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Andor Cosmology: Intro, The Shadow Realm, and Seelie realms
6 years ago
General
All we are and all we seem...
Andor is an earth-like planet in a single-star system. It has one natural satellite, and exists in a system with other terrestrial and gas-giant planets. The universe is infinite, or large enough to be functionally so. The laws of physics function mostly as in our own universe.
The Prime Material Plane is coterminous with and coexistent with the Shadow Realm, which is a transitory plane where Fae creatures come from and which ethereal creatures traverse. The Prime Material Plane is also coterminous with, but not coexistent with, Limbo, a chaotic inner plane consisting of the raw elements of physical reality. The Prime Material Plane is also coterminous to the Region of Dreams, a transitory plane made up of the collective unconscious of all dreaming beings.
The Shadow Realm is coterminous with each outer plane. It is Timeless, and all Arcane Magic is Maximized, Empowered, and Extended. The barriers between the Shadow Realm and the outer planes are so thin that you can pass them simply by crossing the threshold. Travelers who do this would not be able to tell when they crossed from one plane to the next, the transition is so seamless and gradual. Each outer plane “gate” is its city in the Shadow Realm, and the cities for these planes are coexistent pockets between both the Shadow Realm and the outer plane.
The central city/outer plane, Vanaheim, is Mildly Neutral Aligned. The other city/outer planes are miles away from this central city, encircling it.
Mechanus is Strongly Lawful Aligned. Arcadia is Mildly Lawful Aligned. The Seven Heavens are Mildly Lawful and Mildly Good Aligned. Bytopia is Mildly Good Aligned. Elysium is Strongly Good Aligned. The Beastlands are Mildly Good Aligned. Alfheim is Mildly Chaos Aligned and Mildly Good Aligned. Asgard is Mildly Chaos Aligned. These cities/outer planes are ruled by the Seelie Court.
Purgatory is Strongly Chaos Aligned. Pandamonium is Mildly Chaos Aligned. The Dark Fields are Mildly Chaos and Mildly Evil Aligned. Tartarus is Mildly Evil Aligned. Hades is Strongly Evil Aligned. Gehenna is Mildly Evil Aligned. The Nine Hells are Mildly Lawful and Mildly Evil Aligned. Acheron is Mildly Lawful Aligned. These cities/outer planes are ruled by the Unseelie Court.
Limbo is Strongly Chaos Aligned and Highly Morphic. It is Sporadically Elemental and Energy Dominant, with different elements and energies constantly boiling into and out of existence. It has Subjective Directional Gravity, and Wild Magic.
Limbo is coterminous with several other inner planes. Muspelheim is Fire Dominant, and home of the City of Brass. Niflheim is Cold Dominant. Jotunheim has no elemental or energy dominance, but is the home plane of the Giants. The Abyss is Mildly Chaos and Mildly Evil Aligned, and as a whole does not have any elemental or energy dominance (but different layers may have any given elemental or energy dominance).
The Region of Dreams is Highly Morphic, has Subjective Directional Gravity, and time flows 10 times faster than on the Prime Material Plane.
THE SHADOW REALM
Normal Gravity
Timeless
Infinite Size
Alterable Morphic
No Elemental or Energy Traits
Mildly Neutral-Aligned
Enhanced Magic: all spells are maximized, extended and Empowered.
VANAHEIM
Normal Gravity
Normal Time
Infinite Size
Divinely Morphic: this trait disappears close to the center of the Plane, and even deities are affected by the nature of the Plane.
No Elemental or Energy Traits
Mildly Neutral-Aligned
Normal, Impeded, and Limited Magic: 1500km from the central citadel 9th level spells and spell-like abilities are impeded with a DC of 35. Every 100km closer the next level spells down are impeded, until even cantrips are impeded at 600km away. Starting at 1000km away all 9th level spells are limited, even for deities. Every 100km closer the next level spells are limited until even cantrips are limited at 100km away. At 500km away all supernatural abilities cease functioning. At 400km away the divine powers of demigods are annulled. At 300km away the divine powers of lesser deities are annulled. At 200km away the divine powers of intermediate deities are annulled. And at 100km away all divine powers are annulled.
PETITIONERS:
Petitioners of Vanaheim tend to have a live-and-let-live attitude. As long as they are not bothered they do not care to bother others. Many have an otherworldly grace about them, as if bathed in soft greyish light from above or behind them. They appear as if above it all. Unconcerned with most problems. Their expressions can be stoic and calm, ranging from disciplined polite smiles to gentle deadpans and gentle solemn downcast eyes. They have Acid Resistance, DR 10/+1, and immunity to Electricity and Polymorph. Additionally, some Vanaheim Petitioners seem as though they belong in other Planes. Perhaps they actually are other Planes’ Petitioners, but slightly altered by the nature of Vanaheim. Or maybe they were never quite suited to another Plane they would have gone to and so drited to Vanaheim instead. Such “lost souls” are theoretically possible. Either way, any Petitioner of another Plane can be brought to Vanaheim as an exception to the rule that Petitioners can’t leave their home Plane.
The Citadel of Sigil: at the center of Vanaheim is a vast and glorious citadel, where everyone is on equal magical footing. A magical compulsion that appears to be a natural phenomenon of Vanaheim in Sigil prevents anyone from making any sort of attack or hostile action against another unless they pass a DC 40 Will Save. Sigil also seems to be the focal point of the restricted magic of the Plane. Sigil is ruled by an enigmatic being known only as The Lady of Pain. she alone seems unaffected by the limitations, and many speculate that she is the source of them.
Library of Lore: this massive complex sits atop a barren bluff. The only access to the library is by ascending a single great staircase guarded by an elder elemental of each type. No one can reach the library without the permission of these great elemental creatures. The walls themselves are proof again teleportation and astral meddling, and those who try find themselves at the base of the great stair. Within the walls of the library, spells that access other planes do not function.
The library is a convoluted mazework of passages that cross beneath and sometimes through eachother, leaving no mark of their passage but foiling the most diligent mapmakers. Within this structure are private meditation cells for wizards, sealed armories of magic items, and both true and false libraries that contain much of the magic knowledge of the world. Those granted access to a true library can find the answer to any question as if a 12th-level caster had cast the Commune spell.one hour of research is required for every question answered.
The Library of Lore contains a copy of every non-artifact magic item created by mortal hands. They are sealed beneath magic wards and traps, and golems patrol the halls
All divination spells are extended.
Forest of The Sages: this hidden wood is a patchwork of thick woods and open glades and rolling fields. Explorers’ notes place the Forest of The Sages in several specific locations in Vanaheim, but it’s rarely found at all except by travelers who become lost in the woods.
All four seasons exist in balance in the Forest of Sages. In the space of a quarter-mile, snowfields give way to forests draped in autumn colour next to orchards heavy with fruit and newly plowed fields. Animals found in the Forest are usually hostile to travelers.
MECHANUS
Objective Directional Gravity: down is oriented to the face of each rotating cog.
Normal Time
Infinite Size
Divinely Morphic
No Elemental or Energy Traits
Strongly Law-Aligned
Normal Magic
PETITIONERS:
Petitioners of Mechanus, called Modrons often adopt a stylized version of their mortal bodies. Despite outward differences, all Modrons are alike in their eerie honesty and submersion of individuality. They are notoriously literal, and follow strict manners of decorum. They are immune to Poison and Polymorph, and resistant to Cold and Electricity.
MECHANUS doesn’t have layers, only a single infinite void full of stars in which hangs an infinite number of enormous interlocking gears. On the faces of these gears are landscapes, buildings, atmospheres, and all manner of terrain. Some cogs connect at 90-degree angles, while others connect along a single plane. Some cogs are the size of small islands, while others are as large as continents. Crossing from one cog to the next requires a DC 10 Balance check. Failure by 5 or more means a fall between the cogs, which deals 20d6 blunt damage per round. A DC 20 Climb check is required to emerge from the teeth of the cogs. Many cogs have day/night cycles created by lamps or spotlights rotating in calculated patterns over their faces.
Neumannus: Inevitables are designed, constructed, and assigned tasks to uphold various laws. It is unknown who created the first Inevitable; even Inevitables claim ignorance as to their own origin. But once created, the constructs soon learned the trick of replicating themselves. One such “factory” is Neumannus, inhabiting a small cog. It is a place devoid of regular life, though it is crawling with Inevitables at all times. Tall smokestacks cover both sides of the cog and constantly belch sooty clouds from the fires raging in forges and furnaces. Inside, chamber after chamber is given over to crystal molds of dizzying variety. Liquid metal is cooled, shaped, and tempered in these molds by special constructs. Finished pieces are assembled and animated in arcane baths of oil-like consistency. After a brief shakedown period, the newly constructed Inevitable is sent out into the multiverse with its first task. Tasks are magically encoded on the construct in glowing runes handed down by the Hub of Elders (each factory has its own Hub). the Elders spend are several hundred special Inevitables that spend their time peering through the cosmos looking for broken laws for which amends must be paid. Sometimes, Inevitables bow to other noted authorities of law in the Outer Planes, doing their bidding for a short period.
Regulus: a realm of clockwork and industry, community and harmony, where schedules are orderly and repetitive, Regulus is a small collection of cogs where gnome petitioners reside. Mines and factories, laboratories and shops, residential districts and farms, all are finely-tuned and arranged for maximum efficiency and organized neatly. Clockwork animal constructs are built and maintained here in lieu of natural life.
Forgehold: a kingdom of dwarven petitioners on a continent-sized cog teeming with mountains, foothills, rolling plains, thick forests, rushing rivers, and gentle meadows all on both sides, Forgehold is a megalopolis carved deep through the middle of its cog-tinent from one face to the other, and stretching from the center to all edges. Farms, outposts, and lumber mills dot the surface, with markets for traders and inns for travelers. But the surface remains mostly untamed wilderness where the dwarf petitioners hunt, log, fish, and explore. Inside the tunneled halls and grand caverns of Forgehold the true passion of the dwarven petitioners rings out rhythmically. The sound of magnificent machinery, pounding hammers, roaring forges, and cheerful revelry somehow sounds orchestrated, as though it were a musical ambience. So too are the military drills and combat training so perfectly synchronized. The craftsmanship of the dwarves of Forgehold is wondrous and astounding, testaments to the quality and scale of construction possible when every dwarf works in perfect cooperation.
Delon-Estin Oti: this perfectly symmetrical town is located on a far larger cog, taking up only a small part of it. Delon-Estin Oti has twenty bordering walls, with one gate on each side. Farmers till plots of fruits and vegetables and nurture animals just inside the gates. Seen from above, the town looks like a spiderweb with concentric roads radiating from the hub, a great open space covered with grass, and a single ring of trees at the very center. The town is one of peace and tranquility, a place where everything is so ordered and habitual that citizens anticipate the course of time and flow of conversation, interrupting visitors who don’t know what the future holds. Those who seek perfect equality and freedom from the lower (and higher) passions make their homes here. The population is a mixed collection of every race in the multiverse, but all are equal and there is no ruler. Many petitioners also reside within and around Delon-Estin Oti, happy to work the agricultural fields. The town has a reputation as a place where seers are born and where fortune-tellers gravitate, so visitors hoping to discover their fate are common.
