Barking Alien's RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE! Day 28

Day 28 - Parting Thoughts

Day 28 - Is there anything else we should know before we head home?
Any parting knowing you want to leave us with that didn't fit anywhere else?

Elowen’s Journal

"My parents left after their visit.

They wished me well. They told me they thought I was doing really well here. My mother hugged Larina. Larina, even after everything I’ve learned about her authority and power, smiled and hugged her back with the same warmth. I think my father wanted to as well. He hesitated, then laughed, a little embarrassed. That felt important somehow.

I’m getting ready for my first real adventure now. Larina says there’s only so much I can learn in books, though I’ve seen her library and I’m certain it would take several lifetimes to master even a fraction of it. Still, she’s right. I’m heading out with Aisling and Eoddard. They travel with the Free Elves when they pass through each spring. Doireann is coming too. She’s never left the Haven Valley. I haven’t either, not since I arrived here three years ago. She’s scared but excited. So am I.

The last time Aisling and I went on an adventure together, we ended up in an East Haven jail. I’m hoping this time we make it a little farther down the road.

The ghosts surprised me most of all. They wished me well. Even those who had never spoken to me before offered quiet blessings as I passed. That felt…like the end of something, but in a good way. Renee hugged me so tight I thought she was going to choke me. She is quite strong for such a small woman. She gave me a bag filled with little satchels of different teas. She said I'll know which ones to brew when. She also packaged up a bunch of her little pumpkin muffins. Though I think Dori and I ate half of them before we got back to Larina's cottage.

I know that no matter what lies ahead, I have a home to return to. I also hope I can come back with enough gold to get a place of my own. I loved Larina’s spare room, but it’s time. Change is part of the work.

I’m leaving this journal here for safekeeping. Omar stopped by earlier with some gear Larina purchased for me. On top was a brand-new journal and a new witch's hat.

I can’t wait to fill that one too."

Designer’s Notes

West Haven is not just a “Witch Haven.” It is a crossroads and a home, a place where witches from different editions, systems, and eras can meet without explanation. The lens is always whatever game I’m playing at the time, but the world remains consistent. NPCs may follow different rules than the player characters. That’s intentional. Mystery matters.

I wanted to involve as many characters as possible. Some appear more than others. Elowen and Aisling naturally surfaced together. Others, like Rána, remained distant by design. She belongs to the Maiden Wood, and Elowen’s fear of that place keeps them apart, so their tales rarely intersect. BTW I have had more ideas about what the Maiden Wood is all about, but that will be for another time I think. 

Most importantly, I wanted a place characters could call home.

The Lord of the Rings is ultimately about returning. Odysseus is nothing without Ithaca. West Haven exists so characters can leave, grow, break, change, and still have somewhere that remembers them.

Finally, this series is tied directly to Advanced Witches & Warlocks. While I avoided direct statistics, nearly everything described here emerged from those rules or their playtests. This is an invitation, not an explanation. If you want to know how this world works, the door is open.

-

And that is a wrap on another challenge! Thanks to Adam Dickstein of Barking Alien for this challenge; it was a lot of fun. It was great reading others' posts and meeting their Tour Guides. This came at the right time, really. I had just thought up Elowen, and she turned out to be perfect for this task. She is going to be a great character, and I hope she has many great adventures.

Elowen and Shae. May they have many adventures!

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Barking Alien's RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE! Day 27

Day 27 - Amusing Anecdotes

Day 27-Do you have any amusing anecdotes from the campaign?
Forget dramatic, tell us about a moment that made everyone laugh out loud.

Elowen’s Journal

"Witches laugh to stay human. I’m convinced of that.

Doireann is usually the spark. She’s always doing something that sends the rest of us into laughter, often without meaning to. Amaranth and Katrina pretend not to be amused, though sometimes Amaranth cracks despite herself. Katrina is harder to read. Esmé has a dry, razor-sharp wit that sneaks up on you. She’s always wonderful company. And Aisling… Aisling laughs at everything. I swear she finds joy in chores, cantrip practice, and spilled ink. I envy that about her.

Larina is quieter, but when she laughs, it builds. A soft chuckle, a wry smile, and then suddenly it turns into a full witch’s cackle. Sometimes it catches her by surprise, and that just makes her laugh harder. She enjoys flustering Amaranth, and she shares a thousand private jokes with Esmé. We’ve had coven meetings where absolutely nothing got done because something Esmé or Doireann said sent us all into fits.

I laugh more now than I ever did before. Before West Haven. Even before I died.

I want to say it’s a witch thing, but whatever the cause, I know it’s good.

My parents came to visit not long ago. We were sitting in a dwarven restaurant when Omar burst in singing opera at the top of his lungs. I don’t think he has any other volume. The owner came out to join him, singing just as loudly. It was chaos. Loud. Ridiculous. Perfect. So I did what felt right. I clapped. I laughed.

My father nearly cried. My mother did.

They told me it had been more than fifteen years since they’d last seen me laugh like that. I think, more than anything else, that’s how they knew I was adjusting to my new life. That their little girl was going to be okay."

Designer’s Notes

Humor has always been part of my games.

Grenda and I used to get into pun battles. My son and I trade awful Mystery Science Theater 3000 quotes. Every group I’ve ever played with eventually devolves into Monty Python. I can’t walk into East Haven’s Cathedral of Light without thinking, “It’s the Bishop!”

Even my most serious games have room for laughter. Especially those. Humor humanizes characters, releases tension, and reminds us why we’re playing in the first place. In West Haven, laughter isn’t a distraction from danger. It’s how people survive it.

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Barking Alien's RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE! Day 26

Day 26 - Dramatic Events

Day 26-Are there any dramatic events from the campaign you can share?
Tell us about a moment of exciting action or tense thrills that has happened during your game. When and where did it take place?

Elowen's Journal

"Some stories are told softly, even when they involve blood and thunder.

When I first came to West Haven, I noticed Larina’s left eye. It is a different, paler blue than her right, and she has a scar that runs over and through it. I asked about it once, carefully. She does not like to talk about it.

She only said, 'That was the night Aisling came home.'

I could not believe the story when I first heard it. Not really. So I asked people who had been there. I listened to the ghosts. I believe it now.

Céline told me about the night the wards screamed and fell. Émilie told me about potions brewed so fast they cracked their bottles. The witch knight Rowan told me about fighting creatures out of nightmares, holding the line with sword and will alone. Rebecca swore she saw Strix witches tear enormous Olitiau bats out of the sky, fur, feathers, and blood raining down like black snow. The ghosts told me that Mara witches used them as soldiers to fight demons and devils against their will. 

