The Burning Heart of the Wood

Description: Thick indigo ash fills the air around a towering moss-covered tree that burns eternally with flames a sickly shade of blue.

Tone & Feel: Unsettling yet strangely beautiful, choking ash mixed with the cloying smell of sap.

Tier: 3

Type: Exploration

Difficulty: 16

Potential Adversaries:

Beasts (Bear, Giant Snake), Elementals (Fire Spark), Verdant Defenders (Dryad, Stag Knight, Oak Treant)

Features

Chaos Magic Locus - Passive

When making Spellcast rolls, all characters roll two Fear dice and take the higher result.

What does it feel like to work magic in this chaos-touched place? What do you fear will happen if you lose control of the spell?

The Indigo Flame - Passive

Characters that approach the central tree can attempt to identify the magic that has consumed this environment with a Knowledge (16) roll. On a success, they learn 3 of the below. On a success with Fear, they learn 2. On any failure, they can mark a Stress to learn 1 and gain advantage on the next investigation roll in this environment.

• This is a result of Fallen magic.
• The corruption is spread through the ashen moss.
• It can be cleansed only by a powerful ritual of nature magic (Progress Countdown 8)

What Fallen cult corrupted these woods? What have they already done with the cursed wood and sap from this tree?

Choking Ash - Reaction

Countdown (Loop 6)

When the PCs enter the Burning Heart of the Wood, set a Countdown (Loop 6) that ticks down each time the characters take an action. When triggered, all characters must make a Strength or Instinct Reaction Roll or suffer 4d6+5 phy damage that cannot be reduced by armor (half damage on a success or no damage on a critical). Protective masks or clothes can grant advantage on these reaction rolls.

What hallucinations does the ash induce? What incongruous taste does it possess?

Grasping Vines - Action (2)

Animate vines bristling with thorns whip out from the underbrush and try to ensnare the PCs. They must each make an Agility Reaction Roll or become Restrained and Vulnerable. A PC grasped by the vines can break free with a Strength or Finesse Roll or by dealing 10 damage to the vine, which ends both conditions. Each time a character tries to break free, they take 1d8+4 phy damage from the thorny vines and lose Hope.

What painful memories do the vines bring to the surface as they pierce flesh?

Charcoal Constructs - Action

Warped animals consumed by indigo flame trample through a Close area. All characters within that area must make an Agility Reaction Roll (16) or suffer 2d10+8 phy damage (half damage on a success, or no damage on a critical).

Are these real animals consumed by the flame or merely constructs of the corrupting magic?

Thick indigo ash fills the air around a towering moss-covered tree that burns eternally with flames a sickly shade of blue.