Centuries since the Breaking, survivors still form communities, known as Havens, and invest their Hope in them. They invest their Hope in Survivors brave enough to travel the wilds and so enable them to fight back against the Decay, to hold back and even reverse its corrosive effects, and push them to great acts of heroism. Walking the land on the same paths and placing memorable Waymarkers can solidify the land against Decay, as can connecting communities and sharing stories with them. Memoria, carried by every Survivor on a journey can help them withstand the warping and loss of memories that if they were otherwise unprotected, they would suffer. Hope is all that stands between the Survivors and a world of entropy.
This is the setting for Broken Weave, a setting which the Survivors (as the Player Characters are known), “Survive, built community, and fight for hope in post-apocalyptic tragic fantasy world”. Published by Cubicle 7 Entertainment, it is designed to be compatible with Dungeon & Dragons, Fifth Edition and whilst it runs as a standalone, post-apocalyptic roleplaying setting, it could actually be mapped on the setting of the Game Master’s choice, so that the Survivors could be exploring the long decay remnants of a world that their players’ previous characters explored unaware of the disaster that was to come with the Breaking. However, there are some mechanical differences between Broken Weave and Dungeon & Dragons, Fifth Edition. These include Survivors being created via a Lifepath System, Lineages replacing Races, Feats being replaced by Talents and Inspiration by Hope, and a number of changes and additions to both the skills and the Toolkits that the Survivors have access to. In addition to spending Hit Dice to regain Hit Points as per normal in Dungeon & Dragons, Fifth Edition, but Broken Weave also offers another option which they can be spent. This varies between the different Classes.
Play begins with the creation of the Survivors’ community, their Haven. This is their base of operations, their home, and what they will be striving to protect and grow throughout a Broken Weave campaign. Consisting of the Founders’ Legacy, Location, Culture, Crises (current and past), and Finishing Touches, this can be created randomly using the given tables or designed. Either way, it is mean to be collaborative process between all of the players so that they have an investment in it. There are notes included alongside the process to suggest ways in which it can be twisted and changed to add detail and story possibilities. For example, this could be that Founders’ Legacy is not as pure the Survivors recall it to be or that the community could be home to a ‘Hard Luck Haven’, meaning that it starts with a higher level of Decay and increases the degree of challenge for both players and Survivors. Lastly, a Haven will have beginning values for Hope, Decay, Population, and Resources, based on the number of players. When a Haven suffers a crisis, its Resources will be first reduced and then its Population. This loss can be resisted, but if the Population is reduced to zero, the Haven is destroyed.
HAVEN: Flaming Lake
Our Founder Wanted To… Escape the monsters our families were becoming
LOCATION
Biome: Wetland Resource Abundance: Wood Resource Scarcity: Metal
Landmark: A vast lake of flammable liquid
CULTURE
We Value… Cleverness, subtlety, wit
Clothing and Appearance: We shave patterns into the sides or back of our hair
Traditions and Superstitions: We always save a bone for the beast and a drink for the lost
Leadership: Public votes are taken on all important matters, but the weight of your vote is reduced the more Decayed you are.
CRISES
Past Crises: The Haven could not safely expand any further. Some were exiled so the rest could live. A dangerous monster that was assembling a crude device or altar and had a weak point beneath its armour. Current Crisis: Every month a strange fog covers the Haven and all but one survivor falls unconscious for a seven days at a time.
Hope: 10
Decay: 1
Resources: 10
Population: 100
Survivor creation is also intended to be a collective process, essentially so that backgrounds and bonds can be created during the process. Each Survivor has a Lineage, each of which grants several advantages, but also a Curse and the way in which Decay affects you. Dwarves are beset by the Curse of Flame, Elves by the Curse of Earth, Halflings by the Curse of Water, Humans by the Curse of Wind, and The Forgotten by the Curse of Oblivion. Unlike the other four, The Forgotten are not a true Lineage, but are a mélange of the forgotten Lineages in the Broken World and vary greatly in appearance. In this way, they represent what might have been another species in the Dungeons & Dragons-style world from before the Breaking. The Lifepath for a Survivor determines his Family, Upbringing, Occupation, Defining Experience, Talent, Possessions, and Allies and Enemies.
