Why stop at just one crossbow, why not two!?

Twist 2026/04/19(Sun)22:37 No. 1125627 ID: 629307
File 177663826687.png - (434.80KB , 1000x750 , party select 1.png )

(1/2)

> Gather your party

TUTORIAL: PARTY COMPOSITION

Over the course of your journey, you will encounter many characters, some of whom will wish to join you in your adventures. These characters will fall under one of three categories:

- Protagonists: These are your "main" party members. They will advance in strength as you do. These characters have more narrative freedom than most, and are able to advance plot threads on their own, as well as leave and re-join the party if they need to, or if you take actions that drive them away. As well, at any time, you may choose to shift the narrative focus to one of them, see the world as they're seeing it, and suggest actions to them as you do Yriel. They will have their own opinions, though, and while Yriel's personality is shaped by suggestions, the protagonists will not act against their nature. It is recommended that the majority of your party be made up of Protagonist characters.

- Companions: These are secondary party NPCs. They will advance in strength alongside you and the protagonists, however they have abilities and actions available to them that the rest of the party may lack. They can not progress the plot on their own, nor can they be made the narrative focus, however each of them have a storyline associated with them, and may have tasks they want you to accomplish, as well as actions that will drive them away. It is suggested that you limit the number of companions in your active party.

- NPCs: Sometimes, you may find reason to recruit a few NPCs to travel with you. These characters will not count against your active party number, however they will not advance in strength, cannot advance any plot, and can not be the narrative focus or be influenced by suggestions. Some quests and storylines will involve NPCs travelling with you for a time, but it is recommended to keep the number that remain with you for long periods of time to a minimum.

Your active party has six slots, not including yourself. You begin with Captain Stand, the human paladin, and Iantha, the aasimar monk.

Twist 2026/04/19(Sun)22:37 No. 1125628 ID: 629307
File 177663827003.png - (663.29KB , 1000x750 , 011.png )

(2/2)

You have gathered your companions, you have packed your bags and your crossbow, and you have prepared yourself, in whatever way that means, for the journey ahead.

A journey which has been rather uneventful in its first day. The three of you left Aalen mid-morning, and have been making your slow, steady way south towards Mashalea, following the coast. By foot is hardly the fastest way to travel, and you can tell that Stand is unused to the pace, antsy for the kind of speed a good ship could have given you, but you make good time. You believe it should take 4 more days of travel at this pace to teach Mashalea's gates.

You are reaching the end of the day, and the three of you have found a spot to set up camp. The Captain works on the tents, and Iantha works on the fire.

You'll have a bit of time to relax and get to know your companions before it's time to decide watch shifts for the night. Would you like to approach one of them, or attempt a conversation with them both? What would you like to talk with them about?

What's our spell list? Character sheet?

Chat with both of them, maybe about if they've been on any journeys like this before.

approach Captain Stand and ask if he's found his land legs yet or still rather be at the sea? Ask if he's ever done a blockade run before and if so if he has any idea how we might be able to sneak our supplies into Odeslani?

Twist 2026/04/27(Mon)03:07 No. 1125949 ID: 629307
File 177725926001.png - (341.77KB , 1000x750 , 012-1.png )

(1/11)

> Approach the Captain.

You join Stand just as he's finishing his work on the tent, and you watch him take a step back, admire his handiwork, and nod.

Captain Stand: "Fine work, if I do say so myself!"
Yriel: "I see that."
Yriel: "I had some questions for you, Captain, do you mind…?"
Captain Stand: "Come to seek the great wisdom of the pirates, eh? Good, good, I don't blame you. Let's talk."
Yriel: "… The wisdom of the…."
Yriel: "………."
Yriel: "What?"
Yriel: "I just wanted to ask if you'd been on a quest like this before."

Twist 2026/04/27(Mon)03:07 No. 1125950 ID: 629307
File 177725926402.png - (341.32KB , 1000x750 , 012-2.png )

(2/11)

Captain Stand: "A Quest! Right."
Captain Stand: "I know…. quests. I've seen…"
Captain Stand: "I mean that to say, I've heard all about them, you know!"
Captain Stand: "I quest."

