Spirits of the Wild
The physical world—this mortal realm of base matter and flesh—is but one reality.
There is another, hidden reality. Arguably a truer reality. Here, spirits dwell.
The spirit realm is filled with entities, especially those of the natural world.
Each beast, each tree, each gust of wind or flickering flame—they all have spirits. So do the soil, the rocks, the mountains and the streams.
Most of these spirits are quiet, slumbering or barely conscious or operating on a scale so alien as to be impenetrable to human minds.
But some mortals can speak to them nonetheless, and goad them into action. Sometimes, these sleepers shift and mumble and stretch of their own accord.
The most active spirits are those tethered to physical objects, or those associated with beasts or other "animate" things—things full of life and energy. These are the spirits that mortals encounter most often.
Themes
Choose or roll 1, or 2 and combine.
| 1 | Trees/plants/flora/growing things |
|---|---|
| 2 | Beasts/vermin/fauna |
| 3 | Air/wind/weather/fire |
| 4 | Spring/birth/fertility/sex/healing |
| 5 | Summer/heat/growth/vitality |
| 6 | Autumn/harvest/sustenance/plenty |
| 7 | Winter/cold/hunger/sleep/death |
| 8 | Savagery/the hunt/dominance |
| 9 | Nurture/shelter/provision |
| 10 | The land/soil/stone/terrain |
| 11 | Blight/decay/reclamation/ destruction |
| 12 | Water/streams/ponds/lakes (possibly corrupted by the Things Below |
Hooks
- A villager (or visitor) has been cursed by a powerful elemental spirit, maybe in a way that puts others in danger.
- A child hears voices and sees spirits; maybe they're crippled with fear, or maybe they recklessly ask spirits for petty favors.
- Something that the PCs want can be found in in a sacred site, one that's known to house unfriendly, powerful spirits.
- Someone has unwittingly brought a spirit's tether into the village, and it starts wreaking havoc.
- A PC learns that a particular spirit knows an important secret, something they desperately want to learn.
The following apply not just to spirits of the wild, but also to ghosts, dool spirits, some primordial powers, the Things Below, and little gods.
Manifestation
Spirits lack physical form, existing in the realm of thought and symbol. They can perceive and influence the mortal realm in subtle ways, but to directly affect it, a spirit must manifest or possess a physical form.
Each spirit manifests differently. Some shape a body from crude matter. Others appear as intangibles: cold, shadow, moonlight, etc. Some can only "ride" living beings. Others can animate beings that were once alive, or vessels specifically prepared to hold them. A rare few can manifest bodies of pure spirit-stuff.
Spirits manifest or possess forms that make symbolic sense. A fire spirit won't possess water; it might manifest as a flame, or animate a cloud of cinders, or possess a hot-headed youth.
Tethers
Some spirits are bound to a thing in the physical world. The tether might occur naturally (like a brennauwed and its tree), by choice or mutual benefit (like an altar where mortals leave offerings for the spirt), or via trickery, force, or coercion.
A tether anchors and empowers its spirit, granting it a stronger connection to the physical world. If harmed or weakened, the spirit can retreat to its tether to rejuvenate.
Regarding spirits
But a tether is not just a boon; it's also a vulnerability. Harming the tether harms the spirit. Destroying the tether destroys the spirit—or at least weakens, diminishes, and greatly changes it.
Some tethers don't just anchor their spirits: they bind and imprison them.
A spirit so bound can't leave its tether's presence. The most powerful bindings seal their spirits away, greatly restricting their perceptions and ability to influence the world. But no binding is perfect, and a spirit so bound might tempt or trick others into releasing it.
Fighting Spirits
One can fight a spirit only when it manifests, and even then they can be difficult to harm. Manifest forms often have lots of HP and might be vulnerable to only certain materials or attacks.
Even if one can harm a manifestation, they're not really harming the spirit.
Reducing it to 0 HP ends the manifestation. This weakens the spirit, forcing it to retreat to its tether (if it has one). But it doesn't truly harm it.
To truly harm a spirit, one must use potent magic, damage or destroy its tether, or fight it directly in the spirit realm. A spirit reduced to 0 HP in one of these ways is actually destroyed—or at least so thoroughly diminished that it won't be a problem for many human lifetimes.
You might want to track a spirit's "manifest" HP vs. "true" HP. If the PCs hurt a manifest spirit with something that could truly harm it, reduce both sets of HP.
