Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Introduction 3
Session Structure 6
Equipment 19
1
Introduction
We Die in The Woods is a cooperative role playing game about a group of people trying to escape a
world that has been overtaken by the mysterious forces of nature. It uses old school,
renaissance-inspired mechanics to fuel the exploration of a modern setting where The Woods have
grown so large that they have taken the world back from humans. It is a game for 3-6 players,
including one Game Master (GM) who will run the world, the creatures in it, and the non-player
characters (NPCs). The other players will run individual characters, and will explore the world in a
desperate attempt to escape The Woods.
To the players:
The Woods are a terrible place, and they are all you have ever known. Tangled branches and reaching
trunks surround the disheveled remains of the human world. You hide in the shadow of nature.
Strange monsters lurk in the dark, and a protective incense is all that stands between you and their
nightly onslaught. You recoil at the smell and slip into your nightly oblivion. You aren’t sure if you
will wake up covered in mud, branches, or blood this time. You do not care, because there is no other
way to keep your mind whole. The Woods are a cold, relentless, and unforgiving place. One thought
holds fast in your mind:
You have to escape.
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Who Are You?
You are a person, or what’s left of one. From here, players and other humans are known as characters.
You have been surviving in The Woods for years, and you have never known anything but The Woods.
You don’t know many people because straying too far from your safehouse is incredibly dangerous.
Much to the dismay of anyone who may care about you, you have recently started hearing The Call.
This strange compulsion strikes those who live in The Woods like lightning, and all who feel it have a
desperate desire to find a way out of The Woods. No one who tries to escape has ever come back and
no one has ever resisted The Call. You will make it out, even if it kills you.
What are you trying to do?
You are trying to escape from The Woods. How you do that, and what you accomplish along the way,
is up to you. Some groups may only go on expeditions in order to find the resources they need to
attempt an escape. Others might try to help those they meet along the way in an effort to make The
Woods a better place before they go. As you explore The Woods, you will meet people, fight creatures,
and scavenge for resources. Warped objects infused with corruption will change who and what you
are, and you will drift away from your old life in pursuit of escape.
What kind of people will you meet?
Most of humanity is huddled in small towns, growing herbs to keep themselves safe from the madness
of nightfall. Those who have left these few safe havens have done so for a variety of reasons. Many of
them have heard The Call, doomed to attempt a seemingly impossible task. Some have become tired
of a life of fear, and struck out into The Woods to see what the rest of the world is like. Others have
become warped by corruption, and been forced from their homes out into The Woods.
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What kinds of creatures will you face?
The things that you find in The Woods are not monsters in the traditional sense. They are not beings
from another world, magical dragons, or demons from the abyss. They are animals, plants, and
humans that have become so twisted by corruption that they have become monstrous. These
creatures are as much a part of The Woods as the trees that surround you, and they are just as hostile
to humans like you.
What is Corruption?
Corruption is something that comes for all things living in The Woods. It is a strange force that
warps people, places, and things into something barely similar to their original form. Corrupted
creatures will hunt you, corrupted people will lose their minds, and corrupted objects will change you
in fundamental ways if you take them home.
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Session Structure
Sessions of We Die in The Woods follow a structure that helps to facilitate some of the broad
mechanics behind expeditions and resource management. The GM will draw three event cards, and
the players will go on an expedition. After the expedition is resolved, players vote to choose which
player will collect the card from this event, and that player will be given that card to keep (these may
be used later to influence other events). Players are encouraged to vote for the person that they think
did the most to help the group this expedition, but they may use any reasoning they like. The other
two events that are not selected are removed from the deck permanently. After the event card has
been resolved and awarded to a player, they must then Survive the Night.
Drawing Event Cards:
Before each session (or at the end of the previous session), the GM will draw three cards from a deck
of 54 cards. These cards serve as prompts. They do not tell the GM exactly what must happen, they
only serve as a set of ideas for them to work with to make the world feel full and alive. If the GM feels
that a specific card would be particularly relevant to the story, they may select the first of the three
event cards themselves. The other two must still be drawn randomly. Jokers cannot be selected in
this way. The events that the players do not select will be resolved without their input, sometimes to
disastrous consequences to those involved. At the beginning of the session, the GM will make the
players aware of the three events that are happening. Players will select one of these events to
interact with, and go on an expedition to resolve it. After the expedition is over, one player is awarded
the card from this expedition to keep. The players vote who should be awarded the influence card
with the GM serving as a tiebreaker. Note that these cards are permanently removed from the deck
once they are awarded, your event deck will get smaller as the game progresses.
Expeditions:
During expeditions players will work to resolve the event card they chose by going on an expedition of
some kind. They could be on an extended journey into the darkest parts of The Woods, or they could
make a short visit to a creepy, neighboring house. Expeditions will take up the bulk of a game
session, and GMs should feel free to run them however they want to. This is where players will make
friends, fight enemies, and explore. Before players choose which expedition they would like to go on,
the GM will tell them what the objective of that expedition is. To earn the influence card they will get
for a successful expedition, they must accomplish this objective. The players may ask the GM to
change the objective during the expedition if they find a reason to change their objective. The GM is
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encouraged to be flexible about changing the objective of an expedition, as player goals are likely to
change as situations develop. After the players complete (or fail) the objective of their expedition,
they will need to return to their safehouse before night falls.
