Sleipnir
The Eight-Legged Norse Horse
Hellooooo. I'm just publicly storing this worldbuild idea so people can look at it and/or comment on it if they so desire! I plan to continue working on it, because it's been rolling around in my head for weeks now. I plan to use it in the future but I want to get a clearer, more defined world set up first so that I don't accidentally leave folks with vague, confused ideas because I didn't offer much insight.
That being the case -- if there's anything missing or someone reads this and has questions more info might answer, I'd appreciate comments so I can continue working the world build!
The World
The American West, in an undefined year — it could be anywhere from the 1850s to the 1880s, depending on the story being told. The wagons are headed west, miners are digging into the hidden treasures of the California and Idaho mountains, cowboys are running cattle, sheep, and goats, and U.S. marshals, rangers, and sheriffs are out to keep the peace in isolated communities across the west.
On the surface, the world looks like ours: the Great Plains are wide and endless, varying from flat expanses to enormous rolling hills and rocky dry washes devoid of more than a stray scatter of trees. The Rocky Mountains disappear into the clouds, coated in snowy pine forests hiding mining camps and railroad workers laboring to bring the train over the mountains. The southwest is rocky and red, broken by small mountain ranges and strange stone structures. The coast is mountainous and dressed in trees so large that eastern folks believe them to be a hoax.
Underneath, though, there are darker things roaming the world. Demons, magicians, and monsters of all kinds plague this western world. Often, cities and large towns are safer from the monsters that lurk in the wilderness. On occasion, though, they’ll creep into towns, skulking in the alleys or even passing for humans on occasion. Out in the frontier settlements or the wilderness, however, dark monsters roam more freely, sometimes ambushing livestock, small towns, or mining and railroad camps.
It’s a hard world, but ones people choose to brave all the same: Some because they were raised in it, some because they chose it, and others because they were here first, and must adjust to the new world they live in. People have done their best to adjust in any number of ways— forts were built or rededicated to the new threats, towns or wealthy locals put out bounties on problem monsters or gangs, some became bounty hunters or rough riders to run supplies across the wild to small, needy communities… some harnessed the strange powers that infused the world around them. Others still study the creatures and the strange ruins and places they seem to spawn from. Some decided every man must fend for himself, building gangs to raid towns or supply tons. It’s a dangerous world, full of a wide and colorful variety of people.
CITIES AND TOWNS exist all throughout the frontier, from the desert southwest all the way to the rainforests of Oregon. They come in all shapes and sizes and types, with no two being the same -- when you're traveling the roads and wagon trails in the west, you'll find everything from mining communities to railroad camps to large settlements that even have the luxury of hot baths or a soda bar. You may even come across literal ghost towns and other sinister things.
OUTPOSTS can also be found, especially in more remote or dangerous regions. Most travelers sleep easier in an outpost than anywhere else in the wilderness. These rough-hewn little communities are typically repurposed forts: At one point, the U.S. military thought they were out there to protect settlers from natives defending their home. Once hellish monsters started swarming the frontier, though, their aim quickly changed. Forts and outposts are often heavily defended and protected and always have at least some military presence. Usually, when assistance is needed in one town or another for food, medicine, justice or legal authority, or good old brute force, they'll seek aid from a nearby military post. Other times, though, if they're too isolated, the town has reason to mistrust their neighbors, or another source of help is more readily available, they'll turn to outside help. They also function as trading posts and good layover spots -- if you need food, bullets, clothes, or even just a safe bed, there's no more welcome sight than those walls.
Additionally, while some forts and outposts are still relatively small, it's not terribly uncommon to come across some on more prominent trails and roads that have essentially grown into small, walled towns, often with a highly transient populace outside the soldiers themselves. U.S. Marshals, traveling military folks, and traders of all strokes can frequently be found in places like these, taking layovers from one place to the next.
Map
Regions and Locations
The Drifting Plains
The Drifting Plains is a wide region with more variation than one would think at first. In many places, the Plains appear to be a flat, desolate grassland -- nothing but tallgrass prairie as far and wide as the eye can see, with the occasional pronghorn or bison herd somewhere in the distance. In places, though, this flat prairie is broken by sweeping hills, dry washes, rivers, and oases where small collections of thick trees and brush grow. In many places, one can find theirself traveling in waist-high, golden grasses for hours. In others, they might climb up immense hills that roll off into the distance. Low-lying oases are favorite spots for herders to rest their cattle and set up camps.
The Drifting Plains are considered premier grazing and farming land, and often small towns of such folks pop up along the train tracks, where they cross the plains, or along rivers and especially prolific springs. The air is humid, but the land is thirsty. Luckily, though, as far north as the plains sit, it's not a suffocatingly hot place -- the wind whips across the hills and flatlands unchallenged, and in the winter, it can be an unforgiving carpet of snow. The good graze and farming doesn't mean an easy, safe life, though -- devils and demons known for trickery often ride the rails, and tempt the unwise to follow them or sell something valuable. Where mines or caves sit, monsters are sure to follow, and there are stories of ghosts upon those hills. Beyond that, the Drifting Plains are subject to vicious, cyclonic storms that spawn tornadoes from time to time.
The Les Marais Swamps and Delta
The Les Marais Swamps and Delta are hardly a kind place to live: The city of Les Marais is bustling and lively, but the environment is sticky and humid, and doesn't even have the decency to be cool. Dry land is a costly commodity, and the city's abundance of it is in part responsible for its success and growth.
Most of the swamps are most easily described as a labyrinth of shallow, buggy waterways between large wetland trees and thickets of ferns and rushes. Small communities can occasionally be found out there, isolated in the middle of the wetlands. Some folks live lightly out there alone, and more often than not, they can be very strange. It's a buggy, wet place, with spanish moss hanging from the trees in thick layers, and in many places, the water is so shallow you barely have to swim. Outside the city, boats are often the best way to travel if you aren't taking the rails.
Alligator is a common source of meat out there, and fishing is a common way of life. As unpleasant as the atmosphere in the swamps may be, though, the fireflies are phenomenal, and some say if you're willing to go far enough out into the bayou, you'll find the best hedge witches in the west, though they might not always be friendly. It's a strange place, and one with many dark secrets out there in the bogs and the swamplands.