Communion
One might wish to commune with a spirit to seek knowledge or request aid.
The Blessed in particular is able to sense active spirits, speak with them, and force even dormant spirits to manifest and hear them out. Some NPCs and monsters have similar powers.
Most people, though, are unaware of the spirits around them. Spirits of the wild tend to ignore individual humans. The best way for most mortals to commune with a spirit is to enter a sacred site (carefully, respectfully) and make an offering that gets the spirit's attention. One could also intentionally provoke the spirit—getting it to manifest—but that rarely ends well.
One might also seek out a spirit in its own realm. This requires shifting one's consciousness to the spirit realm, which might involve…
- meditation;
- imbibing drugs/alcohol;
- exhaustion or deprivation;
- percussion, music, dancing;
- a guide or teacher; and/or
- a magic item or spell.
Once a mortal's consciousness is in the spirit realm, they must find the spirit(s) in question, get their attention, and convince it to help. None of these are easy. None of these are safe. If a PC attempts such a journey, Chart a Course with them through the spirit world. Good requirements and challenges include…
- they need a knowledgeable guide or detailed instructions;
- they risk getting lost;
- the way will be grueling, they risk exhaustion; and/or
- they must watch out for specters, wraiths, or other ghosts; dool spirits;
fundamentals; voidblights; spirits corrupted by the Things Below; or just elemental spirits that are territorial, or violent, or powerful and careless.
Depending on the spirit that they seek, they might also need to surmount/brave/ cross a hazardous stretch of the spirit realm and/or risk drawing the attention of certain spirits. For example, if they sought out the spirit of the Golden Oak, you might tell them...
- they risk drawing the attention of the crossing's guardian; and/or
- they need to brave the secret crossing itself, which borders the Last Door and the realm of the dead.
Elemental spirits
These spirits mostly just do their thing, with little concern for humanity unless some mortal offends them or seeks them out for aid. An elemental spirit can:
- Reveal what it knows, from its own perspective
- Spread word to other spirits
- Bestow a blessing or curse, tied to its element
- Shift, move, or direct that which falls in its domain Elemental spirits rarely manifest. When they do, they often possess or animate the element itself, or appear as ghostly figures somehow reflecting their element. They're more likely to be NPCs than monsters.
Here are examples; feel free to modify and expand on them. Maybe you picture cave spirits differently than this. Maybe a decorated limestone cave has different tags, instincts, and notes than a cave-bear's den.
Or maybe this particular cave's spirit is different than other cave spirits. Consider asking a character (who would know) what certain types of spirits are usually like, and use what they give you.
Beast Warden
Instinct to see its wards thrive, prosper
Notes A different spirit watching over each type of beast.
Cave Spirit
Instinct to hold its secrets tightly
- Notes Drops hints about what's inside; hates the light.
Cold Spirit
Instinct to slow things down, to preserve
Notes Whispery voice; finds warmth and exuberance distasteful.
Fertility Spirit
Instinct to encourage growth
Notes Giggles, touchy; frustrated by prudery, inhibition, restraint.
Fire Spirit
Instinct to consume
Notes Cackles gleefully; fears water, smothering; always hungry.
Log Spirit
Instinct to not mind, really
Notes Ho-hum, it's okay; falls apart under serious pressure.
Meadow/Prairie/Grass Spirit
Instinct to gossip amongst themselves
Notes Like easily embarrassed teens; "Shh, don't tell them!"
Mist/Fog Spirit
Instinct to get intimate, blur boundaries
- Notes Hushed, dripping voice; spaced-out; touchy-feely.
Mud Spirit
Instinct to make a mess of things
Notes Genuinely doesn't get why you're upset or frustrated.
Peat/Bog/Fen Spirit
Instinct to take whatever it can
Notes Deep froggy voice; licks "lips," makes baseless accusations.
Pond Spirit
Instinct to remain uninvolved
Notes Sighs frequently; ignores them, unless they provoke it.
Rain Spirit
Instinct to give, but to be easily offended
Notes Tut-tuts; wants to be needed, appreciated; passive-aggressive.
Rock/Stone/Boulder/Hill Spirit
Instinct to remain unperturbed
Notes Speaks very slowly; friendly; no urgency; "Relax, man."
Sapling Spirit
Instinct to seek what it needs to grow
- Notes Wants attention, makes big promises.
Snow Spirit
Instinct to conceal things
- Notes Prim and proper; talks around the issue, always.
