Welcome to the Mad Moors!
We’ve manuals full of fantasy fauna; where’s all the flora?
Sure, there’s your Shambling Mounds, Assassin Vines, Ents, and such, but what do all these have in common? They run around! They move! Suspiciously animalistic behaviour, to my mind.
A few years ago, we did a series called Encountergrams. These were bite-sized (tweet-length, in fact) 5e encounters. We released one every day on Twitter and Instagram for about a year. We included a few sub-sets — seven lore-linked encounters meant as a build-your-own adventure kit. We’re no longer on Twitter or Instagram, but we still love these little encounters!
To that end, here’s the text of the full Mad Moors set, a horror fantasy set amidst dark satanic hills, along with a magic item, a random table, and some new content: d6 weird plants of the Mad Moors!
Mad Moors Fauna Encounters
Balanced for a party of level 5 characters if you’re using 5e.
When the full moon shines on the Mad Moors, the lads of Clan MacTire become as beastly in their forms as they are in their virtue. The three Werewolves terrorize the moorfolk while their wives and children hide in silver cages. Their dark power comes from a hag. (Hard)
The true master of the Mad Moors is the Nighthag Achraan. No living thing dares grow within sight of her hut, which floats 10ft above a toxic salt bog. If she is challenged, she summons her two pet birds: Cockatrices, whose victims turn to salt instead of stone. (Hard)
The Ogre Two-Toof glumly prods his herd of five Giant Goats across the Mad Moors. He doesn’t “get” money, but he’d happily trade a goat for a horse or cow. What he really wants are reading lessons, but if it takes more than five minutes, he’ll get mad and attack. (Easy)
The bog at the centre of the Mad Moors has grown wise and powerful over the years. The sod rears up as an Earth Elemental to ask passers-by a riddle: “What swallows a poisoned river and isn’t poisoned?” (The Sea) The wrong are attacked; the correct get guidance. (Easy)
Five desperate shepherd patriarchs of the Mad Moors have turned to the Black Ram for salvation. Under the black sky of the new moon, they’ve become wretched Goatmen (Minotaurs) to battle their foes. The scent of a female goat will turn them against each other. (Deadly)
To sign their sinful bargain with Achraan, the MacTire Clan carved their names into a black tree atop the heath of the Mad Moors. Now a wicked Awakened Tree, the twisted trunk has summoned seven Worgs into its service; they’ll defend the unholy, living contract. (Medium)
The Druid Inion and her mother’s Ghost plot their revenge on Achraan amidst a bone henge found in the Mad Moors. The Ghost seeks a body to ride into battle against the Nighthag. Any caster may ritual cast Speak with Dead in this thin place between realms. (Medium)
Mad Moors Flora Encounters
Ashgrass carpets the Mad Moors, covering the hills in a greenish-dark-grey. Ashgrass is low in nutritional value (save for sheep and goats), and it strangles most other plant life with its long, dark roots. Still, some strange plant life manages to survive in the Moors; roll this d6 table to see what strange secondary plant life exists in this hex.
1 – Bloodbrair
They say bloodbrair first grew from the stake used to slay the Vampire Laird Wracken. Whatever the truth, these black thorns seem to seek the blood of mammals; move at half-speed in this hex or take d4 piercing. Intelligence (Nature) DC 20 knows that the smoke of burning Bloodbrair stops ghosts within 50ft from using their possession ability.
2 – Witch Thistle
Shepherds burn witch thistle on sight; sheep who eat it have been known to cause mischief and speak terrible secrets. Its roots can be eaten, but only druids dare do so; in addition to counting as a ration, the roots deal 1d4 Constitution damage and cast See Invisibility on their eater (duration 1 hour).
3 – Osteodenra
This knobbled, bone-white tree bears oozing black fruit. They’re poisonous (d6 poison) but are edible if properly cooked (Wisdom (Survival) DC 10). The witches of the (now-burnt) Lodge of Kind Hearts used to drench themselves in the juice of the fruits, dealing d6 to any dog or werewolf who dared bite them. There is only ever one Osteodendra per hex; it grows d20 fruit.
4 – Veined Tree
Veins of blue-black lichen run through the dark grey bark of this tree. Wisdom (Survival) DC 20 when you first see this tree; success indicates you know that burning a pound of the lichen in a campfire prevents random encounters with Swarms, not just during that night but the following day as well. d6 pounds can be recovered from any given tree.
5 – Devil’s Stool
A squat brown mushroom. Only edible if you speak Abyssal. Warlocks who eat Devil’s Stool do not need Verbal spell components for the next hour. Often occurs in circles, which are said to be gateways to Unseelie hells; this is (mostly) untrue.
6 – Moor Broom
A yellow lesion on the face of the heath. If you take a horse or other herbivore animal through a Moor Broom hex, test Wisdom (Animal Handling) DC 12; failure indicates the animal has eaten broom and will die in d6 hours. Additionally, you have a 1-in-6 chance of spreading the broom into the next hex you enter.
Mad Moors Magic Item
Head of the Black Ram – This severed ram’s head acts as a +1 Shield. Also, the shield has a maximum of 5 charges; a charge may be used to cast Hellish Rebuke, Speak with Animals, Augury, or Enthrall. The head regains a charge whenever its user deals the killing blow to a biped.
Random Table (d6)
This night on the Mad Moors, you hear:
- A spectral sobbing from a ghostly figure on the horizon.
- A post-midnight drunken squall of bagpipe music. 2-in-6 chance of finding the offending “musician” (a Berserker) the next day.
- The howling of a bitter chill wind. Those without cold weather gear must pass a DC 12 Consitution saving throw or take a level of exhaustion.
- The howling of wolves. Speak with Animals allows you to eavesdrop on this ancient communication system and learn the locations of the nearest creatures and settlements.
- The threatening crack of distant thunder. Clerics and druids who serve relevant gods may gain Inspiration from this.
- Nothing. Not even the wind. What causes this strange stillness in this haunted place?
And that’s the Mad Moors! At least for now. Add your own bits to it! And if you like what you’ve read here, our article about hex crawling might help you run this madness. If the idea of a build-your-own adventure kit doesn’t appeal, check out Wake Up Sheeple, one of our many full ready-to-run adventures. Stay Weird, friends!