NOWHERE LAND
The Partizan

The Partizan

The Partizan is both a faction and an identity—those who belong to the city of Partiz, built upon ancient ruins in the domain called The Passage. Unlike other factions that formed around ideology or purpose, the Partizan exists because Partiz exists: a city that grew out of necessity, ruled by those ruthless enough to hold it.

The Passage: Where All Travelers Arrive

The First Domain

The Passage is unique among Nowhere Land's domains: it is the arrival point for every Traveler who crosses from the Outside. No one knows why. Theories abound—perhaps the domain's Willpower is weakest here, or perhaps The Passage wants to receive newcomers.

The domain manifests as an endless twilight zone, neither day nor night. Perpetual fog blankets rolling hills dotted with ruins from countless eras and civilizations. Roman columns stand beside Art Deco lampposts. Medieval walls crumble into Ottoman gardens. Everything here is transitional, temporary, half-formed.

Domain Statistics:

  • Willpower: Weak (rarely demands more than 2)
  • Blessing: +2 to Navigation and Language skills
  • Curse: Time moves strangely—hours outside may be days here
  • Exaltation: Difficult (no clear path to pleasing the domain)
  • Drift Rate: +1 per two weeks (slower than most domains)

Partiz: City of Arrivals

Built on and into the largest concentration of ruins in The Passage, Partiz is less a planned city than an organic growth. When enough Travelers arrived and needed shelter, Partiz happened. When enough traders needed a market, the Partizan Market emerged. When enough people needed protection, someone took control.

The Partizan Economy: Bonds, Not Coin

A Controlled Economy

Unlike other settlements in Nowhere Land, Partiz operates without money. The Council—dominated by Romina—issues bonds that represent claims on goods, services, and housing. This creates a unique economic system that is part socialist collective, part authoritarian rationing.

The Bond System:

  • Partizan Stipend: All registered citizens (Partizans) receive weekly bonds sufficient for basic survival—food, housing allocation, and essential services.
  • Council Control: The Council decides who receives bonds, how many, and what they can be exchanged for. Housing is assigned, not purchased. Work is mandated, not chosen.
  • No Accumulation: Bonds expire after one lunar cycle. Hoarding is impossible. This prevents wealth concentration but also prevents savings.

For Travelers (Non-Partizans):

Passing traders and Travelers cannot use bonds—they must rely on direct barter. Common trade goods include:

  • • Minerals & Ore: Raw materials from other domains
  • • Precious Materials: Domain-specific resources, crystals, rare elements
  • • Weapons & Armor: Particularly those with unusual properties
  • • Information: Maps, domain lore, portal locations
  • • Services: Skills, labor, specific tasks

The Domain Hunt

Every Partizan citizen owes one duty: participation in the Domain Hunt. Once per Partizan year (roughly 400 Outside days), all able-bodied citizens must join hunting parties that clear threatening creatures from The Passage's borders.

The Hunt serves multiple purposes: it provides food and materials, it trains citizens in combat, and it reinforces collective identity. But critics note that it also identifies potential troublemakers—those who fight well might be recruited into the Tower Guard, or marked for "special attention" if they show too much independent spirit.

Hunt Mechanics:

  • Duration: 2-3 weeks of active hunting
  • Groups: Teams of 8-12 mixed experience
  • Targets: Alptraumas, dangerous fauna, domain incursions
  • Reward: Extra bonds, prestige, potential recruitment
  • Penalty for Refusal: Loss of citizenship, exile from Partiz

City Quarters

The Arrival Square

Where most Travelers first appear. Stone amphitheater seating surrounds a central plaza where confused newcomers materialize. Welcomers—paid by the Partizan—wait here to "help" arrivals (and assess their value).

The Tower (Romina's Seat)

A spiraling tower built from mismatched architectural styles. Byzantine domes merge with Gothic spires. Here Romina holds court, dispenses justice, and maintains her iron grip on Partiz.