Storm Spirit
Instinct to test any who stand before it
Notes Big, rumbling voice; intense but distracted, has places to be.
Stream/Creek Spirit
Instinct to offer surprises, to wash away
- Notes Rarely stops talking, fidgeting; repeats self.
Trail Spirit
Instinct to reveal
Notes Agitated, nervous voice; draws attention to those it helps
Tree Spirit
Instinct to take its time
Notes Speaks slowly; clings to hurts, grudges, kindnesses.
Wind Spirit
Instinct to get distracted
Notes Howls, moans, whispers; hates all limits, confinement.
Sacred sites
These are places where spirits of the wild are tethered, or where they tend to be active. Pick or roll for terrain based on the region, theme to determine the nature of the spirit(s) present, a marker, and the spirits' activity and disposition. Consider rolling the Die of Fate to determine the spirit or spirits' relative power.
| 1 | Nothing you can put your finger on, just the sense of being watched |
|---|---|
| 2-4 | A place that resonates strongly with the spirit's theme |
| 5-6 | A remarkable natural feature, particularly large/beautiful/ancient/etc. |
| 7-8 | An unusual feature, probably natural but strange or out of place |
| 9 | An idol or altar, ancient and crumbling/buried/submerged |
| 10 | An idol or altar, made by the locals |
| 11-12 | Roll twice with a , combine |
| 1 | Missing, dissipated, greatly weakened |
|---|---|
| 2 | Imprisoned, probably seeking release |
| 3-4 | Slumbering, waiting for something |
| 5-6 | Sporadic, often slumbering or away |
| 7-9 | Alert, aware, unlikely to manifest |
| 10-12 | Alert, aware, manifesting freely |
| 1-2 | Dangerous, possibly corrupted by the Things Below |
|---|---|
| 3-4 | Vengeful, grumpy, protective, angry at intrusion |
| 5-6 | Plaintive, needful, wronged, demanding |
| 7-8 | Aloof, shy, dismissive, has their own concerns |
| 9-10 | Curious, playful, mischievous, friendly |
| 11-12 | Content, pleasant, helpful, beneficent The PCs are in the Steplands, heading towards Three Coven Lake, and they've just run afoul of some Hillfolk. They escaped, but only because the Hillfolk turned back from the cave they hid in, like they were scared to enter. I think this is a sacred site. I roll a 3 for theme (air/wind/weather/fire) and a 4 for the marker (place that resonates with the theme). I'm picturing one of those eternal flames, where a methane pocket seeps out and burns forever. I get 10 for activity (alert, aware, manifesting freely) and roll a 12 for disposition (content, pleasant, helpful, beneficent) which is odd given the Hillfolk's reaction. So: a cave lit by a flame with no apparent source, issuing from a crack in the earth. The flame houses an old, powerful, talkative spirit that's been burning since the days of the Makers. It blames the Hillfolk for their ancestors' role in calling up the Things Below and toppling the Stone Lords, so it's hostile towards them. It'll be right helpful to the Blessed and her friends! |
Artifacts
Length of Braided Leather
3 feet long, frayed on one end, and crusty with flaking... something. The braids entwine beads of redwood. Each bead contains some harm: a wound ( damage, messy, ignores armor), a sickness, a poison, a delusion. The whole thing binds a spirit of blight.
When you unweave the braid and let a redwood bead drop upon the earth, the spirit manifests as a warm, damp wind. Name someone in your presence; the spirit inflicts upon them whatever harm was stored in the bead. If you do not name someone in your presence, the spirit will choose someone at random (maybe even you).
A Tightly-Woven Net
Woven from Flats-grass by a Hillfolk sorcerer or witch. Hundreds of minor root-spirits are tethered to the strands.
When you cast the net over a spirit, it is ensnared—even if its form is intangible or could flow through the net. The spirit can't escape on its own as long as the net is intact. Don't try to use this on fire spirits—they'll burn right through it.
A Fur-Lined Bedroll
This bedroll is decorated with Forest Folk beadwork and lined with the softest rabbit fur. It tethers a nurturing, protective spirit, one that is quiet and comforting.
When you Make Camp in the fur-lined bedroll, you regain (extra) HP and gain advantage on your next roll.
A Stone Cup
A lump of limestone, big as a large man's fist, sheared off smooth at one end and hollowed out. Water slowly seeps from the interior wall, filling the cup in about half an hour. The water is hard, mineral-rich but potable, and just a little cursed.
