Natural fantasy worlds are characterized by small or medium-sized settlements, dense forests and winding paths. Travelers journey on foot or with mounts, carts, or small boats. Flying vehicles and mounts are extremely rare, perhaps nonexistent. However, sometimes the remains of ancient technologies are combined and adapted to create ingenious rustic hybrids.
From a thematic perspective, traveling on foot is a slow but harmless choice, whereas using mounts or vehicles might be an act of violence against nature, depending on the character’s treatment of the animal or environment. The relationship between a character and their Faithful Companion (see Core Rulebook, page 217) is an excellent positive example, while destroying a forest to create a railroad is a classic example of cruelty toward the ecosystem.
The artisan is a very important figure in natural fantasy settings, and their social role can be characterized as mostly technical, mostly spiritual, or a balanced mixture of the two.
These transformative roles are inextricably intertwined, but some artisans focus more on one or the other.
Given their importance, the following pages present an updated version of the optional rules for materials and forging, originally introduced with the 2022 winter holidays bonus: