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Let's share some fantastic, bizarre, and weird real world locations that would make perfect fodder for #ttrpg !

My own contribution is "Christ of the Abyss", a bronze statue of Jesus that was deliberately sunk into the ocean off the coast of Italy in 1954. Two other statues were cast from the same mold later on, and sunk at Grenada and Florida.

I find the very concept of religious statues being sunk into the ocean fascinating - and, of course, in fantastic worlds people might have an easier time visiting such statues. Perhaps they have acquired some magic that allows them to breathe water for some time, or perhaps they are naturally amphibious. Or natural water breathers - perhaps there is some trade deal with surface dwellers where land-based religious items are created for aquatic civilizations that they cannot manufacture themselves.

What other such weird locations do you know of?

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[-] Gloomy@mander.xyz 4 points 3 days ago

I don't know if his is missing the spirit of the question, but i'd say many planets and moons in our solar system could provide inspiration, like the moon europa with it's endless ice plain (the surface is amongst the smoothest in the solar system) and gigantic sub surface ocean. In a fantasy world their might be a civilisation down their. Maybe the ice sheet is so thick they never knew about the surface and are only learning about it now, because some recent event has exposed a part of their ocean to the surface.

Locations on earth? The mountain villages around the Himalayas in Napal. You walk endless narrow paths, cross forests, glacial lakes. The view is breath taking. The mountains grow into the sky like paintings. The air is as clear as it can be. You walk trough clouds and sunshine alike and all around you is nothing but wonder. And all along the way, in a place that is always hard on you and sometimes even hostile, there are little signs of the deep devotion the people of this place have for it. Sometimes it's a little shrine, just a few stones staked upon each other. Sometimes it's a little stupa. This places have been here for hundrets, some for thousands of years, maintained by generations of villagers. Their religion has the coating of Buddism, but it's so much older. For in their religious practice they still call to the spirits of the land, yes, of the mountain itself. And it shows. This landscape, hostile as it may be to the casual traveler, has become something the locals not only tolerate, but actively worship. And there is a certain magic to that, a magic that has formed over thousands of years of love and worship. It shows in how every little shire, every stack of stones, is still maintained. It shown in offerings being made to the mountain itself at some shrines, every morning before the sun rises by a different family from the nearest village, every day since their people have come here in times untold. It shows in how the locals know the land by hearts, every path, every slippery slope, every treacherous segment of cliffs they traverse every day. In isolated places you can encounter the wise men of this people, whom live the lives of hermits. In a fantasy setting there would be druids, for they are as close to the real live equialent as i have ever met.

this post was submitted on 07 May 2026
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