Small communities eke out a living across the shattered remnants of the Broken World. These isolated Havens must adapt to their surroundings if they are to survive. Some hunker inside ancient ruins or shadowed valleys, while others live in places many would consider suicidal, such as atop a floating island, or within the belly of a dead god. No two Havens are alike. The only unifying feature is its peoples’ hope for a better life.

New Havens are often formed from the ashes of a collapsed or destroyed Haven, or when a Haven becomes overcrowded and its people make the difficult choice to expel some of its own. When the latter happens, generous Havens send their most capable into the wastes, equipped so they have the best chance at survival. More pragmatic Havens or those unable to spare the resources exile the disgraced and the dying instead. Lone wanderers and small groups sometimes establish new Havens because of a rift with the leadership of their previous Haven or the discovery of valuable resources, but these reasons must be extremely compelling to justify the risk.

A Haven’s early days are its most vulnerable. They are isolated from all allies, plagued by doubt and indecision, and easy prey for the Decayed Monsters that stalk the lands. If the Haven survives its early years, the community becomes familiar with their sliver of the Broken World. They learn which creatures they can live alongside, nearby Monsters they must watch for, and which Titans tread near their new home. At their best, they may even reach out to other Havens, establishing tenuous threads of commerce and communication over the shifting, fraught distances and giving permanence to their place in the world.

But the danger never truly passes, and sudden attacks or natural disasters can topple even the most wellprepared communities. Most Havens last no more than a few generations. The remnants of countless lost Havens are found throughout the Broken World, little more than another ruin in a world filled with them.

Founding A Haven

Your Haven is a vital part of your Broken Weave campaign. It will influence the type of Survivors you create, and will shape the challenges you will face. Protecting your Haven will be the driving force behind many of your adventures. It gives your Survivor a place for their friends, family, and even rivals, and is a defining aspect of their goals and motivations.

You will create your Haven as a group. The GM will lead the process, but all players provide input and ideas. As you progress through Haven Creation, take turns rolling or choosing results from the various tables. Discuss the results as a group, look for connections between results, and add your own ideas. By the end of Haven creation, everyone should have contributed at least a couple of ideas to the Haven. Creating your Haven together means that everyone is invested in the Haven and excited to move to Survivor Creation to see how the Haven will influence the Survivor they make. Haven creation has the following steps:

1. The Founders’ Legacy: Establish the origins of your Haven.

2. Location: Where your Haven is situated, what resources are available, and what landmark it features.

3. Culture: Parts of your Haven’s culture that make it unique from others.

4. Crises: What problems your Haven has faced in the past and is currently facing.

5. Finishing Touches: Decide your Haven’s name, and record the starting values for Decay, Hope, Population, and Resources.

This chapter can also be used to generate other Havens, be they friendly, neutral, or hostile.

|2! Haven Name |
| Hope | Decay |
| 0 | 0 |

| Location | Blank |
| Population | 0 |
| Values | Blank |
| Leadership | Blank |
| Traditions and Superstitions | Blank |
| Clothing and Appearance | Blank |

|2! In the Haven |
| Important People | Blank |
| Buildings and Locations | Blank |

|2! The Survivors |
| Retired | Blank |
| Fallen | Blank |

|2! Beyond the Haven |
| Other Havens | Blank |
| Other Survivors | Blank |
| Ruins and Forgotten Places | Blank |
| Landmarks | Blank |
| Waymarkers | Blank |

|2! Resources |
| Current | 0 |
| Components | Blank |
| Abundance | Blank |
| Scarcity | Blank |

|2! Crisis |
| Current Crises | Blank |
| Past Crises | Blank |
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:31, Mon 22 Apr.

All Havens are founded for a purpose. In many cases this is as simple as surviving a crisis, such as escaping a terrible sickness or the fall of another Haven. Other times, survivors come together under charismatic or bold leaders who profess a great plan, like discovering an ancient artefact that can solve all their problems, or f inding a fertile land where life is easier and the land is free of Decay. These founders hold aloft their purpose like a guiding star to found a fledgling Haven and guide it through the shifting darkness of the Broken World.

As the years pass and the original founders return to the dirt, their legacy lingers in the cultural heart of its people. Often, your founders’ legacy is one of the first things young people learn — passed on to new generations through art and tradition. Like many such tales, there are often embellishments and changes in the retelling.

