Exemplars of Evil

are havens for the few inhabitants of the plane, and dramatic
battles of apocalyptic proportions are waged here for precious
little territory. Those who lose are cast off wailing into the
dark, while the victors enjoy a brief respite before their prize
crumbles into frozen bits of gravel.
When Kastya crossed through the Astral Plane color pool
onto the Negative Energy Plane, he discovered, though luck
or design, a massive tower that had escaped destruction. He
and Albathrax purged the complex of squatters and claimed
it for themselves, naming it Bleak Hold. Many portions of
the tower have since broken off, and other parts house terrifying,
indescribable things, making the slowly spinning
structure no more hospitable than any other location on this
deathly plane.
KEY FEATURES
Centuries of decay have all but dissolved the top and bottom
sections of Bleak Hold, leaving nothing but hollow areas
shrouded in darkness. Only one level of the tower now
remains more or less intact, and that level is where Kastya
makes his home.
Planar Traits
Bleak Hold drifts through the Negative Energy Plane, which
has the following traits. (For more details, see Chapter 5 of
the Dungeon Master’s Guide.)
Subjective Directional Gravity: Within Bleak Hold,
there is a clear up and down.
Minor Negative-Dominant: Bleak Hold exists in an
area of doldrums, which minimizes the deadlier traits of
the plane. Most areas within the tower are minor negativedominant,
meaning that living creatures within take 1d6
points of damage each round, unless protected by death ward
or similar magic. If they fall to 0 or fewer hit points, they
crumble into ash.
Major Negative-Dominant: Outside Bleak Hold, and
in certain locations within the tower, living creatures
must succeed on a DC 25 Fortitude save each round or
gain one negative level. If a living creature’s negative levels
equal its Hit Dice, the creature dies and instantly rises as
a wraith.
Enhanced Magic: Spells and spell-like abilities that use
negative energy, such as inflict spells, are maximized (as if
affected by the Maximize Spell metamagic feat, but without
changing the effective spell slot). Spells and spell-like abilities
that are maximized already are not affected by this benefit.
Class abilities that use negative energy, such as rebuking and
controlling undead, gain a +10 bonus on the roll to determine
how many Hit Dice of creatures are affected.
Impeded Magic: Spells and spell-like abilities that use
positive energy, such as cure spells, are impeded. To cast such
a spell, the caster must succeed on a Spellcraft check (DC 20
+ the level of the spell). On a failed check, the spell does not
work and is lost. Characters on the Negative Energy Plane
take a penalty of –10 on Fortitude saves to remove negative
energy levels bestowed by an
energy drain attack.
Illus. by M. Phillippi
CHAPTER 8
KASTYA ZURITH-
MOVYA
Bleak Hold
135