Manual of the Planes

BelierinBelierin is a land of misty swamps and fog-boundmarshes, quite the opposite of what one might expect ina plane of ultimate goodness. Here the river is no morethan a tangled braid of slow-moving water throughuncountable channels, with low, flooded sandbars andtangles of mangrove rising from it.Still, the positive nature of Elysium shines throughthis desolate place. The fog itself seems to spread lightwith each wispy tendril, surrounding every torch andlantern with a luminous nimbus.The few communities that exist on Belierin rise fromrocky spurs that jut from the swamp. These small townsare usually built around a cathedrallike lighthouse whosebeacon pierces the mildly luminous fog, bringing travelersto dock safely.Belierin is the prison of some deadly creature or creatures.Some tales say the prisoner of Belierin is a powerfulmonster along the lines of the tarrasque or monster oflegend. Others say that it is a deadly archduke of the lowerplanes, a deposed elemental prince, or even a woundeddeity. The indisputable fact is that evil creatures are sometimescaught lurking here, and the native guardinals areconstantly fighting back attacks against this layer.The true nature of the prisoner of Belierin depends onyour cosmology and your campaign. The layer does makea dangerous prison and is a perilous region to cross.ThalasiaThis layer is the headwaters of the River Oceanus, thestart of the great river that flows through the layers ofElysium, dodges the sun-dappled trees of the Beastlands,and plunges into Arborea. Thalasia is dotted with islandsand sprinkled with small communities.These islands are variously known as the Isles of theHoly Dead, the Isles of the Blessed, the Hills of Avalon, theIslands beyond the World, and the Heroic Isles. Here thebest of the good-aligned petitioners make their homes,retaining some knowledge and perhaps some power fromtheir previous lives. Here hero-kings wait for the daywhen their nations need them again, and religious scholarsresearch great mysteries in huge libraries.Often these great petitioners made the journey to Thalasiawhile still alive but approaching death, whether fromage or from wounds taken in noble battle. Elysium thenslowly converted them to powerful petitioners, and theyscarcely felt the pang of death. In Thalasia they retain theirpowers and memories but are at peace with themselvesand with others, the ultimate reward for good.The purpose of Thalasia may be to provide a good andjust reward. It may also be to produce recruits to becomeguardinals, to create wardens for whatever is locked up inBelierin, or to muster an army of goodness for an eventuallast battle against the forces of evil.The Fortress of the Sun: Once known as Light’sBlessing, this stronghold is the domain of the deity Pelor,also known as the Sun Father and the Shining One. Thisgreater deity is the master of sun, light, strength, andhealing. Pelor’s realm, once a vast manor surrounded byorchards, vineyards, and farmland for miles, is now agold-plated citadel that forms a beacon atop Krigala, thelargest island in Thalasia.The Fortress of the Sun dominates the land for a hundredmiles around and is clearly visible from the shoresof the Oceanus. It glows like a beacon day and night, providingcontinual daylight for a hundred miles in everydirection. Creatures are affected as if in full daylightwithin Pelor’s realm, regardless of where they hide.Pelor sits in a great audience chamber at the highestspire, where he confers with guardinals, planetars, andsolars, dispatching them to deal with the forces of evil.Because Pelor is one of the most powerful deities onthe Great Wheel, he has correspondingly more controlover Elysium’s morphic nature. Everywhere his goldenlight reaches has the light gravity trait. Within the samerange, the enhanced magic trait maximizes (as the MaximizeSpell feat) all spells of the Sun domain and thosewith the light descriptor. The impeded magic trait affectsall illusions of the figment, pattern, or glamer subschools.Pelor has the power to make additional changes in themagic trait if he wishes.Elysium EncountersUse Table 7–8: Heavenly Encounters and Table 7–9:Beatific Encounters (alternate between them) forrandom encounters on Elysium.WILDERNESS OF THEBEASTLANDSIt is a domain of natural savagery and plenty.It is the forest eternal.It is where the most loyal animal companions go whenthey die.The Wilderness of the Beastlands is a plane of natureunbound. It is a plane of forests ranging from mangroveshung heavy with moss to snowfall-laden pines to acres ofsequoias so thick that no light penetrates their canopy. Oak,birches, spruces, firs, and maples are common here, andexplorers into the plane’s distant corners find great forests ofgiant fungi and mushrooms. There are vast deserts as well,though they are hardly barren wastelands. Cactus, aloe, andother desert plants thrive in the arid parts of the Beastlands.The air of the Beastlands is ideal for anything thatgrows. It is humid and warm in the swampy regions, calmand cool beneath the sequoias, breezy and clear amongthe beeches, and arid and hot in the more open lands.The Beastlands consists of three layers, each layerfrozen at part of the day. The top layer is a place of eternaldaylight, its second layer a domain of perpetual twilight,and its third layer a land of night illuminated only by apale moon.The most important aspect of the Beastlands is how itfavors animals of all kinds. Like Arcadia, it is a planeheavily populated by animals, beasts, and magicalbeasts. Traditional towns, cities, and strongholds are fewCHAPTER 7:THE OUTERPLANES141