Safehouse:
These locations have been reinforced against The Woods, and have a fireplace to burn the
hallucinatory incense that keeps them from being destroyed by the powers that roam the night. Any
attempt to survive outside of a carefully crafted safehouse will result in failure and death. The players
start with one safehouse for the whole group, but may find others as the game progresses. The players
and GM should work together at the beginning of the story to decide what their safehouse is like.
Surviving the Night:
After an event card is resolved, the players must return to their safehouse, and prepare to fend off the
creatures from The Woods that will assault their safehouse at night. The smoke from the incense they
use to fill their home at night will keep them from dying outright, but it's hallucinatory properties
make it almost impossible to remember what happened while under its influence. You must expend
one unit of herbs for each player in the safehouse when you Survive the Night.
Each night, the players roll to see what equipment is lost, destroyed, or consumed while under the
effects of the incense. Roll a d10 and see which item from your inventory corresponds to the result.
That item is lost. If there is no item in that slot, the player character instead suffers one wound,
adding a wound die and rolling their wound dice as normal (Page 13). If a character dies from this roll,
they are lost to The Woods along with all of their equipment. If a player does not have herbs to
expend to create hallucinatory incense, then they must repeat this process a second time. If a player is
not in their safehouse at nightfall, they must repeat this process ten times. The GM should always
give the players a reasonable opportunity to return to a safehouse by nightfall.
6
Random Event Generation:
The following tables randomly generate a seed for the events that the players will have to resolve.
They are loose descriptions of something that is happening, but they are intended to be interpreted
however the GM wants. Use them to light a creative spark; they are not a complete event on their
own. To generate events, draw three cards from the deck, and consult the following tables. If there
are not three cards left in the deck, the players must attempt to Escape The Woods as detailed in The
End of the Game. The same deck of cards is used throughout the entire story. This means that the
deck you are drawing from will become smaller as cards are handed out to players.
Hearts (People)
5 Someone needs help with something mundane, that is stranger than it seems.
7 Someone is trying to leave The Woods, and is leaving their safehouse behind.
7
Spades (Monsters)
8
Clubs (Places)
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Diamonds (Things)
7 Something has changed into something else, and it is making things difficult.
10 A cache of supplies has been discovered, but no one has gotten to it yet.
Jokers are shuffled back into the deck after they are drawn
Red Joker A friend gives you a gift, and asks for nothing in return.
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How to Play
Core Statistics:
The core statistics that determine what your character is best at are called Cunning, Powerful and
Strange. These are not combat stats--your ability to hurt things is determined by the tool you use to
hurt them. These statistics are used to modify d20 rolls made to solve various physical and social
problems that don’t involve ending the life of a living thing. These stats will be added or subtracted
from a d20 roll, and if the result is equal to or greater than the difficulty rating (DR) of the problem
you are trying to solve, then you achieve the intended result. These d20 rolls are called checks. In
most situations a check cannot be attempted more than once, even if a different character wants to
try. If it makes sense for one character to help another with a roll, they may assist them to grant them
advantage on the roll.
Cunning is used to be quick and shrewd, either with your body or your mind.
You could use Cunning to:
Sneak past a monstrous tree
Convince someone to give you the key to that old train car
Jump from branch to branch to avoid an angry mob of wildmen
Powerful is used to be strong and bold, either with your body or your mind.
You could use Powerful to:
Force open a locked container with a crowbar
Run faster than your friends, leaving them to be mauled by an angry mob of wildmen
Shout at someone until they give you what you want
Strange is used to be more like The Woods, and less like a person.
You could use Strange to:
Talk to a mob of wildmen, and convince them to howl at the moon with you
Smell the air, and know that there are some warped objects around
Convince someone never to talk to you again at all costs
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How to set the DR of a check:
It is the GM’s role to set the difficulty rating (DR) of a check. This can be difficult to guess in the
moment, so below is a list of example DRs. These numbers are intended as guidelines, not as rules. In
your version of The Woods, things may be different--in fact they should be. Everyone creates their
own experience, and it is up to you to decide how difficult peoples lives should be after they hear The
Call. Feel free to create a DR for checks that you feel fits your game, just make sure that everyone at
your table is having fun. If something seems easy enough where you feel a roll shouldn't be necessary,
or so difficult that it might as well be impossible, please tell your players instead of rolling.
13 Convincing someone you are their friend when you have just met them
15 Convincing a watcher owl to sit on your lap (it still hates you though)
16 Sneaking past a creature with eyes on the back of its head
25 Clearing a new path by chopping down the trees faster than they grow
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Creating a Character:
When you first create a character, you will have to allocate points to their three core stats to
determine what they start at. Their toughness will always be 4 at character creation, they will start
with 0 wound dice, 0 corruption dice, 0 inspiration cards, and 3 points of Hope.
