Trail of Madness 🌲

A Descent into Forbidden Territory for 4-6 Adventurers of Levels 3-5

“Where the laws of nature bow to elder dreams…”

Background

Following the horror at Camp Blackwood, the survivors must navigate an increasingly twisted jungle path toward the source of the corruption. The expedition’s remaining members, led by an increasingly unstable Dr. Wells, face a landscape where reality itself begins to unravel.

Part I: The Breaking Dawn 🌅

Departure Scene

As morning light filters through unnaturally geometric clouds, the depleted expedition gathers: - Dr. Wells obsessively checking multiple compasses - Sister Mary Catherine muttering prayers that echo wrongly - João Silva painting protective symbols that seem to move - Three nervous bearers preparing minimal supplies - Your party, still processing the previous night’s events

Environmental Setup

• Weather: Humid, with colored mists
• Temperature: Fluctuating wildly
• Sound: Natural noises fading to whispers
• Light: Behaving increasingly erratically

Part II: The Zones of Decay 🗺️

Zone 1: The Threshold Forest

Where nature begins to forget itself - Features: - Trees growing in impossible angles - Wildlife moving in geometric patterns - Ancient stone markers with moving symbols - Ground transitioning from soil to strange stone

• Encounters:
  1. Geometrically Warped Vines
     • HP: 28, AC: 13
     • Attack: Constrict (+6) 1d8+4
     • Special: Reshape reality within 10ft
  2. Time-Lost Portuguese Soldiers
     • HP: 45, AC: 15
     • Attack: Musket (+6) 1d12
     • Special: Phase between centuries

Zone 2: The Fungal Expanse 🍄

Where consciousness bleeds between minds - Features: - Towering mushrooms with impossible colors - Geometric spore patterns in air - Pulsing ground formations - Memory-infused mists

• Environmental Effects:
  1. Roll d6 every 10 minutes:
     1. Shared hallucinations
     2. Temporal echoes
     3. Gravity fluctuations
     4. Memory bleed
     5. Reality ripples
     6. Dimensional tears

Zone 3: The Dead Zone ⚡

Where physics surrenders to nightmare - Features: - Floating rock formations - Inverted waterfalls - Time-twisted ruins - Living equations in the air

• Challenges:
  • Gravity shifts (DC 15 DEX)
  • Time dilation (DC 14 WIS)
  • Reality fractures (DC 16 INT)
  • Memory storms (DC 13 CHA)

Zone 4: The Temple Approach 🏛️

Where sanity comes to die - Features: - Non-euclidean architecture - Living stone surfaces - Reality tears showing other worlds - Temporal whirlpools

Part III: Key NPCs & Their Descent 👥

Dr. Harrison Wells

Stage 1 (Threshold Forest) - Attempts scientific documentation - Quotes: “These readings… they’re impossible!” - Actions: Obsessively measuring and recording

Stage 2 (Fungal Expanse) - Begins understanding impossible mathematics - Quotes: “The patterns… they’re alive!” - Actions: Scribbling equations in air

Stage 3 (Dead Zone) - Gains cosmic awareness - Quotes: “I see it all now… the geometry of dreams!” - Actions: Manipulating reality itself

Sister Mary Catherine

Stage 1 (Threshold Forest) - Prayers begin to twist - Quotes: “Our Father… why do the words change?” - Actions: Desperate blessing attempts

Stage 2 (Fungal Expanse) - Channels eldritch power - Quotes: “The prayers… they answer differently here.” - Actions: Performing impossible rituals

Stage 3 (Dead Zone) - Transcends traditional faith - Quotes: “I hear the hymns of older gods…” - Actions: Reality-bending miracles

Part IV: Encounters & Combat ⚔️

The Geometry Hunters

Living equations seeking prey - HP: 45, AC: 15 - Attack: Reality Slash (+7) 2d8 psychic - Special: Reshape battlefield - Weakness: Traditional mathematics

Time-Lost Explorers

Trapped in temporal loops - HP: 32, AC: 14 - Attack: Period Weapons (+6) 1d10 - Special: Phase through time - Weakness: Synchronizing to present

Stone Guardians

Ancient geometric constructs - HP: 52, AC: 16 - Attack: Slam (+8) 2d8+5 - Special: Reality anchor - Weakness: Non-euclidean damage

Part V: Investigation Elements 🔍

Critical Discoveries

1. Ancient Markers
   • Moving hieroglyphs
   • Warning messages
   • Map fragments
   • Ritual instructions
2. Reality Anchors
   • Stability points
   • Safe zones
   • Power nexuses
   • Dimensional locks
3. Previous Expeditions
   • Lost journals
   • Broken equipment
   • Personal effects
   • Final messages

Part VI: Progression & Rewards 💎

Milestones

1. Crossing the Threshold
2. Surviving the Fungal Expanse
3. Navigating the Dead Zone
4. Reaching the Temple

Rewards

• Eldritch knowledge
• Reality-warping artifacts
• Temporal echoes
• Cosmic awareness

Part VII: DM Tools & Tables 🎲

Reality Distortion Table (d12)

1. Gravity reverses
2. Time flows backwards
3. Memories become solid
4. Colors gain sentience
5. Sound becomes visible
6. Light bends wrongly
7. Space folds inward
8. Time loops form
9. Physics breaks down
10. Dimensions blend
11. Dreams manifest
12. Reality tears open

Madness Progression Table (d8)

1. Minor hallucinations
2. Temporal displacement
3. Geometric obsession
4. Memory bleeding
5. Reality manipulation
6. Cosmic awareness
7. Physical transformation
8. Complete transcendence

Part VIII: Transition Elements

Temple Approach Signals

• Architecture manifesting
• Reality tears widening
• Time streams converging
• Space folding inward

Next Episode Hooks

• Temple entrance revealed
• Ancient guardians awakening
• Final reality barrier failing
• Cosmic entity stirring