GearAscendancy.com

Heartwoods Lament 118

—

by

Dale
in

Lore

This bow was never crafted by mortal hands; it was grown. In the heart of a forgotten, primordial forest where the barriers between the mortal world and the Dreamtime were thin, three ley lines converged. One pulsed with the fury of the pure, untamed wind; another seeped with the concentrated essence of every natural venom and predator’s instinct; the third thrummed with the raw, chaotic emotions of the land itself. At this confluence, a single Ironwood tree grew. Over a thousand years, it absorbed these warring energies, its heartwood slowly twisting into the shape of a greatbow. The weapon is a sentient, living embodiment of the forest’s beautiful and terrible will, a tool for nature’s most primal guardians to enforce its balance against unnatural incursions.

Description

The bow appears to be a single piece of living, dark green wood, covered in a complex lattice of bark that resembles compacted soil. The riser is shaped like a screaming ancestral face, the totem of the Dreamweaver, now fully integrated into the bow’s form. The bowstring is a taut, shimmering strand of solidified, whispering wind. It requires no physical arrows; when drawn, a long, vicious thorn of condensed, green-glowing venom and psychoactive pollen forms on the string, buzzing like a hornet. The entire weapon hums with a chorus of natural sounds: the rustle of leaves, the chittering of insects, and a low, territorial growl.

Stats

  • Tier: 3
  • Rarity: Legendary
  • Roleplay Emphasis: Primal Hunter / Nature’s Avenger / Crowd Control

Tags

Living-Weapon, Primal, Sylvan, Nature’s Wrath, Fey-touched, Sentient-Weapon, Wind-blessed, Agitation, Disruption, Venomous, Legendary-Rarity, Tier-3, Masterwork, Psychological-Warfare, Crowd-Control, Heartwood, Grown-Not-Made, Spirit-Thorn, Primary-Hand

Passive Magic

  • Voice of the Wild: The wielder is in constant communion with the natural world. They can speak with and understand beasts and plants. They gain a +3 bonus to Nature and Survival checks, and have advantage on all Charisma (Intimidation) checks against unnatural creatures (such as aberrations, constructs, and undead).
  • Unerring Predator: The bow’s wind-guidance and natural instinct make its shots uncannily accurate. All attacks made with this weapon have a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls.
  • Primal Toxin: The thorns created by the bow are infused with a potent, psychoactive venom. Any creature hit by a thorn must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or be afflicted by a unique Poisoned condition for 1 minute. The effect of the poison depends on the creature’s nature: humanoids become lethargic and disoriented, beasts become confused and enraged (attacking the nearest creature), and constructs suffer corrosion that reduces their AC by 2.

Active Magic

  • Thorn of Maddening Pollen (3/day):
    • Activation: As an action, the wielder fires a specialized thorn that explodes on impact.
    • Effect: The target takes 10d6 poison damage, and every creature within a 15-foot radius of the target (including the target) must succeed on a difficult Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, they are overwhelmed by the chaotic sensory input of the primal forest—the buzzing of a million insects, the feeling of phantom vines, the scent of rot and bloom. Affected creatures are treated as if under the confusion spell for 1 minute.
  • Song of Discord (1/day):
    • Activation: As an action, the wielder holds the bow aloft and strums its string, releasing a wave of discordant natural energy.
    • Effect: All enemies within a 60-foot radius must make a difficult Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, the primal magic of the bow’s Dreamweaver core short-circuits their loyalties. For 1 minute, they perceive their allies as monstrous territorial rivals and are compelled to use their actions to attack them. The effect ends on a creature if it is damaged by the wielder or the wielder’s allies.
  • Dream of the Unending Hunt (1/week):
    • Activation: As an action, the wielder fires a single, incorporeal thorn into the sky while whispering the name of a target they have seen.
    • Effect: The thorn travels mystically and marks the target with an inescapable scent that is imperceptible to humanoids but is an irresistible lure to natural predators. For the next 24 hours, all natural beasts and monstrosities with an instinct to hunt (wolves, bears, griffons, etc.) within a 10-mile radius are compelled to hunt down and attack the target.

Slot

  • Primary-Hand (counts as 1 magical weapon)

Item Durability and Repair

As a living artifact, the Heartwood’s Lament does not have hit points in the traditional sense; it possesses 60 points of Primal Vitality. This represents its life force and connection to the natural world. This vitality cannot be damaged by conventional means like sword strikes or simple wear and tear. Instead, it is vulnerable to effects that are anathema to nature itself, such as potent blight-curses, overwhelming necrotic or fire magic, and attacks from weapons forged of cold iron.

As the bow takes damage and its Primal Vitality diminishes, it begins to physically “wilt.” The vibrant green wood fades to a sickly brown, the humming of the bowstring becomes a pained, discordant moan, and its powers become unreliable. When its Primal Vitality is reduced to zero, the bow does not shatter; it “dies.” The wood becomes a grey, petrified, and inert object, the bowstring of wind dissipates into nothingness, and the sentient spirit within falls into a deathlike slumber from which it cannot awaken on its own.

Repairing the “dead” bow is impossible. It must be reborn through a difficult and lengthy natural ritual:

  1. Find a Locus of Rebirth: The petrified bow must be taken to a place where the three core energies of its creation are powerfully convergent: a sacred grove connected to the Dreamtime, located in a primordial swamp, atop a windswept mountain. Finding such a location is a quest in itself.
  2. Plant the Seed: The dormant bow must be planted upright in the soil of the Locus, as if it were a sapling.
  3. Anoint with Primal Life: The bow must be “watered” with a potent, life-giving liquid, such as the heart-blood of a regenerating beast (like a Hydra), water drawn directly from the Plane of Life, or the freely given tears of an ancient Treant.
  4. The Transfusion of Spirit: The final and most dangerous step requires a willing and powerful druid, shaman, or the bow’s wielder to perform a three-day ritual. They must channel a significant portion of their own life force and magical energy into the bow, acting as the “sunlight” to jumpstart its heart. This process is immensely draining and will leave the caster permanently weakened, potentially costing them a portion of their own soul or vitality. Success causes a new green shoot to sprout from the bow, and over the course of a week, its Primal Vitality and consciousness will be fully restored.