The Partizan Market

The economic heart of The Passage. Everything trades here—goods, services, information, debts. Run day-to-day by Ruthe Rottinger, though Romina takes her cut. See the Partisan Market scenario.

The Undercity

Tunnels and chambers beneath Partiz, leading into the ancient ruins. Settlers and the desperate live here. Romina's influence is weakest below—the domain itself seems to protect the Undercity.

Romina: The Tyrant of Partiz

Character Profile: Romina

Romina arrived in Nowhere Land sometime in the 1990s—she doesn't share the exact date. Born in Lampedusa, Italy around 1930, she grew up under fascism, absorbed its lessons, and never unlearned them. She speaks of Mussolini not with admiration exactly, but with the clinical appreciation of a student for a teacher's methods.

Now in her apparent mid-sixties (age is uncertain in Nowhere Land), Romina rules Partiz through a combination of genuine competence, strategic brutality, and an understanding that most Travelers are too confused and frightened to resist. She provides order. She provides safety—from everything except herself.

Quick Stats

Origin: Lampedusa, Italy
Era: Born ~1930
Drift: 8 (Claimed)
Arrival: ~1990s
Languages: Italian, French, German, English, Old Tongue
Polarity: Metsu (Destruction)

Romina's Methods

  • The Welcome Tax: All new arrivals owe a "debt of hospitality"—usually labor or goods. Those who refuse find Partiz suddenly hostile.
  • Controlled Information: Romina decides what newcomers learn about Nowhere Land. She controls the Welcomers, the guides, the "helpful" merchants.
  • Strategic Mercy: She pardons crimes publicly, making grateful servants. She punishes disobedience privately, making examples.
  • The Count's Distance: Unlike other rulers, Romina maintains independence from the Count. She pays no tribute, offers no fealty—and he allows it, for reasons unknown.

Romina's Backstory

Born to a Lampedusa fishing family, young Romina showed early aptitude for organization and leadership. The local fascio noticed. By fifteen, she organized youth groups. By twenty, she managed supply chains for the local party. When fascism fell, she adapted—working with whoever held power, always useful, never ideologically committed to anyone but herself.

She came to Nowhere Land fleeing something. She never says what—debts, perhaps, or crimes catching up. But The Passage felt familiar: a place of transit, of refugees, of the desperate. She understood these people. She knew what they needed (safety) and what they'd accept (control). Within a decade, she ruled Partiz.

"Order requires hierarchy. Hierarchy requires enforcement. I provide both. Those who call me tyrant have never lived without order. I have. I was a child in a world that ate children. I will not let Partiz become that world."

— Romina, to a challenger

Ruthe Rottinger: The Market's Heart

Character Profile: Ruthe

Ruthe Rottinger manages the Partizan Market—officially as Romina's appointee, actually as the leader of Partiz's "democratic" opposition. She is precise, patient, and utterly dedicated to eventually deposing the tyrant. But not yet. Not until the moment is right.

Ruthe arrived in Nowhere Land as a child, clutching her brother's hand. She remembers almost nothing of the Outside—only fire, running, and her parents' voices telling them to go. The Passage raised her. Partiz educated her. And Romina, ironically, gave her power by recognizing her talent for commerce.

Quick Stats

Origin: Hungary (Budapest?)
Era: Arrived ~1944
Drift: 9 (Consumed)
Age: Appears 35-40, much older
Languages: Hungarian, Yiddish, German, Old Tongue, Market Pidgin
Polarity: Ketsu (Binding)

Ruthe's Position

  • Market Manager: Controls all commerce in the Partizan Market. Takes a fair cut, ensures deals are honored, settles disputes.
  • Information Broker: The Market sees everything. Ruthe knows more about Partiz's inhabitants than Romina's spies.
  • Opposition Leader: The quiet center of those who want Romina gone. She counsels patience, preparation, waiting for the right moment.
  • Settler: At Drift 9, Ruthe can never leave Nowhere Land. This makes her invested in its future in ways Travelers aren't.

