck back, but they retain a strong presence there. The shadow fey look to rekindle alliances, restore lost strongholds, and reestablish their claim to the Margreve. In the Blood Kingdom, King Lucan and Emperor Nicoforus have solidified their alliance and directed their forces to conquer Krakova. The Red Goddess of Marena sent disturbing visions to her priestesses, spurring even more bloodshed in her name. They see the Margreve as the final obstacle in their expansion into Zobeck and Magdar. The internal machinations of the undead continue to develop, as many hope to capitalize on recent developments. Nikolai Savitch’s rise to leadership in the Black Cauldron of Chernobog has been felt as far south as the Margreve. The Margreve is at the center of the complex and contradictory relationship between his lord and Baba Yaga. Geography The Margreve is a sprawling, trackless forest of 32,000 square miles. Mountains, hills, rivers, and swamps contain and snake through a vast wilderness of old growth and dense underbrush. The River Argent forms the Margreve’s winding southern border, which separates the forest from the Free City of Zobeck and the Ironcrag Cantons to Zobeck’s west. The Dwarven Cantons and the Grisal Marches lie to west. In the north, low mountains separate the Margreve from the undead kingdoms of Morgau and Doresh. In ancient times, the Cloudwall Mountains formed the Margreve’s eastern border, but the trees have since crested the mountains’ spine and the southern Black Hills extension. A full third of the forest (over 10,000 square miles) now lies east of the Cloudwalls, flowing down toward the open steppe of centaur territory. West of the Cloudwalls, the Great Northern Road divides the other two thirds of the Margreve fairly evenly. This wagon-wide road, running north from Zobeck to Castle Valach, is the only trail known to proceed from one side of the Margreve to the other. THE GREAT NORTHERN ROAD “Ol’ Mikhail, a family man, took the Old Margreve’s trees. So the Old Margreve took his family and brought him to his knees. Ol’ Mikhail, a vengeful man, embraced his ax and pain. As it had his heart, he vowed to cut the Margreve in twain.” —The Legend of the Great Northern Road The Great Northern Road stretches some 200 miles from Zobeck to Castle Valach, on its way to the city of Bratislor in the north. High overhead, the branches of flanking trees reach for each other, turning the road into a long tunnel with a tall gothic arch. Some sun reaches travelers on the road, but night falls early even in high summer. Due to boggy, rocky, and overgrown stretches, travelers frequently take a fortnight to traverse the road’s full length on foot. Riders typically make the trip in 8–10 days if they pull no wagons. Coaching inns, spaced 1–3 days’ travel apart, offer travelers a respite from beasts and weather. Though snow and cold challenge winter travelers, the road’s condition is affected most by meltwater, spring Margreve Sites, Inhabitants, and Adventure Hooks
22 rain, and mud. Coaching inns are either closed or not prepared to cater to travelers during this time. Merchants who are willing to risk traversing the Great Northern Road before the annual road opening festival in Zobeck can expect tough going, both in terms of terrain and hungry creatures emerging from the deeper hollows. ROAD TRAVELERS AND SECURITY The northern road is the only passable route to the rich cities of the Red Queen and the undead princes of Morgau and Doresh. As the second source of wealth for the city of Zobeck—the first being the River Argent— the Great Northern Road sees its share of travelers. The traffic of dwarf muleteers, Kariv gypsies, and Zobeck traders keeps the path from growing over. It falls to the traveler to clear trees that storms throw across the road. Creeks to provide water for abound, but superstitious travelers burden themselves with water drawn from outside the forest. Boggy sections of the road claim a cart or two each year, and rocky sections can cripple wheels, hooves, and ankles. It is not an easy road to travel, certainly, but there are no dwarven tolls or the risk of centaur banditry on it either. Small caravans of Kariv trundle along the road more frequently than any other merchants dare. Each train of four or five wagons, painted with wards and sigils, carries a trickle of goods and what pass for luxuries. Somehow, more wagons arrive in Zobeck than a traveler heading in the other direction would pass. Some claim that the Kariv have entered into a bargain with the shadow fey, allowing the gypsies to travel along a shadow trail that runs parallel to the road. Others say that Kariv witches can make their most valuable wagons invisible to conceal them from bandits. Either fact could be true for folk as canny and ambitious as the Kariv. The Order of the Griffon Riders in the city of Zobeck takes responsibility for security along the road. The order often hires auxiliaries and irregulars for clearing out nests of bandits. Merchant houses also pool funds to buy additional security for the first mule train of the season. GRIFFON TOWERS AND COACHING INNS Many years ago, House Stross constructed twelve Griffon Towers to defend its fortunes. Eight of them were spaced evenly along the Great Northern Road to guard its full length. Four more were constructed in the woods to guard hunting lodges, mines, or powerful wellsprings of magic. Most people assume that the towers got their name from the griffon blazons carved in their walls, but that is merely the mark of the Stross border guards. House Stross built the towers as watch stations for its griffon riders, an elite company of couriers and shock cavalry. The parsimonious council of the Free City has done away with that tradition in recent years, so now the Margreve griffons run wild. A top predator along the forest road, they pose a constant threat to caravans and mule trains. The griffons come in both black and speckled varieties, and knowing the difference can prove critical. The griffons are more aggressive and very fond of horseflesh; some claim they are faerie steeds. The speckled ones are shy, tameable, and might serve as animal companions for suitable characters. With the disbanding of the griffon riders, the abandoned towers fell into disrepair. In spring, feral griffons nested in them, and in summer and fall, travelers took shelter behind their thick stone walls. The Free City Council saw the opportunity to make coin and sold the heavily reinforced strongholds to enterprising businessmen, who turned them into coaching inns. These combination hostels, stables, and resupply centers double as trading forts for wagons meeting mid road. Though these coaching inns inherit stalwart defenses from their days as Griffon Towers, the Margreve remains a dangerous place to live and work. The inns change hands frequently. At any given time, there is a 10 percent chance that an inn that bustled with trade wagons last season now sits empty, has new “owners,” or is occupied by a nightmare creature from the Old World. THE RUINED GRIFFON TOWER Between Ol’ Mikhail’s inn and the Witch’s Teat inn lies the burned-out ruins of an inn whose name no one recalls and whose walls no one dares rebuild. It sits in a logistically awkward spot for those who fear the sounds that escape it during the night, for it rests midway between two other inns, precisely where travelers and their beasts of burden would need to rest. Adventure Hook. His Excellency Ambassador Glaninin Thelamandrine wants to restore the Griffon Towers and establish new ones. Before he can make much headway, he needs someone to clear out the current occupants. THE EYE OF THE FOREST COACHING INN This inn marks the midpoint of the Great Northern Road and is a hub of activity as wagons meet from both directions to trade and share news. Compared to the other coaching inns, the Eye of the Forest is quite civilized. Defended by a full-time retinue of experienced military men and managed by Zobeck natives, the inn feels out of place, seemingly mocking of the backward wilderness that surrounds it. Years
23 ago, the owner discovered a tangled clearing just off the road, where the forest had reclaimed a burneddown cottage. In the midst of the charred ruin stood a large brick oven. The oven now sits in the Eye of the Forest’s common room. The owner keeps the oven’s cast iron door slightly ajar, and many a traveling child has creaked it open with curiosity. Inside lies a sweet reward and a blackened skeleton—the remains of a human female, hunched and shrunken with age. THE SHADOW SISTER INN The Kariv tell a campfire tale that has caused many travelers to press their tired horses past the Forest King inn at the road’s northern end. The inn’s gnoll owner claims that the Kariv invented the tale to hurt his business, but the Kariv swear the tale is true. “Step from the Forest King inn at midnight,” the gypsies say, “and squint your eyes at the moon-kissed mists of the Eastern Margreve. Do you see the Shadow Sister inn standing in the trees? Do you see the mist pour from its chimney? Do you see the shadow man squinting back at you?” FOREST FEATURES Although traveling the Great Northern Road can be risky business, only fools and heroes branch off into the wilderness. Beyond the unnatural creatures that lurk in the underbrush, natural hazards and tough terrain abound. Crevices and bogs cradle skeletons of the hapless. Razor thorns slice skin and leather. Rocky outcroppings hide dire bear and dire boar dens. Carnivorous plants lie in wait, and poisonous pollens send their mist into the wild. Poor weather and limited visibility exacerbate the treacherousness. Rain triggers suffocating mudslides. Snow buries landmarks. Lightning storms strike armor-clad travelers, and blizzards block passes, cripple sight, and freeze limbs. Those who survive the Margreve’s dangers return with incredible tales and bragging rights. They speak of mountain trees that grow upon each other, merging acre-wide groves into a single tree of mythic proportions and unbelievable height. They speak of
24 titanic caverns where creatures have built cities between colossal roots that dangle from the ceiling. And they speak of old places, alive with ancient memories that whisper and plead. INTERLOPERS AND INHABITANTS The intolerable taint of neighboring lands hems in the Margreve on all sides, occasionally bleeding into the forest in the form of woodcutters, interlopers, and villages. The Margreve slowly and silently swallows many of these visitors. Lumberjacks and traveling companions seem to wander off and disappear. Ghost towns of palsied cottages lie abandoned and overgrown in the forest fringes. Few survive to testify to the Margreve’s methods. Most interlopers simply get lost and never return to civilization. Others become servants of the wood, new creatures with the faces of loved ones standing at their relatives’ windows. Despite the intolerance of the Margreve, a few scattered permanent settlements do exist. The people of these backwater villages have a complex symbiotic relationship with the forest. They respect the forest’s power, honor the covenants of their forebears, and observe, what people now call the Old Ways. Few outsiders have ever seen these inhabitants, for they rarely leave the woods. But some gypsies and rangers do carry intriguing stories back to campfires and public houses. PINEYS In over 30,000 square miles of forest, only four human villages are known to exist. Most of their insular inhabitants, known as pineys (see page 192), live out their lives without ever venturing beyond the shade of the forest’s clinging boughs. One or two elected individuals, commonly defilers of the Old Ways, conduct the village’s infrequent business with outsiders. These villagers emerge from the woods at coaching inns to trade for salt and other rare commodities. Except for these excursions, few outsiders have ever seen a piney in person, for the forest folk come and go as quickly as possible, often in the middle of the night when fewer civilized folk are about. Some coaching inn owners describe pineys as “disturbing to view” with their oversized eyes and ears. They say that pineys stare at your heart and never blink. They say that pineys’ large eyes and awkward mannerisms stem from living deep within the dark forest for generations, or possibly from interbreeding with fey or darker powers. Gypsies retell stories of the discovery of piney skeletons with strangely twisted limbs that no human should have. Perhaps they are just poor, inbred souls slowly degenerating in form and function. Or perhaps something sinister does transpire in those hidden villages. THE OLD WAYS To outsiders, a piney’s life is a mysterious one, filled with strange sayings, regimented rituals, and daily traditions that seem superstitious and backward. If a person wants to live in the Margreve or even wander it safely, he or she must learn how to feed the forest with rhyme and ritual. Only this is not how the inhabitants think of it. Their rhymes and rituals are merely “the Old Ways,” passed down from generation to generation. To Margrevians, the Old Ways have spiritual connotations, habitually observed and rarely shared with outsiders. Characters who endeavor to learn the Old Ways quickly find themselves participating in the mood and traditions of the forest. The forest’s permanent inhabitants believe in countless superstitions and traditions, all representative of the Old Ways. The details vary wildly from place to place, but a few of the practices have adherents throughout the forest: • Margrevians open the eyes of their dead, lest the deceased wander lost and angry through the wood, unable to find their way to the afterlife. • Sinners confess their transgressions by cutting themselves and dripping their blood upon the thirsty forest floor. • A bloodless person cannot pass to the afterlife. Consequently, the dead are never buried, lest the roots exsanguinate them before the souls can reach heaven. • One of the greatest punishments is to be buried— dead or alive. Revenants of the buried haunt the Margreve. Every dawn, they return to their graves, and the root wicker cage that was once their circulatory system. • Any manufactured structure built without sacrificing blood to the forest shakes itself down upon its owner. • In a year’s time, treants grow from those dead who have commended themselves to the forest with sap, seed, and ritual. • There are places in the forest that give or take youth, but only the unborn and the dead can find them. • Margrevians extinguish torches before midnight. This practice is related to a far older tradition: Margrevians do not permit white moths to gather, lest a mora (witch) hide among their number. • If you count butterflies one less than your group’s number, one of you will die. • A common belief is that an evil creature is born every time a “civilized” man enters the woods.
