30x20 Battlemap - Blood Moon Ritual Site

Blood Moon Ritual Site

The dreary forested woodlands gives way to a large ravine where bloody waters meet after rush down the rocky cliff side meeting a muddy bank full of bones. Thick vines have grown around rocks creating a small bridge to the other side where a path leads towards a small altar. The altar is surrounded by two other small streams and sits at the highest point on the rock it was built on.

Below the altar are five trinkets made from skulls and carved wood corresponding to the four large obelisks that surround the area as well as the shrine itself where magical energy swirl and pulsates with power. Within this opening in the wilds you can marvel at the stars which shine above.

Adventure Seed

A great curse has been unleashed on the kingdom of man, its epicenter within the lands of the forestfolk. Once-blue skies are ashen and pristine waters run red...

When you track down the source, you find an entity with ram horns crowning an eyeless face, its mouth twisted in a smile of white teeth like shards of broken bone.

What’s happening? When the king of the forestfolk died, preparations were made to crown his eldest son king. However his younger son disputed the elder one’s claim, and the argument resulted in the youth being banished from the tribe.

When the day came for the ceremony, the five village wisemen convened in the sacred grove with the first born son. They began the ritual passed down from generation to generation, painting his face with hues of ocher, reciting ancient words of their people.

Unfortunately this was interrupted by a band of unrecognized men-at-arms, lead by the exiled son. The ritual stopped, the wise men pleaded with the impostor to not spill blood in this holiest of places, for the consequences would be dire.

Unbeknownst to all parties involved, the reason this place was considered holy was because it shared a particular affinity for the outer planes. Spilling blood here would open a portal to those realms.

Disregarding their wisdom, the younger son killed his brother, and as his blood ran into the rivers, the sky darkened and a large figure with reddish skin and horns appeared in front of the altar...