Monday 28 October 2019

Weirdcrawl: Generating a Weird Wonder

In my previous post I talked a bit about what I thought were some baseline qualities for a weird wonder. These weird wonders would serve as the object of quests in a campaign based around venturing into the wilderness to seek out and explore places of weird wonder. Kind of like Indiana Jones combined with the Dreamlands of H. P. Lovecraft.

Click here for the index.


The Paradoxical Duality of the Weird


There are many ways to think about 'weird' things, what they are, and how to define them. I have done so already in my blog, mostly in service of how to create a creeping or gradual sense of the weird where if you have some weird wonder as the object of a quest, the focus of the campaign and play should not just be the final encounter with the weird thing but the journey itself. A journey that has a sense of rising weirdness and tension as the players venture deeper and deeper into the unknown wilderness and away from normalized civilization. So far I have yet to attempt to really define what makes a weird wonder weird and how to go about creating or generating that. I will attempt to do so now.

At heart, I think weird or unsettling things are paradoxical in nature. They exist and yet everything we know about the world, our knowledge, our past experiences, our primordial instincts, tell us they should not exist. This creates a cognitive confusion, a cognitive dissonance that causes emotional reactions that tend to range from awe, to fear, to anger. (I don't have a background in psychology so am probably lacking in the correct terminology but if anyone has any ideas please leave a comment! It's something I'd love to read up on more but have a hard time finding good sources.)

To this end I think the best way to achieve a sense of the weird is to have some object straddle two different containers in our mind about what is known or real.

For example, ghosts. We know that people live and what living people are like. We know what dead people are like also. In our brain we have formed two containers for these two concepts. A ghost straddles these two containers because it is a person who appears both dead and alive at the same time. Our brain doesn't know what to do about it and so we tend to react in an emotional manner.  In the moment we tend to be terrified and repelled, outside the moment curious and attracted.

The mental overload and cognitive dissonance resulting from a very close straddling of two different containers is also why I think there tends to be a limit of believability to weird things and what separates the weird from other things. Ghosts are believable because they paradoxically combine the categories of life and death, things which seem to form an opposition or duality. When something tends to straddle multiple categories it tends to come across more unbelievable than believable and weird. Like the idea of a ghost, something dead yet living is believable, but the idea of a ghost who is dead which has leathery batwings seems a bit more silly even though it's all equally unreal and impossible.

Furthermore, I think the strangest things tend to be those which combine the paradoxical. A river flowing uphill defying gravity, that is odd. However, I think something that is far more strange and interesting is a river of flowing liquid fire. It flows like water and feels like water, yet glows and wavers like flame and even though it feels cold to the touch things soaked in it too long seem to turn to ash. When you combine things of apposing or opposite qualities, you don't just create something that is behaving in an odd fashion, you create something that our brains think fundamentally shouldn't exist. And yet does.



Weird Wonder Generation


The following is a large table that helps create the basic weird wonder. There are three columns.

Feature: this is the actual physical thing that comprises the wonder, constructed or natural. They are things of a singular nature that would lend themselves to a smaller adventuring site rather than something sprawling.

Duality:  the source of the weird, the duality. It will take some imagination and abstract thought in this column are listed two opposites. The wonder should in some way or another embody these two opposites.

Guardian: the guardian of the wonder presented as a list of archetypes. As mentioned before, I am using the term guardian very loosely. They may be a single individual, group of people, monster, etc. They serve to create player interaction and a probable reason why the wonder has remained isolated and hidden.  Their motivations and intent when interacting with the party may vary.