Sonora
While it isn't the classic, sandy type, Sonora is a desert region that can best be described as dry, volatile, and in the summer, suffocatingly hot. It's an ever-changing environment, where you'll find regions with wildly varying visual qualities around every corner. It's a wide, rocky environment, full of immense red bluffs, towering pillars of stone, archways, and hoodoos of all shapes and sizes. The desert is marked by bunchgrasses, yucca, and wide hills of short, scrubby juniper trees among the grass, between deep canyons and mesas.
Rivers aren't a terribly rare sight in Sonora; while it often appears unforgiving and desolate on the surface, there are many places where freshwater springs abound, and these are the places towns pop up. Ranging cattle and horses and small, self-sufficient ranching communities are common here, as well as mines and ancient black lava flows. Just because there are rivers and water doesn't make Sonora a friendly place, though. Narrow, deep slot canyons and wide, dry riverbeds known as dry washes become death traps when the heavy late-summer monsoons fall, pounding the earth with immense thunderstorms and causing devastating flash floods. Oftentimes, grotesque and truly horrifying undead crawl out of those same slot canyons and dry washes, rancid and waterlogged after meeting their end in the storms.
The Rockies
The immense, imposing Rockies are a mountain range often considered impassable in places. Mountain men often disappear into them to hunt, fish, trap, and live as they so please, as well as mine for gold, silver, or other minerals. In many places, the Rockies see snow most of the year, and small towns or large, semi-permanent camps spring up in the lower-lying valleys, around lakes and rivers. It's a stunning, picturesque place, with sparking blue streams, thick carpets of pine forests, and enchanting vistas of the mountains. Roads in the Rockies are often winding, moving from valley to valley, and some are situated frighteningly close to steep cliffs.
Some parts of the Rockies match that lovely description, while others are immense fields of jagged, rugged stone. It's a lovely backdrop, but a difficult area to pass through -- enough that many half-finished railways remain through the whole range, where attempts have been made and are continuing to be made to cross the mountains, providing more direct access to the meadows beyond, around Sulphur Springs.
The Cascades and the Coast
The Cascade range is another large mountain range, sitting right along the western coastline. The mountains are rainy, and thick with immense trees, some taller than any other, and some wider at their bases than most cabins. Cedars and fog dominate the landscape, along with vibrant green meadows high in the hills that sparkle with shattered volcanic glass. Glaciers sit up in the highest of elevations, turning the lakes and streams a lovely blue. Even so, winters are harsh and settlers may find theirselves waist-deep in snow for a month at a time. In places, travelers must cross immense fields of roiling, rugged black stone from volcanic eruptions of eras past. To this day, volcanic eruptions are common.
Mining and lumber are common pursuits in the region, as well as ranging cattle or horses in the lower elevations, where, slightly inland on the other side of the mountains and to the south, wide open forests of oak savannas dominate the landscape. These golden hills appear perfect for livestock of all kinds. Gold is a major pursuit in the region, and boom towns that thrive wildly for a few years at a time before being abandoned aren't uncommon.
Towns and Cities of the World
The Monsters
There's a variety of nasty things out there. They come in all types, shapes, and sizes. Most often, they prefer dark crevasses and like to come out at night, but can be found in the daylight on occasion. Deep underground places are most at risk of attracting the monsters of the frontier: Mineshafts, caves, or even deep, narrow slot canyons, where the light can't reach the floor. You'll find everything from corrupted-looking deer to skeletons to incomprehensible horrors out there, or even monsters that slip by undetected, looking just like you and me. Some seem to just be the reanimated dead. Others are products of horrible misuse of magic. Some say many are manifested out of the fears of the communities they stalk.
DEMONS are highly dangerous entities which most often seem to come crawling out of the ground in one way or another -- out of the mines, out of caves, or out of slot canyons. They are creatures with no set shape or size, but what is known is that they often feed upon or represent the fears, flaws, or sins of the communities they stalk. They infect the world around them in strange ways, bringing the dead back to their feet, corrupting the wildlife, or even corrupting people -- unless it was the corruption of the people which brought forth the demon to begin with. They manifest themselves in strange ways, with a variety of appearances and abilities often associated with the concepts which brought them forth -- pride or lust, something as abstract as starvation or as tangible as flooding, greed, or even the unknown or uncharted. What brought them out of the brimstone and onto the surface is subject to countless rumors. All that is known for sure is that they're here now. Some are weak. Others are incredibly strong. Oftentimes, a silksinger's art or a hedge-witch's talisman might be enough to protect a traveler from the weak ones and the corrupt beasts they bring with them. This is not always the case, though. Nearly always, where there is trouble, a demon lies somewhere nearby. If not a demon... it might simply be a man.
PEOPLE come in so many shapes and varieties and personalities that, naturally, some are good, and some are bad. Most are somewhere in the middle, of course... but anyone who uses their talents or efforts to harm others can be as much of a menace as any horde of skeletons, giant spider beasts, demons, or imps. Flesh witches are often blamed most for bad behavior, due to the sometimes frightening nature of the magic they practice. Given the prevalence of blood sacrifice in many forms of the magic, one can't deny the fear isn't entirely unfounded. Bad people are as varied as good ones, though, whether they're outlaw gang leaders, greedy local government, necromancers, or undead bounty hunters.
THE UNDEAD aren't too hard to get a hold on: They're supposed to be dead. They were once. They changed their mind. Undead comes in all sorts of forms -- skeletons given life, rotting corpses that shamble across the sand, ghosts and phantoms haunting the streets and halls of cities and homes. They come in a wide variety of types, and exist on a variety of spectrums. Undead can be corporeal or incorporeal, either physical or ghosts. Additionally, they can range anywhere from utterly mindless and soulless -- sometimes servants to a demon, monster, or even a person, and sometimes free-roaming -- to completely lucid, with thoughts, feelings, and decision making of their own. The reasons these beings come back are wildly varied and not fully understood. Some are said to have made a deal with the devil in order to come back -- a rumor most often associated with undead outlaws and criminals. Others, perhaps, were tied so strongly to a goal they couldn't fulfill that sheer force of will alone anchored them to the living world, or perhaps a curse was placed on their now-restless soul and in order to be at peace, they must break it. Whatever the case may be, many of the same things are true of apparitions, ranging anywhere from images of superstition and fear to guilt to suffering souls craving freedom or revenge and beyond.
