Help Create My Campaign - Part one Forests

[Gilladian]

Forest of Runes is quite evocative. I'd more likely go with "forest of runestones". Maybe an ancient culture that dwelled here used rune-carved stone circles, open to the sky, as temples. Perhaps they used the stones as parts of a great artifact, to cast ritual spells of calling, binding or other great magic.

The stones still stand, but the runes are fading now, and the bindings they held are slipping loose, allowing strange and dangerous creatures to emerge from wherever into the mortal forests.

Maybe a few of the old protectors still linger in the woods, or younger folk who have bits of lore from the old days. Or whatever. You can create whatever you like with this... I may even steal bits of it for myself!

 

[chronoplasm]

Perhaps the trees are actually an ancient army of monsters? A druid cast a spell that transformed the monsters into trees and then carved runes into the trunks to bind them to the ground.

Perhaps the runestone circles were made to seal the gates that the army used to enter the world?
Perhaps something is trying to break through to wake up the army so that it can finish what it started?

 

[Noumenon]

It could make a good puzzle if the runes have a code to them and you're looking to find the tree holding the monster with the clue and not the bark dragon (I just made that up).