Characters Starting Equipment:
Characters roll on the miscellaneous loot table five times (Page 39), and can pick a knife, a pipe, or a
bag of 5 rocks as a starting weapon.
Starting Stats:
Your character starts with 4 points to spend on stats. They all start at -1, and can be bought up at a 1
for 1 rate at character creation. Some example starting options are:
Toughness:
A character or creature's toughness represents their ability to survive physical harm. All characters
start with a base toughness of 4. If an attack deals damage equal to or greater than a target’s
toughness, they suffer a wound die.
Wound Dice:
As a character takes damage, they will add wound dice to their pool. Each wound die is a d6, and
when you take damage you will add a new die to the pool and then roll all of the wound dice that you
have. If any of these result in a 1 and are not altered with Hope or armor, your character dies.
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Hope:
Players start with three Hope, and have a maximum of three Hope. Hope does not come back on its
own, it can only be recovered by spending Influence cards. Using one influence card restores them to
maximum Hope. Players may spend Hope to influence rolls in the following ways:
- Before rolling a check, a player may spend Hope to give themselves advantage on the check.
- After rolling a damage roll, a player may spend Hope to reroll their damage dice.
- After rolling wound dice and rerolling any failures with their armor, a player may spend Hope
to reroll one of their failures. They may do this as many times per wound roll as they would
like.
- Before rolling a damage roll, a player may spend Hope to increase their die size by one type.
This changes all the dice rolled (For example, a player with advantage who would normally roll 2d4
and take the highest result would roll 2d6 and take the highest result instead). Dice cannot be raised
above a d12 in this way.
Advantage and Disadvantage:
When a character or creature is in a significantly beneficial position and is making a roll, the GM may
decide to grant them Advantage. This allows them to roll two dice, and take the highest of the two
results. Disadvantage is applied when a character is in a significantly detrimental position, and forces
them to roll two dice and take the lower of the two results. Advantage can affect both checks and
damage rolls. Players may assist each other to grant advantage on checks at the GMs discretion, but
may not assist with damage rolls. If you would have advantage and disadvantage at the same time they
cancel each other out.
Beginning combat:
When one of two parties decide to commit violence on the other, it is time to roll for initiative. Roll a
d20 for the party, adding the highest cunning score among them to the roll and compare this to a d20
roll for their adversary. If one group ambushes the other, they will have advantage on this roll. The
party with the highest roll goes first, choosing who in the group should act first, second, third, etc.
After one party has gone, the other party takes their turn in a similar way. After both parties have
taken their turn, a new round starts and initiative is rolled again to see who goes first in the new
round.
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Actions during combat:
Once combat has started, each player may make one action on their turn, and they may move. An
action is often an attack, but some mutations may allow you to use your action in other ways. You can
also use this time to perform other actions that would only take a couple of seconds such as opening a
door, searching for something you dropped, or reloading a firearm. Longer actions may take multiple
turns to complete, such as restarting a generator or hastily constructing a makeshift bridge.
Range:
Characters will end up fighting their opponents at a variety of distances. To keep this clear and
streamlined, all attacks are defined as happening at one of three ranges. Weapons will define what
range they are able to attack at, and monsters will attack at different ranges depending on the attack
they are using.
Close Range:
Anyone at close range is within arms reach of their target. Place models that are at close range so that
they are adjacent to each other.
Short Range:
Anyone at short range is near enough that you could get to them in a few seconds. Place models that
are at short range so that they are in the same location, but not adjacent to each other.
Long Range:
Anyone at long range is far away, only near enough to see. Place models that are at long range in
separate locations.
Movement during combat:
As players explore The Woods, they will explore a series of new locations. Rather than using a grid,
these locations are represented as pictures of the areas that they are exploring. Movement is handled
by moving character tokens between these locations. During combat, a character can move to an
adjacent location once during their turn. Characters may use their movement to move into close
range with another creature instead of moving to another location. This restricts the movement of
both parties, who cannot leave close range without the other being able to attack them once without
having to use an action. If multiple characters are in close range with a single target, they may all
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attack if the target attempts to leave close range. When creatures are prompted to make these attacks,
draw a card and resolve it as though it is the creature's turn before the movement is completed.
EXAMPLE: In the pictures above, character A is at close range with creature B. Creature C is at short
range from character D. If character A were to shoot out of the shed into the yard at creature C, they
would be attacking at long range.
Attacking:
When a character makes an attack, they do not roll to hit. They just roll the damage dice provided by
their weapon, and add any modifiers from mutations. The highest individual die result is compared to
the target's toughness. If it is less than the target’s toughness, nothing happens. If it is greater than
or equal to the targets toughness, it inflicts a single wound die. The target then rolls its total number
of wound dice (from this attack, and any others it has suffered previously). If any of them result in a 1,
the character dies. Armor provides you with a number of rerolls equal to its value, allowing you to
negate results of 1.
