Worlds Without Number: Outsiders and Arratu Wastelands

In the upcoming Worlds Without Numbers RPG by Sine Nomine, Arratu are a form of dangerous environment  which are the byproduct of the Outsiders (Aliens, essentially) attempts at reshaping Latter Earth to their alien needs and desire. Currently the only information available about Arratu and Outsiderss is found in the pre-Kickastarter alpha version of WWN and no doubt much more in depth information will be provided once the full game release. Nonetheless we know enough about what an Arratu is that one can conceptualize their own. Given Sine Nomine is all about sandboxing and making your own things no doubt this is encouraged.

This is but a single example of what an Arratu could be like.

The Broken Order

Art by Maxim Romatsnov

Created in ancient times by a race of outsiders (or a collection of, maybe?) obsessed with their alien sense of order, this Arratu has many names in many tongues, with most of them translating as 'The Broken Order'. Its environments is relatively Earth-like in its air, physical laws and what scant vegetation grows in it. This is not the strange part. Instead, the key to what makes it an Arratu are the large, worn down and damaged stone structures which erupt from the ground, ranging from as tall as a grown man to as tall as a castle. On examinations these appear to be merely stone structures which would once have been smooth and so precise as to be geometrically accurate down to the atom. If one was to look at them at a glance, they would find them to be fairly dull structures. They would appear to be completely harmless.

They are not.

These seemingly randomly placed Monoliths are both the focus and source of the Arratu as much as they are the Outsiders themselves or, at least, used to be. At the peak of their power these now nameless Outsiders built these stone structures which were equal part Legacy Interface as much as it was a home and a body. They transformed their bodies and minds, crystallizing them into these stone structures which formed impossibly complex fractal networks whose geometry could not be remotely understood by mortal minds. The networks it created in theory spawned entire Iterum of thought-realms where its ascended Outsiders inhabitants thought impossible things while the Legacy around it was slowly warped and fossilized.

Inhabitants and Dangers

For the most part this Arratu is empty, safe for shrubs and small fungi as well as tiny insects and worms. 'Higher' life forms are not welcome in this location, as even in their broken state the thought-monoliths and their mind-realms creates an hostile effect on anything with a true intelligence. Most beings begin to experience symptoms such as headaches and confusion which worsen to the point of pain within 1d4 days, after which most have the common sense to leave. Those who don't are in for some troubles:

• The Arratu slowly drains the mental capacities of those within it. While the effects aren't permanent if one leave before the point of no return, having a mental stat reduced to 0 inside this Arratu (even from another source) cause one's mind to break and start connecting to the Broken Order which reduce an individual to functionally be a living zombie.
• The longer a group of beings remain in the Arratu the more it 'tune in' to their minds. Provided they remain a few days and don't flee or become mental zombies, other beings under the thrall of the Arratu will 'home in' to their location and attempt to kill them.
• The Broken Order is particularly disruptive to the identities and 'soul' of Elves as it trap the Legacy-interfacing information. Any Elf which dies within the Broken Order undergoes a horrific transformation into a wraith-like entity, as well as permanent death. Such creatures haunt the monoliths.
• The closer one gets to a monolith the more there is an increased chance of spell mishap as the monoliths dampen the Legacy's various effects and feed energy into the thought-realms. In particular spells and effects which induce effects which change the body or state of being tend to backfire in spectacularly ways which drain the user or target of both their will and lives. Flesh also has a tendency to calcify.

Potential Treasures

At a glance, this Arratu appears to be worthless, little more than a dangerous wasteland to traverse and this is mostly accurate. However, its true value lies in the thought-realms which exist 'inside' the broken monoliths and its mind-network. This Arratus can be considered a giant gateway into several Iterum, each a broken shard of a mind space inhabited by inside minds of great power now shattered and broken. Those seeking ancient spells, especially spells which may inhibit other spells or break the minds of others, can find them if they brave the mindscapes. Each mindscape being, of course, a trippy fractal dungeon.