Cassandra and Celeste spoke quietly about the healing of a broken and near-dead Aisling. About how close they came to failing. About how Katrina took risks, channeling magics so powerful no one else would ever have dared.

But everyone told the same part the same way.

They say that Larina ran out of a Gate and into the night, carrying a broken girl in her arms, and called every witch in West Haven to her side.

They say the devil, who had claimed Aisling, came to take her back. They say he brought monsters with him. They say the sky burned and screamed.

And they also say Larina stood in the center of it all. Beautiful. Powerful. Terrible. Levistus struck her, tearing her flesh and eye with a claw. She fell back, and everyone thought she was down for good. 

Then, the kind witch who sang in her kitchen and laughed too loudly was gone. In her place stood the ascendant Witch Queen, unbound. She rose up several feet off the ground to tower over Levistus. 

They say she fought like a sovereign defending her own blood. Even the demons ran in fear of her wrath unleashed. She screamed, and demons died on the spot. She cast sheets of fire and caused lightning to fall from the sky like it was rain. Her hair exploded, crowning her in a halo of flame. She summoned the Old Magic, the magic that binds all witches together. The devil's claim on Aisling became the noose around his own neck.  When he finally knew what was happening, it was too late. 

When I asked what happened to the devil, Larina only said, 'He won’t hurt anyone ever again.'

Esmé and Amaranth told me the truth later on.

They said Larina had Unmade him.

Not killed. Not banished.

Gone. Forever.

I asked Esmé why the Hells have not risen up against us, and she said it was because 'Levistus was incompetent, and Hell does not reward failure.' 

Aisling doesn't talk much about that night either. She just says, 'Witches bled for me. My own family never did that, so this is my family now.'

That night happened before I came to West Haven. But sometimes, when storms roll in hard from the mountains and the air feels tight, the ghosts remember it again.

So do the witches."

Designer’s Notes

This was the defining mythic event of modern West Haven. I wanted something to firmly establish Larina as a new Witch Queen. Prior to this event, she had been largely the same, a very high-level witch in my world.  I needed something to push her out of that role into something new. So I came up with the idea of having her rescue a new witch trapped in Hell. And I needed a big bad. My son and I jokingly said it should be Vecna. He is a fan of Critical Role's Vox Machina, and I am a fan of Stranger Things. Both featured a "Vecna." We laughed at that idea and decided that, no, as powerful as Larina is, Vecna is still way too much for her to deal with. I also like to think Vecna is the one thing that can still frighten her. 

So I used Levistus. I never liked the guy, so I came up with the idea that he had been capturing young witches, feeding on their magic, and draining their patrons through their link to break free. Mespitopheles noticed it most, since in my worlds, he is the Archdevil with the most pacts with witches and warlocks. 

Aisling was his last victim; she was "mostly dead." But Larina got there first and rescued her. 

It establishes Larina not merely as powerful, but as fiercely protective. Her authority comes from action, not title. The coven did not follow her because she commanded them. They followed her because she ran first into the dark. Utterly destroying an Archduke of Hell also didn't harm her position any. 

This event also anchors Aisling’s place in the world. She is not just a survivor. She is claimed, defended, and reborn through witchcraft and community. It also highlights the difference between my two "returned from the dead" characters. Aisling was born of blood and violence. Though she never lets that violence define her now. Why is this important? I typically don't have my characters come back from the dead. Dead is dead for my witches. These two are an exception, and even then, they came back before they were characters, really.

Larina also lost her left eye.

She has a replacement now, but the scar remains. This happened when painting a mini of her: my hand slipped, and I ended up with a streak of white through her left eye. It looked rather badass to be honest, so I kept it. It's also a nice, subtle tribute to one of my favorite R&B groups, TLC (I had a huge crush on Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes). We worked it into the game. That same mini fell off my shelf the weekend after the game and broke off her base. So I also said that she ended up with two broken legs. Don't worry, she had the best healers nearby, and I had plenty of super glue. 

Mechanically, this event explains:

• Why certain extraplanar forces avoid West Haven entirely
• Why Katrina’s influence rose sharply afterward
• Why Larina bears lasting scars that cannot be healed (other than it makes her look badass)
• Why the coven reacts instantly to threats against their own
• Raises Larina from powerfu, but local, witch to cosmic-level Witch Queen

It is the moment West Haven stopped being merely a refuge and became a sanctuary that fights back. I picked this one because things in West Haven have been remarkably quiet since then. 

In D&D terms, it also did a couple of things for me. It got rid of Levistus, which I have been wanting to do since forever.  Glasya then used this to take over Levistus' layer of Hell.  Mesphitopheles knows that Larina did this, thus protecting his own witches and warlocks, so he is actually rather pleased with this. Dispater, who in my mind despises impropriety of any sort, is pleased that Levistus was caught up in his own scheme and outmatched by a "mere human witch." 

Glasya felt she owed Larina a favor. Yes. Larina has called in that particular debt. But that is a tale for another day.

I focus a lot on Larina in this particular tale, but all my witches had something to do. Larina may have rescued Aisling, but it was Katrina who really gave her new life. The Larina-Katrina-Aisling dynamic is a bit like divorced parents and their adult child. 

Because nothing in West Haven should ever be clean cut. 

Elowen and Aisling at Renee's Tea Shop

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Barking Alien's RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE! Day 25

Day 25 - Shopping

Day 25-Where can I do some shopping?
I want to buy some souvenirs from this trip and maybe snacks for the voyage home.

Elowen’s Journal

"I didn’t grow up with shops like this.

Back home, you went where you needed to go, and that was that. Here, I still sometimes wander without meaning to buy anything at all. West Haven is full of places that invite you inside just to see what’s there. I love it when my parents visit, and I take them everywhere.

Omar’s is the obvious starting point. Everyone ends up there eventually. Adventurers especially. You can buy rope, packs, armor, weapons, and things you didn’t know you needed until Omar asks why you’re leaving town. Behind the front room are stranger things, magical things, but you don’t browse those so much as you’re allowed to see them.

Émilie’s apothecary smells like dried herbs, sweet resins, and something sharper underneath. You can buy ingredients for alchemy, remedies for illness, charms for luck, and sometimes things she doesn’t advertise at all. I’ve learned that if Émilie pauses before answering a question, it’s best to listen very carefully to what she says next.

Renee’s isn’t just tea. You can buy blends to take home, little tins wrapped in paper with handwritten notes explaining what they’re good for. Sleep. Courage. Letting go. I’ve seen travelers buy them like souvenirs, not realizing they’re also buying memories. I have to admit I love working there.

