News

Please check out the latest blog post for some news on the next few months of UndestinedRoleplaying.com

Introduction

Marcel could feel the forest balking at his presence. It was almost like the trees were trying to get as far away from him as they could. He felt as if they could sense his intentions. He told himself that it was his paranoia from one of the many minds he had absorbed. The mistakes of his youth still haunted him to this day.

Marcel had dedicated his entire life to the scholarly study of magic. He focused his studies on his talent for manipulating the minds of others. It started as simply as causing those he manipulated to see illusions, but eventually led Marcel into the realm of attempting to control their actions. Experimenting with magic is dangerous, but that didn’t cause any hesitation in Marcel. One of his experiments was intended to simply be a prank that caused his closest friend and study partner, Lendon, to become temporarily paralyzed. Perhaps it was something in his mind expressing his true desires, or perhaps it was simply a mistake. Rather than what Marcel believed to be his intentions he accidentally stumbled upon his most powerful spell.

This spell allowed him to rip the psyche from its victims. Their psyche, unable to return to its own body, would then attach to the nearest mind that can contain it. In this first case, the nearest mind to Lendon happened to be Marcel’s. Marcel’s mind was fractured by the intrusion on his own psyche by Lendon’s mind. His friend’s mind realized it’s own apparent death as Lendon saw his lifeless body through Marcel’s eyes. Lendon lashed out in anger against Marcel. Marcel’s mind was stronger than Lendon’s, possibly only due to the shock of being ripped from its own body, but Marcel was able to push Lendon back into the corner of his mind to prevent him from taking control. Marcel then ran from his home to escape the consequences of the murder when Lendon’s body was inevitably found.

Marcel continued to experiment with this new spell. Lendon’s presence in his mind was a constant source of anger and hatred. Marcel channelled this hatred into acts of violence. In one such case he used this spell on a man he was attacking. This was his worst mistake yet. Now his own mind was completely shattered and unstable. Lendon’s presence filled him with anger, and this new mind polluted all of this with the overwhelming fear of death. In his mentally damaged state Marcel found a new motivation that stemmed from all of these emotions. He became angry that a sorcerer of his power was unknown to the public. He became frightened that he would die and be forgotten. He started using his power to take even more minds. With each mind he absorbed his own became more and more unstable. He fought in battles in an attempt to gain glory, but it was never enough. He needed something that would guarantee his immortality.

Marcel focused his anger and fear on his desire to become immortal. He thought that if he could absorb the psyche of an immortal he could gain their immortality. He learned of stories about a powerful tree ent that protected a distant and, according to some, enchanted forest. The stories of this ent spanned centuries and this seemed to be the perfect opportunity for Marcel.

He traveled to the forest and hunted the ent, but his search showed no evidence of the existence of this immortal creature. Marcel became desperate and set the forest on fire hoping to draw out the ent, but it never came. As the fire spread Marcel saw something that caught his attention. Looking through the flames he saw a beautiful woman. As the fire danced between them he was able to see more of her. Her ears and body were those of a deer, and she had small antlers protruding from her forehead. Her torso rose from above her cervid front legs, and though covered in deer-like fur it was in the shape of a woman. Her face was beautiful and appeared slightly alien, but her beauty and the vast wisdom in her eyes were unmistakable. Those astonishing eyes were sad at first, and her tears evaporated from the heat of the flames before they left her eyes. Then her eyes met Marcel’s and filled with malevolence. A wall of wind suddenly burst through the flames driving searing heat swiftly in Marcel’s direction and he immediately had to run to attempt to escape.

As Marcel ran for his life from the wind driven blaze he felt the ground begin to tremble rhythmically beneath his feet. Only seconds later he saw the ent rushing towards him. It stood head and shoulders above the tallest tree and Marcel heard it cry out in a deep and rumbling voice, “Durala! No!” as it leapt towards him into a shoulder roll in what appeared to be an effort to put out the flame. Marcel had almost no time to react, realizing that he would be crushed by the giant ent he made one final choice. He cast his spell, this time turning it on himself. His psyche was ripped from his body and latched onto the mind of the ent. Even with the multitude of minds trapped within his own, they were no match for the ent’s mind. He was immediately forced back into a corner of the ent’s mind, but he would not sit quietly.

Marcel’s mind was forever trapped inside of the ent, and he worked tirelessly to control it. Over the next century his influence became more and more noticeable and very recently has begun to manifest physically. Taralar’s left side has slowly begun to manifest signs of a strange Blight. White mold has begun to take over his left leg and arm and from the mold has grown black vines that can be seen moving and growing. The mold has slowly begun to spread over the body of the ent and the vines that grow fall off from time to time. Anywhere a black vine falls the plants nearby also become infected with the same Blight. White mold growing first, followed by the moving black vines. These vines grow from the trees and other plant life and have begun to trap animals, working their way deep into their flesh. The vines grow through the animals in such a way that it eventually kills them, but before death they become aggressive as they succumb to Marcel’s madness. Like the vines, these animals will find and attack anything they can get near. Any living thing damaged by the black vines protruding from the trees or these animals also becomes infested with the Blight. Their wounds begin to grow white mold and the vines will slowly grow into and out of their flesh. Over the course of a week they will be overtaken by the Blight, and the fear and hatred of Marcel will dominate their minds manifesting as extreme and violent aggression before they are finally killed by the vines. And where they die, the Blight continues to spread. More information on this process and the Blight that causes it can be found below.