Fortress of Disciplined Enlightenment: a monastery of citadel size, this structure sits on its own cog, 2 miles in diameter, and its spires and towers rise high into the void of Mechanus. Inevitables enforcing the “don’t trespass” law patrol the parapets, keeping a vigilant eye out for infiltrators and unwelcome guests. The Fortress was founded by mortal monks seeking the perfection of discipline that only Mechanus can provide. A horde of clerks, functionaries, legal aides, translators, mathematicians, philosophers, and bureaucrats staff the Fortress of Disciplined Enlightenment. Most belong to the Fraternity, though sometimes visitors are granted access to the vaunted libraries of the Fortress. The libraries extend through hundreds of rooms and hold tomes of legal volumes from all over the multiverse.
ARCADIA
Normal Gravity
Normal Time
Infinite Size
Divinely Morphic
No Elemental or Energy Traits
Mildly Law-Aligned
Normal Magic
PETITIONERS:
Petitioners on Arcadia are called Einherjar, and they appear much as they did as mortals, though they are markedly more healthy and robust. They are all fanatically devoted to making sure the common good of all is maintained. They are immune to Sonic and Acid, and resistant to Cold and Electricity. They can Smite Chaos 1/day, and are typically armed with +1 Thundering weapons.
ABELLIO, the first layer, is mostly flat, though there are mountains and hills arranged just so. Forests, lakes, fields, and streams are all found here. It is a layer of plenty, and everything, even common beasts, is dedicated to the good of all. The fields and forests are swollen with grain and fruit, all growing without tending or fear of infestation. Even the “wild” flowers grow naturally to create the most harmonious blend the trees of Arcadia are wondrous specimens, growing in both neat forests and straight-rowed orchards. Their bark has a copper, gold, silver, or iron sheen, and their leaves range from deep green to fiery red but never fall. Fruit is always in season, and some trees have fruits that imitate the effects of a particular potion. The potion is always the same for every fruit of the same tree. Different trees have fruits with different effects. In the sky hangs the Orb of Night And Day, which is perfectly dark on one side and shining bright as the sun on the other side. This Orb slowly rotates on an axis, providing 6 hours of light and then 6 hours of darkness, and repeating. The River Oceanus flows through Abellio from the Seven Heavens, and falls to the second layer of Arcadia, Buxenos. Seasons exist but are barely noticeable. The summers are never too hot and the winters are never too cold. Rain, wind, lightning storms, and cloudy skies all occasionally occur here, but are never violent enough to interrupt a day’s work.
Mount Clangedin: a perfectly conical mountain, apart from any range, rises at least thirty thousand feet above the fields below, its peak wreathed in clouds and storms. This edifice was raised by the great dwarven hero Clangeddin Silverbeard. The mountain’s interior is riddled with great halls, galleries, and dwarven-carved roads paved with flagstones. Costly lamps, hot and cold forges, and city-wide feasting halls all provide light and merriment for the underground visitor. Strangers are welcome here, especially those who come to buy weapons from the legendary smiths who labour in the hottest portions of the mountain. The dwarves who live within Mount Clangeddin, both mortal and Einherjar, spend a 6-hour day drilling, training, and perfecting their military skills to honour their lord Clangeddin, a 6-hour night of feasting and drinking, another 6-hour day of work and toil, and then finally a 6-hour night of rest and sleep before starting their routine again.
Basilica of Saint Cuthbert: high walls manned by specially chosen Knights surround this mighty edifice of Saint Cuthbert, an Angel who is said to have been ascended from a mortal of impeccable dignity and righteousness. Within the walls stands the basilica itself, whose highest dome reaches a mile into the sky. At the very center of the basilica is Cuthbert’s seat, called the Seat of Truth, though he rarely takes it. A curved open canopy supported by four serpentine pillars shelters the Seat. Cuthbert brought the pillars home as trophies after a brief crusade into the Nine Hells. Saint Cuthbert is noted for his rulings on matters of state, philosophy, and everything else. However, he is also called Saint Cuthbert of the Cudgel, and wherever he goes so does his trusted bronzewood weapon. If words do not suffice, Saint Cuthbert’s cudgel does. Einherjar and privileged Priests, Knights, and others of deep faith stay in the Basilica with Saint Cuthbert, though he sends many out on missions in his name. Modest accommodations are set aside for occasional supplicants wishing to hear the wisdom of Saint Cuthbert.
BUXENUS, the second layer, is much like the first. The landscape is just as naturally orderly and organized, the Orb of Day And Night is still visible overhead, casting light and darkness in a rotating cycle. However, the weather and seasons are frozen in perpetual calm spring. Buxenus is also a marshalling ground for great armies. These forces, many of them Angels, train and gather their strength for crusades across the multiverse to battle the forces of evil and chaos. Here and there on this layer are the training grounds of a particularly militant sect of mortals from the Material Plane called the Harmonium. Though they seek to do good, the “retraining camps” do more harm than anything else -- or so say the authorities. In these camps the Harmonium indoctrinates “borrowed” mortals of a chaotic alignment in the dictates of law and harmony in an attempt to change their spiritual identity to one more harmonious than before. The River Oceanus falls from Abellio and forms rivers and tributaries on this layer, before eventually falling over the edge into the void.
THE SEVEN HEAVENS
Normal Gravity
Normal Time
Infinite Size
Divinely Morphic
No Elemental or Energy Traits
Mildly Law- and Mildly Good-Aligned
Normal Magic
PETITIONERS:
Petitioners of Celestia are the souls of the righteous and pure, who have been elevated to angelic status in their afterlife. Called Ishim, or Sparks, they appear as floating balls of light that glow as bright as a torch. They are immune to Electricity and Petrification, have Improved Initiative, Damage Reduction 20/magic, Angel Qualities, and no planar commitment. They also can attack with a ray of light at will at +2 ranged touch attack with a range of 30 ft that deals 1d6 Holy damage, and they have spell-like abilities at will -- Aid, Continual Flame, Protection from Evil.
LUNIA, the first and bottom layer, is also called the Silver Heaven. Gorgeous citadels and redoubts of polished white stone dot the shore of the wine-dark Silver Sea, which stretches out infinitely. The sky is dark but filled with glittering stars bright enough to illuminate the shores. The base of the mountain is populated with cities and towns which rise up along its many paths and stairways, to the next layer. The Silver Sea is made of holy water, fed from glacial runoff from the titanic mountain Olympus, and is teeming with all manner of aquatic life, from schools of tiny fish to leviathans moving in the depths. The River Oceanus also makes its way through this layer, winding in a current through the Silver Sea on its way from Bytopia through the Heavens to Arcadia. Runoff from the melting glaciers of Olympus spills into the Silver Sea and joins the River Oceanus on its way.
Castle Mahlhevik: the wonders of Lunia offer much, even for a Chaotic Evil Wizard committed to learning the paths of goodness. Calling in favours from various Angels, and revealing his sincerity, the wizard Mahlhevik built his castle on the shore of the Silver Sea in peace. While he’s sincerely attempting to reform, he’s got a long way to go and retains many instincts and notions of his former self. Mahlhevik welcomes visitors and allows travelers of any alignment to stay in Castle Mahlhevik. Some of his “old friends” such as Sytris, once called Soul Reaver, and Japheth, formerly known as Lifeleech, visit from time to time. But arriving onto the plane waist deep in the holy water of the Silver Sea has a way of scarring and frightening away Mahlhevik’s old friends, so they don’t visit often. Interesting trades and even more interesting stories can be had at Mahlhevik’s castle, and travelers who don’t want to deal directly with the Angels regard it as a good place to stay.
MERCURIA, the second layer, is also called the Golden Heaven. It is a place of thin air and high hopes, where golden light suffuses everything. Here the slopes are tame, the valleys lush, and the streams fast-running. Plateaus and passes provide spaces for settlements of Angels and other goodly beings. Great tombs and wondrous mausoleums on Mercuria grant eternal rest to the noblest of fighters. Here, the inhabitants of the Heavens honour their deeds during an annual Day of Memory.
Bahamut’s Palace: this glittering wonder is built entirely from the treasure hoard of Bahamut, the Dragon Lord of the North Wind, paragon of wisdom, knowledge, prophecies, and song, and ruler of goodly dragons. The palace’s windows are gemstones in settings of gold and silver, its walls are inlaid with copper and jade, and its floors are beaten mithral. Within, seven Long dragons attend Bahamut amid treasure gathered over eons -- and the bones of a thousand failed thieves. Bahamut’s palace moves among the first four heavens at Bahamut’s will, carried aloft by a whirlwind. For travelers friendly to Bahamut, the palace offers an alternative method of traveling the Heavens without using the paths.
VENYA, the third layer, is also called the Pearly Heaven. The slopes of Venya are old, rounded, and occasionally laced with snow. The brooks run warm and clear, though ice often forms on the banks in winter. Terraced fields and carefully tended woodlands are common sights on the slopes.
The Glass Tarn: this mountain lake of icy water is nestled in a bowl-shaped valley between three peaks, fed by the runoff from a glacier of blue ice high above. When a believer throws something truly important and valuable into the Tarn as an offering, a light rushes up from the incomprehensible depths. When the light reaches the surface it takes the form of a prophecy featuring the supplicant -- or a powerful Angel to deal with the intruder if the offering was not sincere.
Green Fields: here crops never fail, the weather is always mild, and plentiful harvests are a blessing. This is the realm of angelic Halfling petitioners, and that means comfort. The realm is a combination of burrowed households, small rustic buildings, and endless fields. No large predators live in Green Fields, but Angelic moles, rabbits, and badgers are common.
SOLANIA, the fourth layer, is also called the Crystal Heaven. A sky that shines with the glow of burnished silver hangs above the quiet slopes of Solania. Luminescent fogs and invigorating scents shroud the valleys. Many of the slopes hold mighty glaciers above, and they remain rich in ore and precious minerals below. Solania’s peaks are home to monasteries, cathedrals, and other holy shrines. Often, these structures are the destinations of interplanar pilgrims seeking answers to questions of creation, toil, and love.
Erackinor: the slopes of Solania are deeply tunneled with a vast dwarven mansion called Erackinor. None but dwarves and dwarven petitioners are allowed within. Those who enter and return speak in hushed tones of stonework and craftsmanship that far surpasses anything a dwarf might have seen on the Material Plane. Dwarven Priests say that their god, Moradin, uses the Soul Forges deep within the most secret reaches of Erackinor to temper the spirits his people and their weapons. The armories of Erackinor are second to none, and the combat-veteran dwarves and dwarven petitioners that fill Erackinor’s halls make the mansion nigh-impregnable.
EMPYREA, the fifth layer, is also called the Platinum Heaven. The slopes of Empyrea are gentle, leveling off in great sweeping plains dominated by citadels and domes. The citadels of Empyrea are marsheling grounds for Knights, Angels, and other creatures of Good and Order. The many healing fountains and curative waters in Empyrea can restore withered limbs, lost speech, derangement, and life energy itself; those who ail need only find the right fountain. This layer of the Seven Heavens has the Minor Positive-Dominant trait.
Merton: also called the City of Tempered Souls, Merton sits on the edge of a cold, clear mountain lake. Merton is known for its healers and hospitals, and many a pilgrim seeks to reach this legendary site of perfect health.
JOVAR, the sixth layer, is also called the Glittering Heaven. The slopes are strewn with great rubies and garnets twinkling with light so beautiful that it steals the breath at first sight. Here, hosts of Angels wander the gem fields, lost in contemplation of the glory of their previous lives.