When you create your Haven, roll on or pick from the Our Founders Wanted To… table to determine the founders’ legacy for your Haven, or use them as inspiration to create your own. Discuss the result among your group and flesh it out in any way that’s interesting to you. If your Haven was founded to explore an ancient city, what did they find there? If they were seeking fertile land for crops, what were those crops? Consider how the founders’ legacy shapes the principles and traditions of your Haven. If they fled from a horde of Decay-ravaged creatures, they are likely to be especially wary of Monsters entering their territory, or if they protect an artefact, they may have complex rituals around its use.

The Sins of Our Founders

History has a way of absolving or concealing the failures of those in power. This is even more true in the Broken World, where unchecked Decay erodes memory. Consider that your founders’ legacy may not be the whole truth. Maybe the artefact your Haven protects was stolen from another, or a terrible plague was only overcome by sacrificing half the population. How your Survivors, and the Haven at large, react to such a truth if it surfaces is fertile ground for a story of a Haven which fractures into groups of dogmatic traditionalists, truth-seeking revolutionaries, or desperate repentants.

Location

Every Haven exists in the context of the land around it. Climate, Decay, and local resources all exert major influence over people’s lives, and the traditions and aesthetics of your Haven usually begin as adaptations to your environment. A Haven located on the coast of a vast sea will have very different lives to those located in a deep jungle — especially when Decay begins to warp the land.

Your Haven’s Location is made up of three factors: the Biome it resides within, its Abundance and Scarcity, and one or more Landmarks that make it stand out from the rest.

BIOME

Your Haven’s Biome represents the typical climate and broader landscape surrounding it. Those living in a Haven in a coastal Biome will likely have very different lives from those living in a desert.

To generate a Haven’s Biome, roll or choose a result from the Biome table below.

Always remember that things are rarely as they seem in the Broken World, so feel free to experiment and interpret the results in interesting ways. A ‘Jungle’ may consist of towering mushrooms instead of trees, or a ‘Coastal’ Haven may sit at the edge of a sea formed from the blood of a dead god.

NOMADS

Some Havens are nomadic groups that travel between several regions as the need arises. If this is the case, your Haven may change its Location and Landmark during Seasons. Alternatively, a nomadic journey may be the focus of your adventure, as you lead your people to a new land.


ABUNDANCE AND SCARCITY

Havens survive from what little they can scrape from the lands near their homes. In many cases, the available natural resources are the main reason why a Haven is founded somewhere to begin with.

It is assumed that your Haven can scrounge up enough food and resources to survive (see Resources, page 102). However, each Haven has certain things that are in Abundance or have a Scarcity. Abundances and Scarcities are often used when attempting to source materials for crafting or trading (see Chapter 7. Equipment for more information), but they are best used narratively to shape how a Haven functions and interacts with the world. If a Haven has a Scarcity of Metal, what do they make their weapons from? If they have an Abundance of Vegetation, what is causing the vibrant growth? Consider how your Abundances and Scarcities might interact with your Haven’s Biome in strange or unexpected ways. A Desert Biome with a Scarcity of Sand may mean the desert is made from ash, or a Ruined City Biome with an Abundance of Meat might mean you inhabit a living city where edible flesh can be carved from the walls.

To determine an Abundance and Scarcity for your Haven, roll twice or choose two results from the Abundance and Scarcity table below:


THE LAND PROVIDES

Sometimes, the unusual ecosystems and strange landscapes created by the random hand of Decay can create a Location which is particularly rich in resources. These places are so precious that some communities will build Havens there, even if it exposes them to more Decay. During Haven Creation, you can choose to gain an additional Abundance from the Resources table. If you do this, your Haven’s Decay increases by 1.

LANDMARK

The Broken World is scattered with strange and unique landmarks. Many of these are remnants of a fallen civilisation, or the twisted outcome of Decay run rampant. Such landmarks are valuable to Havens for two reasons; their strangeness ensures that they are easier to remember, thus making it harder for Decay to erode memories of home, and they almost always provide some form of unique Abundance which can shape the development of their Haven.

Roll or choose one result from the Landmark table to determine which Landmark is nearby, and the unique Abundance it grants to your Haven. You can also use this table as inspiration to create your own Landmarks and Abundances.