It has become common knowledge for the gods and a few highly powerful magical beings that the tree ent, Taralar, has become cursed. It has been known for decades now, but Taralar’s condition has been deteriorating more and more rapidly. The complication of this is Taralar’s purpose. He was placed in this forest to protect the dryad, Durala. She is a very powerful and extremely important life. She was born with this forest and her life force is tied to her forest. If she dies, the forest dies with her. And if the forest dies, she dies with it. The blight that has begun to overtake her forest has weakened Durala, and as it grows she slips closer to despair and eventually death. Killing the cause of her illness would be the simplest solution, but in this case her illness is being caused by her defender, Taralar. In spite of her own great power, the risk is too great and Durala cannot be left undefended as any who would seek to kill her would also kill the forest and all of the diverse life within it. A new Guardian must be found, and the gods have already set something into motion that they hope can save Durala and her forest.

Outline

The Forest

Depending on who you ask, this forest is referred to by different names. More knowledgeable and powerful beings would call it Durala’s Forest or Taralar’s Forest. The common name for it among folk that live nearby is the Garrison Woods, or simply the Garrison. They also commonly refer to it as the Living Forest and call it enchanted. This is partially due to the fact that this forest has historically remained much greener and healthier than the areas surrounding it even through the harshest winters. It also stems from the great variety of life held within.

Its proper name, the Garrison Woods, comes from an old tale about a war that was fought nearby. In this story, one army sought refuge in the forest as a last resort for survival. The other army attempted to set the forest on fire to drive out those hiding within it. As the fires started, the legends say that the trees came to life and stamped out the fires. And then, when the army that started the fires attempted to enter, the trees fought with those inside and helped them achieve victory against terrible odds.

The forest is quite large and has a great variety of both plant and animal life. It would take about 16 hours to make the 45 mile (about 72 km) walk through it from east to west at its narrowest point, and about 50 hours for just over triple the distance from North to South. These travel times are assuming someone had no encounters and was able to perfectly keep their bearings without taking any breaks whatsoever. Most likely, given any hardships at all, even the shortest version of the journey would take at least 3 days. The western edge of the forest is created by a large lake. The forest is kept lush and alive not only by the magic of Durala, but also by several small and large creeks that feed into the lake running down out of the distant mountains to the east. The area around the Garrison Woods is also quite heavily forested, but it can be easily distinguished based on the greenness and variety of the plant life. Durala’s forest makes a nearly crescent shape curving around the Garrison Lake to its west.

Your PCS may hear about this forest and it's current issues and/or old legends from Andhrella if they've played through the Elayne campaign, from The Smith if they've played through a campaign involving The Fire and The Flame, or from some other powerful being who may have a vested interest in Durala or Taralar. They may even just stumble upon the forest by accident. They may know of Taralar and not of Durala, or vice-versa. No matter how they find themselves in Taralar’s Forest, what follows are characters, creatures, and a series of events that will all help lead them through this story.

Trolls

Trolls are gigantic creatures that have little in common with human appearance while still being humanoid in that they stand upright, have two arms that bend at an elbow, two legs that bend at a knee, a torso connecting them all, and a head on top. From head to toe trolls are covered in a thick bark like skin that matches the bark of the trees from their home. This bark-like skin serves as a small layer of protection against physical attacks roughly equivalent to studded leather armor. Trolls have small, radiant green eyes. A trolls nose and ears are nothing but holes positioned near where a humans would be. Their hair is more akin to a mane of moss that acts the part of hair. Trolls are thorough creatures and as such other races have often labeled them slow. Their movement seems odd to the other races in its apparent sluggishness and notably in the way that it doesn't seem to affect their surroundings. As they move they leave no trace.

Trolls range in size from seven feet to eight and a half feet tall (about 210 to 260 cm) and can be anywhere from 350 to 600 lbs (160 to 270 kg). Their height and weight is largely dependent upon the forest from which they hale. The larger the trees in their home forest the taller and/or heavier they will be. They also resemble the trees of their home so strongly that they can sometimes be mistaken for one of these trees if standing still. Some trolls even intentionally avoid being seen in this way. Along with their appearance matching that of the trees in their forest, so does their lifespan. Some trolls can live for thousands of years.

Trolls do not really have a culture in the same sense that other races do. A troll is born alone and quickly grows into an enormous, slow moving creature that wanders it's forest. They typically do not rejoin their small community until they reach maturity which can take anywhere from a few years to decades also depending upon the forest from which they hale. Once a Troll reaches maturity it is filled with a natural urge to protect its home from the ravages of the smaller races. This urge has led Trolls to many violent confrontations with other races and thus, has left them labeled by most as malign guardians of the forests.