The Partizan Divide: Two Factions Within

The Partizan is not a monolithic faction—it's a city perpetually on the edge of civil war. Two internal factions compete for control, each gathered around a powerful leader, each representing different visions for Partiz's future. The irony: neither leader truly embodies their faction's stated ideals.

🗳️ The Market Coalition

Leader: Ruthe Rottinger (de facto)

Those who rally around Ruthe call themselves the Market Coalition—merchants, artisans, petty traders, and the small property-owning class. They want representation, voting rights, property protections, and an end to arbitrary taxation. They speak of "democratic governance" and "the will of the people."

The Merchants' Guild

Wealthy traders who control most legitimate commerce. They fund Ruthe's network and expect favorable trading laws when she takes power. Led by Master Hendrik Vossberg, a Dutch merchant who arrived in the 1650s.

The Artisans' Circle

Craftspeople, smiths, weavers, and skilled laborers. They want guild protections and an end to Romina's arbitrary requisitions. Mathilde Brenner, a Bavarian clockmaker, speaks for them.

The Petit-Bourgeois

Shop owners, innkeepers, small landlords. They fear Romina's taxes but also fear the common people. They see Ruthe as a moderate who will protect property while removing tyranny.

The Contradiction: The Market Coalition believes they're fighting for democracy. Ruthe believes she's building her power base. When she takes control—if she takes control—will she actually share power? Or simply become a new Romina with better rhetoric?

🔴 The Red Scarves

Leader: Romina (Tyrant of Partiz)

Romina's supporters wear red scarves as a sign of loyalty—a symbol she introduced, echoing the movements of her youth. They are the military, the police, and the common laborers who see Romina as a protector against merchant exploitation. They believe in strong central authority and distrust the "democracy" of the wealthy.

The Tower Guard

Romina's military force. Professional soldiers, many recruited from Outside conflicts. Commanded by Captain Aldric Stern, a Prussian veteran who values order above all.

The Market Police

Enforcers who ensure Romina's laws are followed in the Market. They clash constantly with Ruthe's network. Led by Enforcer Mira Kostic, a Serbian who genuinely believes in protecting common traders from merchant cartels.

The Common People

Day laborers, dockworkers, farmers from surrounding ruins, servants. They see the merchants as exploiters and Romina—for all her faults—as someone who keeps prices stable and punishes cheaters.

The Agrarian Settlers

Those who farm the twilit fields around Partiz. They depend on Romina's protection from domain creatures and bandits. Elder Tomas Kurtz speaks for the farming communities.

The Contradiction: The Red Scarves believe in strong authority, but Romina—privately—has grown tired. She knows her methods are unsustainable. She's considered reforms, even discussed them with advisors. Could the tyrant become a reformer? And what would her followers do if she did?

The Inverted Paradox

The political situation in Partiz presents a fascinating inverted paradox for players to navigate:

Ruthe's Contradiction

The leader of the "democratic" faction doesn't actually want democracy—she wants personal power. Her followers believe in representation; she believes in herself. If she wins, will she honor her promises, or reveal her true nature?

Romina's Contradiction

The authoritarian tyrant is privately considering reform. Her followers want strong leadership; she's questioning whether strength alone can hold Partiz together. If she softens, will her base abandon her—or worse, see weakness and strike?

Narrative Implications:

  • Alliance Instability: Supporting either faction means supporting leaders whose true goals don't match their followers' expectations. Betrayal is built into the structure.
  • Power Vacuums: If either leader is exposed or removed, their faction doesn't simply dissolve—it fractures. The merchants won't follow a revealed autocrat; the Red Scarves won't follow a reformist Romina.
  • Shifting Alliances: Individual NPCs within each faction may be more aligned with the other side's stated values. A Market merchant might prefer stability to democracy; a Tower Guard might secretly want representation for the common soldier.
  • The Third Path: What if someone—perhaps the players—could unite the democratic ideals of the Market Coalition with the populist energy of the Red Scarves? A true reform that neither leader can achieve?

