Land of Tales - Season of Hunger: A Daggerheart Adventure

Introduction

The group is hired by a village that is freezing and starving. The villagers are close to collapse, but they cling to one last hope: an old artifact known as the Everburning Flame of the Old Witch. They say it is a small, steady fire that cannot be put out by wind, water or time and that wherever it is carried, warmth returns and things begin to grow again. According to local stories, the flame still burns in an ancient witch’s hut hidden deep in the forest. 

If you bring the flame back, the village might live. If you fail, no one will be left to remember you tried.

The forest is already waiting.

The Zine

“Land of Tales – Season of Hunger” is an adventure zine compatible with the Daggerheart Core Rulebook, created to work equally well for newcomers and experienced Game Masters and players. It is designed as a compact, table-ready entry point into Daggerheart. 

The world of our zine is set in a Twisted Fairytale theme, mixing popular German and eastern European myths and fairytales, warping them to something new.

The zine contains around 20 pages of playable material. It opens with an introduction that establishes the setting and provides the context needed to start play quickly, without requiring additional reading beyond the core rules. A set of pre-generated characters is included so groups can jump straight into play and see how key options and abilities work.

The main part is a complete Level 1 adventure for 3–5 players, written to teach Daggerheart by playing it. The early scenes introduce the core mechanics, then the adventure ramps up step by step. The GM gets clear prompts and guidance to keep things moving and make the session easy to run.

“Land of Tales – Season of Hunger” will be available in English and German, and supporters receive access to both language editions

Reward Tiers

Stretch Goals

We got funded in just under 28 Hours (ThankYou!!!) so now here are our Stretch Goals:

200EUR – Additional Enemy and Fight Scene  - UNLOCKED!!!
An additional enemy type and fight scene added to the Finale of the Adventure

500EUR - Redesigned Character Sheets - UNLOCKED!!!
Redesigned Character Sheets adapted from the original Daggerheart Charakter Sheet. They are designed for easier and stream-lined usability, tailored for the scope of the Adventure.

1000EUR – Additional Content for the Adventure - UNLOCKED!!!
Additional Content for the Adventure, as an optional prologue providing more Context and Lore in a longer Session.

Land of Tales

The Setting

Nemestrasil is an ancient forest saturated with fungi, heavy with spores and constant, quiet growth. Pumpkin-lit paths, branching mycelium veins and hybrid creatures shape an environment that does not just threaten travelers physically, but pushes the story onto them. Familiar fairytale routes and motifs, echoes of Baba Yaga and Hansel and Gretel, are forced into view, darkened and stitched together, so that one tale bleeds into the next. The deeper you go, the more it feels like the forest is guiding you toward the hut and the longer you carry hope in your hands, the more you wonder what else the old witch left burning inside that flame.

The Charakters

The zine will include five characters. They are designed to be ready to play, to fit the adventure, and to be easy to pick up and start. They are loosely inspired by the student team working on the project; however, they still allow for some customization and are intended to be interpreted openly.
All characters are level 1 and include a short backstory as well as fully completed character sheets.

Pleurotus Ostreatus

Pleurotos Ostreatus is the ancient guardian of the Land of Tales, taking the form of a masked Fungril. In truth, they are a powerful entity that can manifest their influence throughout the Land of Tales, using it to compel the retelling of fairytales and folklore and leaving fungi behind in the wake of those retellings.
Depending on which mask acts, the fungi may lead adventurers toward a happy ending or into their demise.

What is Daggerheart

Daggerheart is a TTRPG sytem that was developed and published by Critical Role and Darrington Press. It focuses on collaborative storytelling and inspiring narratives, where everyone can add their own experiences and flavour. 

Players work together with their GM to bring the world and characters alive and make sure everyone is having fun.

AI Statement

As a small team of very motivated creatives, we firmly place ourselves against the use of Generative AI in our product. Everything you see is made by human hand and reflects our passion we put into this product.
All of us despise the unregulated use of AI in creative areas. We think AI is theft and disregards human passion.