Just under 300 miles (482 km) east of Durala’s forest and through a mostly forested landscape is another distinguishable forest. This once thriving forest of Aspen trees is nestled in a mountain range and until recently had a small population of trolls. A large number of orcs recently came accross from the other side of the mountain range and started destroying this forest to harvest its lumber. They killed most of the trolls and eventually forced them out of their own homes. The few that remain have been traveling west as refugees in search of a new home. These trolls are from a forest of Aspen trees and as such are tall and slender with almost white bark like skin with dark grey and black blemishes. They have small branches growing from their shoulders, necks and heads with green leaves growing from these branches.

Ako - (AH-koh) - The leader of the trolls. Ako is not the eldest, but he is the largest of the trolls at just over 8 feet tall (about 245cm). He is by an enormous degree the most talkative of these trolls, but this is not to say that he speaks much at all. When speaking to any other than his fellow trolls he will typically speak in sentences with no more than 5 words. And when speaking with his fellow trolls he speaks in a language few non-trolls would understand. The rest of the trolls will almost exclusively communicate with simple yes or no answers and typically even this is without actually speaking. Ako carries a large wooden staff that has a 7 inch (just over 15cm) diameter and is 7 feet (over 200 cm) long.

Koa - (KOH-uh) -The eldest and quickest of the trolls. She can easily be identified as her legs make up almost three fourths of her seven and a half feet of height (about 230 cm), but these disproportionately long legs make her movements seem slow in spite of her speed. Koa is extremely knowledgeable about herbs and can use minor spells to heal herself or her allies with a touch. She also has what some might mistake for a green thumb, but in reality is a magically empowered natural talent for helping living things grow and recover from illness. Once inside the Blighted forest she will begin to use all of her knowledge and talents to find a cure for the Blight.

Neeka - (NEE-kuh) - The physically strongest of the trolls. She can be easily identified as she is much more stout than the rest of the trolls with especially thick and strong legs. This also makes her look the least like a tree of any of the trolls. She typically uses her hands and feet as weapons, but sometimes will improvise with whatever nearby object she can heave at her enemies.

Ilka - (ILL-kuh) - Ilka and Olkin are almost indistinguishable from one another to the average human eye, in spite of the fact that Ilka is female and Olkin is male. Both carry large hammers with wooden hafts and a stone head attached with thick vines.

Olkin - (OHL-kin) - Olkin and Ilka are almost indistinguishable from one another to the average human eye, in spite of the fact that Ilka is female and Olkin is male. Both carry large hammers with wooden hafts and a stone head attached with thick vines.

Kallea - (kuh-LEE-uh) Kallea is the most beautiful of the trolls. Of these trolls She is the most easily mistaken as a tree, and her bark like skin is almost completely white and unblemished. Most would pause as they walked by to take a moment to admire this beautiful tree. Kallea uses her increased ability to disguise herself as a tree to go unnoticed as a threat by most who would do harm to her, but she is a formidable foe in a fight. She carries an enormous bow and dual wields staves that would be quite large for any human, but appear normal in size in her hands.

The Blight

This curse upon Taralar’s Forest is a byproduct of the insanity caused by the mix of Marcel’s damaged mind with Taralar’s powerful mind. Marcel has continued his endeavor to control Taralar, and his efforts have manifested as the Blight. As it grows stronger, Taralar’s strength over Marcel wanes. Most recently, Taralar has even begun to lose control over his physical movements. He has been rendered unable to speak, but there is a constant battle for control of his physical actions and Taralar is losing ground in this battle with each passing day.

Marcel’s goal is simple. Once inside of Taralar’s mind, Marcel learned everything that Taralar knew. Marcel decided that he must destroy Durala. As the Blight continues to grow, both Durala and Taralar are forced further into a weakened state. Once Marcel is able to control Taralar, he will kill Durala and her forest, and his story will be told throughout the ages.

The Blight affects both plants and animals. As a manifestation of Marcel’s madness, his plagued mind overtakes the thoughts and actions of any who are affected by the Blight. With plants, this control happens almost instantly. At its core the Blight causes a madness, but along with this madness are two main goals: To destroy as much of the forest as possible, and to protect the life of Marcel which is now tied to the life of Taralar. The Blight exists completely separately from Marcel and will not stop doing its damage until either it is cured or the entire forest and Durala are killed.

Any intelligent creature affected by the Blight would begin to hear voices.During the first few hours they would be gentle whispers on the edge of their perception. Sounds that seem to be echoing from through the trees, or whispers that might easily be explained as wind through a nearby bush. As about 8 hours pass the afflicted will become more and more certain that not only are they hearing a voice, but that it is talking to them. Another 16 hours later (24 hours in total after being affected by the Blight) they will begin to understand the words of the voice, but not their meaning. The whispering is almost constant at this stage, but now and again a louder word is heard more clearly. The Blighted is certain this word is a demand spoken for them to hear, but it doesn’t always make sense. Here are some examples:

“Hush!”

“Struggle!”

“Listen!”

“Understand!”

“Sleep!”

“Forgive!”

“Comfort!”

“Bleed!”