An, The Heavenly City: The Heavenly City is visible from everywhere on Jovar and from vantage points on lower heavens. The City is a seven-layered ziggurat. An enormous staircase on each of its four sides connects the terraces. Gemstones of profound value make up every step and stone on the ziggurat, and all glow with an inner light. Hosts of Angels move up and down the stairs, but the structure is so massive that the steps never grow crowded. On the lowest terrace sits the Exchequer of Souls, a black marble building of graceful arches and onion domes laced with threads of gold and silver. Here powerful Angels weigh the virtue of lower Angels, elevating the worthy to higher forms. The Radiant Arsenal on the fourth terrace is a long narrow building with a vaulted ceiling and extensive cellars. Here, weapons both magic and mundane are stored to arm the Angel hosts if necessary. The most important weapons are said to contain the essence of powerful Angels. They reside in pearl-lined vaults sealed off by powerful glyphs. The Bridge of Al-Sihal on the seventh, highest terrace is a beam of blinding light. This is the portal to the seventh heaven, Cronus, and it is guarded by an Angel named Xerona who turns aside the unworthy.
CRONUS, the seventh and highest layer, is also called the Illuminated Heaven. Cronus is a mystery, though some say it is the mystery. Those few who achieve the Illuminated Heaven never return, so no account records Cronus’ true aspect. Tales say that those who enter have their inherent goodness magnified until their essence joins with the Seven Heavens. Or, if they harbour evil, their souls are extinguished and their essence is permanently erased from the multiverse.
BYTOPIA
Objective Direction Gravity: down exists in two opposite directions on the plane’s two facing layers. Gravity is normal until one crosses the invisible boundary between the two layers, and then it reverses.
Normal Time
Infinite Size
Divinely Morphic
No Elemental or Energy Traits
Mildly Good-Aligned
Normal Magic
PETITIONERS:
Petitioners of Bytopia look much the same as they did in life, but take on fae qualities. Many take the form of gnomes regardless of their race in mortal life. They are immune to Fire and Cold, and have resistance to Sonic and Electricity. They can cast Magic Circle against Evil at will as a spell-like ability.
DOTHION, officially considered the “first” layer, is the more populated of the two facing planes. It is a realm of pastoral activity and individual industry. Its rolling hills cluster around spikes of volcanic rock that jut toward its more savage companion layer. The land is a combination of open, settled manor farms and well-tended woods and forests. Dothion is a very domestic plane, its petitioners raising silver-wooled sheep and golden-flecked lambs. The open spaces are huge manor fields of wheat, barley, and corn. The residents have dammed many gentle streams, harnessing them to waterwheels that grind the grain into excellent flour and meal. Towns here lack protective walls, but paved roads link them in well-ordered lines. It is a land of barns and beekeeping, of wool and milk, and of small shops and smithies. Most of the workshops that huddle along the roadside are privately owned, and the owners swear no allegiance beyond “the common good”. Dothion’s weather tends to be mild, and it has regular, mostly benign, seasons. Often a heavy storm from Shurrock breaks through the border between the two layers, wreaking havoc. In general, the layer is an ideal paradise for those who prefer the quiet life. The River Oceanus flows in both layers of Bytopia on its way from Elysium to the Seven Heavens.
The Golden Hills: a number of tors larger than the surrounding hillsides are each topped with towers or citadels where feasts and worship, and mining operations, are held. Each hill is said to belong to a member of Garl Glittergold’s court, with the tallest tor believed to belong to the gnomes’ god himself. Everything in this region has a soft golden tint to it that gives the landscape a soft radiance. Angelic animals are common here, with golden plumage and fur. The hills are filled with precious metals and gems, and many have been dug out into warrens for gnome petitioners and forges for the craftsmen.
SHURROCK, Dothion’s wild counterpart, is an inverse world facing Dothion. Where Dothion is well-mannered, Shurrock is savage. Where Dothion is calm, Shurrock is extreme. It is a land of rough country and harsh weather, divided by deep, snow-filled winters and dry, parching summers. Shurrock and Dothion are eachothers sky. During the day a radiance shines in the border between the layers, growing gradually to the brightness of full sunlight and then subsiding to complete darkness for 8 hours before starting again. There are no stars, only the twinkling lights of Dothion’s towns and cities above Shurrock, and the faint blinking of Shurrock fireflies and sometimes wildfires above Dothion. The land of Shurrock is filled with raw materials. Seams of gold and gems are found just beneath the surface, the tangled woodlands are rich in timber, and all manner of wild game thrives throughout the layer. Quarries and mills are common, usually with small communities crowding them. These towns are often walled and guarded, for on Shurrock walk the more powerful creatures of Bytopia such as Angelic versions of animals and magical beasts. Shurrock is a land of continual challenge. For those who seek to prove themselves and their ability to survive, it is a very different type of paradise than its tame sibling, Dothion. Occasionally some foul beast breaks loose from Shurrock and reaches Dothion, but in general the challenges of this layer stay on this side of the border.
ELYSIUM
Normal Gravity
Normal Time
Infinite Size
Divinely Morphic
Minor Positive-Dominant
Strongly Good-Aligned
Entrapping: visitors to Elysium experience increasing joy and satisfaction while on the plane. Colours seem brighter and more vivid than on the Material Plane, sounds more melodious and soft, and the nature of others seems more pleasant and understanding. Every week a creature on Elysium must make a Willpower Save (DC 10 +1 per consecutive week spent on the plane) or else become trapped by the plane. Entrapped creatures become petitioners of Elysium and cannot leave of their own volition, having no desire to do so anyway. Memories of their mortal life fade into nothing and it takes a Wish or Miracle to return them to normal.
Normal Magic
PETITIONERS:
Petitioners of Elysium look as they did in their mortal life, though their demeanors become calmer and more noble. They are immune to Electricity and Sonic, and resistant to Cold and Fire. they retain up to four character levels acquired before becoming petitioners (multiclass petitioners may choose levels from any classes they had in life).
AMORIA, the first and topmost layer, is one of the most hospitable places in the Outer Planes -- if you ignore the planes tendency to convert long-term visitors to full-time petitioners. Small towns dot the banks of the river Oceanus, and islands of rolling hills rise from the river itself. Boat travel is common, and the bulk of the population of Elysium lives on this layer.
Amoria is a relatively peaceful place, but it’s also a place where those who live here have ample opportunities to aid others and demonstrate goodness. There is still misfortune on Elysium, but it seems to exist only to show the collective power of goodness. Calamities here, such as a village fire or capsized boat, test and identify those who are from other planes. Travelers to Amoria are besieged by small errands and tasks, but if they complete them they find powerful allies at their side.
Amoria has seasons, but they are so timid that visitors from the Material Plane hardly notice them. It is neither too hot in summer nor too cold in the winter, and it rarely rains without a rainbow appearing immediately afterward. The angels often upbraid storm giants and other creatures who can control the weather for causing sudden rainstorms, even if they have good reason to do so.
The rulers of the angels also live on Amoria. These supremely powerful archangels are as powerful as the archdukes of the Nine Hells or the demon princes of the Abyss. First among their number is Prince Talisid, the wisest and most powerful of the angels. Talisid’s lieutenants are known as the Five Companions: the lupine Duke Lucan, the bearlike Dutchess Callisto, the winged Duke Windheir, the equine Lord Hwyn, and the antlered Lord Rhanok. Together they organize the efforts of the angels, sending them on missions against evil and even striking into the Unseelie planes to recover those captured by the forces of evil.
ERONIA is a rising land of steep hills, sharp=toothed mountains, and white granite valleys, which divert the river again and again. Rugged foothills coil at the bases of these mountains, high bluffs, plateaus, and mesas. Communities tend to congregate on the plateaus or in small towns hunched between mountains and the river Oceanus.
The weather is fierce on Eronia; great windstorms and snowfalls with lightning are common. The summers are hotter and the winters more bitter than on the Material Plane. Eronia is for the good souls who still want to be challenged in their afterlife.
Those who live here do so at the whim of the mountains themselves. Often, parts of the great hills slide into the river, blocking it in some locations and forcing it into new channels in others. Eronia is a place of rugged peace, its mountains lost in luminous clouds above and a challenge to any climber. Here the wind whips around mightily, and even the winged angels have some difficulty flying. All creatures with a fly speed have their maneuverability reduced to the next lower category. Clumsy fliers remain clumsy.
BELIERIN is a land of misty swamps and fog-bound marshes, quite the opposite of what one might expect in a plane of ultimate goodness. Here the river is no more than a tangled braid of slow-moving water through uncountable channels, with low, flooded sandbars and tangles of mangroves rising from it.
Still, the positive nature of Elysium shines through this desolate place. The fog itself seems to spread light with each wispy tendril, surrounding every torch and lantern with a luminous nimbus.
The few communities that exist on Belierin rise from rocky spurs that jut from the swamp. These small towns are usually built around a cathedral-like lighthouse whose beacon pierces the mildly luminous fog, bringing travelers to dock safely.
Belierin is the prison of some deadly creature or creatures. Some tales say the prisoner of Belierin is a powerful monster along the lines of a dragon or monster of legend. Others say it is a deadly archuduke of the Unseelie planes, a deposed elemental prince, or even a wounded deity. The indisputable fact is that evil creatures are sometimes caught lurking here, and the native angels are constantly fighting back attacks against this layer.
The true nature of the prisoner of Belierin may never be known, but the layer does make a dangerous prison and perilous region to cross.
THALASIA
This layer is the headwaters of the river Oceanus, the start of the great river that flows through the layers of Elysium, dodges the sun-dappled trees of the Beastlands, and plunges into Alfheim. Thalasia is dotted with islands and sprinkled with small communities.
These islands are variously known as the Isles of The Dead, Isles of The Blessed, the Hills of Avalon, the Islands Beyond The World, and the Heroic Isles. Here, the best of good-aligned petitioners make their homes, retaining some knowledge of their previous lives. Here hero-kings wait for the day when their nations need them again, and religious scholars research great mysteries in huge libraries.
Often these great petitioners made the journey to Thalasia while still alive but approaching death, whether from age or from wounds taken in noble battle. Elysium then slowly converted them to powerful petitioners, and they scarcely felt the pain of death. In Thelasia they retain their powers and memories but are at peace with themselves and with others, the ultimate reward for good.
The purpose of Thalasia may be to provide a good and just reward. It may also be to produce recruits to become angels, to create wardens for whatever is locked up in Belierin, or to muster an army of goodness for an eventual last battle with the forces of evil.
The Fortress of The Sun: once known as Light’s Blessing, this stronghold is the domain of the Seelie King Oberon and Queen Titania. This realm, once a vast manor surrounded by orchards, vineyards, and farmland for miles, is now a gold-plated citadel that forms a beacon atop Krigala, the largest island in Thalasia.
The Fortress of The Sun dominates the land for a hundred miles around and is clearly visible from the shores of the river Oceanus. It glows like a beacon day and night, providing continual daylight for a hundred miles in every direction. Creatures are affected as if in full daylight within Oberon’s realm, regardless of where they hide.
Oberon sits in a great audience chamber at the highest spire, where he confers with angels, dispatching them to deal with the forces of darkness.