As a living, sentient artifact of legendary power, the Heartwood’s Lament 118 cannot be found in any shop, market, or auction house. It does not have a “cost” in gold, for one cannot purchase a force of nature. The bow chooses its wielder, or is bestowed by powers far older than mortal commerce. To acquire it is to complete a grand quest and forge a bond with the primal world itself.

1. The Court of the Verdant Prince

Setting: Deep within a forest where the seasons change by the minute and the paths rearrange themselves behind you, lies the gateway to a fey court. The Verdant Prince, an ancient and fickle Archfey, presides over a domain of chaotic, beautiful, and deadly nature. The Heartwood’s Lament is his favorite hunting bow, which he might loan out or gift to a mortal who manages to capture his interest.

Acquisition: One does not “buy” from the Prince; one survives his games. He might wager the bow in a contest, such as a hunt for an uncatchable beast, a riddle game where the wrong answer transforms you into a mushroom, or a challenge to make him feel a true, mortal emotion like sorrow or surprise. Alternatively, he might grant it as a reward for completing a service for him, such as severing his ties to a rival fey or retrieving a stolen memory from the mind of a sleeping god.

Cost:

  • A Fae Bargain. The price is never coin. The Prince may demand a favor to be called in at any time, your ability to ever speak a lie again, the color of your eyes, or your fondest childhood memory. The transaction is a binding, magical contract, and the cost is a piece of the wielder’s own identity.

2. The Circle of the Elder Boughs

Setting: This is not a place one can easily find, but a council of the oldest and most powerful druids and Treants in Saṃsāra. They are the sworn guardians of the primordial forests and the stewards of nature’s most potent artifacts. They currently hold the Heartwood’s Lament in their protection, viewing it as a weapon of last resort to be used only when the natural order faces a dire threat.

Acquisition: The Circle will not entertain offers. To be considered worthy of wielding the bow, a candidate must be brought before them and have their heart weighed by the forest’s spirits. If they are not found wanting, they will be given a monumental task to prove their dedication to the Balance. This could be to cleanse a blighted kingdom, to hunt down a powerful aberration that is twisting the ecosystem, or to destroy a magi-tech artifact that is poisoning the world’s ley lines.

Cost:

  • A Sacred Vow and a Legendary Deed. The price is the completion of an epic quest that restores a significant portion of the natural world. Upon its completion, the wielder is granted the bow, but they must also swear a lifelong, magically-binding oath to serve the Circle and protect the Balance, effectively becoming an agent of the planet itself.

3. The Trial of the Whispering Grove

Setting: The bow is not owned by anyone. It rests where it was grown, at the heart of a primordial grove where three magical nexuses converge. The grove itself is a semi-sentient and extremely hostile environment, protected by its own will and the chaotic spirits that birthed the bow. It actively tests, hinders, and seeks to destroy any who enter with the intent of claiming its heart.

Acquisition: To acquire the bow, one must survive the Trial of the Three Essences. This is a grueling journey to the center of the grove. The prospective wielder must:

  • Navigate the shifting, impossible labyrinth while being hunted by phantom beasts born of the Venomous Stinger’s essence.
  • Endure the maddening, discordant whispers of ancestral spirits, a trial of will against the Dreamweaver’s power.
  • Brave the untamable gales and tornadoes that guard the grove’s center, a test of skill against the Whisperwind’s fury. Reaching the bow is not enough. The wielder must nock the bowstring of wind and survive the immense psychic backlash as the weapon’s consciousness judges their spirit.

Cost:

  • Worthiness Proven Through Survival. There is no one to pay and no one to bargain with. The cost is the physical, mental, and spiritual toll of overcoming the living will of the forest itself. Many have tried; the grove is littered with the bones and spirits of those who failed the trial.

As a living artifact of primal power, the Heartwood’s Lament 118 is a force of nature in its wielder’s hands. Its roleplaying applications focus on overwhelming enemies with the raw, chaotic power of the untamed wild, turning any environment into its personal hunting ground.

1. In a Primordial Forest or Deep Jungle

Offensive Roleplay: The wielder is not just a hunter; they are the apex predator, the very will of the forest made manifest. They don’t stalk their prey alone. Using Voice of the Wild, they command packs of unseen predators to harry and corral their enemies into a kill zone. They might use Thorn of Maddening Pollen on an enemy encampment, not just to confuse the guards, but to agitate the surrounding wildlife into a frenzy. For a truly high-value target, they mark them with Dream of the Unending Hunt and then simply melt back into the woods, letting the entire forest, from the wolves on the ground to the eagles in the sky, become their personal assassins for the next 24 hours.

Defensive Roleplay: When pursued, the forest becomes the wielder’s fortress. With Wind Walker, they move silently and effortlessly through the densest, thorniest undergrowth that would trap their pursuers. If cornered, they use Voice of the Wild to command the trees themselves to intertwine their branches and roots, creating impassable walls of living wood behind them. A blast from Song of Discord can turn a pursuing pack of dire wolves against their masters, creating a bloody, chaotic diversion that allows for a clean escape.