These and other completely random words may be heard intermittently depending upon how far along the Blight and Marcel’s madness have come. If one of these words is heard during combat the PC suffers severe minuses to any actions taken on the same round that they hear the word unless the action they are taking would help spread the Blight. As another 24 hours passes these demanding words become louder and more frequent in their mind. They start at nearly an hour between each word, but keep happening more and more frequently over the course of the second day until eventually the shouted words overlap one another and begin to block out all of the PCs perception. It is at this point, 48 hours after becoming infected with the Blight, that the PC will lose control of his or her actions. If outnumbered by their friends they will simply attempt to escape into the forest in order to find more Blighted creatures before attempting to come back and attack. For all of this the PC is effectively unconscious as their mind is overtaken with the madness of Marcel.

During this same 48 hours the physical manifestations of the madness continue as well. The white mold gives way to black vines growing into and out of the PC. If anyone attempts to remove them, they will cut and even break like vine normally would. But those who are attempting to cut and break them are at severe risk to be cut, scratched, or poked by the vine at which point they, too, become Blighted and the same process begins in them. Animals (including PCs) who experience this process suffer severe pain and fevers which grow worse and worse (and cause worse and worse minuses to any and all reasonable rolls) until they eventually lose consciousness after roughly 48 hours. You could have your PCs make spell resistance rolls to extend this time if they have some powerful way of resisting magic, but keep in mind that this spell is extremely potent as it stems from Durala’s empowered guardian, Taralar.

The Blight spreads like a mold, with anything that it touches becoming blighted and continuing the process of the decay. The Blight is caused by Marcel’s madness and as such only has an effect on anything within Taralar’s forest. Since it is the manifestation of a deranged mind, it only lives to fulfill its deranged purpose, and outside of the forest it serves no purpose.

Blight affected plants

Once touched by the Blight, plants will quickly grow white mold which turns within a day to black. Out of the black grows thorny, vine-like tendrils of black that grow up and down the plant. As they grow they spread the white mold until the entire plant is consumed, turns black, and dies. The black thorns do not die with the plant as they continue to grow outward seeking more victims. As the trees die their blackened bark and branches crumble and fall upon the ground. They spread the spores of the Blight to the grass and anything else below.

If any animal has the misfortune of sleeping near a Blighted plant, the black vines will begin to grow out of the plant and around the animal. In a matter of hours the plant will completely surround the animal ensuring it’s inability to escape before beginning to grow into and through the animal. The cries of animals being attacked in this way can be heard throughout the forest from time to time. In this way it takes only a few hours for Marcel’s Blight to gain control of the mind of its prey, and then use them as a tool to spread the Blight further.

blight affected animals

As the Blight vines grow they leave a thorny path along the ground. If an animal is so much as scratched by the Blight they, too become infected with it. It manifests in exactly the same way as it does with the plants. First the scratch will begin to grow white mold. This mold will continue to spread from the wound and leave black, dying skin and hair in its wake. Soon after, black vines will begin to grow out of the wound. These vines grow into and out of the animal. Over the course of a week the animal will die a slow and painful death. After only two days, however, the animal will lose all control of it’s mind and begin wildly charging and attacking other animals attempting to cut them with the thorns growing through and around its body and thereby spread the Blight, or, better yet, kill them and remove some of the life from this forest in order to further weaken Durala.

The animals affected by the Blight vary widely from all of the wildlife in Durala’s vast forest. They also will find one another and attack in groups. Even within these groups the animals can vary greatly. Birds, squirrels, wolves, foxes, bears, badgers, skunks, deer, snakes, spiders, rats, frogs, and all other sorts of woodland creatures may band together to attack your PCs. Most of these creatures are far from tough to kill, but when they show up in large numbers or jump onto your PCs out of trees, they can still be formidable enemies. Especially when even a scratch is potentially a death sentence.

curing the blight

There are three different methods that can be used to save a life once it has become infected with the Blight. Keep in mind, after about a week of being Blighted, most animals would be unable to fully recover from the wounds caused by the Blight and would almost certainly die. Each passing day greatly reduces their chance to survive.

The first cure is the simplest: any magical healing that normally cures such diseases and illnesses would also cure the Blight.

The second method is also quite simple. The Blight has no effect on those that are not inside of Taralar’s forest. This would likely be a difficult thing for your PCs to figure out on their own. But if they are infected with the Blight and simply leave the forest, the effects of the Blight will immediately stop progressing, and their bodies normal healing process would eventually cure it. The amount of time it takes for this process is dependent upon how much damage both their mind and body have suffered from the Blight at the time they escape the forest.

The third method (and the one that is most prefered in order to continue to progress the storyline) is that of Koa’s devising. After spending about a week in the forest, Koa’s knowledge of herbs and her talent for healing help her to find a cure for the plants of the forest. This cure requires her to spend 4 hours with a single tree. After spending this time with the tree it takes 20 hours for the tree to recover from the damage the Blight has caused so far. Once the tree is cured the Blight begins to be pushed back in a perfect circle with a radius of 5 yards (just over 4.5 meters). Anything inside of this radius will become bright green and full of life. Yellow and purple woodsorrel flowers begin to bloom radiantly in the circle making a stark and magical contrast with the surrounding forest. These areas will remain cured for up to a week before the Blight is able to seep back into the circles. Staying inside this radius also has the same effect as leaving the forest for the sake of curing the Blight. The Blight stops functioning inside these circles and Blighted plants and animals are unable to enter of their own accord, though they can be carried or forced inside. Once inside they will experience a brief rush of pain for the first few seconds, which will immediately subside if they stay within the circle. Most would have to be restrained to prevent their escape from the circle within those first few seconds of pain.

events

These events are the main portions of the story that will affect the overall outcome of this campaign. They happen in the order presented. Most of these events involve the actions of the trolls and it is not necessary for the PCs to be involved in any but the last of these. The PCs can of course become involved at any point, and as these events progress it is even possible the trolls will seek the PCs out for their help. Or it may become necessary for the PCs to find the trolls in order to survive. Feel free to introduce them to each other in whatever way best suits the flow of your story and based on the decisions of your PCs.

