Manual of the Planes

are big enough for whole cities and kingdoms. Geometricshapes other than cubes exist, though they are rare(except on Tintibulus, the third layer).Vision is normal on Acheron. The plane is lighted by agray, fluctuating illumination that varies slightlybetween bright moonlight and a dark, cloudy day.Hearing is also normal, though the echo of collidingcubes and the ring of battle is always in the background.AvalasThe first layer of Acheron is also called the Battleplains,for it contains the most cubes—and enougharmies and fortresses to populate them. The clash ofdistant cubes is indistinguishable from the closer clashof a nearby battlefield. The cubes vary from city-sizedto continent-sized. The smallest cubes are usually theoldest, having been reduced to their present size byeons of collisions.Clangor: Clangor is a cube completely carved and tunneledto house a single great set of barracks for the goblinnations and their eternal war. It is also the seat of thegoblin deity Maglubiyet.The towers and walls of Clangor are arranged withdeadly precision to inflict the greatest damage on anyattacking force. The air is cold and dry, and breath fogsthe air. What regions are not given over to goblin barrackshold wolf warrens for elite goblin riders. Becausemost of the forces of Clangor are goblin and hobgoblinpetitioners, no great store of food is necessary. However,some heavily guarded stores are available for mortals,wolves, and other creatures that also reside on Clangor,brought from offplane at a hefty price through heavilyguarded portals.Shetring: The fortress Shetring blends into the rest ofthe metal-carved structure of the cube. The great RiverLorfang pierces the fortress, with five strong bridgesproviding access between the two sides. The river wellsup from a spring, travels a few miles, then plunges intothe cube again. Maglubiyet himself lives at the bottomof the plummeting waterfall in a magnificently carvedsteel cavern dripping with moisture. The goblins flingsacrifices from the top of the waterfall before mountinga great offensive (usually against Nishrek, home of theorc pantheon).Nishrek: This metallic cube houses the orc pantheon,the head of which is Gruumsh, the one-eyed deity of theorcs. The mildly law-aligned trait is negated on Nishrek.Like Clangor, Nishrek is heavily carved and tunneledand houses great legions of orc troops.Unlike on Clangor, the barracks are chaoticallyarranged, and the tunnels meander. Where Clangorseems gridlike from a distance, Nishrek is swirled withwinding streets and trenches, and blotchy with haphazardlyarranged strongholds.While the orcs under the command of lesser orc deitiessuch as Bahgtru and Ilneval are content to marshal theirforces against Clangor, Gruumsh pursues his longThuldaninCabal MacabreAcheronAsalasTintibulusOcanthusvendetta against a more distant foe: Corellon Larethian. Inages past, Corellon Larethian put out Gruumsh’s left eye, adebt that Gruumsh always seeks to repay.The fortress towns of Rotting Eye, White Hand, andThree Fang all lie under Gruumsh’s direct dominion. Hehas residences in each, moving between them in arandom fashion. Bahgtru and Ilneval control other, lessfortified towns, while the hidden orc deity Luthic is contentto send forth her plagues from deep within the heartof the cube, where her realm is said to lie.Scourgehold: Hextor’s realm, Scourgehold, is foundon a particularly large cube where battle always rages.Hextor’s fortress is a many-walled edifice of iron andstone, bristling with watchtowers and roving siegeengines. The innermost structure, The Great Coliseum, isa miles-wide, many-leveled arena of beaten bronze andglass. Here, legions constantly train in the arts of war.Hextor himself (or his avatar), in his visage as a grayskinned,horrible six-armed being, often walks thetraining coliseum, his various weapons awhirl. Themere sight of his symbol of hate and discord, six arrowsfacing downward in a fan, sends his worshipers into ablood-mad battle frenzy.ThuldaninThe second layer of Acheron appears much like the first.However, Thuldanin’s population is quite small. TheCHAPTER 7:THE OUTERPLANES125