Manual of the Planes

and Colothys confines liars whose untruths harmedothers. Finally, Porphatys is home to the shallow and selfabsorbedwho refused to aid others when the opportunitypresented itself.Carceri’s petitioners have the following special petitionerqualities:Additional Immunities: Cold, acid.Resistances: Electricity 20, fire 20.Other Special Qualities: Petitioners on Carceri lieoften and well, receiving a +10 competence bonus onBluff checks.MOVEMENT AND COMBATFor characters on an orb of Carceri, movement functionsnormally. Once a character gets more than 100 feet offthe surface of an orb, gravity disappears. But unlike otherplanes with the no gravity trait, force of will doesn’t providea means of locomotion. Characters need a fly spell oranother means of movement to reach a different orb.Carceri’s natives sometimes use ferrous sleds that slidethrough the air as if it were solid, skin balloons filled withhot air, and spinnerets whose 100-foot silk lengths catchthe wind and pull a traveler off a high mountain to arandom destination.Certain channels of the Styx and well-hidden properportals allow movement between Carceri’s layers.Combat on Carceri functions like it does on theMaterial Plane.FEATURES OF CARCERICarceri is called the sixfold realm because it has six layersnested within each other like little wooden dolls. Oneach layer, a strand of small planets stretches in twodirections toward infinity.Many of Carceri’s layers are battle-scarred and wasted,the legacy of the Blood War. While much of Carceriremains oblivious to the war raging across the lowerplanes, portions of Carceri are used as staging groundsand even battlefields.Vision is normal on Carceri. Unlike on the MaterialPlane, natural light seems to seep upward from each orb,bathing everything in a reddish light. Hearing is normalon Carceri.OrthrysOrthrys, the first layer of Carceri, is a realm of vast bogs andquicksand. The River Styx runs freely through the layer, saturatingthe ground with its magic. Channels carved intothe soft ground through eons of erosion are wide and deep.Where there is no river, there are swamps. Though patchesof dry ground exist, they are rare and usually climb swiftlyto rugged mountains where enraged titans dwell.Mosquitoes swarm the air above the bogs, annoyingtravelers. Even more annoying are the smooth-talkingpetitioners that populate this dreary realm.Bastion of Last Hope: A fortress made of blackigneous rock squats in a mountain range of Orthrys. Theambient, reddish light of the plane lends the Bastion ofLast Hope a brooding air of menace. Only one entranceoffers itself, and those entering can’t help but notice thatthe entrance strongly resembles the maw of some massivedemonic toad.No one person rules the Bastion. Instead, it serves as asort of outpost for anarchists. Here a traveler can obtainall manner of forged documents, surgical alterations toaid a permanent disguise, and various other nefariousgoods and services. It is a good place to find assassins,spies, and others of ill repute. But cunning travelersremember that they’re on a plane full of traitors, so theytrust no one within the Bastion’s walls.Mount Orthrys: The highest peaks of the mountainranges on two of this layer’s orbs reach ridiculously high,just bridging the planetary gulf between them. At theirintersection is a titanic palace of white marble columns,amphitheaters, and galleries. Here lives a race of titans,banished from the Material Plane long ago. The titan lordof Mount Orthrys, Cronus, resides at the center of hispalace in a throne room a mile wide. Visitors may seekaudiences with Cronus to hear his wisdom, but thosewho seek such counsel must be always aware that thetitan’s eons-long anger at his confinement may lash outunexpectedly at those who can come and go at theirleisure. Cronus has the power of a lesser deity for the purposesof altering Mount Orthrys.CathrysThe orbs in the second layer of Carceri are covered withfetid jungles and scarlet plains. The stench of decay fills theair, a rot fueled by acidic secretions of jungle plants. Thosewithout immunity to acid are soon rendered down to theircomponent materials if they stay too long amid the swayingtrees. The jungle air deals 1d4 points of acid damage perminute, and some plants secrete more potent acids.The plains of Cathrys are more habitable. Vast, windsweptgrasslands cover the planes. Some patches possessrazor-sharp leaves, which can cut a traveler not mindfulof them. Those who hustle (double move) or run on theplains must make a Reflex save (DC 20) each round or cutthemselves for 1d4 points of damage.Apothecary of Sin: Located deep in the fetid junglesof an orb of Cathrys is the Apothecary of Sin. The Apothecaryis built from cunningly woven scrap wood atop thetrunk of large tree, raising the one-story structure highabove the waving branches of the acid-laden leavesbelow. Rope-suspended catwalks provide access abovethe treetops, though random sections are missing, possiblyvictims of caustic storms. Mundane and exotic poisonsand acids are bought and sold in the Apothecary.A demon called Sinmaker runs the Apothecary. Sinmakeris a glabrezu of average abilities, except for his specialaffinity for acids, poisons, and venoms. He delights inall things poisonous—the more diabolical, the better. Allthe poisons found on Table 3-16: Poisons in the DUNGEONMASTER’s Guide are available in the Apothecary, as well asmany special, unique concoctions bought by Sinmakerfrom travelers or synthesized in Sinmaker’s own laboratory.CHAPTER 7:THE OUTERPLANES105