Regardless of when they meet, the trolls would be open to talk to the PCs about their current homelessness. If informed of the predicament within Taralar’s forest (which would of course depend upon the current knowledge of the PCs) the trolls would be interested in helping, if for no other reason than to try to save the forest. It is highly unlikely that the PCs would know of the dryad, but if they do and they tell the trolls about this it would only further commit them to the cause of saving this forest.

Most of these events will happen days apart. This leaves plenty of time for random encounters almost all of which will certainly involve the Blight in one manner or another. Here are some brief examples:

The PCs may come across a great variety of Blighted plants and or animals each and every day.
The PCs are drawn to the sounds of an animal being slowly impaled by black vines from a nearby tree.
The PCs sleep near a Blighted tree before they know of the dangers of this forest.
The PCs come across the aftermath of one of the below events (cured trees, mutilated deer body, dead troll(s), etc)
The PCs find the trolls who have captured and are attempting to cure one of their friends who recently ran off into the forest after falling to the madness from the Blight.

leaving the past behind

This event can happen on the way to the forest or even soon after the trolls enter it. A smaller party of the same orcs that destroyed the trolls' home have been following and hunting the trolls as they escaped. These orcs have finally caught up to their prey. It is possible the sound of their attack could draw the attention of the PCs. If so, when they arrive they see that the trolls are outnumbered 2 to 1 and one of them is already gravely injured though still fighting. If the PCs choose to aid the trolls they would likely be able to save all of them, or at least all but the already injured Olkin depending on how successful they are and how quickly they respond. If they choose not to get involved they would see that the playing field is becoming more even as more orcs are dying than trolls. Neeka would actually crush one orc with her hands and then use his now limp body to attack the remaining orcs.

If the fight goes on without the help of the PCs, the already injured Olkin and Kallea would both likely die. Ilkin would be unconscious but alive. Neeka would be wounded and knocked to the ground by the final two orcs before Ako swipes them both off of her with one blow from his staff, cracking open their skulls. After the fight the trolls will tend to their injured, mourn their dead, and drag the bodies off of the road and into the forest. Without knowledge of the problems inside the forest, the trolls would enter it hoping to find their new home inside.

As an extra option, you may want your PCs to be encountered by these orcs instead. In this case they may be heavily outnumbered, and then the trolls can step in and save your PCs from certain death. Or perhaps this could simply be their first encounter and they would only understand later, after meeting and speaking with the trolls, why the orcs were here. It is even possible that the PCs simply come across the aftermath of this battle. With successful tracking or perception rolls they may even be able to track the trolls, or at least see that some large objects were dragged away from this battle and into the forest.

the deer

This event should happen after the trolls have been in the forest for up to a week, or when it becomes dramatically appropriate in order to keep trolls or PCs alive. This is the event that helps Koa discover her ability to cure the Blight.

During their travels, the trolls attract the attention of a single Blighted deer. They decide to attempt to capture it rather than kill it. They suffer some injuries but are able to subdue the deer. In this battle Ako (and possibly even more of the trolls and/or PCs) is hurt by the black vines protruding from this deer. Koa attempts to cure the deer. This process takes over 8 hours, but it appears that the process is working as the black vines start to shrivel and die, but the holes caused by the vines do not heal quickly enough and the deer bleeds to death from the mutilating wounds left behind by the Blight.

It becomes apparent within the next 24 hours that all of those attacked by the Blight are suffering from its effects and it soon becomes necessary for Koa to once again attempt to heal her friends and even possibly her new allies. Learning from her mistakes with the deer, she would now be able to save the life of any of her Blighted allies. Depending on the number of trolls remaining it is possible for the sake of drama that her second attempt also results in the death of her patient, though this one would be very nearly successful. It is also a great idea to make mock rolls as the GM to give these moments additional stress and drama for the PCs. Given no other choice but to continue to attempt to save her friends, Koa’s next attempt would certainly be successful.