There are bookshops here. More than one. That still amazes me. I’d heard of them before coming to West Haven, but I’d never seen a place where books were sold the way bread or cloth is sold. Some shops specialize in histories or spellcraft, others in poetry or strange pamphlets that feel half-finished. Even the smallest shops seem to know which book you’ll reach for first.

Clothing shops are everywhere. Practical things for travel. Robes and cloaks. Dresses meant for dancing, ritual, or both. Tailors who don’t blink when you ask for hidden pockets or fabric that won’t tear if you fly. And food. So much food. I’ve lived here three years, and I still haven’t eaten everywhere I want to.

Market days bring even more. Temporary stalls selling charms, tools, odd trinkets, and gear meant for adventurers heading north or west. If you want a souvenir, you’ll find one. If you want supplies for a dangerous journey, you’ll find those too. West Haven makes sure no one leaves unprepared, whether they realize that’s what they’re shopping for or not."

Designer’s Notes

Shopping in West Haven is designed to support play rather than distract from it. The village offers abundant access to gear, food, clothing, books, and magical supplies without turning shopping into a chore. Familiar anchor locations like Omar’s, Émilie’s Apothecary, and Renee’s Tea Shoppe give players consistent reference points, while smaller shops and market stalls allow for improvisation.

Bookstores are a deliberate inclusion, reinforcing the setting’s emphasis on learning, discovery, and personal growth. Clothing shops and tailors acknowledge the practical realities of witches, travelers, and adventurers living side by side. Market days expand variety without requiring permanent infrastructure.

The goal is simple: if players want something reasonable, West Haven can probably provide it. If they want something strange, meaningful, or slightly dangerous, West Haven might provide that too, but with a conversation first.

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Barking Alien's RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE! Day 24

Elowen's Newest obsession

Day 24 - Imports

Day 24-What are the major imports to the area?
What is it your campaign region needs but doesn't have and how do they get it? Maybe it's not a need but a want? Some other place has the very best something and the people of your campaign desire some of that action.  

Elowen’s Journal

"I suppose I should mention that I have a job.

I work part-time at Renee’s Tea Shoppe. Larina thought it would be good for me, a way to interact with both the living and the dead without hiding behind my journal all the time. She was right, of course. And the extra spending money doesn’t hurt either. What does this have to do with imports? Everything, as it turns out.

West Haven’s most important import is tea. I’m not exaggerating. This village drinks three or four times as much tea as anywhere else I’ve ever seen. Twice as much as East Haven, at least. It’s borderline alarming. If the tea supply ever dried up, I’m fairly certain there would be an uprising. Coven-wide. Possibly armed.

I work with a girl named Rebecca. She’s friendly, kind, and endlessly patient in a way I envy. She isn’t particularly academic, but she knows tea the way some witches know spells. She can look at someone for five seconds and hand them exactly what they didn’t know they needed. She introduced me to something called a chai latte, and now my life is divided into before and after. Some of the spices grow here, but many don’t. Cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and ginger. More imports. Rebecca says she’s a “Pumpkin Spice Witch.” I don’t know what that means, but it sounds wonderful.

There are other things we bring in, too. Fine textiles like silk. Certain building materials we can’t get locally. We have wood in abundance, and the mountain dwarves supply more stone than we could ever need, but not everything can be pulled from the valley or the mountains. That’s where the markets come in.

Market days are my favorite. Our open-air market is just that: open. Anyone can sell. Anyone can browse. Goods come in from places I’ve never seen and probably never will. I’m not even sure East Haven has the same variety we do. I think people just want an excuse to visit what they call “Witch Haven,” even if they pretend otherwise.

West Haven grows its own food. It makes its own magic. But it imports comfort. Flavor. Texture. Little luxuries that make the days gentler. I think that says something important about the kind of place this is."

Designer’s Notes

Imports in West Haven are intentionally modest and specific. The setting doesn’t rely on exotic goods to function, but it eagerly embraces comforts and cultural exchange. Tea functions as both a literal import and a social ritual, reinforcing community, rest, and conversation. Renee’s Tea Shoppe acts as a crossroads for locals, travelers, and spirits alike.

Market days emphasize openness rather than control. West Haven’s lack of restrictive trade policy allows for variety that even larger, more structured cities like East Haven struggle to match. This reinforces the idea that flexibility and hospitality can be more economically and culturally resilient than rigid systems.

Day 24 complements Days 22 and 23 by showing that while West Haven grows much of what it needs, it deliberately welcomes what it lacks. The town survives not by isolation, but by selective openness.

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Barking Alien's RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE! Day 23

Day 23 - Exports

Day 23-What are the major exports of the region?
A campaign can be big and different places within it will be known for different products. Pick a few of the best sellers or most interesting things and tell us about them.

Elowen’s Journal

"I already talked about the soil, but it really does explain a lot.

On paper, West Haven’s main export is produce. The Haven Valley grows things easily, eagerly, like the land is trying to make up for what it once took. East Haven has good soil too, but they settled on higher ground after the Flood and missed out on much of the rich earth the mountains carried down. And if I’m being honest, witches have always been better at growing things. We listen to the land rather than argue with it.

Most trade still runs through East Haven. That’s just geography and habit. Every so often, someone there tries to raise taxes or impose tariffs, and every time it gets shut down by saner heads. The two towns function best when trade stays free and open. Everyone knows that, even when they pretend not to.

West Haven’s other great export is an open secret: magic.

Sometimes it’s small things. Potions for sleep or luck. Card readings. Crystal gazing. Blessings whispered over tools or doorways. Other times it’s bigger than that. People come here the way my parents did, looking for answers they can’t find anywhere else. You can always tell who they are. They look hollow, like something important has gone missing, and they don’t know how to name it.

There are witches trained to spot those people. Larina calls them ambassadors. Their job isn’t to sell magic, but to listen and decide what kind of help is actually needed. Katrina used to be one, apparently, though I have a hard time imagining her being patient with non-witches. Cassandra and Celeste are very good at it when they aren’t in the Library. Esmé does it too. She says helping people reminds her of why she stayed.

West Haven doesn’t export spells so much as it exports intervention. If you come here and leave changed, no one is surprised. That’s the real trade. The rest is just what shows up on ledgers."

Designer’s Notes

Exports in West Haven are designed to reinforce the theme rather than the economy. Agricultural abundance provides a believable foundation, while magical services operate in a semi-formal, socially regulated way. Magic here is not commodified wholesale. It is mediated through relationships, ethics, and judgment.