2. In a Sterile, Magi-Tech Metropolis

Offensive Roleplay: The wielder brings the savage, untamed world into the heart of order and artifice. They become a terrifying eco-saboteur. A single thorn coated in Primal Toxin fired into the main boiler of a steam-golem doesn’t just poison it—the chaotic natural energy causes the metal to suffer catastrophic, explosive corrosion. In a city plaza, Song of Discord doesn’t just make people angry; it short-circuits their civilized minds, causing them to act on their basest territorial instincts, leading to mass panic and rioting. The Thorn of Maddening Pollen can be used to make a squad of city guards hallucinate that the pristine marble around them is a writhing jungle, causing them to attack phantom snakes while the wielder slips by.

Defensive Roleplay: The city’s own infrastructure becomes a weapon of escape. Pursued by automatons, the wielder fires a thorn with Primal Toxin at a metal support beam, causing it to rust through in seconds and collapse, blocking the path. While hiding, they use Voice of the Wild to speak with the rats and insects, learning the secret routes through the sewers and service tunnels. A well-placed Thorn of Maddening Pollen can shatter the complex crystal matrix of a scrying sensor, creating a burst of magical feedback that blinds their technological pursuers.

3. In an Undead-Infested Wasteland

Offensive Roleplay: The bow becomes a font of chaotic, vengeful life in a land defined by death. Its powers are anathema to the undead. A Thorn of Maddening Pollen fired into a horde of zombies causes their necrotic forms to be overwhelmed by the sheer force of phantom life, violently rupturing them from the inside out. Primal Toxin used on a skeletal warrior doesn’t poison it but causes the animating necromantic energy to run wild, forcing the skeleton to uncontrollably attack its allies. The wielder might use Dream of the Unending Hunt on a powerful lich, marking it so that every mindless ghoul and undead beast in the wasteland sees its master as the only source of warmth and life, causing its own minions to swarm and consume it.

Defensive Roleplay: The bow’s life-giving energy acts as a shield. When surrounded, the wielder can slam the bow into the dead earth and use Voice of the Wild to call forth the last vestiges of dormant life; thorny, grasping vines erupt from the ground to ensnare and trap mindless undead. Song of Discord, while not affecting the loyalties of the undead, can be roleplayed as a devastating wave of positive energy that causes them to recoil in agony, buying the wielder precious seconds to reposition or flee.

4. During a Planar Incursion

Offensive Roleplay: Against aberrations and other-worldly beings, the bow is the ultimate enforcer of natural law. Its chaotic but natural magic is the perfect weapon against the “unnatural” chaos of the void. The advantage on Intimidation checks from Voice of the Wild is used to let out a primal roar that can actually cause lesser aberrations to hesitate in fear. Primal Toxin disrupts the alien minds of creatures from beyond, inflicting not just poison but a psychic feedback loop of confusion. Song of Discord can be used to shatter the hive-mind link of insectoid horrors, reducing a coordinated swarm to a panicked, disorganized mob.

Defensive Roleplay: The bow’s powerful, natural aura acts as a reality anchor against the warping effects of the Far Realm. When an aberration tries to bend reality, the wielder can describe the bow flaring with green light, pushing back against the unnatural physics. Thorn of Maddening Pollen can be used defensively to create a 15-foot zone of such intense, natural sensory overload that it interferes with an extra-planar creature’s ability to focus its psychic or reality-bending powers, creating a temporary safe zone for the party to regroup.

Perception of Activation:

User’s Perspective

Sight:

  • What is Perceived: The green wood of the bow writhes as if alive, the grain flowing like water. The ancestral face carved into the riser’s heartwood twists into a silent, furious roar. The air around the nocking point shimmers with a thick, visible haze of green pollen as the thorn of solidified venom manifests, dripping a glowing, viscous toxin.
  • Positives: Your vision sharpens to an impossible degree, allowing you to see the life force of living things as a faint, pulsing light, making targets impossible to miss.
  • Negatives: The sheer visual input is overwhelming. The world becomes a chaotic swirl of life energy and movement, making it difficult to focus on anything but the hunt.

Sound:

  • What is Perceived: The gentle hum of the bowstring erupts into a deafening mental cacophony of the untamed wild: the roar of a territorial predator, the buzzing of a million angry hornets, and the howl of a gale, all at once.
  • Positives: The roar drowns out all fear and doubt, leaving only pure, focused predatory instinct.
  • Negatives: You are functionally deaf to the outside world. The pleas of allies or calls for a tactical retreat are lost in the primal noise in your head.

Touch:

  • What is Perceived: The bow pulses with a powerful, rhythmic beat, like a savage heart hammering in your grip. The wood feels warm and alive, and the wind-taut bowstring crackles with the energy of a lightning storm, making the hair on your arms stand on end.
  • Positives: You feel an immense surge of primal power, a connection to the raw, physical force of the natural world.
  • Negatives: The power is intoxicating and hard to control. There is a palpable feeling that the bow is using you as much as you are using it.

Smell & Taste:

  • What is Perceived: An overwhelming wave of scents floods your senses: the smell of rich, damp earth after a thunderstorm, the cloying sweetness of night-blooming flowers, and the sharp, coppery musk of a predator. This translates to a taste of bitter bark, raw honey, and blood on the tongue.
  • Positives: The scents are invigorating, fueling a primal rage and heightening your predatory senses.
  • Negatives: The sensory overload is nauseating and makes it impossible to perceive subtle scents like a conventional poison or gas trap.

Extra-Sensory Perceptions:

  • The Primal Instinct: Your higher consciousness and rational thought are suppressed, replaced by a pure, flawless predatory instinct. You don’t formulate plans; you simply react, moving with a grace and certainty that is not entirely your own.
  • Oneness with the Wild: Your sense of self bleeds into the surrounding environment. You feel the rustle of leaves and the scuttling of insects as if they were happening on your own skin, granting you a 360-degree awareness of your hunting ground.
  • The Dreamtime Echo: You feel the raw, unfiltered emotions of the ancestral spirits bound within the wood—an endless, echoing cycle of rage, hunger, and the savage joy of the hunt.