Key NPCs: The Tri-Dimensional Conflict

The conflict in Partiz isn't just between two factions—it's a web of individuals whose personal motivations create unexpected alliances and betrayals. Here are the key players and their hidden dimensions:

Master Hendrik Vossberg (Merchants' Guild)

Public Position: Ardent supporter of democratic reform and Ruthe's primary financier.

Hidden Dimension: Hendrik has secretly approached Romina about maintaining current trade monopolies in exchange for withdrawing support from Ruthe. He doesn't want democracy—he wants hismonopolies protected. If democracy threatens his profits, he'll switch sides instantly.

Player Hook: Hendrik might hire players to "investigate" Ruthe—actually gathering blackmail material in case he needs to betray her.

Enforcer Mira Kostic (Market Police)

Public Position: Romina's loyal enforcer, feared throughout the Market.

Hidden Dimension: Mira genuinely believes in protecting common people from exploitation. She's begun questioning whether Romina's methods serve that goal or just maintain power for its own sake. She's had secret conversations with Mathilde Brenner about what a "fair" Partiz might look like.

Player Hook: Mira might approach players to quietly investigate corruption within Romina's inner circle—not to betray Romina, but to "clean house."

Elder Tomas Kurtz (Agrarian Settlers)

Public Position: Voice of the farming communities, loyal Red Scarf supporter.

Hidden Dimension: Tomas is dying. His Drift is accelerating, and he knows he won't see another year. He wants to secure his people's future before he goes—and increasingly believes that means getting guarantees from whoever wins, not blind loyalty to Romina.

Player Hook: Tomas might ask players to secretly negotiate with both sides on his behalf, trading agrarian support for concrete promises.

Mathilde Brenner (Artisans' Circle)

Public Position: Spokesperson for artisans, key member of the Market Coalition.

Hidden Dimension: Mathilde has begun to suspect Ruthe's true ambitions. She's seen how Ruthe treats people as assets rather than allies. Mathilde is quietly building connections with like-minded reformers on both sides—including Mira Kostic. She represents the possibility of a third way.

Player Hook: Mathilde might recruit players to help build a secret cross-faction alliance—one that could survive regardless of which leader wins.

The Rottinger Mystery

Samuel and Yasha: The Lost Parents

Ruthe and her brother Elias were children of Samuel and Yasha Rottinger, Hungarian Jews fleeing the Nazi occupation in 1944. The family lived in Budapest. When the deportations began, they ran. Somewhere in the chaos—Ruthe remembers trains, forests, fire—they found a portal.

The children came through. The parents did not.

The Questions:

  • Did Samuel and Yasha die in the Outside? This is what Ruthe believes—that her parents sacrificed themselves to push the children through.
  • Did they arrive elsewhere in Nowhere Land? The Passage receives most Travelers, but not all. Could they be in another domain?
  • Were they taken by the Count? The Encyclopedist has hinted at records of Rottingers in his archive. He won't share them.
  • Are they still alive? Time moves strangely in Nowhere Land. If they survived, they could still exist—somewhere.

Elias Rottinger: The Brother

Elias, Ruthe's older brother, arrived with her but couldn't adapt. Where Ruthe found purpose, Elias found only loss. He wandered The Passage for years, refusing to settle, refusing to let his Drift rise, desperately seeking a way back to the Outside—to 1944, to their parents.

Elias eventually left Partiz entirely. He travels between domains, searching for portals that might lead to specific times and places. He is gaunt, haunted, and his Drift remains artificially low through obsessive mapping and documentation. He returns to Partiz occasionally—to see Ruthe, to share what he's learned, to beg her to keep hoping.

Ruthe loves her brother. She also believes he's chasing a ghost. She will not leave Partiz to join his quest. Her war is here.

The Rottinger-Romina Secret

🔒 Trickster Eyes Only: The Hidden Truth

⚠️ Secret Lore - For Tricksters Only

The following information is hidden from most characters in Nowhere Land. Only Samuel, Yasha, and the parties involved know fragments of these secrets. Use this to create dramatic revelations or keep it buried—your campaign, your choice.