The concept of witch “ambassadors” exists to prevent exploitation on both sides. Desperate outsiders are guided, redirected, or turned away as needed, and witches are protected from becoming transactional service providers. This supports a tone where magic remains meaningful rather than routine.

Trade tensions with East Haven provide ongoing low-level conflict without requiring open hostility. The two towns are interdependent, and both know it. West Haven’s greatest export is not goods or spells, but change, and that is something no tariff can easily contain.

West Haveners are very much aware of their interdependence on East Haven, even if witches like Katrina believe they go it alone. That's a topic for tomorrow.

An aside: I am beginning to think that Elowen here might be a Pumpkin Spice Witch. As I have been using her this month, I see her less and less as a witch who commands armies of the undead, and more as a witch who drinks lattes and talks to customers, both living and dead. 

Not every witch needs to be a world-shaking magical powerhouse.

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Barking Alien's RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE! Day 22

Mirepoix

Day 22 – Flora & Fauna

Day 22-Tell us about notable Flora and Fauna! Take us on safari around your campaign and its setting. What are some of the unique and/or unusual creatures and plants in your game?

Elowen’s Journal

"It feels like everything here watches.

Not in a threatening way. Mostly. Just… aware. Animals linger longer than they should. Plants seem to lean when you pass. Even the air feels curious. West Haven is full of animals, of course, pets and work beasts and wildlife, but also familiars. So many familiars. Cats on rooftops. Birds perched where they can hear everything. Small things darting between doorways. I’ve learned not to assume they belong to anyone in particular. They’re probably just collecting information. Or gossip. Mostly gossip.

My familiar, Mirepoix, takes this very seriously. Larina’s cat, Cotton Ball, flies and pretends that’s perfectly normal. It shocked me when this fluffy white cat spread it's wings and flew to the top of a bookcase.  Doireann’s frogs are everywhere. In fountains. In gardens. Once in my boot. No one questions it. Giant owls nest nearby, watching the roads at night, and the crows and ravens sometimes speak in human voices when they think you aren’t listening.

Yes, there are flying monkeys. They have their own small community and are very clear about not being pets or familiars. They get offended if you imply otherwise. I learned that quickly.

The plants are just as attentive. The Goblin Wood feels alive in a restless way, branches shifting, roots remembering old paths. The Maiden Wood is different. Quieter. Still. More dangerous for it. There are plants that blur the line between animal and vegetation, vines that recoil when touched, flowers that close like eyes. I don’t know if they are magical or if this land just encourages things to become more than they were meant to be.

It isn’t all strange trees and whispering leaves. The fields here are rich. The Great Flood brought down soil so dark and fertile it feels like it could grow almost anything. Esmé talked endlessly about it in my first spring here, explaining how the land itself had been fed. Crops thrive here. Gardens overflow. Even the ordinary plants seem a little… proud.

Living in West Haven means learning when something is watching because it’s curious, and when it’s watching because it’s hungry. I’m getting better at telling the difference."

Designer’s Notes

Flora and fauna in West Haven are meant to feel observant rather than aggressive. The setting leans into the idea that magic suffuses the environment, affecting animals, plants, and even agriculture, without turning everything into a monster encounter.

Familiars act as social infrastructure. They gather information, reinforce coven connections, and make the village feel alive even when no NPCs are present. Non-familiar creatures, such as the flying monkeys or giant owls, are treated as people or neighbors rather than obstacles or pets.

The Goblin Wood and the Maiden Wood represent two different expressions of living landscape: one restless and adaptive, the other still and dangerous. The fertile farmland of the Haven Valley provides a grounding counterbalance, reminding players that not all magic is strange or threatening. Some of it simply makes things grow.

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Barking Alien's RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE! Day 21

Elowen

Day 21 – Organizations

Day 21-What are the major organizations of the campaign? How do they deal with visitors?
Corporations, guilds, secret societies; what groups with influence exist in the campaign and how do they interact with the setting and its denizens? 

Elowen’s Journal

"I used to think organizations were neat things. Boxes you could label. Lists you could finish.

West Haven cured me of that.

There are covens, traditions, lodges, guilds, circles, and groups that insist they are none of those things but somehow still meet every week. Some overlap. Some pretend they don’t. Some share members and pretend they don’t notice. I have stopped trying to keep a perfect list.

The easiest place to start is my own. I belong to the West Haven Coven. Larina is our leader and High Priestess, though she rarely acts like either unless she needs to. Our coven includes me, Grýlka, Doireann, Celeste, Cassandra, Amaranth, Aisling, Esmé, and Katrina. Katrina also has a Lodge of her own. They are mostly alchemists, so people like Émilie. She says it’s “just practical,” but I think she likes having something that is hers.

The Rangers of the North Star patrol the frontier north of the towns. I see them sometimes on the roads or near the mountains. They are grim, quiet, and always polite. Not everyone trusts them, but everyone respects them. Even the ghosts give them space, which I have learned to pay attention to. I admit they fascinate me. 

There’s a Thieves’ Guild, too. They call themselves The Beasts. I only know that because Amaranth told me, and not to ask questions. Their territory includes the Drunken Orc Inn, somewhere behind doors I’ve never noticed before. The guild is one of the reasons the inn feels safer than it should.

The Druids here aren’t quite what I expected. They call themselves the Ban Drui, and they’re a mix of Druids and Witches. Their coven is the Daughters of the Flame, led by Saileach and Teamhair. There is a quiet power between those two. It's like you can see the magic dancing around them. I wish I could see auras like Aisling can. She always seems happier and sadder when she sees them. She says it because their auras are so bright. 

There are other witches, too. The Strixes, who turn into giant owls when they fly. The Daughters of Diana, who look like they’re always heading to some athletic competition and all carry bows. The Mara… I don’t like the Mara. They keep trying to recruit me. Ghosts follow them everywhere, thick as shadows. Larina says I need to wait before having any serious dealings with them. I would rather not have any dealings with them at all. There are also the Pumpkin Spice Witches. I am not sure if they are a real coven or a social club. 

Once, a group of elves calling themselves the Court of Swords came to West Haven. They were already established here somehow, though I didn’t understand how. Larina dealt with them directly for a week, and Katrina and Esmé took over my lessons. No one explained why. I didn’t ask.

And then there are the Westhaven gnomes. They pretend to be innkeepers, traders, and hosts. They are also a cabal entirely unto themselves. I am convinced they know everything that happens in the valley before anyone else does.