At times, examples of the undead are not necessarily evil by nature: Mindless and soulless servants are simply utilizations of the body left behind, and are only as evil as their creator, or the drive that brought them back. A zombie house servant can, after all, be an utterly harmless thing if the necromancer who created it simply didn't want to pay a living person. On the opposite side, though, if a demon who feeds on a fear of starvation resulted in the dead being animated, they may be restless corpses possessed of nothing but hunger.
VAMPIRES of various types can occasionally be found in the world. They come in different varieties: Some suck blood, some feed upon emotions. It's often hard to spot without knowing exactly what to look for. They can walk in the sun, and don't often appear very different than anyone else.
Perhaps I should do more detailed examples and classifications of undead?
The Witchcraft
As dark forces and monsters grew and spread through the west, witchcraft of various types rose into prominence as well. Naturally, there have always been rumors and stories of hedge witches or other magic women in the world— they may have always been about. Strangers in the woods have always been sought by girls looking to know the names of their future loves. Women with an uncanny talent for medicine and curses, or hermit men said to banish ghosts or speak to them have always been whispers. But no one could say for sure if that was real.
The witches and magic users now certainly are. Magic is harnessed by humans in a variety of ways, some stranger than others, and at times, the sources of that magic are blurred or unclear— one could argue some forms are inherent, while others are channeled from the natural deep magic of the earth, and some others still come from outside, unearthly sources, be that ghosts, demons, or even God Himself.
SILKSINGERS are said to have a natural resilience against the monsters that plague the frontier. It’s unclear why. Protection from the evils that lurk isn’t absolute, except for a few exceptionally rare examples. Many agree silksingers are inherently unique: That for some reason, they’re a less likely target, like a monarch butterfly feeding on milkweed. Some suggest it’s just how they are. Others might tell you they have some special power over the fears the beasts feed on. All that’s known for sure is that a silksinger makes a good artist— not all choose that path, of course, but to create art is to infuse it with a piece of yourself. As a result, art made by a silksinger acts as a talisman affording some level of protection against the dark beasts. It doesn’t seem to matter if it’s a finely woven rug at your door, a beaded necklace or hair piece woven into a horse’s mane, a shawl, a hatband, or anything else — if a silksinger made it, it helps a little.
HEDGE-WITCH is the term applied to those who simply use what the earth decided to give them after the west broke open. They utilize the natural deep magic offered by the plants, animals, and stones around them. A hedge-witch can of course be a man or a woman or something else entirely -- after all, it's a magic they choose to harness. Hedge-witches are most well-known for strange potions and talismans serving purposes of all kinds. Some will use herbs and chalcedony or quarts to heal your wounds or give you a necklace to protect you from infections. Others might harness their understanding of the earth's magic to create poisons, cursed weapons, or other sorts of hexes. Many are renowned apothecaries and midwives these days. Some communities still shun and cast these folks out, but each town is a little different.
FLESH WITCH and BLOOD MAGE are terms often used interchangeably to describe something darker and more sinister. Some are necromancers who can animate soulless corpses from the grave. Others claim to be able to bring the soul back to the body, if only a trade is made. Some have been known to bring on terrible nightmares or panic upon others. There's no saying for sure where many of these abilities came from, and for the most part, practitioners are subject to whatever fears and rumors they arouse in those around them. Some blood mages have been said to be undead themselves after making a deal with the devil to return to their body. Others have been accused of being in league with the undead and other monsters that wander the frontier.
MEDIUMS exist on the frontier as well, though sometimes get lumped together under the grisly terms "flesh witch" or "blood mage". They're associated with ghosts in many ways -- some are only able to sense the presence of the undead, others can speak to them and hear them, and some become a vessel through which the dead speak for themselves, whether they will it or not.
A separate category exists on rare occasions, and whether or not it should truly be called witchcraft or magic is at best extremely controversial. Holy men and women who are highly devoted will on occasion find themselves blessed with miraculous powers of their own, though calling them blessings can sometimes stretch the truth. Prophets who bear the responsibility of seeing the future rarely enjoy what they see and often find it confusing at best and horrific at worst -- after all, very few see good things very often. No one needs warned of a happy wedding or celebration. Others are able to heal the wounds or diseases of their congregation or community through rituals of prayer and devotion. Some can similarly smite the undead or demons that plague their flock. Perhaps this holy looking magic truly is the work of God Himself, offering a helping hand. Perhaps, though, they're simply naturally gifted in the way silksingers or mediums are, and it manifests in this way simply because their faith is so strong. Oftentimes, these powers work to provide a public image opposite that of a blood mage: After all, what can you expect? A priest who can heal the injured through prayer alone is surely a good person. Whether or not this is entirely true can't be said for sure.
Hmm... maybe more magic that can be used for offense, or expand on current ones to give them more options.
Technology
Technology in and around Sulphur Springs is not so different from technology you might have seen in the old West between the 1850s and 1880s. The steam engine dominates long-distance travel in the areas it has reached, often passing through major cities and thoroughfares. Outside that, horses, mules, and wagons are the way of it if you aren't on foot. Some folks travel light and lonely, but many agree it's safest to travel in caravans with those who can protect one another along the road.
Electric lights can occasionally be found in the more luxurious places in town, but most middle-class folks rely on candles, gas lanterns, and daylight to get by. Occasionally, you'll find individuals capable enough with magic to provide lighting of a special outside type to keep their community lit. Wood stoves are the rule, with gas stoves occasionally being spotted in wealthier homes.