When you drink water produced by the cup, you'll have troubling dreams the next time you sleep—dreams of suffocation and endless wet caverns and huge uncaring things stirring in the lightless depths. Roll : on a 1, you wake up screaming and will get no rest this evening; on a 2-6, the dreams are merely unsettling.
A Cracked Femur
This leg bone is always cold and covered in rime. It's the bone of a witch who broke her leg and froze to death. It houses not a ghost, but a potent spirit of winter and cold.
When you first grip the bone, roll +CON: on a 10+, the spirit acknowledges you as master and you can wield the bone; on a 7-9, pick 1:
- Drop the bone; you can never wield it
- Endure as the spirit sucks away your heat—take damage (ignores armor) and mark weakened—but you then master the spirit and can wield the bone.
On a 6-, the spirit sucks away your heat—take damage (ignores armor) and mark weakened—and you can never wield the bone.
When you wield the bone as a weapon (hand, crude, magical, ignores armor) it deals damage instead of your normal damage, sucking the warmth from your foe.
A Crown of Flowers
A wreath of living vines, sprouting flowers of great variety and beauty. A woman who dons the crown becomes greatly attuned to the fertility of everything around her, and the whispering spirits of growing things. She also becomes aware of the rites of spring.
When a woman wears the crown and performs the rites of spring—dancing around an oak tree, making offerings to the spirits, and joining with her lover in the light of the full moon—then her steading rolls with advantage to generate Surplus in both summer and autumn. Also, if the woman wearing the crown so chooses, she will conceive and bear a healthy child, regardless of any barriers.
A Forked Stick of Redwood
A stout stick about 2 feet long, the bark removed, with fine woodworm trails making entirely-too-regular patterns. If you hold it gently, with a hand on each tine of the fork, you can feel it tugging, pulling you gently in certain directions.
When you dowse with the redwood stick, it will guide you to the nearest site sacred to the spirits of the wild. With practice, you can estimate the distance and even the disposition of the spirits that dwell there.
A Hunk of Amber
It's about the size of two fists, with a mass of blood-sucking insects floating in its center. It tethers an ambitious spirit of insects, blight, and disease. Treat it as a threat (type: magical entity, Instinct to foster worship) with the following moves: • Demand a blood sacrifice, poured over the amber • Shield someone from sickness, vermin, and poison • Blight an enemy with sickness, vermin, or both
Minor Arcana
Pick 1 or have someone roll.
| 1 | A path in the woods |
|---|---|
| 2 | A cloak, richly embroidered |
| 3 | A beaded satchel |
| 4 | A cracked flute |
| 5 | A wolf pelt |
| 6 | A patch of rainbow moss |
Major arcana
These could be associated with the
The Brennauwed
The Tall Ladies, Daughters-of-Seed, the Slow Sisters: these are all titles given to the Brennauwed, powerful tree spirits and, if you believe them, kin to Danu herself. Each is tethered to a single tree.
The younger ones can roam, but the older a Brennauwed is, the more bound she is to her tree.
Glasbren
HP 19; Armor 2 (bark, no vital organs)
Damage raking fingers (hand, disadvantage)
Special qualities tethered to its tree
Instinct to stretch and grow and experience life
- Travel freely between young trees
- Spy on someone or something interesting
- Manifest a beautiful form of moving wood (unharmed by stabbing, vulnerable to fire)
- Call on the forest and its creatures for aid
- Spread word through the Great Wood act in the glasbren's interests." The glasbren becomes a follower (Cost: wonder and excitement; holds 2 Loyalty to start).
Youngest of the Brennauwed, a glasbren's tree is barely more than a sapling. The world is full of wonder and life, and they would see it all.
From time to time, a comely mortal will catch a glasbren's eye. If the mortal proves kind and curious and full of life, it might reveal itself and shyly pursue a friendship—or more.
When you give your heart or loyalty to a glasbren, your instinct becomes "Devotion:
When a season passes without you spending time with the glasbren, alone at her tree, she loses all Loyalty and you mark miserable. You cannot clear this debility without spending time with her.
