Manual of the Planes

CHAPTER 7:THE OUTERPLANES136JovarThe sixth layer of Celestia is also called the GlitteringHeaven. The slopes are strewn with great rubies and garnetstwinkling with light so beautiful that it steals the breath atfirst sight. Here, hosts of archons wander the gem fields,lost in contemplation of the glory of their previous lives.Yetsira, the Heavenly City: The Heavenly City is visiblefrom everywhere on Jovar and from vantage points onlower levels. The city is a seven-layered ziggurat. An enormousstaircase on each of its four faces connects the terraces.Gemstones of profound value make up every step andevery stone on the ziggurat, and all glow with an inner light.Hosts of archons move up and down the stairs, but thestructure is so massive that the steps never grow crowded.On the lowest terrace sits the Exchequer of Souls, ablack marble building of graceful arches and oniondomes laced with threads of gold and silver. Here powerfularchons weigh the virtues of lower archons, elevatingthe worthy to higher forms.The Radiant Arsenal on the fourth terrace is a long,narrow building with a vaulted ceiling and extensive cellars.Here weapons both magic and mundane are stored to armthe archon hosts if necessary. The most important weaponsare said to contain the essence of powerful archons. Theyreside in pearl-lined vaults sealed by deity-scribed glyphs.The Bridge of al-Sihal on the seventh, highest terrace isa beam of blinding light. This is the portal to the seventhheaven, Chronias, and it is guarded by a solar namedXerona who turns aside the unworthy.ChroniasThe seventh layer of Celestia is also called the IlluminatedHeaven. Chronias is a mystery, though some say it is themystery. Those few who achieve the Illuminated Heavennever return, so no account records Chronias’ true aspect.Tales say that those who enter have their inherent goodnessmagnified until their essence joins with Celestia itself. Or,if they harbor evil, their souls are extinguished and theirexistence is permanently erased from the multiverse.Celestia EncountersUse Table 7–8: Heavenly Encounters for randomencounters on Celestia.TWIN PARADISESOF BYTOPIAIt is the plane that faces itself.It is the home of the gnomes.It is two sides of the same coin.Bytopia is unique among the Outer Planes because thesurfaces of its two layers face each other like the covers ofa closed book. By looking up from Dothion, the “top”layer of the plane, the traveler can see Shurrock, its otherlayer. In a similar fashion, one may stand on Shurrockand see the towns and farms of Dothion overhead.Each layer of the Bytopian plane is an idealizedworld. Dothion is a tamed, pastoral landscape, whileShurrock is an untamed wilderness. The philosophy ofthe plane—personal achievement working with socialinterdependence—infuses both its layers.The distance between the two layers of the plane isabout a mile, though sharp mountains rise from eitherside and sometimes meet in the middle. Travel betweenthe two layers is common by flying as well as climbingthe mountains.BYTOPIA TRAITSBytopia has the following traits.• Normal Time.• Infinite Size.• Objective Directional Gravity: “Down” exists in twoopposite directions on the plane’s two facing layers. Gravityis normal until one crosses the invisible borderbetween the two layers; then it reverses. Those who breakthrough the border find themselves falling toward theother plane.• Divinely Morphic: Lesser deities can transformBytopia’s twin landscapes, and other creatures findBytopia as changeable as other Outer Planes.• No Elemental or Energy Traits.• Mildly Good-Aligned: Evil characters suffer a –2penalty on all Charisma-based checks.• Normal Magic.BYTOPIA LINKSBytopia borders the neighboring Outer Planes of Elysiumand Celestia. Caverns inscribed with glowing,repeating patterns mark the natural portals along theboundaries. Caverns with patterns of concentric circleslead to Celestia, caverns with radiating lines leadto Elysium, and caverns with spiderweb patterns lead tothe Outlands.Bytopia consists of two layers that face each otheracross a gap of open space. The one-mile gap betweenDothion and Shurrock narrows in mountainous regions,so there are places where the mountains themselves pushthrough the barrier. It’s possible to climb to the top of aShurrock mountain and “fall” from the top of the mountaintoward Dothion. And in some spots, mountains oneach layer meet in the middle, so climbers from one layerneed to reorient themselves and climb down when theyreach the point where the gravity reverses.Characters who climb one of these mountains throughthe barrier are entitled to make a Reflex save (DC 20) toavoid falling as a result of being disoriented. If they knowexactly where the gravity change occurs and can bracethemselves accordingly, no save is needed. Those flyingor levitating through the barrier may experience somemild confusion but are otherwise unaffected.A few portals connect Shurrock and Dothion, buteither they have been bricked up on the Dothion side orthey are guarded to protect Dothion from the creatures ofShurrock. Most communication between the two planeshappens on the border above the residents’ heads.