D20 SYSTEM✦ Normal

The Inverted Lodestones of Blackwood Station

# Intrigue# Wilderness# Dungeon# Puzzle# Economic

The remote Blackwood Station, a fortified trade outpost on the edge of the cursed Whispering Woods, has gone silent. Its legendary animated snare traps—once used to protect trade caravans—now assault any who approach. Scouts report the traps are being controlled by inverted lodestones, powerful geomantic artifacts stolen by the Bandit Gangs of the Northern Reach. But the gangs claim they act in desperation, and the Station's masters are not what they seem. Veteran adventurers are hired to investigate, only to find themselves trapped between two desperate factions in a conflict where survival is a luxury and morality is a snare of its own.

Chronicle Prelude

The muddy, torch-lit crossroads of Millhaven, a weary frontier town. The air smells of wet earth and woodsmoke. A nervous merchant offers a king's ransom in silver to any who can break the siege of Blackwood Station and restore the vital trade route, but his eyes dart to the shadows, as if expecting trouble.

Environmental Traits

The Whispering Woods have become a gauntlet of magically animated traps—snares, pitfalls, and spear-launchers—all governed by lodestones inverted by the 'Rust Fang' bandit gang. The gang claims the Station's noble masters are secretly siphoning the woods' life force to fuel a forbidden ritual, dooming the region. The Station's warden denies this, blaming the gang's greed. The truth lies somewhere in the middle, and the woods themselves are dying.

Legendary Archetypes

Rayan

HP:45

STR:16

WIS: 12

CHA:11

Key Factions & Autonomous Nodes (8)

Warden Kaelen
A tall, weathered human in his fifties, wearing practical leather armor over a faded blue tunic bearing the Blackwood Station seal. His eyes are tired, and a deep scar runs from his temple to his jaw. He carries an air of weary responsibility.
Vorlag of the Rust Fang
A broad-shouldered man in mismatched furs and scavenged armor, his beard braided with iron rings. His eyes hold a feral intensity, and his hands are stained with soil and rust. He wears a wooden medallion around his neck.
Engineer Hilda
A wiry woman in oil-stained coveralls, her hair tied back under a leather cap. She peers through thick goggles pushed up on her forehead, and her tools are holstered on a well-worn belt. She looks anxious but determined.
Elspeth, Rust Fang Scout
A lean, sharp-eyed woman in forest-dyed leather, her face smeared with mud. She moves with a predator's grace, and her bow is always within reach. A wooden medallion similar to Vorlag's hangs at her throat.
Ghar the Bonepicker
A hulking humanoid clad in armor stitched from bones and scavenged metal. His face is hidden behind a mask of a crow's skull, and he moves with surprising silence for his size. He carries a massive, notched axe.
Animated Snare Construct
A mechanical humanoid assembly of iron, wood, and coiled wire, moving in jerky, precise motions. It has no discernible face, only a central, glowing control gem set in its chest. It whirrs and clicks as it patrols.
The Hermit of the Outer Ring
An ancient, stooped figure in robes of woven moss and bark. His eyes are a milky white, but they seem to perceive more than they let on. He smells of damp earth and dried herbs.
Merchant Rorik
A stout, nervous man in a travel-stained coat, standing beside a small cart laden with secure-looking crates. He constantly scans the edge of the woods, one hand resting on a pouch at his belt.

Chronicle Prelude

Environmental Traits

Legendary Archetypes

✦ Related Cases ✦

The Kobold Trap-Reset Mechanism and the Counterfeit Map

The Golden Mound and the Swarm's Hunger