When you spend time with the glasbren, alone with her at her tree, roll +CHA: on a 7+, clear all your debilities and ask the GM to reveal a secret about the Great Wood or the things that can be found there; but on a 7-9, also pick 1:
• Days or weeks pass without either of you realizing it
• You offend or upset her; she loses any Loyalty she held and she isn't speaking to you right now (tell us what you did wrong)
• Her "family" would have words with you, right now
Birdwaig
HP 23; Armor 3 (woody, no vital organs)
Damage crushing branches (close, reach, forceful), choking vines/roots (reach, grabby)
Special qualities tethered to its tree
Instinct to care for the forest, especially the trees
- Wield the plants around her like a weapon
- Possess a nearby tree (vulnerable to fire, all but impossible to harm with most weapons)
- Purge or bind an unnatural taint
- Grant a secret or a boon to a friend of the forest
As they mature, Brennauwed grow more sedentary, manifesting only via their own tree or possessing other trees within a few miles. A birdwaig has a motherly regard for all natural things in her territory, and will turn the very forest against any that seek to do it harm.
Hennain
HP 31; Armor 4 (woody, no vital organs)
Damage walloping branches (close, reach, area, forceful)
Special qualities tethered to its tree
Instinct to take the long, long view
- Remain unmoved
- See through any tree in the forest
- Animate her own tree (almost impossible to harm with weapons, or even fire)
- Call upon the power of Danu herself
- Lay a lasting curse on a defiler
Old grandmothers of the Wood, the hennain are few and ancient and mighty. They watch, and they wait, and they endure. It takes a dire threat indeed to rouse one, and even then it acts in slow and inscrutable ways. For a hennain cares not one bit for any given creature or tree; she cares only for the slow turn of the forest itself.
Dangers
Andalau
HP 8; Armor 2 (tiny, agile)
Damage none
Instinct to play and frolic
- Manifest as a fluttering gust of wind (harmed only by lead or salt)
- Flit things about (dust, leaves, etc.)
- Annoy or spook someone
- Deliver a whispery message
There are places where the wind dances constantly, fluttering and flitting, and here the andalau dwell. They are more prone to mischief than violence. Win their favor, and you might convince them to help you—especially if it involves going somewhere new or playing pranks. Just don't be surprised when their attention flits elsewhere.
Ceffylwraig
HP 24; Armor 0
Damage kicking hoofs (hand, close, forceful, disadvantage)
Instinct to be fiercely independent
- Appear as a majestic horse among the herd
- Slip free of any restraint, disappearing into the wind if need be
- Guide the herd like it was a single, living entity
- Curse someone with wild, unbridled emotions
A herd of wild horses has a life, nay, a spirit all its own, a spirit as free and fickle as the wind. Take care, you who would poach wild horses for your own purpose, lest you find your heart turned against you!
Something interesting: "Ceffylwraig" means "horse wife," but she sees herself more as queen than wife: proud and haughty, disdainful of the weak and the slow, the herd her subjects more than her children.
Something useful: A ceffylwraig is scornful and suspicious of praise or fancy words, but can be appeased by thoughtful gifts, offered with appropriate respect from proud women of noble bearing.
• What sort of gift do the ceffylwraig most value?
• What sort of gift will do in a pinch?
Coedwaig
HP 5; Armor 2 (bark, no vital organs)
Damage nasty thorns (hand, grabby)
Special qualities thorns all over, to touch them is to bleed
Instinct to viciously defend its ward
- Possess thorny plants or vines and shape them into a body
- Cause vicious thorns and spines to sprout from nearby plants
- Dig in deep, make them bleed (messy)
Each thorn on a plant is a sword, brandished boldly against a world that would defile its flowers, steal its fruit, and devour its delicate buds. What, then, are the coedwaig? Only Danu's swords, brandished by the Mother herself in defense of her most beautiful and vulnerable children.
Fadyn
HP 16; Armor 1 (reflexes)
Damage bite, scratches, or knife (hand, disadvantage)
Special qualities tethered to a fox skull
Instinct to make mischief
- Manifest as a fox (small) or a charming stranger
- Be all manner of charming and ingratiating
- Steal something when no one's looking
- Make something seem like something else
Every child has heard stories of the fox-spirit, the trickster, the fadyn. In some tales, a fadyn makes fools of the cruel or the proud. In others, they steal chickens from the slow-witted. And in still others, they seduce a beautiful human, disappearing when bored or discovered. Truth be told, there's little pattern to who a fadyn torments or fancies. They are fickle, fickle things.
Something interesting: When a fadyn takes the form of a person, it always has some fox-like feature (a tail, feet, hands, ears) that it strives to hide. It is easily embarrassed by this feature, and flees if it's discovered.
