The Wailing Forest - A D&D 5e Homebrew Horror Experience

Creating your character

Characters will be created before our first session, and I'm happy to work with you individually to make sure your character fits both the party and the campaign. Characters will be created and managed through D&D Beyond and imported directly into our Foundry VTT game. You will begin at Level 13. This is a high-level adventure, so come prepared to play capable, experienced adventurers with substantial abilities and resources at their disposal. Don't worry—the Wailing Forest was built with that in mind. For ability scores, you'll roll three complete sets of stats and choose whichever set you prefer. For hit points, take maximum HP at every level rather than rolling or taking the average. Your characters are meant to begin this adventure powerful. Backstories are especially important. You don't need to write a novel, but give me something to work with: people your character cares about, important memories, fears, regrets, accomplishments, unfinished business, or something they desperately want to return home to. I actively incorporate character histories into this campaign, and the Wailing Forest has ways of making your past considerably more immediate. Build someone you'll enjoy playing both in and out of combat. Investigation, exploration, roleplay, and survival are major parts of the adventure. At Level 13, you'll have access to some extraordinarily powerful abilities—but don't assume that means every problem in the forest is something you're supposed to overpower. Create an adventurer who has survived long enough to become extraordinary. Then we'll find out what happens when they're trapped somewhere that doesn't care how powerful they've become.

Preparing for the session

You will need a computer to play this game, as I run all my games in Foundry VTT. A webcam is not required, but a good microphone and reliable headphones are highly recommended. You also should make a Sqyre account. Don't worry, it''s free! https://www.sqyre.app/

What The Dark Mage brings to the table

Players can expect a highly immersive, character-driven game where the world reacts to what you do. I use character voices, ambient music, sound effects, animated maps, dynamic lighting, and a heavily customized Foundry VTT environment to help build atmosphere. The Wailing Forest has been constructed with roughly 50 handcrafted maps, allowing you to physically explore the forest rather than having most locations exist only through theater of the mind. Investigation matters: journals, environmental clues, NPC conversations, and details you notice while exploring can fundamentally change what you understand about the forest. My GM style strongly favors player agency and creative problem-solving. I prepare the world, its characters, and what is happening around you, but I don't prepare the decisions you're supposed to make. Clever plans are encouraged, and I'm comfortable letting players attempt things I never anticipated. I generally follow the rules of D&D 5e, but I embrace the Rule of Cool when it creates a memorable moment without invalidating another character's abilities or choices. There is rarely only one correct solution to a problem. Combat is cinematic and meaningful rather than constant. Some enemies are meant to be defeated. Others may require preparation, investigation, escape, or simply recognizing that fighting them is a terrible idea. Running is a legitimate strategy. The forest itself can be as dangerous as anything living within it, and your surroundings will matter during encounters. Most importantly, your character matters. I actively incorporate character histories, relationships, fears, regrets, and motivations into the campaign. The Wailing Forest has a unique death mechanic that gives me an especially unusual opportunity to turn your backstory into personalized horror as the campaign progresses. You aren't simply bringing a character into my story—the things you give me during character creation become part of what the forest has to work with. Expect horror, mystery, roleplay, exploration, difficult choices, occasional humor when the table inevitably creates it, and consequences that matter. I want you leaving a session thinking about what you discovered—and wondering what you're going to find next.

Homebrew rules

Modified Critical Hits: Critical hits should always feel powerful. When you score a critical hit, maximize one of the attack's base damage dice, then roll the critical normally. For example, a longsword dealing 1d8 + your modifier normally deals 1d8 + 8 + your modifier on a critical hit. Additional damage dice, such as Divine Smite or Sneak Attack, are doubled and rolled normally. Sacrifice an Aspect: Death works differently within the Wailing Forest. When your character dies, you may choose to remain dead—or sacrifice an Aspect of yourself to return to life. Choose Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma. That ability score permanently becomes 8 for the remainder of the adventure and cannot be restored while trapped within the forest. Each ability can only be sacrificed once. After sacrificing an Aspect, you return to life as though you had completed a Long Rest, regaining the hit points and resources that a Long Rest would normally restore. The new ability score takes effect first, so sacrificing Constitution will reduce your maximum HP accordingly. Once all six Aspects have been sacrificed, your next death is permanent. What exactly the forest takes from your character when you make that sacrifice? You'll find out.

How The Dark Mage creates a safe table

The first session of every campaign I run includes at least a brief Session 0 before we begin playing. We'll introduce ourselves, discuss expectations and tone, and go over the safety tools available at the table. For The Wailing Forest, this is particularly important: this is a horror campaign, and while I want the forest to frighten your character, I never want the game to make the player feel unsafe or trapped in uncomfortable content. Before play, we'll establish Lines & Veils for the group. Lines are subjects that will not appear in the game, while Veils allow potentially sensitive material to exist without being depicted in detail. Players are always welcome to contact me privately about a boundary and you never owe the table an explanation for why something makes you uncomfortable. Safety doesn't end with Session 0. If something becomes uncomfortable during play, we can pause, fade to black, change direction, or stop the scene entirely. Horror sometimes affects people in ways they didn't anticipate beforehand, so boundaries can also be added or changed as we play. Sessions include a 10-minute bio/bathroom break around the halfway point, giving everyone an opportunity to step away from the table and reset. Finally, I offer aftercare following sessions when needed. The Wailing Forest can become emotionally intense, and previous players have occasionally wanted some time afterward to decompress or talk through what happened. I'm happy to stay and do that. Once the session ends, the horror stays in the forest. My goal is to create a game where everyone feels safe enough with the table and the people at it that we can comfortably let the story itself be frightening.