Beyond the Woods is a dark fantasy campaign setting for the narrative tabletop RPG Legend in the Mist. The game takes place in Tír Nascath, a mysterious world inspired by Irish mythology.
Players leave the last safe city, Céad Darach, to explore dangerous lands filled with haunted ruins, ancient magic, and supernatural creatures. The goal is simple but dangerous: find something powerful enough to save your home before its magical protection disappears.
What Comes in the Expansion?
Beyond the Woods adds two main books to the Legend in the Mist game:
- The Wanderer’s Handbook: It focuses on player content, character options, and exploration
- The Lorekeeper’s Guide: contains world lore, monsters, adventures, and challenges for the game master
Together, both the books introduce the players to new settings, expanded gameplay mechanics, and other storytelling tools.
How Beyond the Woods for Legend in the Mist Is Played
Beyond the Woods is played as a story-driven tabletop role-playing game where players work together to tell a shared story. Here’s how you can play it:
- Begin by creating your own avatar in the game, known as Wanderer.
- Select the theme kits to shape your Wanderer’s background, its abilities, companions, and other supernatural powers.
- Define your character’s concept. It can be inspired by the Irish folklore archetypes such as druids, wandering storytellers, battle-hardened warriors, or even cursed beings with mysterious abilities.
- Once you are done with the character, step out of the city and explore the world. You have to navigate to the dangerous lands and fight supernatural creatures.
- Remember, every choice you make shapes the future. Hence, be very careful while making the choices.
The Exploration System
One of the key features of Beyond the Woods is its hexcrawl exploration system.
Instead of following a fixed story path, players explore the map one hex at a time. Each location may contain ruins, monsters, quests, or hidden secrets. Players choose where to travel and mark their discoveries on the map as they explore.
This creates an open-ended adventure where the journey evolves based on player decisions.
Magic and Creatures
The expansion adds new magical traditions based on Irish mythology.
Players can become a Draoi who channels seasonal magic, followers of the war goddess Morrigan, spirit summoners, or even cursed werewolves.
The world is also filled with legendary creatures, including:
• Bean Sí – a spirit whose wail foretells death
• Avartach – a blood-drinking undead monster
• Dúlachán – the terrifying headless horseman These encounters create a darker and more mythic atmosphere than the original setting.
Rebuilding the World
In the game extension, players have to rebuild the places that are discovered during the mission. For this, they can use the Bastion system, reclaim destroyed villages and haunted places. Furthermore, players can also bring new allies to the places to get help in the entire rebuilding process.
Who Is This Game For?
The game is designed for a wide audience. You will love it if you are:
- A fan of story-driven tabletop RPGs
- Someone who enjoys exploration and world discovery
- Interested in folklore-inspired fantasy settings
- Fan of dark fantasy worlds similar to Elden Ring
Why Beyond the Woods for Legend in the Mist Stands Out
Beyond the woods is a very unique combination of modern storyline and Irish mythology. Unlike most of the other games, it does not provide a pre-set storyline to follow. Instead, the whole plot is influenced and changed by the player’s choice. Hence, every choice, discovery, and battle helps create a unique story shaped by the players.