EXAMPLE: Martin is being attacked by a wolf. The wolf rolls its damage dice (1d6) and the dice
come up as a 4. This is greater than or equal to Martin’s toughness. Martin receives a wound die.
Because Martin already has 2 wound dice from previous fights, he rolls 3d6 (2 from earlier, plus 1 from
this attack). They result in two 1’s and a 5. Martin is staring death in the face, good thing he has an
armor value of 2! He uses both rerolls from his armor to reroll the 1’s, getting a 3 and a 5. Nothing
bad happens to Martin yet, but he had better do something about this wolf quickly!
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After combat ends, players must make breakage rolls for any equipment that they used during the
combat (Page 21).
Stealth:
When players are trying to sneak past a character or creature at short range, only the character that is
closest has to roll Cunning to sneak past them successfully. Any character that comes into close
range has to roll to sneak past, and characters at long range normally do not have to roll at all, they are
automatically successful in most situations.
Healing:
After a character survives the night and makes any necessary wound rolls, they reduce the wound dice
in their pool by one. Characters may spend one unit of herbs to remove an additional wound die at
this time only. This is the only time that players can heal naturally or through herbs.
Panacea:
Characters can use herbs to create a panacea to protect them against poisons, venoms, and diseases.
When a character chooses to create a panacea, they use up one unit of herbs and make one character
immune to the next monster or hazard effect that references poison, venom, or disease. This effect
lasts for one hour. Any character who is already under the effect of a poison, venom, or disease may
be given a panacea to end the effect immediately. If this is done during combat, it takes an action to
give a character a panacea. Panaceas cannot remove wound dice.
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Equipment
Inventory:
The Woods have a terrible effect on a person's memory. Things that aren’t actively thought about
tend to go missing. Sometimes they are found later, sometimes they are not, and sometimes they are
changed so completely that they could not be recognized even if you found them. What this means, is
that a person cannot hold more than ten items in their memory. Each slot can hold one thing, though
that individual thing may consist of several smaller items.
Supplies:
These represent the resources that you need to refill any item that has limited resources. They could
be more fuel for a lantern, a replacement handle for your axe, or batteries for night vision goggles.
You do not have to decide what the supplies are prior to their use, it is declared once the supplies are
used.
Ammunition:
Ammunition functions like supplies, but it is specifically for your weapons. Any weapon that uses
ammunition will need ammunition to fire. You cannot use supplies to reload weapons, or to provide
ammunition.
Herbs:
Herbs also function like supplies, but they are used for healing and creating the hallucinatory incense
you will need to keep your safehouse protected during the night.
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Weapons and Equipment
Melee Weapons
Name Damage Range Special Qualities
19
Ranged Weapons
Name Damage Range Special Qualities
Double Barrel
1d12 Close/Short Brutal, Ammo 2 (2)
Shotgun
20
Ammunition:
Weapons have two ammunition values. The first value is how many shots the weapon holds in it, the
second value in parenthesis is how many more rounds you get when you use a unit of ammunition.
For example, a revolver is listed as having 6 (3), so it holds 6 rounds inside it, and you get 3 more
rounds when you consume a unit of ammunition. Rounds for a specific weapon that are not loaded
into it are listed in a separate inventory slot from the weapon and any unspecified ammunition.
Armor:
Players may find or fashion their own armor to try to stay alive. Each level of armor allows a player to
reroll one failed die on a wound roll. Players may find armor already made that has a level from 1 to 4.
Players may use supplies to fashion their own armor, but this armor will always be level 1. When
armor is used to reroll a wound roll, its level is reduced by 1 temporarily, but can be repaired with
supplies. Every time supplies are used to repair armor increases the armor’s level by 1, to a maximum
of its original value. Only one piece of armor may be used for a wound roll, multiple pieces of armor
may not be combined.
Weapons Breakage and Repair:
After an encounter where weapons or tools are used, players must roll d6 to determine if any of them
are damaged. On a result of 1, that piece of equipment is now damaged. Whenever a damaged item is
used a player must roll a d6, and on a result of 1 that item is destroyed and is never usable again.
When a player is at their safehouse, they may expend supplies to repair a piece of equipment so that it
no longer is damaged.
Other Items:
There are many things you might find in your travels through The Woods, and it would be pointless to
try to make an exhaustive list of all of these items. Just know that anything you might carry with you
will take up a space in your inventory, and anything that might break or be used up will require a
Breakage roll after it has been used for a while. Items that are consumable in some way, like torches
or a flashlight, will need supplies to refill them after they have been used for an expedition.
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A Note to the GM:
We Die in The Woods is a game about carefully choosing what items to take with you, not a game about
scarcity. While they players may not always have exactly the item that they want with them, it is not
fun or interesting to be looking at an empty inventory. Give the players a lot of chances to pick up
things, even if they aren’t terribly useful things. You should make sure that when players Survive the
Night, they usually have a full inventory rather than a half empty one. They may be low on
ammunition, or short on supplies, but if an average night leaves them with filling their pockets with
sand then you have not given them enough to work with.
