Manual of the Planes

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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.
Illus. by A. Swekelhe planes support infinite diversity and countlesscreatures unimaginable to denizens of theMaterial Plane. This chapter introduces a smatteringof the most common planar creaturesencountered by adventurers on the Material Planeand beyond. Detailed explanations of special attacksand special qualities are in the Introduction of theMonster Manual.ASTRAL DREADNOUGHTGargantuan OutsiderHit Dice: 18d8+234 (315 hp)Initiative: +2 (–2 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative)Speed: Fly 180 ft. (poor)AC: 20 (–4 size, –2 Dex, +16 natural)Attacks: 2 claws +30 melee, bite +28 meleeDamage: Claw 2d6+16, bite 2d8+8Face/Reach: 20 ft. by 40 ft./10 ft.Special Attacks: Sever silver cord, improved grab, swallowwhole, rend 4d6+24Special Qualities: SR 28, antimagic cone, frightfulpresenceSaves: Fort +24, Ref +8, Will +13Abilities: Str 42, Dex 7, Con 37, Int 5, Wis 14, Cha 18Skills: Hide +15, Intuit Direction +23, Move Silently+19, Spot +23, Wilderness Lore +8Feats: Improved Critical (bite), Improved Critical(claw), Improved Initiative, Multiattack,Power AttackClimate/Terrain: Any land and undergroundOrganization: SolitaryChallenge Rating: 17Treasure: NoneAlignment: Always neutralAdvancement: 19–32 HD (Gargantuan); 33–54HD (Colossal)It glides silently through the mists of the AstralPlane, craving the souls of all who wander there.The astral dreadnought hunts astral bodies, tearingthem apart, then swallowing them whole.An astral dreadnought is as large as a stormgiant, covered from head to tail in layers ofthick, spiked plates. Two gnarled limbs end inrazor-sharp claws, and its single eye reflectsconstellations in its depths. Below the torsois a serpentine armored tail that seems tostretch off into infinity.An astral dreadnought does not speak or otherwisecommunicate. It simply consumes itsprey, then continues its silent patrol of theAstral Plane.159
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MANUAL OF THE PLANESJeff Grubb, Bru
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INTRODUCTIONIntroductionThis book i
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of the universe (earth, air, fire,
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within a plane where the rules are
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Shapes of the PlanesinfiniteGreat W
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save (DC 25) or gain a negative lev
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Illus. by A. Swekelven if a plane i
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Planar RelationshipsPlaneAPlane ACo
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Creatures that use positive or nega
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GETTING FROM PLANETO PLANEThe plane
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Illus. by A. Swekelhe planes are la
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Spot (Wis), and Use Magic Device (C
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Direction (Wis), Jump (Str), Knowle
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damage bonus does not apply to crea
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to a limited extent. On planes with
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Greater planar bindingHoly wordLess
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elemental form to put out nonmagica
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Audible Alarm: An audible portal al
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On planes you create yourself, safe
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Illus. by A. Swekelhe Material Plan
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Oerth’s cosmology is laid out in
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Illus. by A. Swekelhe Transitive Pl
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spells and spell-like effects that
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often used by astral travelers who
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There is no day or night on the Ast
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Table 5-3: Astral Encountersd% Enco
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try to lure adventurers away from e
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even if prisoners escape, they’re
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Any creature becoming ethereal (inc
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The Plane of Shadow does not connec
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describes some typical abilities an
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Illus. by A. Swekelhe Inner Planes
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positiveElementalPlane ofWaterThree
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A maximum of 20d6 points of damage
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of material and have his life crush
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Table 6-2: Elemental Plane of Earth
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MOVEMENT AND COMBATThe Elemental Pl
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ELEMENTAL PLANEOF WATERIt is an oce
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Red TidesA dangerous contagion has
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• Impeded Magic: Spells and spell
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Class abilities that use positive e