This Landmark will affect different aspects of your Haven. If your Haven lives in the shadow of a godcorpse, they may be overly religious, praying for it to wake, while those who live near an ancient battlefield may be more attuned to the horrors of war, and thereby steer towards pacifism and preventing such slaughter from happening ever again. Unique Abundances granted by the Landmark affects its people, or draws unwanted attention from creatures or other Havens. A Haven which has access to lots of flammable fluid may use it extensively for light, heat, or even weaponry, while a Haven which sits beside a colossal marble statue may build their homes from heavy blocks of marble quarried from it.

Culture

Communities in the Broken World sport unique cultures that are shaped by their location, landmarks and resources, in addition to their shared history and heritage. Your Haven’s Culture covers a variety of aspects which begin to shape the community that lives within its walls. What do your people value? How are they ruled? What superstitions do they carry? What clothing do they wear?

Roll or choose a result from the following tables to build your Haven’s Culture. These are just suggestions and starting points. Feel free to discuss the results among your group and expand or change them as you see fit to bring your Haven to life. Consider what you know about your Haven so far and how its location affects its culture — especially in relation to which resources are likely used for food, construction, and clothing.

TIMES CHANGE

The Culture of a Haven can change over time. This can be attributed to an influx of new people with a different outlook, political or ideological upheaval, and countless other societal pressures. In most cases this change will take place during Seasons (see page 164) but an exciting story could be told about a Haven which undergoes radical cultural change in a short period of time.

VALUES

Communities, like individuals, hold values. These values encapsulate the kind of behaviour the Haven prioritises. These values will often be expressed with varying degrees of formality in stories, worship, or the Haven’s social structures. You can expect people in the Haven to look fondly upon and expect great things from people who embody these values, or look down upon and outcast those who shirk them. As a result, both defying and upholding cultural values can come at great personal cost. Roll or choose a result from the We Value… table to generate the Haven’s values.


CLOTHING AND APPEARANCE

Clothing and appearance is often one of the first aspects of a Haven’s culture that people are exposed to when they meet. As much as the environment dictates what is convenient to wear and what textiles are readily available, clothing is also largely a place for self expression and the communication of cultural values. Use the Haven’s Location, Abundance, and Scarcity to determine what materials are primarily used in clothing, such as silk, leather, wool, or linen. Then roll or choose a result from the Clothing and Appearance table to generate your Haven’s fashion.


MEMORIA AND TRAIL GLYPHS

One of the few unifying fashion features across most Havens is the use of Memoria and Trail Glyphs. Memoria (see pages 36 and 128) are small trinkets that serve to remind people of fond memories or loved ones in an attempt to ward off the memory devouring effects of Decay, while Trail Glyphs (see page 179 and 296) are a common pictorial language used by travellers across the Broken World. Most Havens to integrate both of these into their fashion to some degree or another.

TRADITIONS AND SUPERSTITIONS

Given the unpredictable nature of the Broken World, it is no surprise that most Havens develop some form of strange traditions or superstitions. Sometimes these begin as common sense or survival necessities that become warped over time into unquestioned dogma. For example, a Haven with a tradition to eat in pairs may have suffered attacks from opportunistic scavengers who attack lone eaters. Other times, traditions can be fragments of long-forgotten religions, so those who refuse to look at the moon may have descended from those who worshipped it. Unfortunately, conflicting or lack of adherence to these assumed norms are common points of conflict between travellers and neighbouring Havens — an easy way to mark an outsider. Remember that these are just the traditions or superstitions of your Haven. Whether your individual Survivors adhere to or rebel against them is another matter.

Roll or choose a result from the Traditions and Superstitions table to generate the unique quirks of your people. You can roll multiple times to represent a particularly traditional or superstitious Haven.


THIS TASTES FUNNY

When creating your Haven, think about what its people eat to survive. Do they farm, forage, hunt, or a combination of all three? If they farm or forage, what fruits and vegetables are nearby? If they hunt, what animals do they hunt and what tools do they use? Page 240 offers advice and a table to help create unique flora, and page 244 presents a selection of creatures found in the Broken World.

LEADERSHIP

Whenever communities reach a certain size, they inevitably develop some form of governance. Since there are no kingdoms left in the Broken World, this means that each Haven has to discover a form of leadership which works for them, or at least can be imposed upon the majority.

Roll or choose a result from the Leadership table. Consider the popularity of your Haven’s leaders and how they interact with the community, and vice versa.

Crises

Havens face constant challenges in the Broken World, which can define them as much as their strengths or origins. Aside from the universal threats, such as hunger, disease, and exposure, Havens encounter countless other problems that they must overcome if they are to survive. In some cases these are external threats, such as Monsters or the poisonous remnants of a lost civilisation, but the people inside Havens aren’t above making issues for themselves, either.