Guns are the most popular weapons by far. Rifles, revolvers, shotguns -- you know the way of it. High quality firearms are a necessity in the world, and technology around them is constantly innovating. Bullets, too, are a major area of interest, and if you find a really good gunsmith's shop, you might find everything from lead, to copper, to silver bullets, as well as guns and ammunition, sights, or other pieces enchanted for various purposes. Salt or other blessed bullets are a sought-after commodity, as ghosts in particular are extremely difficult to deal with by physical means, and many folks are still tinkering with ways to deal with them. Tinkerers can be found all over the place seeking new ways to destroy the monsters roaming the Sulpher Springs, especially in large towns or hanging around different magicians and witches with the hope of utilizing their talents to help in the offense against the dark forces beyond the city limits.
Folklore: Where It Started
The presence of dark monsters and magic is new in the world: It hasn't been a full lifetime, and most folks can remember when their communities first started realizing something had gone wrong, except for children and younger teenagers. It hit every area a little differently, at different times, and there's no one clear explanation as to what exactly happened. Some communities experienced the change slowly: One strange, deformed coyote appeared, then over time, one turned into a pack. Others saw it all at once in a massive attack or when witches suddenly appeared among them. No one knows why exactly these things happened, but everyone has ideas about it.
The stories vary from community to community. In mining areas, the popular belief is that a man from New York came out west after buying a mine. When the mines he'd built were failing, and the miners he hired couldn't make him money, the owner did something terrible: He made a deal with the devil, trading the souls of the eight men in the mines that day for profitable yields. There was a tunnel collapse that day. All eight men died, and many folks will tell you when the tunnel fell in, it opened the gate for Hell to pour out onto the earth.
Another story, popular in native and poorer communities or those disenchanted with modern technology, is that the monsters and demons are a punishment for Westward Expansion: The destruction of communities and lust for riches at the expense of the people and the land cursed all those who live upon it, and now everyone must suffer for what was done.
In Les Marais, it's a popular belief that it was a cult's doing, though many varations on that particular story exist. Some say a grief-stricken wife went to them in an attempt to bring back a child or a husband, and a demon took the body instead when the cult attempted resurrection. Others say the resurrection was cursed from the start in a wrathful act of God as a punishment for attempting to do what He once did. Others still will tell you a cult leader attempted to achieve godhood, or committed one of various atrocities which may have called demons forth, failed to bind them, or brought down the punishment of heaven. Whatever the case may be, there's a thousand variations.
To-do list//Thoughts
This is what I've got at present, with plans to continue fleshing out things like different types of people you may meet on the road, but a list like that will never be comprehensive! It would be more of a list of ideas and thoughts to spark imagination and give a framework of what kind of person you might meet in the weird west.
I may also eventually include a list of NPC ideas for myself, for when I finally get ready to run short roleplays in the Sulfur Springs world.
A list of interesting locations would also be a fun idea... things like ruins, towns, train stations, or interesting natural features -- though that may be because I'm a nerd, too. Hm...
More ideas will no doubt pop up!
That being the case -- if there's anything missing or someone reads this and has questions more info might answer, I'd appreciate comments so I can continue working the world build!
The World
The American West, in an undefined year — it could be anywhere from the 1850s to the 1880s, depending on the story being told. The wagons are headed west, miners are digging into the hidden treasures of the California and Idaho mountains, cowboys are running cattle, sheep, and goats, and U.S. marshals, rangers, and sheriffs are out to keep the peace in isolated communities across the west.
On the surface, the world looks like ours: the Great Plains are wide and endless, varying from flat expanses to enormous rolling hills and rocky dry washes devoid of more than a stray scatter of trees. The Rocky Mountains disappear into the clouds, coated in snowy pine forests hiding mining camps and railroad workers laboring to bring the train over the mountains. The southwest is rocky and red, broken by small mountain ranges and strange stone structures. The coast is mountainous and dressed in trees so large that eastern folks believe them to be a hoax.
Underneath, though, there are darker things roaming the world. Demons, magicians, and monsters of all kinds plague this western world. Often, cities and large towns are safer from the monsters that lurk in the wilderness. On occasion, though, they’ll creep into towns, skulking in the alleys or even passing for humans on occasion. Out in the frontier settlements or the wilderness, however, dark monsters roam more freely, sometimes ambushing livestock, small towns, or mining and railroad camps.
It’s a hard world, but ones people choose to brave all the same: Some because they were raised in it, some because they chose it, and others because they were here first, and must adjust to the new world they live in. People have done their best to adjust in any number of ways— forts were built or rededicated to the new threats, towns or wealthy locals put out bounties on problem monsters or gangs, some became bounty hunters or rough riders to run supplies across the wild to small, needy communities… some harnessed the strange powers that infused the world around them. Others still study the creatures and the strange ruins and places they seem to spawn from. Some decided every man must fend for himself, building gangs to raid towns or supply tons. It’s a dangerous world, full of a wide and colorful variety of people.
CITIES AND TOWNS exist all throughout the frontier, from the desert southwest all the way to the rainforests of Oregon. They come in all shapes and sizes and types, with no two being the same -- when you're traveling the roads and wagon trails in the west, you'll find everything from mining communities to railroad camps to large settlements that even have the luxury of hot baths or a soda bar. You may even come across literal ghost towns and other sinister things.
OUTPOSTS can also be found, especially in more remote or dangerous regions. Most travelers sleep easier in an outpost than anywhere else in the wilderness. These rough-hewn little communities are typically repurposed forts: At one point, the U.S. military thought they were out there to protect settlers from natives defending their home. Once hellish monsters started swarming the frontier, though, their aim quickly changed. Forts and outposts are often heavily defended and protected and always have at least some military presence. Usually, when assistance is needed in one town or another for food, medicine, justice or legal authority, or good old brute force, they'll seek aid from a nearby military post. Other times, though, if they're too isolated, the town has reason to mistrust their neighbors, or another source of help is more readily available, they'll turn to outside help. They also function as trading posts and good layover spots -- if you need food, bullets, clothes, or even just a safe bed, there's no more welcome sight than those walls.
Additionally, while some forts and outposts are still relatively small, it's not terribly uncommon to come across some on more prominent trails and roads that have essentially grown into small, walled towns, often with a highly transient populace outside the soldiers themselves. U.S. Marshals, traveling military folks, and traders of all strokes can frequently be found in places like these, taking layovers from one place to the next.