Lineage: I Am A… Halfling
Parents: I Was Raised By… People of the same lineage
Influential Family Member: One Of My Family Members Is… Carrying on the family trade
Family Size: My Family Is… Small – Two members
Upbringing: My Upbringing Was… Dangerous. I always keep an eye out of trouble I Am… Use to fear
Occupation: I Am A… Scout I Am Skilled In… Stealth
Defining Experience: I… Cared for people when a plague spread through the community I Learned… Medicine
Life Lesson: You Learned… Some secrets of the Broken World others would rather ignore I Gained… +1 Intelligence
Starting Talent: Hurler
Possessions: Experience… I explored your Haven’s surroundings, foraging for supplies or mapping the area. I Gained… Seeker’s Tools, Herbalist’s Tools, or Prospector’s Tools
Allies and Enemies: I was raised with or taught by this ally and we have developed our skills together. My enemy believed it was my responsibility to care for them and that I failed
There are six Classes in Broken Weave. Harrowed tap into the corrupting force of Decay to protect others from its effects, but use its unnatural power to defend their Haven and protect their allies. Makers seek out old and new technology to use for the benefit of the Haven. Sages—scholars, chirugeons, and historians—harbour their knowledge and both use it to protect their Haven and to pass it on to others. Seekers walk the forgotten paths of the Broken World in search of lost Artefacts, so must guard against Decay even as they use the items they find to protect their Haven. Speakers are diplomats and storytellers who both build their Haven and travel to other communities strengthen the links between them as well as tell new histories and legends that can be remembered when memories have been lost. Wardens are protectors and guardians, equipped with ancestral arms and armour to defend themselves and the Haven. Attributes are assigned from a standard array and in the last steps, a player rolls for Dreams and Connections, as well as the Memoria that link the Survivor to his memories.
Each of the Lineages details what it was like before and after the Breaking, and then the nature of the Curse. This ranges between one and ten, and as it increases for a Survivor, it actually provides both bonuses and benefits. For example, the Halfling’s Curse of Water at a value of between four and seven, causes the sufferer’s skin to become translucent, malleable, and makes it difficult for him to interact with objects. He is at Disadvantage on Athletics Tests, but can use Acrobatics to initiate a Grapple attack and will be at Advantage for all Grapple Tests. Each of the Classes provides abilities at each and every Level and three subclasses. Of the latter, the Harrowed has Condemned, Harrowed, and Sovereign; the Maker has Alchemist, Artificer, and Smith; the Sage has Healer, Lorekeeper, and Veteran; the Seeker has Delver, Hunter, and Strider; the Speaker has Envoy, Preacher, and Whisperer; and the Warden has Avenger, Sentinel, and Warcaller. Whilst for the former, at Second, Sixth, Tenth, Fourteenth, and Eighteenth Levels, a Survivor gains a Talent, as well as the one gained during Survivor creation. Talents are not Feats. In fact, they are less powerful than the standard Feats of Dungeon & Dragons, Fifth Edition (though Broken Weave does allow the option for the players to select them as well). Many are specific to the Broken Weave setting, such as ‘Decay Resistance’, which grants Proficiency for Decay Saving Throws, ‘Decay Sense’, which grants Advantage on tests to determine if a creature is suffering from Decay and by how much, and ‘Built to Last’, which makes any Waymarkers constructed to mark a route more durable and resistant to Decay.
This is, of course, in addition to the actual Abilities for the Class. For example, at First Level, the Harrowed has ‘Delay the Inevitable’, ‘Embrace Entropy (1d10)’, and ‘Kindred Spirits’. ‘Embrace Entropy (1d10)’ lets the Harrowed harness the Decay to speed his recovery and heal Hit Points when he gains a point of Decay, ‘Delay the Inevitable’ grants Proficiency for Decay Saving Throws and slows the path of the Harrowed’s Lineage Curse, and ‘Kindred Spirits’ grants Advantage on Tests to determine the degree of Decay in an individual, creature, or an object, and even identify its source and location. In comparison, the Seeker begins with ‘Walk the Old Paths’ and ‘Lead the Way’. The latter means that the Survivor can ignore Difficult Terrain and grants Advantage on Tests related to the Outrider role in Journeys, whilst the former enable the Survivor to do the Place Waymarker Campcraft Activity and another Campcraft Activity, and search a previously placed Waymarker for the contents of a secret stash.
