4 Spooky Locations in City of Mist TTRPG
If you want to run a truly spooky tabletop RPG, you have to keep this one phrase in mind; location, location, location! While this phrase originates from real estate, it’s especially true for MC’s who want to scare their players. After all, a monster in a sunny field is just an encounter. A monster in their cold, dark lair is a fright!
On today’s video, we’ll delve into four spooky locations within the City of Mist. Some are part of pre-made cases, while others are just waiting to be put into your homebrew campaign. No matter how players encounter them, these locations make it clear that if players aren’t careful, their characters may never leave again.
#1. Wildknock
This spooky location is located on the west end of the City. The blue collar district of Wildknock is a densely-built neighborhood of tenements and townhouses that have all seen better days. Boarded-up windows and empty streets give the impression that almost no one lives here. There are signs of life and the occasional paranoid person crossing the street. But for the most part, Wildknock seems abandoned.
Now there is no shortage of neighborhoods down on their luck in the City of Mist, and most residents believe Wildknock’s current state is just the result of people moving out of a dead-end neighborhood. Yet that doesn’t explain the behaviors of the people who’ve stayed. Many residents are now stockpiling food and ‘hibernating’ at home. As the streets grow chillier, looters dress in tattered outdoor gear and loot shops for food and supplies. It’s as if the residents can feel a frontier winter approaching, yet no one can accurately say why.
Crews that enter Wildknock will also begin to feel that same sense of foreboding. Some will feel a hunger that only grows harder to ignore. Others will see visions of snowy woodland clearings and gnarled, grasping trees. And the longer they stay in Wildknock, the more they may begin to feel…hunted.
If you dare to uncover the mystery of Wildknock, check out the case Home is Where the Heart is, available in the City of Mist story arc book Nights of Payne Town.
#2. Sacred Land Tiki Bar
Located in the heart of the City is an overlooked attraction known as the Sacred Land Tiki Bar. At first glance it seems like a normal tiki bar, complete with grass skirt wearing waiters and waitresses providing fruity cocktails to drunk patrons. But in the City of Mist, you can rarely trust your first glance.
If you make your way past the lush palm trees that decorate the establishment, you’ll find out that the Sacred Land Tiki Bar is actually situated at the mouth of an active volcano. The proprietor of this Enclave is Ailani Jack, a woman in her late 20’s who is pregnant with a powerful and wise being. Ailani’s unborn child can telepathically communicate with others and share incredible arcane wisdom, including how to cure legendary curses and conditions.
But nothing is free in the City of Mist, and this wisdom can only be paid for in one currency; blood. Those who do not bring a proper sacrifice or are unwilling to risk their own lives in draining their own blood risk angering Ailani and her unborn child. And when the caretakers of the Sacred Land erupt in anger, the volcano responds with its own explosive eruption.
If your group is willing to pay this wicked price, you can learn more about the Sacred Land Tiki Bar in the City of Mist expansion Shadows & Showdowns.
#3. Church of Santa Teresa de Ávila
We move to the edge of town toward the slums of Cross End for our next spooky location. The Church of Santa Teresa de Ávila is an ancient building constructed centuries ago, before the City as we know it came to exist. Indigenous tribes once regarded the land as sacred. But, in an act of colonial cruelty, settlers soon drove them from the lands and built the church soon after. It is this church that gives the district of Cross End its name.
Nowadays, the church lies in ruins as Cross End becomes a concrete jungle. Much of it is covered in vines and the land itself seems to be swallowing it up. Yet the central sanctuary remains intact, as if someone–or something–is still watching over this church and maintaining it for some strange purpose.
There are rumors of dark forces gathering in Cross End. Gangs of people who act like beasts roam the streets. Murder rates climb as the cases go unsolved. And as Hallow’s Eve draws near, the whole district feels like it's holding its breath.
You can investigate the mysteries surrounding this church and the district with the free case Demon’s in Cross End. Just go to cityofmist.co and download the free quick start PDF by signing up for our email list.
#4. Happyville
On the northern edge of the City of Mist is perhaps the spookiest location of them all, filled with horrors that will keep you up at night. Welcome to Happyville.
Happyville is a delightful little suburb with streets that seem to stretch on forever. Neighborhoods are lined with HOA-approved houses with white picket fences and well-trimmed lawns. You can grab a bite to eat at Celia’s Coffee Shop or enjoy the well-manicured gardens of Greenwood Park. It’s always sunny in Happyville…except when it’s not.
Even in Happyville, night falls eventually. And when the people go to sleep, many of them experience strange nightmares. Maybe it’s a lack of sleep that causes the citizens of Happyville to hobble through their lives in tired contentment, spending their days at work or at home before going to sleep and doing the same thing the next day. Or maybe it’s something else that keeps the people from being as bright and cheerful as their surroundings.
If your crew asks around, they could get all sorts of answers. Some may talk about shadowy creatures they once saw watching them in the night. Others might talk of alien abductions that the government is surely covering up. Of course, there is no shortage of people who would tell you that’s all nonsense. Nothing wrong ever happens in Happyville. And you wouldn’t want to be a downer, would you?
You can learn more about the sleepy suburbia of Happyville in the City of Mist standalone case Amnesia Town, available at cityofmist.co.
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If you would like more advice on running a spooky tabletop session this Halloween season, check out our previous video on Running a Horror Game. You can also watch our video on Horrifying City of Mist Dangers that you can use to give any case that terrifying touch. And if you’d like to learn about more interesting locations in the City of Mist, check out our video on the Top 5 Local Spots chosen by the City of Mist community.
Has your crew run a terrifying case of monsters and mystery? Tell us about it in the comments, on social media, or on the City of Mist Discord. Until then, have fun!