Deda Yaga

I found you.

It's the official position of the Enchanted Sylvan Realms Service that the woods are that skeleton's habitat. You're in their home. 🌲🌳🍂💀🌲

If you do intend to enter the woods or other potentially skeleton-rich environment, the ESRS encourages you to keep the following in mind:

-Keep your distance. If a skeleton approaches you, do not offer them food, treasure, or flesh. Unprovoked skeletons will usually move along on their own. Remember the ESRS Rule of Thumb: If you can't cover the creature with your outstretched thumb, you're too close!

-If a skeleton does become aggressive, do not play dead or try to look larger. Skeletons may interpret that as an opportunity to acquire your flesh. Move quickly and calmly away from the skeleton.

-Enchanted skeletons are highly territorial. Be aware of any graveyards, barrows, tombs, dungeons, forts, battlefields, and castles in the area before you venture forth. If you enter the skeleton's habitat, you are bothering them.

-If fleeing from skeletons, do not climb trees. Skeletons are much lighter and more capable climbers than most living humans. They are poor swimmers, but may be able to walk along the bottom of any still or slow-moving body of water.

-When making camp, store food, treasure, gems, and surplus flesh in ESRS-rated skeletonproof chests, well away from your campsite.

-The myth of xylophone music preceding skeleton attacks are just that, myths. Do not expect musical cues to keep you safe! The "legend" that xylophone music heralds or attracts skeletons is actually a recent invention by the Die Brüderliche Gilde der Wanderglockenspieler, or Fraternal Guild of Traveling Glockenspieliers.

Here’s some of the newsletter* promo art from earlier this year. The initial idea was to have a subtle narrative connecting them but I quickly abandoned that and just drew cool shit instead.