Heartland Orphans: The Nightmare Realm

In my short Vampire the Requiem Chronicle, Heartland Orphans, I created a flock of Strix as the main antagonists for players. Though they were able to destroy, defeat or divert them it was only through superior information and cunning planning that they succeeded. Last week I presented the flock’s secret history. Today I’m outlining the strange nightmare realm they control...and can use to abduct people.

The Nightmare Realm

The geography of the Strix’s shared dream is determined by the relationships between the siblings. The ‘younger’ brood (Jane, the Beast, the Witch) cluster together while the ‘older’ members like the Bird of Ill-Omen and the Inverted Lord remain more removed. The Witch being somewhat standoffish keeps a small barrier between herself and the others. This leaves the Twins to dominate the core region.

The Cornfields: Endless rows of corn spread as far as the eye can see, bending under an ever-present wind. Overhead dark clouds rumble and occasionally flash lightning. Under the cover of the buffeted foliage and in the misty confines of the clouds, something stalks those trapped in this region.

Tilts: Dim light, Exposed (no cover)

The Farmhouse: Wooden walls and high stacks of hay confine those within to a narrow and hazardous path. Rusty tools hang from the roof and walls rocking gently as the building creaks and groans under the howling gale outside. Beneath the feet of intruders, the old floor boards crack and sag, threatening to dump them into some abyss.

Tilts: Dim light, Sealed Exits, Razored

The Final Battlefield: Rotting corpses and shattered weapons from all eras decorate this vast field. In the dim night sky dark forms circle in search of survivors. No tree or piece of wreckage offers refuge from the watchers above or the stench of the dead. The Bird of Ill-Omen watches this land, supping on its fallen and contemplating the doom of men.

Tilts: Dim light, Rotting, Exposed, Stench

The Frozen Highway: These slick roads are decorated with wreckage both human and machine. Sharp crusts of ice cover everything. The cold winds cut through the thickest clothing. Sodium lamps flicker along the straight aways barely illuminating the paths of black ice as they wrap around an endless white landscape. Under the few soft snow banks lie sharp rocks.

Tilts: Dim light, Exposed, Sealed Exits, Razored, Extreme Cold

The Graveyard: The dead rest uneasily beneath the moist soil of this misty cemetery. Cracked gravestones lurch this way and that. Bony hands sometimes rise from the earth to trip and drag down the unwary. Meanwhile tall stone walls hinder those who would escape.

Tilts: Dim light, Engulfing

The Haunted Forest: This vine-covered tangle of trees blots out almost all light from above. Thick thorny undergrowth turns even a short walk into an ordeal. Pale ghostly lights flit between the trees, always just ahead.

Traits: Dim light, Undergrowth

Hospital Horror: Old stains of blood and pus mar the walls of this facility. Behind doors and counters lurk mad doctors, insane patients and others ready to lash out with a scalpel or sharpened piece of wood against intruders. Composed of the nightmares of several notorious hospitals and asylums, its history offers the only hope for escape.

Traits: Rotting, Exposed, Sealed Exits, Razored

Ice Palace: This icy castle is carved into the heart of a glacier. Every surface from the railings, flowers and seemingly smooth ballroom floor hides razor-sharp ice. A dim red glow illuminates the structure, percolating down from the blood frozen above. Here the Inverted Lord makes his lair, brooding over a bleak if beautiful domain.

Traits: Dim Light, Sealed Exits, Razored, Extreme Cold

Inner Hellscape: A realm of bleeding walls and barbed wire, this landscape threatens to literally consume intruders. A heavy musk permeates the air, bringing with it a strange heightening of the senses. The Beast lurks within, wallowing in the sensations of pain and pleasure. Sometimes it brings prey here and simply watches their response.

Traits: Dim light, Engulfing, Razored

The Lonely Labyrinth: Cold winds and distant sighs waft through this pitch black maze. Rough masonry makes up the walls and floor, filled with jagged rocks and potholes to cripple the unwary. Jane makes her home here, moping in the dark.

Traits: Maze, Darkness, Jagged

The Mound: Blackened mirrors hang from cyclopean masonry. A few distant torches illuminate the gloom with guttering flames. Here many of the younger brood prowl in a realm reminiscent of their old home.

Traits: Dim light, Maze

Mirror Realm: Tarnished mirrors cover every surface, imperfectly reflecting their surroundings. One mirror might reflect the worst in someone while another shows the ravages of age. Inner natures stand revealed while the Twins cackle with glee.

Traits: Dim light, Maze, Mirages

The Pit: This is the inner sanctum of the Strix, the place they place their captives. Rusty iron cages hang above an endless black void. Escape is impossible and in the isolation, the prisoner’s own mind is turned against them, driving them mad with phantoms and mirages. At any time some shadow might peel away from the darkness and scourge them with talons of smoke and ash.

Traits: Dim light, Exposed, Sealed Exits, Mirages

The Rotting Ziggurat: This overgrown ruin recalls a much earlier time, before the creation of the flock. Now it is just crumbling stone and rotten wood, held together by gravity and thick undergrowth. The Witch meditates here on a time when mortals recognized the divinity of her goddess.

Traits: Dim light, Undergrowth, Decayed