Map
Regions and Locations
The Drifting Plains
The Drifting Plains is a wide region with more variation than one would think at first. In many places, the Plains appear to be a flat, desolate grassland -- nothing but tallgrass prairie as far and wide as the eye can see, with the occasional pronghorn or bison herd somewhere in the distance. In places, though, this flat prairie is broken by sweeping hills, dry washes, rivers, and oases where small collections of thick trees and brush grow. In many places, one can find theirself traveling in waist-high, golden grasses for hours. In others, they might climb up immense hills that roll off into the distance. Low-lying oases are favorite spots for herders to rest their cattle and set up camps.
The Drifting Plains are considered premier grazing and farming land, and often small towns of such folks pop up along the train tracks, where they cross the plains, or along rivers and especially prolific springs. The air is humid, but the land is thirsty. Luckily, though, as far north as the plains sit, it's not a suffocatingly hot place -- the wind whips across the hills and flatlands unchallenged, and in the winter, it can be an unforgiving carpet of snow. The good graze and farming doesn't mean an easy, safe life, though -- devils and demons known for trickery often ride the rails, and tempt the unwise to follow them or sell something valuable. Where mines or caves sit, monsters are sure to follow, and there are stories of ghosts upon those hills. Beyond that, the Drifting Plains are subject to vicious, cyclonic storms that spawn tornadoes from time to time.
The Les Marais Swamps and Delta
The Les Marais Swamps and Delta are hardly a kind place to live: The city of Les Marais is bustling and lively, but the environment is sticky and humid, and doesn't even have the decency to be cool. Dry land is a costly commodity, and the city's abundance of it is in part responsible for its success and growth.
Most of the swamps are most easily described as a labyrinth of shallow, buggy waterways between large wetland trees and thickets of ferns and rushes. Small communities can occasionally be found out there, isolated in the middle of the wetlands. Some folks live lightly out there alone, and more often than not, they can be very strange. It's a buggy, wet place, with spanish moss hanging from the trees in thick layers, and in many places, the water is so shallow you barely have to swim. Outside the city, boats are often the best way to travel if you aren't taking the rails.
Alligator is a common source of meat out there, and fishing is a common way of life. As unpleasant as the atmosphere in the swamps may be, though, the fireflies are phenomenal, and some say if you're willing to go far enough out into the bayou, you'll find the best hedge witches in the west, though they might not always be friendly. It's a strange place, and one with many dark secrets out there in the bogs and the swamplands.
Sonora
While it isn't the classic, sandy type, Sonora is a desert region that can best be described as dry, volatile, and in the summer, suffocatingly hot. It's an ever-changing environment, where you'll find regions with wildly varying visual qualities around every corner. It's a wide, rocky environment, full of immense red bluffs, towering pillars of stone, archways, and hoodoos of all shapes and sizes. The desert is marked by bunchgrasses, yucca, and wide hills of short, scrubby juniper trees among the grass, between deep canyons and mesas.
Rivers aren't a terribly rare sight in Sonora; while it often appears unforgiving and desolate on the surface, there are many places where freshwater springs abound, and these are the places towns pop up. Ranging cattle and horses and small, self-sufficient ranching communities are common here, as well as mines and ancient black lava flows. Just because there are rivers and water doesn't make Sonora a friendly place, though. Narrow, deep slot canyons and wide, dry riverbeds known as dry washes become death traps when the heavy late-summer monsoons fall, pounding the earth with immense thunderstorms and causing devastating flash floods. Oftentimes, grotesque and truly horrifying undead crawl out of those same slot canyons and dry washes, rancid and waterlogged after meeting their end in the storms.
The Rockies
The immense, imposing Rockies are a mountain range often considered impassable in places. Mountain men often disappear into them to hunt, fish, trap, and live as they so please, as well as mine for gold, silver, or other minerals. In many places, the Rockies see snow most of the year, and small towns or large, semi-permanent camps spring up in the lower-lying valleys, around lakes and rivers. It's a stunning, picturesque place, with sparking blue streams, thick carpets of pine forests, and enchanting vistas of the mountains. Roads in the Rockies are often winding, moving from valley to valley, and some are situated frighteningly close to steep cliffs.
Some parts of the Rockies match that lovely description, while others are immense fields of jagged, rugged stone. It's a lovely backdrop, but a difficult area to pass through -- enough that many half-finished railways remain through the whole range, where attempts have been made and are continuing to be made to cross the mountains, providing more direct access to the meadows beyond, around Sulphur Springs.
The Cascades and the Coast
The Cascade range is another large mountain range, sitting right along the western coastline. The mountains are rainy, and thick with immense trees, some taller than any other, and some wider at their bases than most cabins. Cedars and fog dominate the landscape, along with vibrant green meadows high in the hills that sparkle with shattered volcanic glass. Glaciers sit up in the highest of elevations, turning the lakes and streams a lovely blue. Even so, winters are harsh and settlers may find theirselves waist-deep in snow for a month at a time. In places, travelers must cross immense fields of roiling, rugged black stone from volcanic eruptions of eras past. To this day, volcanic eruptions are common.
Mining and lumber are common pursuits in the region, as well as ranging cattle or horses in the lower elevations, where, slightly inland on the other side of the mountains and to the south, wide open forests of oak savannas dominate the landscape. These golden hills appear perfect for livestock of all kinds. Gold is a major pursuit in the region, and boom towns that thrive wildly for a few years at a time before being abandoned aren't uncommon.
Towns and Cities of the World
The town of SULPHUR SPRINGS is a large one, situated in and around large fields of volcanic activity. This rough-hewn town composed of wood cabins and buildings with stone foundations is surrounded by nearby hot springs, geyser basins, fumaroles, and mud pots. It's a bustling town -- it doesn't have a railway running through it, but the town has a major road that intersects with a train station several miles from town. The dirt road turns into a broad boardwalk to help humans, horses, and caravans pass safely over the fragile, dangerous volcanic basins around. Situated in the north, Sulphur Springs sits in the midst of wide pine forests and sweeping, lush fields of grazable land in the Wyoming.
