Neon Ziggurat [Wallpaper] (Patreon)

Built of massive limestone blocks shaped so finely that not even an amoeba could crawl between them, it rises out of a scarred plateau. The limestone is protected by a magical aura that preserves it white and pristine against the rains and the fine dusts of the grassland.

It is now decked in illumination and singing golems, and thick with the camphor scent of aromatic candles. A cabal of heretic ecstatics live here as techno-shamans, worshipping the cosmos with a slaved vomish synthesizer they use to replace themselves with machine parts in their bid to become more human than human.

Left alone, they will discover how to preserve themselves, like the ziggurat is preserved, and become eternal living statues, singing and flashing lights into the sky, promising themselves to the First and the Last and the Eternal Return. They are rather harmless.

Notes to the Referee: How to use a site like the Neon Ziggurat

The whole site is basically a neutral, relatively harmless location. There don't seem to be monsters to fight or things to do ... but there always are. In my experience, players like to prod and poke things, and see what happens.

Off the bat, they can:

- interact with the ecstatics and discover information about the surroundings, and their conflict with the (much stronger) orthodox ecstatics of the spectrum satraps.

- buy lights, especially bright neon, and - probably - semi-magical candles that might cause obscuring smoke, watering eyes, coughing, hide scents, whatever. Think of a mad candle shop, and you've got it.

- get into the ecstatics favor to get cybernetic enhancements. You can always have an enhancement increase an ability a little bit in exchange for some quirk, or provide a quirky new ability. A thief might love the ability to hide lock picks in their cybernetic hand, while a fighter wouldn't mind an optical augment that lets them target enemies in dim light conditions.

- learn how the magical preservation works. This might takes a few weeks of study, but could unlock spells and rituals to: a) preserve food and water from going bad, b) protect surfaces from scratches, c) stop metal rusting, d) protection from acids, e) make harder-wearing machine parts, f) create an immortal machine body for a mechano-lich, g) create a wizard-merchant's house that doesn't decay. Give a choice, let them pick one, turn forward the clock, and give the wizard a chance to learn this.

Both learning a new skill / spell, or acquiring a cybernetic ability, would take at least a week. During that time, I suggest just fast-forwarding the clock and letting the other characters do stuff like figure out trade routes, forage for more supplies, work on personal projects, whatever.