Willow: A Grim Micro Setting
32 pages, staple bound zine, black & white cover and interior. Includes PDF.
A dreary provincial town called Willow sits beside the Lake of Tears. The lake is framed by weeping willow trees, their vines pouring into the lake’s shores. Willow is not what one would call an upbeat town. The rains here are relentless and the grey skies loom low like a giant cage. Travelers do not linger here long; one night in the Blue Brew Inn is enough to make most jump on the ferry and move on. But recently the ferries have stopped running as something terrible has taken up residence upriver.
Meanwhile, the town residents will not talk about the noises echoing up from the staircase that descends below the lake, nor the broken stone circle on the hill at the edge of town. The town's leader, a witch named Morose Morgan, is a recluse and refuses to leave her island and answer any questions from travelers.
Willow is an old-school, grim, backwater micro setting zine for the Swords and Wizardry rule system, easily usable with other old-school systems or even 5E.
A modular town for dropping—fully formed and flavorful—into your campaign. Focused on game-able content and ease of use at the table. It is graphic and art heavy, utilizing many random tables to make it easier for GMs to run in a pinch.