Prep in DM Controls
Build campaigns, scenes, NPCs, overlays, and scene assets here.
Combat Control
Round 1
Quick Add to Initiative
Map Scenes
Open Map DisplayMap
Opening Recap: The Shrine Did Not Let Go Cleanly
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Re-center the table after Session 1.Map
Root-Heart Chamber Aftermath
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Discover the erased fifth mark tied to Nymeris.Map
The Watcher Who Counts Wrong
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Introduce watcher who expected Nymeris not to exist.Map
Wrong Road Forest: Memory Trail
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Skill challenge as road tries to separate Nymeris.Map
Toma Reed Finds Them
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Pull party back to Briar Hollow and deliver Alden cloth.Map
Briar Hollow Remembers Wrong
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Show contradictory town memory and point to ledger.Map
Tavern Ledger Investigation
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Make altered guest ledger the central Nymeris clue.Map
The Bell Test
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Test silver bell and reveal wall phrase.Map
Midnight Road: To the Name They Cut Away
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End with strong image and Session 3 choice.
Briar Hollow - Village Hub
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ReadyMusicCombat Music
Gather rumors and learn why the road changed.Scene Assets • Briar Hollow - Village Hub
Toma Reed
NPC
WHERE: Near the village well, road sign, or edge of the square. Muddy boots, nervous posture, looking toward the woods. HOW: Nervous witness who wants to be believed. Brave enough to talk, not brave enough to return alone. VOICE: Talks quickly. Points too much. Keeps checking the tree line. Lowers his voice when saying “road” or “bell.” GOAL: Convince someone to investigate what he saw. KNOW: He saw strange blue lights, a pale road that vanished by daylight, and signs of something dragged near the shrine path. LINES: “It was there. A road, pale as bone. Then morning came and it was gone.” / “I marked the place. Red cloth on a branch. You’ll see it if the woods let you.” REMINDERS: Use Toma to move players to the Moonlit Forest Road scene. He can point the way, but he should not enter the shrine unless the party insists.
Ashbound Scout
NPC
WHERE: Across the square, behind a tree, near a road sign, or briefly reflected in a window. HOW: Silent watcher. Not a normal villager. Should feel wrong without starting a fight. VOICE: Still posture. Hooded face. Leaves when directly approached. May vanish into the woods. GOAL: Confirm the marked ones have gathered and report back. KNOW: Knows the shrine seal is failing and the party matters. LINES: If cornered: “The seal has already heard you.” REMINDERS: Optional. Do not start combat in the village. Use as a creepy visual or transition toward the woods.
Nell Crowther
NPC
WHERE: At the village well, carrying laundry, or standing near a shuttered cottage. HOW: Superstitious villager who has heard too much and wants to say too little. VOICE: Whispers. Looks around before speaking. Touches a charm or crosses herself when the shrine is mentioned. GOAL: Avoid trouble, but warn the party enough to ease her conscience. KNOW: Dogs growl toward the woods. Doors and latches have been found open in the morning. The bell rings after sunset. LINES: “My dog won’t face the trees anymore.” / “Last night, every latch on my shed lifted at once. I heard them click.” REMINDERS: Use Nell for atmosphere and local fear. She should not have major answers, just creepy details.
Garron Pell
NPC
WHERE: Near the stable, wagon, woodpile, or feed sacks. HOW: Gruff, suspicious local who thinks outsiders make things worse. VOICE: Arms crossed. Short answers. Stares too long at unusual characters. Spits to the side when nervous. GOAL: Keep trouble away from his family, animals, and property. KNOW: He saw Alden Thorne leave toward the old road. He thinks the shrine should stay abandoned. LINES: “You go poking at old stones, old stones poke back.” / “The healer went that way. Didn’t come back. That’s enough truth for me.” REMINDERS: Use Garron for tension, not obstruction. If players argue too long, have another villager redirect them.
Ilyra Moss
NPC
WHERE: At a small herb stall, garden cart, or basket of roots and flowers. HOW: Quiet herbalist who notices patterns in nature. Calm, but clearly uneasy. VOICE: Speaks softly and precisely. Describes events like symptoms. Looks at plants while talking. GOAL: Understand why the plants and animals are changing. KNOW: Herbs near the old road wilt overnight. Moss grows in strange lines. Fireflies move like they are following invisible roads. LINES: “The forest is not sick. Sick things weaken. This feels like something waking up.” / “The fireflies have been moving in lines. Like they are following roads I cannot see.” REMINDERS: Use Ilyra for Nature/Arcana-style clues. Good NPC for Lilianna or Nymeris to interact with.
Old Brenn
NPC
WHERE: Sitting on a bench near the well, under the inn sign, or beside an old milestone. HOW: Elderly villager who remembers old stories and warnings. Dry, slow, resigned. VOICE: Speaks slowly. Pauses often. Uses old sayings. Acts like everyone should have listened years ago. GOAL: Share old warnings without getting personally involved. KNOW: Hollow Root was once a warding shrine. The old road was built around it, not through it. LINES: “Roads do not vanish. They get buried. Or they get hungry.” / “My grandfather said Hollow Root was built where the forest tried to open.” REMINDERS: Use him if players ask about village history or the shrine’s purpose. He can explain that Hollow Root was avoided for a reason.
