Blackwood: Getting Paid in the Elder Kingdom

Magu (literal trans. "Hemp Maiden"), Taoist immortal

The 7 Errants is winding down  with only a few more characters and organizations left to detail. Also I'm going through SWADE behind the scenes, putting together an unofficial Borchardbriar Jumpstart and a kung-fu quickstart. In the meantime here's three sources of trouble and adventure for the Blackwood Codex.

Rare Herbs - The Blackwood paradoxically sustains and threatens the Kingdom. Average folk brave the Wood's dangers every spring to harvest the natural bounty of wood, Dark Ladies(1), forage, game, but -most importantly- medicinal herbs. Harvest festivals provide warmth and relief in the present age of chaos, the Vosserlin Picking draws woodkin, riverfolk, and Errants from around the region and can set the common folk up for the rest of the year. Various rituals anchor the festivals, for example the village Drachenkissen holds Lou's Pursuit. The festival begins as prospective hunters re-enact the folk hero's desperate search for the Elder Root King, setting off into the Blackwood armed with only a staff, a gourd and a small dog, ending the festival when over half the hunters return while the others, hopefully, trickle in later. Errants could go looking for missing persons, follow Lady Ceryneia's lead by providing some security, or enter the Pursuit themselves to find the Elder Root King themselves.

Lost Techniques and Wisdom - The Kingdom didn't spring forth fully grown from the Elder King's brow. It was built on the bones of Old Kingdoms. From Kingdom of Light to Winter Kingdom to Elder Kingdom, inheriting centuries of accumulated wisdom still used today. Ancestor worship, clockwork, herbalism, and numerology are all cultural products handed down alongside a wide range of folkways. The nobility quickly dismiss the more immaterial customs as superstitious, cultural mores gone vestigial in need of trimming. Sages argue this perspective stems from a place of cultural ignorance, an imperfect transfer of knowledge robbing the Kingdom of context. Both nobles and sages will pay well for cultural artifacts and art objects from the Old Kingdoms, moreso for the truly rare and exotic. Lost martial manuals and living weapons(2) command the highest price. Less scrupulous Errants may opt to steal rare objects from a collector's wonder room.

The Post - North of Grand Delving, the Kingdom quickly unfolds like an untamed, green quilt. Civilization and settlements strewn across the Blackwood with only Hedges and rivers connecting them.Combine distance with elves and pagans and that's an obstacle insurmountable to your common subject. Luckily Errants aren't common subjects. Though some fellowships will act the courier, bitter rivals Thurn & Taxis and Tristero's Bravos exclusively transport mail. You won't find a work shortage any time soon, someone will need a letter delivered to Grandma's house and who knows what dangers might lurk beneath the boughs.

1- I'm not sure if Dark Ladies are run of the mill silkmoths, pack hunting carnivores, or Mothra. We'll figure that out.

2- Other living weapons could be figurines of wondrous power, pagan menhirs, and living taxidermy.

The 7 Errants are a fellowship of heroic martial artists and wanderers for Eli Kurtz' Blackwood setting - a mash-up of Wuxia action and frontier fairy tales. You can find the book for sale here and a free quick start bundle here.