Everywhere within the golden light of the Fortress has the Light Gravity trait and enhanced magic Maximizes all spells of the Sun domain and with the Light descriptor. The impeded magic trait affects all Enchantment (Illusion) spells of the figment, pattern, or glamour subschools. Oberon and Titania have the power to make other changes if they so wish.
THE BEASTLANDS
Normal Gravity
Normal Time
Infinite Size
Divinely Morphic
No Elemental or Energy Traits
Mildly Good-Aligned
Normal Magic
PETITIONERS:
Petitioners of the Beastlands take on animal traits soon after they arrive. Their hair grows long in lustrous pelts, short horns sprout from their foreheads, and they develop cats’ eyes or fox ears. Over the course of centuries, they become celestial beasts or animals. They usually live in small communities at the bases of great trees, leading simple lives in harmony with the other creatures of the plane. They have immunity to Electricity and Poison, resistance to Cold and Fire, and Fast Healing 2.
KRIGALA, the Beastlands’ top layer, is split in two by the river Oceanus. The river flows through the layer in a strong torrent, flanked by verdant forests that often bridge the great river with intertwined branches above. Small side channels depart from the river, and there are numerous bayous and oxbow lakes formed whenever this extraplanar river alters its banks.
Krigala is a land of eternal afternoon. A warm sun basks the land in its continual glow. It is just warm enough in Krigala for the plant life of the area, and temperatures remain in a comfortable range unless manipulated by spells.
Time passes normally but is not tracked by the moving of the sun. instead, gentle rains drift in on soft breezes once per day. More rarely, occasional thunderstorms strike, sending many of Krigala’s beasts to cover.
Most of the creatures encountered in Krigala would be active in the day if they lived on the Material Plane. Most of the native life has a basic understanding of how the portals between the layers work, and they can avoid the portals instinctively if they choose.
The Grove of The Unicorns: Deep within the Beastlands is a grove that sits at the base of a cluster of great sequoias that form a natural cathedral for those beneath the canopy. The lowest branches of the great redwoods are hundreds of feet in the air, such that those with wings can fly through this cathedral without difficulty.
Those who reside within the borders of the Grove live in peace with the trees and animals, and they are similarly left alone by the wild creatures.
True to its name, the Grove attracts groups of unicorns, both with the celestial template and half-celestial/half-unicorns.
BRUX is the second layer of the Beastlands, and a land of eternal dusk. The sun is a red ball along the horizon, casting long ruddy shadows through the forest. Where it can be seen above the trees, a silvered moon hovers low over the opposite horizon. Time passes normally on this layer, but newcomers often get the eerie sense that the world is frozen at sunset.
Brux is slightly cooler than Krigala, and fogs and mists roil through the trees. The animal life on Brux is active in the morning and evening, sleeping during the heat of day and getting food when the sun is low in the sky.
Travelers who find themselves on Brux by accident may find their way back to Krigala by following the creeks and streams. Many of them lead eventually to Oceanus; others lead to boggy marshes and swamps.
KARASUTHRA, the lowest layer of the Beastlands, wears a cloak of continual night. A silver moon whose phases change achingly slowly hangs in the open sky, surrounded by stars that lazily drift across the sky. Only a few beacons of moonlight pierce the thick canopy of the forest here, forming silver shafts that touch the forest floor.
Karasuthra is home to the most dangerous night creatures, hunters relentless in the pursuit of their quarry. Hunters from the Material Plane sometimes journey to Karasuthra looking for the most dangerous of trophies. Some even survive to try a second time.
ALFHEIM
Normal Gravity.
Normal Time.
Infinite Size.
Divinely Morphic.
No Elemental or Energy Traits.
Mildly Chaos- and Mildly Good-Aligned.
Enhanced Magic. Arcane Spells are Maximized, Empowered, and Extended.
PETITIONERS:
Two kinds of petitioners are found here. The souls of elven worshipers chosen to serve as vassals in the great castles and glades here are called the Chosen of Arvandor. They are immune to Poison and Electricity, and have resistance to Cold and Fire. they also have DR 10/+1. The souls of gourmands, gluttons, well-meaning drunks, and those who relished the act of living become Bacche, satyrlike revelers caught in mid-transformation between man and beast. They are immune to Electricity and Polymorph, and have resistance to Acid and Poison. They have an Entice supernatural ability. Anyone within 100 feet of a mob of Bacche must make a Will save ( DC 10 + the number of Bacche within range, max DC 25) or else join the party. While partying, those who failed their save eat, drink, make merry, and engage in pranks and all kinds of tomfoolery, but do not get the benefits of nourishment from food or water. The party lasts for 101 days or until the character collapses from lack of sustenance. Bacche are non-violent, fleeing if attacked -- or more likely offering bread and wine to their attackers.
ARVANDOR, the first layer, is a place of great open spaces beneath the trees. Within these canopied clearings lay the settlements of the Chosen of Arvandor, engaged in an idealized elven life. In the day there are hunts and challenges, in the evenings feasts and tales told around the fire. The cycle of day and night matches the material plane, with a golden sun beaming above the treetops in the day and a white moon nestled among a milky river of stars at night. The nights are warm in Arvandor. Even beneath the trees, great fireflies form their own elastic constellations among the huge oaks and lindens.
AQUALLOR, the second layer of Alfheim, is an eternal ocean. At its lowest reaches it’s as black as night. The magic of this realm grants visitors the ability to breath underwater. What Aquallor lacks is islands, for great storms stalk the layer’s surface, swamping any boats that dare its heavy seas. Beneath the surface, Aquallor has the Water-Dominant trait, and the magic of the plane protects against the pressures of the deep. Much like the first layer of Alfheim, Aquallor is subject to quicksilver changes in the weather. Such weather takes the form of great underwater currents that drag the traveller miles off course. Sea life fills this layer, most of it either celestial or anarchic in nature. Larger beasts and aberrations can be found by explorers who swim deep enough.
MITHARDIR, the third layer, is a desert of fine, white, chalky dust that extends forever. Mithardir was once a great forest as well as home to creatures that campfire stories alternately describe as giants or titanlike deities. Why they no longer live on this layer is unknown, but Mitherdir is now an empty realm. Persistent explorers can still find the great towers and tombs of this lost race of deities or giants, their minarets breaking through the grit like fingers straining to escape a premature grave. Brave travelers seek out Mithardir in hopes of prying away the secrets of the lost giants. More often than not, the incandescent winds of this layer wind up grinding the bones of such explorers into powder. As with the rest of Alfheim, the weather in Mithardir is sudden and dramatic. Lightning storms regularly lash across the desert, driving huge duststorms ahead of them. Travelers can be buried by a sudden attack.
Evergold: one feature that makes Alfheim attractive to visitors is the Fountain of Beauty, called Evergold by the elves. It is a pool of crystal blue water surrounded by golden sand, and it reflects the light so cleanly that it hurts the eyes to gaze upon it. Those that bathe in it’s waters gain an enhancement bonus to Charisma of 1d4+1 points for a month and a day.
ASGARD
Normal Gravity
Normal Time
Infinite Size
Divinely Morphic
Minor Positive-Dominant
Mildly Chaos-Aligned
Normal Magic
PETITIONERS:
Asgardian Petitioners are mostly the valiant, thrill-seeking and heroic sort. Those who tend to be rash, aggressive, and excited to fight, are likely to wind up in Asgard. These Petitioners have Fire and Acid immunity, and are resistant to Sonic and Electric damage.
ASGARD, the top layer of Asgard, shares it’s name with the plane proper. This layer is characterized by floating earthbergs, some miles upon miles wide. These earthbergs do not drift much, staying mostly in one place, but they seem to stretch on forever in all cardinal directions. On these sky-islands are mountains, plains, fields, forests, rivers, lakes, and settlements. Humans, elves, halflings, and rarely dwarves or others are found in these settlements. The River Oceanus falls from the sky onto a series of earthbergs, creating a tiered waterfall before spilling over to the second layer, Andlang.
Plain of Splendor: this great field is located near Valliant Hall and the free city of Himinbjorg, the largest population center on the layer. The Plain of Splendor hosts daily festivals where warriors can flaunt their mettle. Here, bravery and skill in battle is valued over all else.
Gladsheim: the Radiant Home, this sunlit region is populated primarily by elves and is suffused with light and joy. The lands are wild and beautiful, untouched by civilization. Wildlife is plentiful, and natural features such as streams, woods, and sunny hills are likewise bountiful. The elven natives are friendly, but they care little for anything but games and meditative appreciation of their natural surroundings. While many elves live in harmony with nature among the trees and fields of the surface, some elves abide in glittering caves below the surface of Gladsheim. Gladsheim has seasons. Summers are long and kind, and its winters are dark and unforgiving. During the winter, the elves retreat into the caves, the entrances of which are sealed off and buried during the season of snows.
Vingolf: the Pleasant Hall or the Mead Hall, this magnificent yet jarring building is a massive hall and tower large enough to seat an entire town inside for food, drink, performance, and merriment. Wood, stone, and stranger substances create a grand but haphazard structure, as if several mansions of various cultures were mashed together. On the inside, mazes, locked doors, blind hallways, and secret treasuries surround a grand hall where music and dancing are mandatory. Usually the guests of this inmost den include Bards, Scoundrels, performers and entertainers of all stripes and colours. Wine, romance, and song rule here.
ANDLANG, the second layer of Asgard, is a fiery realm. The lower-reaching floating earthbergs are bathed in the flames that rise from the ash-covered volcanic ground below. The layer is home mainly to fire giants, but also to some creatures with a strong association to fire. Petitioners of any race are unharmed by the flames, as per their fire immunity. Most of this layer has the Fire-Dominant trait. The River Oceanus falls from the first layer but evaporates into steam before ever hitting the surface of Andlang.
Brimir: a great hall ruled by the Fire Giant King Ymir. this castle hosts lavish parties, great contests of skill, and tests of wit and cunning, for the entertainment of its king. Fire Giants from every clan come here to pay tribute to Ymir. alliances are made here, sometimes with the marriage of one of his daughters.
The Serpent Spine: a mountain range encircling a continent-sized earthberg, the Serpent Spine is home to hundreds of clans of Fire Giants. Watchtowers and citadels defend the mountain passes against rival clans and unwanted visitors. Devout giantess maidens are said to inhabit a towering needle-thin citadel called The Spire, serving as Priests of a mysterious deity.
The Burning Fjords: a series of volcanic fjords formed with lava flows instead of glacier melts and seawater. The “fjords” flow out into a massive lava lake on the ground of the layer.
GIMLE, the third layer of Asgard, is located under the ground of the second layer. It is an underground realm crisscrossed by warm tunnels, heated by hot springs and geysers. The wild regions are crowded with underground forests of strange woods that need no sun to grow, only heat. Vast caverns run through veins of clear quartz, and deep holds are studded with shining mica and pyrite. Precious and semiprecious minerals are strewn across the floor of some lengths of tunnel and even entire caverns. Dwarven and gnomish kingdoms divide up most of Gimle, with some territory populated by dark elves. This layer is a place of fiery furnaces, ringing anvils, and constant striving for perfection in the arts of smithing, runecrafting, and magic. The halls resound with the chanting voices of dwarves and the lilting songs of gnomes. Though the two races are rivals often given to war, they unite when confronted by their underground enemies, the dark elves.
