Overview

Crossroads is a land of diverse peoples and geographies. In addition to humans, many nonhuman peoples call Crossroads home. From elves to merfolk, vampires to fairies, and trolls to talking animals, each species that lives here has as much cultural diversity as humans do. And all of this diversity creates lively trade, both between the different regions of Crossroads and with those outside of its borders.

In the past there were many wars, but now a unified kingdom spans the land. However these past wars have left many magical hazards. The presence of these hazards has led to the development of professional adventurers, individuals and groups who are called on to address a wide range of problems, both large and small.

And new problems are arising all of the time because the magic of Crossroads has a tendency to go awry. You see, this world is woven from threads of magic. Many of the people living in Crossroads have the ability to manipulate these threads and change their pattern. Unfortunately, making changes to the threads requires the magic user to unweave a small piece of reality. Unwoven magic is unstable and comes with serious risk. Unexpected results are common.

Crossroads also has many unusual magical features—a series of lakes that hover in the air, mountains covered in forests of giant flowers, and hidden gateways to the beautiful and dangerous Other Realm. Perhaps the most important magical feature is the Ring of Mist that encircles all of Crossroads. This mist prevents magic and knowledge from crossing in or out of Crossroads. However people and mundane items can freely come and go and many traders pass through the Ring of Mist every day.

 

 

Adventures

I’ve designed multiple Magic Goes Awry adventures set withing the Crossroads setting. Note that all of these adventures are currently works in progress, and may have rough or missing pieces.

The Owlbear Reintroduction Program: In this adventure, the player characters take part in a project that is reestablishing owlbears in areas where they have been previously wiped out. Their job is to move a pair of large, ferocious owlbears, and their two eggs, from the Wild Wood to the town of Steep Valley. An earlier version of this adventure was produced as a part of the Unfamiliar Heroes podcast.

Into the Research Garden: This comedic adventure is all about the player characters encountering the strange, wonderful, and dangerous magical plants and fungi of Juniper’s research garden.

You are part of a team of investigative journalists working for the Crossroads Observer. The Observer has obtained a sample that could finally expose the dirty dealings of the wealthy Steward Family. Your job is to convince the expert Juniper Huckleberry to analyze this sample. The only problem is that Juniper is an infamously reclusive gnome druid who lives in her research garden, which is full of dangerous magical plants.

Mini Adventures for Character Creation: This is a character creation sequence designed for the Crossroads setting, with mini-adventure scenarios that will give players an introduction to how Magic Goes Awry works. Mini-adventures #1, Underwater Maze, #3, Rubble Robots, and #5, Sky Sharks, were all played on the Unfamiliar Heroes podcast.

More Adventurers: The Sulfur River Theft and Underground Laboratory adventures are both in progress.

 

 

Details

Deities: Descriptions of important deities and their core attributes.

Peoples: A list of all of the vibrant and unique sapient species that have been created for Crossroads. This work-in-progress list includes mundane, magical, undead, and fae species.

Creatures: A few examples of the strange and wondrous creatures that live in Crossroads. Note that the details given in this list contain spoilers for some Crossroads adventures.

Plants and Fungi: A list of the strange and wondrous magical plants and fungi that have been created for Crossroads. Note that the details given in this list contains spoilers for some Crossroads adventures.

Geography: A map of Crossroads with region labels and descriptions is in progress.

The Adventurers Academy: The Academy is an important location within Crossroads and the starting point for many adventures.

Lore: Starting off with the creation story that explains Crossroads’ unpredictable magic, this section gives depth to many of the unique features of the Crossroads Setting. It includes a discussion of the mysterious Ring of Mist that surrounds Crossroads and a brief tour through different theories of creation, each of which provides an avenue for connecting Crossroads to other settings.

• Dramatized Reading: A fairy tale style reading of the Crossroads Overview and Crossroads Lore can be found in Crossroads Story Time 1. Future episodes featuring the Other Realm are planned.

The Other Realm: Inspired by mythology of the fairy realm and the fae, the Other Realm is a fragment of the First Creation that escaped its destruction. This beautiful and dangerous place connects to Crossroads in a small number of magical gateways. Anyone able to find one of these gateways can cross into the Other Realm, but be warned, the Other Realm is shaped by the will of its Three Rulers and it follows its own laws.

 

 

This page has the following sub pages.

• The Other Realm
• Crossroads Lore
• Crossroads Creatures
• The Owlbear Reintroduction Program Adventure
• Deities of Crossroads
• The Adventurers Academy
• Crossroads Geography
• Crossroads Plants and Fungi
• Into the Research Garden Adventure
• The Peoples of Crossroads
• Mini Adventures for Character Creation