Kickstarter Purpose

This Kickstarter exists to fund the production and release of “Land of Tales – Season of Hunger” as a polished, ready-to-play adventure zine for Daggerheart. The main goal is to cover the practical costs that turn a finished manuscript into something people can actually use and share, especially editing, layout, final art needs and distribution preparation.

Backing the campaign also supports a student-led team in publishing a real project under professional conditions. We are using this campaign to finish the zine to a high standard, get it into the hands of players and keep improving it through feedback and stretch goal additions.

Content Warnings

The adventure “Land of Tales – Season of Hunger” is set in a twisted fairytale theme and incorporates horror elements into the story. Because the fairytales are intentionally distorted and because the adventure draws on horror, folklore and myth, it may include sensitive content, including:

• Claustrophobia
• Body horror
• Mentions of cannibalism
• Child abuse
• Eating disorders

If you are uncomfortable with any of these topics, please read and play the adventure at your own discretion and make sure everyone at the table is comfortable before proceeding. 
The zine also provides options to avoid or soften some of these elements and offers guidance for handling them responsibly at your table, including safety tools and a brief Session Zero section.

The Team

Schachtelbox is a collaboration of students led by a lecturer from the Macromedia University of Applied Sciences and Macromedia Academy. Our goal is to bring the university’s student projects into the public eye and to foster and publish students’ ideas. We focus on game development in both analog and digital formats, aiming to inspire and excite with our projects.

We are still learning, but trying our best and putting passion into the project to create something great!

The students:

• Anni is our Project Lead and Project Manager. She keeps everything organized, supports the team day to day, and makes sure things actually get finished.
• Mo is our Co-Project Lead, Narrative Designer and Guy(?) for everything; likes to do too much and tries to do everything at the same time.
• Miri is our Art Direction Lead and an Artist. She coordinates the visual side, keeps the art consistent, and often pushes herself by taking on additional tasks.
• Ash is our Main Artist and draws constantly, seriously, it feels like he never stops. He's there to keep the team humble, by being realistic and sometimes a bit mean.
• Gabriel is our Main Writer. He’s deeply committed, sometimes to the point of overworking, and keeps the adventure text moving forward.

Our amazing helpers:

• Dorian is the Project Owner and Lecturer. He keeps the standards high, challenges the team, and makes sure we learn from the process, especially from mistakes.
• Sara handles Graphic Design and Layout. She is always helping, often working overtime to make the zine look clean, readable, and ready for print.
• Peter is our Advisor and Helper. As an experienced Game Master, he supports us with practical feedback and helps ensure the material is clear and playable.
• Melissa helps with Marketing and Social Media. She helps us post consistently and supports the team in coming up with fun ideas for our channels.

Print on Demand

Backers who choose a tier with Print-On-Demand Option will receive a link to order their book at cost from DrivethroughRPG. This means you pay separately for printing and shipping when placing your order. Shipping costs vary by country and local taxes, customs fees or import duties may also apply, so please check your local regulations.

Free RPG Days

In March 2026, our student group and local role-playing clubs will host Free RPG Days in Leipzig, as part of a nationwide event taking place that same week. Come by, discover new systems and connect with fellow gamers (if you happen to be in Germany). Whether you’re a seasoned adventurer or simply curious, there’s something for everyone!

Thank You!

A big thank you to the team at Darrington Press for giving creators the chance to build new worlds and adventures through their Community Content Program. As students, it genuinely means a lot to be welcomed into that space and to work with a framework that encourages experimentation, storytelling and fresh ideas. Being able to create something of our own while building on an established game has been both inspiring and hugely motivating for our whole team.

This zine was created during our current winter semester, alongside classes and other coursework and we are continuing with planned follow-up work to polish, refine and complete everything to the standard we want to release. Your support helps us do that work properly: it gives us room for additional editing, layout improvements, playtesting feedback and the extra pieces we want to add once stretch goals unlock.

If you back the project and share it with others, you’re not only helping us reach a few more stretch goals, you’re also helping a student team bring a real publication into the world and put our work in front of the wider tabletop community.

Best regards,

Team Schachtelbox