THE FOREST'S TRIAL

Context:

In this first phase, the characters delve into the forest, hoping to stop it before it unleashes its rage on nearby villages.

Narrative Development

From a narrative perspective, the last non-corrupted shard of the heart of the forest guided the PCs here. The shard might be an NPC, but it would be better if they are a Player Character who has remembered the true nature of their mission. Such a revelation might be triggered with a Fabula Point or with a Quirk like Underchild (see page 129), or introduced by the awakening of the Mysterious Grimoire Quirk (see page 124).

Another interesting option is the revelation that a PC’s Faithful Companion (see Core Rulebook, page 217) is much more than a common animal.

In this phase, the forest is an environmental element; it doesn’t take part in the conflict nor use any Ultima Points. The main threat is the Ashen Rådande (see page 201), who hinder the heroes while they undertake the ancient trials of Eldgren.

The Trials

The trials take place at the end of each round, in the following order:

• Trial of Strength (first round). Each PC must perform a (MIG + WLP) Check with Difficulty Level 10. For each success, the group accrue 1 Trial Point, but those who fail lose half of their current Hit Points.
• Trial of Remembrance (second round). Each PC can choose one of their Bonds and give it to the Forest; that Bond cannot be invoked until the end of the scene. Each PC who chooses to give one of their Bonds must recount one campaign event linked to it, and then roll their highest base Attribute die, adding the strength of the gifted Bond, accruing 1 Trial Point, plus another one if the result is 10 or higher. Each PC that doesn’t give a Bond fails the trial and becomes coveted by the Rådande until the end of the Scene.
• Trial of Unity (third round). Each PC rolls their lowest base Attribute die. If the result is equal to or lower than that PC’s total number of Bonds, the group accrue 1 Trial Point. If the result is higher, the PC loses half of their current Mind Points.

Conclusion: At the end of the fourth round, if the group has accrued a number of Trial Points equal to or higher than (the number of Player Characters, multiplied by 3), the ancestral magic recognizes their valor and brings them before the Ancient (see page 202). Otherwise, a strange spell drops them at the edge of the forest and they will be able to face the Ancient only later; meanwhile, Eldgren will have started rampaging across the countryside.