Manual of the Planes

CHAPTER 7:THE OUTERPLANES132Costly lamps, hot and cold forges, and city-wide feastinghalls all provide light and merriment for the undergroundvisitor. Strangers are welcome here, especially those whocome to order special weapons from the legendary smithswho labor in the hottest portions of the forge.The dwarves who live within Mount Clangeddin,both mortal and petitioner, spend half of each daydrilling, training, and perfecting their military skills tohonor their lord Clangeddin. Visitors seeking to raisean army sometimes come to Mount Clangeddin, temptingthe deity with stories of righteous warfare. Sometimes,Clangeddin is moved by such appeals and assignsaxes to the cause.Basilica of Saint Cuthbert: High walls manned byspecially chosen paladins surround this mighty edifice ofSt. Cuthbert. Within the walls stands the basilica itself,whose highest dome reaches a mile into the sky.At the very center of the basilica is Cuthbert’s seat,called the Seat of Truth, though he rarely takes it. Acurved open canopy supported by four serpentine pillarsshelters the seat. St. Cuthbert brought the pillars home astrophies after a brief crusade into the Nine Hells.As the deity of common sense, wisdom, and similarsentiments, St. Cuthbert is noted for his rulings on mattersof state, philosophy, and everything else. However,he is also called St. Cuthbert of the Cudgel, and whereverthe deity goes, so goes his bronzewood weapon. If wordsdo not suffice, St. Cuthbert’s cudgel does.Einheriar and privileged clerics, paladins, and others ofdeep faith stay in the basilica with St. Cuthbert, thoughhe sends many out on missions in his name. Modestaccommodations are set aside for occasional supplicantswishing to hear the wisdom of St. Cuthbert.BuxenusThe second layer of Arcadia looks much like the first,with its pleasant valleys swathed in perfectly even grass,naturally growing orchards, and circular lakes. However,it has also become a mustering ground where forces ofArcadia slowly gather their strength for a presumed ideologicalthrust into Mechanus in an attempt to recover thelost layer of Menausus. How this “reliberation” will actuallyoccur is anyone’s guess.Here and there on this layer are the training grounds ofa particularly militant sect of mortals from the MaterialPlane called the Harmonium. Though they seek to dogood, the “retraining camps” do more harm than anythingelse—or so say many authorities.In these camps, the Harmonium indoctrinates “borrowed”mortals of a chaotic alignment in the dictates oflaw and harmony in an attempt to change their spiritualidentity to one more harmonious than before.Unfortunately, the success rate is low. In the greaterscheme of things, these camps may actually be shiftingthe layer of Buxenus more toward law than good. Ifsuch a shift continues, Arcadia could eventually lose itssecond layer to Mechanus, along with the third layeralready gone.MenaususThe third layer of Arcadia actually no longer exists (andhas not, for millennia). Its planar essence has joined withMechanus. This cataclysm is attributed to overcolonizationby formians, and their overriding, unmerciful lawfulmindset. No one can now guess which particular portionof Mechanus is actually Menausus, but a good bet is thata large portion of the formian hive-cogs were once hivecitiesin Menausus.Arcadia EncountersUse Table 7–8: Heavenly Encounters for random encounterson Arcadia.SEVEN MOUNTINGHEAVENS OF CELESTIAIt is the land of splendor.It is where ultimate goodness is idealized.It is law and good, understanding and mercy.The single sacred mountain of Celestia rises from an infinitesea of holy water to incomprehensible heights. Here,justice, kindness, order, celestial grace, and mercy are therules. Here, watchful eyes hold the ramparts against evil inall its many forms. Here, all things are beautiful.The Seven Mounting Heavens are the planar home formortal souls of kindness and empathy for their fellow creatures.But it is a paradise that fiends of the lower planes wouldconquer if they could. Mount Celestia is a promise of bettermentand ultimate union with the powers of good and lawfor those worthy. So supplicants of every stripe ascend thelayers, one after the other, to the ultimate height of the HeavenlyCity, and from thence into the Illuminated Heaven.Bahamut, lord of kindly dragons, resides on Celestia, aswell as Heironeous, the god of valor; Moradin, the lord ofdwarves; and Yondalla, the goddess of halflings.CELESTIA TRAITSCelestia has the following traits.• Normal Gravity.• Normal Time.• Infinite Size: Each layer of Celestia is infinite, thougheach layer is but one portion of the greater mountain,each higher than the last.• Divinely Morphic: Celestia is morphic for entities ofat least lesser deity power. It is alterable in the normalmanner for more ordinary creatures.• No Elemental or Energy Traits.• Mildly Good-Aligned and Mildly Law-Aligned:Evil or chaotic characters on Celestia suffer a –2penalty on Charisma-based checks. Chaotic evil characterssuffer a –4 penalty on Charisma-based checks.• Normal Magic.CELESTIA LINKSThe only way to reach Celestia is by entering its first andlowest layer, Lunia, also called the Silver Sea. Visitors