Book I
People settle in villages and towns.
They bring order to their lives and surroundings.
Strict hierarchy and rules apply.
This pleases the Law.
Dark places spread and fold and coil unto themselves.
Like an ever-growing virus.
They make the impermanent.
This pleases Chaos.
Law and Chaos hate each other destructively.
They can only act on their hate through their acolytes.
You led an everyday life.
Not anymore.
You are now unsettled.
Chapters
March 1 
March 6 
March 10 
March 14 
March 19 
March 22 
March 24 
March 30 
March 31 
April 9 
April 10 
April 14 
April 27 
May 7 
May 17 
May 20 
May 21 
May 25 
May 31 
June 4 
June 6 
June 8 
June 10 
June 17 
Open Hooks
You found a Tiny Crystal Prism (petty) buried in the dirt. When held up to the light, it shows visions of an unknown location deep within the Wood. Sometimes, you feel a presence looking back at you.
The Monastery needs help as the Mountain Court’s rule on their land squeezes them too much.
The Wall. Cutting through the land, a wonder two storms tall. Guarding from invasion, or built to cage us all.
Yewtree has a map of a supposed great treasure hidden somewhere in a wood north of the Wall.
Flint, the snake charmer of Sigisfarne, has a compass that points north, but slightly off. He’s been told it doesn’t point north, but to somewhere in a forest far to the north.
You owe an outstanding debt to a member of the nobility and carry their Signet Ring, which serves as proof of their protection and your obligation.
You were a peddler of fake prophesies, but when one turned out to be true, it drew unwanted attention. Roll on the Omens table, but keep the result to yourself.
Infinite thirst that no water or spirit satisfies.
Has visions of the Sisters.
You promised a childhood friend that you’d bring them back a rare gift, something unique in all the world. Take a Bracelet (petty) woven from twine and wildflowers.
One of your ancestors wronged a Moss Witch, who cursed their bloodline. Your visage causes mirrors to shatter. You’ve noticed that the shards can sometimes reveal illusions.
Sigisfarne has vowed to abandon their western farms in a deal between the villagers and a community of underground mole-like creatures, and surrender that land back to the forest. Due to this, Sigisfarne will not have enough output next harvest to send the excess to the capital, which means it risks the crown’s decision of dispersing the village and sending the people to become useful in other settlements unless Sigisfarne finds another way to be helpful to the kingdom.
You consumed a Mischievous Spirit that wreaks havoc on your insides, demanding to be taken home, deep in the Wood. You have to go beyond the Wall, north, before the winter.
The Tyrant’s ghost tells the party that the Khaldur forest used to hide rich ruins and game a thousand years ago. People started building a wall to protect the southern lands at that time. The ghost never saw it finished.
You found a Tiny Crystal Prism (petty) buried in the dirt. Holding up to the light shows visions of an unknown location deep within the Wood. Sometimes you feel a presence looking back at you. You don’t recognise the location or know how to get there. But in your vision, you see an unbelievably tall wall, and the sun setting on its far right. You are surrounded by woods that almost glitter with the last sun rays.
Adopted by the Hairy Druids of the Big Ford.
Is searching for a missing daughter.
Inscribe your mother’s name in the Azure Archives. You hold a Quill of Azure Feather (petty) that only writes one name—hers—and only in a language you cannot speak aloud.
A Treatise on the Abyss - A nondescript black book about a gate southwest of the Monastery.
Lord Derron has asked the Monks for help with his daughter’s curse. The curse seems to have gotten worse after being bitten by bees at the lake west of the Mountain Court.
Two brave villagers left the Mountain Court village to steal back from bandits who live in a known hideout south. They never came back.
Tax papers from the monastery were destroyed, but there might be copies in the capital.
Forged documents make Griffin look as stealing money.
One of your ancestors wronged a Moss Witch, who cursed their bloodline. Your visage causes mirrors to shatter. You’ve noticed that the shards can sometimes reveal illusions.
Took a blue steel sword, with a pearl-incrusted hilt, from the hands of a skeleton in the Tyrant’s Tomb.
Establishes a blacksmith workshop in Hendenburgh
You inherited a Single Gem from a long-dead relative. It arrived with a warning - squander your newfound riches, and a debt long thought forgotten would be called.
You owe a favour to the Forest Queen. You dream with sprites.
