19 replies to this topic

[Galactygon]

If there were an adventure mod where you may travel into any outer plane, which pair would it be? I would have made each outerplane as a seperate option, but forum software limits only 10 choices.

I have no such mod in mind right now, though I wish to ask out of sheer curiosity.

-Galactygon

[Domi]

Er... a description of each plane would be nice...

[Galactygon]

Sure I'll post 'em. Wait a minute or two please...

-Galactygon

[Galactygon]

The ABYSS (the ultimate chaotic evil):

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There are multitudinous layers of the Abyss, perhaps even an infinite number. No one has ever catalogued them all, and it's doubtful that any of the plane's natives, let alone any other bean counter, has ever considered the effort worth the time and danger. Plain and simple, no one's ever done so because each layer is so horribly grotesque that a berk would have to be barmy to want to see any of them. Even fewer sods have the power to actually do so and survive. For one thing, almost every. layer of the Abyss is completely inhospitable. For another, this plane is home to the tanar'ri, one of the two races locked forever in the infernal Blood War - and they aren't particularly hospitable either.

Watch out for those tanar'ri bashers. They'll either try to impress a berk into one of their armies - whether for the Blood War or a local squabble - or they'll flat out put him in the dead-book. Their reason? As often as not, just because they can. Don't expect a better reason from beings of utterly evil chaos. They're devoted to seizing everything they can for themselves, and killing or enslaving everyone else. To their minds, that's the only way to power, and power is the goal of their existence.

Petitioners on this plane are the spirits of the chaotic-evil. Most take the form of manes, the very lowest of the tanar'ri, though a few especially powerful or evil ones may begin their Abyssal existence as something more powerful. Being a mane isn't so special, because more powerful fiends vent their bloodlust on these poor sods, sometimes slaying them in droves. But tanar'ri ain't tanar'ri because they're being punished or because of any other dim-sided reason some green prime has thought up. Here's the real chant: Tanar'ri want to be tanar'ri, even if all they are is a lousy mane. Those who survive long enough may be transformed to more powerful forms, should a master find the need for such a servant. Raw, indomitable power's all those sods care about, and the Abyss is the place to get it.

Acheron (Lawful Neutral Evil):

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Here's the safest place for a cutter to go if he really wants to deal with the fiends of the Lower Planes - the iron-shod Acheron. It's a plane of enforced order, where conformity is more important than good. The Mercykillers will tell a berk that the fiends of Acheron aren't that evil - it's only their rigorous adherence to order that upsets those who lack such discipline. Other folks tell of the random cruelty that blind conformity brings - the crushed spirits, the broken hopes. This is the true face of Acheron.

The plane of Acheron is made of immense blocks, black and smooth, whose surfaces ring metallic underfoot. They drift endlessly through space, these cubes the size of cities and kingdoms. Sometimes they meet with a fearsome clang that crushes all between them and sends shudders through the plane.

The petitioners of Acheron, warriors lost to the joy of battle and saviors who forgot their cause, are consumed by the need for conformity. They cannot conceive of anyone refusing to obey the will of the group, as determined by their commanders. They are dedicated soldiers, forever lacking a cause.

* AVALAS. The battle plain of Acheron is filled with worlds where armies muster, drill, and wage war upon each other. The space echoes with the metallic clang of marching men, as vast legions hurl themselves at each other. The armies fight not to conquer territory, as some believe, but to force all others to conform. Fiends from Baator come here to recruit battalions for the endless Blood War. The ground is covered with the wreckage of war, scattered between iron citadels that dot the plains.

The power Lei Kung, Duke of Thunder, keeps his home on this plane, in a palace floating on a storm cloud amid the drifting sea of iron. One of the blocks is the continual battleground of Maglubiyet and Gruumsh, powers of the goblins and orcs, respectively. These two fling their humanoid legions at each other in futile battle, neither able to gain the upper hand.

* THULDANIN. The blocks of this layer are pitted and hollow, and their insides are filled with the cast-off machinery of war. Flying ships, spelljammers, catapults, cannons, and things yet to be invented on a thousand prime-material worlds all lie in broken, tumbled heaps, slowly transforming into the ironlike stone of this plane. Patrols from Avalas forage for anything useful in their endless wars, and they skirmish with each other over the smallest scrap. There's a 1-in-1000 chance per day of finding anything useful.

* TINTIBULVS. This layer is barren of life. The only things to be found are tumbling blocks of geometric solids of all types. Made of gritty stone, they collide and fracture along crystalline faults, spawning yet smaller solids to join in the planar dance. A few daring wizards can be found here, conducting researches possible only in this barren void.

ARBOREA (Chaotic Good)

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This plane's called Olympus by primes who've heard of some of the local powers, and Arvandor by prime elves who revere a few other powers that live here. 'Course, they've both got it wrong, but whatever a sod calls this plane, the best way to sum it up in one word is to say "boisterous." This is the home of a pantheon of gods that call themselves "Greek" - a tag that reflects one of their favorite prime-material worlds. Wherever that world is, it must be a wild one because this pantheon is half-barmy with the party lifestyle. Their passions run high and deep, and the plane reflects that with stupendously craggy mountains, unbelievably deep gorges, forests of monstrously huge trees, and vast wild stretches of wheat fields, orchards, and arbors. The petitioners who live here are a hearty lot of backslapping, wide-grinning, epic-singing bravos when they're happy. But they drink to excess and wail like banshees when they're sorrowful. When angered, they leap into battle without a moment's hesitation (though their "combats" are better called "brawls" - lots of heads get thumped, but people seldom die). A swashbuckling cutter feels right at home on this plane. There's always hunts and battles, contests of strength and derring-do, and long, loud parties - it ain't ever dull around here!

The elven pantheon also makes its home on this plane, but it remains separate from the Greek gods. The elf gods are a bit more elegant in their behavior, though no less passionate. The petitioners pour out their joys and sorrows in achingly beautiful music, their rage in hard-eyed, cold-blooded vengeance.

The Sensates maintain a palace on this plane. It's a rambling structure of white marble, filled with sumptuous viands, beautiful art work, excellent musicians, and graceful dancers and acrobats.

Portals between the layers of Arborea are rarer than on most other planes, and those few are well guarded by the powers and petitioners, sometimes even with stone walls and iron gates. The idea isn't to keep travelers out, but to stop or slow the influx of unintelligent or dangerous monsters.

* OLYMPUS. The first layer of the plane takes the same name of the plane's most significant feature, Mount Olympus. This mountain dwarfs all others in size and significance (except Mount Celestia, of course), and it serves as an interplanar conduit to all crystal spheres where the Greek pantheon is (or has been) worshiped on the Prime Material Plane. Its caverns reach into various lower levels of the planes, like Gehenna, the Gray Waste, and Carceri. Separated from the Greeks by a stretch of wilderness lies the home of the elven pantheon. By some trick of the land, both the Greeks and the elves occupy the highest point on the plane, yet neither is higher than the other.