25 • Margreve beasts must never leave the forest as tamed companions of outsiders, lest the beasts become infatuated with “civilization” and become half-men, the abominations that outsiders call lycanthropes. • If you nail the skin or hair of a sick person to a tree, the tree will absorb part of the disease and lend its strength to healing the illness. • Every year, Margrevian kin, friends, and lovers celebrate the upcoming spring by giving each other blood-dyed pieces of thread. Each wears the thread until a tree signifying their relationship blossoms, whereupon the bearer drapes the thread across the blossoming branch. It is an ill omen if the tree never flowers. • Every plant has a theme, a power, and a purpose. Flowers tend to be beguilers, and that is perhaps why outsiders are so fond of them. True power lies in leaf, stem, and root. • Salt is incapable of holding magic, and makes an excellent ward against magical creatures, enchantments, and curses. Margrevians who hear rumors of salt-encrusted springs are like gold diggers hearing of a new vein. Salt is one of the few reasons that Margrevians emerge to encounter merchants along the Great Northern Road. WESTERN MARGREVE The Western Margreve represents the one third of the forest that lies west of the Great Northern Road. Here, old growth trees and dense underbrush predominate. Line of sight ranges from 30 to 60 ([1d4 + 2] × 10) feet. The primary canopy is unnaturally thick, and the environment on the floor is perpetually dim or dark. The terrain is fairly flat, with the exception of the perch of Castle Shadowcrag in the center of this area and the rise of the Dwarven Cantons off to the west. Numerous streams meander down from these higher grounds and stagnate in small lakes that dot this side of the forest. In many places, the multitiered dense underbrush make the forest impossible to traverse except by canoe. The Western Margreve is the oldest section of the forest, and the least densely inhabited. No known human communities exist. But less than a day’s journey into the fringes of the forest, evidence of numerous failed settlements hide among the trees. Decrepit structures slowly weather and collapse, and vines overrun statues and stone arches. The Western Margreve is defiantly wild and actively resists habitation. Here, villages fail and individuals struggle to survive. The head of the School of Star and Shadow Magic at Zobeck’s Arcane Collegium claims that shadow magic threads through the trees of the Western Margreve. He points to the magic woven at Castle Shadowcrag, the shadow fey that still emerge, and the midnight echoes of baying hounds of the night (see Tome of Beasts). He discourages anyone from entering the Western Margreve without first learning fundamental shadow magic and undertaking lessons he teaches at the Collegium. Lesson One: Never discount Margreve superstitions, especially those about shadows and death. When a Margrevian says, “Never sleep against a tree’s west side, lest its morning shadow swallow you,” best take heed. BRIARBLACK HILL A field of baby’s breath surrounds a hill covered in jet black buds and briars. Few have ever seen the place, but legends say that a mighty battle once took place in the sky above it. A dozen ala (see Tome of Beasts), wicked spirits of lightning and pain, brought down an elder zmey, a multiheaded black dragon of lust and dominance. The great creature crashed to the ground. Thanks to happenstance and a magical wellspring on the site, the dragon’s corpse never completely decayed. In time, soil covered it, forming Briarblack Hill. Adventure Hook. A magical wellspring with powers of rejuvenation does indeed flow beneath Briarblack Hill, but it is not quite the fountain of youth that the characters seek. Wait ... did the hill just move? CASTLE SHADOWCRAG Perched on a hill, commanding a panoramic view of the Western Margreve, lie the ruins of Castle Shadowcrag. The dwarves of Clan Grimbold stayed at the castle for a spell. And certain unnamed wizards and cultists visited them from time to time, to purchase things best not discussed. Likewise, fighters seeking weapons forged of starmetal or pure shadow often made their way to the Grimbold dwarves, paying steep prices for weapons and armor not available anywhere else. Adventure Hook. The dark magic infused into weapons, armor, and wondrous items created at Castle Shadowcrag is fading, and the wizards, cultists, and fighters of old are drawn en masse to Shadowcrag to renew them. In fact, the fading magic is all the ploy of Stross shadow fey half-breed ghosts who extort the gathered magic items’ owners into advancing the ghosts’ plot to take revenge against Zobeck, the city that was once theirs.
26 GENEZEK KRAJ RUIN Little remains of the temples of Genezek Kraj, except for legends of relics and an archipelago of ruined stone arches rising from a sea of underbrush. Hedge witch Vara’s flock of thirty wereravens roosts on the arches and in treetop hovels whose entrances face the sky. This “roost” is also home to several varieties of lesser blackbirds and ravens. Adventure Hook. A forest crone rewards the characters with a map that leads them toward the fabled relics of Genezek Kraj. It directs them to the grove of arches, up the trees, through the wereravens’ lofty hovels, down through hollow trunks, and into the ancient temples’ buried chambers. Perhaps the characters can defeat the traps and guardians that the “forest crone” Vara could not. She and her flock wait topside in ambush. MINERS’ LAMENT In the Western Margreve, any magics that detect or divine the presence of metal or minerals point to Miners’ Lament, a dry gulch nestled along the southwest edge of the forest. The place is a veritable treasure trove of raw ores. Embedded bronze nuggets glow at sunset, and new rain exposes pockets of uncut opal and veins of gold. The first dwarf excavators rubbed their hands in glee, eager to lay claim to the bounty that lay at their feet. But the moment their first pick struck, the walls of the gulch hemorrhaged a great red torrent of clay, mud, and magic that buried all. Some say the gulch turns greed, blood, and bones into the very precious metals that it uses to lure the next victims. In truth, the gulch is the Western Margreve’s cesspool, where the forest channels the dregs of siphoned magic. The forest is incapable of using up siphoned magic completely, and some spells—such as those that deal force damage or radiant damage—leave trace amounts of magical “ash” behind. As this ash flows toward Miners’ Lament, precious metals absorb some of it as they too are swept into the gulch. Few have ever claimed any such “treasures” from Miners’ Lament. Adventure Hook. The Western Margreve’s cesspool reaches deep into the earth, and its corruption has begun to affect creatures above and below ground. Malignant earth elementals and creatures that can only be described as walking spells make their way toward Zobeck’s outlying farms. The Margreve parts trees and foliage to let the creatures pass. It is more than happy to watch its magical refuse show itself out. PARIYA The “leper” colony, of infected intelligent undead that fled Morgau a decade ago has, against all expectations, survived to form a small hamlet in the northwestern edge of the Margreve. Their contagious radiant energy illness is a clear and present danger to their former masters in the Grand Duchy. Their existence is known only to King Lucan and select advisors. Should it become more widely known, the Grand Duchy’s position of dominance would be greatly weakened. Adventure Hook. King Lucan’s efforts to destroy the colony have all been rebuffed by the Margreve, and he has been forced to pursue a different approach. A single priestess of the Blood Sisters has been dispatched to recruit a group of heroes to find and destroy the hamlet by any means necessary. If the heroes discover the truth, they will have knowledge that King Lucan and many others would kill for. UNDEAD AND THE NORTHERN SWAMPS Zombies, skeletons, and other mindless undead prowl the northwestern edge of the Margreve. Centuries past have seen countless battles in the swamps, and the ground is littered with the remains of those that fought there. Adventure Hook. The Black Canton dwarves have noticed a change in the behavior of the omnipresent mindless undead and enlist the aid of adventurers to seek out the source. They believe, incorrectly, that Lord Fandorin is behind the changes. The heroes learn that worshipers of Chernobog are using the fertile grounds to establish a base for further incursions into the Forest. CENTRAL MARGREVE The Central Margreve is the third of the forest that lies east of the Great Northern Road and west of the Cloudwalls. The underbrush is less twisted and dense than in the Western Margreve, the canopy is not as thick, and the forest floor is not as dark. Line of sight ranges from 50 to 120 ([1d8 + 4] × 10) feet. Pine, spruce, cedar, and other coniferous trees and shrubs dominate the northern portion and fill the valleys between the fingers of the Cloudwalls. Needles, pine cones, and ferns carpet the forest floor. In the south, deciduous trees dominate, dropping their colored leaves and seeds upon a floor thick with detritus, creeping ivy, and night blooming flowers. A contagious wildness permeates the Central Margreve, and the place smells of cedar and musk. Malefic beasts and rabid animals are common. In general, the forest seems more alive than the oppressively dark Western Margreve. In the Central Margreve, Spider Crones spin tales and proffer poisons,
27 rusalkas (see Tome of Beasts) drown men in their arms, and leshy (see Tome of Beasts) erase trails and imperil interlopers. Old World magic throbs with power. The uncontainable spells of Baba Yaga and her sisters hide in the hollows and chase each other through the trees. ARMIGER WOOD In the crook of Grandfather’s Tears lies a stretch of forest where rusty armor girdles the trees, as if a regiment of warriors had been transformed to gnarled wood or saplings had sprouted within suits of discarded plate. Forest goblins sometimes run through here beating on their tarnished breastplates like drums, a sure sign that they are whipping themselves up to cause major trouble. Despite years of such abuse and layers of rust, the armor shows no sign of falling apart. Adventure Hook. The residents of Whistlehollow Village, south of the Armiger Wood, recently experienced a sort of enlightenment, a vision of life not predicated on superstitions. They expelled their old puritanical leadership in favor of the new ways. The exiled leaders are returning to take revenge, and they are not alone. As the vengeful druids of old once did, the exiles have animated many of the trees in the Armiger Wood, creating raving treants with a level of barbarian and a distinctly un-treelike blood lust. CRADLE GROVE The hearty maple trees in this part of the forest feature giant burls at their bases. A natural depression on the top gives each burl a basin shape, and the formations collect rainwater as it runs down the trees. Villagers from nearby Ulchik Village ladle out the water and pour it over newborns in a forest baptism ceremony. Babes dedicated to the forest are left overnight in the burl cradles, defended only by the great trees. On nights of the full moon, as many as seven babies might be found lying in Cradle Grove. Adventure Hook. A party of powerful do-gooders “rescued” three babes from Cradle Grove, committed them to an orphanage in Zobeck, and then disappeared on some promising new adventure. Terrible tragedies erupt around the children. People die. The characters must discover where the “unlucky ones” came from and take them back safely to Ulchik Village. The orphanage is anxious to see the babes go, especially the one with the white pupils. DARKBUD MARSH A sacred species of lily-of-the-valley grows in a marsh beside the River Argent. When this flower, appearing like a chain of tiny white bells, is picked, it does not die. Instead, its buds blacken and wither when touched by sin, disloyalty, and deception. Margrevians respect this flower that sees into the heart, but outsiders have no such compunction. Some courtiers and rich merchants have begun sewing the blossoms into their cuffs as an ostentatious display of their purity and honesty. Of course, such individuals have the coin to replace the rare flower when it blackens. Forest folk worry that outsiders will harvest the darkbud to extinction, a troubling fact in light of their belief that the flowers absorb the evil proclivities of the forest, and as the flowers’ numbers dwindle, the dark side of the forest slowly emerges. Adventure Hook. Spent and blackened darkbuds, smelling of rotting meat, quickly draw rats, dogs, and other carnivores. Creatures that eat the discarded buds see the black hearts of those who divested their sin into the flowers. All over Zobeck, such animals are turning on their masters. It is as if the animals are seeing their deceptive, perfidious owners and companions for the first time. FIVE WAGON OAK The largest oak south of the Pine Bogs once grew on the southern edge of the Central Margreve. But an enterprising family of retired loggers chopped it down, cleared the surrounding land, and built an entire farming community out of its wood. The community is gone now. All that remains on the overgrown site is a forlorn windmill, covered in vines and moss. The creaking of the mill can still be heard in the dead of night, but the wheel has not turned in a century. Those who hear the sound slowly lose their minds. Some messengers following the Argent’s southern bank toward Zobeck have drowned themselves in an attempt to escape the terrible creak by submerging themselves. Adventure Hook. Too many messengers from the East are not showing up in Zobeck as expected. The latest one to go missing carried crucial documents. The Free City, suspecting bandits or dangerous creatures, sends the characters to investigate and neutralize the threat. The heroes discover a thriving farm at Five Wagon Oak—but none of it is real, except for the old windmill. Inside it lie the hollow shells of the messengers, which now house rats. The characters do reclaim some documents, though —documents they never should have seen.
