Let's Make a Forest

11 Jun, 2025

In the coming months I plan to publish a few more adventures in the Cairn Adventure Series. I thought it might be interesting for folks to see my process. The following is a "Designer Commentary" for my next forest crawl adventure, "The Feast of Tegny Forest."

My tools:

• Cairn 2e Warden's Guide (I prefer the coilbound version)
• 16 d6 dice
• 2 d20 dice of different colors or style
• Wet erase markers
• Silicone battle mat
• A notebook
• A pen or pencil
• A digital drawing app (I use tldraw)

Did you know that you can use Kettlewright to roll on these tables? It isn't as fun, but it sure is quick!

Rolling Dice, My Way

When designing a realm, dungeon, or forest I do not reroll dice results. Nor do I switch out which dice belongs to which table, or select from another row that I like more. In general, I prefer to "let the dice fall where they may." Occasionally this leads to some funky stuff, but I can always just make adjustments further down the road in that case. I prefer to work with the odd, sometimes contradictory nature of random dice rolling. For this reason I also use different colored d20s when rolling on tables, assigning them to the first and second columns respectively. It keeps me honest.

You do not have to do it this way.

The Forest

The following is a digital recreation of my workflow. I'll do my best to explain why I made the decisions I made along the way.

Opening my Warden's Guide to page 56, "Forest Seeds", I begin to develop the basic details of my forest.

I wrote each of these results in my notebook. Already I can see a personality unfolding: an ancient, diseased grove. Still, its spirit is strong in face of it. But it hides its disease. Now it only wishes to be healed, but a long-held contract stands in its way.

Cool! What do I do with this? I'm not 100% sure yet, but I do have an inkling. What was the disease? How did it spread? I thought of a book I'd read recently where flesh and plant to merged in a horrific experiment gone wrong. Perhaps something human-caused, that quickly spreads?

And what about the forest's goal to heal itself? What kind of "agreement" would stop it from succeeding? Perhaps the agreement isn't something the forest chose, but is instead a separate contract between people? At this point, I decided to move on. When in doubt, just keep going. You'll figure it out eventually.

Draw POIs

Now for the fun part. I LOVE rolling d6s on a big map! It's very satisfying. The process is quite simple: grab a handful of dice, then drop them in the middle and watch them spread. Look at the die result and compare it to the POIs table; you'll memorize it pretty quickly after that. Then, grab a marker and draw a square where each die used to be. Inside the square you can write down whether the resulting POI will be a Monster, Ruins, a Shelter, or a Hazard.

I then numbered each POI, starting from the two opposite points on the left and right (my entrance and exit). Finally, I drew paths between each POI, creating hidden, conditional, and standard trails as I went along. I switched up different marker colors to make differentiating between trails a bit easier. I recommend you play fast and loose with these, since they don't depend on dice tables until the next step.

Finally I rolled on the trails table, writing down types and markers for each. I rolled up only three of these, and assigned them to the colored trails I'd created. I left behind two trails (in green) to serve as generic paths. I also added a little river on the East side to serve as the "exit" path.

Trails

The Map

Here is the original drawing:

And in digital form:

Fill In POIs

I then rolled on the respective tables for each POI. I don't do them one at a time, but record the results for all POIs in my book. Once I'm done with this, I move everything to a computer. That's when the real work begins! Here is what I recorded:

1. Ruin: Rusted Market + The Veil Between Worlds Is Thin
2. Ruin: Decomposed Boats + Unusual Fauna
3. Hazard: Thorny Thickets + Bleeding Trees
4. Monster: Pixie + Hiding
5. Shelter: Ivy Wrapped Tower + Parasitic Foliage
6. Ruin: Sunken Gazebo + A Forest Spirit, Ready to Die
7. Hazard: Psychic Fog + Spell Gone Wrong
8. Ruin: Exposed Workshop + Warded Grounds
9. Hazard: Insect Swarm + Animated Armor

Consider what we know about the forest: it is ancient, diseased, and trying to heal, but some kind of agreement stands in its way. With that in mind, I can already feel a related theme coming from these dice rolls. There are lots of ruins, which makes sense given the age of the forest. It is fairly hazardous, but there aren't a lot of monsters, except for the pixie hiding in 4. Is it hiding from disease? Meanwhile we have unusual fauna, bleeding trees, and a dying forest spirit.