* OSSA. The second layer in Arborea is called Aquallor by the elves. It's one vast yet shallow sea, scattered over with islands. In the waters lie portals to the other layers of the plane, which are guarded by elf petitioners. Those gateways on the islands are watched by Greek petitioners. Sashelas of the elven pantheon swims these waters, as does Poseidon of the Greeks. The River Oceanus flows into Ossa from Thalasia (on Elysium), too. Watch out for the huge, funnel-like maelstroms that can suck a cutter into Elysium in the blink of an eye.

* PELION. This layer, called Mithardir ("white dust") by the elves, is a place of blowing white sand and snow with a few scattered ruins. The temperatures aren't extreme, but the land seems to have disintegrated, fallen into an infinity of shifting, blowing dust. The Egyptian goddess Nephythys maintains a palace of dun-colored stone here in the middle of this desert plain.

Special Physical Conditions. Travel on this plane is difficult because of its immensity and wildness. Don't plan on walking from one town to the next; it'll take a berk forever. Besides the sheer distance involved, there are appallingly steep mountains and ravines to be crossed, dense forests to traverse, and mighty rivers with no bridges and few fords. A flying mount can help a lot, but magic's a better answer. 'Course, that's just speaking of the first layer. The other two are even tougher in their own ways.

Cyclops, foo creature, giant (and giant animals), sphinx, titan, and other beings of Greek legend abide here on Arborea. Most of the Greek and elven pantheons dwell on this plane, as well as Llira, Sune, and Tymora (of the FORGOTTEN REALMS setting).

ARCADIA (lawful neutral good)

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Standing on the slope of Arcadia's tallest peak, it's easy to see why this plane is known as the Land of Perfect Good. Everything here radiates peaceful order. Forests grow in neat rows, more like orchards than wild woods. On the plains, grasses grow to only a certain height. Wildflowers grow in self-defined beds of color, one never intruding on the other. Fields are geometrically perfect and towns are laid out in neat squares. Even day and night are ordered and perfect. All light and darkness comes from an orb set in the top of Arcadia's tallest peak. Half this sphere radiates starry darkness and the other half emits gleaming sunshine. The orb revolves in a regular 24-hour day. Light changes to dark abruptly - there is no dusk or dawn - and each change signals the beginning or end of another perfect day.

Arcadia is a land of fields, orchards, and woods. Throughout, there are the perfect forms of beneficial and peaceful animals from the Prime Material. Even the animals here reflect the goal of Arcadia - organization for the common good. Nectar-laden bees, industrious ants, silver-wooled sheep, fat deer, gleaming foxes, and other creatures that watch and protect their own are common here.

This plane is one of the most hostile to evil sods. Squadrons of petitioner militia regularly patrol the land, seeking out anyone evil. All Arcadian petitioners can know alignment at will, and travelers are always questioned as to their alignment. Lawful-good creatures are invited to join such hunts, chaotic goods are tolerated as long as they don't disturb the public order, neutrals of all types are stiffly requested to finish their business and leave, while evil types are instantly attacked. For the petitioners of Arcadia, it's no failure to fall when fighting evil.

Arcadia is said to have three layers, though only the uppermost is known, perhaps due to the difficulty of dealing with the Arcadian militia. The two realms described below are found on this layer of Arcadia.

# MARDUK. The realm of Marduk, a greater power, has at its heart the great city of Marduk. This is a sprawling megalopolis of orderly design built around two rivers, the Kath and the Luar. The rivers cross at the very center of the city, the Kath flowing in an aqueduct over the Luar just at the point where the latter tumbles over a perfect waterfall. Marduk's streets are broad, the markets are well regulated, and the numerous parks are neat and well maintained. Patrols of einheriar militia, called kindari, make regular rounds through the streets, ever watchful for transgressors. All of good alignment are welcomed here, save any kind of dragon or dragonkin, for the deity Marduk has fought too many battles with such creatures to abide them in his realm. Many planars of the Harmonium faction reside here.

Marduk isn't utterly perfect, although even its imperfections are highly lawful. Well hidden in the city is a thieves' guild, the members' alignments concealed by magical devices and spells provided by beings of the lawful-evil planes. Though evil, the guild is nonetheless highly ordered, with strict laws and regulations as vigorously enforced as any ordinance of the kindari.

# MOUNT CLANGGEDIN. This realm is a great mountain filled with dwarven halls, forges, and armories, as befits a dwarf god of battle. The mountain is a perfect cone, and the halls are carved perfectly straight. Here, dwarf einheriar hone their battle skills. At regular intervals, the hosts of Clanggedin cross the planes and raid the evil forces of Acheron. Such battles, no matter how small, are always epic.

BAATOR (the ultimate lawful evil):

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This is it: the Big One, the Nine Hells, the Pit of Darkness, the Stinking Mire, whatever. It's got more names than there are prime-material worlds. It's the plane of the most dangerous evil there is: the baatezu, fiends of unsurpassed power. These monstrous beings are absolute masters of their plane. Among their kind exists a rigid hierarchy of domination that defines all life on Baator.

The most vile petitioners consigned to this plane are transformed into larvae - grub-things found throughout the Lower Planes. All petitioners endlessly suffer the tortures of the baatezu, for the wretches can never truly die by torment. Their burnt, broken, and bleeding carcasses reform within a day and the entire process begins again. The petitioners endure this in the hope that someday they will advance and torture others.

* AVERNUS. This is a rocky wasteland with a dark red and starless sky, though the landscape is lit by spheres that weave and flare into fiery explosions. The blasted plain is scoured by savage legions, ready to repel invaders. This host is led by Bel, a pit fiend, eagerly earning honors from the infernal archduke of the plane. Tiamat, Queen of Darkness, guards the entrance to the next layer. The River Styx flows through this layer.

* DIS.D The smoking black walls of the iron city Dis, which is also the name of this layer, rise into the ashgreen sky, and narrow streets run as far as can be seen. Condemned petitioners toil at meaningless labor, one team tearing a building down as fast as another erects it, and all work is done without tools. The fiery iron burns the flesh, and the streets echo with cries of agony. The archduke of this layer rules the Iron City from a tower of lead and stone.

* MINAUROS. This is the layer of greed. Foul rain, oily sleet, and razor-sharp hail sweep across the layer. All is bog, save the ridges of volcanic glass that slither through the landscape. The only city is Minauros the Sinking, built of black stone, forever settling into the mire. Fiends drive petitioners onto the bottomless bog to find ever rarer stone to bolster the city's structures. Decayed bodies gurgle to the surface, filling the air with disease.

* PHIEGETHOS. Here is the legendary realm of fire, filled with volcanos and rivers of liquid fire. It's virtually the same as being on the plane of Fire. The only city is Abriymoch, built in the caldera of an almost extinct volcano.

* STYGIA. This is the realm of ice, a great frozen sea, although there's open water where the River Styx flows. Small plants grow here, creating an icy swamp. Lightning scours the sky. On a great ice floe stands the ice-crusted city of Tantlin.

