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The Root-Walkers

Forty years ago, the village of Nattveden pushed too deep into the dark Rotskogen. A group of woodcutters fell victim to the Pale Rot, a fungal infection that causes the skin to harden like bark. Instead of dying, they were guided by a voice in the mist to the center of the woods. There they found the Marrow-Yew, an ancient, sentient tree-monster that offered them life in exchange for servitude. These original woodcutters became the first Root-Walkers, turning their back on humanity to become the forest's immune system. They transitioned from victims of the woods to its most fierce defenders during the Great Cleaving, where they successfully sabotaged three major logging camps in a single night of blood and moss.

Factions
Bio-mystical Cult of Survivalists · True Neutral

The Root-Walkers

In Nattveden, they are the 'Shamblers' or the 'Mist-Ghoulies,' feared as monsters that snatch children and ruin industry.
Type
Bio-mystical Cult of…
Size
Moderate
Reach
Regional
Base
The Cathedral of Roots

Overview

Forty years ago, the village of Nattveden pushed too deep into the dark Rotskogen. A group of woodcutters fell victim to the Pale Rot, a fungal infection that causes the skin to harden like bark. Instead of dying, they were guided by a voice in the mist to the center of the woods. There they found the Marrow-Yew, an ancient, sentient tree-monster that offered them life in exchange for servitude. These original woodcutters became the first Root-Walkers, turning their back on humanity to become the forest's immune system. They transitioned from victims of the woods to its most fierce defenders during the Great Cleaving, where they successfully sabotaged three major logging camps in a single night of blood and moss.

How it began

Theron Oak-Heart was Nattveden's most celebrated woodsman until his young daughter contracted the Pale Rot. Desperate, Theron carried her into the heart of Rotskogen, seeking a legendary spring. He found no water, only the Marrow-Yew. The entity bargained: it would save his child if he would become its hands and eyes. Theron agreed, becoming the first Heart-Speaker. His daughter became the first Spore-Seer, and together they rebuilt their family from the outcasts and 'infected' of the village.

How to know them

MottoThe Bark heals where the Steel yields.
EmblemA weeping yew tree whose roots intertwine to form a hollow human skull, etched into bark shields.
Colours

Deep Moss Green, Rust Red, Bone White

Signs
  • A knotted piece of yew wood.
  • A fungal spore pattern.
  • A hand stained with green sap.
DressRoot-Walkers wear little cloth. Their bodies are covered in living vines, moss-woven tunics, and bark armor that is literally grafted onto their limbs. They often have mushrooms growing from their shoulders.

Standing

AlignmentTrue Neutral
Age40 years
WealthPoor (Materially), Rich (Biological Resources)

What they say they want

To halt the logging and expansion of Nattveden.
To heal those suffering from forest-born diseases within the woods.
To maintain the natural balance and biodiversity of Rotskogen.

What they are doing now

Sabotage the newly constructed iron-bladed mill in Nattveden.
Abduct the village's head herbalist who is researching a fungicide.
Plant Heart-Seeds around the village perimeter to weaken the earth.

Where it leads

A world where the distinction between animal and plant is blurred, and the Rotskogen covers the continent, ruled by the Marrow-Yew's fungal consciousness.

How others see them

In Nattveden, they are the 'Shamblers' or the 'Mist-Ghoulies,' feared as monsters that snatch children and ruin industry.

People

4 ranks

The First Spore-Seer

Matriarch Elara Oak-Heart

Stoic, deeply maternal toward her followers, and ruthlessly cold toward those she deems 'axes in human form.'

  1. The Heart-Speaker1 member

    The ultimate authority and conduit for the Marrow-Yew's will. Interprets the pulses of the forest.

  2. Spore-Seers6 members

    Officers who coordinate the defense of the forest. They maintain the fungal web that acts as an early warning system.

  3. Grove Guards24 members

    The primary warriors. They utilize Living-Wood weapons and protect the Marrow-Yew's physical form.

  4. The Infected (Initiates)50 members

    Recent converts who are still undergoing the physical transformation of the Pale Rot. They serve as scouts and gatherers.

