Blasted Heath

Foul entities once dwelled at the heart of this shrubland—and may still be there, as their cancerous presence continues to spread, turning the land sullen and strange. Animals slink about warily, plants bear rotting flowers and fruits and the natives are stolid and selfsufficient, but also suspicious and apathetic. Ancient ruins dot the heath, producing an unnerving hum almost too faint to hear. They are partially submerged in acidic soil that has corroded their surfaces, but oddly, the glyphs inscribed on their surface are legible. It’s as if the land wants its foul secrets to spread.

Blasted Heaths usually start as a Rolling Grasslands or Unrelenting Marsh region.

Alien Artifacts. Trinkets and other magic items found in the area are often of unknown origin and bear ancient writings. An adventurer who attempts to read this writing must make a Wisdom saving throw . On a failure, they take 3 (1d6) psychic damage per tier.

Paranoia. In this xenophobic place, adventurers that are not local to the settlement or who have left for over a week can’t benefit from expertise dice on Deception or Persuasion checks to influence the populace.

Unnerving Knowledge. If a creature casts a spell from the knowledge school, the spell works normally, but the caster and target of the spell (if any) will have eerie, unsettling dreams informed by the spell the next time they take a long rest . They must make a Constitution saving throw or suffer a level of strife .

Journey Activities. When using the Pray activity, an adventurer suffers a level of strife on a Failure or Critical Failure. Checks made to Befriend Animal , Busk , or Entertain suffer disadvantage . It’s easy (maybe too easy) to record the horrors that occur in the heath, so checks made to Chronical are made with advantage .