Instead of a deer it is possible the trolls could come across a PC who managed to escape from his friends after falling to the madness of the Blight. In this case, Koa would be successful with her first attempt at a cure. Unless you are annoyed with that particular PC.

the cure

Now that Koa has established her ability to cure the Blight, any allies of hers would basically be immune to all but the first few hours of its effects. She would also begin to work to use this same cure on the plants. This process would take her about 2 days. Once she is able to cure plants she would find that curing trees causes an area of effect inside of which the Blight would die. This would happen exactly as described above, and would be her choice way to cure anyone who becomes Blighted from this point on. She can simply cure a tree and all recently affected by the Blight can rest near the tree and be healed automatically. Any creatures that have been Blighted for more than a few days would have a chance to die during the healing process with this chance dramatically increasing with each passing day that they remain Blighted

the quaking ground

After spending several days inside the forest, the trolls will start to speak of a great power within the forest, even if they do not know of Taralar or Durala. They would speak of a desire to seek out this power. They would begin to move through the forest, pausing twice a day for Koa to cure a nearby tree (typically the largest tree in the area). This curing process still takes 6 to 8 hours, but once the tree is cured, any who stay near it for the same duration will also be cured. A few hours after leaving a cured tree the trolls encounter a large group of Blighted creatures including at least one bear. It almost seems as if these creatures were waiting for them as they were simply standing in a line perpendicular to the trolls’ movements. As soon as they are in sight of the trolls (and the PCs if they are with them) these Blighted creatures attack.

Once this battle is over the trolls will tend to the wounded and mourn any dead. Koa will then begin to cure a nearby tree in order to prevent the Blight from overtaking all who were damaged by the Blighted creatures. One hour into her curing process the trolls and all others with them will start to notice that the ground is shaking. This shaking is a rhythmic BOOM BOOM BOOM that is intensifying with each tremor. Over the course of a minute the tremors are joined by the sounds of something moving through the trees coming from the east. The trees can be seen moving apart as if to make way for something. Shortly after, Taralar can be seen charging at full speed towards the group, and the trees can be seen leaning out of his way before he would otherwise trample them down.

His entire left side is covered in black vines and his right side is nearly fully white with mold. He has large vine necklaces about his neck with a single large sphere made of black vines dangling from each necklace. He stands over 50 feet (just over 15 meters) tall and is cackling maniacally as he moves towards them. The PCs would honestly think that he would look quite similar to an even more enormous oak-tree-troll if his Blight were removed. Though, if they ever mention this to the trolls they would act quite offended and simply state, “No.”

When Taralar arrives at the trolls position he does not stop, but rather charges straight through, in the process scooping up one of the trolls (not Ako or Koa) and continuing to charge off away from the group. Any PCs near this troll would have to move out of the way in order to avoid being trampled and severely hurt by Tarlar. Any attacks that attempt to stop him are foiled by the nearby trees which move to protect Taralar or otherwise prevent attacks against him. As he passed by he moves at a speed that none of them could possibly match, if for no other reason than his ability to travel straight through the trees and use the trees to slow down any who would pursue him. He almost immediately disappears from sight and sound as the forest covers up his movements and position. Ako, Koa and anyone else who attempts to follow Taralar are quickly wrapped up by roots and branches reaching out from the trees in order to stop them. Mixed in with the roots and branches are the Blight vines that begin to try and sink their way into the tangled victims. The trolls will quickly use their raw strength to fight their way out of the tangles and help any others who are stuck. In despair, they will realize that they have lost Taralar along with they troll that he took. They have no choice but to allow Koa to cure a tree so that none of them will be lost to Marcel’s madness as they all suffered injuries when entangled by the trees.

If the PCs have not met the trolls at this point, the sound and earth-shaking from Taralar’s charge is likely to draw their attention. They may be near to the trolls and think at first that the sound is coming towards them and not the trolls. They may even be close enough to witness Taralar’s capturing of one of the trolls. Even if they do not approach the trolls at this point they will likely see the healing process as Koa shortly thereafter begins to cure a tree and the trolls settle in for the day. Unless the PCs have a healer of their own, it is likely to become their only option to approach the trolls and hope that they too could be healed. They could also, of course, wait for the trolls to leave this area (as they will the next day) and then settle into Koa’s cured area themselves and be healed. This is only assuming they have the time to wait, understand how Koa’s curing works, or are willing to bet their life on a hunch that they might still be cured without the presence of the trolls.

the hunt

Depending on what knowledge the trolls have at this point they will either be seeking the great power they have felt in the forest or Durala herself. If just seeking a great power they will think they have found it and that it took their friend. If they were seeking Durala, the loss of the troll will take precedence and they will choose to begin to try and seek out Taralar to recover their lost friend.

During this journey they will encounter more and more of the Blighted creatures. Almost exponentially more with each encounter. After a hard fight that leaves them and any of their allies tired and injured another group of Blighted creatures that is more than twice as large as the previous group starts to form around them. Rather than attack, these creatures will start to encircle the trolls and any allies. As they are being surrounded and before they can attempt to escape they start to feel the familiar BOOM BOOM BOOM of Taralar’s approach. This time, it seems that he is already upon them, his steps are slower and his maniacal laugh can be heard through the trees as he approaches. Soon they will realize that he is circling them.

The trolls will hold their ground nervously with their weapons held in front of them spinning to always face in the direction of Taralar. If the PCs choose to more forward to attempt to attack the nearby Blighted creates, Ako will shout “No!” or “Wait!” to them. The creatures will simply hold their ground and only attack anything that gets close enough to them that they can attack without moving.

