The World
Behind the forests and the choices lies a power buried deep. Not a cold one — it breathes, it remembers, the Wudlands Engine has opinions about what you did last time. This page is the view behind the curtain: how the Wudlands works, what keeps it turning, and why the road never quite runs the same way twice.
— The Wud Legends —
Inspiration is drawn from the old-school choice-based Fighting Fantasy format, UltraQuest, Lone Wolf Saga, EverQuest, Dungeon Crawl Classic, books from Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, and the GAVUN WUD meme.
Love, Admiration
&
the Art of Minne
Gold buys a bed. Scars prove you survived. But neither will get you through a locked gate when the woman who holds the key has decided she is not interested.
They call it Minne. Knights who crossed mountains for a single moment of favour from someone who probably would not even be watching. All unreachable in their own way. That is the point. The reaching is the thing.
What opens a door is a name that arrived before you did. Your fame tells them what kind of person stands on their doorstep. Your notoriety tells them whether to call for dinner or for the guard. Infamy is not so different from being admired. It simply arrives with better wine and more nervous smiles.
Flirtation, courtly games, seduction — none of it simple. A lady's favour can open a city gate or hand your enemies exactly the leverage they needed. What you pursue is your choice — but the choice, once made, belongs to the story.
Your Nature
Your origin — the blood that runs through your veins, the craft your hands learned, the gender the world perceives — is written at your birth and does not change. Your age advances with every adventure. Those months do not come back. More on the character creation page.
Your vital status is the deepest mark. You may walk as alive, return as dead, hunger as a vampire without aging, exist without a soul as soulless, find yourself stripped of magic as magicless, cursed by forces unseen as cursed, trapped in stone as petrified, or drift unanchored as incorporal. These conditions persist until a future adventure offers redemption. The world knows what you are. The question is what you do about it.
Your relationships — every person you have met, charmed, scorned, or loved — follow you from one adventure to the next. The innkeeper who trusted you, the lord whose son you failed to save. None of them forget. Neither does the record.
Survival
&
Combat
The Wudlands does not care whether you are ready. Hunger, thirst, cold — they arrive whether you planned for them or not. A fight you cannot win is still a fight you walked into. The wise learn when to run.
| What to Know | How It Works in the Wudlands |
|---|---|
| Choices | Every decision carries weight. The story remembers what you did — and what you chose not to. |
| Survival | Hunger, thirst, cold, disease — push too hard and your hands will shake at the wrong moment. |
| Combat | Not every fight is one you are meant to win. Knowing when to run is as valuable as knowing when to stand. |
| Shelter | No permanent home. Caves, barricaded inns, collapsed watchtowers. The Wudlands does not hand out homes. |
| Retreat | Every adventure has a way out. It may cost you something to reach it. Using the retreat counts as a playthrough. |
- Choices▾
- Survival▾
- Combat▾
- Shelter▾
- Retreat▾
Character
&
Party
Decide who you are before you set foot in the Wudlands. Choose carefully. You will wear this choice for the rest of your time in the world.
You begin classless. The Wudlands does not hand you a title — you must earn it. Some paths require a teacher who may not find you worthy on the first meeting.
Up to four can travel together. Set a marching order — the road is full of things that do not fight fair. Think about who you put where.
| What to Know | How It Works in the Wudlands |
|---|---|
| Race | Permanent choice. Each race carries its own strengths, history, and the way the world reads you. |
| Class | You begin classless. Classes unlock after enough experience — some require a teacher who may not find you worthy. |
| Age & Time | Every adventure adds one month to your life. Old age accumulates. Life potions exist — but nothing here is free. |
| Equipment | Soft carry limits. Exceed them and the weight tells — slower movement, quicker exhaustion. |
| Party | Up to four adventurers. Set a marching order — the front takes threats, the rear gets taken first. |
- Race▾
- Class▾
- Age & Time▾
- Equipment▾
- Party▾
Character Availability
Character status at a glance: free, ready, working [00:01:07], travelling [00d 00:04:40], imprisoned [00d 00:09:36] — each with a countdown until available. Does not affect adventure content.
Story Effects
Hunger, thirst, cold, buffs — temporary conditions that fade when you leave the adventure. They push your decisions during play, nothing more.