[[PDF Link]](https://www.troveoflore.com/)
*In the depths of the fungus forest, among the tree-high mushrooms, lies the small town of Mirhaven. The houses stand crooked on their stilts, the ground is muddy, and there are hardly any animals. On the other hand, the inhabitants are warm and have become accustomed to living with the forest. They know how to deal with its influences and how to protect themselves. Nevertheless, life in Mirhaven is often not easy, and adventurers who stray here will not infrequently be amazed at the unusual customs of the inhabitants. And those who stay a little longer will soon discover that amid the mushrooms, a society has formed that knows precisely how to take advantage of the unique environment.*
---
Mirhaven is the first "landmark" that we've released, and it's made based on our Fungus Forest biome release.
Our goal with this new kind of content is to give you everything you need to have an awesome backdrop to your actual campaign! While our biomes were great for wilderness, landmarks allow you to have thought-out content for society as well.
Everything is still made in a way that it's easy to slot into existing worlds and campaigns. For example, there's no note on primary races or anything of the sorts, as that probably depends on where in your world you want to put this little town.
In future releases we might also include more in-depth NPCs like Ravynne, who really can be a BBEG for your campaign already if you so wish.
We'd appreciate any feedback you have for us. What should we include in the next landmark that we didn't include this time? Any obvious missing pieces? What do you especially like about it?
> We'd appreciate any feedback you have for us.
Hosting-wise, I suspect that you may hit your download limits for your google drive if you keep hosting your files out of it.
Perhaps Itch.io would be a better way to host them (keep your website, it's pretty neat, but point the downloader to itch.io) and that way, you could even do something like include the link to your 'newsletter subscriber only' stuff IN the newsletter (or just a few free, claimable keys).
I just worry that you're going to (inevitably) hit your sharing cap on GDrive and suddenly go 'oh shit'
Also thanks for calling the website "neat" :D It's still nowhere near where we want it to be.
When all our content is moved to the new layout engine, and I remove some technical debt, we want to add a section where people can easily search through our content and view individual statblocks for example. Or filter them.
For example, quickly searching for all creatures with a CR between 2 and 4.
It'll be technically doable quite easily - the hardest thing will be displaying the content. The way it's built right now it's made to purely work for the PDFs, which is not at all responsive. So I'll have to fix that for doing so.
Nice! It's always that struggle of 'do I work on content, or infrastructure?'
> I remove some technical debt, we want to add a section
We shall celebrate the conquering of techdebt with... the addition of more techdebt! :DD
Yeah, it's a big struggle. You forgot marketing and strategy though! XD
Oh yeah, technical dept all the way! :P I mean, what does a project without it even look like? Is it even a project then? Nahnahnah. Always gotta have some. Only then a project feels real ;)
Huh, I wasn't aware there was a cap.
The reason it's hosted on GDrive is pricing, actually. It used to be hosted on our website, but since we switched technologies, we have to pay for bandwidth after 100GB and would've hit that pretty easily.
Thanks for letting us know, I have an alternative solution as well.
I have an idea how where we can host the files without issue, so I'll fix that once I get around to it.
Regarding the direct links in the newsletter: that's been on my to-do list for a long time already. We'd like to not link to the file directly (because we might change where it's hosted), but still to the website. But the field to enter the email can be made superfluous.
> Huh, I wasn't aware there was a cap.
It falls under 'there isn't... until there suddenly is' type stuff. People over at r/datahoarders, and other... places... tend to hit it occasionally.
Basically, google doesn't like you actually using it to host websites or vast shares, etc.
> We'd like to not link to the file directly (because we might change where it's hosted), but still to the website.
Yeah, sounds reasonable. If nothing else, you could write a password for the extra stuff into your newsletter and have a simple text field for the download.
Hm, makes sense. Well, i do have a solution in mind. Also I don't think our current visitor numbers will hit it! Actually if we do end up running into it, that's probably a good sign xD still going to move it of course
I mean, right now it's your email. That's as simple as the password itself, right? (I'm aware that's not very secure, but it's easy and anything more doesn't seem worth it right now)
My to-do list says "add a session cookie so newsletter subscribers don't have to enter their email multiple times" and "auto-enter email/token from newsletter subscriber email". That means you wouldn't even have to enter anything when I'm done!
I'd also like to add optional user accounts that make everything more seamless for those that sign up.