* MALBOLGE. This layer is a great rockfall, immense in size. With no clear path, travelers must scale a constant parade of building-sized boulders or wind through the dark tunnels they form. The sky burns with clouds of red steam. There is no single city on this layer, but a series of copper-clad fortresses among the scree.

* MALADOMINI. This is the plain of ruins. Under the blood-black sky, petitioners quarry, carve, and build new cities for the archduke of this layer. The land, once fertile, is scarred by mine pits, slag heaps, brackish canals, and half-destroyed ruins. Cities are built upon cities, but only one, the newest, Malagard, stands above the surface. Beneath, the ruins are dungeons so extensive that even the lesser fiends fear what lurks in them.

* CANIA. Worse than Stygia, this layer is solid ice. Exposure here is equal to that on the plane of Ice. Huge glaciers grind at the jagged mountains that hold them. The archduke of this layer rules from the citadel of Mephistar, overlooking the glacier Nargus.

* NESSUS. This is the deepest pit of Baator, a plain shattered by rifts deeper than the deepest ocean trench. At the lowest depth sits the palace of Baator's current overlord, a citadel even greater in scope than Khin-Oin on the Gray Waste. It's unmapped and undescribed, which suits its fiendish master just fine. The citadel stands on the shore of a lake of fluid ice that feeds the River Lethe. This layer is a land of extremes - the coldest freeze, the hottest fires, the steepest cliffs, etc.

Edited by Galactygon, 19 July 2004 - 01:33 PM.

[Galactygon]

THE BEASTLANDS (Neutral Good Chaotic):

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Although it's known to some bashers as the Happy Hunting Grounds, most bloods prefer to call this plane the Beastlands. The name fits, too, since this part of the multiverse is rich with wild animals. A berk on a safari could bag quite a trophy here - if his prey didn't make a trophy of him first.

Of all the planes, this one has no settlements, no towns, no citadels built by its petitioners, and the reason's simple: All the petitioners here are animals. When a body arrives here, someone like a great provider for his clan, he becomes a wild creature of wood, plain, sea, or air. That's why it's called the Beastlands - natural wild animals roam in abundance, living the lives that animals lead. This means only natural animals. A basher's not going to find a beholder or a catoblepas here - they ain't natural animals in the true sense of the word.

The plane's a seeming hodgepodge of every natural environment that there is. There's veldt, jungle, swamp, plain, and forests of all types, filled with trees of all description. Everything here's more lush, wild, and savage than any prime's ever seen at home. This plane's the epitome of wilderness.

'Course, a petitioner-turned-lion's got to have some things different than just an ordinary lion. First off, he can talk; becoming an animal doesn't rob a petitioner of his faculties. There's still a mind beneath the fang and fur. Second, those that were spellcasters before they died still have some spell ability. For the most part they don't use their spells, though, since that'd spoil the natural life they now lead. But if some berk shows up and starts making trouble, it's a sure bet the petitioners will strike back as best as they can.

* KRIGALA. The first layer of the Beastlands is a place of continual noon. Here are found the creatures that live and hunt under the glare of the sun. In some places it burns hotly, creating savannahs, while in others it barely penetrates the thick canopy of jungle. Running almost straight through the center of this layer is the River Oceanus, headed between Elysium and Arborea. The jungles and forests are thickest along it. Moving away from the river, the land becomes plains, then dry veldt, then desert, only to rise into coniferous wooded mountains and arctic tundra. Lions, zebras, deer, hawks, eagles, and other day-cycle creatures fill this layer. It's along the banks of the Oceanus that the Signers maintain a citadel.

* BRUX. This is the layer of perpetual dawn (or dusk, depending on a cutter's mood). The sky is always filled with ruddy half-light, competing against the silver trace of a moon. The land's cool and misty. Forests are thick with shadows and the plains glimmer in the almost-light. Again, every type of terrain can be found here, the home to something. Bird calls, monkey howls, and other stirrings herald the dark. These are the cries of creatures that live and hunt in the not-quite hours of dawn and dusk. Bats, tigers, foxes, wolves, bears, and more fill this layer.

* KARASUTHRA. The third layer is the land of night. Glittering stars outshine the almost-vanished moon. Clouds streak the sky and fogs cling to many areas. The air rings with the croaking of frogs and the stealthy rustle of trackers. Here the realm is filled with creatures of the night - owls, bobcats, panthers, and others that stalk their prey through the black shadows of the world.

BYTOPIA (Neutral Good Lawful)

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Now here's a place where a basher can feel safe and not he bothered by the petitioners at the same time, because Bytopia (called the Twin Paradises by primes who don't know any hetter) is a place where a being's left to himself until there's good need. That means folks here help each other when they need assistance and leave each other alone when they don't. All in all, it's a pretty sociable place.

Now, Bytopia is just that: a pair of layers filled with mouuntains, streams, forests, meadows, and all the other stuff of a wild and natural world. While it's a far cry from the perfect order of Arcadia, Bytopia isn't the untamed wilderness of the Beastlands either. Both layers are sprinkled with towns filled with hard-working souls and little city-states. Caravans and traders pass from community to community, linking the whole together.

What makes Bytopia particularly unusual is that a cutter can look up, past the sky, and see the other layer of the plane. That's because the layers are stacked on each other like a sandwich, sharing one sky between them. The tallest mountains of each 1ayer actually touch so that they're more like columns (where stalactites and stalagmites meet). During the day, the plane is lit by radiance from the sky. When nighttime comes, the light fades and the sky becomes dark. What looks like stars overhead are actually the lights and fires of communities on the other layer.

The petitioners of Bytopia are industrious to a fault. Truth told, their lives are defined by work. Petitioners figure everybody's got to have an honest trade. Folks who don't, for whatever reason, are shiftless if not outright evil. Adventuring isn't really an honest trade here, and thieving is just intolerable. Petitioners here don't offer charity, although they're fair in all dealings, A basher looking for a handout is likely to be given an axe and pointed to the woodpile with inst tions to work up a sweat before dinner.

* DOTHION. Of the two layers, this one is dedicated to pastoral industry, Its vast woods are the province of' hunters and woodcutters, its meadows are given over to herders and farmers, and its rivers are plied by fisherfolk and traders. The towns on this layer are small, self-supporttng farming communities, each with its own militia and council. The largest of these is Yeoman, a good-sized market town. Dothion is the realm of most of the gnome pantheon, Garl Glittergold being the greatest power. The realm of the gnomish deities is marked by deep woods, great warrens, sentient trees, and large numbers of gnome petitioners. The creatures of the woods are normal animals like those found in temperate regions of a prime-material world, although they're larger and more curious. Seasons are mild, but they do occur.

* SHURROCK. The other layer of Bytopia is rough and stormy. The land is more mountainous, rich with ore, and blessed with abundant running water. Farmland is sparseand the woods deep. This is the layer of craft and industry. Mining, smelting, quarrying, a carving are the most frequent trades The towns hum with energy as mills churn, pumps grind, and forges crackle with activity. Still, it isn't a layer of organized factories. Each laborer maintains his own shop or works as part of an informal cooperative - it's a pre-industrial, industrial world.

