A world to explore
The Ladderwood
A cold northern country of pines as tall as towers and still blue lakes, where villages are reached by ladders and a timber town stands out over the biggest lake.
The Ladderwood is a cold country of giant pines, so old and so tall that clouds snag in their crowns. Between the forests lie still blue lakes, the snowy fells stand along the west, and in the south the land ends at a sea that freezes white every winter. Many villages are built up in the trees, out of reach of the deep snow, and joined by plank bridges, rope lifts and ladders worn smooth by a thousand years of boots. The forest floor far below belongs to ferns, mushrooms and the slow, patient roots.
Life in the Ladderwood runs on the seasons. In summer the boats are out on every lake; in winter the lakes freeze and the sledges take their place. Elves keep the high bridges, trolls tend the root roads under the pines, and knights carry the post from village to village on skis when the snow is deep. The heart of it all is Larchloft, a timber town built out over the biggest lake on tall larch stilts. Travellers are welcome, and they learn the one rule everybody keeps: never cut a living bridge, whatever is on the other side.
Quests in The Ladderwood
- Adventure
Moonlight on the Longsway
Every calm night, the longest bridge in the Ladderwood swings like a skipping rope, and the post cannot cross. Find out what is shaking the Longsway before the bridge is closed for good.
Play this quest - Adventure
The Rumble Under Ferndown
Every morning there are new holes in Ferndown's road, and its mushroom beds are dug to pieces. Loaf Day is in two days. Track down the digger before the festival is ruined.
Play this quest
Heroes
Ambrose Quillon
Bridge wizard of the Ladderwood
- +1Brave
- +2Clever
- +1Kind
- Looks like
- Tall and stooped, with a long silver beard tucked into your belt, a patched blue robe and a hat whose feather always points into the wind.
- Carrying
- A crooked staff of larch wood · A ball of string that never tangles · A pocket book of knots and wind signs
- My one special thing
- Read the Wind Once per scene, lick a finger and hold it up. The guide tells you truly which way the thing you are looking for lies.
Pick me if you like knowing the answer before anyone asks the question.
Ivra Leafwhistle
Canopy elf of the high bridges
- +1Brave
- +1Clever
- +2Kind
- Looks like
- Slim and light on your feet, with long dark braids threaded with leaves, a green hooded cloak and soft boots that never slip on a branch.
- Carrying
- A leaf whistle that every bird answers · A coil of soft silver rope · A pouch of moon flower seeds
- My one special thing
- Birdsong Once per scene, whistle and a forest bird comes to help. It carries a short message, finds a lost thing nearby, or sings a frightened creature calm.
Pick me if you would rather make a friend than win a fight.
Places on the map
Every place marked on the map, with a line about what is going on there right now. Pick one, ask your players why they are going, and you have tonight’s session.
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Larchloft
A timber town built out over the biggest lake on tall larch stilts. In summer boats tie up under every house; in winter people skate from door to door.
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Ferndown
A woodcutters' village on the root roads under the tallest pines, where trolls and humans share the same long tables. It is famous for mushroom bread, and lately for the holes that appear in its road every morning.
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The Hollow Spire
A ring of old standing stones around a broken stone tower among the pines. Nobody remembers who raised them. On windy nights the empty tower hums like a bottle.
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The Long Den
A deep, dry cave in the western fells where big sleepy animals spend the winter. Travellers who shelter there are asked to whisper.
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Fallow Fell
The highest of the snowy fells, split by a deep, misty ravine called Fallow Gorge. One long swaying bridge crosses it, and everybody calls it the Longsway.
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Saltnet Harbour
The fishing harbour where the river meets the frozen sea. In winter its boats are pulled up onto the ice, and the fishers fish through holes.
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The Frost Lamp
A white lighthouse on the south-eastern shore, lit all winter so that sledges crossing the sea ice can find the coast.
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Greyseal Rock
A rocky island in the frozen sea where grey seals sleep in heaps and sing together at dusk.
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Dewpond Fen
A boggy fen in the eastern woods where tall, long-legged deer wade at dawn, and the frogs sing in the same order every night.
The city of Larchloft
A game master can start play in any of its wards — point players at a district and begin there.