Blackthorn Isle

A marshy woodland isle covered in lakes and lazy rivers. Its inhabitants live in spidery pontoon villages, floating on the water. The inner island is filled with a treacherous swamp, where murderous songborn are said to stalk wayward travellers that stray into their territory.

Impressions:

Mysteries:

Places

Pontoon Village. Straddling the lazy waterway that connects the central swamps to the ocean, this floating village of bridges and rafts is the largest permanent settlement on the island. According to their own legends, they’re descended from an older people that once swore an oath never to build their houses on land.

Vinesinger Village. A community of songborn that “awoke” in the marsh and decided to remain there, dedicating themselves to the service and understanding of the natural world from which they sprang. They possess an unusual craft called “treesinging”, which they use to shape nature and make tools and shelter without felling trees or cutting branches.

The Wealdfane. A treetop outpost of sung branch-shelters and woven vine-bridges that spans a thicket of mangrove trees. The main encampment of the Marshborn, a splinter group from Vinesinger Village who have sworn themselves to the so-called “voice of the forest”. They use the treesinging arts to merge with living trees and commune with this being, and their instigators claim that only the Marshborn are truly dedicated to protecting nature.

Blackthorn Waygrove. An unassuming stand of cypress trees that rise from brackish water in a particularly trackless stretch of swamp. Under the light of the full moon, they transform into a pathway to the local strider enclave.

Farfarer’s Fen. The reclusive strider wizard known as Farfarer sometimes takes his enchanted longboat out to visit the pontoon villages, but most of the time he leaves it moored in a maze of labyrinthine waterways known as Farfarer’s Fen. His boat knows the way in and out, but others won’t find it so easy to reach him without an invitation.

The Marsh Stone. A strange moss-covered standing stone in the middle of the swamp, old enough that time and water has worn away its rough edges and original shape. Yet the strange, spidery runes that cover its surfaces were cut deep enough that even the passage of time has not fully obscured them. One night each season, marshwolves from across the island gather before the stone in silent vigil. The locals call it “congress night”, and use it to mark the passage of time.

People

Crocus the Bindweed. A leader from Vinesinger Village, considered by her peers to be the most accomplished treesinger the village has ever produced. She is on a pilgrimage of sorts, wandering the swamp and visiting the striders in pursuit of knowledge. She’s following a personal dream: the one day, it will be possible to “sing” a child into being - and the songborn will cease to be a rootless people.

Auger Marshborn. Leader of the Marshborn, a songborn treesinger who was the first to hear the “voice of the forest” and the first to be blessed with its gifts. Before he found his calling, he spent time with the islanders of Pontoon Village, where he learned about the Marsh Stone and became convinced that the swamp was “awakening” songborn for a purpose. He considers the forest itself to be his kin, and believes that he is its chosen champion.

Farfarer. An enigmatic strider wizard. Originally from the Blackthorn Enclave, he has forsworn his Burden and is no longer a member of the community - though he still visits often. He believes that there is much to learn from the magic of the natural world; his current home is an enchanted riverboat that’s bigger on the inside.

The Sculptors’ Guild. The association of clayformers responsible for making the animated constructs of Pontoon Village. They make everything from the lumpy misshapen golems that patrol the riverbanks to the little animated figurines that children pit against each other. They hold great prestige within the village, and organise frequent expeditions to study the Marsh Stone.

The Rower’s Guild. Another prestigious guild within Pontoon Village, the rowers are responsible for fishing, hunting and patrolling the waterways. Most exalted of all are the crocodile hunters; crocodiles provide both a valuable source of meat and hides, and a way to prove yourself as a fearless warrior.

Local Specialties

Treesinging

Derived from the arts used by strider “gardeners” to open the Waygroves that lead to their enclaves, the songborn of Vinesinger Village have adapted the practice to live in harmony with nature. Over long periods of time, they can mold and shape growing things without needing to wound their flesh by axe or knife. It’s a skill that could be taught to those patient enough to learn and kind enough to earn the trust of the songborn.

Once trained in treesinging, doing it usually doesn’t require a roll. Use the rules for ritual magic to decide how long it takes to sing plants into a certain shape. For example, singing a crude wooden tool from a branch might only take 10 minutes, while weaving a wall of thorns would take at least an hour. Complex or delicate works require the singer to roll against the risk of missing a note or losing their harmony, as does rushing a song.

Trigger: Spend a night with nothing between you and nature, listening for the subtle voices of root and branch and humming your reply.

Blackthorn Clay

The location of the Pontoon Village is no accident. The settlement is situated on a bend in the river where a very peculiar kind of clay can be dug from its banks, when the dry season reveals it. Blackthorn Clay is a striking azure colour, but it isn’t the material’s hue that makes it so precious. It’s the fact that figures molded from it can move on their own.

The key to making the clay move is the spidery runes that cover the Marsh Stone, deep in the swamp. A string of mysterious glyphs, discovered through trial and error over many years, is used by the Sculptors’ Guild to make figures that will obey the instructions they’re given. It’s an imperfect process, though: the constructs struggle with complex instructions, and they sometimes misinterpret things they’ve overheard as orders. They also tend to go haywire if the glyphs are damaged, which is somewhat common as they’re made of soft clay.