28 THE FOGROLLS Along the southern edge of the Margreve, hot water bubbles up from the swampy ground. Mud fields, each deeper than a man is tall, swallow unsuspecting and unprepared travelers. The hot water heats the air, and convection carries the warmth toward the River Argent. Throughout winter, a dense fog bank forms over the water and rolls over the surrounding land, cloaking fields and hanging in the forest for miles. Even at high noon, visibility is limited to a few handspans. Adventure Hook. While traveling along the River Argent in late fall, the characters and a group of Kariv gypsies wake to a bitterly cold morning shrouded in mist. Fog shadows haunt the Fogrolls, calling to worried Kariv parents in the muted voices of their lost children. Unlike regular shadows, fog shadows are dark gray, have a soft, three-dimensional quality, and feed on fear in the manner of will-o’-wisps. GRANDFATHER’S TEARS In the center of the Central Margreve, cedar water flows out of the Pine Bogs. Farther northeast, fresh water trickles down the Cloudwalls, gathers at Splitoaks Crossing, and creates a fast-moving river that meets the slower tributary through the Pine Bogs at Three Sisters Lake. The lake overflows into an artery called Grandfather’s Tears, which emerges from the Central Margreve near Levoča Village and joins the River Argent heading south. Where the Western Margreve uses Miners’ Lament as a cesspool for the dregs of siphoned magic that the forest cannot completely burn, the Central Margreve washes its magical ash away. Strange and terrible things, dead and alive, float out of the forest in Grandfather’s Tears. Over the millennia, trace magic has accumulated on the riverbed and infused the river water like salt. At night, the rocky riverbed glows with a faint blue luminescence. Dead organic material rots quickly when submerged. Wooden boats and oars decay quickly, making river travel nigh impossible. Aquatic wildlife have adapted to breathing and swimming in the tainted water. Because the river removes protective layers of dead skin and scales before wounds have the chance to heal and new skin grows underneath, many species have developed regeneration (1 hit point per round) to compensate. Those who have superior healing abilities survive and breed themselves to the top of the food chain. Fish, eel, and frogs grow patches of horny plate instead of skin or scales, and many appear as devolved as the horseshoe crabs that skim the river bottom. Forest denizens that habitually eat these creatures or slake their thirst with the water of Grandfather’s Tears appear equally changed. Adventure Hook. Tin-bottomed boats and living vessels, like the canoes grown at Edgewater Village in the Eastern Margreve, are the only watercraft capable of surviving the rot, fighting the current, and carrying the characters upstream along Grandfather’s Tears. Getting to Edgewater, one hundred miles into the Margreve, is the hard part. MOONDRAWN CAVES A wellspring captures the magic of the moon. It carries moonlight to the deepest depths of a network of caves in the far north of the Margreve. Far below the surface world, a slothful lunar devil (see Tome of Beasts) uses the stream as a source of nourishment and power. The devil emerges from the cave periodically to do the bidding of the Moonlit King. Adventure Hook. A middle-aged woman hires the characters to recover her father, a renowned explorer who refuses to retire. Clues point toward a magical wellspring that her father believed (mistakenly) to be the fountain of youth. The characters follow the trail of the old man deep into the Moondrawn Caves and find him with his new ally. SPIRITSIGN Tall trees ring an unremarkable clearing fifty miles northeast of the Fogrolls. High overhead, their branches mingle in the wind. The alseid believe that the true of heart experience omens here. Unless such petitioners know they are in a sacred place, however, they might remain oblivious to the signs that the trees cast as dappled light upon the forest floor. The alseid have taken back the glen from the griffons that had claimed it, renamed it Spiritsign, and consider it a holy site. Adventure Hook. The shadow fey want to establish a hunting lodge in the Central Margreve and have chosen this clearing to begin construction. The alseid have been decimated in the past by the shadow fey, and now they fear they will lose the holy site they so recently reclaimed. But the signs show that a group of champions (the characters) might succeed in removing the shadow fey threat once and for all. TWILIGHT FORK Drawnbow Trail heads east from the banks of the River Argent and terminates at Twilight Fork. By day or at night, Twilight Fork looks like an ordinary forest trail. But not so at twilight, when ghostly fog and an ominous quality settles upon the site. They say that a traveler who is torn over a life-and-death decision can take two paths at the same time. One path leads half his soul to the reaper. The other path infuses the other half of his soul with the power to overcome whatever problem
29 besets him. The desperate and the indecisive come to Twilight Fork, but only tattered half-souls leave. Adventure Hook. Two men hire the characters to capture and return a woman who has fled into the forest. She is a spouse to both men. When the first husband returned after his wife had long presumed him dead, she became torn between her old and new husbands and fled toward Twilight Fork. If the characters do not catch her in time, she returns with only half a soul. Catching the woman is not easy, for she is a talented rogue and wizard. ULCHIK VILLAGE Isolated from the civilized world by the Cloudwalls and thousands of square miles of dangerous wilderness, Ulchik Village is one of the most remote human settlements in this area of the world. It is also one of the strangest. The villagers worship Pyotr, a withdrawn tree-aspect of the Green Gods, Porevit and Yarila. The village adults live the silent, enduring lives of trees, without clothing or shelter, and very often in tree shape. The village children feed and water their elders. It is a difficult task for the youngsters, who hobble along with twisted necks, clubfeet, and degenerate limbs that centuries of inbreeding have begotten. Adventure Hook. Ever since a midwife came to the village a few years ago, the telltale signs and aftereffects of inbreeding among the villagers have miraculously receded. The heroes come across the village and immediately notice the physical differences between the younger and older children. The villagers readily volunteer that the midwife has blessed them with healthy offspring for the first time in many generations. They do not as readily admit to the existence of the shrine to the Red Goddess Marena that she brought with her. WHISTLEHOLLOW VILLAGE South of Armiger Wood lies the village of Whistlehollow. Proponents of the new ways have expelled the puritanical leaders of old and are forging toward a new era in the Margreve. Heretical druids have developed methods to mask themselves from the forest and make frequent use of proxies and subterfuge to further their goals. Adventure Hook. The characters are approached by an elder of the village and enlisted to destroy an inert wickerman (see Creature Codex) that has been seen in the nearby forest. He explains that followers of the new ways seed these constructs throughout the forest and are waiting until the right time to activate them. He tells the heroes that the constructs are vulnerable to fire, and downing one should be as easy as putting it to the torch. The elder is in fact a druid of the new ways and is using the characters to activate the wickermen. He hopes not only to progress his agenda but to also make sure that the ire of the forest is directed firmly toward the characters. EASTERN MARGREVE The Eastern Margreve is the third of the forest that lies east of the Cloudwalls. The youngest section of the wood, its trees are merely millennia old. Conifers dominate the higher elevations and fade into deciduous varieties as the land falls toward the Rothenian Plain and the open steppe of centaur territory. There is a grand openness to the Eastern Margreve, like walking through a palace of pillars. Fewer trees reach for the sky, but their branches and leaves are legion and form a canopy just as thick as that in the Central Margreve. In most locations, the underbrush is not dense enough to impede movement and not remarkable enough to use as landmarks. A monotony of trees stretches in every direction, making the forest especially difficult to navigate (Wisdom [Survival] checks to avoid getting lost are made with disadvantage). Line of sight ranges from 90 to 180 ([1d10 + 8] × 10) feet. A handful of small, freshwater lakes hide in the woods, but they are difficult to find. Interlopers who lack survival skills and who do not carry in their own water frequently die of thirst (Wisdom [Survival] checks associated with locating potable water and game are made with disadvantage). Because of the dearth of fresh water, fewer wild animals make their homes in the Eastern Margreve. Many of these, forced to drink the tainted water of Grandfather’s Tears, appear both dire and devolved, with aggressive personalities, tumors, spines, and patches of horn and shell plating. Trees survive by tapping the water table, which provides the same sustenance as the lakes. Aberrations, undead, and other unnatural creatures roam the eastern woods and contribute to its inhospitable reputation. But these denizens are uncommon, and one is as likely to die of thirst, hunger, or exposure as one is to perish in the claws of a wandering monster. Compared to the dark, overgrown feel of the Western Margreve and the wild, old magic atmosphere of the Central Margreve, the Eastern Margreve seems vacant and dreamlike. It includes vast areas of utter silence, where no birds sing and nothing moves but the wind through the branches and leaves. At night, the conspicuous absence of chirping insects and hooting owls becomes especially disconcerting. Were it not for night falling and sunrise coming to pass, time might lose meaning for a party camping under these boughs.
30 Indeed, some legends tell of travelers who enter the Eastern Margreve young and emerge old, and some who enter old and emerge at a younger time of life. The basis for these tales is unclear. Perhaps the windblown branches hold the power to entrance and sustain. Perhaps explorers stumble upon cursed wellsprings in their search for water. Or perhaps the veil to the Astral Plane thins here, and unbidden dreams carry folk to its timeless expanse. This last conjecture would also explain the numerous sightings of ghosts, as spirits of loved ones pass through the Astral Plane on their way to the afterlife. BRAIDWOOD VILLAGE Every year, more centaurs abandon the isolationist ideals of their ancestors and gravitate toward cosmopolitan trade centers. Not so at Braidwood Village, where tradition and the Old Ways thrive. Legendary hunters and warriors, the Braidwood centaurs dominate the southeastern Margreve. They frequently challenge nearby alseid tribes over hunting grounds and water sources and defend their territory from Rothenian oinotaur centaurs looking for wood and game. Every structure at Braidwood Village is grown, not constructed. With purposeful grafting, pruning, and braiding, the centaurs shape living trees into homes and art. Complex living sculptures of ancestors locked in battle with their enemies decorate the grounds. Adventure Hook. A covey of mora (see page 102) from the Hag’s Tooth Hills has teased the centaur warriors out of Braidwood Village before surrounding it in an impenetrable ring of whirling leaves and hair. Inside the ring, the characters and a pathetic cadre of young, old, and infirm centaurs fight for their lives against mora and the wood-braid statues they animate. If the mora capture the centaur elder for whom they came, they plan to coax desired knowledge out of him through torture. CAVES OF SORROW High in the Cloudwall Mountains, a shallow cave forms what looks like an eye and tear from below. A sect of Kariv gypsies travel across the Rothenian Plain, dare the forest, and climb the mountain to practice an incredible form of ancestor worship in the cave. They make sacrifices to a local forest god, who rewards them with one-on-one discussions with their departed loved ones. For worthier sacrifices, the godling allows intimate relations with their departed spouses. It has been this way for generations. A Kariv woman is always pregnant. Adventure Hook. To solve a mystery, the characters need to speak with a departed soul, but they have no corpse upon which to cast speak with dead. The Kariv tell the characters of the Caves of Sorrow and the powers of the godling there. The characters might offer sacrifices, meet the godling, and walk away satisfied. Or they might realize that the godling is actually an incubus sorcerer using its abilities to don the faces of the departed and keep the sacrifices coming. DJURDJA FALLS What little water falls on the eastern side of the Cloudwalls gathers at Djurdja Falls. Here, it plunges into the four-hundred-foot-wide mouth of an upturned cave, where it disappears into darkness, one thousand feet deep. Strange plants dangle hundred-foot-long tendrils over the lip to gather water and nutrients from the waterfall’s mist. Small herbivores with mistcollecting dorsal plates, like those of a stegosaurus, wander the cold mists around the hole and down the mountainside. Carnivores have adapted to retain water and extract it from blood. Adventure Hook. The characters lead an expedition up the Cloudwalls, over the cave lip at Djurdja Falls, and down into darkness. The thousand-foot drop leads to whitewater torrents, mile-long belly crawls, and vast caverns. What alien aberrations or prehistoric beasts lurk below the mountain or fight for dominance in this isolated ecology? Can the characters escape after Baba Yaga’s sisters seal the cave mouth? Are the witches trying to bury the same power that the characters have arrived to explore or that they have inadvertently roused? LOST HEART’S COPSE Here, the ghosts of bent-backed men search the underbrush for lost items, missing loved ones, and the souls of their departed mates. Legend says that this stretch of forest calls to all who refuse to move on after loss. Any living creature that enters this area experiences temporary life-blindness. Any affected creature sees only other creatures with life-blindness normally; all others appear incorporeal with muted voices. Unlike when looking at the Material Plane from the Ethereal Plane, inanimate objects and dead creatures appear normal. Adventure Hook. After stumbling into Lost Heart’s Copse, a weeping ghost picking through the underbrush asks the characters to help him find his wife. The mission takes the life-blind characters to Zobeck, whose bustling streets now seem like lonely cobblestones through a quiet, clockwork ghost town. To locate the ghost’s wife, the characters must solve the mystery of her abduction and murder. The crime is old. Clues haunt places that no longer exist. There are no NPCs to help our heroes.
