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 or 5e for your games, but they can easily be converted over into any fantasy system. This week we head down the Branchloft Pathway, which takes a slight turn.
Branchloft Pathway
Many believe that the Branchloft Pathway is a place on the material plane, sort of an elven copy of the Boulderloft Pathway. Those people are mistaken.
Branchloft is a part of the First World, created aeons long ago by the Fey Lords for transport purpose. The mortals who have seen the Branchloft often believe that it’s part of Yggdrasil the World Tree. In reality, Branchloft is the physical embodiment of certain travel spells, such as Transport via Plants or Tree Stride. (5e / PF2 )
Lay of the Land
Branchloft is normally traversed using spells, so people don’t often see them. But they’re possible to walk on as well, once you get to the First World / Fey Realms (or whatever they’re called in your crystal sphere), and you’ll see them as huge branches. Gravity pulls you back onto them, so you can’t fall of them as such, though you can leave them by flying (the gravitational pull seems to stretch out about 30 feet from the surface of the branch. In some places, where the vines are thicker, it extends out further). Looking down will still confuse you and make you dizzy. The branches are several hundred feet wide in most places, but even where they’re the slimmest, they’re still 10-20 feet wide.
The branches extend into worlds everywhere, as the Fey Realms exist “behind” the material planes, though only physically traversing them would allow you to travel to another plane of existence.
Dangers
Branchloft isn’t generally considered dangerous by fey creatures, and it doesn’t pose a danger on its own, such as there being no risk of falling off. But causing damage to it or trying to move an army across the branches bring down its defenders.
The most well-known and famous protector of the Branchloft is the Jabberwock (5e / PF2), though it is prevented by Fey magic from acting on its evil impulses until someone breaks the laws of the Branchloft. Unfortunately, those laws sometimes depend on who is in control of the Seelie/Unseelie Court, with one being good and the other evil. In short, beware when you tread upon the Branchloft Pathway and make sure you know who is currently in control
And with that, we hope to see you next week. 😊
Kim Frandsen
Latest posts by Kim Frandsen (see all)
- Finder’s Archive – Crypt of the Eternals - June 2, 2023