Svartalfheim: the dark elves have their realm in Gimle. Though the gnomes and dwarves think the worst of the dark elves, the allegiances of these particular dark elves are not as evil as many travellers might think. Like others of this layer, they merely wish to be left alone and they don’t take kindly to unannounced visitors or trespassers.
The Prime Material Plane is coterminous with and coexistent with the Shadow Realm, which is a transitory plane where Fae creatures come from and which ethereal creatures traverse. The Prime Material Plane is also coterminous with, but not coexistent with, Limbo, a chaotic inner plane consisting of the raw elements of physical reality. The Prime Material Plane is also coterminous to the Region of Dreams, a transitory plane made up of the collective unconscious of all dreaming beings.
The Shadow Realm is coterminous with each outer plane. It is Timeless, and all Arcane Magic is Maximized, Empowered, and Extended. The barriers between the Shadow Realm and the outer planes are so thin that you can pass them simply by crossing the threshold. Travelers who do this would not be able to tell when they crossed from one plane to the next, the transition is so seamless and gradual. Each outer plane “gate” is its city in the Shadow Realm, and the cities for these planes are coexistent pockets between both the Shadow Realm and the outer plane.
The central city/outer plane, Vanaheim, is Mildly Neutral Aligned. The other city/outer planes are miles away from this central city, encircling it.
Mechanus is Strongly Lawful Aligned. Arcadia is Mildly Lawful Aligned. The Seven Heavens are Mildly Lawful and Mildly Good Aligned. Bytopia is Mildly Good Aligned. Elysium is Strongly Good Aligned. The Beastlands are Mildly Good Aligned. Alfheim is Mildly Chaos Aligned and Mildly Good Aligned. Asgard is Mildly Chaos Aligned. These cities/outer planes are ruled by the Seelie Court.
Purgatory is Strongly Chaos Aligned. Pandamonium is Mildly Chaos Aligned. The Dark Fields are Mildly Chaos and Mildly Evil Aligned. Tartarus is Mildly Evil Aligned. Hades is Strongly Evil Aligned. Gehenna is Mildly Evil Aligned. The Nine Hells are Mildly Lawful and Mildly Evil Aligned. Acheron is Mildly Lawful Aligned. These cities/outer planes are ruled by the Unseelie Court.
Limbo is Strongly Chaos Aligned and Highly Morphic. It is Sporadically Elemental and Energy Dominant, with different elements and energies constantly boiling into and out of existence. It has Subjective Directional Gravity, and Wild Magic.
Limbo is coterminous with several other inner planes. Muspelheim is Fire Dominant, and home of the City of Brass. Niflheim is Cold Dominant. Jotunheim has no elemental or energy dominance, but is the home plane of the Giants. The Abyss is Mildly Chaos and Mildly Evil Aligned, and as a whole does not have any elemental or energy dominance (but different layers may have any given elemental or energy dominance).
The Region of Dreams is Highly Morphic, has Subjective Directional Gravity, and time flows 10 times faster than on the Prime Material Plane.
THE SHADOW REALM
Normal Gravity
Timeless
Infinite Size
Alterable Morphic
No Elemental or Energy Traits
Mildly Neutral-Aligned
Enhanced Magic: all spells are maximized, extended and Empowered.
VANAHEIM
Normal Gravity
Normal Time
Infinite Size
Divinely Morphic: this trait disappears close to the center of the Plane, and even deities are affected by the nature of the Plane.
No Elemental or Energy Traits
Mildly Neutral-Aligned
Normal, Impeded, and Limited Magic: 1500km from the central citadel 9th level spells and spell-like abilities are impeded with a DC of 35. Every 100km closer the next level spells down are impeded, until even cantrips are impeded at 600km away. Starting at 1000km away all 9th level spells are limited, even for deities. Every 100km closer the next level spells are limited until even cantrips are limited at 100km away. At 500km away all supernatural abilities cease functioning. At 400km away the divine powers of demigods are annulled. At 300km away the divine powers of lesser deities are annulled. At 200km away the divine powers of intermediate deities are annulled. And at 100km away all divine powers are annulled.
PETITIONERS:
Petitioners of Vanaheim tend to have a live-and-let-live attitude. As long as they are not bothered they do not care to bother others. Many have an otherworldly grace about them, as if bathed in soft greyish light from above or behind them. They appear as if above it all. Unconcerned with most problems. Their expressions can be stoic and calm, ranging from disciplined polite smiles to gentle deadpans and gentle solemn downcast eyes. They have Acid Resistance, DR 10/+1, and immunity to Electricity and Polymorph. Additionally, some Vanaheim Petitioners seem as though they belong in other Planes. Perhaps they actually are other Planes’ Petitioners, but slightly altered by the nature of Vanaheim. Or maybe they were never quite suited to another Plane they would have gone to and so drited to Vanaheim instead. Such “lost souls” are theoretically possible. Either way, any Petitioner of another Plane can be brought to Vanaheim as an exception to the rule that Petitioners can’t leave their home Plane.
The Citadel of Sigil: at the center of Vanaheim is a vast and glorious citadel, where everyone is on equal magical footing. A magical compulsion that appears to be a natural phenomenon of Vanaheim in Sigil prevents anyone from making any sort of attack or hostile action against another unless they pass a DC 40 Will Save. Sigil also seems to be the focal point of the restricted magic of the Plane. Sigil is ruled by an enigmatic being known only as The Lady of Pain. she alone seems unaffected by the limitations, and many speculate that she is the source of them.
Library of Lore: this massive complex sits atop a barren bluff. The only access to the library is by ascending a single great staircase guarded by an elder elemental of each type. No one can reach the library without the permission of these great elemental creatures. The walls themselves are proof again teleportation and astral meddling, and those who try find themselves at the base of the great stair. Within the walls of the library, spells that access other planes do not function.
The library is a convoluted mazework of passages that cross beneath and sometimes through eachother, leaving no mark of their passage but foiling the most diligent mapmakers. Within this structure are private meditation cells for wizards, sealed armories of magic items, and both true and false libraries that contain much of the magic knowledge of the world. Those granted access to a true library can find the answer to any question as if a 12th-level caster had cast the Commune spell.one hour of research is required for every question answered.
The Library of Lore contains a copy of every non-artifact magic item created by mortal hands. They are sealed beneath magic wards and traps, and golems patrol the halls
All divination spells are extended.
Forest of The Sages: this hidden wood is a patchwork of thick woods and open glades and rolling fields. Explorers’ notes place the Forest of The Sages in several specific locations in Vanaheim, but it’s rarely found at all except by travelers who become lost in the woods.
All four seasons exist in balance in the Forest of Sages. In the space of a quarter-mile, snowfields give way to forests draped in autumn colour next to orchards heavy with fruit and newly plowed fields. Animals found in the Forest are usually hostile to travelers.
MECHANUS
Objective Directional Gravity: down is oriented to the face of each rotating cog.
Normal Time
Infinite Size
Divinely Morphic
No Elemental or Energy Traits
Strongly Law-Aligned
Normal Magic
PETITIONERS:
Petitioners of Mechanus, called Modrons often adopt a stylized version of their mortal bodies. Despite outward differences, all Modrons are alike in their eerie honesty and submersion of individuality. They are notoriously literal, and follow strict manners of decorum. They are immune to Poison and Polymorph, and resistant to Cold and Electricity.
MECHANUS doesn’t have layers, only a single infinite void full of stars in which hangs an infinite number of enormous interlocking gears. On the faces of these gears are landscapes, buildings, atmospheres, and all manner of terrain. Some cogs connect at 90-degree angles, while others connect along a single plane. Some cogs are the size of small islands, while others are as large as continents. Crossing from one cog to the next requires a DC 10 Balance check. Failure by 5 or more means a fall between the cogs, which deals 20d6 blunt damage per round. A DC 20 Climb check is required to emerge from the teeth of the cogs. Many cogs have day/night cycles created by lamps or spotlights rotating in calculated patterns over their faces.
Neumannus: Inevitables are designed, constructed, and assigned tasks to uphold various laws. It is unknown who created the first Inevitable; even Inevitables claim ignorance as to their own origin. But once created, the constructs soon learned the trick of replicating themselves. One such “factory” is Neumannus, inhabiting a small cog. It is a place devoid of regular life, though it is crawling with Inevitables at all times. Tall smokestacks cover both sides of the cog and constantly belch sooty clouds from the fires raging in forges and furnaces. Inside, chamber after chamber is given over to crystal molds of dizzying variety. Liquid metal is cooled, shaped, and tempered in these molds by special constructs. Finished pieces are assembled and animated in arcane baths of oil-like consistency. After a brief shakedown period, the newly constructed Inevitable is sent out into the multiverse with its first task. Tasks are magically encoded on the construct in glowing runes handed down by the Hub of Elders (each factory has its own Hub). the Elders spend are several hundred special Inevitables that spend their time peering through the cosmos looking for broken laws for which amends must be paid. Sometimes, Inevitables bow to other noted authorities of law in the Outer Planes, doing their bidding for a short period.
Regulus: a realm of clockwork and industry, community and harmony, where schedules are orderly and repetitive, Regulus is a small collection of cogs where gnome petitioners reside. Mines and factories, laboratories and shops, residential districts and farms, all are finely-tuned and arranged for maximum efficiency and organized neatly. Clockwork animal constructs are built and maintained here in lieu of natural life.
Forgehold: a kingdom of dwarven petitioners on a continent-sized cog teeming with mountains, foothills, rolling plains, thick forests, rushing rivers, and gentle meadows all on both sides, Forgehold is a megalopolis carved deep through the middle of its cog-tinent from one face to the other, and stretching from the center to all edges. Farms, outposts, and lumber mills dot the surface, with markets for traders and inns for travelers. But the surface remains mostly untamed wilderness where the dwarf petitioners hunt, log, fish, and explore. Inside the tunneled halls and grand caverns of Forgehold the true passion of the dwarven petitioners rings out rhythmically. The sound of magnificent machinery, pounding hammers, roaring forges, and cheerful revelry somehow sounds orchestrated, as though it were a musical ambience. So too are the military drills and combat training so perfectly synchronized. The craftsmanship of the dwarves of Forgehold is wondrous and astounding, testaments to the quality and scale of construction possible when every dwarf works in perfect cooperation.
Delon-Estin Oti: this perfectly symmetrical town is located on a far larger cog, taking up only a small part of it. Delon-Estin Oti has twenty bordering walls, with one gate on each side. Farmers till plots of fruits and vegetables and nurture animals just inside the gates. Seen from above, the town looks like a spiderweb with concentric roads radiating from the hub, a great open space covered with grass, and a single ring of trees at the very center. The town is one of peace and tranquility, a place where everything is so ordered and habitual that citizens anticipate the course of time and flow of conversation, interrupting visitors who don’t know what the future holds. Those who seek perfect equality and freedom from the lower (and higher) passions make their homes here. The population is a mixed collection of every race in the multiverse, but all are equal and there is no ruler. Many petitioners also reside within and around Delon-Estin Oti, happy to work the agricultural fields. The town has a reputation as a place where seers are born and where fortune-tellers gravitate, so visitors hoping to discover their fate are common.
