Strange Places

#1

Places that are somewhat out of the norm, not quite fitting the surroundings, places that don't have to be strange at the first look, but not extremely strange either. They don't have to be very dangerous, though may look so.

Strange places could serve for/as plot-hooks, landmarks, encounters, or simply to spice things up ("Day 51. The plains still look all the same."). These should be mostly wilderness or natural locations, strange urban places might be better as Neighbourhoods.

And please, no simple "sky is green here" or "no magic zone".

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The Black Tree Crossroads

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The Windy Corner

...the wind is everywhere, air doesn't seem to stand still for a second. Once it is a slight breeze that caresses you, then a sudden gust throws off your hat, or blows dust into your eyes. Despite it the place seems silent, as all sounds are muffled here. Clouds seem to hang above it, they often change and sometimes let the sun through, but stay there. The weather-worn trees and shrubs still resist, but it is hard to find a true shelter. Sensitive people might feel some presence, certainly most creatures find it here a bit weird.

Although it does not look friendly, the Windy Corner is actually holy ground. Visited by a deity, it changed deeply. The place tolerates no violence, and it is often found by the lost or pursued. Some edible fruits and roots can be found, as well as water, enough for several days. While not comfortable, it is good shelter from unnatural beings like Undead, that won't come here. Some sages and travellers may know of this place, and choose it as a meeting place, or for important negotiations.

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The Lost City

Not lost as lost. The City can be found (in a suitable inaccessible place...). Mighty city walls guard the area, the gate is but open. The walls are in fact the only thing remaining of the city: everything inside has vanished. No houses, only bare land where they stood. There is stamped earth where the streets used to be, grass has grown where the gardens were, but no trees grow on this open plain. Animals seem to avoid it, too.

So where the hell is it gone? Well, nobody knows. And nobody has settled here so far, despite the still standing walls. Probably, no one ever will...

Strange Places

#2

The Null Zone

http://www.rpgcitadel.com/guild/index.php?topic=1415.0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

This is a place in my Mojena world (which I will start working on again soon :P)

For a patch approximately ten square miles, absolutely nothing grows. Of course, this may not seem to be TOO out of the norm, but in a world where land is a huge jungle, this is a very strange phenomena.

The trees cut off at the edge of this area, and not even a single blade of grass breaks through the blackened soil. Many reasons have been thought of for this - the land is cursed, the gods have reserved that area. It couldnt be the pH of the soil, as things grow on ALL pH's on this planet. Even the animals are reluctant to walk over this dread land. People would have made a small town there at one stage, but as soon as they stepped on the lands, they were instilled with a great sense of dread, as though a final warning to get off the land before something horrific occured. This anomaly remains unexplained to this day.

I will post more places in future :) A good thread

The Point

#3

On Arth, blue mist often accompanies any mysterious transportation. People of Arth sometimes get lost in the mist and find themselves other places. The WarpSwamp of SecondLand is filled with this dark skyblue mist. Some say Demonti (or Ge-Em) uses it to transport (or copy) things from other places and times. (The Demonti or Master of BlueMist is called Itag. The mist is said to be his body) No matter what the cause, things disappear into it and Strangers and other things appear out of it.

Recently and most notably was MaskLand.

The Point is along the Imperial road between Antioch and Avalon. Blue mist is often found in this tiny biome.

The Point is actually a good sized rock embedded in the soil, approximately square- three by two and a half imperial strides (meters) in size. It is raised from the soil level by a handspan or so. Long ago, three concentric circles (small, medium, and large) were inscribed. It is upon The Point that many strangers find themselves on Arth, slightly off the center.

The Butterfly Grave

#4

In the center of the plains of Riverland Prefecture, on a knoll along the banks of the Serpent River, there is a stone marker in the ancient style, carved to resemble a vague human figure, with the face carved to exacting detail, representing the buried invidividual. A mask of gold is bolted upon the face; it has not been stolen because of the Grave's supernatural reputation.
The Butterfly Grave is thought to be haunted by a hungry ghost. Every night at the hour when the Not-Star is darkest, glowing butterflies begin to emerge from the feet of the stone marker. These butterflies spawn by the hundreds, until there is a great glowing cloud of butterflies that flutter about the area, settling upon the golden mask, upon the hill and the grass, upon the river's surface, and the nearby tree.
Nobody is sure why. Most speak of ancient magic, or of a ghost in the shape of the butterflies, or Demons waiting to snatch up passers-by. Most of the stories take a gruesome character.

Strange Places

#5

"Five more days walking through the weary hills brought our eyes little relief. Tedious unbroken lines of limestone scree punctuated by cowed hazel saplings trudged heavily past. In one glorious moment of surprise we happened upon a verdant dale, curiously riddled with low arrangements of stones in regular patterns, like extremely old, tumbled-down walls. Our guide told us only that people had once farmed here, not saying who, or what they had farmed. He hurried us on with a disturbing sense of unease so that by nightfall we had left the small, isolated valley and its strange walls far behind."

