Into the Wilds
The Ashen Forest
Past the Near Woods the trees are burnt black and the ground is ash. It is the first place the Waystone goes, it opens on your third night, and it has what home cannot give you.
How a trip works
- Go together. Step into the Waystone's ring with up to five friends. The forest is different every time.
- You arrive at dawn, and night always comes. The forest's day is shorter than home's. A trip lasts about twenty to thirty-five minutes, and every one ends in the dark.
- Turning back is the decision. The forest is always bigger than you can clear before dark. The scattered pickings in the open are safer, and the places below are richer.
- Your bag is only yours once you are out. Leave by the Waystone you came through, or by a beacon lit at one of the places below. If you fall, your bag stays where you fell, and a friend can carry it out.
You will find Charcoal, Resin, Iron Ore, Ashcap and Wood. What you pick up does not grow back while you are there.
What is out there
Each trip finds a few of these. Most have one light you can use. Out in the open there is none.
The Charcoal Kiln
A ruined earth kiln in a clearing, with the best Charcoal in the forest. It is open on every side, and the dark knows it. Relight the kiln and it will hold the night back for a while, and call you home.
The Burnt Chapel
Resin in the scorched pews and Ashcap in the crypt below. Candles still burn on the altar, inside the nave. The crypt has one way in, and no light.
The Collapsed Mine
More Iron Ore than anywhere else, along a shaft that is dark from the first step. There is a torch at the entrance that burns for a few minutes. A light that walks is not yours.
The Standing Stones
Nothing to gather, a long way from everything else, and no light. Stand inside the ring at dusk and it will steady your nerve. Somewhere to run that is not home.
At the far edge
Furthest from the Waystone there is a burnt-out camp behind a broken palisade. Someone lived there once. If you are still in the forest when night falls, the bell goes quiet, and then you will hear chains.
It is the Hearthbreaker, and it will come to you wherever you are. Stand and fight it among the stones, or run for the Waystone. The Waystone still works with it behind you. Those who bring it down come home with something that lets them brace their gates and, later, opens the way further on.
What it changes at home
| From the forest | What it gives you |
|---|---|
| Charcoal | Fuel that burns far longer than Wood. One good trip can keep the fire through a night. |
| The Forge | Iron, and with it iron tools and weapons that hit far harder than stone. |
| Resin and iron nails | Treated planks, the Watchtower, and stronger building. |
| Ashcap | Calming Brew, which takes the edge off a bad night, and food that keeps. |
| Blueprints | Save a layout to build again. Trading Blueprints, and selling what you find, comes with the Market. |
| The Hunter | The fastest class, made for running between trees. It opens on your third night. |
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