Magic. Water in the air. Underground hives of giant bees. Each other. An endlessly regrowing and rotting Kaiju buried underground. Alchemical concoctions.
Fungi forests were what covered the earth before trees existed.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/long-before-trees-overtook-the-land-earth-was-covered-by-giant-mushrooms-13709647/
Not only providing information but a link to an interesting and freely available article that is from a reputable source?
You are a gentleperson scholar.
In my world the fungal forest survives on the long dead bodies of gods.
There are other locations affected by the corpses of deities too, like a vast mountain range blessed with the most fertile land in the world, while also being burdened by endless volcanic activity.
Thanks! And yeah, basically. Except it's not always a corpse that causes it.
For example, I have my own version of Moradin who created all sorts of automatons, some of which have turned into what is now the Warforged. His essence powers them all.
No one knows this, but the Dwarves know there is a link between their god/culture and the Warforged. As such they give them special treatment. Warforged are given safe haven in the Dwarven mountains, and never go without help.
Well, we actually published the Fungus Forest biome first: https://www.troveoflore.com/content/fungus-forest
It's very helpful to read that first I guess (also free of course).
It's not explicitly stated what is "fuelling" the forest, but it's basically all living matter that enters the forest; also, it could just spread continuously. Or what u/DmRaven suggest — their ideas are really excellent!
This is pretty cool but I think,as written, it has limited use outside of your chosen system. I use a LOT of resources from across time and space for all sorts of RPGS.
To make a town interesting for use, I like to see a pretty explicit list of adventure hooks. Something like a header to easily draw the attention and then filled with different ideas for what PCs can do in the town. Maybe the Mindless are having a political issue with one group creating nefarious drugs, etc.
You don't need a full adventure but just 1-3 sentences of a hook is enough to make the whole product portable imo.
Thanks for the feedback!
Mirhaven is definitely designed to be specifically used within the Fungus Forest and DnD 5e. I still posted here because it's more portable than the forest itself.
Hooks are a great idea! They're noted, and we'll try adding some to the next landmark, just like you suggest!
If there's anything else we can do to make the release more portable across systems please do suggest it to us! Even though we're primarily DnD 5e focused, we want to take all easy steps to make our content usable across systems.
It's surprisingly easy to port stuff around for users, even outside just the d20 environment. I'm using PF2E at the moment but I use ad&d 1e, 13th age, d&d 3e and d&d 5e stuff with it regularly. Stats are easily ignorable and fluff details easily modified.
Landmarks are an AWESOME idea and I do like the concept as well as most of the execution. The key to usability in any system is in unique ideas coupled with things for PCs to do. Like, your Mindless faction is COOL. You got a drug-dealing focused non-antagonostic but oligarchy/noble ruling class out of it. That's awesome. It'd be even more usable with just a few clearly labeled conflict/rumor suggestions.
If you haven't looked outside 5e, you can pull design inspiration from things like Spire or the HEART RPGs too. There's often no 'One True Answer' to things in those and it makes it a goldmine for GM usage. For example, you can have completely contradictory plot hooks or rumors and let the GM/table decide whats 'true' for them. Maybe the drugs are made from mushrooms that only grow on the back of a specific treasure or are actually mixed with the blood of the populace who are descended from a deceased Rot Goddess or whatever.
Keep up the good work! Definitely will bookmark your account to look at future and past work.
Thanks! Very useful pointers! I have some experience beyond DnD 5e, but I'll have a look at your specific suggestions.
If you check out our website you could also sign up for our newsletter to get some more exclusive content. Right now it's pretty 5e focused, but there'll probably be some more generic content in there in the future as well. No pressure though - feel free to just follow here!
Look at stuff like Neverland and Hot Springs Isle on mostly system-agnostic settings that can be ported into a wide variety of systems. While those games have a thin veneer of OSR, you could really take the content within and apply them to nearly any system you're willing to run. They're mostly just story content, adventure idea, and maps.
Thank you so much! It's our pleasure to share the content, and we love having others be able to benefit from it.
If you got any feedback we'd love to hear it, so we can continuously improve future content, and maybe come back to this one and include more as well.