Decay is an ever-present threat in Broken Weave. Sources include arcane artefacts, corrupted lands, and monsters. In addition to the effect on a Lineage’s Curse, its effects can be memory loss. That though can be countered by a Memoria trinket, if the potential memory loss is associated with the trinket. Decay can also be reduced via certain Class features, along a particular route by completing the path as part of a journey, Moonstone can absorb Decay, placing and maintaining Waymarkers, and of course, rebuilding communities. Countering Decay is Hope. This is gained during Heaven creation, making a Noble Sacrifice, growing a Community, and overcoming a crisis. Hope is spent to gain an automatic success, to cheat death, to turn a successful attack into a Critical attack, recover from a condition, resist Decay, reroll a Test, take an extra Action, and to twist fate, forcing someone nearby to reroll a Saving Throw. It is lost if a Survivor dies in a manner that is not heroic, a crisis is failed, and when a Haven’s Decay increases.
Broken Weave includes detailed rules for journeys—no surprise given that the publisher developed them originally for The One Ring: Adventures Over The Edge Of The Wild and has already presented them for Dungeon & Dragons, Fifth Edition with Uncharted Journeys—and for the passage of time that encompass Campcraft, Downtime, and Seasonal Activities. There is a quite a range of activities here and they scale up in terms of scope and time. Thus, ‘Contemplate Scars’, ‘Gallows Humour’, ‘Listen’, ‘Record Knowledge’, and ‘Remember the Fallen’ all encourage good roleplaying during Campcraft times, whilst Downtime activities include ‘Build Defences’, ‘Craft Memoria’, ‘Establish Memoria’, ‘Maintain Waymarkers’, ‘Push Back Decay’, ‘Steer Decay’, and so on. Seasonal Activities include ‘Build a Home’, ‘Gather Survivors’, ‘Go to War’, and more. Then on top of that, the Survivors will ‘Invest in the Future’, which might be to ‘Retrain’, ‘Reinforce Waymarker’, ‘Start a Family’, or even ‘Retire’. Seasonal Activities end with a number of random events for the Survivors, the Haven, and Factions, which can be played as necessary, whether immediately or over the course of the next Season. Mechanically, a Haven is important as a source of resources, but as play progresses, they should become something more. That is, the means to pull the players and their Survivors into the world of Broken Weave, giving ways in which the Survivors can recover, improve themselves, and make the world a better place. This is enforced not just through the numerous types of activity that the Survivors can undertake in addition to adventuring, but also the abilities that Classes grant. For example, the Artificer subclass for the Maker gains ‘Mass Production’ to create blueprints and documentation that others can follow and build, either improving their defences or their standard of living, whilst ‘Enduring Lesson’ for the Sage means that his medicinal advice is noted down and standardised so that future Survivors begin play with an extra Hit Die!
In terms of an actual setting, Broken Weave provides a broad overview of its technology—as is, ruins, havens, daily life, and more. In terms of specific details, it describes the Haven of Guardian’s Lament, complete with the Founder’s Legacy, location, culture, influential people, crises past and present, and the immediate surrounding area. It is a lush oasis embraced within the arms of a fallen god amidst a barren desert. The legacy includes a shrine to the fallen god, which is also the Haven’s landmark, and the Haven has faced crises such as repelling invaders and dealing with an artefact that turned the inhabitants into cannibals. The artefact is buried in the ruins beneath the Haven. Currently, the Haven faces two crises. One are the voices heard from recently opened, but not yet explored ruins and warnings from refugees of a Titan on the march. Guardian’s Lament is designed as a both an example Haven and a starting Haven. Several others are also described, so that the Survivors can create paths to them and establish relations and so grow a wider community. Together this provides a framework for a campaign starter, but the Game Master could just as easily take the content and drop it in her own version of Broken Weave.
