Geography: Plateau City: Nightmare Quarter
The Nightmare Quarter is located in the central part of the city. The centerpiece of this district is the Black Cathedral, Temple of Gargul. Looming over the rest of the district, the skull-like cathedral sets a decidedly macabre tone. In the nearby Skull Market, necromancers, witches, and apothecaries sell all manner of charms and nostrums, in skull-shaped packages and inky black bottles.
A person could be forgiven for thinking that all kinds of evil is perpetrated in the Nightmare Quarter, but that person would be wrong. By day, at least, the Nightmare Quarter presents a dark and dangerous image, but not the reality. The Skull Market caters largely to thrill-seeking visitors looking to leaven their lives with a touch of the macabre. The charms and hexes available here range from completely harmless to mildly unpleasant.
The counterpoint to the crowds of Skull Market is the usually abandoned streets surrounding The Scar which begins just east of The Black Cathedral and runs south for several blocks crossing Nightmare Road and ending just north of Castle Gate. This area is a stinking pile of rubble and rock cursed to remain in ruins forever by some unknown entity. At one time, The Raven Cult made this place its lair, and several other cult groups have also made it the entrance to their corrupted temples.
"Scar tours" are available from any number of local establishments. These tours keep carefully to the edges and safer areas of the Scar and are, again, a favorite of visitors looking for the dark and unusual.
After a hard day of scaring themselves, many visitors wind up at The Crypt, a well-known tavern on Roulette Street. Once upon a time, The Crypt was a truly dangerous place filled with truly dangerous people. These days, however, it confines itself to the appearance of darkness and danger, and any actual threat to the patrons is slight.
It should be noted that after dark, the Nightmare Quarter becomes something like its old self. The necromancers and witches bring out their good stuff, shadowy figures dart through the streets, and ominous chanting can be heard off and on from the Scar. Chased underground during the day, the sinister elements of the Nightmare Quarter come out at night.
The priests of Gargul, from their position in the temple, disapprove of both faces of the Nightmare Quarter. They find the place too frivolous by day and too sinister by night.
23. The Black Cathedral (Temple of Gargul)
24. The Scar (area cursed to remain in ruins)
39. The Crypt (gambling house, tavern)
