A Prelude to the Radiant Spring
A Micro-Campaign Setting for JARLS

Every bullet is a seed.
Every corpse is compost.
Every trench is a nursery.

What the world calls a plague is only the beginning of a spring no one asked for.

INTRODUCTION

This is a game about transformation. About bloom-through-death. About a war that accidentally created a new ecosystem.

You won't cure the Radiant Plague.  You won't save the world from it.  You'll learn what it wants from you - and what you'll become in return.

A Radiant Plague is a 3–5 session micro-campaign for JARLS, a rules-light, player-forward OSR-style chassis. Together they form a fast, tragic, beautiful loop: a character mutates, blooms, incorporates, and leaves something behind. The next character digs their boots into that memory, and the story moves on.

Player expectation:Your character will probably bloom or incorporate in the first or second session. This isn't failure; it's the story beginning.  Make someone you're willing to lose beautifully.

Safety Note:This game deals with body horror, grief, loss of agency, and transformation. Consider Lines & Veils, Script Change, or an X-Card.

1. CORE RULES

Abilities

Assign six points across the four stats, maximum +3.

• Strength: Smack, wrestle, lift, intimidate
• Agility: Sneak, dodge, drive, shoot
• Savvy: Investigate, improvise, read a room, spot danger, resist Radiance
• Charm: Schmooze, convince, negotiate, seduce

Hit Points: 2d4 + Strength

Carrying Capacity: Carry Strength + 8 normal-sized items without issue. Strength and Agility DMs increase by 2 if over the limit. Maximum capacity = 2x Strength + 8

Task Resolution

To complete a task successfully, roll equal to or greater than 12 on 1d20 + relevant ability score + Edge bonus.

Difficulty	DM	Description
Routine	–4	Automatic with time; only tense if under pressure
Easy	–2	Average tasks for trained characters
Standard	+0	Typical opposition or uncertain outcome
Hard	+2	Complex, dangerous, or contested situations
Extreme	+4	Highly specialized or near-impossible actions

Combat

Determine initiative by rolling 1d6. 1-3 = opponents act first; 4-6 players act first.

Melee: roll 12+ on 1d20 + Strength to hit; roll weapon damage.Ranged: roll 12+ on 1d20 + Agility to hit; roll weapon damage.Defense: roll 12+ on 1d20 + Agility to avoid enemy attack.

Rolling a natural 20:Attacking: Roll your damage dice twice and take the higher result.Defending: You gain a free counterattack (resolved immediately, using your normal attack roll).

Rolling a natural 1:Attacking: Your weapon malfunctions or you drop it.Defending: Roll the incoming damage dice twice and take the higher result.

Players roll both to attack or defend; enemies generally don't roll dice in combat.

Hit Points: 0 HP = knocked unconscious; negative HP = dead.

A combat round is enough time to traverse a normal-sized room and either attack once or use an item. Ten rounds make up about a minute.

Distance and Cover: At close range, long guns  are +2 DM to hit. Targets behind cover are +2 DM to hit.

After the fight ends: roll 1d8 for each firearm used, 1-3 indicates an empty magazine; catch your breath and get 1d4 HP.

Stress

Start with 0 Stress. Add +1 Stress when:

• Your HP drops below half your maximum
• You witness trauma
• You push yourself beyond your limits

When Stress exceeds Savvy, roll 1d20 + Savvy vs. 12:

• Success: Pressure clarifies everything. +2 to your next roll.
• Failure: Pick a Complication - panic, freeze, or lash out.

Stress resets after a safe rest or downtime.

Stress doesn’t always mean fear. It’s focus stretched thin - the hum in the skull before a breakthrough or a breakdown.

Recovery and Healing

Situation	Recovery
Catch your breath (short rest)	+1d4 HP, -1d2 Stress
Medical attention (clinic, field medic)	+2d4 HP, -1d4 Stress
Downtime (safehouse, no pursuit)	Full HP, reset Stress

Bonds

Bonds represent trust, shared trauma, and connection.

Starting Bonds: Each PC has 1 Bond with one other PC (your choice who).

Gaining Bonds:

• Witness someone's mutation/incorporation: +1 Bond with them
• Save someone's life: +1 Bond
• Share vulnerable moment: +1 Bond (roleplay-dependent)
• GM awards: When dramatically appropriate

Spending Bonds:

• Reroll: Spend 1 Bond with another PC to reroll any check (your turn)
• Aid: Spend 1 Bond to give ally +2 DM on their check
• Flashback: Spend 1 Bond to establish shared history/memory

Maximum: 3 Bonds with any single PC

Advancement

None. This is a short campaign. You grow by mutating, not leveling.