Fortress of Disciplined Enlightenment: a monastery of citadel size, this structure sits on its own cog, 2 miles in diameter, and its spires and towers rise high into the void of Mechanus. Inevitables enforcing the “don’t trespass” law patrol the parapets, keeping a vigilant eye out for infiltrators and unwelcome guests. The Fortress was founded by mortal monks seeking the perfection of discipline that only Mechanus can provide. A horde of clerks, functionaries, legal aides, translators, mathematicians, philosophers, and bureaucrats staff the Fortress of Disciplined Enlightenment. Most belong to the Fraternity, though sometimes visitors are granted access to the vaunted libraries of the Fortress. The libraries extend through hundreds of rooms and hold tomes of legal volumes from all over the multiverse.
ARCADIA
Normal Gravity
Normal Time
Infinite Size
Divinely Morphic
No Elemental or Energy Traits
Mildly Law-Aligned
Normal Magic
PETITIONERS:
Petitioners on Arcadia are called Einherjar, and they appear much as they did as mortals, though they are markedly more healthy and robust. They are all fanatically devoted to making sure the common good of all is maintained. They are immune to Sonic and Acid, and resistant to Cold and Electricity. They can Smite Chaos 1/day, and are typically armed with +1 Thundering weapons.
ABELLIO, the first layer, is mostly flat, though there are mountains and hills arranged just so. Forests, lakes, fields, and streams are all found here. It is a layer of plenty, and everything, even common beasts, is dedicated to the good of all. The fields and forests are swollen with grain and fruit, all growing without tending or fear of infestation. Even the “wild” flowers grow naturally to create the most harmonious blend the trees of Arcadia are wondrous specimens, growing in both neat forests and straight-rowed orchards. Their bark has a copper, gold, silver, or iron sheen, and their leaves range from deep green to fiery red but never fall. Fruit is always in season, and some trees have fruits that imitate the effects of a particular potion. The potion is always the same for every fruit of the same tree. Different trees have fruits with different effects. In the sky hangs the Orb of Night And Day, which is perfectly dark on one side and shining bright as the sun on the other side. This Orb slowly rotates on an axis, providing 6 hours of light and then 6 hours of darkness, and repeating. The River Oceanus flows through Abellio from the Seven Heavens, and falls to the second layer of Arcadia, Buxenos. Seasons exist but are barely noticeable. The summers are never too hot and the winters are never too cold. Rain, wind, lightning storms, and cloudy skies all occasionally occur here, but are never violent enough to interrupt a day’s work.
Mount Clangedin: a perfectly conical mountain, apart from any range, rises at least thirty thousand feet above the fields below, its peak wreathed in clouds and storms. This edifice was raised by the great dwarven hero Clangeddin Silverbeard. The mountain’s interior is riddled with great halls, galleries, and dwarven-carved roads paved with flagstones. Costly lamps, hot and cold forges, and city-wide feasting halls all provide light and merriment for the underground visitor. Strangers are welcome here, especially those who come to buy weapons from the legendary smiths who labour in the hottest portions of the mountain. The dwarves who live within Mount Clangeddin, both mortal and Einherjar, spend a 6-hour day drilling, training, and perfecting their military skills to honour their lord Clangeddin, a 6-hour night of feasting and drinking, another 6-hour day of work and toil, and then finally a 6-hour night of rest and sleep before starting their routine again.
Basilica of Saint Cuthbert: high walls manned by specially chosen Knights surround this mighty edifice of Saint Cuthbert, an Angel who is said to have been ascended from a mortal of impeccable dignity and righteousness. Within the walls stands the basilica itself, whose highest dome reaches a mile into the sky. At the very center of the basilica is Cuthbert’s seat, called the Seat of Truth, though he rarely takes it. A curved open canopy supported by four serpentine pillars shelters the Seat. Cuthbert brought the pillars home as trophies after a brief crusade into the Nine Hells. Saint Cuthbert is noted for his rulings on matters of state, philosophy, and everything else. However, he is also called Saint Cuthbert of the Cudgel, and wherever he goes so does his trusted bronzewood weapon. If words do not suffice, Saint Cuthbert’s cudgel does. Einherjar and privileged Priests, Knights, and others of deep faith stay in the Basilica with Saint Cuthbert, though he sends many out on missions in his name. Modest accommodations are set aside for occasional supplicants wishing to hear the wisdom of Saint Cuthbert.
BUXENUS, the second layer, is much like the first. The landscape is just as naturally orderly and organized, the Orb of Day And Night is still visible overhead, casting light and darkness in a rotating cycle. However, the weather and seasons are frozen in perpetual calm spring. Buxenus is also a marshalling ground for great armies. These forces, many of them Angels, train and gather their strength for crusades across the multiverse to battle the forces of evil and chaos. Here and there on this layer are the training grounds of a particularly militant sect of mortals from the Material Plane called the Harmonium. Though they seek to do good, the “retraining camps” do more harm than anything else -- or so say the authorities. In these camps the Harmonium indoctrinates “borrowed” mortals of a chaotic alignment in the dictates of law and harmony in an attempt to change their spiritual identity to one more harmonious than before. The River Oceanus falls from Abellio and forms rivers and tributaries on this layer, before eventually falling over the edge into the void.
THE SEVEN HEAVENS
Normal Gravity
Normal Time
Infinite Size
Divinely Morphic
No Elemental or Energy Traits
Mildly Law- and Mildly Good-Aligned
Normal Magic
PETITIONERS:
Petitioners of Celestia are the souls of the righteous and pure, who have been elevated to angelic status in their afterlife. Called Ishim, or Sparks, they appear as floating balls of light that glow as bright as a torch. They are immune to Electricity and Petrification, have Improved Initiative, Damage Reduction 20/magic, Angel Qualities, and no planar commitment. They also can attack with a ray of light at will at +2 ranged touch attack with a range of 30 ft that deals 1d6 Holy damage, and they have spell-like abilities at will -- Aid, Continual Flame, Protection from Evil.
LUNIA, the first and bottom layer, is also called the Silver Heaven. Gorgeous citadels and redoubts of polished white stone dot the shore of the wine-dark Silver Sea, which stretches out infinitely. The sky is dark but filled with glittering stars bright enough to illuminate the shores. The base of the mountain is populated with cities and towns which rise up along its many paths and stairways, to the next layer. The Silver Sea is made of holy water, fed from glacial runoff from the titanic mountain Olympus, and is teeming with all manner of aquatic life, from schools of tiny fish to leviathans moving in the depths. The River Oceanus also makes its way through this layer, winding in a current through the Silver Sea on its way from Bytopia through the Heavens to Arcadia. Runoff from the melting glaciers of Olympus spills into the Silver Sea and joins the River Oceanus on its way.
Castle Mahlhevik: the wonders of Lunia offer much, even for a Chaotic Evil Wizard committed to learning the paths of goodness. Calling in favours from various Angels, and revealing his sincerity, the wizard Mahlhevik built his castle on the shore of the Silver Sea in peace. While he’s sincerely attempting to reform, he’s got a long way to go and retains many instincts and notions of his former self. Mahlhevik welcomes visitors and allows travelers of any alignment to stay in Castle Mahlhevik. Some of his “old friends” such as Sytris, once called Soul Reaver, and Japheth, formerly known as Lifeleech, visit from time to time. But arriving onto the plane waist deep in the holy water of the Silver Sea has a way of scarring and frightening away Mahlhevik’s old friends, so they don’t visit often. Interesting trades and even more interesting stories can be had at Mahlhevik’s castle, and travelers who don’t want to deal directly with the Angels regard it as a good place to stay.
MERCURIA, the second layer, is also called the Golden Heaven. It is a place of thin air and high hopes, where golden light suffuses everything. Here the slopes are tame, the valleys lush, and the streams fast-running. Plateaus and passes provide spaces for settlements of Angels and other goodly beings. Great tombs and wondrous mausoleums on Mercuria grant eternal rest to the noblest of fighters. Here, the inhabitants of the Heavens honour their deeds during an annual Day of Memory.
Bahamut’s Palace: this glittering wonder is built entirely from the treasure hoard of Bahamut, the Dragon Lord of the North Wind, paragon of wisdom, knowledge, prophecies, and song, and ruler of goodly dragons. The palace’s windows are gemstones in settings of gold and silver, its walls are inlaid with copper and jade, and its floors are beaten mithral. Within, seven Long dragons attend Bahamut amid treasure gathered over eons -- and the bones of a thousand failed thieves. Bahamut’s palace moves among the first four heavens at Bahamut’s will, carried aloft by a whirlwind. For travelers friendly to Bahamut, the palace offers an alternative method of traveling the Heavens without using the paths.
VENYA, the third layer, is also called the Pearly Heaven. The slopes of Venya are old, rounded, and occasionally laced with snow. The brooks run warm and clear, though ice often forms on the banks in winter. Terraced fields and carefully tended woodlands are common sights on the slopes.
The Glass Tarn: this mountain lake of icy water is nestled in a bowl-shaped valley between three peaks, fed by the runoff from a glacier of blue ice high above. When a believer throws something truly important and valuable into the Tarn as an offering, a light rushes up from the incomprehensible depths. When the light reaches the surface it takes the form of a prophecy featuring the supplicant -- or a powerful Angel to deal with the intruder if the offering was not sincere.
Green Fields: here crops never fail, the weather is always mild, and plentiful harvests are a blessing. This is the realm of angelic Halfling petitioners, and that means comfort. The realm is a combination of burrowed households, small rustic buildings, and endless fields. No large predators live in Green Fields, but Angelic moles, rabbits, and badgers are common.
SOLANIA, the fourth layer, is also called the Crystal Heaven. A sky that shines with the glow of burnished silver hangs above the quiet slopes of Solania. Luminescent fogs and invigorating scents shroud the valleys. Many of the slopes hold mighty glaciers above, and they remain rich in ore and precious minerals below. Solania’s peaks are home to monasteries, cathedrals, and other holy shrines. Often, these structures are the destinations of interplanar pilgrims seeking answers to questions of creation, toil, and love.
Erackinor: the slopes of Solania are deeply tunneled with a vast dwarven mansion called Erackinor. None but dwarves and dwarven petitioners are allowed within. Those who enter and return speak in hushed tones of stonework and craftsmanship that far surpasses anything a dwarf might have seen on the Material Plane. Dwarven Priests say that their god, Moradin, uses the Soul Forges deep within the most secret reaches of Erackinor to temper the spirits his people and their weapons. The armories of Erackinor are second to none, and the combat-veteran dwarves and dwarven petitioners that fill Erackinor’s halls make the mansion nigh-impregnable.
EMPYREA, the fifth layer, is also called the Platinum Heaven. The slopes of Empyrea are gentle, leveling off in great sweeping plains dominated by citadels and domes. The citadels of Empyrea are marsheling grounds for Knights, Angels, and other creatures of Good and Order. The many healing fountains and curative waters in Empyrea can restore withered limbs, lost speech, derangement, and life energy itself; those who ail need only find the right fountain. This layer of the Seven Heavens has the Minor Positive-Dominant trait.
Merton: also called the City of Tempered Souls, Merton sits on the edge of a cold, clear mountain lake. Merton is known for its healers and hospitals, and many a pilgrim seeks to reach this legendary site of perfect health.
JOVAR, the sixth layer, is also called the Glittering Heaven. The slopes are strewn with great rubies and garnets twinkling with light so beautiful that it steals the breath at first sight. Here, hosts of Angels wander the gem fields, lost in contemplation of the glory of their previous lives.