Secret #1: Damian's True Parentage

Romina appears childless. This is a lie by omission. Damian, the man known as Ruthe's "brother," is actually Romina's biological child—the son of a rape by Samuel Rottinger before the family fled through the portal. Romina does not acknowledge him. She may not even know for certain, though she suspects. The trauma of his conception is buried deep.

Secret #2: Ruthe's Secret Marriage

Ruthe is secretly married to Damian. She believes him to be her brother—the son of Samuel and Yasha Rottinger, raised alongside her and Elias. In truth, he is her half-brother through Samuel, but she does not know this. The marriage is hidden because of the perceived incest; if revealed, it would destroy Ruthe's political position.

Secret #3: Damian's Condition

Damian is "crippled"—physically broken, withdrawn, rarely seen in public. The public explanation is a childhood accident. The truth, known only to Samuel and Yasha: Damian drifted to the Abyss and returned shattered. His body healed enough to survive, but something within him broke. He speaks in fragments, sees things others cannot, and sometimes whispers about "the swarm" and "the well."

Secret #4: Why Romina Rejects Ruthe

Romina has never considered Ruthe as a potential successor, despite Ruthe's obvious competence. The official reason is political—Ruthe leads the opposition. But deeper, Romina cannot look at Ruthe without seeing her connection to Samuel, to the Rottingers, to the child she can never acknowledge. The rejection is visceral, not strategic.

Optional Drama: Tricksters may choose to add a pregnancy to either Ruthe or Romina—the father being a member of the Council—to create additional threads of relationship and succession crisis. This can escalate political tensions or create unexpected alliances.

Faction Mechanics: The Partizan

Partizan Faction Sheet

Motto: "The Passage provides for those who serve."

Tier: 3 (Regional Power)

Hold: Strong (in The Passage) / Weak (elsewhere)

Territory: Partiz and surrounding ruins

Leader: Romina (Tyrant) vs Ruthe Rottinger (Opposition)

Internal Status: Cold civil war

Resources: Trade, Labor, Information, Military

Symbol: A doorway between two pillars

Assets

  • • The Welcomers (Tier 1): Information gatherers who greet new arrivals
  • • The Market Guard (Tier 2): Armed enforcers who maintain order (Red Scarves)
  • • The Tower Court (Tier 2): Bureaucrats and judges loyal to Romina
  • • The Merchants' Guild (Tier 2): Wealthy traders backing Ruthe
  • • The Artisans' Circle (Tier 1): Skilled laborers seeking representation
  • • The Undercity Network (Tier 1): Hidden sympathizers on both sides

Active Clocks

🕐 Romina's Grip Weakens (0/6)

Each segment: Public failure, lost asset, or betrayal

🕐 Market Coalition Ready (0/8)

Each segment: Resources gathered, allies secured

🕐 Romina's Reform (0/4)

Each segment: Private doubts, external pressure, advisor influence

🕐 Ruthe Exposed (0/6)

Each segment: True motives suspected, allies question her

Faction Triggers

If PCs publicly embarrass Romina → Red Scarves hunt them; Market Coalition offers sanctuary.

If PCs expose Ruthe's ambitions → Market Coalition fractures; Romina offers employment.

If PCs broker deal between factions → Both leaders grow suspicious; mid-tier NPCs grow hopeful.

If one faction gains 3+ clock segments → The other escalates to open conflict.

Internal Faction Sheets

Market Coalition Sheet

Tagline: "Representation for the producers of Partiz's wealth."

Goals

Primary: Depose Romina within the year
Secondary: Establish a merchant council
Ruthe's Hidden: Become sole ruler

Methods

Money, information, propaganda, covert sabotage

Key Faces

  • • Ruthe Rottinger – Leader, true autocrat
  • • Hendrik Vossberg – Financier, opportunist
  • • Mathilde Brenner – Artisan voice, true believer

Resources & Lacks

Has: Wealth, trade networks, market control
Lacks: Military force, legitimacy, unified ideology

Red Scarves Sheet

Tagline: "Order through strength. Protection through loyalty."