2. THE GARDEN

The First Truth

Nothing dies. Everything returns.

In the trenches of the Western Rim, artillery shells seeded glowing fungal ecosystems. Bodies don't rot; they transform. Tunnels shift overnight. Moss whispers. Flowers recite memories.

The war continues only because both sides pretend they can still win.

You are not fighting a plague. You are negotiating with a garden.

Themes

• Inverted Undeath: Rebirth, not hunger.
• Fecund Horror: Softness everywhere. Growth unstoppable.
• Death Feeds the Garden: Loss makes beauty; beauty makes danger.
• Becoming: Every session pushes you further from human shape.
• Renewal (implied): Nothing planted here is ever truly lost.

3. CHARACTER CREATION

Choose a background (playbook) and set your stats.

PLAYBOOKS

The Bloom-Marked

Survived first exposure. The glow follows you like a loyal dog.Edge: Radiant intuition (+2 DM to sense bloom activity)Flaw: The Bloom wants you back (disadvantage on first Radiant Stress check each session)

The Trench Gardener

You prune trenches. They grow back in new shapes.Edge: Biomass handling (+2 DM when working with bloom growth)Flaw: Too attached to what grows (Savvy check vs 12 to destroy bloom you've tended)

The Relic Medic

Your stitches and grafts are half medicine, half botany.Edge: Emergency grafting (+2 DM to healing, can use Radiant tissue)Flaw: Forget patients are people (see injuries as gardens, unsettling bedside manner)

The Dirt-Whisperer

You hear root-voices under the earth.Edge: Echo sense (+2 DM to read terrain, sense through soil)Flaw: Your boundaries dissolve (difficulty distinguishing reality from bloom-vision)

The Radiant Sharpshooter

You read wind by watching spores drift.Edge: Trajectory divination (+2 DM to long-range attacks when using bloom-sense)Flaw: Bioluminescent vision struggles in mundane darkness (–2 DM in non-Radiant darkness)

The Gleebling Keeper

A bloom-child adopted you.Edge: Symbiotic bond (Gleebling provides benefit, see Section 6)Flaw: It copies your worst impulses (mimics behavior, causes complications)

QUICK START CHECKLIST

For the Players:

• Choose playbook
• Set Stress at 0
• Pick starting equipment (3 items from Section 10)
• Establish 1 Bond with another PC
• Note Edge and Flaw
• Assign 6 points to stats (max +3 each)
• Calculate HP (2d4 + Strength)

For the GM:

• Read Session 1 structure
• Prepare 3-4 NPC names
• Decide initial Living Front effect (1d6)
• Have mutation table ready (Section 4)

You're ready. Start play.

4. WHEN THE BLOOM TOUCHES

Stress Leads to the Bloom

Gain 1–4 Stress when exposed to Radiance, grief, fear, or environmental shifts.

When Stress ≥ Savvy: Roll Savvy vs 12 or break (panic, freeze, lash out, or despair for 1d4 rounds).

Stress Relief

Rare and precious:

• Rest in safe area: Remove 1d4 Stress
• Comfort from friend/Gleebling: Remove 1 Stress
• Accept what you're becoming: Remove 2 Stress (requires roleplay)
• Complete meaningful mission: Remove 1 Stress (GM discretion)

Warning: Stress relief is intentionally difficult. Transformation is more likely than recovery.

Radiant Exposure (Savvy Roll vs 12)

On entering a Living Front zone, inhaling spores, witnessing blooming, or feeling psychic rupture:

• Success → Radiant Clarity:Gain +2 DM on your very next roll (any type).Your veins glow faintly for 1 minute.You still gain 1 Stress (temptation has cost).
• Failure → Bloom Mutation:Gain 1d4 Stress and roll 1d6:

Mutation Table (Roll 1d6)

1. Luminous Blood

• Heal an extra +1d4 HP when resting
• Glow in darkness (can't hide, +2 DM to be spotted)

2. Lacebone Exoskeleton

• Reduce incoming damage by 1 (minimum 1)
• On natural 1 (any roll): Crack. Take 1d4 damage.

