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Introduction
Hello ladies and gentlemen, the verdict is in and it’s a strong 4/5. You’ll learn more about the rating system later, so don’t worry.
The book Mysterious Places fills a niche in the new World of Darkness that no other book really can. When I first bought it, I believed that I was buying a book like Ghost Stories and Haunts from Wraith: The Oblivion. I was wrong. To even present this book in the same light would be an injustice. Mysterious Places isn’t about ghosts, hauntings or havens, even if some of the settings within it can actually be used as such quite easily. No, this book spotlights those places the World of Darkness may think itself better off forgetting about. While I’ve found that a general theme of forbidden fruit hangs above many of these settings (intentional or not), the other scenarios are made entirely of things that were better off left uncovered in the first place. This is the book that lifts up the big rock out in the middle of nowhere just to see what’s underneath.
Many people who buy this book will believe they’re doing so to see a bunch of spooky places where even supernatural denizens would soil their pants. In many cases, this is true, but, that’s not the real purpose of the book. Mysterious Places is written with mortals in mind and it does a good job of sticking to that medium without pinning itself wholeheartedly to any type-class. Sure, you‘ll see the occasional suggestion about where to stick a supernatural within a setting, but as with most of this book, it’s a mere suggestion. You may find that some of the settings fit in rather well with one of the major games with the WOD, and in such cases, the authors give suggestions on how you may want to handle the situation, but by no means is it a common occurrence in the book. Does this mean the book is pretty much devoid of supernatural flair? Don’t even think about it. From creepy mortals with unusual powers and afflictions to hell hounds and fish, this book delivers supernatural spice; however, the majority of that spice is actually dedicated to the settings themselves rather than individuals within.
What This Book Really Does
Mysterious Places gives Storytellers a multitude of supernaturally charged settings to work into their campaigns as they see fit. The book is filled with suggestions, guidelines and plot-hooks for every single setting as well so you’re not left wondering what to do after you give the characters a taste. The only real downfall with the settings within the book is that they’re potent, which let’s be honest, isn’t all that bad. These settings must be used with a bit of care and subtlety or the players are likely to tuck tail and run. Being able to keep the characters within these settings long enough to convey the mystic feel of the places (or in some cases, the moral lesson) will need to be thought about by every Storyteller. Mind you, if a Storyteller decides to introduce a small piece of the settings at a time to the players, that’s a different matter and I even suggest this. By spreading out the time the players spend interacting with the settings, you can make the game all the more enjoyable. In some cases I even suggest not letting the players know the full extent of what’s going on within the settings at all, because once the Storyteller introduces some of any particular setting into their game (from this book) and the players ‘know the deal’ with the place, they may well leave and never come back.
Who’s Buying?
The book has no chapters and no Storyteller’s section at the back. It’s just as well too, as it would’ve defeated the purpose of how the settings are structured and presented to us. Make no mistake; this book is made for Storytellers. Players are advised to not buy this book unless they’re going to become Storytellers, in which case, the book would help greatly and I say go for it. This is because each scenario is structured to help Storytellers introduce the mysterious places within into a chronicle or how to build a chronicle entirely based on that presented material.
Warning: Spoiler Time!
Introductory Fiction: Residents
The fiction at the beginning of the book is as much a ‘like it or not’ as much as a ‘understand it or not’ job. Most people should get it though, so no worries. The story Residents illustrates how many of these settings are ‘special’ as opposed to your normal dark haven or Haunted location book. I like Residents because it leaves you with the feeling that they’re things in this world you’re not meant to understand, but if you ever do, you can never look back. It gives a new meaning to suburban hell. But the story does more than that. The author tells the story through the eyes of a janitor of a University. He has no idea what’s going on [just like most mortals] but by the end, he’s wishing he had never stuck his nose out in the first place. Suffice to say that some places don’t want people knowing about them. For those who like the introductory fiction, skip ahead to page 29 to read The University. Since the book isn’t divided into chapters, these nothing to miss that’s related to the story at hand by skipping ahead.