CARCERI (Neutral Good Evil):

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There's some berks that say Sigil's a birdcage, a prison, and other folks are too dim to realize it. Well, they ain't seen Carceri. That's a prison. Sigil's a holy temple compared to this plane. Known as Tarterus to green primes, Carceri is the land of exiles, the place where the outcast, the overthrown, and the defeated fume and plot for the day when they'll return. Olympic titans are the best known of the lot. Carceri plays its role in the Blood War by serving as a mustering ground and battlefield for the mindless armies of gehreleth.

Carceri is called the six-fold realm because it has six layers nested like little wooden dolls, one inside the other. Each layer is of immense size, sometimes the equal of the layer that contains it, and infinite by most standards. The layers radiate their own light, a dull reddish glow like that of a fire beetle. Though the light is fiery, it gives no heat, so the layers of Carceri range from cool to bitter freezing.

Petitioners consigned to Carceri are most frequently dead traitors, backstabbers, and other souls of underhanded ambition. While the petitioners don't remember their past lives, the old traits can't be broken. Thus it is that no petitioner of Carceri can ever speak the entire truth. They lie compulsively and most cunningly.

* OTHRYS. The outermost layer of Carceri is home to most of the exiled titans - Coeus, Crius, Cronus, Hyperion, Iapetus, Mnemosyne, Oceanus, Phebe, Tethys, Thea, and Themis. Once this layer was linked to Arborea, but in the war that threw the titans down, Zeus and his fellow powers shattered the bond, thus trapping their enemies here. Othrys is a realm of vast bogs and quicksand, fed by the Styx and its channels. Cronus's palace is old and in need of repair, but the plane offers none of the noble stone originally used to build the place.

* CATHRYS. Little is known of this layer, as it's filled with fetid jungle and scarlet plains. Traveling here is dangerous, for the plants ooze acidic sap that can eat through man or metal. Those creatures that live here are immune.

* MINETHYS. This is a layer filled with sand. Stinging grit is driven so hard. by the wind that it can strip an exposed being to the bone in a matter of hours. All who dwell in this layer, save the powers, are bundled in cloth and rags to block out the cutting blast. Tornados are common, and to avoid all these hazards, most petitioners live in miserable sand-filled pits, dug by hand. Coeus maintains a palace here.

* COLOTHYS. This layer is one of those mountains more immense than any in the Prime Material Plane. Travel on foot here is almost impossible, because the land is riven by canyons miles deep. The few trading routes that do exist carry travelers across impossibly rickety bridges and on cliff-face trails barely wide enough for a single man. Petitioner villages cling to the clefts in the rock, and Crius maintains a citadel on the highest peak in the layer. Crius is often at war with Grolantor, the hill giant deity, who has terrified the gehreleth shator into his service.

* PORPHATYS. This layer is a cold, shallow ocean fed by black snow. Both the snow and the water are mildly acidic, inflicting 1d6 points of damage per turn to unprotected travelers. Small islands rise above the waves, barely more than sandbars. The exiled titan Oceanus maintains a half-sunken palace here. Starving petitioners crowd the little isles.

* AGATHYS. This is the coldest layer of the plane, an orb of black ice streaked with red. The air is bitterly cold and burns for 1d2 points of damage each round. Petitioners here are half-frozen into the ice. Nothing else is known to live here.

Native Inhabitants. Achaierai, gehreleth, greater titan, hordling, imp, larva, mephit, nightmare, quasit, shadow fiend, and vargouille all inhabit Carceri. Many other creatures of the Lower Planes can be found here, like as not stragglers or routed troops of the Blood War. The armies of the tanar'ri are most common, and greater tanar'ri come to recruit gehreleth for their causes. These near-mindless monsters almost always accept, eager to kill and destroy. The greater titans, proudly believing themselves better than all this, remain aloof, although they sometimes attempt to maneuver the tanar'ri generals into serving their own goal of freedom from the plane. Also said to live on Carceri are Malar and Talona of the FORGOTTEN REALMS setting.

ELYSIUM (Neutral Good):

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This place gets called the Restful Plane or the Land of the Thoughtless, depending on a sod's attitude. The Ciphers'll tell a berk it's the perfect place, having goodness without thought. Then again, the Guvners can barely stand it because there's no order or discipline on the plane at all. That's because the driving force of Elysium is goodness and goodness only. Order or anarchy - it doesn't matter, as long as it's for the good.

Elysium is a land of fertile richness and unsurpassed natural beauty. Near the banks of the River Oceanus, which winds through all the layers, are tall trees, waving reeds, and lush meadows. In the hundreds of miles beyond the river's banks, the forests give way to grassy plains, then rolling hills, until the land finally becomes rugged badlands that are wind-sculpted into forms of artistic beauty.

The petitioners here live their lives in peaceful repose, more or less living as they wish. There's no need to work unless a person wants to, for the land is abundant enough to fulfill all wants. Nonetheless, there are towns and cities here, organized by those who want to live this way. Either choice is fine by the petitioners of Elysium.

Clearly the petitioners are an independent lot. Such is their nature that they're completely immune to charm, hold, and summoning spells. No one can force the inhabitants of Elysium to do anything they don't want to do.

* AMORIA. The layer connected to the Astral Plane, Amoria is an untroubled land of woodland and meadow. There are several trading towns here, strung like pearls along Oceanus's banks - the largest of these is Release From Care. Scattered throughout the layer are the huts of Ciphers, who make this plane their headquarters. Unlike other factions, the Ciphers don't maintain a permanent citadel on their home plane. Instead, they gather at each other's homes or in clearings as needed. Isis maintains a realm on this layer, and it's famous for the firefly lanterns that line the river's banks. Meanwhile, her sometime-rival Ishtar maintains the City of the Star, a metropolis lit by a brilliant star set in the top of the city's highest tower.

* ERONIA. This layer is mountainous, and here waterfalls and cascades interrupt Oceanus's flow. River travel without a guide can be dangerous. The banks are sheer and rocky except for a few landing points. Here, the power Enlil maintains a mountain realm, while Nanna-Sin plies the river on his great crescent moon barge. This vessel, as it passes, bathes the river canyon in the silver radiance of moonlight.

* BELIERIN. This layer is mostly marsh, rich with wildfowl and tree-covered hummocks. Unlike other marshes, however, this one is free of pestilence and bothersome insects. Very little is known of it, save that there may be realms in the higher ground around its edges.

* THALASIA. Here is the source and end of the River Oceanus, rising out of the sea that is Thalasia, which fills this layer. Small islands dot the waves, but the majority of the realms of interest on this layer lie far beneath the surface. It's said that many of the sea deities make their home here. The islands are home to those petitioners who in their previous life died in the cause of pure good.