31 SALT SPRINGS In the center of the Eastern Margreve, toxic, salt water bubbles up through crusty sores between the rocks. As more water oozes up and cools, the salt precipitates from the suspension, accumulating around the vent and forming roughly man-sized pillars of salt over time. Few know of the site where the “salt men” stand among the trees. A brave kobold family risks making their way here to collect the salt men, bartering them within the forest and selling them beyond the wood to alchemists who claim the salt men have special properties. Adventure Hook. A wealthy Zobeck merchant learns of the salt springs’ existence and sends the characters to find it, claim it, and build a stockade around it. On their way, the characters encounter a family of kobolds carrying coffins through the predawn forest. Inside each coffin is a salt man they are hiding from possible bandits. A dead rat, added to each coffin for smell, completes the deception. The kobolds attempt to thwart the characters’ mission in every way possible. They have already trapped the site of their source of wealth and have no intention of sharing their find, let alone allowing a stockade to be built. SLEEPWALKER’S HILL In the northeastern corner of the Margreve, atop a single forested hill, aerial plants drape over the branches like Spanish moss and drop their puffy pollen like snowflakes from the canopy. Once a year, the Margreve’s aridni (see Tome of Beasts) collect the pollen and grind it into the dust that imbues their arrows with the power of confusion, fear, uncontrollable laughter and sleep. The aridni seem to be the only creatures who can remember the hill at all, which is quite remarkable. How can one forget the menagerie of individuals—beasts and humanoids alike—that wander here without yesterdays? Adventure Hook. Creatures too powerful for the aridni to handle have taken up residence near the aerial plants whose pollen they value for their own defense. The aridni need something or someone to vanquish the intruders. The aridni have enslaved a friend of the heroes and offer her freedom in exchange for help exterminating the clutter of Chelicerai (see Tome of Beasts). Hearts of the Forest The western and central sections of the Margreve each feature a geographical region known as a heart. Vast concentrations of magical power, siphoned and stored over millennia, pulse through the landscape in these places, adding shadow powers to the Western Heart, and feral powers to the Central Heart. A heart has not yet formed in the Eastern Magreve, but that event is on the cusp. Once realized, it will feature a concentration of dream powers. The power held in the hearts of the forest exceeds that of major artifacts. Like a major artifact, a singular method for destroying a heart might exist, but no mortal knows it, and carrying out the deed is nigh impossible. Fire, blight, natural disasters, and the magic of mortals pale before these great seats of the Margreve’s power. Even the terrible magic of the world’s great sorcerers cannot destroy a heart, any more than a man can kill a lake with a sword thrust. Despite the meager threat that individuals present, the Margreve tolerates few interlopers in its hearts. Only those well versed in the Old Ways have any chance of surviving the forest’s often aggressive response to their presence. WESTERN HEART The Western Heart of the Margreve has taproots older than the modern gods. Like a tangle of world-snakes, these titanic roots branch, intertwine, and bore deep into the earth. HEART OF THE FOREST POWERS AT A GLANCE Hungry Heart. Magical effects, except for other powers of the forest, have a 5 percent chance per round to be suppressed (siphoned) entirely as if in an antimagic field. Quench. The forest can immediately extinguish all nonmagical fires. Any fire-based spell is dispelled automatically at the beginning of the next round after it is cast. In addition to the global Margreve powers, each heart of the forest has the following traits and abilities: Drawn Curtain. Divination (scrying) spells cannot perceive anything within the heart, and those within the heart are immune to detect thoughts with respect to those without. Conjuration (teleportation) spells either fail utterly (75%) or land the caster outside the forest (25%) at a location nearest the caster’s current position.
32 The Western Heart harnesses the bulk of its power from the Shadow Plane. The heart’s roots pierce the plane of shadow and grip its tattered edges. In this part of the forest, the shadows of trees and beasts are disproportionately long, even at noon. Sometimes they move with slight independence or detach entirely. Plant life flourishes even in the dim light. In many places, it grows with such density that it reduces travel to a crawl. Ivy spirals up abandoned spider webs, filling in the gaps, and forming great leafy sheets between the trees. The wind puffs the sheets back and forth, and walking through this heart of the forest is like hacking one’s way through the gills of a breathing fish. ASHEN GLADES Legend claims that Perun, god of lightning and war, threw a pair of lightning bolts across the Western Heart of the Margreve, scarring the face of the landscape with wide swaths of charred wood. To this day, nothing grows in these places. Blackened logs cover the forest floor, and the jagged edges of snapped trunks poke between them like a spiked pit made of trees. Dozens of ala (see Tome of Beasts) nest in the charred tree trunks and herald the preternatural storms that rage over the forest. The Margreve tolerates the ala because the ala do not tolerate interlopers, especially humanoids. The hags attempt to kill or eject any who enter their domain. Adventure Hook. The priests of Perun believe that the survival of Zobeck depends on their obtaining a fragment of one of Perun’s lightning bolts that still sparks somewhere beneath the Ashen Glades. The temple hires the characters to locate and retrieve the relic. Divination reveals that a zmey (see Tome of Beasts) is imprisoned somewhere under the Western Heart, and that these ala hate dragons even more than they hate humanoids. Freeing the beast might be the characters’ only chance to distract the powerful ala away from the site where the hags roost. THE CRUMBLING TOMB Covered in lichen and gripped by ivy, the Crumbling Tomb rests in the eternal darkness of the forest canopy. Behind its mithral-barred doors lies a mummified sage, guarded by a pair of sorcerous assassin vines. A unicorn is the only recurring visitor. Shadow fey legends say that when the time comes, the corpse will gain unlife and take sides in a pivotal conflict in the Old Margreve. At dawn, shadow ivy pulls the Crumbling Tomb underground, leaving a small chip of stone to mark the site. At dusk the Crumbling Tomb emerges in another Western Heart location. Some say that the tomb is searching for something. Adventure Hook. The characters require critical information that only the unicorn possesses. To meet the unicorn, the characters must locate the Crumbling Tomb after dusk and enter it before it disappears at dawn. When the unicorn does not show on the first night, the characters must either abandon their mission or remain inside the tomb and shadow walk with it to its next location. On the shadow walk between dawn and dusk, the characters experience an adventure on the tattered edge of the Shadow Plane and learn the terrible truth about the tomb’s unicorn visitor. CENTRAL HEART The Central Heart of the forest is a place of unbridled wildness. Trails disappear behind those who blaze them. Structures shake themselves down. Poisons are more WESTERN HEART POWERS AT A GLANCE Shades. 1/day per square mile; as the spell conjure fey, except that the creatures summoned are native to the plane of Shadow. Shadow Heart. A “shadow heart” pumps the blood of any creature reincarnated within the Western Heart. The creature gains the ability to cast claws of darkness (see Heroes Handbook) once daily but cannot touch a loved one without dealing strength damage as a shadow. In addition to its other heart of the forest powers, the Western Heart has the following traits and abilities: Aura of Desecration. All attempts to turn undead are made with disadvantage; undead and shadow creatures have a +1 bonus to attack rolls, damage rolls, and saving throws. Early Grave. Those who fall prone or lie down (such as to rest) are subject to a 5-foot-square Evard’s black tentacles effect, except with erupting vines instead of tentacles. The vines draw dying creatures into the earth at the rate of 1 foot per round.
