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Magus Island
Updated: Sept. 18, 12:23 p.m.
NOTE: This island is NOT a canonical part of the DINO-PIRATES OF NINJA ISLAND setting. That means it doesn't show up on the main page of the setting. But it DOES show up in searches and in the "Assigned-To" lists for components. If you think this island SHOULD be canonical, please contact the setting administrators and maybe they'll agree with you.
Summary
Also known as “Dead Man’s Landing,” this uninhabited island holds only mystical ruins and death.
Population: zero
At one point, Magus Island was a haven for magic users to study and practice safely. Mages from around the islands and from all walks of life traveled here to learn at the feet of the greats and, in some cases, to escape persecution in their home lands. It is told that even imperials were welcome. Though no one alive was born in time to see its destruction, much less in its heyday, the legends tell of a bustling city stretching across the whole island, full of glistening towers of wondrous otherworldly creatures and aloof practitioners who would call forth these creatures. Non-mages plied their trades to not only the inhabitants but also the many visitors who would come for an amulet or spell, to gain wisdom through non-mundane means, or just to gawk.
What caused its downfall is not clear. The method of destruction is quite obvious to anyone foolish enough to land on its shores. Immense energies both arcane and holy were brought down on the island in an attempt to completely cleanse it of human influence. In addition, mundane artillery barraged the city for weeks. It is nothing but ruins. No structure stands and no man-made object is untouched. Scorch marks and debris litter the entire island. Plants and animals have finally started to retake it, but for decades its isolation and unnatural silence were the rule. Passing ships would steer well clear out of superstition or perhaps knowledge of why the place was condemned, knowledge that has been lost to the ages.
In recent history, ambitious pirates looking for magical artifacts to sell or for power have tried to comb through the wreckage. These crews are never heard from again. Not a single soul survives to report a massacre or a disease or even a happy ending. The only evidence of these expeditions comes from the log books of the ships, which often note how pleasant the island seems and how easy to access.
Person of note: Shirou Saikawa, scholar. Shirou Saikawa is a wealthy trader who has spent much of his spare time trying to figure out what happened on Magus Island. He is the one who funds expeditions to search the derelict pirate vessels anchored just off of it and the one who pours through the logbooks and personal journals of the doomed sailors. He visits libraries far and wide in search of any mention of the island in history books. He interviews anyone who will take a moment to describe the folklore and superstition surrounding the island and its mysterious death. Because no one in their right mind would ever willingly go to Magus Island (it takes a considerably desperate captain and a substantial amount of money to even get someone to search the empty ships) and because he is so focused on this one mystery, he is not seen as a threat. However, his research has given him much insight into the ways of the world and alternate views of what has happened in the past. He is a wealth of information both about the island and prehistory in general.
Plot hook: Shiro could hire the PCs to go to Magus Island to search a recently-discovered derelict.
Plot hook: The PCs could decide to explore the island despite its deadly past. There are bound to be magical artifacts and information to be found. Also, it’s been decades since anyone has really tried to land (empty pirate ships notwithstanding). Perhaps the legends are just that, and there’s no actual danger?