The Swimming Hole
The Swimming Hole is a classic example of being careful what you wish for. I don’t think any other story could’ve opened the book to the readers more efficiently than this story –not because it’s better than the others, but because it holds the very essence of what the book is about, even though the setting is very mundane. The setting itself is in a nameless old quarry out of town that’s been abandoned for some time due to workers discovering a cavern filled with water at the bottom, though as with most settings in the book, the physical visage of the setting can change to suit the Storyteller’s needs, allowing for a more urban twist if necessary. The mystery comes from a cave that was discovered at the far side of the water’s shore. Though not possible, somehow mysterious writing was carved into the wall giving readers directions on how to fulfill wishes. Threats of mass destruction as well as demands of blood are also written. When taking into consideration this little cavern was buried under 8 stories of solid earth, you begin to understand a small piece of the puzzle.
People who come to the swimming hole and bleed into the water while making a wish will – within reason – have their wishes granted. The beauty of the setting is that obviously only the desperate or insanely curious would ever try out the tales to see if they’re true or not. Imagine what they think when their wishes come true. The swimming hole has the power to grant most wishes. It will not grant wishes that would directly harm it (unless you change that fact), and if threatened, it will break down the whole of reality within its limits of power before it ceases to exist. The poor bastards who make wishes here come to find that there’s always a price to pay for those wishes, and it’s not just blood. In the footsteps of the old Monkey’s Paw and the Wish Master movies, you many well get what you want, but you’ll suffer one way or another for it. This is a great read, and definitely an inspiring Storyteller’s delight. I can’t help but to remember Max von Sydow playing in the movie Needful Things while reading this. Playing people’s vices against the virtues of others fits this setting fantastically, and it’s likely to turn a group of otherwise ordinary people using the ‘wishing well’ into a bunch of secretive lunatics, really quickly. And of course, it’s only a matter of time until someone wishes somebody would just die.
The University
Doors slamming by themselves; students falling down stairs, swearing someone pushed them; someone breathing down your neck; the feeling of being watched. Many people attribute such circumstances to ghosts, spectres and angry spirits that haunt a specific place. Maybe the spirits are mad and want to take revenge on the living world. Perhaps they feed off of the negative emotions that they cause. Or maybe the spirits do it because it’s what in their natures to do. Now imagine it has nothing to do with spirits at all, but rather the place these things happen at. In this scenario, The University has come alive by a ritual performed by those who didn’t know the ritual’s purpose, but who were forced into a ‘prove your theory or step aside’ situation by their peers.
The University can take place at any building the Storyteller wants it to, however, the author has rooted the scenario to a University specifically, not only because knowledge can be power, but because having too much knowledge can be a very bad thing. After all, some of the most intelligent people in the world are the teachers, right? Not in this case. A university has been given sentience through a ritual no one really understood, and now it has power over the entire campus. This setting is one of the places throughout this book that can be used in many supernaturally charged games, and to great effect. We’re introduced to the story through the professors who’ve given the campus a perverted kind of sentience. They’re all in way over their heads and they know it, but almost none of them will admit it. As time goes on and urban legends grow more and more common, the malevolent presence watches as the professors wriggle under its influence in vain. As the group gets more desperate, some of them want to bring other people into the group, however, some professors still think they can control – or make a deal with – the entity.
Even though the author has kept the theme in tune with more scholarly pursuits, this is still one of the most flexible places Storytellers can use in the book. The sheer variety of the tools and plot lines a University can bring to a chronicle makes this scenario one of my favorite settings. The naturally oppressive nature of a massive building structure is nicely woven into the nature of the entity, and the overall feeling you get from reading the section is on of constant paranoia. Even though the campus can’t concentrate on every place at once, it can find you very easily given time. One of the most potent factors I want to point out from the scenario is fear –not only of the unknown, but of personal fear. Intelligent people are always more apt to disbelieve the seemingly supernatural until it comes up and bits them on the ass, and in this case, the doors of the place will only be too happy to show you the way out –out of your mind, that is.
Swamp Indian Hollow
Swamp Indian Hollow is a unique setting. What happens when a place of subtle power goes largely unknown about by any force for time out of mind and begins to use its power? Does it come alive? Does it seek to destroy all that comes its way? Not this time. No, Swamp Indian Hollow has held a secret of a perverted kind of life for a very long time, but was never noticed until now. Before getting into the scenario, I’ll point out that this is one of the only sections in the book with a couple of spelling mistakes. Also, the introduction to the section is rather small, and instead of focusing on the setting itself (which is covered in the history section), it tells us about the main ‘characters’ of the setting. I find this strange, but oh well.