33 deadly, diseases more virulent. Travelers devolve to beasts, and beasts devolve to creatures best left unnamed. The forest uses its abilities, particularly Warp Wood and Animate Plants, more frequently in the Central Heart. Its auras of rust and wildness pulse with extra potency. Baba Yaga frequently calls the Central Heart home. The most daring of explorers might find her living house wandering somewhere between Baba’s Wend and the Mistwallows. Even with all her powers, Baba Yaga can but nudge the wild heart of the wood toward her ends, and only then at great cost. Its deeply rooted power cannot be harnessed, although she and others fight over the knowledge of how to cajole it and the wisdom of doing so. DEAD DRUID’S RUN A fast-running river thunders through the north end of the Central Heart of the forest. Where the rapids are roughest, no trees or underbrush encroach near the river’s bank for one hundred feet. Instead, an elliptical-shaped bank lies open to the sky. Rising from the whitewater, five jagged, roughly humanoid-shaped rocks burst toward the sky. The folk of nearby Ulchik Village say the rocks were once druids that one of Baba Yaga’s children encased in stone, presumably as punishment for some treacherous deed they suffered upon her—or attempted to. If one concentrates on drowning out the cacophony of the whitewater, a chorus of screams can be heard emanating from the rocks. It is said that the druids will grant a wish to whoever frees them. Adventure Hook. A thousand years ago, a gold plaque at Dead Druids’ Run told the tale of the sacrifice the druids made to protect Midgard. A witch did petrify the druids, but at their request. Under each stony figure, an elder vampire lies buried in the riverbed. Stakes shatter against the chests of these legendary creatures. Sunlight warps around their foul bodies. Running water blackens where they step. Only the sacrifice of the druids holds the unnatural creatures down, and only a (foolish) creature of good heart can free the druids from their timeless duty in the stone. Commander Beleneus of the Order of the Knights Incorporeal holds the lost plaque, and his patience wears thin. The rumors he has circulated for generations have not had the effect he’d anticipated. It is time that he and his consort take an active role in freeing the trapped vampires. CENTRAL POWERS AT A GLANCE paranoia for the next 2d6 days. The saving throw can be repeated after each night’s sleep, ending the effect on a success. If the creature remains in the Central Heart, saves beyond the first one are made with disadvantage. While paranoid, the creature has disadvantage on Charisma saving throws and Charisma checks; cannot receive benefit from or attempt the Help action; and cannot willingly accept aid (including healing) from another creature. The effect can be cured with a lesser restoration spell or similar magic. Unending Rage. Individuals with the Rage class feature must rage every time they enter combat until they have expanded all their uses. On each occasion, a successful DC 17 Charisma saving throw allows the individual to choose whether to rage or not for the duration of the current encounter. Virulence. All saving throws related to negating or healing natural diseases and poisons are made with disadvantage. In addition to its other heart of the forest powers, the Central Heart has the following traits and abilities: Augmented Aura of Rust. As the Aura of Rust ability, except twice as much damage. Augmented Aura of Wildness. As the Aura of Wildness ability, except that saving throws to resist are made with disadvantage. Lycanthrope Needles. The Margreve transmits the curse of lycanthropy through the needles of its conifers. Every 10 rounds a creature spends moving through dense terrain, it risks brushing past a lycanthrope needle and contracting the curse (a successful DC 12 Constitution saving throw avoids the infection). The Margreve chooses the base animal. Social Decay. The forest haunts the dreams of sleeping creatures in the Central Heart, slowly shifting them to a state of paranoia against their companions. Any creature sleeping in the Central heart must make a DC 14 Charisma saving throw after finishing a long rest. On a failed save, the creature experiences overwhelming
34 PALEWOOD Amid a copse of white birch no larger than a town market, a limestone outcrop rises nearly as high as the treetops. Riddled with small holes, the crag is home to a burgeoning cadre of tiny wicker effigies. When a forest resident commits a sin, he or she weaves an effigy, divests the sin into it, sacrifices a month of life energy, and stakes the newly animated wicker figure on the forest floor for the wild beasts to ravage. Sometimes the sin-eating effigies escape their ignominious fate. Why they gather at the crag at Palewood is a mystery that most forest folk believe is best left unsolved. Adventure Hook. The sin-eater effigies at Palewood possess memory of and feel guilt for sins they never committed. Many of them have become the epitome of the sins from which they are woven. The wrathful boil with hatred for their creators. The envious want to change places with their creators. The proud demand their due, and the greedy want their creators’ very souls. Soon, they will organize. Soon, they will march. EASTERN HEART Though the Margreve crested the Cloudwalls and spilled upon the Rothenian Plain untold centuries ago, a true Eastern Heart of the forest has not yet formed. The mountains have slowed the necessary transfer of power . . . until now. The Eastern Heart finally stands on the brink of coming into existence. And that fact has Baba Yaga worried. There is a prophecy that begins with “An Eastern Heart shall be born” and ends with “And the great witch shall die.” Baba Yaga believes that the verse refers to her, and she has gone to incredible lengths to slow the Eastern Heart’s formation. Though her power is nearly limitless, Baba Yaga cannot prevent the Eastern Heart from being born altogether. She has, however, enacted a plan to buy herself time. With the help of her sorcerous daughters and at great expense to her health and sanity, Baba Yaga has chipped off shards of the embryonic “soul” of the Eastern Heart, effectively shattering what would have been a full heart into thirty-seven pieces. Each chipped shard, as it flew off, coupled with the soul of a living creature. Baba Yaga does not know which individuals bear the soul fragments, nor in what small or grievous way the shard affects each of them. But she is happy, because until those creatures die, the disjointed heart cannot fully form. In time, Baba Yaga plans to locate these “foresthearted” individuals and offer them attractive ways to extend their lives. She might assign a daughter or a minion to act as their guardian, lingering in the background and protecting them from time to time. If a forest-hearted insists on putting itself in danger, Baba Yaga instructs the guardian to abduct and imprison it. Meanwhile, Baba Yaga’s archrival, an ancient zmey named Czarizeby(“Black Teeth”), seeks the same individuals—but in order to kill them and thus hasten the prophecy. Even if the zmey is unsuccessful, Baba Yaga has the harder task, for some of the forest-hearted already stand on the opposite sides of a battlefield. Some are prey animals, and some are adventuring characters who frequently wander close to their own deaths. The forest-hearted live their lives, oblivious of the power and potential connected to their soul. In some of them, sorcerous powers develop, flashing out during moments of emotional turmoil.
35 Meadow of Fey Revels “We knew we had reached our destination when we heard sounds of revelry up ahead. The fey road came to an end at the edge of a large meadow encircled by a ring of standing stones; a great bonfire burned in the middle. Here, dozens of strange creatures, some from our world, many others from the Bright Land and the Shadow Realm, made merry.” – Lost in the Arbonesse and Other Escapades, by Tavareen Windrider In the forested foothills of the Tonder Alps to the northeast of the River Court lies the enchanting Meadow of Fey Revels. Here, the elves of the Arbonesse and diverse fey of peculiar mien come together to celebrate on four special nights of the year: the spring equinox (the Rites of Spring), the summer solstice (the Summer Festival), the autumn equinox, and finally the winter solstice. Like many locations in the Arbonesse, the Meadow of Fey Revels exists in both Midgard and the Summer Lands. It is said that the fey roads only lead mortals to the meadow on the days of the revels, although it is likely that the Fair Folk are able to find their way here at other times. The characters might find themselves on the fey road leading to the meadow by chance as they wander through the Arbonesse. Alternatively, they could travel to the meadow in search of information from the fey revelers, or to obtain faerie magic. The Meadow of Fey Revels can also work as a lead-in or side trek for groups playing the adventure Wrath of the River King. The revels are presided over by Lord Chelessfield, Sidhe Lord of the Highland Marches, who rules over these lands at the behest of the River King. Lord Chelessfield is an elderly elf with golden hair and purple eyes, who wears a circlet of pure gold worked into the shape of a dragon. Charming and dangerous, with friends at both the River King’s Court and among the shadow fey, it is unwise to get on the wrong side of the sidhe lord. See Wrath of the River King for more information on Lord Chelessfield. Each season’s revels begin shortly after midday and continue until early the next morning. All involve music, dancing, feasting, and drinking large amounts of wine and beer, but each season’s revel has its own distinct elements too. Spring: On the morning of the spring revel, the sun rises precisely between the two largest standing stones. Tents and stalls are decorated with red, green, and yellow ribbons, and the revelers feast on cheese, eggs, wheaten cakes, and pancakes. To mark the start of the revel, the fey, led by Lord Chelessfield, scatter magical seeds around the meadow to decorate it. Yellow primroses and celandines and pure white anemones carpet the grass, while vibrant bluebells spring up the trees. Attempts to stand a green dragon egg on one end (without using magic) and other games take place in the afternoon. As dusk falls, a great poetry contest begins. Lyrical elegance and razor-sharp wit are both valued, and players can gain advantage on their characters’ Charisma (Performance) checks by quoting or composing a few entertaining couplets. Summer: In summer, the meadow becomes a riot of color as bright blue cornflowers, scarlet poppies, and purple knapweed spring up, and bees and beautifully patterned butterflies flit among the flowers. Revelers at the Summer Festival wear wreaths of colorful flowers and garlands of oak leaves. The raising of the midsummer pole marks the start of the revel. This tall wooden column is decorated with ivy, oak leaves, and flowers, and hung with many-colored ribbons. Once it has been erected in the middle of the meadow, the dancing and merriment get under way, with a troupe of pixies flying around the pole pulling the ribbons behind them. Contests at the summer revel are tests of physical prowess, including foot races, mock combats, and archery competitions where the participants shoot at straw targets carried by running goblins. Characters can try their luck by making relevant ability or skill checks or melee and ranged attack rolls. When the sun goes down bonfires are lit, and contestants can prove their bravery by jumping over the flames or walking barefoot across burning coals. Autumn: By autumn, grazing deer have trimmed the grass, and wet weather has encouraged mushrooms and toadstools to sprout, forming dozens of fairy rings across the meadow. Food is abundant following the harvest and the feasting is excellent. Carts piled high with loaves of bread, vegetables, and fruit arrive via the fey roads, gifts from the cities of Dornig to honor the fey. Much trading of spells, magical items, and the like takes place at the autumn revel, with contests held to demonstrate magical prowess in the evening. Creativity is prized over sheer power; characters can gain advantage on their Performance checks by inventing imaginative magical displays to amuse, scare, and astonish onlookers. Winter: With winter’s arrival, frost coats the grass, and robins feast on the juicy white berries of the mistletoe growing on the leafless oak and beech trees
36 around the meadow’s edge. A great log is paraded around the stone circle and then set aflame to mark the start of the festival. Wine and beer made during the year are now fermented and ready to drink. As the libations are poured, the Midwinter Goat, a goat-headed fey, appears before the lords and ladies to demand his customary gifts. Candles are lit all around the meadow as night begins to fall, and an evening of elegant dancing ensues, with a prize awarded to the most talented dancers. Light-footed characters can impress their hosts with Dexterity (Performance) checks, but dancers must be prepared to whirl and twirl all night long until the first flurry of snow on the following morning marks the end of the revel. EXPLORING THE MEADOW Surrounded on all sides by the dense trees of the Arbonesse Forest, the Meadow of Fey Revels measures about 500 yards across. It is essentially a large, grassy open space whose appearance changes with the seasons. Several notable features are described below: The Stone Circle: A ring of over one hundred ancient, lichen-covered standing stones runs around the circumference of the field, not far from the treeline. These weather-worn megaliths are between ten and twelve feet high and date back to the time before the fall of Ankeshel and the arrival in these lands of the elves from the Far West. Faint spiral patterns can be seen etched into some of the stones; others are carved with petroglyphs depicting stick men, birds, and animals. Faerie magic is enhanced within the ring formed by the stones; saving throws against spells cast by elves, gnomes, and fey inside the circle are made with disadvantage. The Stalls: At each revel, an ever-changing lineup of brightly colored tents and wooden stalls springs up where the fey road enters the meadow. Staffed by goblins, gnomes, and fey, these stalls offer food and drink for sale, as well as other goods, including herbs and medicinal plants, potions and minor magical items, and interesting trinkets. Characters shopping at these stalls should keep their wits about them, since the fey like little more than getting one over on a foolish mortal. Cursed items, wands with but a single charge, and mislabeled potions are common tricks, but one should be cautious when sampling the foodstuffs too. Snargle the goblin’s spicy mushroom pasties are delicious but cause weird hallucinations (treat as short-term madness) when eaten by non-fey that fail a DC 11 Constitution saving throw. The Lord’s Pavilion: This large, open-sided tent is made from fine blue and silver silk. Here, Lord Chelessfield and his honored guests enjoy the revels, waited on hand and foot by goblin servants, and protected by a dozen elven guards. If a character wins MINOR EVENTS AT THE REVELS 6. A group of small fey arrive riding giant weasels. Armed with glaives fashioned from antlers, these are emissaries from Thistlegloom, King of the Far Darrig. 7. A hag chants softly to herself while resting her right hand on one of the standing stones. The spiral pattern carved into the stone begins to glow with a fiery red light. 8. A gang of five boorish bugbears take it in turns to throw axes at a magnificent ancient oak tree. 9. Prowling in the shadows with razors in their hands, two vile barbers get ready to slash open the throat of an unsuspecting gnome who has angered the Queen of Witches. 10. A crow-like fey dressed in fine clothes rushes across the meadow bearing an important message. 1. A rabbit in a waistcoat and a hedgehog in a pinafore serve glasses of mead to a group of elegant elven lords and ladies. 2. Two young children with piercing blue eyes are selling little gingerbread houses. Look closely and you’ll see one of them has a tiny squeaking witch inside. 3. A tiny sprite who has over-indulged in blackberry wine flies into a menhir and crash lands in a crumpled heap. 4. Three leprechauns in bottle green hats and jackets sit on a wooden bench reciting a nonsensical poem that rhymes “garden” with “pardon”. 5. A pure white swan swoops down to land in the meadow. As its webbed feet hit the ground, it transforms into a beautiful sylvan maiden.