Twist 2026/04/27(Mon)03:07 No. 1125951 ID: 629307
File 177725926811.png - (294.09KB , 1000x750 , 012-3.png )

(3/11)

You can tell he's being cagey about something. He's not being particularly subtle about being cagey.

Look at him, his eyes are all shifty. Surely, he can't be this bad of a liar.

What a weirdo.

Twist 2026/04/27(Mon)03:07 No. 1125952 ID: 629307
File 177725927257.png - (309.99KB , 1000x750 , 12-4.png )

(4/11)

Yriel: "What I meant was, if you'd done something like this, the smuggling past a blockade, before."
Captain Stand: "Oh!"
Captain Stand: "No."
Captain Stand: "Not completely, I mean. Not the first town I've gotten food for, but an army at the gates and a blockade by sea are completely different beasts!"
Yriel: "So you HAVE done something like this before."
Captain Stand: "Only mostly like, which is, of course, completely different!"
Yriel: "Okay, so you've done something mostly like this before. How would you go about it?"
Captain Stand: "Well, the obvious first step is to get a boat."
Yriel: "There's demons in the water, remember? We have to stay on land."
Captain Stand: "Hmmmm."

Twist 2026/04/27(Mon)03:07 No. 1125953 ID: 629307
File 177725927612.png - (259.39KB , 1000x750 , 12-5.png )

(5/11)

Captain Stand: "Hmmmm!"

Twist 2026/04/27(Mon)03:08 No. 1125954 ID: 629307
File 177725928065.png - (242.68KB , 1000x750 , 12-6.png )

(6/11)

Captain Stand: "HMMMM."

Twist 2026/04/27(Mon)03:08 No. 1125955 ID: 629307
File 177725928652.png - (1.14MB , 1000x750 , 12-7.png )

(7/11)

Captain Stand: "New step one: We get a catapult."
Yriel: "A catapult."
Captain Stand: "A catapult!"
Captain Stand: "As long as the food isn't delicate, and we wrap it well enough for delivery, we should be able to send it sailing straight over the walls!"
Yriel: "If the town's under siege right now, don't you think they'd object to us launching a catapult over the walls? They'd probably think it was the elves. They'd just let it rot wherever it landed."

Twist 2026/04/27(Mon)03:08 No. 1125956 ID: 629307
File 177725929158.png - (1.08MB , 1000x750 , 12-8.png )

(8/11)

Captain Stand: "Maybe we can teleport with it, then?"
Yriel: "Teleporting? Yeah, maybe if I can get a decade in at the Mage's Guild before we get there. Be realistic, there's only a handful of mages capable of that on Eraname at all, and they're all sided with the Dynasty."

Twist 2026/04/27(Mon)03:08 No. 1125957 ID: 629307
File 177725929521.png - (337.91KB , 1000x750 , 12-9.png )

(9/11)

Captain Stand: "Then, a distraction. We approach Odeslani hidden in a giant, wooden dragon-"
Yriel: "Okay. I think that's enough of your ideas for now, Captain."
Yriel: "We'll just… have to figure it out. Maybe there will be some way around."
Yriel: "I just hope whoever we're going to meet has more of a plan than we do."

Twist 2026/04/27(Mon)03:08 No. 1125958 ID: 629307
File 177725930027.png - (523.56KB , 1000x750 , 12-10.png )

(10/11)

You sigh, and you leave the Captain to finish his business with the tent. You turn to join Iantha by the fire, only to find her distracted from her task. Instead, she's staring out at the treeline.

Yriel: "… Did you see something?"
Iantha: "I think the trees are moving."
Yriel: "What?"
Iantha: "Look."

Twist 2026/04/27(Mon)03:08 No. 1125959 ID: 629307
File 177725930419.png - (622.88KB , 1000x750 , 12-11.png )

(11/11)

You squint, focusing on one of the trees along the treeline and oh, wow, yeah, there it is. The wind definitely isn't strong enough to be doing that.

