Woodfall: The Micro-Setting That Changed How I See RPG Design
Woodfall by Lazy Lich is one of my favourite ever products. This micro-setting changed how I saw how things could be done. I came from 5e, read this, and just went “oh my God, this is how something should be written.” I wanted to run it so much.
It’s a hex-based swamp setting, but it’s not a hex crawl. It’s 96 pages of pure gold. The artwork is done by Lazy Lich himself - really cool, dark tones. The only problem is I can’t print it as a booklet because there’s so much black ink.
The Setup: A Town of Witches and Outlaws
Woodfall is a town built on rotting wooden walkways connecting earth mounds in a swamp. The population is witches, outlaws, misfits, heretics, and magical creatures hunted down throughout the lands. This muddy patch of kingdom is the last place where they feel safe.
The king had the village evicted and burned to the ground years ago, but it’s been rebuilt and reoccupied. Folk throughout the kingdom speak of the king’s plans for a second eviction - one that will end the occupation permanently.
It really feels kind of Shrek. There’s this constant fight between this village of witches - who you’d traditionally see as villains - and the evil kingdom that wants rid of this “dirty eyesore.”
The Best Village Map I’ve Ever Seen
The map is just loads of swamp with little walkways between buildings. I absolutely adore it. Walkways lit with magical candles, and the moon seems to visit much more often than the sun.
A Hippie Commune of Witches
This is where it gets interesting. The economy and laws are unlike anything you’d expect:
- Everyone gets a third of an acre for cultivating mushrooms
- Taxes are voluntary - residents opt in to fund services they want
- A coin welfare system funded largely by the Thieves Guild
- Individuals can’t own property they’re not using
- It’s illegal to be too wealthy
The legal system:
- Stealing from people within Woodfall is illegal
- Being loud and annoying while drunk at night? Legal for people to cast silence charms on you
- “Which burners will be burnt”
- Necromancy is legal but needs consent prior to death
- Love potions are illegal
Super hippie. Super cool.
Factions That Make It Alive
What makes this thing brilliant is the relationships between everything. It’s a live setting.
The Thieves Guild - You only keep 40% of your plunder, but you get all the XP. The rest goes to the guild, healing, welfare, the FLF, the poor, and crisis support. Imagine running a heist campaign where you’re not just “I’m all in it for me.”
The Healing Tent - Poor villagers and country folk can’t afford healers without going into debt. They travel from far and wide for free healing. This causes issues for the king because villagers actually want this place to exist.
The Crisis Action Team - A group of female residents, mostly witches, running a safe house for women escaping abusive and arranged marriages. They also give witch training. This implies that people from nobility are running away to escape here - which causes massive political tension.
The FLF - The Fairy Liberation Front. Fairies are imprisoned as slaves throughout the kingdom, traded among nobles for luck, experimented on by wizards, eaten by monsters. Woodfall is one of the only safe places for them. The king has made it illegal for fairies to exist without human masters.
The Swamp Factions
There’s a relationship diagram showing how all the swamp factions feel about each other. Mutant clans, bog witches, Druids, goblins - all with their own agendas.
The Goblin Punk Fortress - Punk rocker goblins. A doomsday cult who worship and receive orders from a mysterious orb. They’re instructed to kill creatures, impale their heads, and create a magical blight that will spread.
These aren’t just things sitting there. They’re active participants. If you don’t do stuff with them, they will do stuff to the world. They will impact things. The story develops and the entire setting feels alive.
Different goblin types: Spikers covered in spikes who throw themselves at enemies. Brewers who drink speed-infused alcohol and distribute potions. Scrap made from metal who can’t go into the swamp because they’re too heavy. Cultists who shoot beams of energy from their eyes.
Monster Hunting and DIY Magic Items
You can hunt monsters and harvest parts from them. These can be used for potions and to create other items. It gives players reasons to go into the swamp and makes exploration an adventure.
DIY instructions for creating potions, wands, and scrolls. More reason to go out, experiment, and be part of this world.
Changes Over Time
The setting is alive because there’s so many active players. What happens if the goblin blight device is completed? What happens if the necromancers get too powerful? What happens when Woodfall gets evicted?
So many things that will naturally happen and carry this campaign forward. You could play in it for ages.
Why I Love It
The problem you’re going to have is there’s so many things for your players that they’re going to want to do. It’s not one of those adventures where it’s “you do this, then this, then this.” It would be so player-driven it would be untrue.
I don’t know what I’d run it with - possibly Olde Swords Reign, maybe Whitehack because it’s so open. But honestly, I wouldn’t care what system I ran it in.
This is by far one of my favourite things I’ve ever read.
Get it. Woodfall on DriveThruRPG