Sulphur Springs itself is a fairly bustling town: Doctors, tinkerers, and gunsmiths, general stores, tailors, and food and drink of all kinds can be found in town. The town became a bustling one on account of the local resources -- trees, lovely rivers lined in places by low-temperature hot springs, and high-quality meadows to graze cattle, horses, and other livestock. It's not a terrible town to live in -- but unfortunately, the ever-present smell of sulphur is a little unpleasant.
Locals like to warn visitors to steer clear of the pools of boiling water near town, as it's said that the ghost of a beautiful woman can sometimes be seen swimming in them, inviting unsuspecting passers-by to join her, and step into the searing water to their own deaths.
Sulphur Springs itself is a fairly bustling town: Doctors, tinkerers, and gunsmiths, general stores, tailors, and food and drink of all kinds can be found in town. The town became a bustling one on account of the local resources -- trees, lovely rivers lined in places by low-temperature hot springs, and high-quality meadows to graze cattle, horses, and other livestock. It's not a terrible town to live in -- but unfortunately, the ever-present smell of sulphur is a little unpleasant.
Locals like to warn visitors to steer clear of the pools of boiling water near town, as it's said that the ghost of a beautiful woman can sometimes be seen swimming in them, inviting unsuspecting passers-by to join her, and step into the searing water to their own deaths.
Les Marais (Unusually pronounced "Ley Mur-eye", but sometimes "les marays") is a large city on the eastern edge of the west, right at the gate between the west and the east near the ocean. It's a humid place in a large, thickly forested swamp, inundated with waterways in the unforgiving bayou. On the streets of this bustling, rustic city, you'll find incredible food, art, and culture, but if you know where to go, there's potent blood magic, hedge magic, and other dark forces to be found. The train station here is a major one leading east and west both -- folks who leave the dark western world behind can be found in every bar with stories to tell, while wide-eyed folks heading into it hear rumors and often find their first exposure to the truth of what lies beyond. You can find anything in Les Marais -- often far more than you intend to.
Gravewood is, to say the least, a strange little town: It's a sleepy little place. There's not much to see there. A tailor lives here, along with a small general store that never seems to have much stock, as well as a church. You may have heard folks reference Gravewood, but no two people describe where to find it the same way. The train tracks run through it, but trains only seem to roll through late at night, and some say they see it roll in from a distance, shimmering like a mirage under the full moon.
Springdale is a small southwestern town situated between dramatic, tall red-orange cliffs deep in the desert. A river runs through the canyon, and Springdale thrives under the cottonwood trees along its banks. The town mostly relies on itself: The locals are self-sufficient, constantly on guard for danger that may pour from the deep, dark slot canyons up the river from them, and usually rely on goats, sheep, and cattle as well as orchards. Springdale is a well-known town in the southwestern region of the world, mostly among the folks running supplies from one town to another or acting as bounty hunters out to dispatch monsters and dangers in an attempt to protect the public.
Cattlegate is a major outpost run by the military. It's in the desert, along a river under the tall, dry mesas. It's right on the railroad, and acts as a stopover for many frontiersman.
A small town nestled in the hills upon the Drifting Plains, Aurora Springs sits along the train tracks heading West, running North of Sulphur Springs. It's an isolated little town, with a number of ranchers, farmers, and bison hunters in the area. The enormous, rolling hills north of town -- the Smoke Hills -- make excellent grazing land and often foster small, wooded springs and oases along where deer, antelope, bison, horses, and other livestock like to gather. Cowboys and the like are common sights in town, as well as an array of strangers passing through. Another common sight in town are local tribe members, who often come through to trade with the frontiersmen in the area.
Throughout Aurora Springs, you may often find folks claiming to have a talent for divination. Now, whether or not such a thing is true varies case to case. As far north as the Springs are, though, folks see the northern lights fairly regularly, and there's superstitions surrounding the colors and their meanings for anything ranging from harvest, to local elections, to omens around births.
Throughout Aurora Springs, you may often find folks claiming to have a talent for divination. Now, whether or not such a thing is true varies case to case. As far north as the Springs are, though, folks see the northern lights fairly regularly, and there's superstitions surrounding the colors and their meanings for anything ranging from harvest, to local elections, to omens around births.
Way up in the far northwestern reaches, nestled among enormous turquoise lakes, towering mountains, and dense green forests of cedar and pine trees, you'll find the little mining town of Packwood. The railway end here, cut off by the dramatic, glacier-addled peaks of the Rockies. Packwood is a fairly sleepy little place; the town square is mostly saloons, inns, stores of several kinds, and a collection of laundry services as well as the odd brothel. The town is founded on mining silver in the mountains to the north as well as logging in the enormous, old-growth forests. It makes for a rough sort of populace, but the sheriff and his deputies are every bit as tough and twice as fair.
Packwood is a cool, humid place, surrounded by temperate rainforests thick with mosses, streams, lakes, and rolling hills and mountains. In places, you'll find stands of enormous sequoia and redwood trees -- some are wider at their base than houses, others are a good few hundred feet tall. The local lumberjacks swear they won't cut them for nothing -- there's all sorts of stories about what kinds of monsters they might anger if they do. Lumber camps are often settled in between these massive trees, and collections of rough, one-room cabins occupied by miners can be found along almost any river or near any eligible mining plot in the hills or near the mountains.
Packwood is a cool, humid place, surrounded by temperate rainforests thick with mosses, streams, lakes, and rolling hills and mountains. In places, you'll find stands of enormous sequoia and redwood trees -- some are wider at their base than houses, others are a good few hundred feet tall. The local lumberjacks swear they won't cut them for nothing -- there's all sorts of stories about what kinds of monsters they might anger if they do. Lumber camps are often settled in between these massive trees, and collections of rough, one-room cabins occupied by miners can be found along almost any river or near any eligible mining plot in the hills or near the mountains.