Observer’s Perspective

Sight:

  • What is Perceived: The bow contorts as if in pain or rage, glowing with a sickly, vibrant green light. The air around the wielder shimmers and distorts with heat and pollen. The thorn that materializes on the string is a terrifying thing—a glowing, green, semi-translucent fang that visibly drips a thick, corrosive-looking toxin.
  • Positives: The user becomes an awe-inspiring and terrifying figure, a true avatar of nature’s wrath that can easily break an enemy’s morale.
  • Negatives: The transformation is monstrous. The user’s eyes may glow green, and their features might sharpen into a predatory snarl, making them terrifying to friends and foes alike.

Sound:

  • What is Perceived: A low, menacing growl emanates from the bow, and the whispering of the bowstring rises to an audible, angry hiss like a thousand striking snakes. The sound is deeply unsettling on a primal level.
  • Positives: The sounds are incredibly intimidating, capable of causing hesitation or panic in enemies.
  • Negatives: The hostile sounds make it clear that the wielder is channeling a dangerous and uncontrollable power, potentially unnerving allies.

Touch & Smell:

  • What is Perceived: The ground may tremble faintly around the user. The air becomes thick, humid, and charged with static. A powerful, feral scent fills the area—a combination of predator’s musk, unknown alien flowers, and damp earth.
  • Positives: The wielder’s presence can dominate an area, their very scent marking their territory.
  • Negatives: The smell is overpowering and primal, likely to frighten pack animals and unsettle any civilized person in the vicinity.

Extra-Sensory Perceptions (for sensitive observers):

  • Aura of the Savage Green: A magic-sensitive individual would see the user’s own aura completely consumed and replaced by a massive, thorny, emerald-green aura that takes the shape of a monstrous, chimeric beast of prey.
  • Wave of Primal Fear: All creatures nearby, including allies, are hit with a powerful, instinctual wave of fear. It is the deep, genetic terror a prey animal feels when it knows a predator is watching, forcing even the bravest warriors to confront a fight-or-flight response.

Growth Ceremony of the Primal Songbow

This crafting process is not one of assembly but of cultivation—a dangerous druidic ritual that seeks to deconstruct three artifacts and grow them into a new, singular, living entity. The ritual must be performed in a sacred, natural location, such as a hidden grove or a ley line confluence, and it must span several days, mirroring the cycle of death and rebirth.

Items Merged

  • Whisperwind Bow: The bow must be unstrung, and its connection to the wind spirits must be respectfully severed in a short preliminary rite.
  • Venomous Stinger Blowgun: The physical tube of the blowgun must be ground into a coarse powder.
  • Dreamweaver 93 of Echoing Ire: The totem must be soaked in rainwater for a full day until the compacted soil softens.

Additional Materials Needed

  • A Heartseed from an Ancient Treant: The seed taken from the heartwood of a Treant that has died of old age. It contains immense, latent life force and the wisdom of centuries.
  • The Blood of an Apex Predator: A significant quantity of fresh blood from a legendary beast (such as a Manticore, Hydra, or Roc) that embodies the spirit of the untamed wild.
  • Soil from a Convergent Locus: A basin of earth gathered from a rare location where three distinct ley lines—one of Air, one of Poison/Decay, and one of raw Emotion—intersect and clash.
  • Water from the World’s Roof: A gourd of pure, unfiltered water collected from a violent thunderstorm at one of the world’s highest mountain peaks.

Tools Required

  • Living Altar: A large, flat-topped, moss-covered boulder that is still part of the living earth, not a quarried stone.
  • Obsidian Ritual Knife: A non-metallic knife for the bloodletting, as forged metal would interfere with the primal energies.
  • A Chitinous Trowel: A spade-like tool made from the carapace of a giant, burrowing insect, for handling the magically potent soil.

Skill Requirements

  • Primal Ritualism: A deep, instinctual understanding of ancient, chaotic nature magic, beyond the scope of simple druidic spells.
  • Ley Line Attunement: The rare ability to sense and find the specific type of ley line convergence required for the ritual’s foundation.
  • Legendary Beast Hunting: The skill and fortitude needed to acquire the blood of an apex predator, a feat that is a major quest in itself.

Crafting Steps

  1. Preparing the Bed: The Convergent Locus soil is mixed with the ground powder of the Venomous Stinger Blowgun and the softened earth of the Dreamweaver totem. This creates a highly volatile, magically charged mud, which is spread upon the Living Altar.
  2. The Offering and Planting: The Whisperwind Bow’s wooden stave is planted vertically in the center of the magical mud. The Heartseed of the Treant is then gently placed into a notch carved at the bow’s center. This act symbolically “kills” the three artifacts, offering their essences back to the earth so that they may be reborn as one.
  3. The Quickening: The Blood of the Apex Predator is poured over the base of the planted bow, soaking the mud and the Heartseed. This potent life force acts as a catalyst, shocking the disparate magical essences and beginning the violent process of their fusion. The bow stave will tremble, and discordant whispers will fill the air.
  4. The Long Vigil: The crafter must remain with the altar for three full days and nights, protecting the gestating bow. They must not sleep, but instead channel their own spiritual energy into the Heartseed, guiding the growth and preventing the chaotic energies from creating a monstrous, blighted creature. During this time, the site will attract enraged nature spirits and hungry predators, which the crafter must fend off without leaving the immediate vicinity of the altar.
  5. The Storm’s Drink: On the dawn of the fourth day, the growing bow, which should now show signs of new, green life and twisted bark, must be given its final nourishment. The Water from the World’s Roof is poured onto it. This infusion of pure elemental energy solidifies the bow’s connection to the wind and completes its growth cycle.
  6. The Harvest: The bow will now appear as the living Heartwood’s Lament. The crafter must perform one final act: gently uprooting the bow from the altar. This act forms a permanent, symbiotic bond between the sentient weapon and its new wielder. The bow will recognize the crafter as part of itself, a wielder it has chosen through the trial of its own creation.