That’s just what I can name. There are more. Covens I recognize by habit, by the way certain witches always sit together or walk home at the same hour. I don’t know all their names yet. I think that’s normal.

East Haven is different.

They have organizations, too, but they are sharper, more formal. The Church of Light dominates much of public life there. Priests, lay-priests, councils, and rules that are meant to apply evenly, even when they don’t. They deal with visitors politely, as long as those visitors behave correctly. Witches are tolerated at best, distrusted at worst. The ghosts from East Haven remember a lot of sermons.

West Haven doesn’t ask you who you answer to. It asks who you sit with when you’re tired. I think that tells you everything you need to know."

Designer’s Notes

Organizations in West Haven are intentionally overlapping, informal, and relational. Power flows through trust, shared history, and social gravity rather than rigid hierarchy. Covens, lodges, and guilds often intersect, and membership is fluid. This allows characters to move between groups organically and gives the setting a lived-in feel.

East Haven provides a deliberate contrast. Its institutions, especially the Church of Light, are centralized, doctrinal, and rule-driven. Visitors are assessed by conformity rather than connection. This tension reinforces the ideological divide between the two towns and provides ongoing sources of conflict.

Not every organization needs to be fully defined. Some exist simply to be noticed, feared, or hinted at. West Haven is a place where influence is sensed before it is explained, and where belonging matters more than titles. 

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Barking Alien's RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE! Day 20

Day 20 - Mysteries

Day 20-Are there any mysteries as yet unsolved?
Legendary tales, lost civilizations, or cryptid creatures; does the setting have anything for the amateur detective?

Elowen’s Journal

"Not everything wants to be solved.

That was one of the first lessons I learned here. Witches don’t rush mysteries the way other people do. Some questions are meant to be lived with, turned over slowly, like stones in a river. Still, there are things I keep circling back to, no matter how many times I tell myself to be patient.

Everyone asks what happened to the Elves of the Wood. The Goblins live there now, in what we call the Goblin Wood, but it belonged to the elves long before that. The histories say they left. The goblins say they were already gone when they arrived. What troubles me is this: there are no ghosts. Not one that I’ve seen. Elves don’t just vanish. If they died here, I would know. The silence feels deliberate.

Then there is the Great Flood.

The druids say it was simple. Weeks of rain. A thaw. A glacier finally breaking loose in the mountains. It makes sense, on paper. But witches look at timing as much as cause. The flood came the very night fifteen people were meant to burn. I hear ghosts argue about this sometimes. Some say it was chance. Some say it was mercy. Some say the Goddess herself reached down and said, "Enough." I don’t know which answer scares me more.

The Maiden Wood is another mystery I try not to think about too much. It isn’t dark or tangled like the Goblin Wood. It looks calm. Inviting, even. No one goes there. Everyone avoids it. When I ask why it’s called the Maiden Wood, I never get the same answer twice. That’s usually a bad sign.

And then there is the West.

The Western Road leaves through the Lughnasadh and Samhain Gates and just… keeps going. People talk about it like it’s obvious where it leads, but no one ever says. Frontier. Beyond. Elsewhere. I’ve stood at the gate and watched travelers leave, wondering what kind of person keeps walking once West Haven is behind them.

Some mysteries feel like doors. Others feel like warnings. I’m learning how to tell the difference."

Designer’s Notes

Mysteries in West Haven are intentionally unresolved. They exist to invite play, speculation, and emotional investment rather than to be “completed.” Each mystery offers multiple interpretations, none of which are confirmed as correct.

Also, keep in mind that Elowen is the stand-in right now for the Player Characters. They are not going to know more than her, often less. 

The disappearance of the Haven Elves suggests an event outside normal cycles of death and memory. I'll be honest, I am not even sure I know myself yet! 

The Great Flood sits at the intersection of natural disaster, divine intervention, and myth-making. Though the answer here is more natural than supernatural. The rain and melting ice in the Broken Mountains breached the glacial dam. It just happened at the exact right moment.

The Maiden Wood is a narrative negative space, defined more by avoidance than description. Though it is called that due to the Dryads. The zoo of yesterday is the clue. This wooded area is home to a group of dryads that Larina rescued from the lands of Faerie (going back to my 4e days).

The Western Road represents the unknown future and the temptation of leaving safety behind. It is there to provide new adventures. It is a mystery to Elowen because she has not left the safety of West Haven. There is a set of barrow mounds out west, but she doesn't know that yet.

These mysteries are not all required to be solved. They are meant to shape tone, inspire questions, and remind players that the world is larger than their characters’ understanding. In West Haven, curiosity is encouraged, but that doesn't mean the answers will be satisfactory.

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Barking Alien's RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE! Day 19

Day 19 - Must-See Sites

Day 19-Any 'Must See' sites?
Are there any places or things a visitor to the setting just has to check out?

Elowen’s Journal

"If you only have one afternoon in West Haven, go to the Fountain Circle. Or Fountain Square as some witches still call it. I have not figured out why. 

That’s where everyone ends up eventually. On warm days, it turns into a kind of living map of the village. Farmers resting their feet, witches arguing good-naturedly, children daring each other to toss copper coins just right. The statue of Maiden faces east, the Mother north, the Crone west, and somehow it always feels like someone is watching over you, no matter where you sit. I like to people-watch there. It makes me feel less strange.

The Library is the other place I always recommend. It might not have the book you came looking for, but it will absolutely have the book you need. Sometimes it finds you instead. I don’t understand how it works, only that it does. Knowing that Larina used to be the librarian explains a lot. I always leave with more questions than answers, and I think that’s the point.

Everyone says you should see the Cailleach’s Bones. They’re right. They’re ancient, and powerful, and full of history. I have seen them. Once. That was enough. Some places don’t need revisiting to be remembered.

Émilie’s apothecary is quieter, but no less important. I like visiting with her sister Céline. She is the strangest witch I have ever met, and after three years here, that is saying something. She has everything you could want for an alchemy lab, a healing kit, or a kitchen that takes herbs seriously. Omar’s, of course, has everything else. If you can’t find it there, you probably don’t need it yet.

Renee’s is perfect for lunch. The Purple Dragon for dinner. That’s just how the day flows. In summer, everyone drifts back toward the Fountain Circle again for evening music. Lanterns go up. The air cools. It feels like the town is exhaling.

I haven’t been to the observatory yet, but I’ve been told the stars look closer from there. I am not sure I want to see them that close. What strange ghosts inhabit those worlds? Am I meant to know?