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Character Improvement
Mutations:
Characters may find corrupted items as they explore The Woods. These items have a profound effect
on a character when they are kept with them at night, warping their mind and body. While many
people would shy away from something so dangerous, those who have heard The Call know that they
need every edge they can get. When you successfully bring a warped object back to your safehouse
and Survive the Night without losing it, you gain one point of corruption and select a positive
mutation. You then roll a number of d6 equal to your total corruption and if any of them result in a 1,
you have to select a negative mutation along with the already chosen positive mutation. Warped
objects are consumed when they are used in this way.
Positive Mutations: (Any marked with a * may be taken multiple times)
Enemies that harm you at close range suffer a 1d4 damage attack from your caustic
Bad Blood
blood.
Claws Your unarmed attacks deal 1d6 damage and do not have disadvantage.
Doctor Once per day you may spend one unit of supplies to heal a wound die from a character.
Any time you make a close attack, you may make an additional bite attack that deals
Fanged
1d4 damage.
Night Eyes You can see in the dark without need for light of any kind.
People tend to trust you. Pass a DR12 Cunning test to have a character treat you like a
Silver Tongue close friend or family member when you ask them for something. If you fail, they see
you for what you are and treat you accordingly.
Siren’s Song You may make a DR10 Strange test to put a group of 1-3 people to sleep for one hour.
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You may spend 1 Hope to perform a feat of strength that borders on superhuman.
Choose one of the following:
Strength -You automatically succeed on a Powerful check where physical strength is involved as
Beyond long as it is DR 15 or less.
Measure -You gain a +6 on a Powerful check where physical strength is involved.
-You roll an extra 1d12 damage on a close range attack. Make a breakage check for the
weapon used immediately.
Strong Arm Any weapon with an intended range of close can be thrown at short range.
You may feed on the corpse of a creature and remove one wound die from your
Use Every
character. Anyone who sees this may find it grotesque. This takes at least 5 minutes,
Piece
and each corpse is used up completely.
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Negative Mutations: (Any marked with a * may be taken multiple times)
*Bland Reduce your Strange modifier by 2. This can reduce your modifier to a negative number.
You aren’t winning a footrace any time soon. Any time you try to outrun something, you
Bum Leg
always fail.
Reduce your Cunning modifier by 2. This can reduce your modifier to a negative
*Dim
number.
One of your equipment slots is filled with a small useless item of your choice. If this
*Keepsake item is lost to a Survive the Night roll, you lose one Hope and immediately find a new
keepsake to fill the void.
Reduce your Powerful modifier by 2. This can reduce your modifier to a negative
number.
*Meek
Moon Sick - Roll an extra die for survive the night rolls. If the same result comes up
twice, lose that item and one Hope.
Roll an extra die for survive the night rolls. If the same result comes up twice, lose that
Moon Sick
item and one Hope.
You make annoying sounds at inopportune times. You might sing to yourself, emit a
Nervous Tick low droning sound, or bark occasionally. No matter your tick, it makes hiding from
things that can hear all but impossible.
*Open Sores Whenever you roll wound dice you roll one extra die.
You become a vicious thing once blood is spilled. If you or another creature is injured
Rabid
while you fight, you will always fight them to the death.
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Ending The Game
Eventually the players will decide to make an attempt at escaping The Woods on their own, or they
will be forced to because they only have the two jokers left in their event deck. At this point, the
players choose to spend their influence cards to change the narrative of what happens to themselves,
their friends, and everyone they have met along the way. The players will not know for sure what has
happened to their characters, they will only know the stories that are told by those that they left
behind.
The players take turns spending influence cards by going around in a circle and choosing one of the
options from the influence list. A choice that one player makes can add to what another player chose,
but it cannot contradict or negate it. If it is a player's turn to choose from the influence list but they
are out of cards, they must choose one of the (-) options. The number of influence cards required for a
choice is written in parenthesis before a description of what it allows you to do. If you do not have the
number of influence cards required for an option then you must choose another option. When every
player has spent all of their influence cards the game ends, and your characters are gone from The
Woods.
Influence List:
(5) Your character sends a letter back from Beyond The Woods telling people what it is like there.
People may or may not believe that it is real, or that it is from your character.
(3) Describe what happens to a location. If it is destroyed, other players may spend (1) influence card
to save individual characters from the disaster.
(2) Tell everyone about something good that happened to a character after you left, and how you
helped make it happen.
(2) A
memorial is left to your character, describe who placed it there and what it looks like.
(1) Something terrible happens to one of your enemies, describe what it is and if it was your fault.
(1) Something is named after you. What is it, who named it after you, and why?
(1) A new type of warped object starts being found in The Woods, what does it look like?
(1) Choose someone you know, they will not hear The Call until they are very old.
(1) A story about your character is told for years in The Woods, what is the story?
(-) The GM chooses someone you know, describe how they die.