Special Physical Conditions. The primary means of travel on Elysium is by river. This requires a boat and a guide, neither of which are automatically available. Sailing on Oceanus is relatively safe, free of hideous fiends, but there are still hazards. Giant versions of natural creatures swim in the river and will hunt for food. Waterfalls, snags, whirlpools, and rapids - the hazards of normal boating - are greater here, as befits the majestic scale of this plane.

GEHENNA (Neutral Evil Lawful):

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"The four-fold furnaces, the fires terrible..." The epic poet Ioleuf saw Gehenna when he wrote this line, a berk can be sure. Gehenna's a plane were volcanos float in a great void, belching their magma sprays onto barren, lava-crusted slopes. Sulfurous steam wheezes from fumaroles, and horrid gases drift in choking clouds through the air. Not the best place for a berk to take his favorite dollymop.

Gehenna's not a forgettable place. Where else is a cutter going to see mountains peaked at both top and bottom, floating in space - mountains that are nothing but greasy black slopes, bubbling rivers of steam, and spraying plumes of lava? Is there another place where the very rock provides the carmine glow that outlines all? These are mountains where nothing is flat, nothing is green, and nothing is easy. Gehenna's void is filled with volcanic mounts, each hovering in space, unmoving except for the occasional shudder of a particularly vicious eruption.

The suffering petitioners of this plane must cling to these slopes or risk tumbling to oblivion. So they cling as they try to make little lives for themselves, pretending that nothing has changed, that this is and always has been their home. The barren bitterness of their land makes the petitioners suspicious and greedy, so much so that no petitioner on this plane will do anything without some kind of payment. Guides must be paid, answers bought, even strangers offering aid must receive compensation. This is a plane without charity, without even a glimmer of what that means.

* KHALAS. The kindest of Gehenna's cruel layers, Khalas, the First Mount, connects to the Astral Plane. The air is crimson near the ground, quickly fading to black no more than a few dozen feet overhead. Chamada glows like a bloody moon in the darkness, brightened by sparkling fountains of lava and flame. Khalas's sides are streaked with waterfalls, cloaked in steam from the singing ground. The rivers here never reach the bottom, either evaporating or disappearing into black caverns. The Styx is the largest of these rivers, plunging over falls thousands of feet high and winding through the glowing caverns of Khalas's interior. Here is found the Teardrop Palace of Sung Chiang.

* CHAMADA. The Second Mountain is the most savage of the four. The ground burns with the orange glare of magma so intense that it blots out the sky. Rivers of lava cascade down its slopes, continually hardening, forming dams, and then bursting forth in new directions. Vents unexpectedly split open and spew fresh ejecta, and volcanos swell on its surface like warts. The air is full of the smell of burning hair and sulfur-scorched flesh.

* MUNGOTH. The Third Mountain is constantly assaulted by a rain of ash and acidic snow. The ground is cool, with only scattered volcanos that barely make enough light to show the way. Avalanches of cold mud threaten travelers at every turn.

* KRANGATH. The Fourth Mountain is the dead realm. Here, all the fires are out and the mountain shudders no more. All is blackness and ice. Nothing dwells on the frozen surface. Deep underground is said to be the realm of Shargaas of the orcs, the Night Lord.

Special Physical Conditions. There are no level points on the surface of any mountain. Should a traveler lose his footing, he tumbles down the slope until stopped by something solid or until he can catch a passing outcropping. This tumble causes falling damage equal to half the distance rolled in feet. The hot surface of Khalas inflicts 1d2 points of damage each round to unprotected skin; Chamada's surface causes 1d6 points of damage per round. Mungoth's acidic snows cause 1d3 points of damage per turn, and storms can last for hours. Krangath's utter cold causes 1d6 points of damage per round.

Special Magic Conditions. Enchantment/charm magic is diminished on Gehenna, while invocation/evocation magic is enhanced.

Native Inhabitants.Vaporighu and yugoloth are native, while other creatures such as imps, quasits, overthrown baatezu, and exiled tanar'ri often hide here. Sargonnas (of the DRAGONLANCE saga) and Loviatar (of the FORGOTTEN REALMS setting) also live here.

THE GRAY WASTE (Neutral Evil):

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Oinos, Niflheim, and Pluton - these are the fabled "three glooms" of the Gray Waste that a cutter hears so much about. This land is evil solely, and them that's here don't care if they're in it alone or together. This is the great battlefield of the Blood War, called Hades by some primes, but anyone who's ever been here knows why "the Gray Waste" says it all.

The three glooms are just that, or so the chant goes - dull gray lands. The earth is gray, the sky is gray, even the petitioners here are gray. There's no color here; as soon as a sod steps onto the plane, everything he's got turns white, black, or gray. There's no sun, no moon, no stars - just gray.

The grayness reaches right into the hearts of the petitioners. They're a barmy folk without any feeling or emotion. They.don't laugh, don't cry, and don't care. All they do is despair, their life and hope sucked right out of them. They make great liars, because a basher can never see a whit of emotion in their faces, but they're too lost to bother with even that most of the time. That despair eventually reaches into the heart of travelers who stay too long, sucking a little life from them, too. See a berk with a dead-looking stare and he's a gloom-bug of the Gray Waste, for sure.

* OINOS. This is a layer of stunted trees, roving fiends, and virulent disease, ruled by an ultroloth prince. His citadel is the great fortress Khin-Oin, the Wasting Tower. From a distance it looks like the spinal cord of some flayed beast, soaring into the air. Closer up, it takes on the form of a great tower encased by lesser towers. It's said to stand 20 miles high and have dungeons beneath it as deep, but this is some barmy's exaggeration. The tower is a necessity, for the prince of this domain constantly finds himself under attack by his rival yugoloths. The only time they unite is when threatened with another invasion of tanar'ri or baatezu troops, who use this layer as the battleground for much of their endless Blood War.

* NIFLHEIM. The second layer is more alive than the first, being free of the wasting disease that holds the land. Though the trees - mostly pines - are more abundant, they sport no color but gray. Thick mists hang among the trunks, gray-white on the gray-black background. This is the realm of Hel, from the Norse pantheon. Her palace is a great hall of wood. Deadly poisons drip from the ceiling, and the floor writhes with serpents. Reaching into this layer is a root of Yggdrasil, the World Ash. Curled around this root is a great wingless dragon Nidhogg, who forever gnaws at the root and will ultimately kill the tree. Nidhogg could be slain, but her place would be taken by one of her children, so what's the point?

* PLUTON. The third layer of the Gray Waste is connected to the Upper Planes by the tunnels of Mount Olympus. This layer holds willows, olives, and poplars, all black and slowly dying for want of care. This is the realm of Hades, Lord of the Dead. He lives within a palace of gray marble, protected by strong walls. The gates to his realm are beaten bronze, impossible for all but the greatest heroes to open. Just beyond is Cerberus, the three-headed dog who guards the entrance to Hades' domain. Imprisoned here are many fallen tyrants and vain heroes.

