The Red Lantern

by | Feb 19, 2015 | Recursions

Description Although a young Recursion, The Red Lantern has been the beginning point for some of the most tremendous events in The Strange.  Not that one would suspect as much upon entering the small izakaya (sake house).  Created by Lord Tanstaafl, a recursion miner, the Recursion serves as a comfortable drinking spot for the movers and shakers in the Strange.  It serves as neutral ground for its visitors, offering complete anonymity in the most peculiar way.   On any given night, members of the Estate, the Quiet Cabal, the Chaos Templars, and the Beak Mafia could be sitting across from one another, discussing business, politics, or hiring mercenaries, recursions miners, or undercover operatives.   Recursors arriving at the Red Lantern discover themselves on a small island, floating upon an island above the swirling chaos of the Strange.  The island itself is a lush and immaculate Japanese garden, featuring trees, ponds teeming with fish, and miniature waterfalls.  A stone path leads to the tea house structure at the island’s heart.  Two Lion Dogs flank the building’s only entrance, and will demand an entry fee from all visitors – new or old.  Generally, this fee is a small Cypher or something of equal value.  Anyone trying to enter without paying will be forced off the property (Lion Dogs are equivalent to Golems, p. 270 of The Strange corebook); attacks being meant to push the offenders off the island and into the Strange, rather than inflict true injuries.  They will also prohibit any and all weaponry from being allowed inside The Red Lantern.   The center of the Japanese style pub is...

Xibalba

by | Feb 17, 2015 | Recursions

“… A river of pus?  Yeah, this is the perfect place to build a summer home.” ~ Loretta Walsh, Recursion Miner  Description Also known as the Place of Fear, the sprawling underground city of Xibalba truly earns it unsavory title.  Ruled by seven Death Gods, its labyrinthine halls, overgrown gardens, vaulted chambers, and Mayan structures brim with traps and tests meant to confound and slay the unworthy.  Those foolish enough to venture into the shadows find themselves stalked by a myriad of creatures like giant scorpions, diseased bats, relentless undead, and cunning jaguar men.  And, even though the city is far beneath the ground, unnatural weather patterns like hail, freezing cold, and blistering heat can appear at random and with deadly consequence.   The city expands outward from a centric point (The Ball Court) to roughly form a ‘clock’ shape with twelve temple complexes built at regular intervals.  Five of these complexes have fallen into ruin, while seven are the homes for the Xibalba’s remaining Death Gods.  Three rivers divide the city’s convoluted interior like canals – one of scorpions, one of blood, and one of pus.  Scattered throughout the city are the terrifying Houses – nightmarish structures where travelers are ‘tested’ by threats such as complete darkness, bottomless pits, flying swords, and monstrous creatures.   Worse yet, one may not even realize they’ve stumbled into a House until it is too late.  The city shifts constantly, rearranging its internal structures, confounding even the most wizened inhabitant. First-time Recursors arrive in the Ball Court.  Once built for deadly competition, the city’s human inhabitants have transformed the extensive area into a small...