Manual of the Planes

CHAPTER 7:THE OUTERPLANESIllus. by W. Reynoldscubes of this layer are riddled with pockets and hollows.Surface pits lead down into labyrinthine spaces clutteredwith the refuse of every war that was ever fought.Broken scraps of a plethora of devices are everywhere.Great ships that have burst asunder, toppled siege towers,enormous weapons, steam-driven carriages, flyingdevices of every description, and contraptions with evenmore obscure sources of power and purpose can be foundwithin these cubes. Most of the refuse is inoperative, petrifiedto stonelike immobility by the “preservative” qualityof the layer.Scavenging for intact weapons is an occupation formany a team of salvagers and opportunists, because manyquality weapons and engines of war are scattered throughthe rubble on Thuldanin. Persistent searchers canuncover items of fantastic power and intriguing mechanisms,which they can use or at least copy. But wise salvagersdon’t spend too long on Thuldanin, because creaturescan be petrified the same as objects.TintibulusUnlike the other layers of Acheron, four-sided, fivesided,eight-sided, nine-sided, twelve-sided, and otherodd-sided solids outnumber six-sided cubes on Tintibulus.The solids are made of gray volcanic stone, eachcoated with a layer of ashen dust to a depth of severalinches (and in some places several feet or more). Whencollisions occur, the geometric solid fractures along itsnatural fault lines, splitting into two smaller solids. Theconstant collisions create a ringing, bell-like roarthroughout the layer at all times. Few creatures live here,petitioners or otherwise.The constant ringing on Tintibulus causes charactersto suffer a –4 circumstance penalty on Listen checks.OcanthusThe fourth layer of Acheron is lightless but filled withfast-flying, razor-thin shards. Some shards are little morethan needles, while others are miles wide. The largestshards have their own objective gravity like the cubes ofthe upper layers, as well as a breathable if icy cold atmosphere.The constant blizzard of bladelike shards makesOcanthus inimical to creatures and objects alike.The shards are black ice, frozen into thin layers. Theircollisions break them into progressively smaller shards,and eventually into needles and then dust. The shardsall originate from a single source: the night-blackboundary of Ocanthus, a sheet of infinite, magicallycharged black ice.No one knows whether the ice sheet is a boundary or abarrier between Ocanthus and some deeper, more sinisterlayer. Some say that the ice is the source or destinationof the River Styx, and that every memory stolen bythe river still exists, frozen into the black ice. Whateverpqqqqrs126RESISTING PRESERVATION ON THULDANIN SURVIVING AN OCANTHUS BLADESTORMThe same preservative quality that afflicts objects on Thuldanin Creatures that are not projected by some supremely strongalso afflicts living, undead, and petitioner alike. Any given artificial structure (which eventually is breached anyway) areobject or creature is 1% likely per 30 days spent on Thuldanin constantly vulnerable to shards slicing through the darknessof spontaneously petrifying into stone. Creatures, if potentially like knives. Creatures and objects are subject to the equivalentaffected, can avoid the effect with a successful Fortitude save of a greatsword attack (2d6 points of damage) every round at(DC 18). Objects or creatures petrified by the natural qualities a +10 bonus on the attack roll. Damage reduction does notof Thuldanin cannot be returned to their previous state, except apply, but hardness does.with such high-level magic as a wish or miracle spell. Veterantravelers make certain their stints on Thuldanin last no morethan 29 days without a respite elsewhere.pqqqqrs