East Haven has its own sights. A zoological garden that people speak highly of, though I don’t like seeing some of the animals in cages. They look… diminished. That would never work in West Haven. Their library is large, orderly, and very good at helping you find exactly what you're looking for. It’s just not very good at surprises.

Doireann has promised to take me to the Goblin Market one night. She won’t tell me when or where. Just “soon.” I am trying very hard to be patient. Amaranth tells me it is a great place to get ripped-off, but I am not listening to her."

Designer’s Notes

West Haven’s must-see sites are intentionally layered. Very few are strictly tourist attractions. Most are places that reward lingering, repeat visits, and emotional engagement. The Fountain Circle anchors the social life of the village. The Library reinforces discovery over acquisition. Shops like Émilie’s and Omar’s blur the line between mundane commerce and magical infrastructure.

East Haven serves as a contrast. Its attractions are impressive, curated, and well-organized, but often lack the intimacy and improvisational magic of West Haven. This distinction reinforces the broader thematic divide between control and emergence, certainty and discovery.

Many locations are invented as needed, on purpose. West Haven is meant to feel alive, responsive, and slightly unfinished, like a place that grows around the characters rather than ahead of them. If it feels like there’s always one more place to see, that’s working as intended.

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Barking Alien's RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE! Day 18

Day 18 - Getting Around

Day 18-Forgot to ask; How do we get around?
What modes of transportation are available to people in the setting. 

Elowen’s Journal

West Haven is small enough that you can learn it all on foot. 

You can walk everywhere here. It surprised me at first how close everything feels. The streets curve, but they always seem to bring you where you need to go. The South Road, coming out through the Beltane Gate, is the busiest and safest. In East Haven, they call it the West Road, or the Western Trade Road, which feels like a small argument in itself. That’s where the Drunken Orc Inn sits, and where most travelers first arrive. It feels like a threshold more than a road.

People cross the lake all the time. Boats go back and forth, especially during market days. I don’t like it. The water feels crowded to me, and not in a friendly way. I prefer to keep the lake at a distance, even if that means walking farther than necessary.

A lot of witches fly. More than I ever imagined. Brooms, charms, whispered spells, things I don’t fully understand yet. Because of that, many buildings have entrances on both the upper floors and the ground. It took me a while to stop being startled by someone stepping out of a second-story door like it was the most natural thing in the world. I hope someday I’ll be able to do that too without thinking. Gaining your first besom, or witch's broom, is something of a milestone event for a witch.

Larina has a Gate in her cottage. She uses it to travel to distant places, even other worlds. She says I’m not ready yet. I want to argue, but every time I look at it too closely, I get dizzy, like the world is tilting sideways. So that feels like a fair warning. I’ve also been told there are Gates hidden in the Library, but the librarians, Cassandra and Celeste, won’t tell me where. Though I did find out by accident that Larina used to be the librarian before she became the Witch Queen. That explains a lot.

Doireann says there are Gates in the Labyrinth, too. I don’t know if she’s teasing me or not. With goblins, it’s always hard to tell. But goblins seem to have a way of moving all over, so maybe she is right.

For now, I walk. I watch the sky. I learn the paths that don’t show up on maps. West Haven makes getting around feel like part of the adventure, even when you’re just going home.

Designer’s Notes

Travel in West Haven was designed around two core ideas. First, everything important should be close enough that play does not get bogged down in long, uneventful journeys. Second, the setting needed to acknowledge the reality that witches fly.

West Haven is walkable by design, but vertically layered. Upper entrances, rooftop paths, and night-time travel through the air are common for witches, which changes how the town functions socially and architecturally. This idea was inspired by my time at the University of Illinois at Chicago while working on my first Ph.D.  The East Campus buildings were connected by elevated walkways, creating an entirely different sense of movement than ground-level travel. They were there when I did my first campus visit and gone before I started attending some 6 months later. 

That physical East/West divide also fed directly into the conceptual split between East Haven and West Haven. Though Lake Haven is a bit more dangerous and has fewer restaurant choices than Chicago's Little Italy, which splits the campus.

Gates exist, but they are deliberately restricted, hidden, or guarded. Easy teleportation solves too many problems too quickly. In West Haven, magical travel is powerful, tempting, and dangerous, something to grow into rather than rely on from the start. Movement here reinforces one of the setting’s core themes: magic expands possibility, but it also demands patience. Esmé is my expert on Gates. I am sure she will teach them all to Elowen someday.

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Barking Alien's RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE! Day 17

Day 17 - Wars & Battles

Day 17-Can you tell us about any famous battles or wars?
Tales of conflicts and combats abound across the multiverse! Any interesting ones in your setting we should know about?

Elowen’s Journal

"Witches do not remember wars the way other people do. Neither do ghosts.

The living talk about who won. The ghosts talk about what was never recovered afterward. Fields that never grew back the same. Songs that stopped being sung. Names no one says anymore because it hurts too much to remember them. Witches talk about what was lost.

I do not read about wars. I walk through them.

There are still ghosts here from what the historians call the Elf-Goblin Wars. That name is wrong. It always was. It was really a war between the elves of the old forest and the Mountain Orcs, long before humans ever came to the Haven Valley. The goblins were caught between them, and so were the dwarves. The dead remember confusion more than hatred. Orders that made no sense. Allies that vanished overnight. I cannot tell how long ago it was. A thousand years, maybe more. Time blurs when everyone involved is gone.

The conflict that shaped West Haven most was not really a war at all.

Before there was an East or a West, there was just Haven. One village. One valley. When fear took hold, fifteen women and men were accused of witchcraft by a mob led by a lay-priest of the Church of Light. The night they were meant to burn had already seen three days of heavy rain. Somewhere in the mountains, a glacier finally broke loose. The flood came down the valley and erased the village before the fires could be lit.

The witches survived. Most of the townsfolk did too. But Haven did not.

Afterward, people did what they always do. They moved apart. Humans went east to higher ground. Witches, both human and gnome, went west. Two towns grew from the same grief and the same blood and convinced themselves they had nothing left in common. When I walk near the lake, I can still see the old streets beneath the water. The ghosts remember when it was all one place."

Designer’s Notes

West Haven’s conflicts are defined less by battles than by their aftermath.

The Elf-Goblin War predates human settlement in the Haven Valley and was, in truth, a multi-sided conflict involving Mountain Orcs, Haven Elves, Goblins of the Wood, and Dwarves of the Rock. Its echoes linger in the form of lingering spirits, ruined sites, and long-standing cultural tensions that never fully healed.