An, The Heavenly City: The Heavenly City is visible from everywhere on Jovar and from vantage points on lower heavens. The City is a seven-layered ziggurat. An enormous staircase on each of its four sides connects the terraces. Gemstones of profound value make up every step and stone on the ziggurat, and all glow with an inner light. Hosts of Angels move up and down the stairs, but the structure is so massive that the steps never grow crowded. On the lowest terrace sits the Exchequer of Souls, a black marble building of graceful arches and onion domes laced with threads of gold and silver. Here powerful Angels weigh the virtue of lower Angels, elevating the worthy to higher forms. The Radiant Arsenal on the fourth terrace is a long narrow building with a vaulted ceiling and extensive cellars. Here, weapons both magic and mundane are stored to arm the Angel hosts if necessary. The most important weapons are said to contain the essence of powerful Angels. They reside in pearl-lined vaults sealed off by powerful glyphs. The Bridge of Al-Sihal on the seventh, highest terrace is a beam of blinding light. This is the portal to the seventh heaven, Cronus, and it is guarded by an Angel named Xerona who turns aside the unworthy.
CRONUS, the seventh and highest layer, is also called the Illuminated Heaven. Cronus is a mystery, though some say it is the mystery. Those few who achieve the Illuminated Heaven never return, so no account records Cronus’ true aspect. Tales say that those who enter have their inherent goodness magnified until their essence joins with the Seven Heavens. Or, if they harbour evil, their souls are extinguished and their essence is permanently erased from the multiverse.
BYTOPIA
Objective Direction Gravity: down exists in two opposite directions on the plane’s two facing layers. Gravity is normal until one crosses the invisible boundary between the two layers, and then it reverses.
Normal Time
Infinite Size
Divinely Morphic
No Elemental or Energy Traits
Mildly Good-Aligned
Normal Magic
PETITIONERS:
Petitioners of Bytopia look much the same as they did in life, but take on fae qualities. Many take the form of gnomes regardless of their race in mortal life. They are immune to Fire and Cold, and have resistance to Sonic and Electricity. They can cast Magic Circle against Evil at will as a spell-like ability.
DOTHION, officially considered the “first” layer, is the more populated of the two facing planes. It is a realm of pastoral activity and individual industry. Its rolling hills cluster around spikes of volcanic rock that jut toward its more savage companion layer. The land is a combination of open, settled manor farms and well-tended woods and forests. Dothion is a very domestic plane, its petitioners raising silver-wooled sheep and golden-flecked lambs. The open spaces are huge manor fields of wheat, barley, and corn. The residents have dammed many gentle streams, harnessing them to waterwheels that grind the grain into excellent flour and meal. Towns here lack protective walls, but paved roads link them in well-ordered lines. It is a land of barns and beekeeping, of wool and milk, and of small shops and smithies. Most of the workshops that huddle along the roadside are privately owned, and the owners swear no allegiance beyond “the common good”. Dothion’s weather tends to be mild, and it has regular, mostly benign, seasons. Often a heavy storm from Shurrock breaks through the border between the two layers, wreaking havoc. In general, the layer is an ideal paradise for those who prefer the quiet life. The River Oceanus flows in both layers of Bytopia on its way from Elysium to the Seven Heavens.
The Golden Hills: a number of tors larger than the surrounding hillsides are each topped with towers or citadels where feasts and worship, and mining operations, are held. Each hill is said to belong to a member of Garl Glittergold’s court, with the tallest tor believed to belong to the gnomes’ god himself. Everything in this region has a soft golden tint to it that gives the landscape a soft radiance. Angelic animals are common here, with golden plumage and fur. The hills are filled with precious metals and gems, and many have been dug out into warrens for gnome petitioners and forges for the craftsmen.
SHURROCK, Dothion’s wild counterpart, is an inverse world facing Dothion. Where Dothion is well-mannered, Shurrock is savage. Where Dothion is calm, Shurrock is extreme. It is a land of rough country and harsh weather, divided by deep, snow-filled winters and dry, parching summers. Shurrock and Dothion are eachothers sky. During the day a radiance shines in the border between the layers, growing gradually to the brightness of full sunlight and then subsiding to complete darkness for 8 hours before starting again. There are no stars, only the twinkling lights of Dothion’s towns and cities above Shurrock, and the faint blinking of Shurrock fireflies and sometimes wildfires above Dothion. The land of Shurrock is filled with raw materials. Seams of gold and gems are found just beneath the surface, the tangled woodlands are rich in timber, and all manner of wild game thrives throughout the layer. Quarries and mills are common, usually with small communities crowding them. These towns are often walled and guarded, for on Shurrock walk the more powerful creatures of Bytopia such as Angelic versions of animals and magical beasts. Shurrock is a land of continual challenge. For those who seek to prove themselves and their ability to survive, it is a very different type of paradise than its tame sibling, Dothion. Occasionally some foul beast breaks loose from Shurrock and reaches Dothion, but in general the challenges of this layer stay on this side of the border.
ELYSIUM
Normal Gravity
Normal Time
Infinite Size
Divinely Morphic
Minor Positive-Dominant
Strongly Good-Aligned
Entrapping: visitors to Elysium experience increasing joy and satisfaction while on the plane. Colours seem brighter and more vivid than on the Material Plane, sounds more melodious and soft, and the nature of others seems more pleasant and understanding. Every week a creature on Elysium must make a Willpower Save (DC 10 +1 per consecutive week spent on the plane) or else become trapped by the plane. Entrapped creatures become petitioners of Elysium and cannot leave of their own volition, having no desire to do so anyway. Memories of their mortal life fade into nothing and it takes a Wish or Miracle to return them to normal.
Normal Magic
PETITIONERS:
Petitioners of Elysium look as they did in their mortal life, though their demeanors become calmer and more noble. They are immune to Electricity and Sonic, and resistant to Cold and Fire. they retain up to four character levels acquired before becoming petitioners (multiclass petitioners may choose levels from any classes they had in life).
AMORIA, the first and topmost layer, is one of the most hospitable places in the Outer Planes -- if you ignore the planes tendency to convert long-term visitors to full-time petitioners. Small towns dot the banks of the river Oceanus, and islands of rolling hills rise from the river itself. Boat travel is common, and the bulk of the population of Elysium lives on this layer.
Amoria is a relatively peaceful place, but it’s also a place where those who live here have ample opportunities to aid others and demonstrate goodness. There is still misfortune on Elysium, but it seems to exist only to show the collective power of goodness. Calamities here, such as a village fire or capsized boat, test and identify those who are from other planes. Travelers to Amoria are besieged by small errands and tasks, but if they complete them they find powerful allies at their side.
Amoria has seasons, but they are so timid that visitors from the Material Plane hardly notice them. It is neither too hot in summer nor too cold in the winter, and it rarely rains without a rainbow appearing immediately afterward. The angels often upbraid storm giants and other creatures who can control the weather for causing sudden rainstorms, even if they have good reason to do so.
The rulers of the angels also live on Amoria. These supremely powerful archangels are as powerful as the archdukes of the Nine Hells or the demon princes of the Abyss. First among their number is Prince Talisid, the wisest and most powerful of the angels. Talisid’s lieutenants are known as the Five Companions: the lupine Duke Lucan, the bearlike Dutchess Callisto, the winged Duke Windheir, the equine Lord Hwyn, and the antlered Lord Rhanok. Together they organize the efforts of the angels, sending them on missions against evil and even striking into the Unseelie planes to recover those captured by the forces of evil.
ERONIA is a rising land of steep hills, sharp=toothed mountains, and white granite valleys, which divert the river again and again. Rugged foothills coil at the bases of these mountains, high bluffs, plateaus, and mesas. Communities tend to congregate on the plateaus or in small towns hunched between mountains and the river Oceanus.
The weather is fierce on Eronia; great windstorms and snowfalls with lightning are common. The summers are hotter and the winters more bitter than on the Material Plane. Eronia is for the good souls who still want to be challenged in their afterlife.
Those who live here do so at the whim of the mountains themselves. Often, parts of the great hills slide into the river, blocking it in some locations and forcing it into new channels in others. Eronia is a place of rugged peace, its mountains lost in luminous clouds above and a challenge to any climber. Here the wind whips around mightily, and even the winged angels have some difficulty flying. All creatures with a fly speed have their maneuverability reduced to the next lower category. Clumsy fliers remain clumsy.
BELIERIN is a land of misty swamps and fog-bound marshes, quite the opposite of what one might expect in a plane of ultimate goodness. Here the river is no more than a tangled braid of slow-moving water through uncountable channels, with low, flooded sandbars and tangles of mangroves rising from it.
Still, the positive nature of Elysium shines through this desolate place. The fog itself seems to spread light with each wispy tendril, surrounding every torch and lantern with a luminous nimbus.
The few communities that exist on Belierin rise from rocky spurs that jut from the swamp. These small towns are usually built around a cathedral-like lighthouse whose beacon pierces the mildly luminous fog, bringing travelers to dock safely.
Belierin is the prison of some deadly creature or creatures. Some tales say the prisoner of Belierin is a powerful monster along the lines of a dragon or monster of legend. Others say it is a deadly archuduke of the Unseelie planes, a deposed elemental prince, or even a wounded deity. The indisputable fact is that evil creatures are sometimes caught lurking here, and the native angels are constantly fighting back attacks against this layer.
The true nature of the prisoner of Belierin may never be known, but the layer does make a dangerous prison and perilous region to cross.
THALASIA
This layer is the headwaters of the river Oceanus, the start of the great river that flows through the layers of Elysium, dodges the sun-dappled trees of the Beastlands, and plunges into Alfheim. Thalasia is dotted with islands and sprinkled with small communities.
These islands are variously known as the Isles of The Dead, Isles of The Blessed, the Hills of Avalon, the Islands Beyond The World, and the Heroic Isles. Here, the best of good-aligned petitioners make their homes, retaining some knowledge of their previous lives. Here hero-kings wait for the day when their nations need them again, and religious scholars research great mysteries in huge libraries.
Often these great petitioners made the journey to Thalasia while still alive but approaching death, whether from age or from wounds taken in noble battle. Elysium then slowly converted them to powerful petitioners, and they scarcely felt the pain of death. In Thelasia they retain their powers and memories but are at peace with themselves and with others, the ultimate reward for good.
The purpose of Thalasia may be to provide a good and just reward. It may also be to produce recruits to become angels, to create wardens for whatever is locked up in Belierin, or to muster an army of goodness for an eventual last battle with the forces of evil.
The Fortress of The Sun: once known as Light’s Blessing, this stronghold is the domain of the Seelie King Oberon and Queen Titania. This realm, once a vast manor surrounded by orchards, vineyards, and farmland for miles, is now a gold-plated citadel that forms a beacon atop Krigala, the largest island in Thalasia.
The Fortress of The Sun dominates the land for a hundred miles around and is clearly visible from the shores of the river Oceanus. It glows like a beacon day and night, providing continual daylight for a hundred miles in every direction. Creatures are affected as if in full daylight within Oberon’s realm, regardless of where they hide.
Oberon sits in a great audience chamber at the highest spire, where he confers with angels, dispatching them to deal with the forces of darkness.
Everywhere within the golden light of the Fortress has the Light Gravity trait and enhanced magic Maximizes all spells of the Sun domain and with the Light descriptor. The impeded magic trait affects all Enchantment (Illusion) spells of the figment, pattern, or glamour subschools. Oberon and Titania have the power to make other changes if they so wish.