As the trees are moving and begin to separate to place Taralar in view, any looking in that direction see something blur in their vision and then stabilize before them as a beautiful half deer, half humanoid woman. She will look extremely calm, but her voice is overwhelmingly compelling. She simply says to the trolls and their allies, “We must leave now.” All who hear this will immediately turn and begin to run away. As they run they notice that with each step the forest blurs by as if each step is covering an enormous distance even though it still feels like only one step. With the first step they pass over the circle of Blighted creatures and further into the woods. With each passing step they move so far that it is disorienting, but they see their friends and the Dryad moving with them step for step. Any outsiders who witness this would simply see those affected turning into blurry streaks across their vision and out of sight in less than a second.

After nearly thirty seconds of moving in this way they all stop and find themselves in what appears to be a different forest that is more full of life than the Blighted Garrison Woods. There is a small and beautiful babbling brook. The forest is extremely green and full of life. All of this life is flowering with bright and beautiful colors that dance in the cool breeze. The sun is shining through the trees so brightly that it almost seems that the trees are enhancing its light rather than blocking it out. Standing before them and in front of the brook, Durala looks tired. She can be seen sweating and her face is pinched with concern. She is looking out at the forest, through the trolls and any of their allies. She says, “Drink,” and as they are compelled to move toward her and drink from the water she steps passed them, still staring off into the forest.

As they drink the water, any suffering from the Blight are immediately cured and the vines would fall from their flesh and turn to dust on the way to the ground, floating off in the breeze. All wounds and illnesses are instantly healed by the water. Those who drink feel fully refreshed regain any and all benefits they normally get from a full nights rest.

After drinking, when they turn to look at Durala, she is now facing them. She has stepped into the forest, between two Blighted trees, away from her sanctuary near the brook, and the Blighted trees and grass around her have started to turn green.

She has an enchanting smile on her face as she says, “Hope. You have brought it back to me.” Any who are with the trolls would get the distinct feeling that she was not talking to them when she said this. “I have become weak. I thought my forest was lost, and I had decided to die with it,” as Durala speaks she begins to raise her hands above her. As her hands move, the trees on either side of her begin to shake off the Blight and grow a few feet up and out. “But just your presence here has given me hope. And from hope I can start to try and heal my forest. And maybe… together we can find a way.” By the time she finishes her sentence both of the trees are fully cured.

transformation

Durala takes the trolls and their allies to a spot in the forest that has an exact number of trees equal to the remaining number of trolls. The trees are all almost identical to one another and are positioned in a straight line. Durala talks with the trolls, telling them that each of them must go to a specific tree, and that Koa must cure that tree. During the curing, each troll that is assigned to the tree must place its hands on the tree and not remove them during the entire process. They must remain calm and try to become the tree. In this way they will become tied to the tree and can draw on its power to help them. They will also in turn become one with the forest and able to control and manipulate it.

Durala will ask the PCs to help defend the trolls during this process. If the PCs have not met the trolls at this point she will find them and bring them together for the purposes of asking them to defend the trolls. She will attempt to logically explain the necessity of their help, but if they refuse she will use her ability to compel them to do as she wishes.

During the curing process, Durala will rest her head on the side of the tree being cured opposite the assigned troll. During the entire curing process Durala appears to be weeping as if being held by a loved one in a time of great need and sadness. If any PCs get near Durala they can hear her voice speaking through the sobs. The language she is speaking is one that the PCs have never heard, but they can see a deep and somber understanding displaying plainly on the face of the troll to who Durala is speaking.

As each tree is cured in this way it can be seen to grow as the Blight is cured from it. The troll standing with the tree also grows. They each grow over 6 feet (over 180 cm) taller and become more beautiful and healthy in appearance once the curing process is complete. They are instructed to sit and wait for the other trolls. Koa is the last to be joined with her tree and she simply performs the curing process without taking her hands off of the tree.

During this time the PCs will be watching all of this unfold and also keeping an eye out for any Blighted creatures that might come to invade. The time passes uneventfully unless one of them chooses to venture into the forest and away from Durala and the trolls. In such a case they are likely to find themselves in a bad position and attacked by Blighted creatures.

Once all of the trees are cured, and all of the trolls nearly doubled in size, Durala will stand before all of the trolls and speak. “I can take you to him. The only way to end this is for Taralar to be cured in the same way as the rest of the forest. He has protected me for centuries… The Blight is here because he protected me. I had thought until now that he had only slowed the inevitable, but I thanked him for giving me this final short time before my forest and I died together. But now you have come along and brought me hope. I wish I had seen it sooner, then perhaps we could have saved him. It is too late now. There is more Blight than there is Taralar now. He can no longer speak with me. He has kept himself away from me as his final act to protect me, but I do not know how much longer he can stay away. He is suffering, and with a heavy heart I ask you to put an end to his pain. I can take you to him. Whenever you are ready we will go.”

She will then turn directly to the PCs, “You will be needed. My Guardians will deal with Taralar, but his Blighted creatures will come to stop them. You must protect them.”

the fallen guardian

When the PCs and trolls determine that they are ready, Durala will take them to Taralar in the same fashion that she helped them escape before. When they arrive they see Taralar sitting in the distance still cackling as always. His vine necklaces are on the ground in front of him and the black spheres appear to be cracked open. Inside of each of them is a Blighted creature, including the troll that was recently taken by Taralar. These creatures appear to be dead, but Taralar is playing with them like a toddler plays with toys. Every tree in this area of the forest appears to be completely taken by the Blight and is black as night and covered in thorny vines.

