Manual of the Planes

CHAPTER 7:THE OUTERPLANES142and far between. Those who make their homes hereseek to live with the trees, not against them.BEASTLANDS TRAITSThe Beastlands has the following traits.• Normal Gravity.• Normal Time.• Infinite Size: The part of the Beastlands known to mostvisitors is relatively small, but there may be vast realmsbeyond it, and deities as yet undiscovered within.• Divinely Morphic: Deities can shape the plane’s traitswith a thought, but mortal creatures must use spells orphysical effort to affect a change in the plane.• No Elemental or Energy Traits.• Mildly Good-Aligned: Evil characters suffer a –2penalty on all Charisma-based checks.• Normal Magic.BEASTLANDS LINKSThe Beastlands borders the neighboring Outer Planes ofArborea and Elysium. Natural portals between these locationsare common, and shifting borders can whisk travelersfrom one plane to another. Often these natural portalstake the form of hollow trees. Stepping within the rottedcore of a lightning-blasted oak takes the traveler toArborea, and ducking within the hollow of a toppledsequoia connects to Elysium.Portals between the layers are insubstantial and erratic,and many of them tend to be one-way. By passingbetween two trees or ducking beneath a branch, the lightchanges from day to twilight (Krigala to Brux) or fromdusk to night (Brux to Karasuthra). Such portals arecommon, so a wanderer may find his or her way back tothe top layer of the Beastlands fairly easily.The River Oceanus flows through the Beastlands on itsway from Elysium to Arborea. The course of the river isstraight and true across the plane, but the border betweenthe planes is a stretch of white-water rapids. Travelersshould not risk these planes with sturdy ships.BEASTLANDS INHABITANTSA variety of creatures live in the Beastlands. First andforemost are outsiders, often celestial versions of wildcreatures found on the Material Plane. These celestial animals,beasts, vermin, and magical beasts inhabit everyenvironmental niche in the Beastlands. Occasionally anonevil aberration calls the Beastlands home, but fewintelligent creatures other than magical beasts such asunicorns stay in the wilderness for long.Some sages contend the spirits of wild creatures driftafter death to the Beastlands, where they are reincarnatedas celestial versions of their mortal selves. Whether this istrue depends upon your cosmology, but it does explainwhy such a huge number of celestial wild things live inthe Beastlands.Celestial creatures in the Beastlands, in addition to theother traits provided by the celestial template, have theirIntelligence raised to 3 and can speak Celestial. Thisincreased Intelligence score does little to dull their naturaltendencies, and the deadly dance between predatorand prey continues even in this extraplanar arena. Theincreased Intelligence lets the prey try to bargain its wayout of danger, just as it enables more effective communicationwithin a pack of predators.Celestials are common in the Beastlands, especially theeladrin but also planetars and solars. Lillends may befound here as well. The plane is the home of many beastsof legend—superior versions of powerful animals, beasts,and magical beasts. Good-aligned lycanthropes (and theirpetitioner spirits after they die) can find great joy withtheir animal kin in the Beastlands, though they lose theirlycanthrope abilities in this plane.Planar travelers are common on Krigala, Brux, andKarasuthra, mostly because there are so many portalsbetween the layers that spreading out over all three layersis easy. Some visitors to the Beastlands are travelersmoving between Elysium and Arborea. Others are sagesand acolytes seeking knowledge that can only be gleanedin the darkest woods. Some are hunters from otherplanes seeking the beasts that populate this plane.Hunters often find themselves overmatched by the wildcreatures of the Beastlands and beat a hasty retreat.The Beastlands is not a place inhabited by manydeities, though it is as divinely morphic as the otherplanes of the Great Wheel. Deities that might establish arealm here would share a love of creatures or the wildernessitself, and their kingdoms would fit neatly into thesurrounding forests. Two such deities are Ehlonna, Deityof the Woodlands, and Skerrit, the deity of the centaurs.They both have their personal kingdoms in Krigala, theBeastlands’ top layer.Beastlands PetitionersBecause not many deities make this plane their home,mortal souls drawn to the Beastlands primarily arrivebased on their philosophy: good and just a bit on the sideof freedom over order. They usually live in small communitiesat the bases of great trees, leading simple lives inharmony with the other creatures of the plane.These petitioners take on animal traits soon after theyarrive. Their hair grows long in lustrous pelts, short hornssprout from their foreheads, and they develop cats’ eyesor fox ears. Over the course of centuries, they becomecelestial beasts or animals.Beastlands petitioners have the following special petitionerqualities:Additional Immunities: Electricity, poison.Resistances: Cold 20, fire 20.Other Special Qualities: Fast healing 2.MOVEMENT AND COMBATThe Beastlands does not present any worse penalty tomovement than any Material Plane forest or woods. Creatureswith the ability to climb or brachiate (swing amongthe branches) are able to move through the Beastlands