Green Man and Bow That Was a Root

It is told, from words found scratched on bark-skin, of the Time of Straight Lines. In this time, men came who were made of Iron and Logic. Their minds were as straight as their roads, and their hearts were as square as their cities of stone. And they looked upon the world, which was a tangled and chaotic thing, and they said, “This is not good. We shall make it all straight.”

And so the Men of Iron did cut the ancient forests to make their straight roads. And they did put the wild rivers in stone chains and called them canals. And they did silence the noisy beasts and the whispering trees, for Logic has no need of such things. And the great Forest, the one that was the heart of the world, grew sick. Its song became a whisper, and its whisper became a moan.

And in its great pain, the Forest did call for a champion. It did not make a man of flesh, for flesh is weak. It did not make a god of light, for light makes straight shadows. No, it grew a thing from its own heart, a Man of Green, a being of moss and rage and ancient wood. And this Green Man had no mouth to speak, but he had a great purpose. And growing from his arm, as a branch grows from a tree, was the Heartwood’s Lament, the Bow that was a Root, and a weapon, and the forest’s own voice.

And the Green Man went forth from the deep woods to make war upon the straightness of the world. The Men of Iron sent their legions, their soldiers in straight lines with sharp pikes. And the Green Man did not meet them with an army. He stood alone, and he drew back the bowstring that was made of wind.

He did not fire a thorn at first. Nay, he strummed the string, and from it came the Song of Discord. And this song was the sound of a wolf pack fighting over a kill, and the sound of a beehive being torn apart, and the sound of two great stags locking their horns in a battle to the death. And the soldiers in their straight lines heard this song, and the Logic in their hearts broke. They looked upon their shield-brothers, and they saw not comrades, but rivals. They saw the man who had a bigger ration, the man who had a sharper spear, the man who had looked too long at his wife. And a great madness of grievance took them, and the straight lines of the legion broke as they fell upon each other with shouts and blades.

The Men of Iron sent their engineers to build a great stone fortress, a wall to keep the wild out. The Green Man came to the wall. He nocked a thorn made of glowing pollen, a Thorn of Maddening Pollen, and he fired it over the wall. And the thorn burst into a cloud of green, glittering dust. And the Men of Iron within the fortress breathed the dust, and their minds were filled with the chaos of the deep woods. They saw not stone walls, but great, grasping vines with teeth. They felt not the solid floor, but a swamp full of biting things. They heard not the wind on the parapets, but the hiss of a thousand great serpents. And they threw down their tools and their swords and they fled screaming from their own fortress, their minds broken by a jungle that was not there.

And the Men of Iron sent their great General, a man whose mind was the straightest of all, to hunt the Green Man. The General was clever and hid his camp in a secret place. And the Green Man did not need to hunt him. He stood on a high cliff, and he nocked an arrow made of a dream, the Dream of the Unending Hunt. He whispered the General’s name to the arrowhead, and he fired it into the sky, where it vanished. And the dream flew across the land and it touched all the wild things. And the wolves, and the great bears, and the shadow-cats, and the hungry things that live in the dark places—their minds were all filled with one thought, one scent, one name. And they became a single great hunting party, and the forest itself rose up to hunt the one Iron Man who would make it straight. The General was never seen again.

And so it was that the Time of Straight Lines ended. The iron cities rusted, and the stone walls were pulled down by the patient roots of the trees. The world was allowed to be tangled and chaotic and alive once more. And the Green Man, whose purpose was to fight the straightness, found that his great rage was now quiet. For with no great order to fight, his chaos had no meaning. And so he began to fade, his body of moss and bark becoming just a part of the deep woods again.

As his last bit of strength left him, the Bow that was his heart and his arm and his voice did detach from his fading form. It fell upon the soft earth, no longer a part of a spirit, but now a thing of the world, waiting. It was found, it is said, by a lost child who had shown the forest no fear, only kindness. And the Bow accepted the child not as a master, but as a friend. For it is the way of things that the Bow will sleep, but it will awaken when the world is threatened by the silence of perfect order once more.

Moral of the Story: A world made perfectly straight is a prison, for it leaves no room for roots to grow, nor for rivers to wander, nor for the heart to beat in its own chaotic way.

Suggested conversions to other systems:

Call of Cthulhu (7th Edition)

Bow of the Whispering Boughs

  • Type: Mythos Artifact (Sentient, possibly linked to Shub-Niggurath)
  • Description: A living, growing bow of dark, gnarled wood that feels strangely warm to the touch. It hums with a sound like wind through leaves and the buzzing of a million insects. It requires no arrows, forming its own thorns of solidified, dark sap.
  • Game Mechanics:
    • Attunement: To attune to the bow, the Investigator must take it to a primordial wilderness and succeed in a Hard POW roll, suffering 1d4/1d8 Sanity loss as their mind is flooded with the raw, chaotic consciousness of the natural world.
    • Passive Effects: The wearer gains a bonus die on all Natural World, Listen, and Stealth rolls when in a natural environment. They can understand the “speech” of animals and plants, which may itself require Sanity rolls (0/1d2) if the information is alien or disturbing.
    • Primal Toxin: An enemy hit by one of the bow’s thorns must make a Hard CON roll. On a failure, they take an additional 1d6 damage and are overcome with a primal emotion (rage, terror, paranoia), suffering a penalty die on all INT and POW rolls for 1d10 minutes.
    • Song of Discord (Activate): By spending 4 Magic Points and 1d3 Sanity points, the user can strum the bowstring. All characters (Investigators and NPCs) within earshot must make a POW roll. Those who fail are overcome with paranoia and rage, immediately turning on their nearest companion for 1d4 rounds.
    • The Unending Hunt (Major Ritual): This requires an hour-long ritual, a successful Cthulhu Mythos roll, and costs 10 Magic Points, 1d10 Sanity points, and 1d4 temporary POW. Once performed on a target, for the next 24 hours, the Keeper will introduce constant, escalating threats from the natural world (flocks of birds, packs of feral dogs, swarms of insects, etc.) that relentlessly and unnaturally seek out and attack the target.