That gives me a lot to cook with! I'm going to try and come up with something for every POI, explaining as I go. This is by far my favorite part of the process! It's pretty hard to "explain" what goes on in my head as I'm writing these, but I hope it helps!

1 - Ruin: Rusted Market + Veil between worlds is thin

In the Vald setting, there is a list of holidays. One of them is called Bartermoot. This was one of my favorites, because I loved the imagery that came to mind when I wrote it:

Representatives from the smaller towns and villages trade steel for lumber in ritual arrangement with the denizens of the Wood.

Perhaps the "Rusted Market" was simply the place where the local Bartermoot was held, and as it is used only once per year the venue becomes worn with time? What if the opening of this forest crawl was at a Bartermoot market? And perhaps the "Veil" that has become thin is more of a metaphorical veil, as folk from the Wood venture out to meet with townspeople to trade?

I'd also like to further cement this adventure in my setting, so I decide to throw in another faction: The Marchguard. These are sort of "defenders of the realm" like the Night Watch in A Song of Ice and Fire, so I figured it would make sense for some of their members be present at the Bartermoot!

Then it occurred to me: what if the Marchguard were hired to maintain the peace during the festivities, and by sworn oath could not venture into the Wood? Perhaps that is the agreement preventing the forest from healing itself?

Initially I treated this locale as a typical forest POI, until I realized that it probably shouldn't be! Instead, it should be treated as a "home base" or jumping off point for the PCs, and not subject to strict dungeon crawling procedures or time limits. Feel free to skip to 2 (The Old Dam) for a more traditional version of this process.

1 - Bartermoot

Enormous Oak and Birch trees surround the area, casting dark shadows over a large clearing. Dozens of large tents are arranged with yellow and green livery, and tall flags mark the entrance to an outdoor market hall. Hundreds of people mill about, trading and enjoying the festivities. A small trail extends from the East and into the Wood, while another path leads downhill towards the Southeast.

• Tents: Built atop crumbling iron and wood. Weeds grow all around the base, as this clearing is only used during Bartermoot. It will be abandoned again tomorrow.
• Livery: Most folk recognize the yellow as belonging to the local Master of Commerce. The green belongs to no house, but instead serves as an invitation to the people of the Wood.
  • Market Hall: Nearly any mundane item (and some more rare) can be found here today.
• Festivities: The smell of rich food and lilting music create a lively, joyous atmosphere.
• Eastern Trail: Nearly hidden by the tents and fabrics. Large footprints and broken leaves identify this as a place where deer regularly come out of the wood to feed.
• Southwest Trail: A glimmer of water is still visible through the thickening wood.

2. Ruin: Decomposed Boats + Unusual Fauna

This is an early POI, close to the start. As a ruin, it should provide some clue as to the ancient or recent history of this place. The answer therefore was clear: I should hint at some terrible thing going on in the Wood.

There is an animal path leading down... perhaps to the river, to drink? Given that there are some old boats and that the POI is right next to the river I drew, the set piece became quite clear.

The only question I had was, what kind of weird creature should I add as "unusual fauna?" Then I remembered that the forest was diseased; maybe the contagion has spread to animals as well as plants and trees? What if it spread to humans? How about a disgusting corpse, infected with whatever was killing the forest? But who was this person, and how do they relate to the larger goings-on? Some small treasure (hidden in a pocket) is always a good idea. I'll also leave a clue behind: an orange residue that indicates infection.

As I began writing things down, I realized that something had to stop the corpse from floating downstream. Then it hit me: a dam!

2 - The Old Dam

A walkable dam is built across a small river. On the opposite side, rotted boats are stacked together near an ideal fishing spot. A face-down corpse floats in the water, caught by the dam.

• Dam: Human-made with a section for walking. It is frail and full of holes; the first person attempting to cross will cause it to collapse (DEX save to get across safely).
• River: Southwest-bound (begins at 6).
• Boats: Nearly all are rotted through and unusable, save for a small boat that fits only two.
• Corpse: Dead for a day at most. Its belly is a horrific merger of flesh and bone, as wriggling fish skeletons are fused with its underside. A pledgepenny is lodged in one of its pockets.
  • Pledgepenny: Easily identified by any educated person. Any member of the House of Burgesses must hear the bearer out, at the very least.
  • There is an orange residue on one shoe.