This is a setting where the powers of life have spiraled out of control. The dead don’t so much walk as actually gain a twisted semblance of life. This is a place where the balance of life and death has not measured up equally, and someone’s cashing in on it. What was once a crematorium has now become a house of utterly sinister depravity. Dead bodies are cut up and sewn together in a twisted shell, and then left for Mother Nature to reawaken. Eventually, a breath of powers seeps into the ‘dolls’ and slowly but surely, the land grows with these false creations, birthing automatons. The worst part is you can hardly see them unless they want you to, and they’re becoming more numerous. This setting more than any other in the book will leave an unforgettable mark upon your players, but the setting should really be conveyed in a certain way. Unfortunately, I don’t think every Storyteller will be up to the task. While this setting can be portrayed as horrid and gruesome, I suggest emphasizing the fact that the dolls are partially alive and don’t actually realize that they’re breaking the very laws of nature just by being themselves.
The Village Secret
The Village Secret is one of the most powerful settings you’ll ever run across. I think it’s one of the most narrow scenarios in the book –not because the author doesn’t give enough possibilities for using it in a Storyteller’s environment (because we have plenty of that), but because the setting itself isn’t actually sentient like the others, and doesn’t chose to do anything of its own accord. Its very existence has side effects that could be construed as great, but that’s another story. The village’s secret is a cavern filled with primordial life-sustaining magical power. That’s not to say it can be molded by mages, but instead the place itself is magical because it bestows great healing powers upon those who visit it. The unfortunate problem for anybody coming close to the cavern is people live in the village that protects the place. These people have been living for a long time. They don’t like ‘visitors’ and they're surely aren’t above killing you if they have the opportunity. This is the main problem for the player’s characters as seeming eternal youth (if they find out) is being guarded by quite possibly the most paranoid people on the planet.
It’s vital when portraying this setting in your games to keep the tension between the players and the antagonists (the villagers) up front and paramount. Sure, some of the villagers may not be horrible bastards, but most of them just want you to go away or die. If this level of tension and paranoia isn’t kept in some way, the setting fails. In my opinion, the village is actually the real setting you need to concern yourself with instead of the cavern, as it’s where most of the role-playing will occur. To make this setting work, I highly suggest someone in the party be really wounded before the villagers are met. This will create the small link needed to get the chronicle rolling. This isn’t the most flexible scenario by a long shot, but a powerful one nonetheless.
A couple of things I want to point out here if I may; the summary that starts this scenario off is brilliant. You’re transported immediately. You’ll also find a fair number of movie references here which will help you to set that all-important mood.
The Statue of Weeping Alice
This setting is an old classic dressed up in a brand new suit. To sacrifice something personal in order to gain luck is not a new tale by any means, but it’s still a very provocative setting. Since there’s no way of describing the setting without giving away the main piece, I’ll regale you. Many years ago an Indian girl disappeared or was killed (your choice really). In order to right the wrong, a white girl was given to the Indians to take the place of the lost girl. No one ever actually knows what the Indians did with the girl; people just know that the land was happy again and Mother Nature’s ‘balance’ was set straight again. Now, centuries later, when the story of the old times has mostly past from living memory, someone commits an act of desperation which sets the wheels rolling for an entire town to pay a little bit more attention to the land in a very indirect way, and they do it all for a little bit of luck.
Not to be confused with The Swimming Hole, this setting grants no wishes, nor does it single out individuals. When someone leaves something for Weeping Alice, the entire town benefits, however, if their offering isn’t enough or of the right kind, the entire town feels the statue’s displeasure. What happens, then, when someone discovers that the greater the offering left behind, the more the town’s luck improves? How long before a cult arises to pay homage to the deity it believes Alice represents? What if someone sacrifices somebody for the statue? How would the town react? Would someone else begin the same? How long until a kid dies? This is a very flexible setting, perhaps, the most flexible in the book, and the chronicle surrounding the setting can work in many places as long as a statue and an old wives’ tale is available in the area.
How will the players react to the very land being alive and ravenous? That depends on how you present the story. This is a good setting to envelope players with the World of Darkness, perhaps the first one that Storytellers should use from this book. It’s entirely possible that a Storyteller could make people have visions of sacrificing things to Alice in order to make their personal luck improve, but that’s something the individual Storyteller will have to think about.
