The location of the former ill-fated Kinuran spirit furnace power plant, destroyed by a criticality incident back in 3119. An unfortunate series of theological engineering experiments caused spirit furnace number two to malfunction in a spectacular manner, leveling all buildings within a three-mile radius, killing upwards of 20,000 heimin and samurai and leaving a two-hundred-foot deep crater where the power plant had once been. The massive death toll caused by the explosion, combined with the cataclysmic burst of spiritual energies tore a hole in the fabric between realms, leaving the former industrial district haunted by Night Moths, Gakimushi and worse. Fully aware of the colossal effort needed to sanctify and rebuild the desolate grounds, the Scorpion have been content to leave the Dark Zone be, focusing their efforts elsewhere.
The plant was surrounded by several spiritual research facilities, many of which studied alien relics excavated from other Scorpion worlds. Many of these relics and experimental instruments now lie scattered across the Desolation, sought by both official expeditions and licensed treasure hunters. Besides lost relics, the treasure hunters seek glimmerstones, oddly smooth, glass-like baubles that lie scattered among the ruins, often embedded into what remains of the buildings that once housed thousands of souls. Sought after by shugenja for the spiritual powers they possess, these eerily shimmering baubles fetch a good price on the black market. Many ronin have made a fortune selling nemurenai thought to be lost; though for each such story, dozens of hopefuls have fallen to the spirits that haunt the region.
Location rules:
Ground Zero cannot be accessed without appropriate paperwork. However, a savvy character may spend a time slot to hunt down a corrupt magistrate by rolling Lore: Underworld / Intelligence against TN 20. Should a character succeed, they may purchase one or more 'Excavation permits'. Permits note the name of the person allowed access to Ground Zero and cost 5 koku for Scorpion and ronin characters or 10 koku for everyone else.
Brotherhood characters offering to perform rites to placate the restless spirits can usually acquire such papers for free, though they do need to spend a time slot acquiring the paperwork.
Ground Zero is only partially in Ningen-do. Characters with Cursed by Gaki-Do Disadvantage are likely to garner unwanted attention from the spirits lingering around. Other characters wandering into the location are subjected to random encounters. These random encounters have potential to be lethal.