The Black Pines Codex
The Black Pines Codex
A Midnight Archive Field Guide
Some places don’t want to be understood.
Black Pines is one of them. Compiled from redacted Division files, agent field notes, and recovered fragments, The Black Pines Codex is an in-world reference document designed to immerse your table in creeping dread, quiet horror, and slow-burn mystery.
This is not a module.
It’s a survivor’s record.
Inside the Codex
🕯️ Prologue Documents
- A Division warning from the Dead End Division
- Classification notices with heavy redactions
- A frantic agent’s handwritten note: “If you’re reading this… you’re already too deep.”
🌲 Field Notes: Black Pines
- Topography & landmarks: the forest, lake, sawmill, motel, radio tower, and asylum
- Known safe houses and confirmed danger zones
- Flora & fauna including poisonous pines, cursed roots, and The Black Bloom, a flower tied to disappearances
- Creatures and threats such as the Hollowed, the Echo, and the Caretaker of the Pines
- Artifacts & tools: the Pinewood Amulet, Lantern of the Veil, and Division-issued evidence logs
📁 Agent Annotations
- Redacted files and unfinished reports
- Fragmented creature descriptions
- An example creature report that ends mid-sentence, panicked and incomplete
🗂️ DM Tools
- A fillable Field Test Form for documenting encounters, anomalies, and losses
- Designed to be written on, printed, or handed to players as an in-world artifact
How to Use This Codex
- Drop it into any horror, mystery, or dark fantasy campaign
- Use it as a prop your players uncover piece by piece
- Mine it for plot hooks, side quests, and unsettling truths
- Let it guide tone, atmosphere, and narrative escalation
System-agnostic by design and 5e-friendly, this Codex focuses on story, mood, and discovery rather than mechanics.
Format: Digital PDF
Length: Multi-section immersive reference
Use: Printable, tablet-friendly, or player-facing handout
From the shelves of The Midnight Archive, where some stories were never meant to be finished.
