The RPG Blog Carnival for this month takes The Worlds Between as its theme. Bridges always feel like a liminal space to me. You're neither on one bank nor the other, but floating in between. Especially when it's foggy, or dark.
The Bridge Between Worlds takes this to its logical conclusion.
Obviously, a properly constructed bridge is anchored in reality at both ends. But in the proper conditions, where one end loses sight of the other, those anchors can drag. Those journeying across the bridge may not arrive in the usual place. You may just wind up in a foreign land. Or perhaps Faerie. Or the deepest circles of Hell. It is difficult to be sure.
And if you should leave the bridge, you had better be quick about your business. If the fog lifts, or daybreak comes, or the bridge otherwise becomes properly anchored in reality... well, good luck finding your way back. It can be done, of course. But it is not without danger.
This only has to happen once or twice before superstitions arise. In this village, there is a great bonfire lit at either end of the bridge, to drive off fog. In that town, there is a curfew between dusk and dawn. And the City of A Thousand Bridges addresses the problem with artificial islands and very short spans.
And where there are bridges, there are bound to be rivers. Where there are rivers, there are boats. Some of these boats are occupied by the Traders. They have mastered the arts of navigation between realities. Always secretive, often strange, they trade in the most remarkable of goods, and take payment in the oddest forms. Consult your favourite table of fey bargains, goblin markets, or devilish contracts.
But there are also pirates and raiders. After all, the margin between 'hard bargain' and 'armed robbery' can be a thin one. If your victims can't pursue, and you're not planning on coming back... Well, how sure are you that those traders aren't just taking your children's future in exchange for some shiny gewgaw?
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