Special Physical Conditions. The despair of this plane is more than symbolic. It physically settles over all who come here. Each week, travelers must successfully save vs. spell or be trapped on the Gray Waste, unable to muster the desire to leave. Once trapped, a body becomes a larva in 1d6 months. Despairing travelers must be rescued by others if they are to be saved.

Special Magic Conditions. Since all color is drained on this plane, color-based magic (prismatic sphere, for example) is ineffective here. Neither can the intense despair of this plane be overcome by magical means such as emotion spells.

Native Inhabitants. Diakk, hordling, larva, night hag, and yugoloth all live in the Gray Waste. Baatezu, tanar'ri, and gehreleth can also be found on this plane, often leading armies against each other in another assault of the Blood War. Morgion (of the DRAGONLANCE saga) and Cyric, Mask, and Shar (of the FORGOTTEN REALMS setting) are also known to occupy this plane.

LIMBO (Chaotic Neutral):

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Face it, berk, this place is a mess and it likes it that way. Take a chunk from each of the Inner Planes, mix them with a few prime-material landscapes, give the whole stew an extra tumble or two, and that makes Limbo on a quiet day. The Xaositects love this plane for its pure chaos, though even they impose some local order - at least enough so they can survive here and adore what they call the beauty of primal chaos. 'Course, most folks think the Chaosmen are leatherheads, and wish they'd embrace chaos all the way and just disintegrate.

* LAYERS. There's some debate as to whether Limbo actually has layers. Some ancient writings claim that there are five layers, each named after its chief inhabitants - Gith or Slaad first, Susanoo second, Agni third, Indra fourth, and the layer of the lost gods last but those high-up men seem to hop from layer to layer. What's more, if there are different layers, they all look the same, so maybe Limbo really only has one level. Who knows?

Special Physical Conditions. Imagine Limbo as a roiling soup of the four basic elements and all their combinations. There's balls of fire, pockets of air, chunks of earth, and waves of water, plus lots of pieces of prime-type terrain floating around - even bits of meadow, forest, and whatnot. Limbo responds to a smart cutter's will, which means he can make a stable pocket around him. The smarter he is, the bigger the pocket he can maintain. But don't go to sleep: Once a body stops concentrating, the pocket reverts to chaos. Only the natives can maintain a pocket unconsciously, and the powers here can set up places that stay whole even when they're gone.

On the other hand, Limbo's petitioners just roll with the plane's changes, composing their bodies from whatever element suits their mood at the time. One minute a petitioner's made of fire, and the next he'll be nothing but wind whistling around some basher's head, or a wave splashing over his boots, or a boulder just sitting there, thinking.

Only natural forms come into being with the imposition of will upon Limbo. A sod can think a meadow into coalescing, for example, but not a building. Once the meadow is there, though, anybody can physically or magically construct a building on the site. In fact, the githzerai who dwell here do just that, so they have whole cities tumbling happily through the chaos of Limbo. The resident powers have temples and suchlike in their realms, too. However, the slaad - Limbo's natives - generally don't see the need for such trappings. Even pockets of stability are a waste of their time; they're just as comfortable lounging in a blazing fire as in a bubble of water.

Special Magic Conditions.> Virtually every spell cast on Limbo has a chaotic effect. In order to cast a spell on this plane, a wizard has to make a successful Intelligence check (roll less than or the same as the wizard's Intelligence score on 1d20). If the roll is failed, the spell is spent (and lost from memory) with no effect. But on a natural roll of 20, a wild surge occurs (see the Tome of Magic), which ain't usually pleasant. 'Course, the use of wild magic itself still incurs a chance for a wild surge accompanying a successful spell.

Native Inhabitants. Githzerai and slaad are the most common creatures encountered on Limbo. Powers that reside here include Agni, Fenmarel Mestarine, Indra, and Susanoo, as well as Sirrion (of the DRAGONLANCE saga) and Tempus (of the FORGOTTEN REALMS setting).

MECHANUS (Lawful Neutral):

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A few primes think this place is called Nirvana, but where they came up with that barmy notion is anybody's guess. Mechanus is sometimes called "the Clockwork Universe," and it's easy to see how the place came by that name: Mechanus is a world of giant cogs that hover in space at all angles. Teeth interlock, and the cogwheels click and turn to the rhythm of some cosmic harmony - all perfectly fitting for the plane of ultimate, cold law.

Some of the cogs are little, barely more than a small island of matter, while others are hundreds of miles across. Many times, several smaller cogs cluster around a larger one, feeding off its motion. Typically, such knots are a single layer, although each disk may be a realm of its own. Everything is interlocked, and nothing turns unless all of Mechanus's disks turn.

Petitioners found on this plane are notoriously honest and literal. They don't interpret instructions or requests, but do exactly what is asked of them. This can be true even if the action leads to death, for petitioners of Mechanus believe they are constantly being tested in their devotion to order and law.

* REGULUS. The greatest of Mechanus's layers is Regulus, the realm of the modrons. These bizarre creatures live absolutely regimented existences, following a strict hierarchy all the way up to Primus, the One and Prime, a greater power on this plane. There are few petitioners found in Regulus, for there are no organized cults of Primus - at least not on any known prime-material world. Those few petitioners that are here were once devoted to the cause of utter and absolute order. Primus seems to exist to supervise the modrons, which maintain the existence of the plane. Modrons are often found in other realms of the plane, polishing cog teeth and generally fussing over the great wheels.

# ANU. This realm is known only by the power that rules it - Anu, a Babylonian god. His realm is a single disk 500 miles across, covered by his many-windowed palace. There, he presides over the affairs of his children and rules the other gods of his pantheon. Copper-plated soldiers patrol his palace, their pupilless eyes never succumbing to sleep. Petitioners work at crafts and tend the halls there.

# THE JADE PALACE. This is the realm of Shang-ti, the Celestial Emperor. It, too, takes the form of an enormous palace, although it includes gardens, lakes, and parks. The architecture is what would be called "Chinese" on one particular prime-material world. The palace is the center of the Celestial Bureaucracy, which supervises all deities of the Chinese pantheon. From here, Shang-ti hears petitions, punishes the unjust, elevates the worthy, and decrees policy for all other gods. Foo dogs prowl the grounds, protecting in particular the peaches of immortality. Each fruit extends a being's lifespan by 100 years, making these great treasures indeed. Almost as important is the Great Library, which stores all knowledge gathered from every prime-material world that recognizes the emperor's existence.

# OTHER REALMS. There are numerous other realms on the disks of Mechanus. Several lesser powers are located on them: Varuna, who rules a disk as smooth as the reflected moon; Rudra, whose disk is split into a great chasm, filled with maruts; and Yama, whose disk burns with the fire of purity. Finally, there's the Fortress of Disciplined Enlightenment, the stronghold of the Guvners. The fortress sits on a disk all its own, its spires forever watching over the revolutions of that realm.

