The Sundrown Wilds
Have you ever been sleeping, and a sound from the real world manifests in your dream? A siren, a knock, a bird’s call - something that bleeds into the subconscious and becomes part of the dream’s logic?
That’s the Sundrown Wilds: a sentient, sleeping forest that manifests the legends, lies, and aspirations of its inhabitants into its own dream.
The Sundrown Wilds sit on the border between Ghyran and Ghur, where life flourishes without restraint, and only the strongest stories survive. Warbands who enter find themselves in either The Gilded Forest, a land of brilliant autumn colors beneath a perpetual sunny afternoon, or The Blackwater Bog, where eerily glowing waters and gnarled black flora twist beneath an endless twilight.
But the Wilds do not shift - only those within them do.
Stories take root here, not by fate, but by belief. A warband’s purpose, fears, or ambitions shape their path. The Gilded Forest and Blackwater Bog are not two places; they are two sides of the same dream. Each warband sees only one, shaped by the weight of their own expectations:
A warband seeking glory sees The Gilded Forest, because their legend must begin somewhere.
A warband burdened by the past sees The Blackwater Bog, because they cannot escape it.
A warband uncertain of themselves may drift between the two, caught between triumph and doubt.
The Wilds do not choose. They dream, and those within them dream along.
How It Works in a Warcry Campaign
I wanted the Sundrown Wilds to feel like more than just a setting - I wanted it to be something players actively shape.
Warbands start in either the Gilded Forest or Blackwater Bog based on how they see themselves (seeking glory or dwelling on the past).
Players experience the same battles differently: one warband may see golden leaves, while another fights through sinking mud.
Sundrown Shift Events alter the battlefield: before each match, a roll determines if myths emerge, terrain shifts, or memories fade.
The Wilds remember (or forget) the warbands: at the end of a campaign, warbands roll on a Final Remembrance table to see if their story is written into legend or lost forever.
And most importantly:
A warband that believes they are destined for greatness will be. A warband that loses its way may vanish entirely.
Examples of the Wilds at Work
An Idoneth warband wanders the Blackwater Bog, searching for the ocean they swear must be near. The Wilds do not trap them - they are lost because they believe they are.
An Ogor warband enters the Wilds in pursuit of a great beast, telling stories of its size, its cunning, its monstrous strength. No such beast existed - until now.
Some Stormcast believe the Wilds dream too freely, conjuring legends best left forgotten. These self-appointed keepers seek out myths before they take root, erasing dangerous dreams before they awaken.
These warbands are not merely living in the Wilds - they are shaping them.