Manual of the Planes

CHAPTER 8:DEMIPLANES158As a character’s Wisdom drops, it becomes easier tostumble into one of the many portals within the Observatoriumand be teleported to a random location onanother plane. It takes a Wisdom check (DC 5) to figureout where a particular portal leads; Wisdom-addled charactersoften try to flee the plane but wind up in a randomlocation instead.The interior of the Observatorium building is litteredwith catwalks and mechanisms, portals and crystal balls.There is a complex order to the machinery’s arrangementand function. Those capable of comprehending it can putthe Observatorium to work for them. If pieces of the Observatoriummachinery are somehow removed or wrecked,they are useless until repaired by the mysterious constructs.The mechanisms within the Observatorium allow theuser to witness what is happening anywhere else onthe Great Wheel. No plane is hidden from the Observatorium,regardless of safeguards. The homes of deitiesthemselves are vulnerable to observation, as are aplaneshifter’s demiplane and the heart of a plane withthe dead magic trait.A Knowledge (the planes) check (DC 30) correctlyoperates the viewing chambers in the Observatorium.Failed checks mean the viewing chambers can’t focus onthe desired location; checks that fail by 5 or more providefalse visions or call a powerful outsider or elemental tothe Observatorium.As with the scrying spell, the Observatorium creates amagical sensor on the plane being viewed. Anyone presentwith an Intelligence score of 12 or higher can noticethe sensor by making a Scry check (or an Intelligencecheck) against DC 20.COMMON GROUNDIt is where noble truces are brokered and dark bargainsmade.It is a feast-hall and a court of judgment.No mortal has ever seen it.Deities pride themselves on their prowess, capabilities,and omniscience. When they deal with each other, theyoften do so through third parties: clerics, divine agents,other servants, and the occasional manifestation of anavatar. But sometimes deities must meet directly withoutfear of assault or betrayal. Since these deities often representthe ultimates of opposing alignments, a meetingplace must be safe from their plane-wrecking power.Common Ground is such a place, a demiplane accessibleonly to entities of lesser deity status or higher. On thisdemiplane, deities are immune to each other’s powers andabilities. Here the deities meet in conclave when the affairsof mortals demand face-to-face discussion.COMMON GROUND TRAITSCommon Ground has the following traits.• Normal Gravity.• Normal Time.• Finite Size: The demiplane is only 500 feet across. Theedge of the plane is the edge of the single vast chamberthat makes up Common Ground.• Static: There is little within the chamber of CommonGround, but the tables and chairs require a Strengthcheck (DC 16) to move. Spells cannot affect objects orcreatures on the plane. Common Ground takes thistrait one step further: Attacks do not affect otherswithin its walls, and the hit points and ability scores ofits inhabitants never decline.• No Elemental or Energy Traits.• Mildly Neutral-Aligned.COMMON GROUND LINKSCommon Ground occupies a spot on the Astral Plane thatis equidistant from color pools to the various OuterPlanes where deities make their homes. Though manyhave searched, no mortal has found the portal toCommon Ground.Common Ground exists at a confluence of keyed portalsfrom the Outer Planes. These portals grant passageonly to entities of lesser deity status or better. Even themost powerful mortals cannot force such a portal open.In a cosmology you design yourself, deities might beable to use plane shift to get to Common Ground. Butdeities who (consciously or not) attempt to bring nondeitiesalong lose their fellow travelers to a random planeen route, though the god arrives unscathed. As a result,deities must shed their retinues of followers when theytravel to Common Ground.COMMON GROUND INHABITANTSHow occupied Common Ground is at any time dependson how social deities tend to be. If all the deities in yourcosmology already inhabit the same plane, they may havelittle reason to travel to Common Ground. But networksof deities spread across disparate planes find the demiplaneuseful and may spend much of their time there.In a universe where all things are possible, a mortalmay find a way onto this demiplane, perhaps through acataclysmic planar accident. While the chance to meetthe deities in person is exciting, it’s also fraught withdanger. The static trait of the plane may or may not applyto mortals—and even the deities may not know whathappens if mortals try to attack or cast spells.FEATURES OF COMMON GROUNDThe interior of the demiplane is a great circular chamberwith an arching golden dome overhead. A great table inthe center made of gold-veined black marble dominates afloor of polished jade. Black chairs ring the table, thoughmore officious deities may choose to stand. Doorwaysfilled with swirling mist pierce the walls of the hall—portals to the individual home planes of the deities.At the center of the table is a black orb. A deity touchingthis orb may transmit a sending to another deity, oftento request a meeting. The sending may be ignored by thereceiving deity.