Special Physical Conditions. The gravity on the disks of Mechanus always pulls toward the surface, no matter how that cog stands in relation to all others. It's possible to walk about on both sides of a disk, but only one side of any disk is ever built upon.

Special Magic Conditions. Illusions and phantasms of all types automatically fail on this plane. Such spells create little more than wispy outlines that fool no one. Needless to say, this isn't a popular place for planar illusionists to visit. Wild magic is similarly useless.

Native Inhabitants.Einheriar, marut, and modron (of all types) are found on Mechanus. Powers who dwell here include Anu, Horus, Primus, Rudra, Shang-ti, Varuna, and Yama. Helm and Mystra (of the FORGOTTEN REALMS setting) are also said to dwell here.

MOUNT CELESTIA (Lawful Good):

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A few primes call it the Seven Heavens, but as usual they're off the track. The tag is descriptive, but it's still wrong. For some cutters, this is the best of all worlds law and goodness tempered by understanding and mercy. For other berks, it's worse than the Abyss. It's Mount Celestia, or the Seven Mountains of Goodness and Law. Mount Celestia's a plane bathed in the golden radiance of justice and mercy, where everything is the ideal model of prime-material things.

It should be clear to even the most leatherheaded basher that there are seven layers on this plane. Each layer is farther up the slope of a great mountain, which rises out of an endless ocean. The first layer's at the mountain's base. Climb a ways and a sod eventually reaches the second layer, and so forth. Unlike a lot of other planes, a cutter can see the other layers, since the whole thing is one continuous mountain.

Petitioners on this plane are unique because their spirits are transmuted into archons as soon as they arrive. They start as lantern archons - little balls of light - and progress through hound, warden, sword, and tome classification. A petitioner's goal on this plane is to ascend to proxy - hound or better - and eventually become one with the plane.

* LUNIA, THE SILVER HEAVEN. The first layer is a land of constant night - not a fearful dark, but a pleasant summer's night, filled with stars and silver moonlight. Portals open into the shallow surf at the ocean shore's edge. The water itself is as sweet as holy water and has the same effect on undead. On this section of the slope are citadels and palaces of many minor powers as well as the trading centers of the plane. Heart's Faith is the largest of these towns, not far from a portal to the Outlands.

* MERCURIA, THE GOLDEN HEAVEN. This layer is bathed in golden light, hence its name. Here Bahamut, Draco Paladin, maintains an immense palace. Not far away are the jungle realms of Vishnu and Surya, which are filled with stone temples. Throughout the plane are armories and mustering grounds used by the armies of archons, which Mount Celestia calls upon in times of need. Archon troops constantly drill on this layer.

* VENYA, THE PEARLY HEAVEN. This layer is lit by soft, white light. It's also known as the Green Fields to halflings, for it's. the home of Yondalla and other halfling deities. The land is lush and fertile, and the slopes are covered with terraced crops, meadows, and moors.

* SOLANIA, THE ELECTRUM HEAVEN. Here, the sky becomes silver and the land is rugged with impressive canyons and crashing rivers. Fog clings to the hollows. Monasteries founded by lesser powers dot the slope; Kuan Yin maintains the most powerful of these. In tunnels that pierce deep into the mountainside is the great hall of the Soul Forge, Moradin Dwarffather's realm.

* MERTION, THE PLATINUM HEAVEN. In Mertion, the sky burns with silver even brighter than that of Solania. Undead suffer 1d6 points of damage during each round they're exposed to it. The layer is dominated by great plateaus upon which rest huge fortresses. Here reside archons who in their previous lives were paladins.

* JOVAR, THE GLITTERING HEAVEN. This layer is named for its sky, which glows with the sparkling fire of gems of all kinds. These pulse with the beat of life. The layer is home to the Jovian archons. The peak of the great mountain is found here, topped by a giant ziggurat that ascends even higher. This ziggurat is said to be the palace of a ruling council of archons. The seventh layer of Mount Celestia can be reached only by climbing the ziggurat.

* CHRONIAS, THE ILLUMINATED HEAVEN. Only uncertain tales describe this heaven. Supposedly it glows with the force of goodness and law so intensely that it burns out all indifference and evil. Furthermore, those who are already lawful good are said to merge into the very essence of the plane, losing their individual selves to the glory of all. Many greater powers might reside here, but no one knows for sure.

Special Magic Conditions. Wild magic is diminished on this lawful plane.

Native Inhabitants. Archon, deva, noctral, and zoveri inhabit this plane. Besides the powers already listed, Chung Kuel; Avoreen and Cyrrollalee (of the halflings); Berronar Truesilver (of the dwarves); Paladine (of the DRAGONLANCE saga); and Tyr (of the FORGOTTEN REALMS setting) also reside here.

PANDEMONIUM (Caotic Evil Neutral):

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Pandemonium is probably the least inhabited of all the Outer Planes. And for good reason: It's arguably the least hospitable. Sure, there are hotter planes and colder ones, ones with crueller denizens, and so on, but none are any lonelier or more maddening. This birdcage's like an endless cave system, filled with winds that scream their way from one side to the other. Those cutters in the Bleak Cabal think it's a decent place to set up shop, but they're about the only ones.

* PANDESMOS. This first layer of Pandemonium has the largest caverns, some big enough to hold entire nations, if it weren't for the incredible winds. Nearly all its tunnels have a stream of chilly water running along a wall. In places, these streams even flow down the center of the tunnel, hanging in the air. The headwaters of the River Styx are here. Pandesmos is also the most inhabited of Pandemonium's layers, though that ain't saying much. In isolated places, a cutter can sometimes find a citadel or even a city, but mostly there's just howling wasteland.

* COCYTUS. The tunnels here tend to be smaller than in Pandesmos, and the wind is more piercing, too. The resulting wails cause Cocytus to earn the tag "the layer of lamentation," and they'll stretch a sod's mind past the breaking point. Strangely, the tunnels here bear the marks of having been hand-chiseled at a time so long ago that their origins are a mystery even to the powers.

* PHLEGETHON. This layer is one of deep darkness and dripping water. The rock itself absorbs light and heat, which hampers all types of visibility. Gravity here is oriented in one direction only, which - with the dripping water - gives rise to immense stalagmite and stalactite formations.

* AGATHION. Rather than tunnels, Agathion consists of isolated holes within endless rock. Where portals open into these bubbles, the wind forms cyclones capable of carrying away a quarter-ton creature. Holes without a portal to another layer are filled with utterly still, stale air or vacuum; they sometimes serve as vaults where the powers hide things away (like troublesome monsters).


Special Physical Conditions. Pandemonium is made up of cavernous tunnels twisting through solid rock, and it's filled with howling winds. These tunnels range in size from mere crawlways to huge bores miles in diameter. No matter what the size, though, nearly all have two things in common: First, gravity within them is oriented toward whatever wall a cutter's nearest at the time. Second, they're filled with the eternal wailing of winds. In some cases this is little more than a breeze, carrying distant echoes that sound like the cries of beings in torment. In others it blows with supernatural force, causing a deafening caterwauling felt more in the bones than heard in the ears, making even the largest of caverns throb with its intensity. 'Course, in such gales the noise is the least of a berk's troubles. Winds that fierce can pick up a poor sod and carry him for hundreds of miles, banging his body off rock formations until there's nothing left of him.

