The Gardens of Ynn
| The Gardens of Ynn | ||
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| Module published by Self published |
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| Rule System | D&D Retroclone | |
| Authors | Emmy Allen | |
| First Publication | 2018 | |
The Gardens of Ynn is an OSR setting, written by Emmy Allen. Mostly a list of randomly generated locations and encounters with a bit of lore to tie everything together. The players will get to explore an endless garden inspired by Alice and Narnia, among others. You know the deal: talking animals and plants, magical doorways, and maybe out of place lamp-posts.
 This article contains spoilers! You have been warned. |
The Gardens
The preferred way of entering the Gardens is to use chalk to draw the picture of a door on a wall, and to write "Ynn, by way of [the current location]" on the door.
The Gardens are an endless maze that regenerates itself when no one is looking. If the player leave the Gardens, they will find them entirely different the next time they come back. This is because the Gardens are artificial, and actually rely on a vast machinery hidden beneath the soil. In some places, the earth is cracked or otherwise warped, showing the cogs and pipes underneath.
For the exploration part, the GM has to track how deep into the Gardens the player are. When they enter, they start at a depth of 0. From here, they can chose to explore for a location deeper into the Gardens (adding 1 to their depth), or to go back. The depth is essentially a malus when rolling on the random tables, leading to more dramatic encounters.
The Idea of Thorns
The Idea of Thorns is a disease that has infected the Gardens and its inhabitants. It affects the mind instead of the body. When someone is infected by the Idea of Thorns, they will be prone to perform irrational actions such as planting roses or other thorny plants, destroying buildings, drawing or writing in the name of the Idea of Thorns, etc.
The Sidhes
Like Elves, but even more aliens, the Sidhes are the original creators and owners of the Gardens. Most of them are gone, and those that remain are infected by the Idea of Thorns, and have gone feral.
The Bestiary
The bestiary section of The Gardens of Ynn features a bunch of giant animals and insects, living chess sets, gardening golems, etc. Nothing too far from what you would expect, but has some highlights such as the carnivorous peacocks or bonsai turtles.
The Stranded Changeling
The Stranded Changeling is an additional class based on the Cleric. It replaces Cleric spellcasting by some abilities themed around survival in the Gardens. Each level grants a new Ynnian alteration.