For the Game Master there is solid advice on running Broken Weave highlighting its themes of tragic fantasy and loss versus survival and hope. It also covers how to describe Decay, as well as advising using a location web to map the world and detailing several magical artefacts. These are powerful, but their use is not without consequences. For example, the Bowl of Plenty provides a ready source of food, but if eaten the food forces a Survivor to make a Saving Throw versus Decay and if they are widespread in a Haven, its Decay goes up season by season, whilst the Deathmarch Armour grants incredible Strength and protection, in the long term, it forces an automatic failed Death Save or Decay on the wear. The advantage of the armour is that the wearer would be able to face some of the toughest monsters in the Broken Weave. This applies to all of the magic items in Broken Weave and in many ways, the Survivors are really going to want to either avoid magical items or employ them sparingly.
Broken Weave also provides a nicely done bestiary including an NPCs, flora, fauna, monsters, and Titans. Of these, a monster is any creature overwhelmed by Decay, whilst Titans are colossal creatures that spread Decay and destruction wherever they go. Some believe them to be gods hollowed out by Decay and if ever a Haven stands in the path of Titan it is doomed. Broken Weave includes the means to adapt creatures from other Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition settings and sourcebooks, giving monsters the means of spreading Decay and Decay Transformations like ‘Blinking’ or ‘Volatile Blood’, as well as monsters specific to the setting. For example, the Deathstalk is ambush predator, a twisted sentient tree that shapes the paths in and around its forest grove to lead into the grove, whilst tempting its would be victims with the voices and memories harvested from its previous victims, using their decapitated heads as literal mouth pieces. The Shrieking Horror is an example of a monster inspired by Dungeons & Dragons, a hulking, multi-eyed, beaked beast with extra squawking beaks that run down its feathery chest and let out shrieks that can stun and deafen. It looks very much like a mutated Owl Bear!
Lastly, Titans get a section of their own. Their appearance nearby automatically triggers a crisis for a haven and the only response is to slay the beast, change its path, imprison it, or run. Every Titan is different and two are detailed in Broken Weave. Each is fully detailed in terms of its corruption and Decay, what is known about it and what is believed to be the best way to defeat it, and how it interacts with the world. The fulsome stats include Legendary actions in addition to the many traits and actions. The two Titans detailed are the Dreamer and the Rotbringer. The Decay from the Dreamer affects those that sleep and it can summon Dreamspawn from the those that sleep to appear near them, whilst the Rotbringer is a walking storm of Decay, spores, and sound. Both are incredibly tough and vile creatures and any group of players and their Survivors deserve all of the praise and glory they would get if they defeated one of these.
Physically, Broken Weave is well presented. The artwork is excellent, suitably a depicting world and its inhabitants and creatures changed by an apocalyptic event.
If there is an aspect of Broken Weave that is not as fully addressed as it could be, it is what Survivors are doing on adventures. The emphasis is rightly upon the Haven and protecting and improving it, on journeying between other Havens and building and enforcing communities through contact and confirmation of memories, all whilst withstanding the threat of Decay. What then of actual adventuring and exploring the world? If the world of the Broken Weave was a highly magical world before the Breaking as is suggested, what are the ruins leftover like and if there are dungeons, what they like in a world where Decay is prevalent? These are not questions addressed in Broken Weave, which is an oversight. It does not help that there is no adventure, ready-to-play, in the book. If there had, the question could have been answered there.
Lastly, it should be pointed out that magical apocalypses are not new to the hobby, though they are relatively rare. 2008’s Desolation from Greymalkin Designs explores a world just after the apocalypse, whilst the most obvious one, Earthdawn, is set centuries after the apocalyptic event. They are noticeably different in tone and outlook compared to Broken Weave though.
Broken Weave is a radically different setting for Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition. Its emphasis is on survival and community in a setting that is more environment and connections than a mapped-out world. It can be played as is, or it can be laid out over the ruins of an existing world, whether a pre-published or one of the Game Master’s own devising, enabling the players to roleplay Survivors potentially the secrets of the past and the secrets of past Player Characters. This gives it a high degree of flexibility as do the rules for Haven creation and improvement and monster modification, and that is in addition to the flexibility in terms of use of the actual setting material. Overall, Broken Weave is grim, yet heroically hopeful fantasy setting that emphasises togetherness and co-operation against the long-term effects of contemporary fears.
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