Given the infernal noise on this plane, it shouldn't be surprising to learn that most of the poor sods here are barmy in one way or another. Oh, they may seem perfectly sane when a berk first meets them, but their madness will show when least expected.

Special Magic Conditions. The winds on this plane make spellcasting difficult, to say the least. Material components tend to blow away, and even speaking or gesturing is a problem. Wild magic is enhanced, however.

Native Inhabitants. There are no true natives of this plane. Those beings who dwell here seldom do so by choice. Most were either banished or came here to hide and have never been able to leave. Powers here include Gorellik of the gnolls, Hruggek of the bugbears, and the Fairy Queen of Air and Darkness. Loki of the Norse pantheon keeps a hideout here as well. Finally, Zeboim (of the DRAGONLANCE saga) and Talos and Auril (of the FORGOTTEN REALMS setting) are said to live on this plane.

YSGARD (Chaotic Good Neutral):

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Called Gladsheim by primes who never found out the real chant, Ysgard is a tumultuous plane. It's made up of numerous immense rivers of earth flowing forever through the sky. These rivers consist of chunks ranging in size from small boulders to whole continents. Their undersides give off a reddish glow that lights the rivers from underneath. As each river flows, its "earthbergs" grind together fiercely, so the whole plane continually rumbles with a deep grating noise.

The plane's occupants are just as tumultuous. The Norse pantheon (sometimes called the aesir) dwells here, and it's a rowdy lot. Some think it strange that such chaotic gods would ever band together, but a strong leader and a common goal to maintain a home realm can be nearly as unifying as any universal law or code. Odin is that high-up man (though Thor is nearly as mighty and Loki is nearly as crafty), and by standing together these gods preserve their realm within Ysgard's physical chaos.

Petitioners on this plane are always eager to do battle. If they die in combat, they aren't absorbed like petitioners on the other planes; instead, they rise the next day to fight again. Unfortunately, they forget that other sods who aren't petitioners might be averse to a death duel. What's worse, most other bashers here are members of the Fated faction, and they figure that if a sod can't defend himself, he deserves to die. The moral of the story: Ysgard's no place to take a vacation unless a cutter's looking for a real workout.

* YSGARD. Ysgard's also the name of the highest level of the plane, and it's the home of the Norse powers. This realm is where the top of Yggdrasil - the World Ash - is located. As Yggdrasil stretches down to the Gray Waste, it extends branches and roots into various crystal spheres on the Prime Material where the Norse powers are worshiped. These gods also command Bifrost, a rainbow bridge that they can connect to any prime-material location. Two other significant features of this realm are Gladsheim, Odin's feast hall, and Valhalla, Odin's hall of heroes.

Found in the layer of Ysgard are the realms of Vanaheim (home of the vanir, who have blood links to the aesir), Alfheim (where the most chaotic elven spirits dwell), and Jotunheim (a land populated primarily by giants).

* MUSPELHEIM. This layer of Ysgard adds another dangerous twist to the tumultuous nature of the plane. Here, the chunks of earth float flaming side up. This makes it a perfect home for fire giants, but a miserable place for pretty much everyone else. Portals here lead primarily to Jotunheim.

* NIDAVELLIR. Nidavellir, known to the locals as Darkhome, is so densely packed with earthen rivers that the spaces between seem more like immense, luminous caverns. Sometimes this makes travel from one realm to another extremely difficult, as passageways that were open on a previous trip are closed on the return. Many dwarf and gnome petitioners hang their hats in this layer.

Special Physical Conditions. All the pieces of the earthen rivers share the same direction for gravity, so their upper surfaces are habitable. Sometimes rifts hundreds of miles wide open in a river, while other times continent-sized pieces ram together with such force that they raise huge mountain ranges where they meet. Travelers will have to deal with the effects of gigantic earthquakes and yawning cracks that crop up without warning.

Special Magic Conditions. Wild magic is enhanced on this plane.

Native Inhabitants. Besides those mentioned above, foo creature, hollyphant, and planetar occupy this plane. Bast the Egyptian catgoddess has a realm here, as do Branchala (of the DRAGONLANCE saga) and Selune (of the FORGOTTEN REALMS setting).

Edited by Galactygon, 19 July 2004 - 01:43 PM.

[Galactygon]

A visual representation of the outer planes:



-Galactygon

Edited by Galactygon, 19 July 2004 - 01:50 PM.

[Andyr]

If it's a BG game, then Gehenna, as that's where Bhaal lived and ToB should really probably have involved.

EDIT: As would the Nine Hells of Baator as Baator = r0x.

Limbo/Pandemonium would be good too, but I think possibly the best other choices are not Outer Planes at all - how about the Astral, the Ethereal, the Shadow Plane, the Negative Energy Plane, the Elemental Planes?

Edited by Andyr, 19 July 2004 - 01:51 PM.

[Galactygon]

Sure, we can make a seperate poll for that matter.

-Galactygon

[Rastor]

I must say that I strongly support the creation of any mod that adds transplanar content. In fact, I'd be more than willing to help develop this mod.

Why do you say "Neutral Good Evil" for Carceri, though. It's a neutral evil "prison plane."

[MrEnnigma]

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Limbo/Pandemonium would be good too, but I think possibly the best other choices are not Outer Planes at all - how about the Astral, the Ethereal, the Shadow Plane, the Negative Energy Plane, the Elemental Planes?

Don't forget the demi-planes! Where would we be without the demi-plane of Dread...well safer but where's the fun in that?

[Sillara of the Tamari]

I chose Elysium/Beastlands, but I do not WANT the Beastlands. I also like Mount Celestia and Arcadia. Sniff.

And if you are going to add in the demi-planes, you must also add in the para- and quasi-planes. Who would not want to go to the Plane of Radiance?

(Except you end up permanently blinded just for going, but hey--who cares? You will have already seen the beauties of the multiverse!)

Sillara

[Domi]

Great stuff, Galactygon! Very nice info. Arborea for me... I am like Sam Gamgee - if only I can meet the Elves....

[BigRob]

Ysgard, Ysgard! (Isn't that where they keep Valhalla?)

[MrEnnigma]

Of the choices given, I'd go with Limbo/Pandemonium and Pandemonium specifically. I hear the Unseelie court is an interesting place.

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(Except you end up permanently blinded just for going, but hey--who cares? You will have already seen the beauties of the multiverse!)

*hands Sillara a pair of Jansen Enchanted Spectral Shields (sunglasses)* Enjoy the view.

[Sillara of the Tamari]

Thanks! (Puts them on, then immediately removes them.)

Ack! Everything is turnip-colored!

To see the world through turnip-colored glasses is--painful.


Sillara