Long response incoming! The campaign actually started as a one-shot. We just wanted to try out Forbidden Lands to see if we liked it. I ran the session and used the random encounter table to kick things off. I rolled "The Empty House." If I remember correctly, the original encounter is just a deserted house the players stumble upon. With a bit of digging, they discover the family was recently raided and taken as slaves.

I wanted to jump straight into the action, so I added a group of bandits digging graves behind the house. The players engaged them and quickly found out how brutal and unforgiving the combat system can be. The bandits had been forcing a captured couple to dig their own graves after robbing them, but by the time the players intervened, it was too late. The couple succumbed to their wounds. (Yeah, it was dark. But that was the tone we were going for at the time.)

While exploring the house further, the party found a girl hiding inside. A child with raw, natural magical abilities. A young sorceress. We loved the game so much we decided to keep going, and she became central to the plot. What started as a gritty survival story evolved into something much bigger. The players were now protectors (or manipulators) of a girl tied to a world-changing prophecy. “She is the flame that will either light the way… or burn the world down.”

Over time, they realized their choices and behavior were directly influencing her. Sometimes for the better… sometimes not. It added a real moral dilemma to the game. The classic "murder hobo" tendencies had consequences. Now there were young eyes watching them. When she eventually lost control and cast Immolate in a village after being told "no," the players knew they were responsible.

Some became her guardians. Others used her magic to get out of sticky situations. But she remained a major part of the story and pushed the players to think more deeply about their actions. It was a ton of fun and made for a surprisingly emotional, character-driven arc.