Hillcrest Center for Elder Living
Secrecy! Overlapping plot hooks! Mysterious benefactors! Unexplored areas of buildings! This is a great setting through and through. But, I could be bias. For Vampire fans, this setting is rather good, but I have to say, it can really fit into just about any game you run as long as someone has some kind of tie to old people or the nursing home business. Would you expect to find succubus spirits here? What about mortals who’ve decided they have a certain taste for their fellow man’s flesh? What about entire wards of people who’re practically vegetables who’re being used in some nefarious scheme to benefit others? Whatever kind of mystery you crave, you can find a little bit of it here. Whose to say what kind of nuts are really in a care home? What about the staff of such a place? What about those rumors of retired hitmen living there that are floating around? Does the fact that the head administrator is being passed strict instructions from a mysterious benefactor to use the poor inhabitants of such a place tantalizing enough for a WOD chronicle or what?
This setting is adaptable. You can create just about any chronicle you want and it could easily tie into this scenario. The Center itself isn’t the main focus of the setting, but rather the people who stay there, from the crazed administrator to the fluidic level of staff. Part of the setting is social interaction. Seeing the people interacting with each other is essential to create the proper feeling. What’s the proper feeling? Suspicion; intrigue; jealousy; hell take your pick because any of them will work, and all your chronicle would be better served if they were all used. And never be afraid to stick the nosy old bag around the corner watching the characters at all times.
One of the most exciting features of this setting has to do with some mortals who have brushes with the supernatural. For instance, one resident has figured out that by waiting for a certain time in the month, he has the power to take control of other people’s bodies and possess them for a time. This isn’t without its price, but still. Other people include a man who gets hunger pains and decides to sate his pleasure from other people. There’s a woman who’s being urged by a spirit to keep up a love nest, and there’s even an old lady whose soul can only come back to her body for a small amount of time after a while. A note to Storytellers who would let the players shut down or destroy the Center; you may want to consider keeping this place around. The Hillcrest Center can make for a great ‘revisited’ campaign sometime down the line, and I suspect it would lose none of its feel.
The Whispering Wood
The Whispering Wood is a setting that focuses not on the virtues or vices of those people it ensnares (though it could if you wanted), but instead it preys on their moral complications. I find it bold for the author to come out and give a setting a prerequisite, but with this particular setting, it works well. Characters must be morally distraught for this setting to take place. I suspect the reason why the author chose a wooded area to begin with is because there’s nothing like an alien patch of wood for someone to get lost in. Even for normal people, a wooded area is cold and uninviting but for those souls who’re already ‘lost’, the woods will only serve as a catalyst for their guilt and emotional turmoil. But what if it happens so many times that eventually, the woods like it? What if they woods started to pick up on such lost souls and call to them? What if some horrid atrocity happened once upon a time within those woods to taint them with a potent emotion?
This setting preys upon the sanity of the characters of the chronicle. What will a person do when shoved into the very pits of their own minds to face up to the horrid reality of their moral dilemmas? That is the main question to keep in mind when using this setting. Does that mean that this setting is a bit limited in its application? Yes, it does, but it makes the characters face up to the cold hard facts that their own consciousness is throwing at them. Some characters simply can’t deal with that. It’s made even more difficult because one the people are inside the Whispering Wood, there moral degeneration begins to manifest physically. What kind of place could possibly cause such horror? Perhaps a more prudent question would be to ask what act was committed there to taint the Whispering Wood so. Have you ever scoffed at carnival folks? Have you ever made light of their freak show? If you have, this setting may make you think twice.
The ultimate goal is for the characters to break free of their physical selves to break the fugue. Physical pain will be suffered, but if the characters are able to persevere, they break free. This is definitely a different setting and mood, but I believe it to be well thought out.
The Junk Yard
If there’s one setting that I’m a bit let down with, it’s the Junk Yard. Don’t make the mistake of believing this is a bad setting, because it’s not. The mystery behind the Junk Yard lets me down some. Allow me to describe the set up before continuing. The family-owned business has been a place of dark mystery for years. Stories of lunatics running around with axes circulate within the town’s populace. The largest infestation of rats you’ve ever seen can be found just out of sight. Killer dogs stalk the hunk heaps while other undead dogs hunt everything during the night. Mountainous stacks of beat up and wrecked vehicles tower over characters. Rumors of dead mobsters – money in hand – locked in trunks abound. The owners are dodgy and aren’t above violence. People who’ve tried to break in have been shot. Family members have even died. So, what’s actually wrong? I sound like a cracker when saying it, but I’m going to anyway; it’s too ‘optional’ for me. There’s no central suggested plot hook here, and I feel there should be I suppose. A solid – but adaptable – central plot ties these mysterious places to our own reality and helps Storytellers build their campaigns much easier, but when no real mysterious template takes precedence, it’s a bit difficult for that to happen. It wouldn’t have been hard. There are plenty of ideas within the scenario’s write-up, but I wish that one of them was stuck with and built upon. As I say, the setting has a lot of potential; you just have to pick a direction to take it in.