Strange Places

#6

The Bottomless Pit

...a vast abyss it is, but certainly not bottomless, for the bottom can be clearly seen, with many bones in plain sight.

But legends say, that the Pit leads right down to the Other Side of the world, and that animals and people wishing to end their plight sometimes jumped inside, to get directly into the Paradise. But after years uncounted, the trees have spread their roots so deep and so wide, helping one another, and holding together, forming a bottom where it was not. Nobody can simply jump now, and choose their fate. But among the roots the deadly chill from Beyond still seeps through, so anyone getting down there will die a quick death. Nobody that ventured down has returned.

If someone gets down, an unpleasant smell assaults the nose, but the poisonous gas reveals its effect only after a few minutes, so it is possible to return, if done immediately. Besides the few plants, like mosses and lichens, there is mostly only bacterial life.

(Inspired by a terrain feature from the Captain)

Strange Places

#7

A somewhat normal outcropping of bare white granite. Not something you want to have to climb but it blocks the beating sun rather nicely providing a good bit of shade.

As the troupe walks one of them does a double take at the rocky outcroppings. Staring for a minute there is something incredibly odd about them. He stops, looks some more and backs up.

There, he immediately sees it. Through a blending and trick of the eye a series of rock formations from 35ft to about 75ft all line up perfectly to form a rather detailed face. They eyes, eyebrows, nose, hair, ears are unmistakeable. Moving more than 5ft in any direction from that spot destroys the illusion and it is just another wall of rock.

A sharp eye and incredible luck will reveal many other such purposeful art. In a village nearby they will find that the village knows of this. There are only a few that know where all of the viewing spots are.....or are there more?

Strange Places

#8

'The Grey River'

This is an odd, flat ribbon of stone that winds through a 100+ mile stretch of Formour. The 'River' is mostly flat & of uniform width. It is a continuous vein of a stone that has not been found anywhere else. The 'Grey River' is about 30 feet wide and would be quite suited for caravans. However, people avoid it do to its oddness. Animals will not willingly go within sight or smell of it. There are no towns along its banks, and no major destinations anywhere near the 'river.'

Tidewall Bay

#9

Tidewall Bay is guarded on either side by large, sheer walls of granite that extend into the ocean about a mile created a 2 mile wide corridor of gently sloping bay. This gentle slope adds to the extreme tide that, when it comes in, starts to rise very quickly as it grows up the slope. Before it is done the tide has risen over 15 meters and has covered over 2 miles of previously visible land.

When it departs it does so in the same dramatic manner causing a rather intense tidal pull.

Possibilities
-Rich veins of valuable metals are under the cliffs on either side of the corridor. There are only a handful of hours a day that the mine can be safely worked.

-The corridor is used as a boat launch of sorts. The outgoing tide and the intense tidal pull effectively create a slingshot for boats that know how to navigate it and they can ride the departing tide for quite a distance and higher than average speeds.

-Tide pools leave behind many and strand many odd animals and fish. Holding areas could be made to try and trap fish that the inhabitants can then just go out and collect.

Strange Places

#10

The citizens of Boleszt-in-the-Forest have a symbiotic relationship with their giant spiders. Above the tall streets is a loose canopy of web amongst which dark shadows can be seen scuttling; the occasional hairy leg descends into visibility to tweak the strands, the occasional mandible to apply more glue.

The spiders prevent the vicious Forest fangfly from infesting the city (one only has to look at the diseased, bitten peasants who live in the outlying villages to see what fangflies can do) and the people provide the spiders with extra nutrition in the form of convicts. The words which strike fear into a condemned heart: "Take him to the webs".

ephe

(Should have posted this here first but had forgotten its existence!)

The Scarlet Plains

#11

The Scarlet Plains or The Scarlett Plains (depending on the scholar)

This is a fairly flat grassland bracketed by a bog and a cliff. According to legend this is the site of a great battle of HowlarÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s Stand. It was here that a mere 500 men stopped the invading army of 5000. In testament to the somewhat historical legend, Several wounds of Bloodflowers bloom in this areaÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¦ and have since living memory began. It makes the land useless for everyone.

Scarlett Call/ Bloodflowers
http://www.strolen.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=30379#30379

Madness Pass

#12

It seems perfect. This narrow and deep pass is the fastest way through the mountains. It has beautiful scenery and seems so benign. Why isn't it well traveled: The fog.

Like many tall passes, it is often fog enshrouded. It is because of the fog that the land is blighted. In times of Fog that madness visits those who travel the pass. The Fog can come up from nowhere and fill a man (woman, elf) with madness. So for those that risk it, the pass can cut weeks on their travel. But if the fog catches them, they may never be the same.

(There are geothermal vents here. Chemicals in some of these low level geisers are psychomorphic chemicals that can be absorbed through the skin or if inhaled (eyes as well). The chemicals can bring powerful hallucinations, changes in mental status (hyper, depressed, bad trips usually), and generally change a person for a time. Most people can not handle these haunted times, so the madness continues....)