(-) T
he GM chooses a place you liked to visit, describe how it is destroyed.
(-) The GM chooses someone you know, what hateful story do they tell about you?
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Red’s Bestiary
Hello friends and countrymen! My name is Red, and someone who didn’t want their poor kid to die paid me a
lot of bullets to write them a book about all the nasty things that live out in The Woods. It is truly tragic that
their little boy has heard The Call, and I will make sure to do my absolute best to write a book that will tell
them every single detail I can possibly remember about how to kill these nasties. I just want to make sure that
you know though, I’m not a psychic, nor am I a biologist or a rocket surgeon. I may have made some mistakes
here, so don’t come crying to me if it turns out something works a little different than what I wrote down here.
This is my guide, feel free to write your own if your experience is a little different.
How damaging creatures works:
Creatures have wounds, which represent the number of times a player can hurt them before they die.
Creatures do not suffer from wound dice in the way that players do, when damage surpasses their
toughness they simply take a wound. When they have suffered damage a number of times equal to
their wounds, they are simply dead.
How creatures attack:
Creatures have a set of abilities which they use at random. Which ability a creature uses is out of the
GMs control, and many abilities will even specify which person a creature attacks. This is not by
accident. The Woods are a cruel place, and it is out of the GMs hands if several creatures decide to
gang up on one hapless explorer. When it is the creature's turn to act, you draw a card from the event
deck for each individual creature. These cards will determine the actions of the creature according to
their bestiary entry. After the creatures have taken their actions, these cards are shuffled back into
the deck. The same deck of cards is used for both events and creatures. Cards used for creatures
attacks are always shuffled back in after combat is over, or when there are no cards left for creatures
to draw. If a creature without a joker action draws a joker, they act as though they had drawn a Club.
Threat:
Threat is a measure of how likely something is to kill you. There are four levels of threat, each more
deadly than the last: Annoyance, dangerous, murderous, and lethal.
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Name: Wild Man
Threat: Annoyance
Toughness: 4
Wounds: 1
Actions
On Red Card - Throw Stone [1d4]: Move to short range and throw stone for 1d4 damage at the target
that attacked most recently.
On Clubs - Club [1d6]: Move to close range and hit with a club for 1d6 damage at the target that dealt
damage most recently.
On Spades - Howl: All enemies in short range must pass a DR10 Strange check or have disadvantage
on their next attack.
Description: These mud covered savages used to be human, once. They probably lost their minds when their
safehouse ran out of incense, but maybe they just gave up? Either way, these howling naked lunatics are better
off dead.
Name: Watcher Owl
Threat: Annoyance
Toughness: 2
Wounds: 1
Actions
On Red Card - Screech [ - ]:
Let out a horrible hooting screech that gives the nearest enemy
disadvantage on their next damage roll.
On Black Card - Evil Eye [ - ]:
Lock eyes with the enemy that has attacked the least during this fight.
Any attacks against them have advantage. Draw no more cards for this
watcher owl, instead continue the effect of Evil Eye against the same
target.
Description: They call these horrific little creatures “owls” because they have
feathers and can turn their head all the way around, but the reality is that
they’re more of a winged rat. They’ll follow you around and make your life
hell, so it’s worth taking the time to hit them with something. The good news is
that they can’t really fly, they just skitter around from tree to tree. They aren’t
that hard to catch if you aren’t busy with something else bigger than them.
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Name: Wolves
Threat: Dangerous
Toughness: 3
Wounds: 1
Actions
On Red Card - Pack Tactics [1d6]: Move to the closest enemy and bite it for 1d6 damage. This attack
has advantage if there is another wolf at close range from the target.
On Black Card - Finish the Weak [1d6]: Move to the most damaged enemy and bite it for 1d6 damage.
Description: They hunt in packs, and they’ll pick off the weakest of you before turning on the rest. Aren’t they
just beautiful?
Name: Bloated Shambler
Threat: Dangerous
Toughness: 3
Wounds: 1
Actions
SPECIAL: When it dies, make a 1d8 damage attack on everything at close range (this will hit allies and
enemies). Before this creature has seen enemies, it will lie on the ground looking like a dead body,
Cunning (DR 10) to see it is not a normal corpse.
On Red Card - Slap [1d4]: Move and attack the closest enemy for 1d4 damage.
On Black Card - Spew Bile [1d6]: The bloated shambler lets out a horrendous stream of corrosive
vomit, dealing 1d6 damage to the least damaged enemy in short range. The bloated shambler then
makes a 1d4 damage attack against itself.
Description: Human corpses full of animated fungus and explosive gas, nasty business. I’d keep my distance if
I were you, they’re liable to pop if you hit them too hard. They’re slow, so just stay back and put a bullet in
them if you have one to spare.
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Name: Lunatic
Threat: Dangerous
Toughness: 4
Wounds: 2
Actions
On Diamonds - Call the Hunt [ - ]:
The Lunatic howels for its friends. Roll a d6,
and on a result of 6 another Lunatic joins the
fight at the beginning of the next turn.
