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Old 12-31-2018, 09:15 AM   #3
Mysterious Dark Lord v3.2
 
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Join Date: Mar 2005
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Default Re: [MH] Vile Vortices and Supernatural Threats

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Originally Posted by Icelander View Post
1) Among the twelve Vile Vortices listed by Sanderson, at least according to Wikipedia, there is one he calls the Algerian Megaliths, supposedly located 'south of Timbuktu'. What, precisely, is being referred to here? Most of Algeria's famous ruins or other archaeological sites are decidedly north and west of Timbuktu and, indeed, south of Timbuktu is Mali, the country Timbuktu is located in, not Algeria. Does he mean Megaliths built in an Algerian style, but located in Mali, or is this some odd way to refer to the location of archaeological sites that are in Algeria?
Pre-20th century European mapping of Africa is norotiously hit-and-miss. Several national borders were based on rivers that never existed, and the same area could have three or four European names depending on the country where you bought your maps.

It's safe to assume that whoever gave it that name just assumed that anything using Timbuktu as a navigation reference would be in Algeria.

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2) Assuming that I want to connect the historical eruption of Krakatoa to a Vile Vortex, how do I go about that? How far is it between the agreed-upon area of the Wharton Basin to Krakatoa?
You're in luck - Krakatoa is just a little bit north of the Wharton Basin. It might even be considered part of the northern edge of the basin if you squint.

Being that close, you can easily claim some horrific supernatural event in the Basin triggered Krakatoa. Or Krakatoa triggered something horrible in the Basin.

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3) How do I work Croatoan island into the campaign?
Roanoake Island is on the east coast of North America, and you said the Bermuda Triangle is the PC's base. No problem, it's a quick few days' sail north. It's local.

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4) Can the Vile Vortices being areas where other worlds seep into this one somehow be contorted to explain the Tunguska Event or other notable unsolved mysteries of that nature?
Tunguska is literally the middle of nowhere, and that's by the standards of Siberia. You can say anything happened out there. There might even be an uncharted Vortice out there. Of a nonhuman civilization. Or an asparagus farm. With Terra Incognita, the possibilities are limitless.

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5) Does anyone have thoughts, comments or suggestions?
Remember to have an Over-Arcing Plot, the more obscure the better.
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