37 one of the contests, they will be invited to the pavilion to be awarded their prize. The Bog: A small stream flows through the southeastern corner of the meadow, causing the ground here to become boggy, particularly in spring and autumn when rainfall is plentiful. Tall reeds and yellow irises grow around the edge of the bog, which is home to Gerribbit, a giant frog (see Personalities below). PERSONALITIES OF THE MEADOW Hundreds of fey and other creatures attend the revels. Here are a few of the most notable and interesting personalities. ANYA GRISTLEGROT This nine-foot-tall ogress has greenish skin, a bulbous nose covered in pimples, and a mouth filled with crooked and broken teeth. She reeks of a heady combination of sweat and patchouli. Anya has few friends among the other revelers. She resents most fey, particularly elves, for looking down their perfectly formed noses at her, and likes nothing more than to see them taken down a peg or two. Anya hates the Holly Queen for humiliating her at the last winter revels and longs for revenge. She spends a lot of time brooding on her lowly status, and is quick to anger, but can be won over with flattery focusing on how fearsome and devious she is. Anya sometimes has potions and other minor magic items for sale. Anya has the stats of a green hag, but her size is Large. In addition to her standard hag abilities, she can take the following action: Cursing Stick (recharges after a long rest). Anya points a gnarled wooden stick at a single creature within 30 feet and utters a powerful curse. If the creature fails a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw, Anya polymorphs the target into a giant frog, or transforms its head into a donkey’s. The target remains under the curse until it fulfills a special challenge set by Anya (e.g. stealing a leprechaun’s pot of gold, winning a race with a quickling), the target drops to 0 hp or dies, or Anya’s cursing stick is destroyed. The cursing stick is AC 15 and has 10 hp. It takes Anya a day to craft a replacement. The cursed creature is limited in the actions it can perform by the nature of its new form, and cannot speak. GERRIBBIT Until a few days ago, Gerribbit was Solanquis, a young and arrogant minor elf noble at the River King’s Court. Now he is a giant frog. The foppish youth made the mistake of upsetting Anya Gristlegrot by failing to treat her with respect, and the angry ogress polymorphed the hapless elf into his present form with her cursing stick. Gerribbit is cursed to remain a frog until he wins a big, slobbery kiss from a hairy dwarf, half-orc, or satyr. He has had no luck so far but that doesn’t stop him from leaping beside any suitable character in the hopes they will kiss him. Gerribbit tries his best to communicate with the characters but can only say “gerribbit.” If they are able to talk to him with speak with animals, he explains his predicament and begs for their help. If Gerribbit returns to his true form, he will tell them that events in the nearby human village of Riverbend have angered the River King, and its inhabitants may soon come under attack by the fey; see Wrath of the River King. HOLLY QUEEN This raven-haired shadow fey enchantress (see Tome of Beasts) is a guest of honor at the winter revel, and usually attends the spring and autumn revels, but is seen at the summer revel only rarely. She wears a holly crown with bright red berries on her horned head, and dresses in long black robes adorned with winter wolf fur. A tiny robin redbreast perches on her shoulder. The Holly Queen is a loyal vassal of the Moonlit King, and is out of favor at the Courts of the Shadow Fey while the Queen of Night and Magic and her Summer Court are in the ascendant. Quiet, observant, and somewhat sorrowful, she comes to the revels to keep abreast of affairs among the elves of the Arbonesse and to gather intelligence on the River Court. The winners of the dancing contest at the winter revel each get to dance with the Holly Queen in turn. As they twirl around together, she will whisper in their ear, asking them if they are willing to wear her badge. Those that say yes may find themselves performing a service for the queen in the future and may even be whisked off to spend the summer months at her castle in the Shadow Realm. The Holly Queen has been given Pumpkin Jack’s candle by a pombero (see Tome of Beasts) named Gloamwalker who wanted to curry favor with her. If the characters ask her respectfully, she is willing to exchange it for a “small service.” The Holly Queen has heard whispers of goblin raids and kidnappings in the human village of Riverbend and would like the characters to find out what is going on; see Wrath of the River King. PUMPKIN JACK This fey bogeyman makes his home in the Shadow Realm, venturing into the Material Plane to frighten mortals at the behest of his mistress, the Queen of Night and Magic. A terrifying figure with a grinning, evil-looking jack-o-lantern for a head and long, wicked
38 claws, Pumpkin Jack steps out of the victim’s wardrobe or appears from beneath their bed to scare them to death. But Pumpkin Jack has a problem. After overindulging in Snargle’s hallucinogenic mushroom pasties at the revel, Jack passed out and someone stole the burning candle inside his head. This candle was the source of Jack’s power – the thing that allowed him to terrify mortals. Utterly humiliated, Jack is a pathetic figure. If the characters talk to him, he tells them, through constant sobbing, what happened. He has since discovered his candle is now in the possession of the Holly Queen. If they are prepared to intercede with her on his behalf and recover his candle, he offers to scare an enemy for them or take them wherever they want to go in Midgard via the shadow roads. Pumpkin Jack’s normal stats are below. Without his candle, he cannot use master of the shadow roads or frightful presence. PUMPKIN JACK Medium fey, chaotic neutral Armor Class 15 (natural armor) Hit Points 78 (12d8 + 24) Speed 30 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 18 (+4) 18 (+4) 14 (+2) 10 (+0) 12 (+1) 18 (+4) Saving Throws Wis +4 Skills Perception +4, Stealth +7 Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical weapons Condition Immunities charmed, frightened Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 14 Languages Common, Elvish, Umbral Challenge 6 (2,300 XP) Innate Spellcasting. Pumpkin Jack’s innate spellcasting ability is Charisma. He can cast the following spell innately, requiring no material components: At will: misty step (when in shadows, dim light, or darkness only) Master of the Shadow Roads. Pumpkin Jack can use the shadow roads to travel to anywhere in Midgard in just 1d3 days. He arrives after dusk, or in a dimly lit or dark area, within 1d6 miles of the desired location. If Pumpkin Jack has been sent after a specific individual and has an item of their clothing or a lock of their hair, he appears within 30 feet of the target. ACTIONS Multiattack. Pumpkin Jack makes two claw attacks. Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d8 + 4) slashing damage. If the target is frightened, it takes an additional 10 (3d6) psychic damage from this attack. Frightful Presence. Each creature within 60 feet of Pumpkin Jack and aware of him must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If a creature’s saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the creature is immune to Pumpkin Jack’s Frightful Presence for the next 24 hours. REACTIONS Relentless Stalker. When an adjacent creature moves away from Pumpkin Jack, he can use his reaction to cast misty step. ZELOS CLOVENFOOT Zelos is a lovelorn satyr. The object of his affections is Nyessa, a lovely dryad who lives in an ancient oak tree on the edge of the meadow. Unfortunately, the hot-headed Zelos has blown his chances with her by giving her a love potion he purchased from Anya Gristlegrot that wore off all too briefly, and left Nyessa in no doubt that she had been duped. Now, he sits slumped against a menhir, drowning his sorrows with mead. There is a way the characters can help Zelos if they take pity on him. A gang of bugbears have been upsetting Nyessa by using her tree as target practice for their axe-throwing. The dryad charmed one of them and got him to stop, but there are still five left. Maybe Zelos can impress Nyessa with his bravery by driving the bugbears off? Of course, he should probably sober up first and the characters might need to offer some backup. If they can find a way to make Zelos into a hero, Nyessa will at least start speaking to the satyr again. If this transpires, Zelos will be overcome with gratitude, and will even be willing to kiss Gerribbit if the characters request it.
39 Bluebell Coaching Inn The old Bluebell is one of the small and cozy coaching inns that lie along the Great Northern Road through the depths of the Margreve forest. These inns are stocked with oats and hay, fresh water, warm stables, and taprooms full of cheer. Usually. If you don’t offend the locals. And if the inn hasn’t been overrun with flowering vine golems in a pollen-heavy springtime revel, or left abandoned by staff taking the day off to celebrate at the Dancing Stones. The Bluebell is a bit peculiar in that it is simultaneously an inn catering to travelers, and a trading post between humans, alseid, pineys, bearfolk, and other deep woods races. Humans are often outnumbered on the smooth oaken benches of the taproom, and the menu offers both fragrant well water and road apples for the plantfolk who savor such things. Venison is rarely served when alseid are visiting, and large tubs of honey are kept for the bearfolk shaman, Otterskin, who sometimes visits with a full clan in tow. At the Bluebell, the forest denizens come to chatter, to share their wisdom, and to sing. City folk rarely understand the place, though some few do stay for a year and a day before setting their feet once more on the Great Northern Road. The Leafy Owner: What few know about the Bluebell is that it is owned by the forest itself, for the elves who built it long ago bequeathed it to a gnarled, oaklike treant named Leafhair Rootglum to watch over. He has made it a gathering place for creatures normally found only in the deep woods. The inn has always been closely connected to the fey and the land, and some believe that the Bluebell is both the oldest of the coaching inns and the most heavily enchanted. Rootglum makes it a welcome place for sprites and drakes, redcaps and gnomes, aridni, and alseids—all are welcome, and humans often find themselves outnumbered by creatures more often found in the Summer Lands of the elves. That said, the towering Leafhair rarely shows himself except in winter. In the growing season, he lives nearby in a patch of deep forest overrun with bulbous violets (see page 187) that devour trespassers and intruders. When he does appear after the first frost, he settles in a corner and is sometimes mistaken for part of the architecture. Rootglum is known for singing mournful, day-long songs of remembrance of all the trees dead and burned in the hearth. When questioned on topics of forest lore, he is invariably truthful and long-winded. He is known to disappear from the inn for a few days after midsummer and midwinter each year.
40 Barkeep: The barkeep, Hlara Goldfeather, always leaves a thimble of spirits next to the fireplace for the soot sprites in exchange for a clean fireplace and chimney once the embers die down. She is brave but prefers to stay out of other people’s fights if she can. In winter, she’ll just ask Rootglum to throw offenders out; in summer, she might ask one of the staff to spike their ale or one of the gnomes to bend their anger into calm with an enchantment. One night a year, she clears the bar from sundown to sunup. That afternoon Hlara shutters doors and windows, and she and the cook prepare the finest meats, cheeses, mulled wines and ales—and scatter bones full of marrow on the floor. Some say that at these times, a blindfolded Hlara entertains the Lord of the Hunt (see Tome of Beasts page 184) and his hounds and minions. She covers her eyes because those who see the Lord are compelled to join the Hunt and never return to the Bluebell. Cook and Kitchens: Shilo of the Argental, a human cook who has been at the inn for a full decade, is known for a superb goulash, for a masterful loaf of longbread, and for his dalliances in witchcraft. Shilo’s strange, rat-like familiar, Knickers, has been known to RUMORS AND ADVENTURES TABLE D12 RESULT 1 The “Hourglass Mushroom” is a rare and gruesome fungus found rarely in the Margreve, and sometimes near the Tliggan Stream, about a mile from the Bluebell. If you eat it, you travel backward in time to a point one minute before you ate it. At the end of the minute, something terrible always happens to the other “you” whom you meet upon traveling back—only one version of you remains alive. 2 Fish Wanted: While staying at the old Bluebell, a pregnant river selkie named Pearpaws has a mighty craving for smoked carp. Her husband, Cloudsmoke, refuses to leave her side but is willing to pay good coin for any fish from the Margreve. 3 Tree Rot: Piney plantfolk arrive and ask for help; a peculiar disease is rotting the trees from the inside out. Plantfolk and natural plants alike are affected, and some believe the disease can turn living humanoids into plant creatures by gradually infecting them. 4 The Weeping Ogre: After being offered venison jerky, a timid ogre weeps into his bowl of porridge. He claims that the woods are full of deerfolk that have hunted him remorselessly ever since he mistakenly killed a young alseid that he mistook for a fawn. Perhaps the adventurers will take his sincere apologies to the alseid circle of druids? 5 Three Spinning Sisters: Travelers tell tales of three young women who spin and weave their way through the forest deep, gathering spider silk and starshine into luminous nets. When they meet a traveler, they seize the strands of that one’s fate, to bind into their own weavings. 6 Stable Trouble: A leprechaun has painted the horses in her favorite color—green—several times, annoying the grooms. The grooms think someone should find a way to catch that joker and paint him purple. 7 Blooming Beams: At summer solstice or on midwinter day, all the wooden beams in the Bluebell bloom. Foliage fills the windows. Roots choke the fireplace. Holly sprouts from the door frames. Thorns puncture tapestries, while greedy mosses soak up kegs of beer. 8 A goblin merchant sells trinkets, general supplies, basic weapons, and minor magic items or potions. He pushes a handcart from inn to inn and from dungeon to dungeon, picking through the remains of dead adventurers along the way. 9 On summer nights, a white pegasus sometimes appears at the edge of the clearing by the Bluebell where the carts and wagons are circled up at night, seemingly waiting or searching for something. By sunrise, it has disappeared. 10 A wandering human merchant named Noromo Esdallefin swears that a great black owlbear is stalking him, its beak full of great teeth. He swears it is a stryxbear, but he’s probably just seeing things. He comes to the inn to hide and sometimes to seek a bodyguard. 11 In winter and spring, the woods are filled with fairy fog, a joyous, delirious thing, full of music and lights. Mortals who stumble into it wake up to find themselves robbed, feverish, and often bruised or raw, but strangely happy. These mists are especially common near the Bluebell. 12 Every now and then, the veiled stag shows up. Tale-spinners claim it is a fallen alseid, one who has succumbed to the curse of vampirism. Others believe it is a novitiate druid, sworn to a wandering quest that is connected to Rootglum and the bulbous violets near the Bluebell.