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Illus. by A. Swekelf the Inner Plan
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CHAPTER 7:THE OUTERPLANES87Beastlan
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everything within a ten-mile radius
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Only those who suffer mortal wounds
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Plane drift through the miasma: bit
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FamiliarityVery familiarStudied car
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Every word, scream, or shout is cau
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oulders, and worked stone, as if a
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directional gravity. Unless stated
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sun no brighter than the Material P
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and Colothys confines liars whose u
Page 107 and 108: OthrysCathrysMinethysColothysPorpha
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Page 111 and 112: PlutonThe third gloom of Hades is a
Page 113 and 114: Gehenna CombatCombat on Gehenna is
Page 115 and 116: NINE HELLS OF BAATORIt is Hell, whe
Page 117 and 118: added to the Bronze Citadel. Work g
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Page 121 and 122: StygiaThe fifth layer of the Nine H
Page 123 and 124: they first enter the downdraft or b
Page 125 and 126: are big enough for whole cities and
Page 127 and 128: the truth, the ice sheet has object
Page 129 and 130: Scion Queen Mother at all times, an
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Page 133 and 134: always find themselves in the surf
Page 135 and 136: amid treasure gathered over eons—
Page 137 and 138: BYTOPIA INHABITANTSBytopia is home
Page 139 and 140: on the Material Plane, sounds more
Page 141 and 142: BelierinBelierin is a land of misty
Page 143 and 144: without touching the ground. The Be
Page 145 and 146: ARBOREA LINKSArborea borders the Be
Page 148 and 149: CHAPTER 7:THE OUTERPLANESOUTLANDS I
Page 150 and 151: OutlandsExcelsiorSigilTradegateEcst
Page 152 and 153: CHAPTER 7:THE OUTERPLANES152Table 7
Page 154 and 155: CHAPTER 8:DEMIPLANES154to multiple
Page 157: of naivete. Neth doesn’t know how
Page 161 and 162: BARIAURMedium-Size OutsiderHit Dice
Page 163 and 164: precious and lovely, firres take up
Page 165 and 166: Summon Tanar’ri (Sp): Tanar’ri
Page 167 and 168: Spinagon (Baatezu)Narzugon (Baatezu
Page 169 and 170: Xag-YaXeg-YiMedium-Size Outsider (I
Page 171 and 172: dull black orbs that reflect noligh
Page 173 and 174: DaoMaridLarge Outsider (Air, Evil)L
Page 175 and 176: is drawn in melee, the blade transf
Page 177 and 178: When an inevitable is created, it r
Page 179 and 180: matter at hand. They use alter self
Page 181 and 182: Ice Paraelemental, Small Ice Parael
Page 183 and 184: Magma Paraelemental, Huge Magma Par
Page 185 and 186: succeed at a Fortitude save or inha
Page 187 and 188: CanolothMezzolothMedium-Size Outsid
Page 189 and 190: strange and often distasteful rites
Page 191 and 192: Climate/Terrain: Any land and under
Page 193 and 194: Elemental: Immune to poison, sleep,
Page 195 and 196: Skills: Water element tigers receiv
Page 197 and 198: Damage: Bite 1d6+3, claw 1d3+1; spi
Page 199 and 200: Alignment: Always chaotic (any).Adv
Page 201 and 202: Appendix: VariantPlanes & Cosmologi
Page 203 and 204: Region of DreamsDreamscapesDreamsca
Page 205 and 206: A mirror-self is created somewhere
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Time onTime ond% Material Plane Tem
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FAERIE INHABITANTSThe Plane of Faer
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are needed to swim through it. Movi
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Myriad PlanesCosmologyplanar clumpp
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sends that character’s double fro
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WINDING ROAD LINKSPlanar travelers
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Planar Rips: Planar rips are holes
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Lolth 100, 103Lucid Dreaming 203Lun
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Table 1: Modron CastesCaste No. of
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4pursuit of order is particularly b
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THE MODRONCATHEDRALDeep in the hear
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drones have limited conversational
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10tually any environment, withstand
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12Modron Traits: Immune to mind-inf
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Face/Reach: 5 ft. by 5 ft./10 ft.Sp
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16Spell-Like Abilities: At will—c
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Wholeness of Body (Su): A secundus
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2of the common room into other part
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credence to this theory by occasion
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PLAY MOREFREE D&D® V.3.5 ACCESSORY
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Table of ContentsThe Nature of the
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Pandemonium: Electricity and sonic
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Manual of the Planes MonstersFeats
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