Oak Tree Island

The Acorn
It’s an acorn. Not like a regular acorn, a special acorn. It’s
the only acorn like it that this tree has made in a thousand
years, and it’s the only one it’ll make for another thousand.
Also, it’s the only way that any more trees like this will
grow. The folk of the tree have been waiting for it to finish
growing, building a sanctuary around it to encourage perfect
conditions for it to become the best little (really quite large
actually) acorn it can be. When the Acorn is done, the
sanctuary guards will take it far away and drop it into the
ocean, ready to grow into a tree of its own.

The Acorn
It’s an acorn. An extremely powerful artefact, in its own
way, but still a very large acorn found on Oak Tree Island.
It’s extremely easy to lose, and that would be a loss indeed.
When the Acorn is next to your skin, you feel a great surge
of power—more than power, surety, steadfastness, even
tranquillity. It’s almost like…being a tree yourself. Granted,
not everyone might seek out such an experience, but it
remains a strangely compelling one for those that do.
If a player character is carrying the Acorn, and has it against
their skin, they gain the following benefits:

• They have a +1 bonus to their AC, as their skin
  hardens and toughens like bark.
  
• They increase their Wisdom score by 1, as they gain an
  insight into the earth.
  
• They gain proficiency in the Nature skill.
  

These benefits remain for as long as the character has
the Acorn against their skin. Should they take it off, they
immediately lose these benefits.

Helicopter Seeds. Travelling between branches can be
a faff. Finding the next bridge or a way back to the trunk
can take time that you might not have. Helicopter seeds
allow a player character to act as though under the effects
of the levitate spell for one minute. After one minute has
elapsed, the magical floating effect of the seeds wears off.

Whip Slap! Sneak Attack! No matter how peaceful
a place may be, you need to keep an eye on your
surroundings in case someone takes unkindly to your
presence. On the tree, you’ll find that young branches
and roots can make a perfect weapon if used quickly
enough. And we all know being whipped in the face with
a branch is no fun! At the beginning of any encounter the
players may use an action to attempt a Whip Slap attack
against one creature within 10 ft., using their ranged
attack bonus. If successful, the creatures takes 1d4
bludgeoning damage and is stunned for one turn.

Tying your little boat up amongst the fishing fleets of the
Roots gives the first glimpse of this busy working port. All
the comings and goings of the folks living here can be a little
dizzying to start with, but once you get used to the constant
activity, the real vibrancy of the place shines through. Rows
of little homes, doors painted up bright and welcoming
vanish into the maze-like tunnels of the roots. Be careful
not to get lost in there, though! Flooding and dead ends
are a risk with the tree coming straight out of the water, so
navigating any of the less-used areas can be dangerous and
tricky, even for the best adventurers. Though, you never
know, it might be worth your while.
The shoreline is a mix of work and pleasure for the
inhabitants, with market stalls and store houses jostling
with fish and chip shops. Speaking of the locals, this tree
is teeming with woodland creatures, tipping their flat caps
and bonnets to each other, some dressed to nines, others
in the staples of work wear. Lots to see, do, and buy, but
keep an eye out for the darker said of this quaint little place.
Marauders and pick pockets wander the lanes looking to
make trouble, and the wild spiders and beetles aren’t much
fun to bump into either. These creepy crawlies are definitely
too big to put under a jar!

Lifts and ladders run up and down the trunk, taking goods
and people up into the canopy layers. This is the main
highway of the tree, but you might also find stores in a knot
hole if you’re lucky. And you might get attacked by ants if
you’re unlucky. Guess you’ll have to climb up to find which!

From below it may not look it, but the canopy is split in two,
and it’s not the easiest thing to travel around if you aren’t a
tree climber. The lower section is as full and bustling as the
roots, with much of the produce and goods that lined the
docks being winched up here to be sold, traded, and worked
with by the myriad of folk who make this their home.
Wherever you look, there are trade stalls, craftsfolk plying
their skills, and the like. Everyone wants to be your friend,
but this place is also a playground for anyone wanting to
cause mischief.
Keep an eye about where you walk, not just who you talk
with. You don’t want to fall to the ocean below! Bridges are
needed to get from place to place, and getting up to the next
upper level can be a mission in itself. Puzzling your way
through the sprawling market of the Lower Canopy and
getting passed the Rat King’s gangs can really ruin your day
if you aren’t careful about it.
However, making it into the Upper Canopy is well worth
it. Wide-open boulevards, dappled with just the perfect
amount of sun light through the leaves, beautifully kept
homes and calm, quiet walkways, the Upper Canopy is a
definite contrast. But just because it’s quiet doesn’t mean
it’s simple. This is place where everyone has secrets, and no
one wants to let you in on them. Outsiders aren’t welcome.
Long gone is the welcoming noise of the markets and docks.
Here you put a foot wrong, and you’ll have the various
toughs who run protection rackets on you in a second.
You better be ready for whatever is behind those twitching
curtains when you make your way up here. You may just
find some of those friends in the Lower Canopy weren’t all
that friendly.

If you can get away from all of the dangers and puzzles
below, you brave adventurers might just make it up into the
open sky. Miles above the sea, cradled in the branches of
the treetop is the Acorn Sanctuary. This beautiful glass and
wood structure seems to be growing out of the tree itself,
made from living branches, and housing not only the Acorn
but the boltholes of the various gangsters who believe they
run Oak Tree Island. This is their asylum: an ugly addition
of driftwood and stolen property stuck onto the side of the
Acorn Sanctuary like a boil. And you have to get through it,
and all that it holds, to get to the Acorn. Think you’re up for
the challenge?

You better keep an eye out on your way through the tree.
Even if you can keep out of the way of the bandits, you
could easily find a swarm of spiders coming your way or
something much more, well, gross. Don’t want to step in
something that might just want to eat you!

D10 Roll Random Encounter
1 1d4 giant spiders
2 1d10 gas spore fungi
3 2d8 + 2 bandits riding giant spiders
4 5d8 swarms of insects
5 1 ghost
6 2d8 + 2 bullywugs
7 1 will-o’-wisp
8 3d8 + 9 grey oozes
9 2d8 + 2 bandits
10 1 carrion crawler