3. Hazard: Thorny Thickets + Bleeding Trees

Looking at my map, I see the trail leading into the Wood from the start is a Deer Trail. That gives me a good descriptor to build on. I can also see that there is another trail going Northeast from this POI that is blocked. The Thorny Thickets are perfect for that!

I'll also add some creepy trees that bleed an orange sap (further evidence of the forest's overall theme). I'll also add a little clue regarding the Pilgrim's Trail (muted bells). We'll figure out what to do with that later.

3 - Bloody Grove

The trail splits at a tiny clearing. Short, curved trees bend towards the center of the clearing. To the North the trail is covered in thickets, but the trail continues East unimpeded.

• Trees: Cutting them causes a thick, orange sap to emerge, and the blade becomes stained for good.
• Thickets: Travelers not wearing protective clothing must make a DEX save or lose 1 STR; they bleed for longer than usual. Distant bells chime somewhere to the Northwest.

4. Monster: Pixie + Hiding

Not all monsters want to fight! That's why we have reaction rolls. Since they are described as hiding, I thought it might be interesting to have this little Pixie turn invisible (as per the monster stat block ability). That doesn't give me a lot to work with, so I looked at the trail marker again: stone piles. Aha!

4. Stone Circle

A dozen boulders are arranged in a small circle around a stump. Set atop each is a flat stone tablet, perfectly balanced. On the East side of the display is a muddy, Southwest-flowing river.

• Circle: The boulders are massive and do not look like any local stone. Those with knowledge on the matter would recognize that they must have come from leagues away. Stepping into the circle has no effect.
• Stump: Wet with dew. There is a Pixie hiding as a flower growing from the wood, but they will only make themselves visible if spoken to, or if the characters have revealed themselves as allies of the Wood.
  • Drinking a cupful of the dew causes complete invisibility for 1d4 minutes. Collecting the dew in a vial will preserve up to 3 uses of the potion.
  • The Pixie is frightened of the phenomenon in 5 and 7, and are considering fleeing.
• Tablets: Extremely heavy, requiring at least two strong people to lift.
  • The Pixie will curse anyone that shows disrespect to the tablets, who fail every save for a week and a day. Restoring the tablet to its proper state reverses the person’s luck (they automatically succeed on their next save).
• Mud: Deer prints are visible, and can be followed uphill towards 6.

Pixie
3 HP, 3 STR, 15 DEX, 13 WIL

• Tiny humanoids with insectoid wings. Naturally invisible.
• Can cast Sleep and Masquerade at will.

5. Shelter: Ivy Wrapped Tower + Parasitic Foliage

This one was all too easy, given the result. And who says that all shelters need to be safe all the time? Consider what we already know: The forest is diseased. It is spreading. Where did it come from? This is another good opportunity to teach the players about this forest, and what happened here. Whenever I roll a shelter, I think about who occupies it now, and who occupied it before? A recluse? A scientist? Pulling from Vald's setting, I landed on an Aurifex (Alchemist types).

I decided that the tower was ground zero for the contagion to spread, and that the Aurifex was at the center of it. For the statues I took inspiration from the book and film Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer. Strong recommendation! Shelters are a great place to put random, occasionally useful items, so I created the "Bubblemask" for the second floor.

5 - Abandoned Tower

A clearing, bursting with overgrown foliage. An ivy-topped tower is visible on the other side of a wall of thick undergrowth. Surrounding its foundation are dozens of statues made from plant life. A mist-covered trail on the Northwest side of the tower leads deeper into the forest. A thick, bramble-covered path leads South. A well-trod trail heads East, uphill, towards the sound of water.

