Hi everyone, and welcome back to the Finder’s Archives.
In this column, we take some of the lands from Magic: The Gathering and turn them into something you can use for your fantasy games.
The stats given in each entry assumes that you’re using Pathfinder 2 for your games, but they can easily be converted over into any fantasy system. This week we head to the blooming marsh for a bit of life.
Blooming Marsh
The blooming marsh is a magnet to life. Plants and animals grow to extreme degrees here, but unlike in most other areas where life is abundant, the animal and plant life here has turned docile. It has become a retreat for the tired and worn-down, the broken, and the burned out. A small retreat has been built in a series of wooden lodges a mile or so from the edge of the marsh. There anyone can come to recharge their physical and mental batteries and gain a new perspective.
Lay of the Land
The marsh area here is a freshwater marsh, but there is no real lake to speak of. Instead, the water table is very close to the surface, causing the marshy conditions for the area, and forming a perfect environment for bushes and shrubs to grow. The plant life here is beautiful, flowers in myriad colors grow abundantly here, and the plant life is innocuous.
Around the lodge, there is a huge set of patios, set with all the paraphernalia that an artist might need: easel, paints, brushes, pens, paper, and more. There are also areas that have been quietened purposefully with magic, so as to dampen all distracting noise, for those who find the world too noisy.
The rule of silence is strictly enforced in the lodges. The visitors are not allowed to speak to each other inside the compound, apart from a few designated areas, though they’re encouraged to do so outside the compound or in the designated areas. Even the servants that are hired here resort to sign language, and wear slippers to minimize noise.
Dangers
The blooming marsh is remarkably safe. While there are natural predators here, it is as if the area itself dampens aggression, and some visitors report seeing prey and hunter sleeping side by side. How these animals subsist is uncertain, but none of those who live here seem to be suffering from any hunger. Intelligent creatures that gather here feel more relaxed and less aggressive, but they can overcome this urge. To do so however requires a tremendous force of will – requiring a DC 20 Will saving throw. Otherwise, the creatures around you are affected as per sanctuary.
The most dangerous creature in the area, however, has to be the owner of the Artisan’s Lodge. Using magical items, the Lillend Miliana has disguised herself as a beautiful human bard and spends her time healing the artists who have suffered some form of damage or burnout, trying to help them recover as quickly as possible, so that they may fill the world with beauty once more.
Kim Frandsen
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