Weird Science Fiction/Fantasy Locations part 1

Homebrew TTRPG Locations in my Home Game.

Thinking of the author Lin Carter, and of how much I love his work. Carter is one of those writers who's work encapsulates the early high fiction of an earlier age in the medium, in which we are seeing a resurgence for again in modern works. One of the most brilliant characteristics of that work were the bizarre a imagination provoking vistas in these works. Indeed Lin Carter was one to make good use of this. Placing his heroes and heroines in fantastic locations and backdrops. I would recommend you take look at some of his work.

One such place is a certain island called the Ivory Isle in the island chain known as the isles of dreaming. Long held as a place where mystics have gathered for Aeons, the isles themselves have a colorful and rich history. From the legends from two previous ages speaking of gods that came from distant stars and used this location as a place where they moved between worlds and saw all possible futures when the demon star, N'Tgarth LE'eg was in alignment with the god's soul gates. Later it was the site of a vicious battle between these gods and a being of pure and utter void. After this the site remained abandoned for centuries. It was there three hundred years ago that the monstrous inhuman symbiote known as the star mother gathered her countless young after two hundred years of teaching and left on the day of the Pale Sun, to once again swim in the murky flesh of the giant sized being known as Kalesh.

Even more recent the being known as Morrigan Lugus set up its cloister of monks and mystics among the ancient ruins and eons old machines to speak secrets to any who seek its counsel. Visitors often see an ancient lighthouse battered by sea and surf as their first glimpse of this elder place.

The current occupants of the island ,horde riches. However they never seem to use them. Or have any use for them. There are rumors of vast cavernous tunnels beneath the cloister. Where caves run long for miles and miles and the rumors go they are packed ceiling high with treasures beyond measure.

Far to the west of the Ivory Isles, over and beyond the Violet Vale and far to the west of the Steel Mountains there is the great swamp, Netarc. This swamp is fed by three rivers, two being true fresh water rivers from the Nesh highlands. The third is a river that back flows from the sea. Bringing brackish salty water from around the Lemurian coast. The local Lemurians call this river the Rotlust flow. For its seemingly decayed nature of the organic material it carries in its currents. With this water many kinds of sea life can be found in all but the most putrid of the swamps interior,from small animals like oysters, the occasional octopus, to large sharks. Travelers in this region should be aware that the Lemurian sea life around its coast is not all of the natural sort,and it is said strange,dark,foul,and unclean things from those haunted coasts have found their way under slime covered,midnight waters into the swamps interior.

There are scattered settlements,trading posts,hermits,lone towers and ruins,and more then a fair share of bandit camps and pirate hideouts in the Netarc swamp. However the most widely known and by far the most permanent is the prison known as ill water. This prison was constructed three centuries ago to hold some of the most dangerous and vile criminals. These range from human criminals convicted of heinous crimes. To non human beings and extra dimensional entities, that are too dangerous and powerful to be held else where. The prison complex over the years has grown by leaps and bounds and is supported by highly trained jailers. The Lemurian navy maintains a sea and air defense force at all times around the prison. This was implemented after a recent breakout occurred, and was successful. The outer complex is little more then a wooden/steel/stone mote and bailey picket line. Some sections of this line being the half sunken remains of pirate ships, with the buzzard pecked corpses of the very pirates on these wrecks, and the holding cells for the damned being likewise half sunken in the briny water.

The next few layers are an increasingly secure series of walled,sky reaching, and domed structures. These parts are where the higher level threats are held. These areas are able to sustain by its designers words an attack by a well equipped army. The center dome is a structure in the physical sense but one reinforced by numerous and powerful mana. As well as a special trained,staffed,and equipped standing army/jailers. There are also, space/time, gravity,and dimensional cells and containment protocols throughout the complex. Netarc swamp is considered a one way stopping point and avoided by all but the most fearless and desperate.