Manual of the Planes

Red TidesA dangerous contagion has infected patches of waterwhere red tides occur. Red tides range from a mere 60feet across to areas large enough to comprise entire seasof pestilence. Those who inhale the deadly water orwhose unprotected eyes are exposed to it may fall victimto blinding sickness, as described in Disease in Chapter 3of the DUNGEON MASTER’s Guide. Unlike with most diseases,the initial Fortitude save to avoid infection must bemade each minute a character remains in a red tide.Weeds and CoralBalls of seaweed and coral float through the ElementalPlane of Water, growing in all directions equally andresembling planets of living plant life. These sphericalbeds are often the lairs of outsiders native to the plane,especially tritons. The waters around weed and coralspheres frequently have excellent fishing grounds, sosometimes marids build outposts nearby.Marid CommunitiesMarids are a fiercely independent race, so the “maridempire” on the Elemental Plane of Water is really a largecollection of semi-independent strongholds, all of whichswear fealty in varying degrees to the padishah of themarid. Often that degree of fealty is determined by theproximity of the stronghold to the Citadel of Ten ThousandPearls or the presence of agents of the padishah. Allmarids claim nobility of some kind, and the plane is filledwith shahs, atabegs, and mufti.A typical marid stronghold is tied to some type ofjetsam, usually a bit of solid matter or even a weed bed.Usually 2d10 marids are found in such a community,with a variety of elemental servants and jann, as well asmortals who have lost bets, sought favors, been chosen asfavorites. or otherwise wound up enslaved by the (relatively)benign marids. They have little use for evil creatures,even those that breathe water, and marids are frequentlyat war with the evil denizens of the ElementalPlane of Water.The Citadel of Ten Thousand Pearls is the greatest ofmarid communities and the seat of the Coral Throne.From this court emanates the wise rulership of the GreatPadishah of the Marid, the Keeper of the Empire, the Pearlof the Sea, the Parent of the Waves, the Maharaja of theOceans, Emir of All Currents, and so forth. This citadel, setatop a free-floating coral reef, is bedecked with all mannerof towers and halls carved from living shell and ringedwith luminous, glowing pearls. About two hundred maridsmake the citadel their home, all of them nobility. Eachmarid has a set of personal servants, bringing the nonmaridpopulation of the citadel to about a thousand.The court of the great padishah is filled with intrigueand espionage because each marid has the heartfelt beliefthat he or she truly deserves to sit atop the Coral Throne.Assassinations are common, as are palace revolutions andexiles. The marids are individually the most powerful ofgenies, but their strong wills and high opinions of themselvesprevent them from banding permanently underany one leader.City of GlassFor travelers with less of a taste for palace intrigue, theCity of Glass is an ideal gathering spot on the ElementalPlane of Water (especially for travelers who breathe air).Located at a stable collection of portals to other planes(stable in that they do not move in relationship to eachother), the City of Glass consists of a great sphere ofunbreakable glass, half filled with water. Visitors enterthe city through any number of openings along the waterside, or through magical portals in the air-bubble half.Many buildings cross the boundary between air andwater; there are buildings filled with water in the air half,and buildings equally stocked with air beneath thewater’s surface. By mutual agreement of the city’s resident,“down” is toward the water half of the sphere.The City of Glass is a cosmopolitan collection of traders,travelers, and expatriates from other planes. Its denizensare primarily from the aquatic races of the Material Plane,including merfolk, aquatic elves, kuo-toas, lizardfolk,locathahs, and sahuagin. It is ruled by a council of longtimeresidents, no two of whom may be of the same race.The City of Glass is a merchant’s freeport and activelyencourages trade. Mercanes may be found within its borders,along with marids, dao, and human traders. Severalof its portals lead back to the Material Plane, and it is saidthat in secret places within the city, there are portals toother planes as well.Historians note that the “unbreakable” glass of the domehas been broken in the past. Without definite gravity, however,the air remained more or less where it was. The cityofficials immediately repaired the rift and put to death thevisitors whose errant spells were responsible for the break.The AvengerThe true nature of the Avenger, a unique figure on theElemental Plane of Water, is unrevealed. Considered amyth by many, the Avenger appears as a great, dark graymanta ray measuring about 90 feet from the nose to thebase of the tail and 180 feet from wingtip to wingtip. Itstail, which extends a further 90 feet, discharges lightningbolts (as an 18th-level sorcerer), apparently at will. TheAvenger appears to be a construct or a vehicle as opposedto a living beast, because it propels itself through thewater with a battery of water-screws.There are several theories about the Avenger. It mightbe a powerful construct, either still under the control ofits master, wild and berserk, or with its own free will—the stories inevitably vary on this point.Others contend that the Avenger is a vehicle, perhapsconstructed on an alternate Material Plane, that found itsway to the Elemental Plane of Water. The nature or fate ofits crew varies from tale-spinner to tale-spinner as well.The locathahs say that the crew is locathah pirates, whilethe marids make a good case for rebellious jann. Severalhuman tales talk of a crew of spectres.CHAPTER 6:THE INNERPLANES79