• Foliage: The plant life is impossibly thick here. Heavy, persistent chopping and cutting is required to reach the tower. Green-tinged statues are visible through gaps in the vegetation. They look like people in various states of activity.
• Tower: Short. A squat tower two stories high, covered in leafy ivy. A wooden door is installed at its base, the entryway shrouded in dark.
  • A tiled rooftop is visible, along with a small window. Closer inspection via looking glass or similar would reveal a faint light through the window. Easily scalable due to the presence of heavy ivy. A fall would bruise, but no more. On the second floor is a window without shutters.
  • Door: Stands slightly ajar, as if closed but not latched, then left to the elements. Enters onto the first floor.
  • Ivy: Creeping vines. Inert, then moves slowly enough to escape notice of distracted prey. If a character climbs the vines, they will wait until the perfect moment to strike.
• Statues: Made of thick forest detritus, leaves, soil, sticks, and moss. They are shaped like people in varying acts of terror: running away from the tower, screaming in agony, and their arms in the air as if to protect themselves.
• Northwest Trail: The mist is so thick that torches or lanterns are needed to pass. Distant bells chime towards the Northwest.

Creeping Vines
8 HP, 10 STR, 12 DEX, 2 WIL, vines (d4, blast)

• Appear as an inert, typical vine. Attacks passing creatures to use their corpses as fertilizer.
• Critical Damage: Target is pulled into the air where they asphyxiate within a few minutes.

First Floor
The contents in this room have been completely destroyed and upended by an explosion of plant life. Parts of bookcases, chairs, cooking pots, etc. are distributed roughly throughout and a latched trapdoor is cut into the ceiling on the North side.

• Contents: What was once a serene kitchen or workshop was undone by a force so violent it could tear a hole through a wrought iron chamber pot, a tree branch erupting from its bottom. Amidst the destruction is a broken rope ladder and a fine pair of work gloves.
• Trapdoor: Latched from the other side of the 12ft ceiling. Parts of a rope ladder still hang in ragged chunks from the wood.

Second Floor
A small table cluttered with instruments is arranged on the West side of the room, opposite an open window that looks over the forest. A latched trapdoor is built into the floor on the North side of the room. Wooden boxes are stacked neatly on the South side. The space is clean and untouched by the destruction of the floor below.

• Instruments: Ceramic bowls, alembics, glasswork of varying kinds, and so on. A knowledgeable character could identify what was being prepared (e.g. a potion, a metal, and so on) but not the exact solution or product. There is residue of an orange powder.
• Window: A hidden path is visible just beyond the overgrowth East of the tower, leading to a slanted gazebo astride the river (6). Cutting tools should be required to pass through.
• Trapdoor: A 12ft drop onto the first floor. Parts of a rope ladder still hang in ragged chunks.
• Boxes: Five boxes. The rest contain (in total): a Bubblemask, an empty ceramic vial, and a can of fire oil. The remaining two boxes are empty.

6. Ruin: Sunken Gazebo + A Forest Spirit, Ready to Die

This one was pretty obvious: The Gazebo is inhabited by the spirit, or perhaps it is the spirit? There is also a hidden path (deer tracks) from this POI to the stone circle (4), so I have to work that in somehow.

6 - Slanted Gazebo

A decrepit gazebo sinks slowly into the mud alongside a fast-flowing river, heavy with rocks. The forest East of the water is so thick as to be impenetrable. Large pieces of wood are scattered at the shore. To the West is a path leading towards a small tower, thick with vegetation on either side.

• Gazebo: Its paint still shines in the river mist, while its bright cushions and fine tablework stand in place as if glued to its surface, despite the angle.
  • A person stepping onto its surface does not slip and fall; it is as if they walk right side up. Immediately upon entering, the gazebo will let out a groan of anguish.
  • If food is placed in the gazebo, a great sigh will emanate from within. A voice will be heard inside the minds of any creature nearby, offering to answer a single question regarding the woods and its denizens. All Fatigue is cleansed.
  • Anyone able to communicate with spirits and Fae creatures will learn the following: the gazebo was once a meeting place for those who came to parley with the Neighbors. The structure was enchanted, and later then forgotten.
• River: Near the muddy shore are deer footprints leading Southwest along the river. They can be followed to 4. The mud is thick here, and the current is strong. Characters not using a boat should take one Fatigue.
• Wood: Remains of a boat, torn apart from rocks. Dead fish litter the area; a few are stained with an orange residue.
  • Intact fishing gear can be extracted from beneath some of the floating debris.