• Something useful: Fadyn are in fact the spirits of old, cagey foxes who passed away, and they're tethered to their old skulls. One can't travel far from its skull, and often carries it hidden on its manifest person or buries it near the community that it torments. If you want to destroy a fadyn, or bind it to your service, getting your hands on its skull is the best way to do so.
Grwgnach
HP 27; Armor 2 (reflexes, swarm)
Damage whirlwind of pecks, claws, buffets (hand, area, disadvantage)
Instinct to absorb individual identity
- Manifest in a murmuration of starlings (nigh impossible to harm with personal weapons)
- Strip a swath of land clean of seed, saplings, insects
- Overwhelm with sound and the weight of numbers
When the sun sets, starlings flock in absurd numbers: thousands upon thousands dancing and wheeling in the sky, like a chittering thunderhead, like a cloud of living smoke.
Farmers do what they can to keep starlings far from town, and not just because they eat precious seeds and bury the land in droppings. They do so for fear of the grwgnach.
The grwgnach is a spirit of the mob, of the many coming together to become something more. It's not a king or a queen of the starlings. Rather, it's what a million starlings become when each bird loses itself to the flock.
When you gaze rapt upon a murmuration of starlings, tell us of a time when you felt small and insignificant, or when you lost yourself in a crowd.
Then, roll +WIS: on a 10+, you feel the pull of the grwgnach but shake it off; on a 7-9, your mind is briefly adrift among a thousand-thousand others—mark dazed but also ask the GM one question about the region, something that at least one starling might know; on a 6-, your mind is sucked into the grwgnach—mark dazed and you stand rapt until the flock disperses or someone removes you, physically. Also, until you Level Up, your instinct becomes "Birdlike: To act strangely, like a bird."
The Halfeyd
Instinct to terrorize its prey
- Manifest as eyes in the dark, watching
- Mark someone as prey
- Set all manner of hunting beasts on their trail
- Put ambush predators in their path
The hunters and trappers of Stonetop know.
So do the Hillfolk. The Manmarchers know, and Fen-walkers, too. When you make a kill, you leave an offering. An offering for the Halfeyd. Fail to do so, and you might find yourself as prey—for everything.
Something interesting: If the Halfeyd marks you, you'll be hounded for 3 days and 3 nights—even by small predators who would never normally hunt you. Something useful: A spirit of running water (like that of a stream) can wash away the Halfeyd's mark.
Nerth Serpent
HP 20; Armor 4 (resilience), or 0 against bare hands
Damage bite and constrict (hand, close, reach, forceful, grabby)
Special qualities tethered to the Nerth Tree
Instinct to test the might of supplicants
- Politely offer a chance to back down
- Restrain an opponent's limb
- Whisssper a foe's own doubts in their ear
The Nerth Tree grows in the Great Wood.
It can only be found by one mortal each midsummer, by following a particular path in the woods. The roots are littered with bones of former supplicants.
Hanging from the tree: a great serpent.
Crush it and eats its heart, and you will gain its vitality. But good luck with that.
Prenysbyrd
HP 23; Armor 2 (woody, lacks organs)
Damage club-like fists (close, forceful)
Instinct to punish trespassers
- Blame one for the sins of another
- Fill minds with leering images and unreasoning dread
- Form a body of fallen trees, leaves, rotting wood (vulnerable to fire)
- Smother a prone foe with soil, leaves, wood ( damage, near, grabby)
What becomes of a dead tree's spirit? Most linger as simple log-spirits, weakening as the log rots to mulch. But when generations of trees grow and die in the same place, they might become something more. Something that defends the grove, and its current trees, and all the trees that are yet to come.
Troelloff
Instinct to confuse, frustrate, delay
- Show warnings left by others: spiral carvings, many-arrowed icons, etc.
- Inflict a brief, intense vertigo
- Make them lose their way
- Show a landmark they've passed before
- Obscure trails, way-signs, and markings
Some places never want you to leave: deep woods, twisting caverns, rugged hills that all look same. Such places give rise to troelloff, maze-spirits, who delight in mischief and feed on the desperation of the lost.
Something interesting: Where a troelloff dwells, there's always a true path. It can't harass anyone who stays on this path, but good luck finding it. Something useful: The path is never obvious, but it's always marked, by a particular flower, a pattern in the moss, a vein in the stone, etc.