The Guide for New Castaways

Nowhere takes some getting used to, but you do get used to it. It's usually not a pleasant process though.   It takes a physical toll first. That's a constant. Acclimation Sickness hits everyone when they first find themselves on the island no matter how powerful they were before they arrived. Admittedly it is seldom if ever lethal, but it's a hell of an introduction to your new home.   The mental toll comes later. Once you've recovered from Acclimation Sickness and come to grips with the fact that you're not in a delusional fever dream, you're forced to quickly adjust to this new, bizarre world you're suddenly stuck in. The severity of this varies highly from person to person however, and is influenced by a number of factors relating to where they came from. What was their life like before they arrived? Were they happy? How many sapient species existed in their world? Was there magic of some kind? Were there gods? How advanced was their home's technology? These are just some of the factors that influence how a person adjusts to life on Nowhere, and while most people eventually find happiness, there are some who spend their lives hunting tirelessly for a way home.   That said, most people who end up on Nowhere agree, or at least begrudgingly admit, that there are worse places to be trapped. The weather is nice, the people are friendly, and you'll never want for excitment or new experiences. Frankly, as long as you like seafood and steer clear of the Tears and the Echoes you'll be fine. Probably.  

The Island

Though it has been slowly increasing in size since the first mortals appeared on the island, The Pathfinders' most recent maps estimate that Nowhere is currently around 3,400 square miles in totality. Measuring the raw scale of the island doesn't really do it justice however, as it is difficult to generalize when it comes to the terrain. Though its various pieces are connected in a physical sense, a significant amount of the landscape feels patchwork, as if chunks of other locations have been torn from their place of origin and haphazardly smashed together. Nowhere is a place where a lush jungle encroaches on a tall pine forest, and where a dilapidated city block is abruptly cut off by the coastline on one side and an open savanna on the other. While the oldest and most central parts of the island have mostly blended with one another over time, there are clear and somewhat surreal borders between the island's newer locales.   Nowhere's existing geography is not its only unusual feature however. Periodically, people, places, and things will mysteriously phase into existence on the island, usually preceded by a patch of mysterious, chromatically aberrant haze. The things pulled to the island seem to be completely random, and range in size from an entire city block to an individual insect from a populous hive. While the appearance of substantial additions to the island's landmass generally appear along the coast, buildings, items, and people can appear anywhere on Nowhere.   The island is inhabited by a staggering variety of plants and animals, but seemingly has no native life forms. While agricultural options were limited at first, farmers, scientists, and druids have learned to cultivate various species for use by sapient beings, including a number of edible plants and the popular animal, the Beep. Not all of Nowhere's flora and fauna are useful to sapient beings however, and unidentified predators can sometimes be found stalking the island. While these creatures are generally tracked down and eliminated or domesticated when they are discovered, it is always a good idea to be wary of undocumented animals.  

New Harbor

Though no entity, governmental or otherwise, holds power over all of Nowhere, New Harbor is undoubtedly its most influential settlement. Home to more than half of the island's total population, New Harbor is constructed out of an eclectic mish-mash of structures in a wide variety of architectural styles, only surpassed in diversity by it's inhabitents. People of all shapes, sizes, combinations of limbs, and even more unusual features are welcome in New Harbor, so long as they come in peace and with an open mind.   New Harbor's laws are created by the The Harbormasters' Council and The Protectors are tasked with enforcing those laws and keeping the town safe. It is also home to The Pathfinders, an organization of adventurers dedicated maintaining the safety of Nowhere at large, keeping up to date maps on the island, and finding a way to permanently leave the island.  

The Tower

While the unusual is the norm on Nowhere, The Tower is without a doubt the island's most unusual feature. Rising from the approximate center of the island, The Tower is an impossible tall beam of shifting white light that pierces infinitely into the sky above. While it seems to have no physical substance, it exudes an aura of powerful radiation that causes hallucinations to those who wander within a few yards of it. Those who continue unabated will find themselves subject to an overwhelming sensory experience that increases in severity and can eventually lead to death.   While dangerous, The Tower is regarded as a sort of comforting constant by some, with a few going so far as to worship it. The Keepers of the Tower is an organization dedicated to the worship of The Tower, and is responsible for carrying out the will of its alleged occupant, an entity they refer to as The Weaver.  

Exploring Nowhere

The task of charting Nowhere is a neverending one as new structures, terrians, and people appear on the island on an almost weekly basis. The Pathfinders' most recent map can be found below, though they are constantly being updated as new things appear on the island.    

The People

Until a bizarre gestalt of all theoretically possible sapient beings arrives there isn't really an 'average' citizen of Nowhere. While the majority of the population is at least borderline humanoid, it is fairly common even for people who identify as the same species to have vastly different traits and home worlds. Despite their differences however, most inhabitants of Nowhere swiftly become accustomed to the broad range of individuals they come into contact with, as most people end up adopting a sort of 'This might as well be a thing,' attitude.   But species based diversity is not the only kind of diversity present on Nowhere. The sapient beings that inhabit the island come from all walks of life, from vagrants to important political figures to literal gods. Fortunately, those who find themselves on Nowhere with preconcieved notions of their own grandeur, delusional or otherwise, are often seen as annoying at best and dangerous at worst. Ultimately, the island has an funny way of placing its inhabitents on a level playing field. While magic exists, it doesn't function like magic anywhere else in the multiverse, so gods and powerful archmages will have to build their abilities back up from square one. Additionally, the socialist natures of Nowhere's largest communities ensures that anyone who seeks to accrue power through financial means will end up facing backlash or even exile.   Specifically in New Harbor, most people ply their chosen trades or offer their services to those in need freely, and are provided the things they need to live their lives and contribute to society by The Central Storehouse. In general, peoples' lifestyles are fairly similar, and while they are by no means lavish, they have what they need to be comfortable. Any superfluous items are generally handled by The Merry Market, though they are monitered carefully by the Harbormasters' Council to ensure luxuries are distributed equitably.  

The Problems

Though most of its inhabitents eventually become accustomed to life on Nowhere, they remain mindful of its most dangerous qualities. Given that Nowhere appears to be completely isolated, trade with outside forces is impossible, and while this does simplify things in some ways, it forces the island's residents to rely on nothing but themselves and their neighbors. Generally, relations between individuals and communities on Nowhere are amicable, though there have been instances of unresolved disputes leading to more significant conflict.   The task of securing food, potable water, and medical supplies is also an unending one. While things have become more managable over the years as animals have been domesticated and the land has been tilled, the island's steadily increasing population has ensured that any increases in supply production are offset by increasing need.    

Tears and Echoes

Interpersonal problems are not the only ones present on Nowhere however. Perhaps owing to the patchwork nature of the island, rifts in the fabric of reality will periodically open up in seemingly random places. Referred to as 'Tears', these phenomena can trigger a number of dangerous localized effects such as drastic temperature shifts, blasts of varying energy types, and unstable mutations in nearby flora and fauna. The most dangerous effect of the Tears however is the summoning of Echoes, warped, maddened, and violent living beings that occasinally pass through them. In the past, these creatures were kept in check by The Protectors and The Pathfinders, but it was grueling work and the two organizations struggled to find new recruits.   For many years, most normal residents simply avoided Tears at all costs. However, collaberation between the Keepers of the Tower and The Pathfinders eventually uncovered a way to manually stabalize and seal Tears. While dangerous, this practice is significantly less dangerous than simply allowing them to exist, and The Pathfinders have taken on the responsibility of mending any new Tears that appear. For more information about these missions, see Pathfinder Missions.