Once they are in sight of Taralar he would immediately stop playing and silently stand to face them. Durala would disappear from sight and the towering Ako would have a great peace and sadness in his green glowing eyes as he simply says, “Wait.”

Taralar would begin to squeal with what sounds like a twisted joy as he begins running towards them and the squeal settles into a crazed cackle. As he approaches Koa and any other remaining trolls place their hands on Ako and all of them begin to glow with a bright green light. As he approaches the green glow brightens, and the PCs would start to notice a great variety and number of Blighted creatures rushing towards them from the forest in the opposite direction from Taralar. More and more Blighted creatures can be seen creating a semicircle that is closing in on them, but Taralar will arrive before the creatures do.

Ako says, “Keep them back!” to the PCs and then lets out a mournful shout as the now almost blindingly bright green light focuses forward towards Taralar who is now only a few yards away.

Just before the Light hits Taralar a moment of panic can be seen on his features and his Blighted left hand thrusts upwards into the sky. As the light hits Taralar it surrounds him and he stops moving and laughing altogether. The Blight can immediately be seen to start shedding from his body and crumbling to the ground.

With the upward thrust of Taralar’s hand the earth began to shake and rising up from the ground are black vines that carry a great deal of earth with them. They form into 7 foot (just over 2 meters) tall walls that separate the PCs from each other and the trolls. These walls cut the area into pie slice shaped zones. The Blighted creatures, now only 15 to 20 yards (roughly 15 to 20 meters) away start funneling into the triangles to attack the PCs. The earth and vine walls are less than 1 foot (about 30 cm) thick, and the PCs would be able to carve through them if they so choose. The Blighted creatures are continuing to come as far as the PCs can see into the forest and with each passing moment more and more seem to be coming. At first there are only a few, but with each kill it seems more take their place.

This fight should be quite dangerous to the PCs, but when they are almost overwhelmed Durala can make an appearance and force several Blighted creatures to turn into blurry streaks and disappear with her. The purpose of this fight is for the PCs to last as long as possibly while the trolls have Taralar locked up while they are curing him. Unless they fight through some walls they would not be able to see the trolls. If the PCs take any looks at Taralar as the fight progresses, they would notice that there is less and less of him, as the Blight which now makes up the majority of Taralar continues to fall away.

When I ran this combat I simply made it last as long as a possibly could without killing all of my PCs. During the fight, some of the Blighted creatures should get through and attempt to disrupt the trolls. If not stopped rather quickly the trolls would not be able to continue to cure Taralar. As soon as the beam of green light is off of him, the walls would again come to life and begin to entangle and slowly kill the PCs and the trolls.

If the PCs do a good job of protecting the trolls (which Durala may appear and remind them to do when she sweeps away a group of Blighted creatures) the curing process will succeed just when the PCs and the trolls are seconds from being overwhelmed and slaughtered. When Taralar is cured the energy from the green light will explode outwards. This burst of light will push back all nearby Blighted creatures and send them running off into the forest.

When the PCs look to see what remains of Taralar it is nothing by a brown husk of tangled vines and branches. Durala will appear next to him and begin to weep over his body. As she cries a portion of the husk turns green from the moisture of her tears. She sings to it a song that causes streams of tears down the faces of all who hear it, and as she sings the green grows into a beautifully woven, green braid of vines. As Durala’s sorrowful song continues she twists the vine, breaking it off into several 3 foot (about 1 meter) long sections. After she has made a number of sections equal to the number of PCs she folds them until the ends meet and they weave together into loops as she finishes her song.

After singing she walks to each of the PCs and begins placing the loops around their necks. As she does this she says, “Taralar’s Curse has ended. Even as he died he expresses his gratitude for those that have protected Durala. He has given to you Taralar’s Blessing. May he live forever in our hearts as his power continues to protect those who deserve it most. Keep these with you and Taralar’s Blessing will protect you as long as you live.”

She would then turn to the trolls and they would share a look of perfect understanding. After only seconds of this she would turn back to the PCs and say, “We have much work to do here. This forest is still dangerous, but we will save as much of its life as we can. Once my forest and I are cured you are welcome back here at any time. But for now my Guardians and I have work to do. I will take you to the edge of the forest.” She will then take the PCs in a blur to the eastern edge of her forest and say, “You will be safe from the Blight here. Go and tell others of Taralar’s courage, and know that you have my thanks. Know that Durala is safe thanks to your actions. Know that her forest will never forget you.” And with that she will turn into a blurry streak that disappears back into the forest.

The necklaces that she crafted from Taralar’s remains, known as Taralar’s Blessing, grant the wearer a strong and passive bonus to resist magical attacks made against them.

New campaigns are posted the first day of each month. Sign up for our mailing list to get updates as soon as new Campaigns are posted. You can also like us on F acebook, follow us on Twitter (@UndestinedRP), or add us to your circle on Google+ for the same updates. You can even comment below or contact us directly if you'd like.

This Campaign written by Jason McCracken with concept support and editing from Jacob Woods and Rachel McCracken.