You watch as a handful of smaller trees along the treeline rip their roots out of the ground, and begin to walk, encroaching on your camp.

You've never known a tree to be terribly threatening, but these ones don't look like they have your health and wellbeing in mind. They aren't moving quickly, though, and you think you have a few seconds before they reach you.

How will you prepare for what looks like an oncoming fight?

Yriel's Statblock: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vPWI3WsAE-pVKI5pVvlqgjYKeuqO05enz9ytAb42nSk/edit?usp=sharing

Unless Iantha has some monk moves that can bust through solid wood this is going to be a fight you aren't equipped for.
As such you'll have to keep on the move. The biggest danger is a tree falling on you, but that should take a second so you'll be able to dodge as long as you pay attention.
All you can do to prepare is gather anything you can use to chop their roots.

>>1125957
lol excellent. Yeah if we can't tell them beforehand we're launching food in, and they have no way to check it's safe, then the catapult plan won't work... oh well. Probably gonna have to sneak in.

>>1125959
Cast Bless on the party. I dunno if we're doing multiple rounds at once, but next should be Sanctuary on whoever's getting attacked, then heal when needed.

start off with casting BLESS this mess! Also use our advantage of having legs to avoid the lumbering opponents by weaving in and out. Following up we should patch up our associates.

Twist 2026/09/03(Thu)21:11 No. 1131611 ID: f69ece
File 178846990499.png - (289.38KB , 1000x750 , 13-1.png )

Hey, sorry for the couple of months of radio silence, life got really hectic for me for a while there. I'm getting back into the swing of things, though, and excited to be back on this project!

(1/12)

> Begin Combat Tutorial

TUTORIAL: COMBAT

While Friendly Wilderness is based off of Pathfinder, and all characters will have statblocks detailing what they can do in combat, for the sake of simplicity, actions will be presented as a simplified menu.

All characters have access to two basic actions:

»Attack

»Defend

Twist 2026/09/03(Thu)21:11 No. 1131612 ID: f69ece
File 178846990716.png - (272.52KB , 1000x750 , 13-2.png )

(2/12)

Individual characters may have unique interactions or restrictions with these two actions.

For example, Iantha has taken a Vow of Peace, and cannot select an offensive option in the first round of combat, or until a successful strike is made on either side.

In exchange, she is able to use the Defend action for another party member.

You're right next to her, and so she readies herself to defend you.

Twist 2026/09/03(Thu)21:11 No. 1131613 ID: f69ece
File 178846991263.png - (475.17KB , 1000x750 , 13-3.png )

(3/12)

Other characters will have access to options outside of the two basic ones. You, for example, have Spells and an extra pool of Healing.

You cast Bless, preparing yourself and your allies for the oncoming fight.

Twist 2026/09/03(Thu)21:11 No. 1131614 ID: f69ece
File 178846991623.png - (363.24KB , 1000x750 , 13-4.png )

(4/12)

These unique options won't all be available right away, characters will gain more as the story progresses, and they grow in power.

For example, Stand will, later, have the option of Healing himself or Summoning a mount, but for right now, all he has access to is his Smite.

He tries to use it, but as trees are agents of neither the law nor evil, it does nothing.

Twist 2026/09/03(Thu)21:11 No. 1131615 ID: f69ece
File 178846991978.png - (277.29KB , 1000x750 , 13-5.png )

(5/12)

He maybe could have figured that out for himself.

Now that you understand, let's get back into the action, shall we?

Your group finishes their preparations, blessed and defended and ready to see what these moving trees have in store.

Twist 2026/09/03(Thu)21:12 No. 1131616 ID: f69ece
File 178846992340.png - (429.50KB , 1000x750 , 13-6.png )

(6/12)

Twist 2026/09/03(Thu)21:12 No. 1131617 ID: f69ece
File 178846992777.png - (672.62KB , 1000x750 , 13-7.png )

(7/12)

One of these trees approaches faster than you'd like, winding back with one of its branches. It swings towards you with a force you know would knock you to the ground, but Iantha is ready to defend, and takes the blow in your stead.