d100
Feature
Duality
Guardian
1
Pool
water/fire
The Fool
2
Standing stone
Beast/man
The Mother
3
Glade
Darkness/light
The Father
4
Fortification
Depth/surface
The Magician
5
Boat
Death/birth
The Scribe
6
Bridge
Wealth/poverty
The Warrior
7
Mist
Dream/reality
The Specter
8
Garden
Fullness/emptiness
The Priestess
9
Tree
flesh/stone
The Abomination
10
Wall
Solidness/fragility
The Emperor
11
Waterfall
Flat/round
The Land
12
Arch
Fornication/chastity
The Lover
13
Burial grounds
Forever/temporary
The Prophet
14
Door
Fresh/rotting
The Hermit
15
Statue
Horizontal/vertical
The Devil
16
Pillar
Infinitesimal/infinite
The Leper
17
Pyramid
Male/female
The Messenger
18
Fungus
Old/young
The Knight
19
Tower
Mind/body
The Bishop
20
Cliff
Collectivism/ Individualism
The Captain
21
Petroglyph
Trust/betrayal
The Gardner
22
Vault
Problem/solution
The Artist
23
Dam
Love/hate
The Soldier
24
Crystal
Creation/destruction
The Smith
25
Sand Dune
Thought/emotion
The Giant
26
Whirlpool
Child/adult
The Dead
27
Dry Lake
noise/silence
The Forgotten
28
Glacier
Imagination/reality
The Lady
29
Island
Passion/apathy
The Monk
30
Cave
Vision/blindness
The Executioner
31
Plateau
Tradition/spontaneity
The Seer
32
Valley
Freedom/imprisonment
The Conqueror
33
Mountain Summit
gas/solid
The Conquered
34
Tepui
Heavy/light
The Angel
35
Volcano
Material/spiritual
The Peddler
36
Crater
Cold/warm
The Templar
37
Spring
Fear/calm
The Herald
38
Lava lake
Frozen/liquid
The Betrayer
39
Fissure
doubt/faith
The Scapegoat
40
Lighthouse
Shame/delight
The Sacrifice
41
Mausoleum
Remembering/forgetting
The Leviathan
42
Fountain
Surrender/triumph
The Trickster
43
Flame
Tragedy/comedy
The Torturer
44
Labyrinth
Illusionary/reality
The Nymph
45
Causeway
Hunger/satiation
The Wild
46
Grotto
Past/future
The Thief
47
Shell
Fate/chance
The Warlord
48
Well
Pleasure/pain
The Ferryman
49
Urn
Justice/corruption
The Hero
50
Amphitheater
Clarity/obscurity
The Witch
51
Lightning
Loneliness/togetherness
The Dog
52
Library
indestructible/weakness
The Scholar
53
Nest
Pride/abasement
The Killer
54
Hive
Truth/lie
The Healer
55
Colonnade
civilization/savagery
The Collector
56
Road
Affliction/cure
The Siren
57
Cenotaph/Stele
Concentration/scattered
The Starved
58
Stairway
Anarchy/order
The Watcher
59
River source
Grandeur/simplicity
The Awakened
60
Salt flat
Multitude/singular
The Revenant
61
Taproot
Insular/inclusive
The Mentor
62
Meteorite
Ascent/descent
The Omniscient
63
Canyon
Flesh/spirit
The Sisters
64
Observatory
Writing/speaking
The Order
65
Rough statues
veiled/naked
The Master
66
Waystone
Black/white
The cowardly
67
Loadstone
Natural/unnatural
The Betrayer
68
Monument
Abundance/famine
The Betrayed
69
Sewers
Expansion/contraction
The Nurse
70
Canal
Protection/destruction
The Shepherd
71
Palace
fertile/barren
The Automaton
72
Shrine
Crisis/challenge
The Sacrifice
73
Arena
Defiance/submission
The Saccharine
74
Migratory grounds
Mastery/incompetence
The Unborn
75
Cairn
Hospitality/hostility
The Brute
76
Totem
Flying/crawling
The Miser
77
Pyre
Sharp/dull
The Architect
78
Tar pit
Clever/stupid
The Wanderer
79
Lagoon
Melodic/discordant

The Invisible
80
Spire
Fading/coagulating
The Reaper
81
Burial Mound
Fostered/condemned
The Ravenous
82
Leviathan
Programmed/random
The Undertaker
83
Orrery
Adorned/empty
The Enslaved
84
Axis Mundi
Depleted/energized
The Slaver
85
Pit
Guide/mislead
The Fraternity
86
Spawning grounds
Lost/found
The Prisoner
87
Roost
Gentle/rough
The Fallen
88
Beach
Advanced/primitive
The Cursed
89
Obelisk
Distant/close
The Forgetful
90
Ship wreck
Fabricated/biological
The Forgiven
91
Sigil
Learned/innate
The Widow
92
Meadow
Cooked/raw
The Warlock
93
Battlefield
Herded/directionless
The Withered
94
Mine
Neglected/pampered
The Maiden
95
Stone Works
Interlinked/unwoven
The Elder
96
Ziggurat
Wide/narrow
The Tyrant
97
Monastery
Falling/rising
The Child
98
Forge
Human/inhuman
The Traveler
99
Bell Tower
Withered/lush
The Undying
100
Hunting Grounds
Defeat/Victory
Death



Enigmatic History


After rolling on the above chart you should have the basics of a weird wonder. In some way the wonder should be momentous. It is a place where something happened. Something long ago.  It should have a sense of scale or of time, evoke a feeling of awe and mystery. It should have a past that the players will never be able to fully unravel as it's history is lost, but glimpses of that history, of its scale and timelessness, lay all about it.

Roll on the following chart until you get something that makes sense for the weird wonder. You may have to do this several times. Remember, it's the wonder itself that is weird, not it's history, it's history should be simply unknown. 

