Manual of the Planes

sun no brighter than the Material Plane’s moon lightsthis plane. The Ice Wastes are the province of frost giantswho serve Kostchtchie, their demon prince. Frost giantmages dwell with their prince in the Glacier Citadel, afortress carved into the creaking ice between two toweringpeaks. Spring never comes to the Ice Wastes, andmost of its inhabitants live in underground strongholdsor caverns.Demonweb Pits: The 66th layer of the Abyss is hometo Lolth, the Spider Queen. The plane folds in upon itselfso that it resembles a great web. A dizzying array of webtunnels interconnect with fractal complexity. Eachstrand is strung with portals onto the planes where Lolthis worshiped. Lolth’s palace is said to be a mobile ironstronghold shaped like a spider, perpetually crawlingacross her planar web.Smargard: The 74th layer is home to Merrshaulk, theyuan-ti deity. It is a realm of ever-shifting colors, moistjungles, acid rain, and fermenting poisons. There may beno jungle floor at all, just layer after layer of darker anddimmer forest canopies.Abysm: The 88th layer of the Abyss, called the BrineFlats, is home to Demogorgon, one of the most powerfuldemon princes. It is a realm of briny water androcky prominences used as rookeries by flyingdemons. Aboleths, kraken, and demonic manta rayswar in the depths, but all bow before Demogorgon’smight. Here, Demogorgon has his terrible palace,called Abysm.The portion of Abysm above water takes the form oftwo serpentine towers, each crowned by skull-likeminarets. Here, Demogorgon wields his arcane might,attempting to induce the very Abyss to vomit forth itssecrets. The bulk of his palace extends deep underwater,in chill and darkened caverns that have never seenlight. The demon prince hoards his strength, onlyrarely involving himself directly in the Blood War. Hisdesigns go far deeper.Slime Pits: The 222nd layer is home to both Juiblex,the Slime Lord, and Zuggtmoy, the Lady of Fungi. Thelayer is a bubbling morass of oozing, fetid sludge calledthe Amoebic Sea. Vast expanses of caustic slime engenderstrange life forms, sometimes by the will of the demonswho reside here, but sometimes spontaneously.Fortress of Indifference: The 348th layer is alonely, blasted plain of tumbled rocks, jagged pinnacles,and sinister gorges devoid of natural life. Crimsonclouds scrub the sky, and freezing winds lash a traveler’seyes and skin. Here stands the Fortress of Indifference,a single 200-foot-tall tower of black iron gridwork.Humanoids of every variety are woven into themetal itself, used as a ghastly mortar. Most of the formsare dead, but many are undead and constantly wail andclaw at the air.The Fortress houses outcast demons, half-fiends, andtieflings. Though these creatures are evil through andthrough, they have turned their backs on the Blood War.A nalfeshnee demon named Tapheon rules the Fortress.Tapheon’s form is horribly scarred, and he constantlywears a body-brace of rusty iron that keeps his bloatedform upright with long hooks.Tapheon’s favorite toy is a magic rod called the Despoilerof Flesh, fashioned from sewn-together tongues. With it,the nalfeshnee can alter any creature’s shape to any othershape the imagination can provide. Of course, the imaginationof a demon is a foul thing, and the rod brings theghastliest things to life.Noisome Vale: The 489th layer of the Abyss was onceruled by a powerful balor called Tarnhem, though he hasgone missing. The layer’s atmosphere is a haze of acidicgas constantly regenerated by volcanic vents that scar anutterly blasted landscape. A ravine cuts through thelandscape of the Noisome Vale, but it is not filled withwater or even condensed acid. Instead, it channels aflood of slick, writhing worms that vary in lengthbetween 1 inch and 10 feet. These worms inhale thesulfur fumes endemic to the layer and exhale breathableair. The worms’ respiration affects both shores of theriver to a distance of 50 feet on either side, effectivelyscrubbing the air free of sulfur gas.Tarnhem’s manor is built along the ravine. Thanks tothe worms, it possesses a breathable atmosphere, thoughthe constant susurrus of the writhing worms below ismaddening. Tarnhem’s demonic staff still maintains themanor despite the absence of Tarnhem himself (the staffbelieves he is imprisoned offplane). Despite Tarnhem’sdisappearance, the demons that guard the manor stilltake a dim view of unannounced visitors.pqqqqrsTHE RETURN OF ORCUSIt is not clear how, or why, but the truth can no longer bedenied. Orcus is back. With a vengeance.Was the demon lord really ever dead? Probably, whichaccounts for his long absence, and explains his recentincarnation as a power of undeath calling himselfTenebrous. As Tenebrous, Orcus was able to slay evendeities, wielding an ancient power known as the Last Word.He bullied some, and slew others who stood in his way.Orcus revitalized his wand, and with its strength initiated aspell of resurrection cast by one of his last faithful servants,the half-ogre Quah-Namog. Heroes from the Material Planeseemingly disrupted this ceremony at the eleventh hour, butOrcus returned all the same.Despite the fact that the power of the Last Word is dissipated,Orcus is a cruel, heartless, and powerful demon lord inhis own right. Naratyr, and the Abyssal layer of Thanatos onwhich it resides, is rightfully his, and he will have it no matterwhat. Let his enemies despair.pqqqqrsCHAPTER 7:THE OUTERPLANES103