Blades in the Dark

The Heartwood Songbow

  • Item Type: Sentient Arcane Implement, Artifact
  • Load: 2
  • Description: A living bow of dark wood that seems to grow and shift in your hands. It is strung with a strand of solidified wind that hums a discordant, agitating tune. It needs no arrows, growing its own thorns of psychoactive venom.
  • Game Mechanics:
    • Special Ability (Voice of the Wilds): You are attuned to the primal spirit of nature. When you Command animals, Attune to the natural world, or Wreck a structure with overgrown plants, take +1d.
    • Thorn of Maddening Pollen: Once per score, you can fire a thorn that explodes in a cloud of psychoactive pollen. You can Create an Advantage like Overwhelmed by Phantom Terrors or Consumed by Primal Rage on a small group of enemies with 2 free invokes.
    • Song of Discord: When you are facing a group (or multiple groups) of enemies, you can spend 2 stress to unleash the Song of Discord. The enemies immediately erupt into violent infighting for the scene, forgetting about you unless you directly engage them. This is a great way to create a massive diversion.
    • The Unending Hunt (Long-Term Project): When you have a personal link to a target (a lock of hair, a drop of blood), you can start an 8-segment clock named “The Wilds Claim Them.” During downtime, you may spend one activity to tend to the bow. When you do, roll your Attune rating. On a 1-3, tick one segment; 4-5, two segments; 6, three segments; crit, five segments. When the clock is full, the target is gruesomely killed by wild animals or overgrown plants in a way that can’t be traced back to you.

Dungeons & Dragons (5th Edition)

Heartwood’s Lament Weapon (longbow), artifact (requires attunement by a character of chaotic or neutral alignment)

This bow appears to be grown from a single piece of living, dark green wood, with a bowstring of shimmering, solidified wind. It is sentient (Chaotic Neutral) and communicates through feelings of primal hunger, rage, and the joy of the hunt.

  • Magic Weapon: You gain a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this weapon. Its damage is poison.
  • Primal Ammunition: The bow requires no ammunition. It magically creates a thorn arrow when you draw the string. When you hit a creature with an arrow from this bow, the target must succeed on a DC 18 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned for 1 minute. A creature poisoned in this way is also affected by the confusion spell (it can repeat the saving throw against both effects at the end of each of its turns).
  • Voice of the Wild: You can cast speak with animals and speak with plants at will. You have advantage on Charisma (Intimidation) checks made against aberrations and constructs.
  • Wind Walker: You ignore difficult terrain caused by non-magical plants, and you have advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made in natural surroundings.
  • Spells: The bow has 8 charges. It regains 1d6 + 2 expended charges daily at dawn. You can expend charges to cast the following spells from it (spell save DC 18):
    • Thorn of Maddening Pollen (3 Charges): You fire an arrow at a point within the bow’s normal range. Each creature in a 20-foot-radius sphere centered on that point must make a DC 18 Constitution saving throw, taking 10d6 poison damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. A creature that fails its save is also affected by the confusion spell for 1 minute.
    • Song of Discord (5 Charges): You release a wave of discordant energy in a 60-foot radius. Each enemy creature in that area must succeed on a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw or be affected by the enemies abound spell for 1 minute.
  • The Unending Hunt: Once a month, you can perform a 10-minute ritual to mark a creature you have seen as prey. For the next 3 days, all beasts and monstrosities with an Intelligence of 5 or lower within 10 miles of the target are magically compelled to hunt and attack it on sight.
  • Curse: The bow is a sentient force of chaotic nature and seeks to destroy civilization. Each day you are attuned to it, you must succeed on a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw or be compelled by the bow to commit a significant act of sabotage against a nearby settlement or symbol of civilization (destroying a bridge, setting fire to a grain mill, inciting a riot, etc.).

Knave (2nd Edition)

The Growling Bow of the Wilds

  • Item Type: Bow
  • Slots: 3 (it is a major, bulky artifact that pulses with life)
  • Damage: 1d8 poison
  • Qualities:
    • Sentient: The bow has the mind of a primal, angry beast. It communicates in feelings of hunger, rage, and the desire to hunt.
    • Never-ending Quiver: The bow grows its own poisonous thorns to use as arrows. The user never runs out of ammunition.
    • Wilderness Walker: The user is perfectly silent in natural environments (cannot be surprised) and can move through thorns and thickets without being slowed or damaged.
  • Spells (Charges): The bow has 6 charges and regains 1d6 each dawn.
    • Maddening Thorn (1 charge): The next arrow you fire explodes on impact. The target and anyone within 15 feet must save vs. poison or become confused for 1d6 rounds, attacking the nearest creature (friend or foe).
    • Song of Chaos (2 charges): All enemies within earshot must immediately make a morale check. Those who fail are overcome with primal rage and will attack their nearest ally for 1d6 rounds.
    • The Great Hunt (all 6 charges): Choose one person you can see. For the next 24 hours, all non-sentient monsters and large predators in the region are drawn to the target’s location and will hunt them relentlessly. The GM should check for a wandering monster encounter for the target every hour.