Other key members

  • Bramble-Fist Gorth War-Captain
  • Sylas the Whispering Leaf Spy and Saboteur

How they are organised

How it is runMycelial Network (Decentralized but spiritually linked)
Who comes nextWhen a Heart-Speaker nears the end of their life, they undergo the 'Deep Rooting.' They plant themselves near the Marrow-Yew and merge with it. The forest then chooses a new leader by causing a Spore-Seer's eyes to glow with an iridescent green light that cannot be extinguished.
How they recruitThe faction rarely seeks recruits; they find those abandoned by Nattveden to die in the forest. They approach the dying or the lost, offering a second life in exchange for an eternal bond with the roots.
To join
  • Must be infected with the Pale Rot or have survived a lethal forest encounter.
  • Must renounce all loyalty to Nattveden and human civilization.
  • Must undergo the Ritual of the Graft, where a piece of Living-Wood is bonded to their flesh.

Relations

4 factions
The Wandering CaravansTOLERATEDThe Silent Moss-folkSYMBIOTICThe Sallow AlchemistsCOMPETITORSThe Nattveden…WARRING
Ally · Symbiotic
The Silent Moss-folk

Slow-moving tree spirits that provide information in exchange for the Root-Walkers removing iron nails from their bark.

Operations

What they do

Ritual cultivation of the forest.
Guerrilla warfare against loggers.
Spreading fungal growth into contaminated areas.

How they do it

Sabotage
Ambush from the mist
Assassination of high-profile loggers
Ecological restoration

Services for hire

  • Plague-CuringOne year of service to the forest or a blood offering.
    Healing those with diseases that Nattveden's doctors cannot touch.
  • Path-OpeningAn iron weapon given to the faction to be 'rusted' and destroyed.
    Allowing a group to pass through Rotskogen safely.

What they can do

Spore-Sighted: Members can see heat and vibrations through the thickest forest mists.
Wood-Walk: The ability to phase through thick undergrowth and trees as if they were water.
Toxic Bloom: Spore-Seers can release clouds that cause temporary paralysis or hallucinations.

What they have

The Marrow-Yew (An ancient, gargantuan predatory tree).
Living-Wood Weaponry (Blades that grow and repair themselves).
The Mycelial Network (Instantaneous sensing of any movement on the forest floor).

Where they are weak

Fire (Deep-seated terror of flames).
Cold Iron (Extracts the essential sap and causes them intense pain).
Distance (They grow weaker the longer they stay away from the Rotskogen's soil).

Territory

Headquarters

The Cathedral of Roots
KindNatural Biological Fortress

A massive hollowed-out mound beneath the roots of the Marrow-Yew. The air is thick with glowing spores, and the walls are literally breathing wood that reacts to the presence of intruders.

Lands they hold

The Deep Rotskogen
The Weeping Creek
The Briar-Labyrinth

Outposts

  • The Thistle-WatchA mile from Nattveden's north gate.To monitor the village's movements and timber exports.
  • The Sink-HoleNear the old logging camp.A pit where prisoners are held to be processed for fertilizer.

Secrets

The big secret · GM only
What they really want · GM only
Hidden plans · GM only
Smaller secrets · GM only
What insiders say · GM only
Trouble inside · GM only
Crimes · GM only

Plot hooks

3 hooks
  • 1
    The Missing Timber-Heir
    ModerateReward: Gold and Village Influence
    The son of the Woodcutters Guild Master has gone missing. He was seen following a woman with green hair into the fog. The party is hired to bring him back before he is converted.
  • 2
    The Blighted Heart
    HardReward: Special Living-Wood Gear
    The Marrow-Yew is dying from a strange alchemical poison. A Root-Walker approaches the party, pleading for them to help find the source of the rot before the entire forest goes berserk.
  • 3
    The Mist-Negotiation
    Easy (Social)Reward: Faction Favor and Safe Passage
    Nattveden is starving because they can no longer hunt or gather in the woods. The players must act as neutral mediators between Matriarch Elara and the Village Council.

Work they offer

1Cleanse the Deep Well of the iron slag dumped by the villagers.
2Retrieve the Sap-Urn from the local alchemist's lab.
3Guide a group of initiates to the heart of the woods without them being caught.

What gets in the way

The Pale Rot is contagious; staying too long with the faction may require 'Stress' checks (Daggerheart) to avoid infection.
The Woodcutters Guild has hired mercenaries who shoot first and ask questions later.
The Marrow-Yew doesn't distinguish between players and loggers if they step on its roots.

Rumours

1The Root-Walkers are actually humans being puppeted by brain-mushrooms.
2The Marrow-Yew was once a god of the hunt cursed into a tree.
3Every tree in Rotskogen has the soul of a logger the Root-Walkers captured.

Connections

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