7. Hazard: Psychic Fog + Spell Gone Wrong

By this point I was dead set on the contagion situation, so I sort of... ignored the die results! I replaced "fog" with sickening air, and took inspiration from the trail marker "distant bells" that I had rolled up earlier. Both act as sort of clues, so I suppose this isn't a true hazard (though the Northwest trail is).

7 - Infected Fork

The air is wet and shimmering, and no light passes through the trees above. The path from 5 continues on to the Northeast, towards a small hill. To the Northwest is a broken path, with trees scattered about.

• Air: Thick, uncomfortable, and nausea-inducing. Hints of the contagion ahead.
• Hill: Through gaps in the trees a stone building is visible. Its roof is exposed to the elements.
• Northwest Path: Characters taking this path and breathing without protection must save STR. On a fail, they start showing signs of infection within 1d4 hours. Distant bells chime towards the Northwest, as well as the sounds of treefall.

8. Ruin: Exposed Workshop + Warded Grounds

Working within the previously established facts about the forest, I know that there was an Aurifex (at the Tower) who let lose a contagion that spread, killing their followers. But clearly, they escaped! And it seems to me that they'd go somewhere safe, to a workshop, perhaps? But what are the wards all about? Maybe in their mad rush they forgot to reset a ward of some kind?
I thought about the Ward spell in Cairn, which states:

A silver circle 50ft across appears on the ground. Choose one species that cannot cross it.

Very cool, so perhaps that could be done with alchemy, with a half-circle on the door? But what collapsed the workshop? Maybe the ward had something to do with it?

Finally, I thought it might be good to create a foil to the "villain" of this story. A sort of mindless representation of the forest's illness. Sort of an anti-woodwose, I guess. Something to fight, anyway. Perhaps this creature triggered the ward at the workshop, destroying its creator in the process?

8 - Collapsed Workshop

A modest grey building sits atop a small hill, the roof largely collapsed into the structure. The front door is shut, flanked by two windows. The interior of the building is visible, provided there is sufficient light. To the Southwest are some felled trees.

• Door: Dented and fused shut. Will not open without “help.” In front of the door is a line of broken, ashy powder, mostly intact. A burnt footprint is imprinted into the stone floor.
  • The powder is a ward against trespassers, used to destroy alchemical experiments from prying rivals. The burnt footprint is from a Bloodhound that stepped on the powder, initiating the explosion.
• Windows: One of the windows is smashed, its glass spilled across the lintel and surrounding area. Climbing through is dangerous due to the glass; the other window opens just fine, however.
• Interior: Starting from the right side is a massive hole where a large section of roof used to be. Metal and wood are scattered across the floor, covering broken furniture.
  • The body of Taros Quill is here, beneath the rubble. It will take some time (1d4+1 rounds) to clear enough rubble to access the body. On his right forearm is a tattoo of a red flower, representing the Oath of the Marchguard.
  • Careful examination of his partially-charred remains should result in sufficient evidence to prove the man died from the building’s collapse, the explosion, or both.
• Trees: Orange-tinged footprints lead towards the Southwest (7). There is no trail here.

9. Hazard: Insect Swarm + Animated Armor

This is a hazard and not a monster. But when I combined a swarm of insects and magical armor, I loved the imagery it created. So a monster was born! And it spreads contagion in its wake, which both provides a clue/trail for the PCs and endangers them. It also provides some hooks for the PC (fallen trees).

9 - Last Stand

Hazard: Insect Swarm + Animated Armor
Freshly cut trees, swarming with green and black gunk. Great movement and chopping noises as something makes its way Southwest, the sound of a bell ringing in its wake.

• Gunk: Contagion. Direct contact with skin causes infection. Spending more than 1 hour in this area also promotes infection (STR save or become infected).
• Chopping: The Chitin Knight, making its way towards 1, spreading contagion as it cuts down trees when necessary. It moves slowly, but with purpose.
• Bell: Formerly attached to the tower door at 5, it has become fused onto one of the Chitin Knight’s appendages.