It’s the dream of Blackthorn’s sculptors to make fired constructs. A figure of baked Blackthorn pottery could be safely made larger and tougher, and there would be less chance of damaging the glyphs and losing control. No one has figured out a way to do it without losing mobility, though. If they could, who knows what wonders they could shape?

Denizens and Dangers

Clay Golem

Tier 2; Stamina 18; Unarmoured (+1)
Damage as Dual Clubs

A lumbering construct of clay made as a guard by the sculptors of Pontoon Village, where they are usually found patrolling the banks. Incapable of understanding complex commands, they have no way to recognise friend from foe. Instead, they doggedly follow any newcomer until a sculptor calls them off or bids them to strike.

Clay Body: Spears and arrows are totally ineffective against a clay golem. Impacts and bludgeoning weapons do little more than deform the clay; against these, the golem is considered heavily armoured (-2 to damage rolls). Slashing weapons are best, as they can carve off chunks or even sever a limb entirely.

Weak Point: Every clay golem has a large and complex sigil inscribed into the soft clay just below the base of its head. If this sigil is marred, the golem will become unpredictable, its movements and behaviours erratic. If the sigil is wiped away completely, the golem will cease to function.

Crocodile

Tier 2; Stamina 12; Lightly Armoured (0)
Damage as Modest Beast

A large swimming reptile that hides beneath the water, waiting for its prey to come close enough for it to strike.

Death Roll: When fighting with a crocodile in close quarters, you always roll at the risk of getting grabbed in its jaws. It won’t let you go without a great deal of encouragement, and it adds +2 to all damage rolls for as long as it has you grabbed.

False Wisp

A blazing sphere of swamp gas, seemingly animated by a supernatural force. They erupt suddenly and without warning, presaged only by a sour smell. Though local folklore claims they’re animated by irate spirits or the ghosts of the dead, they’re actually a natural phenomena. A strange buoyancy will draw them towards you if you flee - the faster you run, the more rapidly they’ll pursue you.

Slow down and their momentum will wane. The trick is to move slowly and deliberately until you’ve put some distance between you and the crackling fireball.

Marshborn Marauder

Tier 1; Stamina 10; Lightly Armoured (0)
Damage as Axe/Spear/Bow

A raiding party of radical songborn (usually around 6 of them), intent on driving any and all “interlopers” from the Blackthorn Swamp that dominates most of the island. They do so by mounting raids on the Vinesinger Village and patrolling the marshes for intruders. The Marshborn are well-organised, and will take note if one of their patrols doesn’t come back.

Evoker: Every Marshborn raiding party is led by an Evoker, a songborn who has achieved a special kind of communion with the entity that inhabits the swamp. Using an unusually rapid and violent form of treesinging, they are capable of summoning marshwolves to do their bidding and of twisting the plants of the swamp into weapons and barriers to hinder their enemies.

Marshwolf

Tier 1; Stamina 8; Unarmoured (+1)
Damage as Modest Beast

A long-limbed wolf with double-jointed legs that bend in two different places. They hunt in packs and excel at running through shallow water and over snaking roots, making the prospect of escape difficult once they’ve got your scent (they’re slower on dry land). Marshwolves behave oddly at certain times of year, and some believe there’s more to them than meets the eye.

Congress: Four times a year, near the end of each season, all the marshwolves on Blackthorn Isle migrate to the inner swamps. They congregate before the mysterious Marsh Stone, where they hold a three-night vigil of circling and howling which the locals call the “wolf congress”. While they’re normally found in packs of no more than 6 wolves, migrating marshwolves can be found in groups of up to 30. These groups won’t hesitate to attack anyone who gets in their way or looks like an easy meal.

Vinesinger Warden

Tier 2; Stamina 12; Heavily Armoured (-2)
Damage as Spear or Maul

A songborn that has used the art of treesinging to reshape their own body, transforming themselves into something like an armoured knight clad in wooden plates. The wardens are the defenders of Vinesinger Village, ever vigilant for Marshborn raiders or the willow-raptors that prowl the swamp. Once you have become a warden, your body is forever changed; some older wardens come to regret the hulking figure they have become.

Clumsy: The wardens are imposing and tough, but the heavy plates they’re covered with are cumbersome. They struggle to fight a nimble and agile foe, and their peripheral vision is about as good as you’d expect for someone wearing a heavy helmet they can’t ever take off.

Willow Raptor

Tier 0; Stamina 3; Lightly Armoured (0)
Damage as Small Beast

Small and numerous, these vicious reptiles can take down much larger prey even though they’re not much larger than a kitten. They hide under the hanging boughs of the willow tree, chittering softly to each other until they sense their prey. Then they grow very quiet until it’s time to surge out and overwhelm their hapless quarry under a tide of snapping jaws and razor-sharp teeth.

A given pack of willow raptors might range from a measly 6 members (1-3), to a respectable 12 members (4-5), or even a formidable 18 members (6).

Swarm: Each raptor is individually somewhat puny, but they are ferocious in numbers. They strike as a group: for every 6 members in the pack, add +1 to their Tier and add +2 to their damage rolls. When they number fewer than 6, they tend to scatter and flee.