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I am going to be taking over the role of Dungeon Master soon, with a group of players that have leveled from 1 all the way up to epic tier. The characters will be level 21 at the start of my campaign. I've asked each player to choose their epic destiny a little early so I have time to work all of them into the story.

One is getting me stumped though: World Tree Guardian.

The epic destiny description has a little information about the World Tree and why a character would choose to defend it. But I am struggling to work that storyline into the campaign path we have been following. We are running the WOTC published modules dealing largely with Orcus and the Raven Queen.

So, where can I find more information about the World Tree and its influence on Toril? What books/magazines/etc have published more information about it?

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  • \$\begingroup\$ The forgotten realms wiki says the World Tree was destroyed by the spellplague, but the epic destiny description says it is an ancient spirit that has existed since the beginning of time, and "if you have your way, it will live longer still." My research isn't helping... \$\endgroup\$
    – dpatchery
    Jan 20, 2012 at 15:12
  • \$\begingroup\$ Perhaps it's your chance to make history? Find a way to replant it? Speak to the player? \$\endgroup\$
    – AncientSwordRage
    Jan 20, 2012 at 15:21
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    \$\begingroup\$ @Pureferret Naturally "make it up" is my fallback, but I find having some sources of published information help me make things more interesting. It also helps future DMs (we rotate) be able to stick to canon, for the most part, instead of having to remember all of the details that I invented. \$\endgroup\$
    – dpatchery
    Jan 20, 2012 at 16:10
  • \$\begingroup\$ Are you looking only for canonical sources or would broader reading satisfy your needs? \$\endgroup\$
    – user2102
    Jan 20, 2012 at 18:24
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    \$\begingroup\$ Since they are not published within the rule set I'll pass them along as comments: bigleesminipaintingblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/… and en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yggdrasil may be helpful. \$\endgroup\$
    – user2102
    Jan 20, 2012 at 20:01

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I have done extensive searching on material on the World Tree and only found a small sample of info.

Adventurer's Vault and AV2 both have a few items "of the world tree" but no supplementary information.

Primal Power, the book in which the World Tree Guardian epic destiny was published, has this to say:

The World Tree

The most ancient primal spirit of the forest, the World Tree is closely associated with Tree Father, but they are not the same spirit. The roots of the World Tree extend to the foundation of the earth, circulating life and primal power throughout the world. In fact, some shamans say that the World Tree is the spirit of the world itself--not any particular aspect of it, but the entire creation, its interconnected inhabitants and precariously balanced environments.

Some say that Corellon planted the World Tree and in that way seeded all the forests of the primeval world. Other legends say that Corellon or Tree Father, or the god and the spirit working together, gathered seeds from the World Tree and spread them across the world to plant the first forests.

Only characters who adopt the World Tree Guardian epic destiny in this book can call on the might of this ancient and powerful spirit, as they strive to protect it--and the world itself-- from destruction and corruption.

I searched through probably 90% of published 4e books and as many magazines as I could, and this is the only information out there.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ I don't have DDI but 'World Tree' brings up a few hits on that. \$\endgroup\$
    – AncientSwordRage
    Jan 22, 2012 at 21:43
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Pureferret The only mentions of "World Tree" on the compendium are the epic destiny, the items I mentioned, and a power that you access with the epic destiny. \$\endgroup\$
    – dpatchery
    Jan 23, 2012 at 1:26
  • \$\begingroup\$ Ahh, what about the themes and backgrounds that pop up? \$\endgroup\$
    – AncientSwordRage
    Jan 23, 2012 at 1:28
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    \$\begingroup\$ @Pureferret Those just happen to have the word "world" and "tree" in there somewhere. Search for "world tree" (quotes included) to weed out stuff like that. \$\endgroup\$
    – dpatchery
    Jan 23, 2012 at 12:12

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