The Borrowed Path
The Borrowed Path is a stretch of Feywild terrain that steals certainty from travelers. It does not merely loop a road. It replaces landmarks, rearranges companions, alters remembered directions, and places familiar voices in the mouths of strangers. The hazard is dangerous because it makes every solution appear foolish and every lie appear comforting.
The Borrowed Path
Defenses
Detection
“A beautiful woodland path paved with pale roots and silver leaves. Every few yards, the trail seems to repeat, yet the flowers, birds, and pools of light are never quite the same. A signpost bears several familiar names, including names belonging to creatures currently present.”
Standard Engagement
The hazard activates when a creature enters the affected stretch of terrain, speaks a confident direction, or attempts to retrace the party's route.
On initiative count 20, the path changes. Choose or roll one effect: (1) Two visible landmarks exchange places. (2) The nearest creature hears a trusted voice calling from a direction of the Dungeon Master's choice. (3) A safe-looking shortcut appears and becomes difficult terrain. (4) One creature's shadow points toward the false route. The next creature that follows a changed landmark or trusted voice must immediately make the hazard's saving throw.
The Borrowed Path reforms after 24 hours if its silver root is cut, unless the root is removed from the Feywild or planted in soil consecrated against fey magic. If ended by a promise, it resets when that promise is knowingly broken.
When a creature enters the affected area or starts its turn there, it must make a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the creature takes 22 (4d10) psychic damage and becomes directionless until the start of its next turn. While directionless, it cannot willingly move closer to a destination, creature, or landmark chosen before the save, and it treats all terrain within the hazard as difficult terrain. On a successful save, the creature takes half damage and suffers no other effect.
If a creature fails the saving throw by 5 or more, it also forgets one fact about the current journey until it leaves the hazard. The Dungeon Master chooses a harmless but tactically relevant fact, such as which direction the party came from, who was carrying a particular object, or whether a nearby figure is an ally. The creature may repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending this memory loss on a success.
The affected area usually covers a 300-foot stretch of forest path, though it may expand to include a crossroads, glade, or bridge. The hazard ends when all creatures leave the area or when it is disabled.
A creature that knowingly gives false directions, falsely identifies an ally, or lies about its own name within the area has disadvantage on its next saving throw against the hazard. A creature that openly admits uncertainty gains advantage on that saving throw.
Teleportation and planar travel function normally only if the caster succeeds on a DC 18 spellcasting ability check. On a failure, the spell appears to work, but the creature arrives at the nearest visually plausible location within the hazard.
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