On Other Cards - Claw [1d6]: The Lunatic
moves into close range with the nearest
enemy and attacks for 1d6 damage.
Description: These howling wildmen have been
mutated by corruption to the point that they’re
no longer human. Coming from me that might seem crazy, but that just means you haven’t met one of these
loons yet. They’re covered in some combination of fur and claws, and they’ll take a chunk out of you if you’re
not too careful. The good news is that they’re not smart enough to use guns anymore. The bad news is that
they don’t need them, and they’ve got friends.
Name: Faceless Shrieker
Threat: Dangerous
Toughness: 3
Wounds: 1
Actions
On Red Card - Scream for Blood [1d10]: Let out a shriek that literally boils your blood. Anyone within
close or short range is attacked for 1d10 damage.
On Black Card - Shamble Away: Move out of close range from any enemies. If the Shrieker is killed
during an attack this movement provoked, any nearby shriekers immediately use their Scream for
Blood attack.
Description: Well these things are an awful mess. I’m not sure if they really want to hurt anyone, but that
doesn’t make them safe to be around. They’re like if an emaciated person started turning back into a fetus
from the top down. Their faces aren’t really formed except for their mouths, and all they do is scream their
blood boiling scream. That isn’t a creative metaphor either, I’ve seen people’s veils pop with steaming gouts of
arterial fluid. Just shoot them from far away, and shove some wax in your ears while you do it.
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Name: Cave Crab
Threat: Murderous
Toughness: 5
Wounds: 1
Actions
SPECIAL: Waits until the 2nd round of combat to attack if it has not been spotted. Hides near
ceilings or in water, Cunning (DR 12) to notice.
On Red Card - Paralyzing Bite [1d4]: Bite the closest enemy for 1d4 damage, they must pass a Powerful
(DR 10) check or have disadvantage on their next attack. If they were bitten by a Cave Crab last turn,
they instead have to make a Powerful (DR 12) check or go unconscious for 1 minute.
On Black Card - Enveloping Tentacles [ - ]: Attempt to envelop the nearest enemy in tentacles. They
must make a powerful (DR 11) check or be completely restrained and unable to move or attack. Once
a character is enveloped in tentacles, any further black cards will cause the Cave Crab to use their
joker action.
On Joker [1d10]: Force a tentacle down the closest target's throat attempting to impregnate them with
1001 eggs, dealing 1d10 damage. If the target is restrained by a cave crab this attack has advantage. If
the target dies from this attack, 1d20 of the eggs hatch into cave crabs 48 hours later.
Description: These awful little things hide in caves, tunnels, and other dark damp places. They’re ambush
predators, so you don’t have to worry about them much if you aren’t on your own. They like to hide near other
dangerous stuff though, so keep and eye out so they don’t jump you while you’re busy. Oh, and did I mention
that they have poisonous tentacles and like to lay eggs in corpses?
Name: Maw Hulk
Threat: Murderous
Toughness: 6
Wounds: 3
Actions
On Red Card - Rending Jaws [1d12]: If the maw hulk is adjacent to an enemy, he attempts to swallow
them whole. The target must pass a (DR 14) Powerful check or be attacked for 1d12 damage. If the
maw hulk is not adjacent to an enemy, it uses its Claws attack instead.
On Black Card - Claws [1d8]: The maw hulk moves towards the closest enemy and attacks for 1d10
damage with its horrible claws. If it did not have to move to make this attack, it has advantage.
Description: Those hulking hairy brutes are a fine kind of problem. It’s bad enough having a ten foot tall
gorilla thing coming after you, but having it open up with teeth from its neck to its taint is just not a good time.
They’ll swallow you whole if they get the chance, so don’t give them the chance if you like being alive.
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Name: Lashing Tree
Threat: Lethal
Toughness: 7
Wounds: 5
Actions
SPECIAL: The lashing tree draws two cards
and takes two actions on each of its turns.
The lashing tree does not take damage from
guns or bows. The lashing tree cannot
move.
On Clubs - Flail [1d6]: The lashing tree
swings its branches wildly, hitting anyone at
close or short range dealing 1d6 damage.
On Spades - Burial [1d10]: Roots try to drag
the furthest enemy from the tree
underground, dealing 1d10 damage. If the
target is killed, they and all of their
possessions are buried 10ft underground.
On Diamonds - Spore Burst [ - ]: Spores float
out from the tree, making the world go hazy
before your eyes. All enemies within short
or close range must pass a Powerful (DR 13)
check or have disadvantage on their next
attack.
On Hearts - Consume [1d8]: The lashing tree takes a bit out of the nearest target, dealing 1d8 damage.
If this damage causes a wound, the lashing tree heals one of its own wounds.
Description: While all trees in The Woods seem to be malevolent, these mean bastards take it to a whole new
level. They want our blood, and they will take it themselves with lashing branches and snaking vines. They’ll
swallow a person whole, and I swear they’ll smile while they do it. Watch out for trees with mouths, they’ll be
the end of you. Oh, did I mention that some of these things like to leave corpses hanging from their branches?
