The Abyss

The Abyss (L'Abîme) is the last known domain of Nowhere Land—a place of nightmare that exists at the edge of existence itself. It is where the desperate go, where those who have drifted too far are cast, and where the legendary Fountain of Abyss waits to grant wishes to those brave or foolish enough to find it.

A Domain Unlike Any Other

The Abyss manifests as a vast rock swamp shrouded in perpetual twilight—neither day nor night, but an endless gray that seems to swallow light itself. Stone pillars rise from black, brackish water. Islands of crumbling rock provide uncertain footing. And everywhere, everywhere, there are insects.

Flies the size of sparrows. Butterflies with wings like stained glass cathedral windows. Beetles as large as horses, their carapaces gleaming wetly. Moths that drift silently through the fog, their wingbeats leaving trails of phosphorescent dust. Mosquitoes that hunt in swarms. Dragonflies with iridescent eyes that seem to hold ancient intelligence. Some insects are microscopic—so small they enter through pores. Others are so vast their shadows block out what little light exists.

Domain Statistics:

Willpower: Unknown (does not respond to standard measurements)
Blessing: None (Potentials do not function here)
Curse: The Silence of Power—all supernatural abilities are suppressed
Exaltation: Impossible (the Abyss accepts no champions)
Exit: The True Fountain only

The Numbral Dice: The Abyss's Hunger

The Clock That Counts Down

The Abyss does not wait. Time in this domain is measured by the Numbral Dice—a progress clock that represents the swarm's growing awareness of your presence. When the clock reaches zero, the Abyss acts.

The Numbral Clock

Starting Value: 24 (the clock begins full)
Starting Die: d6 (the Numbral Die)
On Each Trigger: Roll the current Numbral Die, subtract the result from the clock
On Rolling 1: The die steps up for the next roll (d6 → d8 → d10 → d12 → d20)
When Clock Reaches 0: A catastrophic Abyss event occurs

Numbral Triggers:

Roll the Numbral Die when any of these occur:

• Lingering: Taking too long without making decisions or progress
• New Zone: Entering a new area or zone of the Abyss
• Backtracking: Returning to a previously visited zone
• Drift Success: Successfully using any remaining Drift abilities
• Critical Failure: Rolling all 1s on any check (complete failure)

Die Progression

Each time you roll a 1, the die steps up:

d6 → d8 → d10 → d12 → d20

Larger dice mean faster clock depletion, but 1s become rarer

Clock Reaches Zero

When the clock hits 0, roll d6:

1-2: Swarm attack—massive insect assault
3-4: False fountain appears nearby
5: Swarm-Touched ambush
6: The Queen takes notice

How Characters Reach the Abyss

No portal leads directly to the Abyss. No map shows its location. Characters can only reach it through one terrible mechanism: maximum Drift portal failure.

The Portal Drift Check

When a character at Drift 9 or 10 crosses a portal, they must make a Portal Drift Check. At Drift 10, rolling a 4 on a d4 guarantees transport to the Abyss.

When Cast Into the Abyss:

Immediate Vanishing: The character disappears from all detection. No Potential, no artifact, no power can locate them. Even the Count's gaze cannot penetrate the Abyss.
Time Dilation: Time in the Abyss moves strangely. What feels like days may be hours outside—or years.
Solo Play: The Trickster should run the Abyss as a solo scenario for the affected player, ideally while others continue play in the main world.

The Fountain of Abyss

The Wish and the Well

At the heart of the Abyss lies the Fountain of Abyss—though "fountain" is a misnomer. It is actually a deep well, its stone rim carved with symbols no scholar has ever decoded. The water within is impossibly clear, and at its bottom—impossibly far down—something glows.

To make a wish, one must enter the well. Not drink from it. Not merely touch it. One must descend into the depths and reach whatever waits below. Those who do emerge somewhere else in Nowhere Land, their wish granted, their Drift reset to zero. But the descent itself... no one speaks clearly of what they experienced.

"I remember falling. Or swimming. Or flying. The water wasn't wet. The light wasn't bright. I heard voices—my mother's, my teacher's, people I'd never met. And then I was somewhere else, gasping on solid ground, and she was there. My daughter. Alive. I don't remember making the wish, but it was granted."

— Recovered journal fragment, authorship unknown

The False Fountains

Poisonous Deceptions

The Abyss is scattered with false fountains—pools and basins that mimic the true Fountain's appearance. These are traps, and drinking from them invites a fate worse than death.