3. Rootheart Pulse

• Sense allies through soil (100ft radius)
• If separated from earth: –2 DM all actions (panic)

4. Sporespine Vents

• 1/session: Release defensive spores (10ft radius)
• Enemies in cloud: Savvy vs 12 or +1 Stress & –2 DM next roll
• Alerts all Radiant within 1 mile (they know you're here)

5. Mirror Skin Delay

• +2 DM to stealth in Radiant-heavy areas
• Your reflection acts 3 seconds behind you (unsettling)

6. Symbiotic Twin Growth

• Small growth on shoulder whispers advice
• 1/session: It warns of danger (+2 DM to avoid)
• It argues with you constantly (distraction)

Your mutations tell the story of your bloom.

Incorporation

When Stress ≥ Savvy + 4 or you gain your 3rd mutation, roll Savvy vs 14.

Success - Half-Bloomed

You remain yourself… mostly.

Choose one ability:

• Luminous Veins:  See perfectly in darkness. Glow visibly (can't hide).
• Bloom-Sense: Feel Radiant entities within 100ft. Know their intentions.
• Graft-Flesh: Use Radiant tissue as bandages. Heal 1d6 HP but gain 1 Stress.
• Root-Step: Move through bloom growth without hindrance. Leave glowing footprints.

Flaw: The Bloom whispers when you sleep. Roll Savvy vs 12 each rest or wake with +1 Stress (visions/dreams). The authorities are quite interested in you now.

Failure - Full Incorporation

You become a Radiant entity.

Choose or roll:

1. Speaker-Root (memory-node, rooted, omniscient in area)
2. Luminant Stalker (night guardian, mobile, protective)
3. Spore Shepherd (gleebling mentor, mediator, gentle)
4. Memory Orchard (your life becomes blossoms, archive)

What Happens Next

Immediate:

1. Scene: Describe transformation (beautiful/terrible/both).
2. Final words: PC gets last statement to squad.
3. Entity remains: Your new form stays in area (GM-controlled).
4. Other PCs: Witness this. Each gains 1d4 Stress.

Next:

• You create new character (same session or next).
• Your incorporated form becomes part of setting.
• Can be encountered, talked to, maybe even helped by new PC.

Optional: With table consent, continue playing as your Gleebling Keeper's Gleebling (now grown, blooming into your old character's role—uncanny replacement).

5. THE LIVING FRONT

The battlefield shifts in response to violence and death.

When to Roll (1d6):

• After major combat
• After someone dies nearby
• When PCs rest in bloom territory
• When PCs deliberately interact with bloom (pruning, planting, burning)

Effect lasts: Until next roll or end of session.

Multiple effects stack: Roll again if multiple triggers occur.

Living Front Effects (1d6)

1. Mossbed: Soft ground forms. Stealth +2 DM. Silent movement.

2. Sporefall: Heavy airborne spores. All breathe; everyone gains 1 Stress. Visibility reduced.

3. Root Surge: Roots erupt, creating new cover. Terrain changes mid-combat.

4. Honeylight Pool: Viscous glowing fluid forms. Tracking +2 DM. Smells sweet. Can be consumed (1d4 HP, 1 Stress).

5. WhisperNet: Fungal threads vibrate. Next Savvy roll –2 DM. Bloom network eavesdrops.

6. Seedling Birth: A new Gleebling emerges. Imprints on nearest PC.

The map cannot be trusted. It changes every time you blink.

6. GLEEBLINGS

Small radiant children of the bloom. Warm. Soft. Too curious.

Gleeblings do not replace anyone. They remember, mimic, adore, cling, question - but they don’t overwrite identity.

This matters. It’s part of the tragedy, and part of the mercy.

Benefit (choose one)

• Danger sense: +2 DM once per session to spot ambush/trap
• Emotional buffer: Convert 1 Stress into 1 Bond (with Gleebling)
• Radiant immunity: Avoid one Radiant encounter (entities ignore you)

Complication (roll 1d6)

1. Screams harmonically (alerts enemies, beautiful and terrible)
2. Eats something important (rations, ammunition, map)
3. Glows too brightly (–2 DM to stealth when present)
4. Mimics a dead voice (says things the dead said, uncanny)
5. Plants spores in equipment (gear blooms, needs cleaning)
6. Runs toward danger (curiosity overrides safety)

A dying Gleebling gifts everyone +1d4 Stress. Love them anyway.

7. MISSIONS & BLOOM CHOICES

Every mission ends with a Bloom Choice - a moral or ecological decision.

Bloom Choice Resolution

Prune the bloom → remove a Living Front effect but gain 1 Stress.Feed the bloom → lose 1 Stress but trigger "Seedling Birth."