Wants to find tree sap.
Cancelled wedding. Sly George, from the Highwaymen, decides not to marry beautiful Winnifried. The Crones want that fixed.
Elizabeth is locked in the village by Oliver.
The Miller’s wife went missing, north of the village, five days ago. She is now living with Sly George.
Gregory left the village and moved south.
Adventurers have found two iron gates in corridors in the underground cathedral, which they found by the river floods, southeast of Sigisfarne. One does not open, and a collapsed corridor blocks the other one.
Note found on a dead adventurer “…“Big Market”… “Wall”… “Village”…”
On 14th March, a group of villagers from Sigisfarne found a cave system below the quarry. At these caverns, enslaved stone children mined for rubies. People are almost forgetting about it.
A white crow appeared to you in a dream, holding a twig in its mouth. You awoke the next morning with The Twig (petty) in your hand. You believe it brings you luck. It smells faintly of sulphur.
Arrest warrant - In the town in the south she won a competition of corpse flowers. But because he learned special methods from wood creatures, her flowers were different. And they ate a lord.
You crossed a creature of the Wood, and it cursed you with a Stone Heart. With each passing month, the stone grows heavier by one slot. Until your debt is lifted, you cannot truly die.
Three of them were set loose in the Duskmeadow Fringe
You crossed a creature of the Wood, and it cursed you with a Stone Heart. With each passing month, the stone grows heavier by one slot. Until your debt is lifted, you cannot truly die.
Adventurers from Sigisfarne have found this Sky Spire northwest of Sigisfarne. No one came near it.
A vengeful Nymph was upset in the woods, a watch east of the Mountain Court. The river can be crossed in drier seasons. Varg and Gunther are on the list of this Nymph.
The piper. That joyful song in the woods? That’s the Piper! They play their flute to call us to join the revolution! We will throw off our chains as we dance! Let us set Deverain ablaze and birth a better world from its ashes!
Forth Kingdom. The Duke’s outward obsession with banquets and winemaking are merely a cover for his true ambition - a kingdom of his own. If he can secure the loyalties of the monarchs in Naganeh and Tirollis, he’ll have the backing he needs to declare himself king and remove himself from under the thumb of Ambaret. He may even grant significant land rights to those willing to declare their allegiance now.
Letter, from a noble hunter, Mateo Jonas Niral, addressed to Lord Aelfwim, explaining he has finally found his great-great-great-grandfather’s hunting manor inside the forest.
Want something of value from the Tomb.
System
Book I is a Cairn 2e campaign.
Cairn 2e’s website and PDF versions are available for free.
Character generation
You can use the character generator provided below.
You may adapt your Description and Bonds sections as you see fit.
Paste a copy of your character and introduce them on the Dramatis Personae channel.
You may choose to roll your character manually instead.
Travel procedures
A Hex takes a Watch to cross.
A Barrier cannot be crossed normally, unless with specific knowledge of a pass. Through a pass, crossing a Barrier takes a Watch.
Travelling through well maintained roads, or downriver, doubles the speed.
Barriers and Landmarks are not normally presented on the map. If someone attempts to travel out of a Hex through a Barrier, they are not able to, but still spend the time. Exploring a Hex takes a Watch and presents all its Landmarks and Barriers, if any.
For each Watch roll a die. Normally d6. You may also roll for Dire Weather and Low Visibility.
| Each Watch | Dire Weather | Low Visibility | |
| 1 | Encounter. | You can’t leave the Hex. You can’t rest. Food and lights might spoil. | Circle back to where started. |
| 2-3 | Signs of an encounter. | Looming threat. | Drift Left(2) or Right (3). |
| 4+ | All clear. | Fine weather. | Normal progress. |
If 2-3 is rolled twice in a row, treat it as a 1.
Trade
Not all items are available at the GM’s discretion in every settlement. Used gear is worth half of its regular price. Selling treasure may trigger inflation in a settlement, which halves selling prices. When inflation is triggered, it lasts 2d6 weeks.
- Village: Inflation is triggered at 1d6 x 100 gp. The absolute trade limit is 600 gp.
- Town: Inflation is triggered at 1d20 x 100 gp. The absolute trade limit is 2000 gp.
- City: Inflation is triggered at 1d6 x 1000 gp. The absolute trade limit is 6000 gp.