At the end of the line, south of the Coastal Range, there lies a great, rolling rocky desert broken up by wide, open flat lands of nothing. In the middle of all that nothing is a large city comparable to Les Marais. Paradise is a place that thrives on the common pleasures: Gambling houses, brothels, and cabaret shows abound, as do speakeasies, despite the fact that the area is theoretically a dry county. Even so, the sheriffs seem to be unhelpful at best, and most U.S. marshals who go out there disappear real quick. It's a shady place, and one rife with sin for monsters of all kinds to thrive on.
The Monsters
There's a variety of nasty things out there. They come in all types, shapes, and sizes. Most often, they prefer dark crevasses and like to come out at night, but can be found in the daylight on occasion. Deep underground places are most at risk of attracting the monsters of the frontier: Mineshafts, caves, or even deep, narrow slot canyons, where the light can't reach the floor. You'll find everything from corrupted-looking deer to skeletons to incomprehensible horrors out there, or even monsters that slip by undetected, looking just like you and me. Some seem to just be the reanimated dead. Others are products of horrible misuse of magic. Some say many are manifested out of the fears of the communities they stalk.
DEMONS are highly dangerous entities which most often seem to come crawling out of the ground in one way or another -- out of the mines, out of caves, or out of slot canyons. They are creatures with no set shape or size, but what is known is that they often feed upon or represent the fears, flaws, or sins of the communities they stalk. They infect the world around them in strange ways, bringing the dead back to their feet, corrupting the wildlife, or even corrupting people -- unless it was the corruption of the people which brought forth the demon to begin with. They manifest themselves in strange ways, with a variety of appearances and abilities often associated with the concepts which brought them forth -- pride or lust, something as abstract as starvation or as tangible as flooding, greed, or even the unknown or uncharted. What brought them out of the brimstone and onto the surface is subject to countless rumors. All that is known for sure is that they're here now. Some are weak. Others are incredibly strong. Oftentimes, a silksinger's art or a hedge-witch's talisman might be enough to protect a traveler from the weak ones and the corrupt beasts they bring with them. This is not always the case, though. Nearly always, where there is trouble, a demon lies somewhere nearby. If not a demon... it might simply be a man.
PEOPLE come in so many shapes and varieties and personalities that, naturally, some are good, and some are bad. Most are somewhere in the middle, of course... but anyone who uses their talents or efforts to harm others can be as much of a menace as any horde of skeletons, giant spider beasts, demons, or imps. Flesh witches are often blamed most for bad behavior, due to the sometimes frightening nature of the magic they practice. Given the prevalence of blood sacrifice in many forms of the magic, one can't deny the fear isn't entirely unfounded. Bad people are as varied as good ones, though, whether they're outlaw gang leaders, greedy local government, necromancers, or undead bounty hunters.
THE UNDEAD aren't too hard to get a hold on: They're supposed to be dead. They were once. They changed their mind. Undead comes in all sorts of forms -- skeletons given life, rotting corpses that shamble across the sand, ghosts and phantoms haunting the streets and halls of cities and homes. They come in a wide variety of types, and exist on a variety of spectrums. Undead can be corporeal or incorporeal, either physical or ghosts. Additionally, they can range anywhere from utterly mindless and soulless -- sometimes servants to a demon, monster, or even a person, and sometimes free-roaming -- to completely lucid, with thoughts, feelings, and decision making of their own. The reasons these beings come back are wildly varied and not fully understood. Some are said to have made a deal with the devil in order to come back -- a rumor most often associated with undead outlaws and criminals. Others, perhaps, were tied so strongly to a goal they couldn't fulfill that sheer force of will alone anchored them to the living world, or perhaps a curse was placed on their now-restless soul and in order to be at peace, they must break it. Whatever the case may be, many of the same things are true of apparitions, ranging anywhere from images of superstition and fear to guilt to suffering souls craving freedom or revenge and beyond.
At times, examples of the undead are not necessarily evil by nature: Mindless and soulless servants are simply utilizations of the body left behind, and are only as evil as their creator, or the drive that brought them back. A zombie house servant can, after all, be an utterly harmless thing if the necromancer who created it simply didn't want to pay a living person. On the opposite side, though, if a demon who feeds on a fear of starvation resulted in the dead being animated, they may be restless corpses possessed of nothing but hunger.
VAMPIRES of various types can occasionally be found in the world. They come in different varieties: Some suck blood, some feed upon emotions. It's often hard to spot without knowing exactly what to look for. They can walk in the sun, and don't often appear very different than anyone else.
Perhaps I should do more detailed examples and classifications of undead?
The Witchcraft
As dark forces and monsters grew and spread through the west, witchcraft of various types rose into prominence as well. Naturally, there have always been rumors and stories of hedge witches or other magic women in the world— they may have always been about. Strangers in the woods have always been sought by girls looking to know the names of their future loves. Women with an uncanny talent for medicine and curses, or hermit men said to banish ghosts or speak to them have always been whispers. But no one could say for sure if that was real.
The witches and magic users now certainly are. Magic is harnessed by humans in a variety of ways, some stranger than others, and at times, the sources of that magic are blurred or unclear— one could argue some forms are inherent, while others are channeled from the natural deep magic of the earth, and some others still come from outside, unearthly sources, be that ghosts, demons, or even God Himself.
SILKSINGERS are said to have a natural resilience against the monsters that plague the frontier. It’s unclear why. Protection from the evils that lurk isn’t absolute, except for a few exceptionally rare examples. Many agree silksingers are inherently unique: That for some reason, they’re a less likely target, like a monarch butterfly feeding on milkweed. Some suggest it’s just how they are. Others might tell you they have some special power over the fears the beasts feed on. All that’s known for sure is that a silksinger makes a good artist— not all choose that path, of course, but to create art is to infuse it with a piece of yourself. As a result, art made by a silksinger acts as a talisman affording some level of protection against the dark beasts. It doesn’t seem to matter if it’s a finely woven rug at your door, a beaded necklace or hair piece woven into a horse’s mane, a shawl, a hatband, or anything else — if a silksinger made it, it helps a little.