The defining event for human history in the region is The Founding and the Flood. Originally settled as a spiritual utopia by followers of the Lords of Light, Haven later absorbed a second group of pagans, mystics, and practitioners of the Old Ways. Though uneasy, the two communities survived together until fear triggered witchcraft accusations and attempted purges. The Great Flood, whether an accident, fate, or an intervention by the gods, destroyed the original village and ended the violence.

It didn't end the distrust.

The resulting split gave rise to East Haven and West Haven. Both towns share laws, bloodlines, and trade, but diverged culturally and spiritually. That divergence, rather than any single war, is the wound that still shapes this setting. In West Haven, history is not past. It lingers, watches, and sometimes, if you know how to listen, it speaks.

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Barking Alien's RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE! Day 16

Day 16 - Direct Threats

Day 16-Are there any direct threats?
Who or what in your campaign actively means the people in it - including the PCs - harm?

Elowen’s Journal

"When people ask about threats, they usually mean something with teeth. An army. A monster. A name you can point to and say, 'that one.' I don’t think it works that way here.

There are names that change a room's temperature when spoken. You can feel it in your skin, like a window just opened somewhere you didn’t see. Even the ghosts react to some of them. They fall quiet. Or they leave. That scares me the most. 

Kelek is one of those names. I don’t know much about him. Only that he hates witches, and that hatred feels old and practiced, like a blade sharpened over generations. The ghosts that remember him do not scream. They whisper. That somehow feels worse. 

I also always hear awful things about Skylla, but the few times I have met her, she didn't seem that terrible to me. 

There is someone called the Bone Man. I don’t know if that is his real name or just the one that survived him. He wants the magic of West Haven. Not the people. Not the land. Just the power that leaks out of everything here, whether we want it to or not. Ghosts do not like him. They do not like to say why. They do not like to be around when he is talked about.

East Haven scares me in a different way. Not because of monsters, but because of certainty. There are men there who believe witches should not exist at all. Not regulated. Not controlled. Erased. The ghosts from East Haven carry a lot of unfinished anger, and none of it is aimed at the right people.

Then there is Katrina.

She is on our side. I know that. She has saved my life. She has saved Aisling's life more than once. But she wants a world that belongs to witches alone, and when she talks about it, I understand why. I also understand why Larina listens carefully and says very little in response. Those two are going to have a fight one day, and I am not sure who is going to come out on top. 

The most frightening threat does not have a name I am supposed to write down.

There is something the ghosts sometimes circle around without touching. Something they remember only in pieces. A presence that does not rage or conquer or declare itself king. It waits. It remains. Even Larina does not speak its name. At all.

If there is a single truth I have learned, it is this: West Haven is not threatened by invasion. It is threatened by people who want to define it. Control it. Simplify it. Turn it into something smaller and easier to rule.

The monsters are real. So are the ideologues. But the most dangerous things are the ones that believe they are right forever."

Designer’s Notes

Direct threats in West Haven are intentionally asymmetrical. Some are personal. Some are ideological. Some are cosmic. None should be what the characters or even the players expect. 

Kelek represents institutionalized hatred of witchcraft through arcane authority. Skylla is a cautionary tale for witches. Normally I have been avoiding "other IP" in my West Haven, but these two have been such a staple in my games for so long it is hard to part with them. 

The Bone Man embodies predatory magic seeking to extract power from place and people alike. He used to be a citizen of West Haven. He had been in charge of the gravesites, and for a while, he ruled as Lord Autumn in the Autumn sector. But his desire for power, both necromantic and political, drove him out of West Haven. Some say he left to find better ways to seize power; others say he was forced out by the Witch Queen at the time. He shows up occasionally, attempting to sow discord, but has not been seen in years now.

East Haven’s Patriarchy reflects systemic, conservative opposition to witches as a social and spiritual force. Thankfully, they do not represent all the people of East Haven, but they are rather vocal. They are followers of Providence Stoughton, one of the founders of the original Haven settlement and village. Stoughton was a devout member of the Lords of Light and the spiritual founder of the Church of Light in Old Haven. The Temple of Light in East Haven was dedicated to his memory. While Stoughton was a moderately conservative priest, he was not a fanatic. The Patriarch of East Haven though feels that since he founded the Haven Settlement all these lands, including West Haven, belong to him and therefore belong to his legacy, which they claim. 

Katrina exists as a morally complex internal threat, an ally whose vision could become tyranny if unchecked. Sadly, if the Patriarchy were ever to become a true threat again, Katrina's position would grow more attractive, especially to younger witches.  One thing I hope to convey through Elowen is that Katrina has some good points. It is through older witches like Larina and Esmé that we see what threat Katrina really brings. 

The greatest long-term threat is The One Who Remains, a force that does not attack directly but erodes reality, memory, and identity over time. It is not always visible. It does not always act. But it is always present. The One Who Remains is also the threat that could cause all the participants above to put aside their differences and fit this greater foe.

West Haven survives not because it is strong, but because it refuses to be defined by outsiders.

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Barking Alien's RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE! Day 15

Day 15 - Things Best Avoided

Day 15-What are some things in the setting that are best avoided?
Dangerous terrain, haunted places, angry natives, and even unpleasant beverages; name some elements in your campaign that should be given a wide berth. Obviously these are beings and things in the setting the tourist should avoid but which Player Characters would likely run towards. 

Elowen's Journal

"People warned me about West Haven when I first arrived. They said it was dangerous. Haunted. Wrong. I think that’s funny now.

The places I avoid are quieter than that.

I stay away from the lake. I can’t explain it properly, only that the ghosts there feel unfinished in a way that makes my chest hurt. Not loud. Not violent. Just… stuck. Some of them don’t even know they’re dead. Others know too well. I can stand at the shore, but I never linger. I don’t like how the water remembers.

East Haven makes me nervous. I can walk its streets. I have. But it feels like a place that watches you back. The rules are clearer there, sharper somehow, and I am never quite sure which ones I am breaking just by existing. My first real adventure started there, and I learned quickly that “safe” and “familiar” are not the same thing.

I will not go near the Cailleach’s Bones. Everyone says you can feel them before you see them, and they are right. The spirits there are old and proud and very sure they were right to die for what they believed. That kind of certainty frightens me more than anger ever could.

The Maiden Wood is worse. Everyone avoids it. Even people who pretend they don’t believe curses can affect them still take the long way around. I know better than to ask questions. I have seen Larina walk into that forest more than once, calm as if she were stepping into her own kitchen. That does not make me feel safer. It makes me feel like there are rules I do not yet understand.