Chitin Knight
12 HP, 2 Armor, 14 STR, 8 DEX, 6 WIL, arm spike (d10, blast)

• A hybrid of armor and insect; an abomination. It spreads contagion in its wake. One of its legs has merged with blood-red wood, while the rest is black as midnight.
• Critical Damage: Target is impaled, and infected with contagion.
• Unless burned, its body reforms 1d12 hours after being destroyed.

Go Over It Again

Now comes the hard work of going over each of your POIs and making sure they make sense, meet the criteria you've set for yourself, and sprinkle in any missing pieces that better support the themes and play style you're going for. I put A LOT of work into the first POI, because although it started out as a randomly rolled forest market, I decided it could also serve as a sort of home base or town for the PCs. When you're ready, try writing an adventure overview for Warden's considering or preparing to run the adventure.

Encounter Tables

Every time you roll a die on the Dungeon Events table you risk an encounter of some kind (even during a forest crawl). Do your readers a favor and write up an encounter table for them! While I'm definitely guilty of skipping this in some of my other modules, I do think it helps a LOT to have them, and it gives you as the author more meta-textual surface area to reinforce the themes and play style you're trying to create.

Like everything else in this process, I try to tie encounter tables into the larger context of the setting. They can be obvious clues or require deeper interaction, typically at a cost. I try to structure them into four groups:

Monsters

• Not all monsters are dangerous! Some monsters just want to have fun.
• Not all monsters want to kill you! Make a reaction roll whenever possible.
• Humans can be monsters, too.
• Make the "big bad" a random monster. This is OK, because monsters only show up on the Dungeon Events table 16.67% of the time, and the players are always in control of the Dungeon Event die (even if they don't know it). It is their choice to stay in an area longer than they should, or to pull that lever.

Factions

• Use factions to build intrigue, deliver clues, opportunities, and opportunities for roleplay.
• If your module doesn't have factions... that's OK! Even if they aren't directly involved, they can still help tell the players a bit more about the world.

Neutrals

• 99% of the game world doesn't care about the happenings in your module. Throw them a bone, once in a while!
• Neutral parties can be NPCs, armies, wild animals, etc.
• Neutral parties don't always stay neutral (depending on the actions of the PCs, of course). They join factions (reappearing later!), become hirelings, enemies, food, etc. They make the world seem alive.

Phenomenon

• Strange stuff is always going on, even outside the context of the adventure.
• Strange stuff that DOES relate to the module should definitely show up in encounter tables. It should reveal the imbalance tied to the adventure's theme, show the results of PC actions, etc.
• Consider what the spirit of the forest is like, and what it desires. The encounter table is the spirit manifest.

Encounter Table

Bring It In: The Adventure Overview

A good overview tells new readers exactly what they are about to read, but also what to keep in mind as they read it. It will also help focus your efforts a bit.

We now know a lot about this forest, its denizens, the symptoms of contagion, the origins of its illness, and even its villains. I can already see some serious story hooks forming (see below), and given that I have a date and season for the holiday in my setitng, I know what the weather will be like (though I recommend Wardens roll for it as appropriate).

I then added some descriptions about the people and factions the PCs might meet, and some unique items for the marketplace (this is a holiday all about shopping, after all).

It is helpful to consider what the PCs know at the outset about the holiday, the forest, the locals, etc. A good "What's really going on here?" is always helpful to anyone planning on running your module, so I'll definitely add that there. Finally, I also like to open adventures (even ones I haven't written) with a question, and "What are you doing here?" is always a good one!

Adventure Overview

Garden Day, 14th of Sunrise, 7728
During the holiday of Bartermoot. Two weeks into the dry season.

Bartermoot

Celebrated on the morning of the 14th of Sunrise (Garden Day), representatives from the smaller towns and villages trade steel for lumber in ritual arrangement with the denizens of the Wood.

The Marchguard

The Guard bends to no kings, knows no religion, and obeys no laws but their own. New members adopt a Blood Oath so powerful it is said to be inescapable by all but death itself. Of course, joining the Guard is rarely a choice, as their ranks are largely composed of ex-thugs, disgraced scholars, neglected knights, misbegotten rangers, and the like.