42 watch over the entrance and hiss a warning at those who enter with ill wishes in their hearts. The kitchen help includes a rotating group of halflings, gnomes, humans, and even pineys who wash dishes and peel vegetables, feed the hearth, carry water, stir pots, and turn the spit for long hours. All of them know they will be well fed and housed in comfort, though some might complain about Shilo’s insistence on everyone doing a fair share of the work. The laziest often get a nasty bite from his rat familiar. The Bluebell kitchen helpers rarely stay around, because the kitchen is frequently cursed or haunted. Pots and pans come to life and shout: “We’ve had it, you burning our faces and mouths; let’s see how you like it!” It might be trickery and illusion, but mealtime has gone poorly of late. In addition, a colony of enchanted, poisonous fly agaric mushrooms lives in the kitchen herb garden gathering information for the Moonlit King on the quality of beer, the names of travelers, and the strength of moonlight and starshine. Although they detect as magical, their link to the Moonlit King is tenuous and difficult to track. Culinary secrets of the Bluebell are sometimes stolen and presented at the Courts of the Shadow Fey. Grooms and Stable Hands: All the Bluebell’s grooms and stable hands are gnomes and halflings, who wear livery of robin’s-egg blue and vie with one another to be helpful to every coach, cart, wagon, and mule train coming through. The head groom is Yllesh Doublebarker, a female gnome who seems very good at NPC TABLE D20 RESULT 1 Long escaped from the witch’s coven that created her, the hyperintelligent ferret Keflute lounges on windowsills, masquerading as a community pet while begging for table scraps. In reality, she expertly eavesdrops and reports information to various merchant groups in Morgau and Doresh. 2 A young ravenfolk male claims to be His Feathered Majesty, Treeprince Geogawa, a deposed prince of the Morgau ravenfolk. He offers anyone who will listen a large share of a princely treasure he will soon have—if someone will but lend him a small sum of money to help him regain his rightful lands and fiefdom. 3 Occasionally, the blue-haired human bard, Hallistra, and her lover, Danafey the elven ranger, stop in for a bath and a meal. These two girls, united in love, search the Margreve for a spring of eternal youth (or perhaps simply explore the forest together). 4 Punara Leif, an elfmarked ranger, wears green dragon hide leather and is equipped only with his walking stick and his vast knowledge of the forest. He seeks his niece, Danafey, who has run away from home with a human friend. 5 The Willow Maiden, an ancient dryad, sometimes comes to sing sorrowful songs; her mere presence brings silence to the otherwise raucous hall. Her heart was broken by a former lover, and she feeds on the tears of her audience. There’s never a dry eye when the Willow Maiden sings. 6 A ravenfolk, Moonglow, runs the Bluebell’s night shift. She trades moonshine for stories from the night creatures— stories that her prodigious memory enables her to tell again and again in their original form. Of course, the creatures of the night are known for their lies and deception. 7 Garryth, the resident alehouse drake (see Tome of Beasts page 148), absolutely loves playing matchmaker. Though he is chronically tipsy, he means well, even when advocating matches that seem unlikely at best. 8 A seedy-looking gnome in the corner named Octavius Gloompuddle is peddling what he claims is a memory trapped in amber. Despite his claim that the memory leads to great riches, he is desperate to sell it and will take almost any offer. 9 Loopmutton Ningel, a gnomish bard, has spent the last decade living among the forest goblins in hopes of writing her dissertation: Matriarchy in Goblin Society, a Treatise on Merit-Based Leadership in Goblin Tribal Communities. She tends to have leaves in her hair, mud on her breeches, and ink on her fingers. 10 On new moon nights, Gackitch the roachling merchant delivers his odiferous wares from the Lands Below, such as darakhul brining salts, kobold spicy truffle-cheese, and his own people’s nettle beer. Kobolds and the folk of Morgau are his best (and only) customers. 11 Xanry Honeywine, a halfling brewer of mead, has a new secret recipe that will provide magical benefits to the imbiber, but he needs help with an ingredient often found in a dragon’s cave. Also, he needs people to fetch river water, harvest clover, and keep bears away from his brewing vat.
43 12 Ulliam Bonedrinker, a halfling warrior with a wild shock of bone-white hair, sits in the corner, hunched over a cup of ale; he shudders despite the warm hearth, and with each loud noise he almost jumps out of his worn boots. (Some believe he is not a halfling at all, but rather a Niemheim gnome jumpy in Baba Yaga’s backyard.) 13 A mushroom creature named Xilluck sits in a corner. This myconid (see Tome of Beasts page 300) drinks only hot water in a battered tin cup he brings in himself, but he pays for the water with ancient golden coins. He never speaks, but if approached he places two cracked bone dice on the table. Beat him two out of three, and he will lead you into the woods. Those who have won say that the visions he reveals can make a person’s fortune, or break their spirit entirely. 14 Gray-haired and smelling of liniment, Lord Carvaren has retired from adventure a dozen times. His eyes are clear, however, and his enthusiasm infectious. The pastoral life of a minor noble is not for him, and the map he’s showing you . . . Well, all he needs are a few brave souls to reach a legendary trove, the Golden Tomb of Saint Idracallos, patron saint of goldsmiths. 15 Trusk is a grumpy, middle-aged elfmarked man who likes to drink a pint by the hearth. He always wears dirty worker’s clothes and has a pig’s snout instead of a nose. If addressed, he always replies, “You think you know me? Well, you don’t.” A sour note in any evening. 16 Fenric Nine-Fingers, a bard in mourning, is reluctant to tell of his loss: his favorite lute, smashed by bandits. He still carries the pieces with him. A cup of fine wine might loosen his tongue (and a mending spell might restore the lute to wholeness). 17 The Green Knight of the Woods appears and challenges an arrogant character to a contest. If they can cut off the Green Knight’s head with only three blows, they win the Knight’s magnificent fey warhorse. If they fail, the Green Knight gets the chance to cut off the character’s head. 18 Xanry Honeywine, a halfling brewer of mead, supplies the Bluebell with fine honey and is here with his latest delivery. It is smaller than usual, since several of his hives have recently gone missing. 19 Krasnak the beardless dwarf is sometimes found in the Bluebell talking to his axe, Exiter, which he insists is a cursed god, and acting as though he’s drunk, even though he never orders drinks. 20 A rogue aridni (see Tome of Beasts page 26) named Tamarisk can be found nursing a thimble of excellent dark wine (she is a snob about vintages). She offers potions or gold, trying to find the elves her ancestors served—and she’s trickster enough to slip a sleeping potion to a rowdy dwarf, bearfolk, or loudmouth. They fall asleep face first in their pudding. D20 RESULT telling all the other grooms what to do and when—but never seems to lift a finger herself. Instead, Yllesh sits on a pile of straw and dreams of long-gone days. PECULIARITIES OF THE BLUEBELL A fey and elvish place with roots as deep as the Bluebell has a number of strange features beyond its rather unstable kitchen. Here are the most prominent. The Cellars: Hundreds of albino spiders that dwell in the Bluebell’s deep cellar carry rumors about the goings-on of the Ghoul Imperium—though only those who read Undercommon can decipher the webscrawled messages. Soul and Spirit Gambling Hall: An old passage leads from the kitchen through a window into a secret, invitation-only back room, where the Wild Roses, a degenerate local gnome gang, operates an illicit gambling den. The fey wager memories, songs, and promises of years of service. Gold and jewels won’t get you a stake at these tables; a new melody or a willing period of servitude might. Stables: The Acorn’s Cap is a small pub located within the Bluebell stables that caters to the smallest denizens of the forest and is run by a particularly proud brownie barkeep named Moxi Umberson. Mice, hedgehogs, pixies, and rabbits are among its customers. A single lantern illuminates the Acorn’s Cap, and most of its beverages fit in a thimble. Customers as large as gnomes and halflings are sometimes allowed in for a tipple. Well: The old stable well has been a reliable source for fresh water for as long as anyone can remember. Recently, though, the younger grooms and children have heard voices calling out from the well. But so far, no adults have heard anything. The children and
44 grooms avoid the well entirely; their elders believe they are just shirking the work of pulling up the bucket. Chambers: A tiny, carnivorous fey named Nibbler lives in the walls of the Bluebell—and it must consume its own weight in flesh once a month. Usually Rootglum or Hlara sets out a morsel of meat at night to satisfy the creature, but occasionally they forget, and a guest might awaken to find they are missing the tip of a finger or a toe. RUMORS AND ADVENTURES TABLE This table provides some grist for the conversations, rumors and plot hooks found at the Bluebell; some are just wild tales spun to amuse travelers, others are part of the fabric of the forest, and it’s up to you to decide what’s going into your version of the Margreve (you know what your players are likely to enjoy). Roll a d12 whenever a party member starts chatting with other patrons at the inn. Alternatively, choose a favorite tale and make sure the bartender fills them in with a bit of “not everyone knows this, but I’ll tell you” inside story. NPC TABLE These named characters are frequent guests or permanent residents at the Bluebell, with hopes and schemes of their own. Choose a favorite or roll a d20 if the party seeks to recruit allies or quiz locals. The Dancing Stones of the Margreve Although many ley line conjunctions and mystical crossroads are marked with a set of runestones or standing stones, the dancing stones of the Margreve are quite a bit more animated and dangerous than the typical circle of stone. They are not animated often, but when they are, the Dancing Stones come alive and hold various forms of celebrations, ceremonies of ley line manipulation, imprisonments, and even executions. Here are a few of the details of the Dancing Stones of the Margreve. TIMING The stones are well known for being active at solstices and equinoxes, and rather quiet most of the rest of the year, with a few important exceptions. The dancing stones can be awakened by a druid of 4th level or higher, by anyone who has the Ley Initiate feat (Midgard Heroes Handbook page 97), or by anyone casting a meld into stone spell on them. Once awakened, the stones dance, and those who see them are sometimes also compelled to dance. Resisting this compulsion requires a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw; on a failed save, a creature dances until the stones return to rest some hours later. The effort of continuous movement is tiring, and those affected take 2d12 bludgeoning damage. On a successful save, the creature is immune to the dancing compulsion of this set of stones. LOCALES AND KNOWN STONES The sites associated with Derende are sometimes also associated with standing stones, but even more so are the various twists and flows of the Black Road and the Red Boar’s Run, the two titanic ley lines that surge or trickle through the Margreve (see the Midgard Worldbook for more information on ley lines). At some times, these ley lines are quite easy for anyone with arcane training to detect; at other times they are wisps of magic, their strength dependent on the flow of arcane seasons that few understand. The Black Road’s standing stones are usually simple menhirs set in a triangle; at other times, two stones support a third as the lintel (in these cases, entering the Black Road requires passing through the doorway constructed by the stones). The five stone markers of the Black Road in the Margreve are: 1. The Teller of Tales: Three tall stones and one fallen one that are said to speak to visitors on occasion, if addressed politely or invoked through ritual. The three standing stones are always marked with runes, but rarely the same ones twice; the fallen stone is blank. A read magic spell is required to decipher them; sometimes they discuss the weather, sometimes they speak of danger and adventure, depending on how one stands with the Margreve. 2. The Hungry Bears: Two large and one small stone that lean toward each other, but that do not quite form a tripod. Popular among the bearfolk, who sometimes run off “trespassers” who squat at the site for too long. 3. Mother’s Maw: Two side stones and a lintel that somehow suggests a giant’s face or an open mouth. Rather intimidating, and also quite chilly underneath it, even in summer. 4. The Silver Spinners: Four stones with veins of some silvery material, said to be a site of rituals conducted by lunarchidna (see page 190). Web strands woven into nets sometimes hang like a canopy between the stones.
