A Seeker’s Guide to Travelling the Twilight Forest. Pt 1.

Foreword

A guide to a dangerous ritual. Perhaps not gameable, but written as a creative exercise. Maybe there'll be a Pt 2. when I get round to it.

Inspirations : Pale - a web serial, go read it.
Gardens of Ynn.

Introduction

It is important to remember that before travelling through the Twilight Forest that it is a method of last resort and only to be used in events of dire need. The ritual may grant you one of several boons and allow you to travel acrost vast distances between places and planes, but always exacts a heavy personal cost to the seeker.

Weigh the benefits and risks before proceeding with the ritual. Even if a Seeker travels through the Twilight Forest relatively unscathed, the experience of being a prey animal fleeing from a relentless predator is harrowing and often requires time to recover from. It is a common tale that a Seeker uses the Twilight Forest to travel for emergency purposes only to arrive too shaken and agitated to deal with the task they travelled for.

Prepare yourself well and follow the rules of the Twilight Forest lest you be lost, for even experienced Seeker occasionally fall prey to the Wolf.

Choosing a Mask and Guise

The first step to travelling the Twilight Forest is the fashioning of a mask carved to look like a prey animal. Your form will match that of the animal you chose throughout the duration of your travels through the Twilight Forest. Choose the animal carefully and to your strengths, as what is chosen will affect how the Wolf interacts with you and how the hunt will play out. The most commonly used forms are that of the Deer, Mouse and Rabbit and their benefits and downsides will be listed here. Other less common forms may also be used but are outside the scope of this guide.

The Deer is the fastest runner leading to a great advantage when fleeing from the Wolf, but nigh guarantees the Wolf’s attention and will almost always result in a hunt. As such, you must be confident in your ability to flee if you choose the guise of the Deer.

The Mouse is small and stealthy, reducing the likelihood of attracting the attention of the Wolf, though it is poorly suited for a chase if noticed. The Mouse is for the stealthy, though often the fear of the Wolf often leads to Seekers hiding too long in the nooks of the Twilight Forest and losing themselves in the guise of the Mouse.

The Rabbit is an intermediary choice between the Mouse and the Deer, it has both the ability to hide as well as the ability to outrun the Wolf, though it excels at neither. As a result, it requires that the Seeker be adaptable and be able to accurately assess the situation.

It is advised to practice occupying the guise of the animal chosen in a safer environment in case you become suddenly overwhelmed by the transformation upon entering the Twilight Forest. We recommend practicing Wild Shaping with Druids or being Polymorphed by a Wizard. A higher risk option is negotiating a non-permanent transformation with Fey, though this carries its own risks as you may become ensnared by their deals and gifts.

Once an animal guise is chosen a wooden mask of that animal must be fashioned by the Seeker. A mask made by someone else will fit poorly and may be the difference between making it through the Forest unscathed or falling into the jaws of the Wolf.