Village Children
NPC
WHERE: Peeking from behind a cart, fence, doorway, or rain barrel. HOW: Curious, scared, and less guarded than adults. They notice weird details adults ignore. VOICE: Whisper, point, giggle nervously, then hide. One child may be braver than the others. GOAL: Watch the strange newcomers and repeat things they heard or dreamed. KNOW: One child saw blue lights. Another heard the bell in a dream. They may describe sparks on the wrong road. LINES: “The bell rang in my sleep.” / “The road had little sparks on it.” / “Are you going where the dogs won’t look?” REMINDERS: Use lightly. Best for a Lilianna-friendly moment. They should add wonder and creepiness, not heavy exposition.Discovery Overlays / Handouts
Alden’s Blood-Stained Cloth
Toma Reed Finds Them
A torn cloth marked with dried blood and healer’s thread. One phrase remains readable: Do not bring the bell to the old…Ash-Scar Wall Message
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BLOODLINE RECOGNIZED. EMBER WORK DISPLACED. BOUNDARY SEAL FAILING. DM detail: Reveal when Blazion uses fire magic, brea…Black-Tipped Feather
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A black-tipped feather found near the binding niche. Note text: “Not mine, but it aches like it remembers me.” DM detai…Black-Tipped Feather
Root-Heart Chamber Aftermath
A black-tipped feather trembles when the bell rings. Touching it causes a brief ache behind the shoulder blades.Burned Ledger Scrap
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House Vormox Archive Fragment. Subject lines remain unstable. Ember work moved from the estate after containment failur…Cold-Burned Bell Mark
Root-Heart Chamber Aftermath
A bell-shaped burn mark has cooled into pale stone. It looks burned, but touching it feels cold.Contents of the Root-Wrapped Chest
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Inside the root-wrapped chest: 1 Pouch of Shimmerdust, 1 Living Thorn in Glass Bead, 1 Map Scrap of the Wrong Roads, 12…Cracked Town Bell
Briar Hollow Remembers Wrong
The town bell has a fresh pale crack in the metal. No one admits touching it, but every dog howled when it appeared.Elric’s Burned Fragment
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Burned black metal fragment bearing a damaged House Vormox-style crest. Note text: “The burn came from the inside, not …Erased Fifth Mark
Root-Heart Chamber Aftermath
A clean absence in the dust where a fifth set of footprints should have been. The room seems to forget the shape as soo…Gray Cloth with Scraped Name
The Watcher Who Counts Wrong
A strip of gray cloth marked with a closed eye and a scraped-out space where a name should be.Healer’s Note
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I have prayed. I have stitched. I have burned incense until the room turned white. This is not a wound I can mend. Some…Living Thorn in Glass Bead
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A thorn that grows when the crossing weakens. It points the way when the roads forget themselves. DM detail: This is a …Map Scrap of the Wrong Roads
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Not all roads are walked. Some are remembered. Some are hungry. Some wake when blood, ash, and feather meet. DM detail:…Maras Rumor Note
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The healer asked about the old shrine again. Said some wounds are “held shut by something that does not want them heale…Mara’s Altered Rumor Note
Tavern Ledger Investigation
The handwriting is Mara’s, but the phrasing feels unlike her. It reads like someone used her hand to leave a warning.Mara’s Guest Ledger Page
Tavern Ledger Investigation
The ledger shows four clear party entries. The fifth line is blank, with the words: Do not write this name.Midnight Signpost
Midnight Road: To the Name They Cut Away
A signpost carves and un-carves its own words until one phrase remains: TO THE NAME THEY CUT AWAY.Missing Healer Notice
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Missing: Alden Thorne. Traveling healer. Gray cloak. Brass prayer clasp. Last seen walking toward Hollow Root Shrine be…Nymeris’s Impossible Footprints
Midnight Road: To the Name They Cut Away
Footprints appear in the moonlit dust. They are Nymeris’s, but they lead away from Briar Hollow as if she left long bef…Pouch of Shimmerdust
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Shimmerdust from the Feywild. Reveal the unseen for a short time. Use once. DM detail: Can reveal invisible writing, hi…Root-Wrapped Chest
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A wooden chest wrapped in living roots. The roots loosen only after the party solves the shrine clue, defeats the hound…Silver Bell
The Bell Test
A silver bell that does not ring the same way for everyone. Near Nymeris, it reacts to missing names and wrong records.Silver Bell Sliver
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A crescent of silver from a bell long broken. It rings without being struck, but only its true listener hears the full …Star-Ward Fragment
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A white-gold shard marked with a broken star. Cool to the touch, even near flame. Under moonlight, it whispers: “When t…Tiny Road-Scratch Symbols
Root-Heart Chamber Aftermath
Tiny scratches near the floor do not read like words. From fairy height, they look like directions.Toma’s Trail Marker
No scene
A small stick marker wrapped in red cloth, left by Toma near the path. Note text: “I saw the road here. Lights in the t…Wall Phrase: The Road Keeps What The Archive Cuts Away
The Bell Test
THE ROAD KEEPS WHAT THE ARCHIVE CUTS AWAYCharacter, NPC, and Monster Library
Blazion Vormox (Xavian)
Player • Wizard
AC 14 • HP 7/8 • Init 0
Advantage on Intimidation when size matters. Disadvantage on Stealth. Fire resistance.