HEDGE-WITCH is the term applied to those who simply use what the earth decided to give them after the west broke open. They utilize the natural deep magic offered by the plants, animals, and stones around them. A hedge-witch can of course be a man or a woman or something else entirely -- after all, it's a magic they choose to harness. Hedge-witches are most well-known for strange potions and talismans serving purposes of all kinds. Some will use herbs and chalcedony or quarts to heal your wounds or give you a necklace to protect you from infections. Others might harness their understanding of the earth's magic to create poisons, cursed weapons, or other sorts of hexes. Many are renowned apothecaries and midwives these days. Some communities still shun and cast these folks out, but each town is a little different.
FLESH WITCH and BLOOD MAGE are terms often used interchangeably to describe something darker and more sinister. Some are necromancers who can animate soulless corpses from the grave. Others claim to be able to bring the soul back to the body, if only a trade is made. Some have been known to bring on terrible nightmares or panic upon others. There's no saying for sure where many of these abilities came from, and for the most part, practitioners are subject to whatever fears and rumors they arouse in those around them. Some blood mages have been said to be undead themselves after making a deal with the devil to return to their body. Others have been accused of being in league with the undead and other monsters that wander the frontier.
MEDIUMS exist on the frontier as well, though sometimes get lumped together under the grisly terms "flesh witch" or "blood mage". They're associated with ghosts in many ways -- some are only able to sense the presence of the undead, others can speak to them and hear them, and some become a vessel through which the dead speak for themselves, whether they will it or not.
A separate category exists on rare occasions, and whether or not it should truly be called witchcraft or magic is at best extremely controversial. Holy men and women who are highly devoted will on occasion find themselves blessed with miraculous powers of their own, though calling them blessings can sometimes stretch the truth. Prophets who bear the responsibility of seeing the future rarely enjoy what they see and often find it confusing at best and horrific at worst -- after all, very few see good things very often. No one needs warned of a happy wedding or celebration. Others are able to heal the wounds or diseases of their congregation or community through rituals of prayer and devotion. Some can similarly smite the undead or demons that plague their flock. Perhaps this holy looking magic truly is the work of God Himself, offering a helping hand. Perhaps, though, they're simply naturally gifted in the way silksingers or mediums are, and it manifests in this way simply because their faith is so strong. Oftentimes, these powers work to provide a public image opposite that of a blood mage: After all, what can you expect? A priest who can heal the injured through prayer alone is surely a good person. Whether or not this is entirely true can't be said for sure.
Hmm... maybe more magic that can be used for offense, or expand on current ones to give them more options.
Technology
Technology in and around Sulphur Springs is not so different from technology you might have seen in the old West between the 1850s and 1880s. The steam engine dominates long-distance travel in the areas it has reached, often passing through major cities and thoroughfares. Outside that, horses, mules, and wagons are the way of it if you aren't on foot. Some folks travel light and lonely, but many agree it's safest to travel in caravans with those who can protect one another along the road.
Electric lights can occasionally be found in the more luxurious places in town, but most middle-class folks rely on candles, gas lanterns, and daylight to get by. Occasionally, you'll find individuals capable enough with magic to provide lighting of a special outside type to keep their community lit. Wood stoves are the rule, with gas stoves occasionally being spotted in wealthier homes.
Guns are the most popular weapons by far. Rifles, revolvers, shotguns -- you know the way of it. High quality firearms are a necessity in the world, and technology around them is constantly innovating. Bullets, too, are a major area of interest, and if you find a really good gunsmith's shop, you might find everything from lead, to copper, to silver bullets, as well as guns and ammunition, sights, or other pieces enchanted for various purposes. Salt or other blessed bullets are a sought-after commodity, as ghosts in particular are extremely difficult to deal with by physical means, and many folks are still tinkering with ways to deal with them. Tinkerers can be found all over the place seeking new ways to destroy the monsters roaming the Sulpher Springs, especially in large towns or hanging around different magicians and witches with the hope of utilizing their talents to help in the offense against the dark forces beyond the city limits.
Folklore: Where It Started
The presence of dark monsters and magic is new in the world: It hasn't been a full lifetime, and most folks can remember when their communities first started realizing something had gone wrong, except for children and younger teenagers. It hit every area a little differently, at different times, and there's no one clear explanation as to what exactly happened. Some communities experienced the change slowly: One strange, deformed coyote appeared, then over time, one turned into a pack. Others saw it all at once in a massive attack or when witches suddenly appeared among them. No one knows why exactly these things happened, but everyone has ideas about it.
The stories vary from community to community. In mining areas, the popular belief is that a man from New York came out west after buying a mine. When the mines he'd built were failing, and the miners he hired couldn't make him money, the owner did something terrible: He made a deal with the devil, trading the souls of the eight men in the mines that day for profitable yields. There was a tunnel collapse that day. All eight men died, and many folks will tell you when the tunnel fell in, it opened the gate for Hell to pour out onto the earth.
Another story, popular in native and poorer communities or those disenchanted with modern technology, is that the monsters and demons are a punishment for Westward Expansion: The destruction of communities and lust for riches at the expense of the people and the land cursed all those who live upon it, and now everyone must suffer for what was done.
In Les Marais, it's a popular belief that it was a cult's doing, though many varations on that particular story exist. Some say a grief-stricken wife went to them in an attempt to bring back a child or a husband, and a demon took the body instead when the cult attempted resurrection. Others say the resurrection was cursed from the start in a wrathful act of God as a punishment for attempting to do what He once did. Others still will tell you a cult leader attempted to achieve godhood, or committed one of various atrocities which may have called demons forth, failed to bind them, or brought down the punishment of heaven. Whatever the case may be, there's a thousand variations.
To-do list//Thoughts
This is what I've got at present, with plans to continue fleshing out things like different types of people you may meet on the road, but a list like that will never be comprehensive! It would be more of a list of ideas and thoughts to spark imagination and give a framework of what kind of person you might meet in the weird west.
I may also eventually include a list of NPC ideas for myself, for when I finally get ready to run short roleplays in the Sulfur Springs world.
A list of interesting locations would also be a fun idea... things like ruins, towns, train stations, or interesting natural features -- though that may be because I'm a nerd, too. Hm...
More ideas will no doubt pop up!
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