False Fountain Effects:

The Invitation: Drinking from a false fountain releases pheromones that attract the Abyss's monstrous insects. They come within minutes—drawn irresistibly to the drinker.
The Infestation: The insects enter the drinker—through mouth, ears, nose, pores. They nest inside, laying eggs, consuming from within.
The Transformation: Over hours (or what feels like hours), the victim transforms into something neither human nor insect. They join the swarm. They become part of the Abyss.

Identifying False Fountains: There is no foolproof method. The true Fountain shows no reflection. False fountains reflect the viewer—but show them as they wish to be, not as they are. This deception is the cruelest: the false fountains show hope before they consume it.

The Denizens of the Abyss

The Abyss is not empty. Besides the ever-present insects, other beings dwell here—most of them former Travelers who never found the true Fountain.

The Swarm-Touched

Those who drank from false fountains and survived the initial infestation, but did not fully transform. They exist in a state between human and insect—chitin growing from their skin, compound eyes replacing human ones, mandibles clicking where mouths once were. Some retain fragments of their former selves. Most do not.

The Wanderers

Travelers who have been in the Abyss so long they've lost all sense of time and purpose. They shuffle through the swamp, searching for the Fountain, unable to remember why. Some have been here for what might be centuries. They can sometimes provide information—if they can be made to remember anything.

The Keepers

Mysterious figures who seem to maintain the Abyss—or perhaps the Abyss maintains them. They wear robes of woven moth wings and speak in the clicking, buzzing language of insects. They know where the true Fountain lies, but extracting that knowledge has a price. Always a price.

The Queen

Rumors speak of something at the center of the insect hierarchy—a vast intelligence that directs the swarms, that is the swarms. The Queen. Whether she is a single massive entity or a distributed consciousness across millions of insects, none can say. Meeting her is said to be... transformative.

The Secrets of the Abyss

What Even the Great Powers Don't Know

The Abyss is unique among domains in that its secrets are hidden even from Nowhere Land's greatest powers.The Count, the Doctor, the Encyclopedist, and Khore all seek to understand it—and all have failed.

The Encyclopedist has sent dozens of expeditions. None have returned with complete records. Her archive contains fragments, contradictions, and mysteries. The Abyss is her greatest failure—and her greatest obsession.

The Doctor studies death itself—and the Abyss is death's domain. He has theories about the Fountain's mechanics, about how resurrection might work. But theories require testing, and the Doctor will not risk himself in a place where his healing arts are useless.

The Count knows something. He always knows something. But he deflects questions about the Abyss with uncharacteristic silence. Some believe he fears it. Others believe he created it. The truth is likely stranger than either.

Khore, the eternal wanderer, has been to the Abyss and returned. He will not speak of what he saw. He will not speak of what he wished for. But he carries scars that no healing has touched— scars that buzz and whisper in the dark.

Escaping the Abyss

The Path of Return

There is only one way to leave the Abyss alive: find the true Fountain and enter the well. All other exits are illusions—paths that circle back, portals that close before you reach them, shores that recede as you approach.

✓ Success: Finding the True Well

Upon entering the true Fountain's well, the character experiences... something. The descent cannot be described in normal terms. When they emerge, they appear in a random domain of Nowhere Land with:

• Drift reset to 0—completely grounded
• One wish granted—if they had a clear intention
• Fragmented memories—most remember the Abyss as a nightmare
• A mark—somewhere on their body, a small scar in the shape of an insect wing

✗ Failure: Death in the Abyss

Characters who die in the Abyss—whether from the insects, the environment, or the false fountains—are dead permanently. No resurrection can reach them. No wish can restore them. The Abyss has consumed them utterly. This is the only true death in Nowhere Land.

Running the Abyss

Trickster Guidance

The Abyss should be run as a solo scenario or flashback sequence for characters who are cast there. Consider these approaches:

Solo Session

Run a separate session just for the affected player. This gives full attention to their survival story and creates dramatic tension when they return to the main group.

Parallel Play

Cut between the main party and the Abyss character, treating them as parallel storylines. Build tension by showing the main party's attempts to locate their missing companion while the companion struggles to survive.

Flashback

Reveal the Abyss experience through flashbacks after the character has returned. Each session, the player remembers more of what happened—and the other characters notice their companion has... changed.

Key Design Principles:

• No Potentials: Every challenge must be solvable through mundane means
• Resource Tension: Track exhaustion, thirst, and sanity carefully
• False Hope: Present multiple "fountains" before the true one
• Insect Presence: The swarms should be constant, oppressive, alien
• Character Death Risk: This should feel dangerous—because it is

"The Abyss does not hate you. It does not love you. It does not know you exist. It simply is, and within it, you are very, very small. Find the well. Make your wish. Or become part of the swarm. There is no third option."

— Fragment from the Encyclopedist's incomplete Abyss dossier