Shadow of the Rock
A History of Death
The Dead remember. The Dead linger on, beyond the ken of mortal consciousness. Past the Shroud dwell the Restless Dead, wraiths and ghosts of fearsome disposition and unquenchable passions. They are the spirits of the deceased, locked into this world still for personal reasons and needs that must be fulfilled.
The Restless are scattered throughout the world and its reflecting Shadowlands. San Francisco is a great necropolis, a city of the dead, in the Shadowlands. For centuries now, Stygia has ruled this site and kept it safe from the wrath of Maelstroms and spectres. But their autonomy is not untested, as the deaths of hippies, druggies, and other renegades swell the ranks of the Iron Kingdom’s rivals. It’s as if they sense a crack in the monolith of the Hierarchy here in San Francisco. There is just too much diversity for the Stygian bureaucrats to handle. Nonetheless, many depend on the Iron Kingdom and its Legionnaires, for the soul-chilling waters of the Tempest reflecting the San Francisco Bay and Pacific Ocean yield only terror.
There are thousands of wraiths in the San Francisco necropolis and the Bay Area. Many are faltering, dimly emoting folks -- people who lingered as wraiths, but their passions and fetters are only barely impressive. Many of these wraiths unfortunately end up as Thralls. But there are several hundred wraiths who have a natural talent for the afterlife, who have passions and goals great enough to survive the pull of Oblivion. They are the leaders among this chaotic crowd of wraiths.
Skinlands
The local Restless Dead have had a mixed relationship with the Quick. They have had little truck with vampires. The Dead's relationship with mages (especially the Hollow Ones) and other supernaturals (such as Sluagh) has been a touch friendlier and even beneficial, as they share information on events on both sides of the Shroud.
Shadowlands
The San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean that surround the San Francisco/Bay Area necropolis are frigid waters of the Tempest. Wraiths that enter them without special Argos skills are swiftly subdued by the chilly bite of the Underworld, and few are seen again once they are overcome, sinking to the bottom no doubt to be torn apart by shark-like Shades. The actual Shadowlands are not much more merciful, but San Francisco has enough history in its buildings, and so many cracks and crevices born from structures that fell and were reborn into the Shadowlands, that the necropolis offers many a sanctuary for the Restless Dead. Many spirits languish in San Francisco, but few dare the Byways to leave.
“Innovation is the key to revivification in the face of Oblivion. If the wheels keep spinning and the gears keep turning, the dynamic machine of the soul will keep us going.”
-- Amias Raddick, Guildmaster of the Artificers