THE BEASTLANDS
Normal Gravity
Normal Time
Infinite Size
Divinely Morphic
No Elemental or Energy Traits
Mildly Good-Aligned
Normal Magic
PETITIONERS:
Petitioners of the Beastlands take on animal traits soon after they arrive. Their hair grows long in lustrous pelts, short horns sprout from their foreheads, and they develop cats’ eyes or fox ears. Over the course of centuries, they become celestial beasts or animals. They usually live in small communities at the bases of great trees, leading simple lives in harmony with the other creatures of the plane. They have immunity to Electricity and Poison, resistance to Cold and Fire, and Fast Healing 2.
KRIGALA, the Beastlands’ top layer, is split in two by the river Oceanus. The river flows through the layer in a strong torrent, flanked by verdant forests that often bridge the great river with intertwined branches above. Small side channels depart from the river, and there are numerous bayous and oxbow lakes formed whenever this extraplanar river alters its banks.
Krigala is a land of eternal afternoon. A warm sun basks the land in its continual glow. It is just warm enough in Krigala for the plant life of the area, and temperatures remain in a comfortable range unless manipulated by spells.
Time passes normally but is not tracked by the moving of the sun. instead, gentle rains drift in on soft breezes once per day. More rarely, occasional thunderstorms strike, sending many of Krigala’s beasts to cover.
Most of the creatures encountered in Krigala would be active in the day if they lived on the Material Plane. Most of the native life has a basic understanding of how the portals between the layers work, and they can avoid the portals instinctively if they choose.
The Grove of The Unicorns: Deep within the Beastlands is a grove that sits at the base of a cluster of great sequoias that form a natural cathedral for those beneath the canopy. The lowest branches of the great redwoods are hundreds of feet in the air, such that those with wings can fly through this cathedral without difficulty.
Those who reside within the borders of the Grove live in peace with the trees and animals, and they are similarly left alone by the wild creatures.
True to its name, the Grove attracts groups of unicorns, both with the celestial template and half-celestial/half-unicorns.
BRUX is the second layer of the Beastlands, and a land of eternal dusk. The sun is a red ball along the horizon, casting long ruddy shadows through the forest. Where it can be seen above the trees, a silvered moon hovers low over the opposite horizon. Time passes normally on this layer, but newcomers often get the eerie sense that the world is frozen at sunset.
Brux is slightly cooler than Krigala, and fogs and mists roil through the trees. The animal life on Brux is active in the morning and evening, sleeping during the heat of day and getting food when the sun is low in the sky.
Travelers who find themselves on Brux by accident may find their way back to Krigala by following the creeks and streams. Many of them lead eventually to Oceanus; others lead to boggy marshes and swamps.
KARASUTHRA, the lowest layer of the Beastlands, wears a cloak of continual night. A silver moon whose phases change achingly slowly hangs in the open sky, surrounded by stars that lazily drift across the sky. Only a few beacons of moonlight pierce the thick canopy of the forest here, forming silver shafts that touch the forest floor.
Karasuthra is home to the most dangerous night creatures, hunters relentless in the pursuit of their quarry. Hunters from the Material Plane sometimes journey to Karasuthra looking for the most dangerous of trophies. Some even survive to try a second time.
ALFHEIM
Normal Gravity.
Normal Time.
Infinite Size.
Divinely Morphic.
No Elemental or Energy Traits.
Mildly Chaos- and Mildly Good-Aligned.
Enhanced Magic. Arcane Spells are Maximized, Empowered, and Extended.
PETITIONERS:
Two kinds of petitioners are found here. The souls of elven worshipers chosen to serve as vassals in the great castles and glades here are called the Chosen of Arvandor. They are immune to Poison and Electricity, and have resistance to Cold and Fire. they also have DR 10/+1. The souls of gourmands, gluttons, well-meaning drunks, and those who relished the act of living become Bacche, satyrlike revelers caught in mid-transformation between man and beast. They are immune to Electricity and Polymorph, and have resistance to Acid and Poison. They have an Entice supernatural ability. Anyone within 100 feet of a mob of Bacche must make a Will save ( DC 10 + the number of Bacche within range, max DC 25) or else join the party. While partying, those who failed their save eat, drink, make merry, and engage in pranks and all kinds of tomfoolery, but do not get the benefits of nourishment from food or water. The party lasts for 101 days or until the character collapses from lack of sustenance. Bacche are non-violent, fleeing if attacked -- or more likely offering bread and wine to their attackers.
ARVANDOR, the first layer, is a place of great open spaces beneath the trees. Within these canopied clearings lay the settlements of the Chosen of Arvandor, engaged in an idealized elven life. In the day there are hunts and challenges, in the evenings feasts and tales told around the fire. The cycle of day and night matches the material plane, with a golden sun beaming above the treetops in the day and a white moon nestled among a milky river of stars at night. The nights are warm in Arvandor. Even beneath the trees, great fireflies form their own elastic constellations among the huge oaks and lindens.
AQUALLOR, the second layer of Alfheim, is an eternal ocean. At its lowest reaches it’s as black as night. The magic of this realm grants visitors the ability to breath underwater. What Aquallor lacks is islands, for great storms stalk the layer’s surface, swamping any boats that dare its heavy seas. Beneath the surface, Aquallor has the Water-Dominant trait, and the magic of the plane protects against the pressures of the deep. Much like the first layer of Alfheim, Aquallor is subject to quicksilver changes in the weather. Such weather takes the form of great underwater currents that drag the traveller miles off course. Sea life fills this layer, most of it either celestial or anarchic in nature. Larger beasts and aberrations can be found by explorers who swim deep enough.
MITHARDIR, the third layer, is a desert of fine, white, chalky dust that extends forever. Mithardir was once a great forest as well as home to creatures that campfire stories alternately describe as giants or titanlike deities. Why they no longer live on this layer is unknown, but Mitherdir is now an empty realm. Persistent explorers can still find the great towers and tombs of this lost race of deities or giants, their minarets breaking through the grit like fingers straining to escape a premature grave. Brave travelers seek out Mithardir in hopes of prying away the secrets of the lost giants. More often than not, the incandescent winds of this layer wind up grinding the bones of such explorers into powder. As with the rest of Alfheim, the weather in Mithardir is sudden and dramatic. Lightning storms regularly lash across the desert, driving huge duststorms ahead of them. Travelers can be buried by a sudden attack.
Evergold: one feature that makes Alfheim attractive to visitors is the Fountain of Beauty, called Evergold by the elves. It is a pool of crystal blue water surrounded by golden sand, and it reflects the light so cleanly that it hurts the eyes to gaze upon it. Those that bathe in it’s waters gain an enhancement bonus to Charisma of 1d4+1 points for a month and a day.
ASGARD
Normal Gravity
Normal Time
Infinite Size
Divinely Morphic
Minor Positive-Dominant
Mildly Chaos-Aligned
Normal Magic
PETITIONERS:
Asgardian Petitioners are mostly the valiant, thrill-seeking and heroic sort. Those who tend to be rash, aggressive, and excited to fight, are likely to wind up in Asgard. These Petitioners have Fire and Acid immunity, and are resistant to Sonic and Electric damage.
ASGARD, the top layer of Asgard, shares it’s name with the plane proper. This layer is characterized by floating earthbergs, some miles upon miles wide. These earthbergs do not drift much, staying mostly in one place, but they seem to stretch on forever in all cardinal directions. On these sky-islands are mountains, plains, fields, forests, rivers, lakes, and settlements. Humans, elves, halflings, and rarely dwarves or others are found in these settlements. The River Oceanus falls from the sky onto a series of earthbergs, creating a tiered waterfall before spilling over to the second layer, Andlang.
Plain of Splendor: this great field is located near Valliant Hall and the free city of Himinbjorg, the largest population center on the layer. The Plain of Splendor hosts daily festivals where warriors can flaunt their mettle. Here, bravery and skill in battle is valued over all else.
Gladsheim: the Radiant Home, this sunlit region is populated primarily by elves and is suffused with light and joy. The lands are wild and beautiful, untouched by civilization. Wildlife is plentiful, and natural features such as streams, woods, and sunny hills are likewise bountiful. The elven natives are friendly, but they care little for anything but games and meditative appreciation of their natural surroundings. While many elves live in harmony with nature among the trees and fields of the surface, some elves abide in glittering caves below the surface of Gladsheim. Gladsheim has seasons. Summers are long and kind, and its winters are dark and unforgiving. During the winter, the elves retreat into the caves, the entrances of which are sealed off and buried during the season of snows.
Vingolf: the Pleasant Hall or the Mead Hall, this magnificent yet jarring building is a massive hall and tower large enough to seat an entire town inside for food, drink, performance, and merriment. Wood, stone, and stranger substances create a grand but haphazard structure, as if several mansions of various cultures were mashed together. On the inside, mazes, locked doors, blind hallways, and secret treasuries surround a grand hall where music and dancing are mandatory. Usually the guests of this inmost den include Bards, Scoundrels, performers and entertainers of all stripes and colours. Wine, romance, and song rule here.
ANDLANG, the second layer of Asgard, is a fiery realm. The lower-reaching floating earthbergs are bathed in the flames that rise from the ash-covered volcanic ground below. The layer is home mainly to fire giants, but also to some creatures with a strong association to fire. Petitioners of any race are unharmed by the flames, as per their fire immunity. Most of this layer has the Fire-Dominant trait. The River Oceanus falls from the first layer but evaporates into steam before ever hitting the surface of Andlang.
Brimir: a great hall ruled by the Fire Giant King Ymir. this castle hosts lavish parties, great contests of skill, and tests of wit and cunning, for the entertainment of its king. Fire Giants from every clan come here to pay tribute to Ymir. alliances are made here, sometimes with the marriage of one of his daughters.
The Serpent Spine: a mountain range encircling a continent-sized earthberg, the Serpent Spine is home to hundreds of clans of Fire Giants. Watchtowers and citadels defend the mountain passes against rival clans and unwanted visitors. Devout giantess maidens are said to inhabit a towering needle-thin citadel called The Spire, serving as Priests of a mysterious deity.
The Burning Fjords: a series of volcanic fjords formed with lava flows instead of glacier melts and seawater. The “fjords” flow out into a massive lava lake on the ground of the layer.
GIMLE, the third layer of Asgard, is located under the ground of the second layer. It is an underground realm crisscrossed by warm tunnels, heated by hot springs and geysers. The wild regions are crowded with underground forests of strange woods that need no sun to grow, only heat. Vast caverns run through veins of clear quartz, and deep holds are studded with shining mica and pyrite. Precious and semiprecious minerals are strewn across the floor of some lengths of tunnel and even entire caverns. Dwarven and gnomish kingdoms divide up most of Gimle, with some territory populated by dark elves. This layer is a place of fiery furnaces, ringing anvils, and constant striving for perfection in the arts of smithing, runecrafting, and magic. The halls resound with the chanting voices of dwarves and the lilting songs of gnomes. Though the two races are rivals often given to war, they unite when confronted by their underground enemies, the dark elves.
Svartalfheim: the dark elves have their realm in Gimle. Though the gnomes and dwarves think the worst of the dark elves, the allegiances of these particular dark elves are not as evil as many travellers might think. Like others of this layer, they merely wish to be left alone and they don’t take kindly to unannounced visitors or trespassers.