Goals

Primary: Maintain Romina's rule
Secondary: Crush the Market Coalition
Romina's Hidden: Find a sustainable path

Methods

Military force, law enforcement, public spectacle, fear

Key Faces

  • • Romina – Tyrant, privately doubting
  • • Captain Aldric Stern – Military commander
  • • Enforcer Mira Kostic – Police chief, questioning
  • • Elder Tomas Kurtz – Agrarian voice, pragmatist

Resources & Lacks

Has: Military, police, infrastructure, legal authority
Lacks: Popular enthusiasm, economic independence, succession plan

Encounter Situations

The Partizan faction creates rich opportunities for encounters. Here are situations where players might find themselves entangled in the city's political web:

🚪 The Arrival Tax

Situation: Fresh arrivals are surrounded by Welcomers demanding the "hospitality debt."

Complications: Ruthe's agents offer to pay the tax—at a price. Romina's guards watch for troublemakers. The Undercity Network whispers about escape routes.

🏪 Market Dispute

Situation: A merchant accuses a Red Scarf officer of extortion. Both sides want the PCs to witness—or to disappear.

Complications: The truth is ambiguous. The merchant is a Ruthe operative; the officer is Mira Kostic's protégé. Whoever PCs side with remembers.

🗼 Tower Summons

Situation: Romina has heard of the PCs and wants to "discuss their future in Partiz."

Complications: Refusing the summons is dangerous. Accepting means being seen with the tyrant. She offers employment, information, or threats—sometimes all three.

🌾 Harvest Tension

Situation: Agrarian settlers refuse to deliver crops until Romina guarantees protection. Red Scarves are sent to "negotiate."

Complications: Elder Kurtz secretly wants a third party to mediate. The harvest is needed before a domain storm. Violence could trigger famine.

🔧 Artisan Strike

Situation: The Artisans' Circle refuses to repair Tower Guard equipment until they get guild protections.

Complications: Mathilde Brenner leads the strike but is testing Ruthe's reaction. Romina considers mass arrests. Someone needs to broker peace—or pick a side.

🕳️ Undercity Refuge

Situation: PCs need to hide from either faction. The Undercity offers safety—but the denizens have their own agenda.

Complications: Undercity residents include refugees from both factions, domain creatures, and people who remember Partiz before Romina. They have information but demand favors.

🐍 Castle Expedition

Situation: An Encyclopedist expedition team passes through Partiz, bearing the serpent-rose-owl seal. They're studying The Passage's ecosystem—or hunting something.

Complications: The Encyclopedist despises how Partiz disrupts domain balance. Her teams are officially neutral, but their missions may conflict with Partizan interests. Both Romina and Ruthe want to know what they're really doing—and would pay for that intelligence.

Playing in Partiz

Scenario Hooks

New Arrivals

Players begin as fresh Outsiders, emerging in Arrival Square. They must navigate the Welcome Tax, decide whom to trust, and establish themselves in Partiz. Perfect for introducing Drift gradually.

Romina's Service

Players work for the Tyrant—not as believers, but as tools. She offers protection, information, even passage to other domains. The price is always service, and the jobs are never clean.

Ruthe's Resistance

Players join the quiet opposition. Ruthe needs information, resources, and above all, capable people who owe nothing to Romina. The work is dangerous; the reward is a chance to change Partiz.

The Rottinger Search

Players help Elias or Ruthe uncover what happened to their parents. This leads through the Encyclopedist's archive, the Count's records, and perhaps domains where time itself is a currency.

"Everyone who comes to Nowhere Land arrives in The Passage first. Romina knows this. She built her empire on confused refugees and desperate Travelers. But empires fall. They always do. And when hers falls, I will be there to catch Partiz."

— Ruthe Rottinger, in private

See Also