Eleanor Topper 2026

Abstract

Wildhart is a 20 page D&D adventure module with an original story, illustrations, and gameplay. The story begins in Farewood, a small town on the edge of Wildhart forest. Rumor has it that strange, unnatural creatures roam the forest, and too much time spent in the woods might turn you into a Beast yourself. Wildhart forest has recently begun to grow faster than it should, expanding around the town and threatening to swallow it and its people. The players, set against the clock by a game mechanic involving randomized cards that transform each player into a different whimsical creature, must find Lady Ada, the mysterious half-woman, half-deer who lives at the heart of the forest and is the only one with the power to break the curse. Along the way, players encounter the whimsical Beasts of Wildhart forest, who give players riddles or challenges in exchange for Fragments of the curse. The adventure ends when players battle the 13th Beast, a powerful ghostly stag. Players discover he is Lord Aldor, who created the curse because he wanted to protect his daughter Lady Ada from Farewood’s cruelty. Lady Ada breaks the curse and restores the forest and the players to their natural states. This project involved analogue and digital processes. The illustrations were done with brushes, ink, and illustration pens. Compositing and coloring were done in Procreate and Photoshop. The book design was done in InDesign. Wildhart came from a love of book design, medieval art history, and the urge to make classic fairy tale subjects fresh and fun. Though the goal is for it to be a complete game in the near future, it’s not quite there yet. This semester has been dedicated to making Wildhart a strong illustration and design project rather than perfecting gameplay.