Manual of the Planes

of naivete. Neth doesn’t know how it came to be, and itdoesn’t understand much about the surrounding multiverse.It is still a little surprised that anything other thanitself exists. Those who tell Neth something importantthat it doesn’t already know make the demiplane veryhappy. Characters who don’t know anything useful are indanger of making the demiplane upset.THE OBSERVATORIUMIt watches everything and everywhere.Yet it remains hidden from view.It is the eye in the sky.The Observatorium is a myth to many travelers. Itslocation remains unknown, its creators unrevealed, andthe means to reach it is a closely guarded secret. Travelerssometimes spot it on the Astral Plane, a ghost ship of adimension. Those who glimpse it say it appears only inperipheral vision, a faint flickering against the haze of theAstral Plane. It exists outside the structure of the cosmologyitself—or perhaps it is the most basic dimensionaround which all other planes cluster.The planar lore describing the Observatorium portrays itas a great mechanical sphere within a huge torus, anddevices of unknown purpose encrust both sphere and torus.The visible surfaces are carved with figures of lost deitiesand dead outsiders. In some ways it vaguely resembles adimensional sextant, but on a grander, more baroque scale.The Observatorium demiplane is otherwise a chunk ofnothingness that extends only about a mile in each direction,ending in a featureless, impenetrable void. Thesphere is empty except for the Observatorium itself,humming softly in the center.OBSERVATORIUM TRAITSThe Observatorium has the following traits.• Directional Objective Gravity: Outside the Observatorium,gravity pulls toward the sphere and torus.Within the building, down is toward the floor.• Timeless: The Observatorium is timeless with regardto natural healing of hit points and ability scoredamage. Visitors hunger, thirst, and need sleep withinthe Observatorium normally.• Finite Size: The demiplane itself is about three milesacross, while the Observatorium building in the centeris more than a one-half a mile from end to end. Boththe demiplane and the building are spherical.• Static: The Observatorium is fairly unchanging, andcannot itself be marred or otherwise harmed. The mechanismswithin the Observatorium take a Strength check(DC 16) to move, as do any unattended objects.• No Elemental or Energy Traits.• Mildly Neutral-Aligned.• Enhanced Magic: Spells that use other planes of existence(see the list in Chapter 3) are empowered,extended, and maximized. But spells cannot affect anythingon the demiplane due to its static trait.OBSERVATORIUM LINKSThe location of the Observatorium within the D&D cosmologyis unknown. If the tales told about it are true, theObservatorium moves around the Astral Plane, brieflywinking onto the Material Plane and the Inner and OuterPlanes. It rarely remains in one place for longer than 1d6minutes, so those who see it should enter the demiplaneright away. But curious characters can use spells such asdivination and contact other plane (or the right bargain witha deity or powerful outsider) to determine where thedemiplane will appear next.The Observatorium has its own unique Ethereal Plane.Spells that use the Ethereal Plane function on the Observatorium,though there is precious little place to go.The Observatorium is coterminous to the Plane ofShadow, though no one has yet found the way back ontothe Observatorium through the Plane of Shadow.The most important planar links on the demiplane arethe mechanisms within the Observatorium building itself.The Observatorium allows characters to see onto any Inneror Outer Plane, then travel there with a one-way gate effect.It is not possible to return to the Observatorium throughsuch a gate, and efforts to memorize the demiplane’s locationprove fruitless, since the entire dimension moves.OBSERVATORIUM INHABITANTSThe Observatorium is rarely deserted, but inhabitantsseldom remain on the plane for long. Some flee from theWisdom-damaging nature of the demiplane (see Featuresof the Observatorium, below), but others leave becausethey’re using the Observatorium as a way station betweenplanes. So far, those who have tried to seize the Observatoriumhave failed, beset by hostile travelers and persistentWisdom damage.Among the visitors often found within the Observatoriumare these:• Several groups of mercanes. Some claim to be the originalcreators of the demiplane, while others claim toknow how to steer it between realities.• Various spellcasters, mad and not yet mad, hoping tocrack the power of the place.• Raiding parties of githyanki, seeking a particular foe.• Assault groups of devils and demons, looking to attackthe Material Plane.• Constructs of unknown manufacture operating thelevers and dials, then disappearing in a flash. Sagesargue whether the constructs are minions of a powerfulwizard or controlled by the Observatorium itself.• On one occasion, three (or more) astral dreadnoughtscircled outside the Observatorium building. Their purposewas unknown.FEATURES OF THE OBSERVATORIUMThe Observatorium, isolated in nothingness, has a disquietingeffect on those within. Characters on the Observatoriummust make a Will save (DC 30) or take 1 point oftemporary Wisdom damage per hour.CHAPTER 8:DEMIPLANES157