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BURNING HEART OF THE WOODS

Tier 3 Exploration
Thick indigo ash fills the air around a towering moss-covered tree that burns eternally with flames a sickly shade of blue.
Impulses: Beat out an uncanny rhythm for all to follow, corrupt the woods

Difficulty: 16
Potential Adversaries: Beasts (Bear, Glass Snake), Elementals (Elemental Spark), Verdant Defenders (Dryad, Oak Treant, Stag Knight)

FEATURES

Chaos Magic Locus - Passive: When a PC makes a Spellcast Roll, they must 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: PCs who approach the central tree can make a Knowledge Roll to try to identify the magic that consumed this environment.

  • On a success: They learn three of the below details. On a success with Fear, they learn two.
  • On a failure: They can mark a Stress to learn one and gain advantage on the next action roll to investigate this environment.
  • Details: This is a result of Fallen magic. The corruption is spread through the ashen moss. It can be cleansed only by a ritual of nature magic with a Progress Countdown (8).

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

Grasping Vines - Action: Animate vines bristling with thorns whip out from the underbrush to ensnare the PCs. A target must succeed on an Agility Reaction Roll or become Restrained and Vulnerable until they break free, clearing both conditions, with a successful Finesse or Strength Roll or by dealing 10 damage to the vines. When the target makes a roll to escape, they take 1d8+4 physical damage and lose a Hope.

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

Charcoal Constructs - Action: Warped animals wreathed in indigo flame trample through a point of your choice. All targets within Close range of that point must make an Agility Reaction Roll. Targets who fail take 3d12+3 physical damage. Targets who succeed take half damage instead.

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

Choking Ash - Reaction: Countdown (Loop 6). When the PCs enter the Burning Heart of the Woods, activate the countdown. When it triggers, all characters must make a Strength or Instinct Reaction Roll. Targets who fail take 4d6+5 direct physical damage. Targets who succeed take half damage. Protective masks or clothes give advantage on the reaction roll.

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