Many towns lie on the edge of deep, dark woodlands. Terrible things often lurk in these woods, and the town’s folk need protection. Enter, brave adventurers!

Use this list, to add pieces of interesting dressing to the lumber towns in your campaign: 

1. Sparks fly from a stone wheel as a blacksmith hones an axe head.

2. A group of lumberjacks chant a chopping song as they head out of town, axes slung over their shoulders.

3. Sawdust trickles out of a tarp-covered cart as it bounces its way along the street.

4. The rhythmic burr of a saw steadily carving away at a log rises above the general street sounds.

5. Wood clatters as workers toss slats onto a growing pile of lumber.

6. Splotches of sap stick to the bottom of nearly everyone’s shoes.

7. The pounding of nails as workers repair damaged walls of the local lumber mill is audible from quite some distance.

8. Every nearby doorway has a painted root nailed above it, to honour a strange local tradition.

9. Wooden statuettes sit on nearby windowsills, carved in the likeness of a forest deity.

10. A tinker labours over a row of axe heads and shafts, fitting them together to sell.

11. A team of horses plod into town, dragging several de-limbed trees behind them.

12. Thin arms straining, children lug buckets of sap and syrup down the street.

13. Slabs of polished wood propped up all over town are painted with glyphs to ward off evil spirits.

14. The tolling bell in the town chapel appears to be entirely made of polished wood.

15. Every house’s door is of black oak and carved with strange friezes.

16. The smell of freshly cut wood, the odour reminiscent of the colour green for some reason, fills the air.

17. A carpenter scuffs out rough spots on a table using a polishing stone and rag.

18. An old woman offers a basket of “lucky” twelve-pointed leaves for sale.

19. A clamour rises as workers flood out of a sawmill, apparently having just gone on strike.

Want More?

The material in this article appears in Urban Dressing: Lumber Town by Josh Vogt which is available in 5e, Pathfinder 1, Pathfinder 2 and OSR editions.

Members of our Patreon campaign got all four editions as a thank you for their awesome support. Join today!