What surprises me most is that people think West Haven itself is frightening. They whisper about witches and ghosts and strange folk in the streets. To me, it feels honest. The dangerous places announce themselves here. The truly terrible things do not bother with disguises.

If I have learned anything, it is this: not everything dangerous feels threatening, and not everything that feels safe actually is. West Haven taught me that. It also taught me how to listen when the land says, quietly but firmly, do not go there."

Designer Notes

This day reframes classic adventure locations as lived warnings rather than explicit hooks. Elowen’s perspective emphasizes instinct, emotional danger, and spiritual weight over physical threat. Places players will be eager to explore are introduced as areas locals avoid for reasons that are felt rather than explained. 

West Haven is a paradox: widely feared by outsiders, yet experienced by residents as a place of clarity, where danger is visible and negotiable. This reinforces the setting’s core philosophy: witches and ghosts make the world safer not by removing danger, but by naming it. This is a "witch village," the villagers are not afraid of the same things.  

This sets up future adventures while reinforcing trust in intuition, boundaries, and the idea that some places are not meant to be entered until you are ready—or ever.

There is an ancient elven ruin in the Goblin Wood. The Lake is cursed, as are the Callieach's Bones. The Maiden Wood isn't cursed, but the dryads are violent to outsiders. There are more haunted houses in West Haven than in cities five times larger. 

There are wererats fighting aligatormen in the sewers and septic pits under the village. Werewolves roam north of the village, and they are barely contained by the Rangers of the North Star. There are enough undead to keep the Church of Light and the Knights of St. Werper busy for decades. 

There's a lot to do here, and almost none of it is safe. Elowen might avoid these places, but I suspect adventurers won't. 

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Barking Alien's RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE! Day 14

Day 14 - Eat Like a Local

Day 14-What to order to 'Eat like a local'.
Are there any foods unique to the campaign setting? If so, what are they like?

Elowen’s Journal

"Eating like a local in West Haven is not about ordering the right dish. It is about knowing what you need. And where to get it. 

Renee’s always tastes like safety to me. Warm bread, gentle herbs, tea that settles instead of wakes. When I sit there, I remember learning how to breathe again. How to listen. How to stay in one place without feeling like I needed to flee. The Purple Dragon tastes different. Heavier. Louder. It makes me think of Aisling and Eodard, of music and laughter and the way healing is not a straight path. She is further along than I am, I think. That is all right. I am still walking.

The Westhaven gnome inns taste like discovery. Every meal feels like a small, pleasant surprise, as if the village itself is reminding you that kindness can be inherited and practiced without being announced. Even the Drunken Orc has its place. I cannot help laughing when I eat there, remembering how uncomfortable my parents were the first time they visited. It is not comfort food, exactly, but it is honest.

Still, if I am telling the truth, my favorite place to eat is Larina’s kitchen. A long table. Too many chairs. Someone is always cooking. Someone is always talking. Food passed without ceremony. That is what belonging tastes like. It is not something you can order. It is something you are invited into. We are a coven, but we are also a family. Despite what Katrina says. Or maybe because of it."

Designer's Notes

In West Haven, food functions as emotional shorthand. Each location feeds a different need. Healing, celebration, grounding, nostalgia, or belonging. None of these spaces are random. They are designed to support character arcs and reinforce the idea that rest and nourishment are part of play, not distractions from it.

Day 14 intentionally avoids listing signature dishes. Instead, it frames eating like a local as an act of understanding context and community. Players who pay attention to where they eat, and with whom, learn as much about West Haven as they would from any lore dump. Food here is memory made edible, and the kitchen table is often where alliances, confessions, and character growth truly begin.

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Barking Alien's RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE! Day 13

Day 13 - Food & Drink

Day 13-Where can we get a drink and a bite to eat?
Give us a few of your most notable restaurants and bars in the campaign setting. Tell us something about these places and what makes them distinctive.

Elowen's Journal

"If you want tea, you go to Renee’s. That part is simple. It is perfect for luncheons, for afternoon conversations that turn into confessions, and for evenings when you only want something light and warm before heading home. Renee always seems to know when to refill your cup without asking, and I have learned that whatever pastry she suggests is the one you should take.

The Purple Dragon is better when you are hungry in a serious way. Big meals. Loud tables. Music drifts through the room, whether you planned to listen or not. It feels like a place where stories get told out loud, not whispered. 

But if you want the best food in West Haven, truly the best, you go to one of the inns run by the Westhaven gnome clan.

They used to be called 'Winterhaven,' long before the flood, back when Haven was still one settlement. The stories say they hid a group of witches during a hunt, fed them, sheltered them, and never asked for anything in return. The witches blessed them in return, and when some of the clan stayed in the valley, they changed their name to Westhaven. Their cooking is… more than good. I do not know how else to say it. Their bread alone feels like it remembers every meal you ever needed. I dream about it sometimes. They make this pastry, which they call "walking bread." It's light, fluffy, sweet, and filled with fruits and cream. It's crazy how good it is. One day, Doireann and I went all over the village and got a different one at each inn. I was sick to my stomach, and Doireann laughed, but it was completely worth it. 

Food changes with the seasons here, too. Each quarter does its best work in its proper time, but no one does autumn like the Mabon Quarter. Stews, roasted roots, apple breads, things that make you feel like winter will not be quite so cruel after all.

Friday the 13th is my favorite. It is not a big festival. No banners or speeches. Just a quiet understanding that luck bends a little differently that day. Extra dishes appear. Drinks get stronger. People linger longer. Witches smile more than usual. It feels like the town is taking a breath and remembering who it belongs to."

Designer's Notes

Food in West Haven is intentionally grounded. Meals are communal, seasonal, and often layered with subtle ritual meaning, whether the diners are aware of it or not. Eating together is one of the ways the town maintains cohesion between witches and non-witches, locals and travelers, living and lingering.

Different locations serve different roles. Renee’s Tea Shoppe is a social and conversational hub, ideal for quiet scenes and character development. The Purple Dragon handles larger gatherings, music, and shared stories. Gnome-run inns, particularly those of the Westhaven clan, represent inherited magical hospitality. Their food is blessed not through spells but through tradition, gratitude, and long memory.

Friday the 13th functions as a minor holiday in West Haven. It is not announced, but it is observed. On that day, luck, fate, and appetite all run a little stronger. For witches especially, it is a reminder that nourishment is not just physical. It is ritual, protection, and belonging made edible.

It is Friday the 13th here as well, and my son's bakery is doing its annual Pączki day, which may or may not be a good substitute for Westhaven Walking Bread. But don't try to eat more than two at a time unless you are a goblin. 

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