Bleakwood Micro Hexcrawl

A bizarre entity haunts the village of Eel Bend, and even the dead have troubled dreams...

Hope you have some fun with this one. Let me know how it turns out if you use it, and what decisions you made on the lore surrounding.

Keep your blades sharp!

-Castle Grief

BLEAKWOOD MICROCRAWL

The village of Eel Bend lies on the road between Lanternlight Tavern, a popular spot for travelers, and the Abbey of St. X, so called because not even the few monks remaining there recall the name of its original patron..

Eel Bend itself lies within the Bleakwood, and on the northwestern edge of the Toadmere, a large and fetid swamp that spreads for miles.

The villagers earn their meals either by farming a meager patch cleared from the wood, or eel-fishing or frog-catching on the swamps or the Slither River.

In the murky wet woods south of town (Hex M), a bizarre entity known as the Spinner in Shadows has long affected both the dream and waking world of the villagers and creatures of the Bleakwood.

Even the dead here dream, and through the use of these dark and unknown corridors, the Spinner has turned the region into his own world.

The Abbey has fallen into disrepair, and strange masked festivals are held regularly outside of Eel Bend.

Travelers disappear with alarming frequency on the road, large wicker sculptures appear seemingly overnight, and the village’s children all talk of a strange man called The Piper, who appears to them in the fields and on the bridges around the village.

Getting through Bleakwood on the road might be harder - and stranger - than the PCs planned.

HEX KEY

A

Abandoned village of Woodcroft
Long ago, this was the main settlement in the area, now fallen into ruin and overgrown, haunted by the spirits of the dead, both corporeal and otherwise.

B

Old Cemetery/Mausoleum of Grafmar
Ancient headstones mark an old graveyard, and a ruined mausoleum leads down to the unlit perpetual twilight kingdom of Grafmar, the lord of Bleakwood’s undead.

C

The Abbey of St. X
Large, rotting structure, ill-maintained by the Brothers of the Fallen Cross.
Their wine is said to produce a dreamless slumber, and the ferryman who provides the only way to cross at the river knows more than he lets on.

D

Stoneway
A corridor of weathered carven stone - the words are all erased by
weather and time.
Travelers or traders sometimes gather here for company before heading deeper into the region.

E

Lanternlight Tavern
A large, sagging building built high off stone foundations, and the only Inn for miles.

F

Lastbridge
Final bridge leading out of Bleakwood to the ferry near the Abbey.
Corpses in the water are often still as a ruse, and seek to add to their number.

G

Merloch Lake
A deep and dark body of water in the shadows of massive black pines.
Ruins of a stone village rest at the lake bottom.

H

Old Road
The road used to go south, before a former tributary of the river dried up.
An old woman named Acanthus has a hut out here that appears to travelers only on new and full moons.

I

Standing Stones
A small coven of warlocks and witches come here to worship the moon and perform ritual at certain times of the month.

J

Village of Eel Bend
A small collection of huts and hovels, gathered around a central village green.
Eel Bend is surrounded by woods, the Slither River, and the Toadmere, and its denizens are simple, and mistrust strangers. The town’s mayor Hurlin Gammer knows something is wrong around here…he just can’t put his finger on it.

K

Frogmonger’s
A tavern that slouches low just above the murky waters of the Toadmere, row and pole-boats (some for rent) tethered to its rotting docks. A favorite place of fisherman and frog-monger.

L

Alvarek’s Tower
Once a stout fort that guarded the region, its former commander broods here in unlife with his lieutenants and plots vengeance against Grafmar, his competitor in life - both loved a beautiful young woman named Acanthus.

M

Skeinspinner Caves
A series of twisted and chaotic tunnels connect several main caverns together around a central complex that was once a quarry.
Weird sigils and wicker/stick sculptures tangle and weave their way throughout, and in the main cave, the Spinner in Shadows pulls at the
threads of fate.

N

Toadmere
The edges of Toadmere are dangerous - swamplights lure the foolish, sinkholes and solid ground that sucks travelers under cold mud, and worse. Some say they’ve seen toads out here walking upright and wearing the hides and weapons of men.

AREA ENCOUNTERS:

WHAT MANNER OF GHOUL?

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