Manual of the Planes

CHAPTER 7:THE OUTERPLANES92YsgardMuspelheimYsgardDen ofOlidammaraPlain of IdaNidavellirValiant Hallharmony with nature among the trees and fields ofthe surface, some elves abide in glittering caves below thesurface of Alfheim.Alfheim has seasons. Summers are long and kind,and its winters are dark and unforgiving. Duringwinter, the elves retreat into the glittering caves, theentrances to which are sealed off and buried during theseason of snows.Den of Olidammara: The god of rogues, Olidammarathe Laughing Rogue is an intermediate deity who concernshimself with music, revels, wine, humor, and similarideals. Wood, stone, and stranger substances create agrand but haphazard structure, as if several mansions ofvarious cultures were mashed together.On the inside, mazes, locked doors, blind hallways, andsecret treasuries surround a grand hall where music anddancing are mandatory. Usually, the guests of this inmostden include rogues, bards, performers, and entertainersof all stripes and all places. Wine, romance, and song rulehere, where Olidammara lounges at his ease on a granddivan—unless he is disguised as one of his many guestsusing his magic laughing mask. Because some terribleprank often draws him far away from his den, otherdeities treat Olidammara with deserved caution nomatter where they are.MuspelheimThe middle layer of Ysgard, Muspelheim, is made fromribbons of floating earth, some continent-sized or larger.Here, though, the ground smokes and burns, earning thislayer the name “Land of Fire.” It’s a hostile layer whereeven the ground is sharp volcanic rock. Most of Muspelheimhas the fire-dominant trait.Muspelheim’s ground rolls toward a ridge of fierymountains at the highest point. This range, called theSerpent Spine, is home to hundreds of clans of fire giants.Watchtowers and citadels defend the mountain passesagainst rival clans and unwanted visitors.The Spire is a towering, needle-thin citadel of darkstone in the midst of the Serpent Spine mountains.Devout fire giant maidens are said to inhabit the tower,serving as clerics of a mysterious intermediate deity offire giants.NidavellirThe third layer of Ysgard is Nidavellir. It is an “underground”realm crisscrossed by warm tunnels, heated byhot springs and geysers. The wild regions are crowdedwith underground forests of strange woods that need nosun, only heat, to grow. Vast caverns run through veins ofclear quartz, and deep holds are studded with shiningmica and pyrite. Precious and semiprecious minerals arestrewn across the floor of some lengths of tunnel andeven entire caverns.Dwarven and gnome kingdoms divide up most ofNidavellir. Most of the layer’s inhabitants are mortals, butpetitioners are common as well. It is a place of fiery furnaces,ringing anvils, and constant striving for perfectionin the crafts of smithing, runecrafting, and magic. Itshalls resound with the chanting voices of dwarves andthe lilting songs of gnomes. Though the two races arerivals often given to war, they unite when confronted bytheir underground enemies: dark elves.Svartalfheim: Drow have their own realm in Nidavellir.Though the gnomes and dwarves think the worstof the dark elves, the allegiances of these particulardrow are not as evil as many travelers might think. Likeothers of this layer, they merely wish to be left aloneand they don’t take kindly to unannounced visitors ortrespassers.Ysgard EncountersUse Table 7–9: Beatific Encounters for random encounterson Ysgard.EVER-CHANGING CHAOSOF LIMBOIt is where everything, and nothing, is possible.It is where raw chaos seethes.It is where the elements come to die.Limbo is a plane of pure chaos. Untended sectionsappear as a roiling soup of the four basic elements and alltheir combinations. Balls of fire, pockets of air, chunks ofearth, and waves of water battle for ascendance until theyin turn are overcome by yet another chaotic surge. However,landscapes similar to ones found on the Material