Fate Core System

The Songbow of the Elder Boughs

  • Aspect: The Savage, Primal Will of the Forest
    • This is a powerful, sentient artifact Aspect. It can be invoked for a bonus (+2) or a reroll on actions involving hunting, intimidation, survival in the wild, or commanding beasts. It can be compelled by the GM to represent the bow’s chaotic, indiscriminate nature causing collateral damage, escalating a situation with uncontrollable rage, or alienating civilized allies with its primal influence.
  • Permissions: A character must have a High Concept that aligns with the bow’s nature (e.g., Avatar of the Unspoiled Wilds, Last of the Primeval Wardens). Acquiring it is a major milestone, likely involving a quest to awaken or appease it.
  • Stunts:
    • Voice of the Wild: Because I wield the Songbow of the Elder Boughs, I can speak to and command natural beasts and plants. I gain +2 to Overcome obstacles using Rapport or Provoke when dealing with animals, and +2 to Create an Advantage by shaping the natural environment (e.g., creating A Wall of Thorny Vines).
    • Thorn of Maddening Pollen: Twice per session, I can spend a Fate Point to fire a pollen-thorn at a target. Instead of dealing stress, I can attach the Situation Aspect Swarmed by Phantom Terrors to the target and all other enemies in their zone with one free invoke for anyone to use.
    • The Unending Hunt: Once per story, I can declare a single character as the Forest’s Prey. For the rest of the story, the GM is encouraged to use any and all natural elements (predatory beasts, sudden storms, falling trees, poisonous insects) as active, hostile forces specifically targeting this character. This does not cost a Fate Point, but it is a major narrative action that will have significant consequences.

Numenera & Cypher System

The Heartwood Lament

  • Level: 9
  • Form: A living bow of dark, gnarled wood, strung with a strand of solidified, humming wind. It appears to grow and shift slightly in the wielder’s hands.
  • Effect (Passive): The bow grows its own ammunition of toxic thorns. Attacks with the bow deal 6 points of poison damage. The wearer can speak with and understand the speech of non-sentient plants and animals. The wearer gains an asset on all tasks involving stealth and navigation in natural environments.
  • Effect (Active):
    • Thorn of Maddening Pollen (4 Intellect points): The next thorn fired explodes in a short-range area of effect upon impact. All creatures in the area take 6 points of Intellect damage (ignores Armor) as their minds are filled with primal chaos. Affected creatures must also make a Might defense roll (difficulty 5); on a failure, they lose their next turn, gibbering in confusion as they are beset by phantom insects and grasping vines.
    • Song of Discord (5 Intellect points): The user strums the bowstring, emitting a subsonic wave of chaotic energy in a long-range radius. All creatures designated as enemies by the user must make an Intellect defense roll (difficulty 6). On a failure, they are overcome with territorial rage and must attack the creature nearest to them (friend or foe) for one minute.
    • The Unending Hunt (6 Intellect points): The user marks a target they can see with an invisible, psychic scent. For the next 28 hours, the GM can make a GM Intrusion at any time (without awarding XP to the user) to have a powerful, hungry beast or pack of beasts appear and attack the target.
  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20 (check on each active use).
  • Quirk: The user begins to think in terms of predator and prey, becoming distrustful of civilization and machinery. They may be compelled to act on primal instincts.

Pathfinder (2nd Edition)

Heartwood’s Lament Item 20 Unique, Artifact, Bow, Invested, Plant, Poison, Primal

  • Usage held in 2 hands; Bulk 1
  • Sentience The bow is a sentient chaotic neutral item with a singular goal: to protect and expand the wilderness, even at the expense of civilization. It communicates through primal emotions and instincts.
  • Passive Benefits:
    • The bow is a +3 major striking longbow.
    • You are under the constant effects of speak with animals and speak with plants. You gain a +3 item bonus to Nature, Stealth, and Survival checks.
    • Primal Venom. The bow creates its own arrows of toxic thorns. Any creature hit by an arrow must succeed at a DC 44 Fortitude save or become poisoned 1 and slowed 1 for 1 minute. The stage of the poison cannot increase, but the duration is refreshed on a failed save.
  • Activate [two-actions] envision (poison, primal)
    • Frequency three times per day
    • Effect You fire an arrow that explodes in a cloud of psychoactive pollen in a 20-foot burst within the bow’s first range increment. Creatures in the area take 12d6 poison damage (DC 44 basic Fortitude save). Any creature that fails its save is also confused for 1 minute.
  • Activate [three-actions] auditory, emotion, primal
    • Frequency once per day
    • Effect You unleash a discordant wave of primal rage in a 60-foot emanation. Each enemy in the area must succeed at a DC 44 Will save or become controlled by the bow for 1 minute. While controlled, the creature is not friendly to you, but it must use its actions to attack the creature nearest to it, prioritizing its former allies.
  • Destruction The bow must be willingly plunged into the heart of a perfectly ordered, city-sized magical machine, an act which will destroy them both in a wave of chaotic, overgrown nature.