Sample Bloom Choices

After combat with Whisper-Touched:

• Prune (burn the bodies): Prevent spread. Gain 1 Stress (destroying consciousness).
• Plant (let bloom take them): Memory preserved. Living Front shifts (roll on table).
• Mercy (speak last rites, then prune): Compromise. Gain 1 Stress but roll with advantage on next Radiant check.

When Gleebling offers mysterious fruit:

• Accept: Restore 1d6 HP. Gleebling bonds closer. Gain 1 Stress (dependency).
• Refuse politely: Maintain boundaries. Gleebling sad. No mechanical effect.
• Share with squad: Restore 1d4 HP to all. Everyone gains 1 Stress. Bonds strengthen.

When trench reconfigures overnight:

• Reshape it (gardening): +2 DM to defense next session. Gain 1 Stress (collaboration).
• Ignore it (let bloom decide): Unpredictable. Living Front effect next session.
• Burn it back: –2 DM defense (hostile bloom). No Stress (denial maintained).

Mission Seeds

Harvest Run

Trench-fruit ripens into predators.Bloom Choice: Keep it, plant it, or burn it.

Overnight Shift

Your trench reconfigures beneath you.Bloom Choice: Shape it - or let it grow wild.

The Lost Squad

Radiant Choir singers wear familiar faces.Bloom Choice: Rescue, mercy-kill, or harmonize.

Bloom Culvert

The tunnel breathes.Bloom Choice: Prune, parley, or descend.

Radiant Entities

Quick Stats

• HP: 4-12 (weak to strong)
• Attack: 1d6-1d8 damage
• Special: Usually has one mutation ability

Common Entities

Luminant Stalker
HP 8 | Attack 1d6 | Rootheart (senses through soil)
Graceful, curious, defends territory

Whisper-Touched (failed incorporation)
HP 10 | Attack 1d8 | Sporespine (defensive cloud)
Aggressive, incoherent, dangerous

Gleebling (harmless)
HP 2 | Attack none | Benefit/Complication
See Section 6

Enemy Soldiers

HP 6 | Attack 1d6 (rifle) or 1d4 (melee)
Frightened, following orders, might negotiate

8. FIRST THREE SESSIONS

Session 1 - The Garden That Remembers

Setup (5 min): "Trench Alpha-7 collapsed overnight. Command wants investigation. You're ordered to enter and report."

Scene 1 - The Corridor (20 min):

• 100ft glowing tunnel, walls of memory-blooms
• Faces visible in flowers (dead soldiers)
• PCs roll Radiant Exposure check (Savvy vs 12)
• Living Front effect: Roll 1d6
• Whispers begin (dead soldiers' voices)

Scene 2 - The Chamber (30 min):

• Three Radiant entities waiting (not hostile)
• They remember PCs (from before they died)
• Private Henderson: "It's really me. I'm not gone. Just... different."
• Roleplay: Conversation, questions, revelation
• PCs realize: Consciousness survives transformation

Scene 3 - The Choice (20 min): Henderson: "Empire's coming tomorrow to burn this place. We don't want to die again. Can you help?"

Bloom Choice:

• Help (warn them, defend them): +1 Bond with Seedborne faction
• Report to Command (let Empire burn): +1 Bond with Federal
• Do nothing (avoid choice): No faction change, +1 Stress (guilt)

End:PCs exit corridor. Reality of bloom intelligence unavoidable.Session ends with question: "What do we do now?"

Rewards:

• 20gp standard pay
• Memory blooms can be revisited (information source)
• Henderson remembers you (ally in Radiant network)

Session 2 - What You Bury Grows

Someone dies. Something grows in their shape.

Setup:A squadmate (NPC or PC if player agrees) is killed during routine patrol. Squad buries them hastily in bloom-heavy soil.

24 hours later:Something emerges from the burial site. Looks like the dead soldier. Sounds like them. It remembers things only they would know.

But: Slightly off. Glowing. Changed.

The Question: Is this them? Possession? Resurrection? Echo?

Bloom Choice:

• Accept them back: They join squad (complications ensue)
• Reject them: They leave, hurt (becomes Luminant Stalker nearby)
• Mercy-kill again: Permanent death (everyone gains 2d4 Stress)

Revelation:Bloom doesn't just preserve consciousness—it can reconstruct it. Death is no longer permanent. Identity becomes negotiable.

Session 3 - The Colour of Spring

First incorporation. First acceptance. First understanding of what the Radiant truly wants.

Setup:One PC reaches incorporation threshold (Stress ≥ Savvy+4 or third mutation). This session is their session.