Twist 2026/09/03(Thu)21:12 No. 1131618 ID: f69ece
File 178846993375.png - (905.81KB , 1000x750 , 13-8.png )

(8/12)

Oh. Shit. That looks serious. Is she okay?

Twist 2026/09/03(Thu)21:12 No. 1131619 ID: f69ece
File 178846993817.png - (437.68KB , 1000x750 , 13-9.png )

(9/12)

Okay. Okay, good, she's conscious.

You heal her, and while it isn't enough to remove all of her injury, her strength recovers.

Twist 2026/09/03(Thu)21:12 No. 1131620 ID: f69ece
File 178846994340.png - (510.10KB , 1000x750 , 13-10.png )

(10/12)

Iantha doesn't waste time, using her position to strike low.

Twist 2026/09/03(Thu)21:12 No. 1131621 ID: f69ece
File 178846994837.png - (534.47KB , 1000x750 , 13-11.png )

(11/12)

Stand's blade swings up as the tree falls, meeting and breaking through its trunk in the momentum.

Blessedly, the tree doesn't continue moving, falling to motionless wood as soon as the Captain's blade is clear.

That wasn't really all that bad, was it?

Twist 2026/09/03(Thu)21:12 No. 1131622 ID: f69ece
File 178846995480.png - (700.16KB , 1000x750 , 13-12.png )

(12/12)

After that first attack, the remaining trees are little threat, and the three of you manage to stop their assault without much further incident. You're all scratched up, and you're sure you'll be developing some interesting new bruises overnight, but you're all more or less intact, allowing you and your companions a moment to catch your breath.

Is there anything you would like to do before you retire for the night?

Yeah! Take that, nature!

>anything else to do?
I don't think we've done an inventory check. What kind of supplies do we have?

Chop ALL the nearby trees out of paranoia. Use the remaining time to set up a split-log cabin.

So was this a regular tree attack or do they think the enemy is on to them?

Twist 2026/09/11(Fri)03:36 No. 1131910 ID: f69ece
File 178909781304.png - (334.69KB , 1000x750 , 14-1.png )

(1/6)

> Check in and celebrate your victory.

You take a moment to catch your breath, and once the adrenaline has faded enough, you straighten up.

Yriel: "What even was that?"
Captain Stand: "Those were trees!"
Yriel: "I know those were trees. Trees don't usually do that."
Captain Stand: "Oh."
Captain Stand: "Do they not?"
Yriel: "…………."
Yriel: "Where are you from that you think that's common?"

Twist 2026/09/11(Fri)03:36 No. 1131911 ID: f69ece
File 178909781738.png - (408.49KB , 1000x750 , 14-2.png )

(2/6)

Stand turns away, motioning in the vague direction of the horizon.

Captain Stand: "You see all kinds of things, sailin' the high seas! Like trees!"

You're not getting a straight answer on that one, are you?

Twist 2026/09/11(Fri)03:37 No. 1131912 ID: f69ece
File 178909782196.png - (492.36KB , 1000x750 , 14-3.png )

(3/6)


Captain Stand: "So, if it's not usual for this plane, what do you think caused it? Is the Dynasty aware of us already?"
Iantha: "No, I would not think so."
Iantha: "The magic needed for that kind of attack would be druidic, yes? But that is usually reserved for agricultural purposes. They do not recruit them for service in the Lamina Imperatoris."
Iantha: "There may be some within the Clarigatio Imperatoris, but… I do not believe we would have lived through that attack if they held us in their sights."
Yriel: "Susteren and Mashalea haven't said anything about seeing Dynasty forces there, either, so I doubt there's any far enough northeast to be targeting us without being seen."
Yriel: "Aalen has druids, but I doubt any of them would take hostile action against us, they'd recognize one of us. It could be a prank from Beaugency, but we're so far north they'd have to be very powerful or far from home."
Yriel: "I wouldn't put this past Strom at all, but they're all the way on the other end of the plane."
Stand: "Some wayward treants?"
Yriel: "Awfully small for that, weren't they?"

