Oddities for a Haunted Wood
In a past age we explored the myriad oddities of an enchanted forest, but as the seasons turn and old magic goes sour enchantment gives way darker occult forces. Gnarled trees clutch at an overcast sky, sunlight gives way to moonlight, and the forces of life are subsumed by death. The next time your heroes brave a dark road cutting through a forgotten bower, bring fresh terror to their quest by rolling up one of our oddities for a haunted wood.
1d6x human effigies dangle from the surrounding trees. There is an equal chance these effigies are crafted from sticks and grass, animal bones, human bones, or the rotted clothes of long-dead travelers.
A witch’s motile hut comes crashing through the trees. It continues to creep along for another 1d4-1 miles before coming to rest. Roll 1d6 to determine the hut’s means of locomotion; 1) chicken legs, 2) cat legs, 3) tentacular tree roots, 4) spider legs, 5) rotting timbers lashed with vines, 6), skeletal giant legs.
The moon is perpetually full in stark defiance to the last of astronomy.
A raven perched atop a nearby tree cries out the name of one of the adventurers. If approached, the raven takes to the air and flies westward.
A a clearing with a small garden plot fenced off in rusting gothic iron. The garden gate stands open, creaking on rusty hinges as it shifts in the wind. Every plant in the garden is poisonous.
A skull wedged into the crook of an ash tree, dark agates glinting from its eye sockets. There is an equal chance the skull is a grim warning or a supernatural means of watching for interlopers.
A waif, her clothes mud stained and torn from days wandering in the woods, weeps tears of despair. If approached or hailed she continues to week and refuses to show her face. If touched she dissolves into a mass of dry leaves that blow away in the wind, leaving behind scraps of rotted clothing.
A grizzled old hunter armed with a long-barrelled musket creeps through the woods, a pouch of silver bullets hanging from his belt. The hunter stalks a werewolf on a mission of grim revenge. There is a 50% chance the hunter is very monster he seeks, though he knows it not.
The trail the party walks comes to a natural crossroads. For the next 1d4x hours the party returns to this crossroads no matter what path they take.
A fresh campsite consisting of 1d6 tents and bedrolls, 1d4-1 sacks of food hanging from trees, and a cauldron of hearty stew bubbling away over a small cook fire. The campers are nowhere to be seen and will never be seen again. There are no clues as to the nature of their sudden disappearance.
And that is on only the beginning! Check back again as your favorite d-Infinity contributors add to this ever growing list of oddities, and add your own grim discoveries in the comments below. How quickly can we reach 100 original oddities for a haunted wood!?
