Manual of the Planes

CHAPTER 7:THE OUTERPLANES124Walking across edges between faces can be dizzyingfor the inexperienced.• Normal Time.• Infinite Size: Each cube is finite, but the void thecubes hang in is infinite.• Divinely Morphic: Acheron changes at the whim ofits deities. Ordinary creatures must use spells andphysical effort to change the infernal battlefield.• No Elemental or Energy Traits.• Mildly Law-Aligned: Chaotic characters suffer a –2penalty on all Charisma-based checks.• Normal Magic.ACHERON LINKSAs on all the lower planes, the River Styx flows throughthe top layer of Acheron, called Avalas. The Styx flows onmany of Avalas’s cubes—welling up from a crater on onecube to flow many miles, then leaking down into anothercrater, and reappearing on another cube. Sometimes theriver takes a new course over a cube face, which canresult in entire cities being washed away in a tide of forgetfulnessand death.Portals to other planes are fairly common. Usually,such gates appear in the mouths of the many tunnels thatriddle most of Acheron’s cubes.ACHERON INHABITANTSRenegade armies filled with every sort of creaturewander the faces of Acheron looking for enemy forces tofight. However, mutiny or madness soon brings downeven the strongest military leader, leaving most armieswithout a true objective other than the destruction ofother renegade armies. Sometimes armies of undead orconstructs last longer, because they are able to mindlesslyfulfill their last orders.Armies that have not gone completely mad may stillseek a goal, such as the defense of a realm, the procurementof provisions, the overthrow of an impostor king, orany of a hundred other causes. Unfortunately, becausemost of those causes were important on a plane far fromAcheron, even the most steadfast armies soon lose focusand go renegade.Achaierai, devils, imps, fomorians, rakshasas, dragons,and yugoloths also inhabit Acheron. Rakshasa clans ruleseveral hidden cubes throughout Acheron, all cloaked bypowerful illusions. Clockwork creatures from Mechanuskeep a few hidden mining colonies scattered through thetwo lowest layers of Acheron.THE ORC-GOBLIN WAR AMONG THE CUBESThe realms of Clangor and Nishrek were once a single cube,but the opposing deities of each realm finally managed toseparate their realms into two wholly separate cubes.Though they are separated, enmity between the goblins ofClangor and the orcs of Nishrek is still great. Though theFinally, Acheron holds enormous flocks of birds. Ravens,vultures, gulls, bloodhawks, and swallows tumble on thewind, sated on the carnage of the many battlefields.Acheron PetitionersDeserters and petitioners make up many of the renegadearmies on Acheron. If soldiers have killed others for acause they do not believe, and killed happily, they mightwind up as petitioners on Acheron. Particularly rabidrevolutionaries and terrorists slain on the Material Planealso find their way to Acheron, often as leaders of theroving armies. The renegade commanders cannot restuntil they are finally slain and their essence merges withthe plane itself.Renegade commanders have the following specialpetitioner qualities:Additional Immunities: Electricity, sonic.Resistances: Cold 20, fire 20.Other Special Qualities: Hearten.Hearten (Ex): All members of a renegade army withina 100-foot radius of a petitioner commander receive a+2 morale bonus on saving throws against charm andfear effects and a +1 morale bonus on attack anddamage rolls.Acheron EncountersUse Table 7–7: Hellish Encounters for random encounterson Acheron.MOVEMENT AND COMBATMovement on the Infernal Battlefield of Acheron ismuch like movement on the Material Plane. Walkingbetween faces seems daunting to the uninitiated, but isrelatively easy. Moving between cubes requires some sortof flying ability. Travelers in Avalas and Thuldanin mustbe wary of collisions between the cubes, because everythingbetween the two cubes at impact is crushed intonothingness. Cubes bound for collision are visible a dayor two in advance of impact, providing enough warningfor evacuation.FEATURES OF ACHERONThe cubes that make up each of the four layers of Acheronare pitted and scarred with cracks and dents from theirmany collisions and craters from their many battles. Onthe orderly plane of Acheron, the cubes always rust orfracture along straight lines and at right angles. Some ofthe cubes are only a few hundred feet on a side, but otherspqqqqrsrival deities can prevent an entire cube face from beingcrushed by an opposing cube sent hurling through the void,that doesn’t stop either side from trying. Most battles arenow fought when one side manages to land an invasionforce on an opposing cube.pqqqqrs