1d50 Enigmatic History
1 Immense in size
2 Markings in a dead undecipherable language
3 Partially buried in the earth
4 Crumbling and derelict
5 Made of ultra-durable materials
6 Path to it is footsteps worn through stone
7 Choaking dust and debris
8 Rain eroded and wind worn
9 Sealed off and purposely blocked
10 Signs of long ago civilization collapse or disaster
11 Lots of art by unknown culture
12 Disrupted weather patterns due to site
13 Landscape shows signs of massive alteration
14 Everyday remains of ancient visitors fragile to touch
15 Carving and scripts so worn they are unreadable
16 Scale of steps, hallways, pathways, trails, is too large to be for a human.
17 Scale of steps, hallways, pathways, trails, is too small to be for a human.
18 Has reoccurring symbol of unknown or forgotten god
19 Layers and layers of bloodstains from sacrifices
20 Reoccurring name and history that has been defaced and scratched out
21 Ancient refuse pits dot the landscape around it
22 Mass graves with thousands of bones
23 Astrological alignment of site based on how stars were long ago
24 Construction breaks the laws of physics
25 ‘Grown’ from natural materials by the gods instead of built
26 Partially destroyed by some massive creature or god
27 Site seems to be built by advanced technology
28 Art from a proto-civilization or culture that is father to all civilizations
29 Covered in layers and layers of soot and grime
30 In a cold place buried underneath ice and snow
31 Previously looted many times over
32 Fossilized remains
33 Perfectly preserved remains frozen in time
34 Lots of strange jewelry from unknown cultures left as offerings
35 Graffiti in several different languages, some from long ago, some more recently
36 A written warning to all those who explore the site
37 Animals avoid the place
38 Animals of a certain type are attracted to the place
39 Covered in thick vegetation and greenery
40 Covered in moss and lichen
41 Covered in slime and mold
42 Full of broken religious symbols and iconography
43 Made with materials from far away lands
44 Area is expansive and empty, stripped to the bones
45 Nothing grows
46 Area is contained with some toxic material
47 Signs and leavings of visitors of many different times and cultures
48 Contains strange geometric features or motif that hints at advanced mathematics and intelligence
49 A written curse upon all those who explore the site
50 Made over oversized materials impossible for humans or even basic machinery to manipulate


Defining a Weird Wonder


To keep things simple and avoid creating too much lore or backstory weird wonders should seek to concisely answer the following questions. Some of them may not be applicable to all wonders. You also only really need to answer a handful, in creating a sense of the weird and unknown it's better to give out less information than more. Overall the questions help prompt thought and break down information about the wonders into tidbits that can be given the players as they decide to seek it out and investigate it.
  • Who
    • Who knows more about it's existence?
    • Who guards it?
    • Who else seeks it?
    • Who else has been there?
  • What: 
    • What is it physically?
    • What happened to it over the ages?
    • What strange qualities does it posses?
  • When
    • When was it forgotten? 
    • When was it last visited?
    • When is the best time to visit it?
  • Where
    • Where is it located?
    • Where are clues to its location?
  • Why
    • Why was it created?
    • Why was it destroyed?
    • Why was it forgotten?
  • How
    • How do you get to it? 
    • How do you survive the journey to it?
    • How do you interact with it?
    • How can you possibly exploit it?



Putting Everything Together!





















Rolling, on the above charts I got the following:
  • Feature: Pool
  • Duality: Flesh/spirit
  • Guardian: The Forgetful
  • Enigmatic History: Lots of strange jewelry from unknown cultures left as offerings
Using the setting that I have been creating as I go in this blog series, I came up with the following:


The Moon Pool


What is it physically?

Few know about it, but deep within the Black Basin lies a pool of silver water so bright and luminous it looks like a sliver of the moon. In tales told by the drifting gypsies of the swamp, it is said to have been sacred long ago when the moon was young and the swamp a forest.

Who guards it?

Now it is a haunted place, a place where a race of strange creatures called the Forgotten dwell. Watery empty hollow men and women who walk about in strange legion forever seeking to remember who they once were. Strange tales abound about encounters with them.

Who strange qualities does it posses?

The howling of vengeful spirits can be heard all about the pool, heard in the day, in the night, under the soon and amid the stars. They howl for they know the awful bargain of the pool. From spirit to flesh, and flesh to spirit. Into the pool they dive and from it they arise, once again clothed in flesh. But with all memory of their awful grudge struck from them. As one of the Forgotten they are doomed to roam. And so the vengeful spirits swirl about the pool desperately wanting the flesh to wreak their vengeance, but unwilling to forget, until desperation mounting, they enter, hoping that as one of the Forsaken they will encounter something that reminds them of their grudge.

When was it last visited?

The eldest of the Peatsmen matriarchs visited it long ago. With her she brought the body of her disgraced son who died in a duel. When she placed his body into the waters of the Silver Pool his flesh sank away from his bones which turned to shimmering moonlight. From dead flesh to gentle spirit he arose, his burden lifted, his spirit freed to drift with his ancestors among the stars.

When was it forgotten?

Once long ago there were people who dwelt in the forests before the swamp. They worshiped the Moon Pool. Necklaces of gold with images of the bear and auroch they threw into the pool and waters around it in funeral rite as they placed their tormented dead within it's waters. Every so often their strange necklaces turn up, dredged up from the bottom. Every so often one of their crumbling moon markers can be found in the swamp.

When is the best time to visit it?

It is said the Moon Pool can only be found on lights of a full moon and that one can only be lead there by the urging of the tormented dead. 

3 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing these!

    Is your example an A. Merritt reference, or just the uncanny coincidence of random generation?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was actually just a coincidence. I know of the story but haven't read it yet.

      Delete
  2. I really enjoyed reading this post, I always appreciate topics like this being discussed to us. Information very nice. I will follow post Thanks for sharing.
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