When creating your Haven, roll twice on the Crises table to generate a pair of Crises that have been overcome in the past, and twice more to generate a pair of ongoing Crises that the Haven is currently facing. Each result is elaborated upon in the subsequent tables.

Discuss among yourselves how past Crises were overcome, what sacrifices were made, and what lingering effects it has had on the Haven. Then discuss what the current Crises mean for the Haven at the beginning of your adventure. Are they the primary issue your party is formed to overcome? A growing rumour that might evolve into a bigger problem? Or simply a background concern that you don’t have time to deal with in the face of a greater threat?


INTERNAL CONFLICT
As the saying goes, Havens aren’t made out of people, but problems — hundreds of them, ranging from petty to life-threatening. Internal conflicts are often the result of hard times placing people at odds until they distrust each other and eventually turn on their fellow survivors. While these problems may not seem as dangerous as a Decayed beast barreling towards a Survivor with blood-slick teeth and twisted claws, they are just as capable of tearing a Haven apart.

Roll or choose a result from the Internal Conflict table to determine the Haven’s Internal Conflict.


EXTERNAL CONFLICT

No walls can protect a Haven indefinitely, so every community in the Broken World must eventually face threats from beyond their borders. These could be natural dangers such as extreme weather, or dangers from other groups of survivors who are desperate enough to wage war on their fellow mortals.

Roll or choose a result from the External Conflict table to determine the Haven’s External Conflict.


UNCOVERED ARTEFACT

As they reclaim the ruins of the Broken World, some Havens accumulate magical artefacts. All arcane relics of fallen civilisations carry the inherent danger of spreading Decay, but they are also capable of performing miracles, meaning that there is always temptation to hoard or use them. Havens that rely on these devices rarely last long, but neither do Havens which take a hard-line stance against them. The choice, as with all issues of survival in the Broken Land, is never an easy one.

Roll on the Uncovered Artefact table to discover which Artefact the Haven has uncovered. The history and mechanical details for this Artefact can be found in Arcane Artefacts (see page 224), but the GM should keep them a secret from the party until such time as they use them.

If your Haven encountered an Artefact in the past, you must decide if the Haven chose to keep it or dispose of it. In the case that the Haven kept the Artefact, the Artefact may be used by the Haven and Survivors living there, but the Haven’s Decay increases by 1. Otherwise, the Artefact is somewhere outside the Haven instead. A traveller or someone in your Haven may claim to know the Artefact’s location, an old record may point the way to its resting place, or its effects may be felt upon the Haven or surrounding lands.


DANGEROUS MONSTER

Some Havens tell tales of a single legendary Monster that has haunted them for generations, while others have cautionary stories about a type of Monster, many of which lurk nearby. The Survivors who confront these Monsters and live to tell the tale pass on their knowledge through stories so future generations know what the Monster wants and how to defeat it.

Roll twice on the Dangerous Monster table to generate details about the dangerous Monster that threatens the Haven, once for its Desire and once for its Weakness. The Monster’s Desire can inform how it behaves both in and out of combat, and Survivors may be able to exploit its Weakness. Monsters are dangerous foes, but they can also provide unique resources that can be crafted into powerful equipment.


This message was last edited by the GM at 05:11, Tue 16 Apr.

Finishing Touches

Your Haven is almost complete. Take a moment to summarise everything you have decided so far among the group. Search for any interesting synergies or clashes that the Haven creation process has brought up between your Location, Culture, and Crises, and feel free to tweak them to fit now.

Once you have done that, and the party have all agreed that they are happy with your Haven, all that’s left is to record some important statistics for your Haven and give it a name. Once you have completed these finishing touches, you can move on to creating your Survivors to begin your adventures, though you may want to come back to your Haven and make adjustments and additions based on the Survivors you have created.

HOPE

All Havens possess Hope. Hope in the Broken World has tangible power, which can push mortals beyond their limits and hold back Decay. Hope is created when people come together to support each other and work towards a common goal, which means that Havens are the primary source of generating Hope. When Survivors leave the Haven to face great dangers, Havens invest their Hope into them, granting them a slim edge against the unknowable horrors beyond the relative safety of home. For a more in-depth explanation on Hope and how it is used, see Hope on page 129.

