The Peak Where Heroes are Made - The Grand Precipice

Fantasy RPGs often lend to extravagant places. Impossible locations that would be once in a lifetime destinations can be commonplace for heroes on an adventure. I personally grew up with a saga of fantasy films that might as well have been commercials for New Zealand's countryside tourism.

In the extreme outskirts of a fantastical world, we can expect some very intense locations. Most people in such a setting would still avoid a place that is often described as a death trap or an unsafe place. But just like thrill seekers in our world who bungee jump from the sides of dams, there are plenty of people who would seek out places that are magically fascinating and dangerous too.

As with my last location articles; tailor shops, witches hovels, and underground fighting rings; this will all have a lack of names, and nonintrusive themes. This will make it nice and easy for Game Masters of every system to graft this delightful slice of the universe onto their universe.

The bridge itself mercilessly tests all heroes - The Howling Abyss by Sixmorevodka

The Grand Precipice

In the fringes of society, where the highest mountain peaks scrape the sky, there are very few living people. Few does not equal zero. Swathes of people populate the sides of the mountain. The immense winds can never topple buildings hewn from the sides of the mountain itself. Alpine logs and cabins from the trees set break up the craggy brown of the mountain facade.

There is one such mountain, where the buildings were there before the settlers. Between twin peaks, there's a great bridge made of stone found somewhere much further away than this mountain range. The bridge is roughly forty feet wide and just under two hundred feet long. No one race or civilisation of people have claimed responsibility for building it. In my own games, it's in a range of mountains far enough away from any settlement or civilisation to make it seem like a strange, unknowable ruin.

The bridge known as The Grand Precipice has elements that makes it seem like it could have been made by any race. The details of the stonework shows that masterful craftsmanship. The size and scale of the structure assumes that Giants had to have done some amount of the heavy lifting. The inherent magic that keeps it looking pristine despite the howling winds and rockslides only makes the place all the more mysterious.

Cross the Abyss

The size of the structure makes it visible from the ground if you're standing at the right angle of the mountain's base. Once they see it, most people find them drawn to it from respect of the sublime. Adventurers and monsters often found at the peaks of mountains often brush past each other in grand battles trying to cross the bridge at the top of the world.

Player characters may find themselves at The Grand Precipice by reputation. In my time of Game Mastering, it has drawn out many players who seek glory for their characters. The players may have been chosen to cross the bridge to survey the mountain or inspect the magical bindings that keep the ancient structure pristine. Maybe nations local to the mountain range seek to claim it as part of their empire and the players seek to keep this wonder of the world neutral or part of another interested party's purview.

With the great challenge of The Grand Precipice looming overhead, now we want to hear from you. Where in your world would a place like this be? What trials will the players face on the bridge; monsters, madness, or more? Let us know in the comments below or on our Discord server. We'll see you at the top of the mountain!

Adam Ray contributes much for adventurers here on Apotheosis Studios. As co-founder of fantasticuniverses.com, he writes about card gaming and PC gaming to a corner of the internet he carved out himself. On Youtube, he can be found game mastering for No Ordinary Heroes, or editing the antics on The Hostile Atmosphere. Follow his Twitter @IzzetTinkerer.