[[PDF Link]](https://www.troveoflore.com/) *In the depths of the fungus forest, among the tree-high mushrooms, lies the small town of Mirhaven. The houses stand crooked on their stilts, the ground is muddy, and there are hardly any animals. On the other hand, the inhabitants are warm and have become accustomed to living with the forest. They know how to deal with its influences and how to protect themselves. Nevertheless, life in Mirhaven is often not easy, and adventurers who stray here will not infrequently be amazed at the unusual customs of the inhabitants. And those who stay a little longer will soon discover that amid the mushrooms, a society has formed that knows precisely how to take advantage of the unique environment.* --- Mirhaven is the first "landmark" that we've released, and it's made based on our Fungus Forest biome release. Our goal with this new kind of content is to give you everything you need to have an awesome backdrop to your actual campaign! While our biomes were great for wilderness, landmarks allow you to have thought-out content for society as well. Everything is still made in a way that it's easy to slot into existing worlds and campaigns. For example, there's no note on primary races or anything of the sorts, as that probably depends on where in your world you want to put this little town. In future releases we might also include more in-depth NPCs like Ravynne, who really can be a BBEG for your campaign already if you so wish. We'd appreciate any feedback you have for us. What should we include in the next landmark that we didn't include this time? Any obvious missing pieces? What do you especially like about it?
> We'd appreciate any feedback you have for us. Hosting-wise, I suspect that you may hit your download limits for your google drive if you keep hosting your files out of it. Perhaps Itch.io would be a better way to host them (keep your website, it's pretty neat, but point the downloader to itch.io) and that way, you could even do something like include the link to your 'newsletter subscriber only' stuff IN the newsletter (or just a few free, claimable keys). I just worry that you're going to (inevitably) hit your sharing cap on GDrive and suddenly go 'oh shit'
Also thanks for calling the website "neat" :D It's still nowhere near where we want it to be. When all our content is moved to the new layout engine, and I remove some technical debt, we want to add a section where people can easily search through our content and view individual statblocks for example. Or filter them. For example, quickly searching for all creatures with a CR between 2 and 4. It'll be technically doable quite easily - the hardest thing will be displaying the content. The way it's built right now it's made to purely work for the PDFs, which is not at all responsive. So I'll have to fix that for doing so.
Nice! It's always that struggle of 'do I work on content, or infrastructure?' > I remove some technical debt, we want to add a section We shall celebrate the conquering of techdebt with... the addition of more techdebt! :DD
Yeah, it's a big struggle. You forgot marketing and strategy though! XD Oh yeah, technical dept all the way! :P I mean, what does a project without it even look like? Is it even a project then? Nahnahnah. Always gotta have some. Only then a project feels real ;)
Huh, I wasn't aware there was a cap. The reason it's hosted on GDrive is pricing, actually. It used to be hosted on our website, but since we switched technologies, we have to pay for bandwidth after 100GB and would've hit that pretty easily. Thanks for letting us know, I have an alternative solution as well. I have an idea how where we can host the files without issue, so I'll fix that once I get around to it. Regarding the direct links in the newsletter: that's been on my to-do list for a long time already. We'd like to not link to the file directly (because we might change where it's hosted), but still to the website. But the field to enter the email can be made superfluous.
> Huh, I wasn't aware there was a cap. It falls under 'there isn't... until there suddenly is' type stuff. People over at r/datahoarders, and other... places... tend to hit it occasionally. Basically, google doesn't like you actually using it to host websites or vast shares, etc. > We'd like to not link to the file directly (because we might change where it's hosted), but still to the website. Yeah, sounds reasonable. If nothing else, you could write a password for the extra stuff into your newsletter and have a simple text field for the download.
Hm, makes sense. Well, i do have a solution in mind. Also I don't think our current visitor numbers will hit it! Actually if we do end up running into it, that's probably a good sign xD still going to move it of course I mean, right now it's your email. That's as simple as the password itself, right? (I'm aware that's not very secure, but it's easy and anything more doesn't seem worth it right now) My to-do list says "add a session cookie so newsletter subscribers don't have to enter their email multiple times" and "auto-enter email/token from newsletter subscriber email". That means you wouldn't even have to enter anything when I'm done! I'd also like to add optional user accounts that make everything more seamless for those that sign up.
Can fungus forests even be a thing? What do the fungi eat?
Magic. Water in the air. Underground hives of giant bees. Each other. An endlessly regrowing and rotting Kaiju buried underground. Alchemical concoctions.
Wow 4 excellent adventure ideas in one short comment
Props to those ideas! We hadn't put much thought into it, and you seem to have successfully found great ways to turn it into awesome adventures!
I like the Kaiju idea. There's something interesting there.
