Setting Rules: The Elven Wilds

Beyond the hedges that guard the Elder Kingdom, the Blackwood is defined by its wilderness. The Elven Wilds are the dark and befuddling forest of tales come to life. Driven by elves like stormclouds are driven by the wind, the Elven Wilds are ever-shifting lands of emerald green foliage, of heavy grey fog, of deadly red blossoms and deep blue waters.

Pagans say the Elven Wilds are a place of dreams and nightmares. Anything can be found within, but one only goes into the Wilds at great need or greater folly. Errants may have need to test the Wilds to rescue an ally or recover a lost treasure. They may go in seeking rare herbs or the dens of particularly meddlesome elves. One can find iron-hard sentrywood, magical herbs and fungi, long-lost relics, and hidden knowledge merely by desiring to find it.

Normally, navigating the forest requires a successful Survival check to avoid stumbling into the Elven Wilds. Players may choose to enter the Wilds by declining to make that Survival check.  Resolve this trek as a standard 5-round Dramatic Task. Each round pits the errants against a new atmosphere and terrain. Each time a card is drawn, the Elven Wilds should be named according to the card’s suit and value (e.g. a 5 of Spades would be the “Tangled and Twisted Wilds”).

Atmosphere

• Clubs–Deadly: Elves prefer live morsels, but the Elven Wilds often try to butcher interlopers early. All characters suffer a -2 to Agility and Vigor checks in this atmosphere, and complications are lethal.
• Diamonds–Befuddling: In the Elven Wilds, sometimes it’s hard to remember anything. Direction, purpose, even your own name can fade from memory. All characters suffer a -2 penalty to Smarts and Spirit checks in this atmosphere, and suffer from the Clueless Hindrance.
• Hearts–Alluring: Despite many hidden dangers, sometimes the Elven Wilds are beautiful beyond measure. And so enticing! All characters suffer a -2 penalty to Spirit and Vigor checks in this atmosphere, and they can’t control their emotions.
• Spades–Twisted: The Elven Wilds creep through the Blackwood, and that movement can be dizzying. All characters suffer a -2 penalty to Agility and Smarts checks in this atmosphere, and suffer the Unstable Platform penalty to all Fighting, Shooting, and Throwing checks.

Terrain

• Joker–Long Stretch: Time sure can drag in the depths of the Elven Wilds. Draw 2 more cards and resolve them both. 1d4 hours pass for each card.
• Ace–Quick Jaunt: Then again, sometimes a shortcut opens up at the last moment. This round counts as one automatic success, but one errant may still attempt a Survival check at -2 to gain additional successes.
• King–Scorched: Grey ash chokes the air of this recently-burned forest. One errant must make a Vigor check to scout a safe route through the crumbling snags and beds of still-hot embers. Failure in this terrain inflicts 1d10 fire damage to every member of the party.
• Queen–Great: Not even the mighty Sentry Pine climbs as tall as the trees in the Elven Wilds. One errant must make an Agility check to climb around the massive roots and boulders in this terrain. On a failure, all errants felt so insignificant amongst those giants that they suffer from the Small Hindrance in the next round.
• Jack–Dark: Sometimes the leaves overhead get crowded so tight that no light filters through to the floor. One errant must make a Smarts check to recall how to navigate in the dark. A failure results in the party being lost for 1d4 days.
• 10–Steep: Entire mountains can be found in the Elven Wilds, often with no route but through their jagged expanse. One errant must make an Agility check to work out a safe traversal through the cliffs and chasms. On a failure, everyone in the party suffers 1d6x5 feet of falling damage.
• 8-9–Misty: Sometimes a heavy fog blankets the Elven Wilds, a fog to twist the mind and dull the senses. One errant must make a Smarts check to keep a level head in the mists. On a failure, the party is lost for 2d6 hours.
• 5-7–Tangled: In the Elven Wilds, the underbrush can grow as tall as a tree and as thick as a hedge. One errant must make a Vigor check to hack a path through to the other side. A failure results in the party suffering 1d4 levels of Fatigue.
• 3-4–Flooded: In its migration across the Blackwood, Elven Wilds can upset the flow of many streams and rivers. One errant must make a Vigor check to swim across a flooded area and secure a rope to aid the rest of the party. On a failure, the party gains 1d4 levels of Fatigue and is in danger of drowning.
• 2–Wicked: Sometimes the Elven Wilds are a terrifying place, shifting always into some greater horror. Everyone in the party must make a Fear check if they hope to brave this awful terrain.

Each round, draw initiative cards for each player. Any player with the Woodsman Edge may draw an additional card and choose one. Draw one card each round for the Elven Wilds too. While one errant makes the appropriate check for the Dramatic Task, the other errants will need to defend against relevant swarms and hazards. Time is slippery in the Elven Wilds, so 1d4 hours passes each round. The party will need to be mindful of rations and resting during their trip.

Once the party has reached their destination within the Elven Wilds, play out the desired scene or combat. Success guarantees a substantial reward, even if that’s just a hoard of treasure. When the errants are ready to escape the Wilds, one errant will need to make a Survival check at a -4 penalty to find a way out.

Design Notes

I’m an unabashed fan of “the ‘crawl.” Hex, dungeon, you name it. Exploring diverse terrain packed with interesting encounters is a ton of fun for me, as is the slow, methodical filling in of a map. The OSR has a ton of advice about creating and running ‘crawls, but Savage Worlds isn’t a great system to mimic that slow, methodical approach.

Instead, I set out to capture the feel of that trek through varied terrain with a montage-style Dramatic Task. The Elven Wilds are that liminal path between the mundane world and what Tolkien would describe as “fairyland,” so it was important they feel like a strange place where anything can happen. The Elven Wilds are a notoriously deadly place too, so the stakes of a Dramatic Task were appropriate. Players shouldn’t go into the Wilds often, and they should be nervous when they do.

I decided to pair the negative modifiers with card suits to provide another layer of variability to the challenge. Certain atmospheres make certain terrains more difficult for the player navigating the Dramatic Task, but those negatives could also hamper the players fending off the wilderness. For example, Fear checks are harder in Befuddling and Alluring atmospheres, and poison saves are harder to make in Deadly and Alluring atmospheres.

I’ve tested drafts of this mechanic with three different playtest groups, but this latest draft has yet to get in front of a group of players. Hoping to do that sometime next week with my live group.