Manual of the Planes

Every word, scream, or shout is caught by the wind andflung through all the layers of the plane. Conversation isaccomplished by shouting, and even then words are spiritedaway by the wind beyond 10 feet.The stale wind of Pandemonium is cold, and it stealsthe heat from travelers unprotected from its endless galethat buffets each inhabitant, blowing sand and dirt intoeyes, snuffing torches, and carrying away loose items. Insome places, the wind can howl so fiercely that it liftscreatures off their feet and carries them for miles beforedashing their forms to lifeless pulp against some dark,unseen cliff face.In a few relatively sheltered places, the wind dies downto just a breeze carrying haunting echoes from distantparts of the plane, though they are so distorted that theysound like cries of torment.Erythnul, the Lord of Slaughter, makes his terribledomain on Pandemonium.Pandemonium has four layers: Pandesmos, Cocytus,Phlegethon, and Agathion.PANDEMONIUM TRAITSPandemonium has the following traits.• Objective Directional Gravity: In the cavernous tunnelsof Pandemonium, gravity is oriented toward whateverwall a creature is nearest. Thus, there is no normalconcept of floor, wall and ceiling—any surface is a floorif you’re near enough to it. Rare narrow tunnels exactlycancel out gravity, allowing a traveler to shoot throughthem at incredible speed. The layer of Phlegethon is anexception—there the normal gravity trait applies.• Normal Time.• Infinite Size: Pandemonium goes on forever,although its well-known realms are bounded.• Divinely Morphic: Specific powerful beings such asthe deity Erythnul can alter Pandemonium. Ordinarycreatures find Pandemonium indistinguishable fromthe Material Plane (the alterable morphic trait, inother words). Spells and physical effort affect Pandemoniumnormally.• No Elemental or Energy Traits.• Mildly Chaos-Aligned: Lawful characters on theplane of Pandemonium suffer a –2 penalty on allCharisma-based checks.• Normal Magic.PANDEMONIUM LINKSPermanent portals exist between various planes and Pandemonium.Several tunnels blow in from or out to theElemental Plane of Air. Also, the headwaters of the Styxwell up from the topmost layer of Pandemonium.PANDEMONIUM INHABITANTSPandemonium is probably the least inhabited of all theOuter Planes. It is arguably the least hospitable, eventhough there are hotter planes, colder ones, and planeswith crueler denizens. But no plane is more mindnumbinglyexhausting. The constant screeching of thewinds eventually brings low both the loftiest celestialand the foulest fiend.Besides the occasional fiendish nest, the only othernatives of note are small rag-tag groups of mortalhumans, goblinoids, giants, dwarves, drow, and otherspecies, collectively called the Banished. A long forgottencreature, spellcaster, or deity sentenced their distantancestors to this plane, and the descendants have neverfound a way to leave. The Banished of various species areresponsible for the sad little cities that manage to survivein this terrible realm.Pandemonium PetitionersOf course, Pandemonium has many petitioners. Most ofthem are swallowed by the screaming wind immediatelyupon arrival. But some linger, appearing much as theydid in life, though they are bonier, and the winds somehowdon’t affect them as much. Also, most of them arecompletely, utterly insane. Pandemonium’s petitionershave the following special petitioner traits:pqsWINDSTORMS ON PANDEMONIUMThe constant winds on Pandemonium can gust with howlsso maddening and speeds so enormous that they becomedangerous.Those caught without shelter when one of Pandemonium’swindstorms blows up are in trouble; both mind and body are inperil. A windstorm has a 10% chance per day of blowingthrough a given area. Generally, a windstorm gusts through anarea in 1 round.Table 7–3: Windstorms on Pandemoniumd%* Effect Saving Throw01–10 Flying pebbles deal 1d4 Reflex DC 15 halfpoints of damage11–20 Pelting stones deal 2d6 Reflex DC 18 halfpoints of damage21–30 Howling wind causes Will DC 15confusion for 1d4+1 rounds negates31–40 Flying boulders deal 2d8 Reflex DC 20 halfpoints of damage41–50 Cacophonous wind causes Will DC 18confusion for 2d4+1 rounds negates51–60 Wind picks up travelers, Reflex DC 22 halfdashing them against rockwall for 2d10 points of damage61–70 Screaming wind causes Will DC 20confusion for 2d4+1 rounds negates71–80 Wind picks up travelers, Reflex DC 24 halfdashing them against rockwall for 4d10 points of damage81–90 Wind picks up travelers, Reflex DC 24 half,dashing them against rock then Reflex DCwall for 4d10 points ofdamage, then blows theminto a tributary of the River Styx20 negates91–100 Shrieking wind causes Will DC 22insanitynegatespqsCHAPTER 7:THE OUTERPLANES97