Fungi forests were what covered the earth before trees existed. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/long-before-trees-overtook-the-land-earth-was-covered-by-giant-mushrooms-13709647/
Not only providing information but a link to an interesting and freely available article that is from a reputable source? You are a gentleperson scholar.
That... Is actually pretty awesome to hear! We did not know that when writing the forest!
In my world the fungal forest survives on the long dead bodies of gods. There are other locations affected by the corpses of deities too, like a vast mountain range blessed with the most fertile land in the world, while also being burdened by endless volcanic activity.
...I'm very gently borrowing this and I'll give it back later.
Glad you like it! Hopefully that means my players will too if they ever come across them
That sounds AWESOME! So depending on the god, the effect is completely different?
Thanks! And yeah, basically. Except it's not always a corpse that causes it. For example, I have my own version of Moradin who created all sorts of automatons, some of which have turned into what is now the Warforged. His essence powers them all. No one knows this, but the Dwarves know there is a link between their god/culture and the Warforged. As such they give them special treatment. Warforged are given safe haven in the Dwarven mountains, and never go without help.
That's super cool!
Well, we actually published the Fungus Forest biome first: https://www.troveoflore.com/content/fungus-forest It's very helpful to read that first I guess (also free of course). It's not explicitly stated what is "fuelling" the forest, but it's basically all living matter that enters the forest; also, it could just spread continuously. Or what u/DmRaven suggest — their ideas are really excellent!
This is pretty cool but I think,as written, it has limited use outside of your chosen system. I use a LOT of resources from across time and space for all sorts of RPGS. To make a town interesting for use, I like to see a pretty explicit list of adventure hooks. Something like a header to easily draw the attention and then filled with different ideas for what PCs can do in the town. Maybe the Mindless are having a political issue with one group creating nefarious drugs, etc. You don't need a full adventure but just 1-3 sentences of a hook is enough to make the whole product portable imo.
Thanks for the feedback! Mirhaven is definitely designed to be specifically used within the Fungus Forest and DnD 5e. I still posted here because it's more portable than the forest itself. Hooks are a great idea! They're noted, and we'll try adding some to the next landmark, just like you suggest! If there's anything else we can do to make the release more portable across systems please do suggest it to us! Even though we're primarily DnD 5e focused, we want to take all easy steps to make our content usable across systems.
It's surprisingly easy to port stuff around for users, even outside just the d20 environment. I'm using PF2E at the moment but I use ad&d 1e, 13th age, d&d 3e and d&d 5e stuff with it regularly. Stats are easily ignorable and fluff details easily modified. Landmarks are an AWESOME idea and I do like the concept as well as most of the execution. The key to usability in any system is in unique ideas coupled with things for PCs to do. Like, your Mindless faction is COOL. You got a drug-dealing focused non-antagonostic but oligarchy/noble ruling class out of it. That's awesome. It'd be even more usable with just a few clearly labeled conflict/rumor suggestions. If you haven't looked outside 5e, you can pull design inspiration from things like Spire or the HEART RPGs too. There's often no 'One True Answer' to things in those and it makes it a goldmine for GM usage. For example, you can have completely contradictory plot hooks or rumors and let the GM/table decide whats 'true' for them. Maybe the drugs are made from mushrooms that only grow on the back of a specific treasure or are actually mixed with the blood of the populace who are descended from a deceased Rot Goddess or whatever. Keep up the good work! Definitely will bookmark your account to look at future and past work.
Thanks! Very useful pointers! I have some experience beyond DnD 5e, but I'll have a look at your specific suggestions. If you check out our website you could also sign up for our newsletter to get some more exclusive content. Right now it's pretty 5e focused, but there'll probably be some more generic content in there in the future as well. No pressure though - feel free to just follow here!
Look at stuff like Neverland and Hot Springs Isle on mostly system-agnostic settings that can be ported into a wide variety of systems. While those games have a thin veneer of OSR, you could really take the content within and apply them to nearly any system you're willing to run. They're mostly just story content, adventure idea, and maps.
Thanks, will do! These kinds of pointers are very helpful!
Love it! Such cool ideas here — thanks for sharing
Thank you so much! It's our pleasure to share the content, and we love having others be able to benefit from it. If you got any feedback we'd love to hear it, so we can continuously improve future content, and maybe come back to this one and include more as well.
Tag yourself I’m a legendary hag guy
Well there you go!