Manual of the Planes

APPENDIX:VARIANT PLANES& COSMOLOGIES218Outer Plane as if the two planes were one. However,incautious characters can become stranded on oneplane or another once the three-day period of ascendancyis over.In addition, areas that are holy or unholy often containintermittent portals that allow characters to movebetween the planes during the right equinox or solstice.Traveling to Dread Conquest might be a matter of steppinginto a long-deserted torture chamber during theautumn equinox, and perhaps demons from Lurking Fearinvade the Material Plane from a particular hauntedgraveyard during every summer solstice.FEATURES OF THE ORRERY COSMOLOGYThe physical nature of this cosmology, more than anyother, has a deep effect on the natives of the MaterialPlane. In addition to particular elements favoring particularseasons, the four Outer Planes also affect the festivalsthroughout the year. These four great festivalsdominate the lives of the inhabitants of the MaterialPlane; the name of each festival is taken from the nameof the appropriate Outer Plane.The winter solstice, when the Golden Halls is dominant,is called Gold and is a time of gift-giving and celebration.Archons are seen in holy places, and a feeling ofgood will settles over everyone. Wild things and evilbeings lay low during this period.The spring equinox, when God’s Choice is dominant, iscalled Choice and is a time of tricks and pranks, of merrycelebrations, and of making decisions for the comingyear as well as planting.The summer solstice, when Lurking Fear is dominant,is called Fear. Its warm nights are when men and womenkeep to their homes for fear of the wild things that hidein the darkness. Hunting horns blown by inhuman lipssound over the fields during this festival, and most civilizedraces keep to the safety of the cities.The autumn equinox, when Dread Conquest stalksthe land, is called Dread and is a time of preparation.Communities make sure the harvest will be sufficientto see them through winter, that walls are stout enoughto withstand invasion, and that family and neighborsare healthy enough for the dark months ahead. It is asomber festival marked by hard work, a time of judgmentand vengeance, when one’s sins are evaluated andblame assigned.pqsVARIANT: STRONGER ELEMENTAL ASCENDENCYWhen one Elemental Plane is ascendant and its related spellsenhanced, the impeded magic trait applies to spells of theopposing element. Fire and water oppose each other, as do airand earth.During the winter, for example, spells that use water areenlarged and extended, but spells with the fire descriptor areimpeded. To use a fire spell in the winter, a caster must makea Spellcraft check (DC 15 + the level of the spell).pqsObservatoriumWithin the Orrery cosmology, the demiplane known asthe Observatorium has the additional feature of being thecentral pivot of this universe, the true hub around whichthe rest of the universe orbits. By controlling the Observatorium,a character could control the motions of theplanes themselves. The location of the Observatorium isunknown, perhaps even to the deities.WINDING ROADCOSMOLOGYIn this variant cosmology, the Universe is not a GreatWheel but rather a road with no beginning or end. Eachplane abuts the next, spiraling endlessly through theAstral Plane. Travelers move from plane to plane alongthis road, passing through a multitude of planes.Within the Winding Road cosmology, the definitionof whether a plane is a Material Plane, Outer Plane, orInner Plane breaks down. Instead, each plane has itsown traits that may indicate it is one type or another.Gods tend to live on planes with the divinely morphictrait, for example, but those planes aren’t Outer Planes,just further steps on the Winding Road. Unlike theD&D cosmology, there is no central plane. The MaterialPlane that most travelers are familiar with is just onemore stop along an endless ribbon.WINDING ROAD PLANAR RELATIONSEach plane borders two other planes, as well as the AstralPlane and the Plane of Shadow. Each plane has its ownEthereal Plane, but the Ethereal Planes of two differentplanes don’t connect. Ethereal curtains allow a characterto step from an Ethereal Plane to the next plane on theWinding Road, however.The two planes on either “side” of a plane may be similaror radically different. There is no apparent order to theplanar traits on the Winding Road.A single Plane of Shadow extends along the Road, connectingeach plane like beads on a string. Also called theDark Road, the Plane of Shadow allows travelers to moveto adjacent planes if they are willing to brave the wilddark lands between them.There is a single Astral Plane that allows movement toany plane along the Winding Road with astral projectionand plane shift. But permanent portals only connect toadjacent planes; there are no shortcuts.There are no Elemental or Energy Planes on the WindingRoad, though the elements and energies still exist.WINDING ROAD TRAITSThe traits for the Transitive Planes are the same as theirD&D cosmology counterparts. You can choose traitsfor other planes along the Winding Road or roll themrandomly on the tables below. All planes on the WindingRoad have the infinite size trait.