Bloodhounds are members of the Guard who have been awarded special commendations or have demonstrated true belief in their cause. These hunters have adopted a single purpose of duty: enforcing the Oath. Utilizing a network of spies, informants, and plants, they ensure that any who escape the Guard are forced to return or die.

The Guard sees little reason to engage in politics or other such short-sighted quarrels with the other factions. However, decades of living near the borders have caused them to broker an uneasy friendship with those who call the Wood their home, and they will even treat with them on occasion. And although it is never discussed, on rare occasions the Guard will come the aid of those who live in the Wood as well.

Hooks/Rumors/Happenings

• There is a scream as children appear, saying they’ve found a corpse at the old dam (2).
• Talks of diseased animals, fish, etc. Farmers have pooled their resources (200gp) as a reward for anyone that can stop the madness.
• The Master of Commerce is interested in more information regarding stories of illegal lumber work in the Northeast (7). He will pay 50gp apiece for information regarding the goings-on there, but discretion is required. He does not wish to upset the denizens of the Wood, especially not today.
• The Guard is offering a reward of 400gp (total) for information on the current whereabouts of Taros Quill, a deserter. He was last seen fleeing into the Tegny Woods with a group of followers, but the previous Bloodhound dispatched after him has not returned. The Guard is Oathbound to watch over the Bartermoot festivities and cannot follow until the next day, when the trail may have already grown cold.

What’s Really Going on?

Taros Quill, formerly of the Marchguard, broke his Oath and fled East along with stolen equipment. An Aurifex, he altered his mind to better serve the Guard, but his machinations eventually drove him mad. He has built a cult following around him somewhere in the Tegny Woods, where he plans on “freeing” humanity from the scourge of civilization. In order to enact these plans he needs rare reagents to act as catalysts for plant and animal growth.

However, something has gone terribly wrong. Quill has created a disease that threatens to destroy the entire forest, and perhaps even the Wood itself. After his followers were transformed into plant abominations (or worse), he fled to 8. A Bloodhound followed him there, tripping an alchemical ward set by Quill, killing the Aurifex. The Hound survived, but was later transformed into the Chitin Knight (9).

People

• The smallfolk arrive by foot, horse, and wagon. Though superstitious, none dare cause trouble here, so close to the Wood, where the veil is thin. For many this is the farthest from home they will ever travel.
• Residents of the Wood will come to trade today, then retreat into the trees again until next year. Most look warily about, but some are partaking in the fun as well.
• A Bloodhound from the Marchguard openly stalks the area, asking questions and intimidating the merchants.
• Members of the White Raven (identified by white tattoos) keep stalls here, selling trinkets and religious texts. They do not look kindly on symbols of any organized religions.
• The Order of Nine will have agents here in search of Relics, masquerading as locals. They see and report all, but never engage.

Market Specials

• Mundane items from the Marketplace are discounted by 25% here.
• Recollection Vial: A sniff, and for 1d4 minutes all that is seen or heard will be engraved in memory perfectly (including writing, symbols, sequences, and so on). Sniff again to recall the experience at any time. 1 use. 100gp.
• Bonemold: A box of heavy, wet mycelium. Any flesh (living or dead) placed inside will be preserved exactly until removed again. If exposed to water, the fungus hardens and dies. Bulky. 50gp.
• Bubblemask: A small bottle of viscous, stretchy fluid that is pulled across the mouth, filtering the air around it. Cannot be used underwater. 3 uses. 100gp.

Ask each PC:

Why are you attending the Bartermoot? What are you hoping to get today?

Contagion

Creatures directly exposed to the Chitin Knight or an infected entity (typically via direct physical contact) are transformed into a plant abomination within 1d10 minutes. They can be saved if the infected body part is immediately removed or cured magically.

Conclusion

There you have it: my process for writing adventures, using only the Warden's Guide, some writing tools, and whatever inspires me. I'm sure I've forgotten much of what drove some of my decisions throughout this process, and if they return to me I will add them in whenever possible.

I've actually run this adventure already, and it ended in a TPK! The PCs were massacred by the Chitin Knight, who showed up on an encounter roll. But it was their choice to stay where they were longer than they should, so everyone was cool with it. Also they had some really bad rolls! It happens, though: the world is a dangerous place.

Until next time, keep on dreaming.