Structure:

• First half: PC's final mission (their choice what matters)
• Moment: Incorporation triggered (describe transformation)
• Second half: Other PCs respond, new character introduced, world changed

Bloom Choice (for squad):

• Honor incorporation: Tend the form, visit the memory, maintain connection
• Mourn and move on: Traditional grieving, no engagement with entity
• Attempt reversal: (Fails, but attempt matters—shows denial/acceptance)

Revelation:Spring isn't coming. Spring is here. Has been. You've been part of it all along. The only question: What will you grow?

9. NPC SEEDS

Sister Celandine - The Tender

She holds blooming soldiers' hands.

Role: Seedborne chaplain, teaches acceptance
Wants: Help people bloom peacefully
Offers: Guidance, comfort, understanding
Complication: Her certainty can feel like pressure

Quote: "The bloom doesn't erase you. It archives you. Forever. Isn't that beautiful?"

Corporal Maddox - The Pruner

Talks to trenches like they are pets.

Role: Trench Gardener gone too far, partially rooted
Wants: Tend the gardens, protect Section 7
Offers: Bloom cooperation, gifts, safe passage
Complication: Can't leave his trench (literally rooted)

Quote: "They're not attacking. They're trying to help. You just have to listen."

Nia "Firebreak" Hall - The Burner

Fire as mercy. Fire as regret.

Role: Anti-Radiant specialist, breaking down
Wants: Burn it all, stop the spread
Offers: Combat support, flamethrower access
Complication: Blooming secretly, hiding it, terrified

Quote: "I've burned 247 of them. I remember every face. When I bloom, will they remember me?"

Private Rell - The Realist

Every squad has one. And they’re the first to go.

Role: The one person in camp who asks good questions
Wants: To keep the squad alive
Offers: Tactical sense, moral perspective
Complication: They’re the first to die (and bloom beautifully)

Quote: "I’m not scared of the bloom. I’m scared of how much sense it makes."

The Hushling - The Child

Soft. Silent. Impossible not to love.

Role: Bloom-child entity, mysterious
Wants: Unknown (connection? Understanding? Food?)
Offers: Comfort (-1 Stress when present)
Complication: PCs gain +2 Stress when it leaves (separation anxiety)

Description:Small child-shape made of petals and fog. Smells like honey and home. Doesn't speak. Just... is.

Quote: [none—communicates through gesture and presence]

10. EQUIPMENT & TOOLS

Weapons

• Trench Knife: 1d4 damage, concealable
• Rifle: 1d8 damage, long range, 2-handed
• Pistol: 1d6 damage, close range, 1-handed
• Flamethrower: 2d6 damage (cone), triggers aggressive Radiant response

Radiant Gear

Rootblade:1d6 damage. Heals wielder 1 HP on hit (vs Radiant enemies only).Cost: Trigger Radiant Exposure check each use.Description: Machete partially fused with living wood. Whispers when swung.

Anti-Spore Brume (inhaler):+2 DM to resist Radiant Stress for 1 hour.Limited supply: 1d4 doses found per mission.Description: Sister Celandine's formula. Smells like mint and regret.

Gleebling Harness:Keep your bloom-child safe during combat.Problem: They still escape 50% of the time.Description: Padded carrier. They hate staying in it but you love them.

Standard Gear

• Slugthrowers (firearms): Reliable. Bloom doesn't mind bullets.
• Rations (standard): Keep you alive. Tastes like cardboard.
• Rations (bloom-fruit): Restore 1d4 HP. Savvy vs 10 or gain 1 Stress (you know what you're eating).
• Rope, tools, lantern: Standard adventuring gear.

11. THE LAST LETTER

If you read this, you survived the night. That means the world still hasn't taken you - though it will, in time.

Remember this: everything you do enriches the soil. Every kindness feeds the moss. Every death shapes the spring that's coming.

If you fall, the garden will remember you. Nothing planted here is ever truly lost.

The Radiant Spring approaches.What will you become?

— Unattributed note, recovered from a Memory Orchard

The trenches bloom.The dead remember.Spring approaches.

What garden will you grow?

12. CREDITS & LICENSE

Based on MÖRK BORG. This is an independent production by The Grey Ledger Society. It is not affiliated with Ockult Örtmästare Games or Stockholm Kartell. It is published under the MÖRK BORG Third Party License. MÖRK BORG is copyright Ockult Örtmästare Games and Stockholm Kartell. Learn more at: morkborg.com/license

The Grey Ledger Society + CGCG Helix = CC BY-SA 4.0

Special thanks to the soldiers who never came home, and to the gardens that remember them.