Sick sense of humor, these trees.
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Red’s Guide to Hazards and Traps
Okay, so I know it’s bad enough that there are horrible creatures living in The Woods that want to kill and eat
you (hopefully in that order). I wouldn’t be writing a real survival guide if I didn’t talk about all the other stuff
that can make you die too, so here it is. Don’t think this is every possible thing out there that might put an end
to you, this is just everything that I can think of that I’ve seen kill someone.
Name: Pit Trap
Effect: The first character or creature to walk over a pit trap must make a Cunning (DR 8) roll to
avoid falling in and taking 1d8 damage. If they do fall in, they must make a Powerful (DR 10) roll in
order to climb out of the pit (if they survive the fall). After the trap has been sprung, no check is
needed to see the trap.
Description: You’ll see lunatics or wild men make traps sometimes, and these are pretty common. They’re
not usually that well hidden, but they’re often used to start an ambush. If you find one, keep your eyes open for
someone sneaking up on you.
Name: Crawling Moss
Effect: Grows at a rate of 1 inch per minute when exposed to light. Any surface covered with the
moss deals 1d4 damage if it touches bare skin. Will survive bottled in a glass container for up to 1
week, but will eat through any metals, wood, or plastics.
Description: This stuff isn’t so bad, as long as you don’t mind the dark. Expose it to light and it’ll grow like
crazy. It’ll cover doors, windows, floors, and even grow itself stretched between trees. I’ve seen entire roads get
blocked off by this stuff, stretched across like spiderwebs because some idiot dropped his flashlight.
Name: Snare Trap
Effect: A character or creature walking over a snare trap must make a Cunning (DR 11) check or be
pulled into the air by their ankle. A character who attempts to fight before they have been cut down
has disadvantage on all attacks or checks, and cannot move. When a character is cut free, either they
or the character who is at close range must make a Powerful (DR 10) check or they fall and take 1d6
damage.
Description: Alright alright, I’ll admit that most of these still lying around near here are mine. There aren’t a
lot of good ways to catch prey without using up anything too valuable.
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Name: Land Mines
Effect: A character who moves within an area with land mines must make a Cunning 8 check or
suffer 1d10 damage. Creatures who move through an area with land mines automatically suffer 1d10
damage.
Description: I think that years and years ago some soldiers tried to fight The Woods. Obviously they didn’t
win, but they left some things behind. Most things they left were pretty useful, I like my guns quite a bit. The
bombs they left lying around in the dirt are less useful, but if you can bait something into them they still serve a
purpose.
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Tables for Random Generation
NPC Physical Trait Table
3 Third Eye
5 Lazy eye
7 Extremely dirty
8 Extra fingers
9 Horrible breath
17 In a wheelchair
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NPC Extreme Physical Trait Table
1 Is sometimes transparent
2 Prehensile tail
5 Tusks
6 Covered in fur
7 Fox head
9 Antennae
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NPC Clothing and Accessories
2 Spiked collar
3 Tooth necklace
4 Face paint
5 Unusual jewelry
9 Military uniform
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NPC Personality Traits
7 They think they have terrible luck, but the opposite seems to be true
13 Has the worst luck of anyone you have ever met
15 Finds you small keepsakes, and expects you to keep them
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Miscellaneous Loot Table
1 A personal keepsake
2 A tree branch
5 A burlap sack
6 A lighter
7 Ammo
8 Ammo
9 Ammo
10 Herbs
11 Herbs
12 Herbs
13 Herbs
14 Supplies
15 Supplies
16 Supplies
19 A knife
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Quality Loot Table
5 Ammo
6 Ammo
7 Ammo
8 Ammo
9 Supplies
10 Supplies
11 Supplies
12 Supplies
13 Herbs
14 Herbs
15 Herbs
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Weapons Loot Table
2 Supplies
3 Supplies
4 Ammo
5 Ammo
6 Ammo
7 Ammo
8 Ammo
9 Ammo
10 Herbs
11 Herbs
12 Shovel
14 Pickaxe
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Warped Loot Table - All of these objects are warped objects
4 A ring that makes your head hurt when you look at it
7 A glass bottle that never gets dirty and won’t hold liquid
18 A polaroid camera that blurs the photos of anything but trees
20 A printed shirt where you cannot remember what is written on it after you see it
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About the Authors
We Die in The Woods is a game by Noah Meldrum & Kap Rosenberg. Edited by Brittany Wheeler.
Noah grew up in The Woods, and spends most of his time writing RPGs that he plays with squirrels
and wildmen.
Kap is a part-time illustrator and a full time Nerd who spends his late nights chasing cryptids and
studying the hidden language of flowers.
Brittany is looking forward to the day the aliens finally come to take her from The Woods; until then,
she moonlights as a space wizard.
You can follow the further development of the game on our Discord server.
https://discord.gg/D8DwsQrPmz
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