Felyndra Umbrinax (Ambyre)
Player • Sorcerer
AC 12 • HP 8/8 • Init 2
Flight strain: 1d4 damage per turn while flying. Wings ache, bleed, feathers fall, tattoos react.
Lilianna Starfall (Adilynn)
Player • Fairy / Rogue
AC 14 • HP 10/10 • Init 3
Scout, lock-solver, hidden-path finder. Can sense strange roads and tiny doors.
Nymeris Valthrien (Jaimie)
Player • Cleric
AC 17 • HP 9/12 • Init 2
Rhiannon Aethyra (Charlotte)
Player • Aasimar
AC 15 • HP 8/10 • Init 2
Darkvision 60 ft -- Wing binding curse 1d4 dmg when flying
Alden Thorne
NPC • Missing healer / off-screen clue
AC 10 • HP 5/5 • Init 0
Optional; mostly represented by his note in Session 1
Brother Calven
NPC • Shrine-keeper / healer clue
AC 10 • HP 5/5 • Init 0
Goal: explain the shrine was for warding and hint that Felyndra's wings are bound
Elric Voss
NPC • Archivist / broker / Vormox hook
AC 11 • HP 5/5 • Init 1
Goal: hide what he knows until he decides whether Blazion is dangerousF
Fred the Dog
NPC • Animal Witness
AC 10 • HP 1/1 • Init 0
Garron Pell
NPC •
AC 10 • HP 1/1 • Init 0
Ilyra Moss
NPC •
AC 10 • HP 1/1 • Init 0
Lady Brambleglass
NPC • Fey guide / Lilianna clue
AC 13 • HP 12/12 • Init 3
Optional cameo only if Lilianna is present and session has time
Mara Fenwick
NPC • Innkeeper / rumor source
AC 10 • HP 4/4 • Init 0
Goal: protect Briar Hollow and push party toward the shrine without panicNell Crowther
NPC •
AC 10 • HP 1/1 • Init 0
Nervous Villager 1
NPC •
AC 10 • HP 1/1 • Init 0
Nervous Villager 2
NPC •
AC 10 • HP 1/1 • Init 0
Old Brenn
NPC •
AC 10 • HP 1/1 • Init 0
Star-Ward Echo
NPC • Celestial vision / Nymeris hook
AC 0 • HP 0/1 • Init 0 • Dead / Missing
Not a combat token; use as voice, reflection, or glowing star-markToma Reed
NPC • Young trapper / witness / guide
AC 12 • HP 6/6 • Init 2
Goal: be believed and point party toward lights, tracks, and wrong roadVillage Children
NPC •
AC 10 • HP 1/1 • Init 0
Ashbound Scout
Enemy • Ritual scout / alternate intelligent enemy
AC 13 • HP 0/11 • Init 2 • Dead / Missing
Optional alternate: use 1 scout + 1 hound instead of 2-3 houndsA
Ashbound Watcher
Enemy • Ashbound Observer
AC 10 • HP 1/1 • Init 0
Corrupted Hound 1
Enemy • Silent thorn-twisted hound
AC 12 • HP 0/8 • Init 2 • Dead / Missing
Silent until it attacks; use 2 hounds for easier fight, 3 if party is confident
Corrupted Hound 2
Enemy • Silent thorn-twisted hound
AC 12 • HP 1/8 • Init 2
Use with Corrupted Hound 1 as the recommended Session 1 combat
Corrupted Hound 3
Enemy • Silent thorn-twisted hound
AC 12 • HP 0/8 • Init 2 • Dead / Missing
Optional third hound if all players are present and fight needs pressure
Road-Scar Raven Swarm
Enemy • Omen swarm
AC 12 • HP 10/10 • Init 2
Optional Round 2 arrival if the party is doing well. Flees below half HP.
Root-Sutured Husk
Enemy • Failed bound creature
AC 11 • HP 12/12 • Init -1
Use instead of raven swarm for a creepier slower fight. First time below half HP, regains 2 HP unless hit by fire before its next turn.
Thorn-Twisted Hound
Enemy • Corrupted forest beast
AC 12 • HP 0/7 • Init 2 • Dead / Missing
Silent until it strikes. Circles isolated characters. Flees at 2 HP or less.
Thorn-Twisted Hound
Enemy • Corrupted forest beast
AC 12 • HP 0/7 • Init 2 • Dead / Missing
Silent until it strikes. Circles isolated characters. Flees at 2 HP or less.
Warped Beast
Enemy • Optional backup monster / altered animal
AC 12 • HP 10/10 • Init 1
Optional only; do not add unless combat needs a replacement or Session 2 teaser