An enchanted forest swallowing the small town of Almsville
What Haunts the Harwood is set around Almsville, a quiet town living in the shadow of the Harwood, an ancient enchanted forest in the north long feared by its townsfolk. A more active evil has now begun to stir within it.
The adventure kicks off with the disappearance of Constance, the mayor's son, who vanished into the forest at night armed with a stolen sword and shield. Players must venture into the woods to find him, soon discovering a shifting, dangerous forest filled with far more than wild animals.
A non-linear hexcrawl, with fae tricksters and high-stakes encounters
What Haunts the Harwood plays as a hexcrawl: a non-linear map that players explore at their own pace, uncovering various supernatural sites. The module draws on folk-horror and whimsical-yet-dark tones, somewhere between Over the Garden Wall and The Black Wyrm of Brandonsford.
The forest is populated by fae tricksters, dangerous supernatural creatures, and strange NPCs, in true Cairn fashion, where encounters carry real stakes and combat is often a last resort or a puzzle to solve.
Compatible with Cairn and OSR systems, for GMs of all stripes
What Haunts the Harwood features dual statting, making it easy to run with both Cairn, which uses no to-hit roll, and traditional d20 OSR systems such as Old School Essentials or Shadowdark.
The module works as an excellent introduction to Cairn for new players, or as a drop-in location for any existing fantasy campaign featuring a mysterious forest.
