Haunted Sites

Haunted sites are places where the undead linger, or where the Last Door stands ajar. Build one by combining its terrain with a feature, then layering a theme, how long the haunting has lasted, and its origin.

• A creepy landmark (a dool tree, a skull-shaped rock)
• A liminal place (a pass, a bridge, a tunnel, a gate, a crossroad)
• A tomb, barrow, or cemetery
• An abandoned home, fort, or steading
• A ruin of the Makers or the Barrow Builders, or a lingering sign of their presence

• Since the days of the Makers, at least
• Since the Time of Cataclysm, when the Makers fell
• Since the Barrow Builders, after the Makers' fall
• For generations, longer than the living remember
• For decades, within living memory
• For the past decade at most
• Not long at all — a recent change

The death of many, all at once or over time. The death of a few, intimate and intense. The death of one, a singular event. The desecration of a grave. The arrival of an artifact or tether. Something about the place itself, ensnaring dark entities. A ritual or artifice that failed, ran amok, or worked exactly as intended. The loss of an artifact, ward, or binding that kept the dead in check.

If deaths drove the haunting, settle the cause: age, suicide, exposure, injury, drowning, fall, exhaustion, magic, curse. Then pick the ghosts, revenants, or other dangers that linger, their tethers, and the artifacts and discoveries appropriate to the surrounding region.

Dool trees often grow in or near haunted sites. A grove stands near The Crossroads, and lone dool trees are often found near Barrow Builder tombs. They are thick, knobby, multi-stemmed, with bark the color of bleached bone and deep purple leaves shot through with pale white veins. The Pale Hunter shuns them. Their dried leaves brew a bitter tea that brings a death-like sleep; some who drink never wake.