The Empty Room
The Empty Room gets my Best Mysterious Place award. The setting can be put just about anywhere on the planet. How’s that for flexibility? You can tie it into just about any chronicle there is, anywhere. Adaptability doesn’t even get thought about. What about that all-important mysteriousness? Hey, this room has been severed from reality, ok? Let me put it into perspective for you. Imagine a room that pops into reality for no other reason than the Storyteller’s delight. Within the room, the laws of logic and science are thrown up in the air to fall where they will. And for an added bonus, it picks on people for the sheer hell of it by bringing them back time after time and extending each session as time goes on.
And you know what? I’m not saying another word about it. That’s right. You’ll have to buy it for yourself to find out anything else about it, ‘cause I’m not spoiling it!
Summary
After reading this book, I couldn’t help but to automatically start picking out which scenarios I was going to use first. Overall, that’s a sign of a good book folks. It’s a little hard to actually review this kind of book because of its nature, but I hope you like this review. Having so many available plots thrown at you can be overwhelming, especially when you have such a variety of settings to use. There are multiple settings in this book for everyone. No, you might not like them all, but hey; I’m not bitching here. Right, onto the ratings!
Ratings
Ok, here’s the list explaining the numbers;
5/5 – Outstanding. Hardly a fault anywhere and the book rocks socks off.
4/5 – Exceptional. A dislike here or there, but otherwise very impressive.
3/5 – Good. A serious dislike somewhere, but otherwise a sound and enjoyable book.
2/5 – Average. There are some flaws here that need to be sorted out before the book moves up on the scale, and if given the chance, I might not buy it again.
1/1 – Poor. The book is plain old fucked. If I can’t sell it to some poor sap, I’m burning it.
As I said at the beginning, the book gets a 4/5. I also rate books on four other factors which I believe are essential in telling a good book from a bad one.
Looks
The front and back covers on this book are nothing short of outstanding, but on the inside is a different story. At the back of the book we have the Camarilla fan club page (which I wish they wouldn’t put into books like this). Why can’t they put in some good juicy titbits about upcoming books or game lines? Anyway, the only artists that save this book are Sam A., Vince L. and C. Wilkins. C. Wilkins rocks the boat in The Empty Room and Sam A. brings the Hillcrest Center that lovely dark feel that only a couple of artists can do. The rest of the art just doesn’t live up to expectations folks, sorry. A weak 3/5 (using the general scale above), and that’s only because of the artists mentioned above. This is likely to do with budgeting for the art department, but alas.
Innovativeness
This book oozes so much innovation, I almost choked on it. Then I picked it straight back up and drank some more. This book was made for inspirational purposes and possible ideas, and we’re not likely to see another book dealing with the same niche that it covers again for a while. 5/5, no questions asked.
Substance and Style
I like the style in which this book was presented very much. The settings aren’t always set up the same which gives a free-floating and unexpected feel with each new setting you come to. Sometimes you’ll be given guides on theme and mood, and sometimes not. Since not every one of the scenarios can be so easily pegged, this is good but some people might not like this. Possible story seeds are given at almost every opportunity and other books could take a page or 10 from this. A solid 4/5.
Usability
Unfortunately, this book is pretty much for Storytellers only. It’s definitely an enjoyable read, but unless you plan on running a game or building a chronicle (sometimes Storytellers can have help, you know), I wouldn’t recommend buying it. Saying that, what a resource for Storytellers it’s turned into. A strong 3/5.
Is it wicked? Hell yes. But it’s let down a bit by art here and there and it’s simply not for everyone.
Special Note: Anyone see how White Wolf has been using Scribendi Editorial Services lately?
Some Additional Credits
Developer: Ken Cliffe
Artists: Samuel Araya, Greg Boychuk, Vince Locke, Chris Martinez, Mark Nelson, Jim Pavelek, Durwin Talon, Jamie Tolagson, Andrew Trabbold, and Cathy Wilkins.
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