Your Haven begins with a pool of Hope equal to 1d4 per player. A Haven’s Hope can increase or decrease due to player actions, Downtime and Seasonal Activities, or through narrative events.

DECAY

Even Havens are not safe from Decay, it is an ever present malady of the world from which there is no true escape. Yet sane communities rarely settle in places where Decay is at its most destructive. Once a community forms, their collective Hope is normally enough to hold back the worst effects of Decay.

Decay is measured on a scale of 1–10, and your Haven begins with 1 Decay. This means that the land is relatively stable in and around the Haven itself — well-trod paths lead where they should, weather and seasons are relatively predictable, an ecosystem of some kind has established itself, and Monster sightings are relatively rare. For a more in-depth explanation on how Decay affects Havens and those who live there, see Effects of Decay on page 127.

Certain narrative events or choices you made during Haven Creation may increase the level of Decay present within your Haven, and the actions of Survivors may sometimes be able to reduce it.

HARD LUCK HAVEN

If your group wants a particularly tough challenge, you can choose to create your Haven with a higher level of Decay. But beware that Decay is incredibly difficult to remove, and has the effect of increasing the Decay of all who reside there, including your Survivors. The following choices during Haven Creation can increase your Haven’s Decay. Note that Decay begins to mechanically affect Survivors through their Curse once it reaches 4 or more. See Chapter 4. Lineages, for details on how Decay manifests in each Lineage.

• Your Haven may gain an additional Resource at the cost of +1 Decay
• Your Haven may gain an additional Landmark at the cost of +1 Decay
• A Dangerous Monster may make its home near your Haven at a cost of +1 Decay
• Your Haven may gain an Uncovered Artefact at a cost of +1 Decay

RESOURCES

Every Haven has Resources, which functions like a communal collection of supplies. Resources are a
surplus, and don’t represent the day-to-day food and equipment a Haven needs to function. Instead, it contains extra materials for communal and emergency use, such as mundane crafting materials, medical supplies, and preserved food.

• Your Haven begins 1d4 Resources per party member.

Your Haven generates new Resources every 4 weeks based on its Population, as shown in the Haven Resources table. A Haven’s Resources are calculated differently during Seasons.

Resources can be expended for trade or crafting but they are also used when a Haven falls into Crisis (see page 131). When this happens, Resources are consumed to stave off a threat. If the Resources run dry, the Population begins to perish, so Survivors should always think twice before draining their Haven’s Resources for personal goals.

POPULATION

Havens come in all sizes, from a desperate handful of outcasts huddling in barren caves and subsiding on scraps, to thriving towns with sustainable agriculture and robust defences. Population represents the number of people in your Haven, its general health, and how well it can survive the dangers that the Broken World can throw at it. Population is often referenced in gameplay, such as when your Haven is in Crisis or when you are undertaking Downtime or Seasonal Activities that rely on your community. If your Haven ever reaches zero Population, excluding Player Characters, it is effectively destroyed.

• Your Haven begins with a Population equal to 1d4 × 10 per party member.

If you want to represent an older or larger Haven, you can roll 1d4 × 10 up to three additional times and add the result to your Haven’s Population. This will increase the Resources your Haven generates every 4 weeks. However, each time you roll, you must generate an additional Crisis, as the larger the Haven, the more problems they encounter.


Populations change over time, but this is a gradual process that takes years and is normally only noticeable between Crises and during Seasons (see page 164). The exception to this is if a narrative event triggers a notable Population increase or decrease. An influx of refugees from another settlement might rapidly increase a settlement’s Population, while a natural disaster or unchecked Monster rampage may cause a massive Population decline.

HAVEN NAME

Haven names are functional and descriptive. They often include the Haven’s distinguishing landmark, combined with things like the name of the Haven’s first leader, the motivation for the Haven’s founding, or the trade in which the Haven specialises. Many believe this helps scouts to find their way home, as it gives the Haven’s name a solid grounding in the earth that all too-readily shifts and changes.

By now, you should have plenty of material to make your Haven name. Take a moment to look at the Location, Landmark, and Culture for inspiration. Some Haven names are included as examples.

Example Haven Names: Afrasno Steamfalls, Fifteen Graves, Grubwarren, Knucklebone Mines, Listener Point, Mammothchase, Palefeather Roost, Rorik’s Kennel, Rustfield, Spider-eater Gulch, Stille’s Rest, Surgeonhall, Temple-on-Blue, Turnipseed
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:49, Tue 16 Apr.