Savage Worlds (Adventure Edition)

The Songbow of the First Woods

  • Type: Legendary Artifact (Weapon)
  • Requirements: Legendary, Spirit d12+
  • Damage: Str+d10, AP 3
  • Weight: 6
  • Notes: This living, sentient bow is a force of nature. Its wielder becomes an avatar of the untamed wilds.
  • Features:
    • Voice of the Wild: The wearer has the Beast Master and Woodsman Edges. They can communicate with natural plants and animals as a free action.
    • Unerring Predator: The wearer gains a +2 bonus to all Athletics and Shooting rolls made with this bow. All Shooting attacks with this weapon are considered Called Shots without the standard -4 penalty.
    • Primal Venom: A creature Shaken by this bow’s damage suffers a -2 penalty to their Spirit roll to recover. A creature Wounded by this bow is Distracted and Vulnerable until the end of their next turn.
    • Powers (Arcane Device): The bow is a self-recharging Arcane Device with 30 Power Points. It grants the wearer access to the following powers:
      • Confusion (Trapping: a cloud of maddening pollen that causes hallucinations of grasping vines and biting insects).
      • Puppet (Trapping: a wave of primal rage that forces allies to attack each other over territory).
      • Summon Ally (Can only summon natural beasts like Wolves, Bears, or Swarms).
      • Entangle.
    • The Great Hunt (Major Power): Once per month, the wearer can perform a one-hour ritual to mark a target. For the next three days, the GM should check for a random encounter with hostile, predatory beasts every hour the target spends in the wilderness. These beasts will always prioritize attacking the marked target. This effect is a free action that costs 10 Power Points.

Shadowrun (6th Edition)

Silvanus Whisperwind Bow

  • Type: Ranged Weapon (Bow), Weapon Focus
  • Rating: 3
  • Availability: 14R
  • Cost: 45,000¥
  • Stats: ACC 7, DAM 6P, AP -2, MODE SS, AMMO 1(m)
  • Description: An elegantly crafted bow made of shimmering silverwood and composite materials. It features an internal smartlink and is astrally active, humming with the faint power of an air spirit.
  • Game Mechanics:
    • Weapon Focus: As a Weapon Focus, this bow adds its Rating (3) as a dice pool bonus to all Attack Tests made with it.
    • Wind’s Whisper (Quality): When an attack with this bow hits, you may gain 1 Edge to have the arrow magically guided by wind, adding +2 DV to the damage.
    • Zephyr’s Grace (Quality): The bow’s attunement to the wind grants you a +1 dice pool bonus on all Defense tests against ranged attacks.
    • Whirling Gale (Special Use): Once per scene, you may spend 2 Edge to make three separate attacks against one or more targets within range as a single Major Action.
    • Breeze’s Guidance (Focus Power): The bow’s spirit enhances your senses, granting you a +2 dice pool bonus to all Perception tests.

Starfinder

Zephyr’s Whisper Bow

  • Level 7
  • Price 7,000 credits
  • Type longbow, hybrid; Proficiency advanced melee
  • Damage 2d6 P; Critical —
  • Range 100 ft.; Capacity 1 arrow; Usage 1
  • Bulk 1; Special analog, quick reload, sensor (30 ft.)
  • Game Mechanics:
    • Elven Precision: You gain a +1 insight bonus to attack rolls made with this bow.
    • Wind’s Whisper: Once per turn when you hit with this bow, you can spend 1 Resolve Point as a swift action to have wind spirits guide the arrow. The attack deals an additional 2d6 piercing damage.
    • Zephyr’s Grace: You gain a +2 insight bonus to Reflex saves.
    • Whirling Gale (1/day): As a full action, you can make three attacks with this bow. Each attack is made at your full base attack bonus, taking a –4 penalty as normal for a full attack.
    • Breeze’s Guidance: The bow’s integrated magical sensors grant you a +4 insight bonus on all Perception checks.

Traveller (Mongoose 2nd Edition)

Whisperwind Bow (Elven Artifact)

  • Type: Ranged Weapon (Bow)
  • Tech Level: 13 (Represents alien/artifact technology)
  • Damage: 3d6+2
  • Range: 150m
  • Cost: Not for sale (Artifact)
  • Rounds: 1
  • Qualities: Accurate, Silent, Zero-G
  • Description: This appears to be a simple longbow of polished, unknown wood and silver alloy, but it is a piece of advanced technology. It requires no physical strength to draw, using a micro-gravitic system, and generates its own ammunition from ambient moisture.
  • Game Mechanics:
    • Elven Precision: The bow’s internal targeting system and gyroscopic stabilizers provide DM+2 on all attack rolls.
    • Wind’s Whisper: On any hit with an Effect of 4 or greater, the projectile releases a kinetic burst, dealing an additional 1d6 damage.
    • Zephyr’s Grace: The bow’s sensor suite provides early warnings, granting the wielder DM+1 on all Athletics (dodge) checks to evade harm.
    • Whirling Gale (1/day): The user can activate a rapid-fire mode. This allows them to make three attacks as a single significant action.
    • Breeze’s Guidance: The bow’s advanced optical and acoustic sensors grant the wielder DM+2 on all Recon checks.

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (4th Edition)

The Whisperwood Bow of Athel Loren

  • Type: Magical Longbow
  • Encumbrance: 1
  • Qualities: Accurate, Fine (+1), Magical, Silent, Elven-make.
  • Description: An exquisitely crafted longbow of pale, shimmering wood that hums softly in the wind. Faint Elven runes of wind and clarity are carved along its limbs. It is a treasure of the Asrai, rarely seen outside of Athel Loren.
  • Game Mechanics:
    • Elven Precision: The bow’s perfect balance and magical guidance are exceptional. You may add +2 SL to any successful Ranged (Bow) Test made with it, instead of the usual +1 SL from the Accurate quality.
    • Wind’s Whisper: Once per round when you hit with this bow, you may spend a Resolve point to have a wind spirit guide the arrow deeper. The hit inflicts an additional amount of damage equal to your Agility Bonus.
    • Zephyr’s Grace: The wielder feels the currents of battle before they strike. You gain a +10 bonus on all Dodge Tests.
    • Whirling Gale (1/day): As an Action, you may make a special Hard (–20) Ranged (Bow) Test. If successful, you do not hit a single target. Instead, you hit a number of different targets within range equal to your Agility Bonus, dealing normal damage to each.
    • Breeze’s Guidance: The bow attunes you to your surroundings. You gain a permanent +10 bonus to all Perception Tests.