That conversation continues for some time, tossing out ideas and ruling them out, one by one and all the more ludicrous the longer the three of you talk, until you've finished setting up camp entirely, and the sun has set around you.

Twist 2026/09/11(Fri)03:37 No. 1131913 ID: f69ece
File 178909782635.png - (585.46KB , 1000x750 , 14-4.png )

(4/6)

> Some time that night...

The night is quiet and, at least right here, it is peaceful. There has been no unusual movement in the trees surrounding your camp and no sign of any troops passing by.

Stand keeps watch, and through the haze of sleep, you can almost hear the hints of his humming to himself as the time passes.

Twist 2026/09/11(Fri)03:37 No. 1131914 ID: f69ece
File 178909783051.png - (294.16KB , 1000x750 , 14-5.png )

(5/6)

All isn't quite as well as it might seem, though; through all the calm of the night, Iantha is moving. Something is troubling her sleep.

Why don't we leave Yriel to his rest for now, and take a look?

Twist 2026/09/11(Fri)03:37 No. 1131915 ID: f69ece
File 178909783541.png - (410.78KB , 1000x750 , 14-6.png )

(6/6)

> Be the dreaming monk.

You are now Iantha, and you find yourself standing in the center of an unfamiliar longhouse.

You can hear the steady drum of heavy rain against the roof, and a crowd of strangers presses in around you, their features hazy and uncertain.

They make their way, slowly and without any particular urgency, towards a raised platform at the other end of the longhouse, though the crowd prevents you from seeing much of what might be on it.

What will you do?

>>1131912
>this plane
Oh, he's from a different plane. An Outsider.

>>1131915
Leave.

Fall back to be out of the crowd

Twist 2026/09/13(Sun)20:32 No. 1131988 ID: f69ece
File 178933156929.png - (390.61KB , 1000x750 , 15-1.png )

(1/3)

> Scan the crowd.

You try to focus on the people around you, seeking any hint of familiarity. If your location is unfamiliar and your circumstances are unknown, then finding someone you know could go a long way.

The features of the people around you remain fuzzy and indistinct, enough that your head starts spinning the harder you try to bring them into focus, but you begin to see flashes of familiar features, each becoming lost as soon as you start to bring them into focus.

You see Yriel's hair disappearing into the crowd, you catch Sverrir's polished armor and the swish of Palla's robe. For one terrifying moment, you think you see the pattern of your mother's tattoos.

Every time you catch a glimpse of someone you recognize, the crowd shifts to obscure them, and you lose track.

Twist 2026/09/13(Sun)20:32 No. 1131989 ID: f69ece
File 178933157312.png - (643.39KB , 1000x750 , 15-2.png )

(2/3)

> Leave.

You've never much liked crowds or being touched, and this longhouse is quickly becoming unbearable. You back your way out of the crowd, eventually falling back out of the press of bodies and to the heavy wooden door behind you.

The sound of the rain outside is louder here, and as you put your hand to the wood, you can feel it rattle from the force of the wind. The storm out there must be intense.

You like the wind and rain, though, certainly more than you like a hall full of strangers, and so you try the door.

Twist 2026/09/13(Sun)20:32 No. 1131990 ID: f69ece
File 178933157858.png - (435.38KB , 1000x750 , 15-3.png )

(3/3)

It's locked. The door has no obvious keyhole, but no matter how hard you try, the door refuses to budge.

As you step in to try to force the door open, your foot lands in a puddle at the front of the door that you're sure wasn't there a moment ago, as the rainwater starts to pour in through the gaps in the door. More than that, it's even starting to soak through the door's planks.

It looks like this is going to start flooding badly, and soon.

Either try a window if escape is still priority, but if the door is indeed budged shut from flood water then making your way to the rafters might be more prudent

Looks like you need to go up. See any ladders or stairs?

head to the next floor. find someone that looks resourceful to help with your escape

Simply walk through the door. It isn't there.