45 5. The Three Soldiers: Widely believed to be an elven general’s burial mound, this small hillock stands over the surrounding forest and provides a view to the horizon. The three pale gray stones on top of the mound are heavily marked with elvish runes describing a warrior’s life. For the more direct line of Red Boar’s Run, the stones are a bit more intimidating; offerings to dark gods such as the Hunter and Marena are often found at these stones, and (more rarely) offerings to Sarastra, Holda, or Yarila and Porevit. The stones of Red Boar’s Run are all marked with elvish runes, sometimes defaced in the northerly reaches running through Morgau to the Nieder Strait. The three best-known stones of the Red Boar’s Run in the Margreve are: 1.The Spires: The tallest of the Margreve’s stones, each of the seven spires stands more than 30 feet tall. Made of a pale gneiss, they are aligned to the stars and the sun, and druids often come here at the solstice or the equinox for particular rituals and measurement of the seasons. It is said that one can step directly from the top of the spires onto Red Boar’s Run, and emerge at the shore of the Nieder Strait or the palace at Cronepisht in a day. 2. The Queen’s Daughters: These three stones surround the entrance to a cairn that was looted long ago. The stones sometimes weep golden tears that smell of pine sap, and that dry into precious amber. 3. The Coven: These deep reddish-brown stones are streaked with black and gold inclusions, and each is carved with spirals, stars, and other symbols. There are usually three or four stones in the Coven, but visitors have reported as many as six stones gathered; it seems that some members of this set of stones do wander off. The invocation of the ley line road here seems to be much easier for female ley line initiates than for males (females’ caster rolls are made with advantage). In addition to these ley-line anchoring stones, dozens if not hundreds of lesser stones are scattered through the Margreve, some mossy and forgotten, others still tended by the alseid or the bearfolk. Here are five of the better-known ones for you to place as you wish in the Margreve. 1. Gentlemen of the Gate: These four pink and gray stones and two lintels create two portals and are widely believed to be connected to a trickster
46 god, possibly Baccho or Loki or even Volund in a whimsical mood. Gamblers believe the site is lucky and make pilgrimages to it when their luck has turned sour. Some bandits likewise find the place congenial, since servants of the law seem to have great difficulty finding these particular stones. 2. Troll Picture Stones: Simple tan stones carved with images of birds and deer, the troll picture stones were once venerated by trollkin and other darker fey creatures. They seem to have been abandoned since the Retreat; though power still hums at the site, only a very few trollkin and some ogres know how to channel it. An ogre shaman named Snowdrop lived there for a time, but seems to have wandered away; a trollkin band led by a young shaman has been tracking her to learn some of the tales and spells associated with the picture stones. 3. Fish Stones: These stones are always found in water, usually in Grandfather’s Tears but occasionally in a pond or on a marshy hummock. They are five blue-gray stones, carved with images of fish, frogs, and a crab. The stones produce an ear-shattering array of croaking noises in the spring, and some believe a minor ley line connects these stones to the court of the River King in the Arbonesse. 4. Antler Hill Stones: Beloved by the alseid and considered sacred ground for the deerfolk, the Antler Hill Stones are relatively small and round, as smooth as fine-wrought pillars. Each is carved with either a set of antlers at the top or a flowery set of ferns and greenery, and there are more than a dozen such stones. The alseid say each one is the grave of a grand druid from among their people, and the hill itself is a place of worship and remembrance each year at the autumn equinox. The spirits of these druids sometimes animate the Antler Hill Stones to strike down interlopers who visit the stones. 5. Three Silent Lads: These stones all lean a bit, and two of them lean against each other for support. They are usually found on the western edge of the Margreve, between Obertal and Valach, and when discovered they invariably attract a pilgrimage of Ninkash worshippers, who consider them propitious and holy. Their small pilgrim caravan usually rolls up with some carts of ale and offers an impressive service with a hundred holy toasts; when the pilgrims wake up the next morning, the Three Silent Lads have moved on. LEY LINE WARPING The dancing stones are often awakened to help shift a ley line in some useful fashion; their dancing can enhance, dampen, or reroute a ley line. Doing so is a magical ritual called stone river, which works as shown below. STONE RIVER 4th-level transmutation (ritual) Casting Time:1 action Range:Touch Components:V, S, M (standing stones) Duration:8 hours or until spell cast You call on a circle of standing stones to assist you in shifting the flow of magical energy though ley lines for the duration.Doing so requires a successful Intelligence (Arcana) or Wisdom (Religion) check; on a failed check, the change to a ley line does not happen. A successful check allows one of the following changes, depending on the check total. CHECK CHANGE 11 Extinguish weak ley line 12 Modify weak ley line (change its character) 13 Move weak ley line (up to 2d12 miles + caster level) 12 Dampen strong ley line to a weak one 14 Modify strong ley line (change its character) 15 Move strong ley line (up to 1d12 miles + caster level) 16 Dampen titanic ley line to a strong one 18 Modify titanic ley line (change its character) 20 Move titanic ley line (up to caster level in miles) After you have successfully manipulated a ley line, you can call on its energies to empower other spells. Once a single spell is cast with the modified ley line, your manipulation of it ends, and the ley line collapses back into its usual shape and channels. STONE FAMILIARS On rare occasions, a dancing stone might choose to follow a wizard as a familiar or a druid as a companion. A dancing stone familiar is somewhat oblong or spherical, and moves by rolling or dancing. It is about 1 foot tall (size Tiny), with 20 hit points, AC 18, Strength 8, Constitution 10, Dexterity 16, Intelligence 6, Wisdom 6, and Charisma 3. Though it avoids combat, if attacked it can respond with a melee slam attack at +6 to hit, dealing 1d4 + 2 bludgeoning damage on a hit. Dancing stone familiars weigh from 80 to 95 pounds.
47 Magic in the Margreve CONJUR ATION (HEALING) Low-level cure spells cause grass to grow, weeds to sprout, and buds to open in a circle centered on the target. Days after the blood has soaked into the forest floor, a perspicacious adventurer can still detect the site of a battle by the lush circles that dot the landscape. More powerful spells create wider circles or cause more pronounced growth. For example, raise dead causes a young tree to sprout beneath the corpse so that the target awakens in its boughs. Side Effect: Low-level healing spells like cure wounds leave tiny galls and patches of bark on the target for 1 day per spell level. High-level spells, like heal and raise dead, have profound (but harmless) effects on the target’s physiology, practically covering the target in wet bark and knotted roots. Adventurers who survive the forest often emerge as “tree men,” covered with the telltale signs of curative magic. Like any living thing, the Margreve wants to thrive and grow. But unlike a normal forest, the Margreve requires more than just sun, rain, and soil. The Margreve hungers for magical energy, which it acquires by absorbing some of the power of every spell cast within its borders. The Margreve’s power to siphon magic affects all spells cast within its borders. All spell save DCs have a –1 penalty and all spell attack rolls have a –1 penalty. Baba Yaga is a notable exception to this effect. There may be others at the DM’s discretion. The dissipation of siphoned energy into the forest frequently manifests visually, in a fashion associated with the spell’s school or its niche within a school. In some cases, casters experience more than just a loss of power from the siphoning. During the process, eldritch Margreve energy commingles with a cast spell’s energy, noticeably twisting the spell’s normal effect. The visual effects and side effects (if any) for spells of particular types are described below. ABJUR ATION Wisps of abjuration magic curl around the target, fall to the ground, and strengthen grass and undergrowth with protective force. For 1 round per spell level and in a radius of 1 foot per spell level, trodden grasses spring back and retain no footprints (as pass without trace), underbrush slides past the bite of a machete, and evocation magic leaves no mark on a place it touches, unless a caster targets such a spot directly.
48 CONJUR ATION (SUMMONING) When a conjuration spell that brings forth other creatures is cast, a transparent image of the creature(s) summoned screams out of the caster’s face and melts, wide-mouthed, into the ground. Side Effect: The Margreve usually chooses the creatures summoned through the use of conjuration spells. A spellcaster can bring about their own choice by including a tooth, claw, or other body part (not hair)—from the desired creature type as an additional material component. During the siphoning process, the forest’s aura of wildness intertwines with the spell’s energy, giving summoned creatures a 10 percent chance to gain the confused condition before their first opportunity to act. CONJUR ATION (TELEPORT) When a teleport spell is cast in the forest, a loop of silver cord drifts out of the target, like a fishing line taken by the tide. Its direction and length provide some indication as to how far off target the spell will be. Side Effect: Ancient stone circles, sacred groves, siphoned “spell batteries,” and ley lines tug and distort the path to the caster’s desired destination. Subtract 20 and add the caster’s level to rolls on the spell’s familiarity table. If the Margreve is friendly toward the caster, add 10. If hostile, subtract 20. The modifier applies if the origin and/or destination are within the Margreve. Results below 1 are treated as a 1 and results above 100 are treated as 100. DIVINATION When an augury spell is cast in the forest, vines and underbrush withdraw or creep toward the caster depending on the woe or weal of the divination respectively. For other divination spells, the plant life moves inward as if intent on the result of the casting. Side Effect: Two or more divination spells cast in the same round in the Margreve have a 10 percent chance of crossing wires, providing all parties with inaccurate (and sometimes wildly inappropriate) information. EVOCATION Depending on the kind of magical energy an evocation spell produces, frost covers the ground (cold), fire singes vegetation (fire), light glows and fades into the trees (light), the canopy closes to treasure the darkness (darkness), leaves kick up at the caster’s feet (air), sparks arc between the caster’s legs or nearby trees (electricity), and so on. ILLUSION Illusory sounds and images created in the Old Margreve often have minor details added, as if the forest were trying to fit them in somehow. Moss grows on illusory trees, brambles curl around illusory walls, and chirping birdsong accompanies ghost sounds. The DC to disbelieve such spells is increased by 1. Non-Caster Casters Every intelligent creature born in the Margreve and raised in the Old Ways treasures an intimate magical connection with the forest. Even those who have no talent for the magical arts cradle a tiny spark of Margrevian magic in their soul. This spark allows them to cast a single cantrip once daily. The spellcasting ability for the cantrip depends on the spell list it was taken from: Charisma for bard, sorcerer, or warlock; Wisdom for cleric or druid; or Intelligence from wizard. If the cantrip is on multiple spell lists the player chooses of those available. The spell is always the same for an individual, and the material components, gestures, or rhyme necessary to cast the spell are unique to the individual. The spell represents both the character’s relationship with the forest and the expenditure of cantrip magic that feeds the forest. Through this magic, one Margrevian may have a knack for keeping blades sharp, another for locating game, and another for predicting storms or the arrival of foreigners.
