Assembly Area

UMBRA IN NEW YORK

Ideas taken from the W20 Umbra Book. Below is the general blurb for my players.

The umbrascape of New York City and Manhattan in particular is truly an alien world. The moment you arrive in the Penumbra, your senses are assaulted by smells that do not exist in the material world. In Homid it is disquieting but in Lupus the City around you reeks of a chemical smell that makes your eyes water with acridity crossed with the smell of burning oil.

In small parts of the City the Weaver is so strong the streets and buildings are encased in a silvery web nearly impassable and in others the buildings and Skyscrapers sway like curtains in an umbral breeze. During the material day everything glows with a faint light destroying all shadow but at night the darkness is oppressive. The light of Luna shines dimly in this urban umbrascape and the stars seem to forget this place of man. But at night not all is shadow and darkness, There are pockets of constellations made from cell phones, computers, traffic and street lights having their own distinct impressions in the Umbra that give New York a twinkling second star-scape, not in the sky but all around you.

You are also struck by the absence of the living while in the Penumbra, a virtual ghost town of loneliness after interaction with the millions calling New York home. But in this Penumbral City, you are not alone, spiders both large and small dance to the tune of their mother, The sounds of industry around every corner contend with the screech of electric Weaver spirits. Spiders are not the only ones at work however, legions of insectial silkworms, silver-plated cockroaches, and flying insects work tirelessly refining the umbrascape.

The Weaver is not the only Triat member dominating the Umbral presence of New York City however for the Wyrm has its soldiers here as well. Dark shapes and terrible things lurk around every corner. Gangs of ash, trash and smog skrags roam the streets. Toxic banes leave their waste over everything they touch corrupting as they go. To the south of Manhattan, the Hellhole of Freshkills Landfill still exists in the Penumbra generating waves of disease and poison to wash ashore.

The few Wyld spirits outside of Central Park that exist in the city are a resilient group. Yes there are some if you know where to look. You can even find spirits not Wyrm corrupted. Spirits like cats, bats, coyotes, rats, insects, plants, elementals and many more can be found surviving in the nooks and crannies of the New York Scab.