The Enderwoods (Free PDF-only Edition)

The Enderwoods

The Enderwoods is a game of investigative horror set in the 1900s of a Balkan peninsula quite similar to our own, yet dreadfully distinct. It is a world of wonder, where uncertainty and intent guide powerful and unpredictable magic; a world in which Gods walk the land and monsters appear at every step.

• WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET

  No predefined classes or races, just what you bring to the table! A ten-step, ten minute character creation process gets you to the point where you know what your character is good at in a moment of panic. Everything else is free-flowing narrative.

• NO ACTION BALANCING

  No wargame past, no combat rules. Every action has a reaction, and almost all of the reactions hurt in their own different ways. Do as many things as you think you must, and endure their piling consequences.

• A RICH SETTING

  The Enderwoods start in the Balkans that never was, built on the lore as well as the history of this region, without a fear of change, of the unknown, different and diverse. It is a world drowned in supernatural dread, kept safe only by the strength of acceptance of everything that it means to be human.

The Setting

The Enderwoods happens at the Crossroads of the World. It is dark, magical, and uncertain. It is a place where humanity and its allies fight the void and the oblivion forever. The year is 1908. The Balkan peninsula. Defined by the howl of the four principal winds, these lands are keepers of wealth for ones who cross them north to south, a prophecy of the future for those going south to north. Turning to the sun at 2pm and following its path leads you into the domain of death and protection eternal. Looking where it meets the horizon when setting will teach you the smell of mulberry groves and salt. The devils of at least three hells dine on this land every night, mingling with angels of at least three heavens. They share their food with each other while spell-bound demons learn Romani music from the travelers, and play it to make hearts falter and still the winds. Whoever remembers the symmetries of their faces, imprints upon themselves the yearning for life and the fear of the void.

The world remembers and forgets the Balkans as it needs to. It is a place wherein one can hide their greatest treasure, and find the worst surprise. Oftentimes, these two are of one and the same cloth. The ancient wardens of this land, the rivers of Danube, Sava, Vardar, Drina and Temes, define it by compacts so ancient that humanity could twice be reborn before it even sees the first of the symbols of power that make it. Empires come here to find their fates and all that do fall inevitably. There is no one god that likes to call this their own domain; the earth is so thickly covered in their pacts that holy places all lay barren.

Publishing Options

You're looking at the FREE PDF Starter for the Enderwoods. This is a package that contains the following:

• full rules
• basic setting descriptions and details
• one starter adventure included

We're currently working on a Print-on-Demand version that will contain:

• full rules plus more examples
• tons of setting descriptions and details
• random tables for political ties, trade routes, and organizations
• five adventures to get you to meet all of the Enderwoods!
• more art, maps, newspaper cutouts, and other handy printouts

The Print-on-Demand version will arrive to DriveThruRPG around the end of March 2020.