Planar Travel...Original Ideas?

[Woodland Mutant]

I love the terrible reality of the cosmos, the war between Law and Chaos that is waged throughout time and space.

I think a lot of the planar realities touched on by other games (OSR and otherwise) have always been well written and presented, but not really used a lot? I know a lot of cosmologies incorporate degrees of Heavens, Hells, various paradises and planes that reflect our own Earthly mythologies and creation stories. My intent was to use this thread as a jumping off point for us to come up with some new planes (Or entirely new cosmological planar wheels!!) to flesh out.

One thing I like about DCC are the weird pocket universes that pepper the fantasy worlds in various modules. Maybe the different dimensions and planes in DCC are in fact infinite? I can just see some babbling old wizard attempting to map that entire thing out after a few centuries of interdimensional travel and magic scrying. Maybe he's built a Dark Crystal type mechanical planetarium that constantly breaks down and opens doors to places best left unvisited. Probably a lot of weird critters camped out in his tower after years of doors coming and going?

My mind is feverish!

[GnomeBoy]

What if the scrying device, instead of peering into other places, actually created other places based on subconscious thoughts and memories and dreams of the person doing the 'scrying'...? You can't map it, truly, because it keeps getting created. Hell (or Heaven), the 'locations' of the other spaces may not stay fixed!

Personally, I like it to be vague and unknowable. As a kid looking at the chart of all the planes, it was cool I guess — but I didn't really know how to use it... What does it matter that Gehenna is two doors down from Valhalla?, etc. And certainly, the idea that as players we can hold the structure of things in our heads (IMO) diminishes the mystery of the idea of other worlds.

— Of course, now that I've put it that way, my brain is trying to actually answer the question what does it matter that Gehenna is two doors down from Valhalla...?

[Fenris Ulfhamr]

I've been on this very path since running Intrigue at the Court of Chaos. Opposed to the structured, well-defined wheel cosmology of other systems, I prefer a looser system more fitting DCC rules. I think of amorphous planes that differ by degrees, influenced inwardly by the will ruling powers and outwardly by bordering planes. What difference is there between this hell and that abyss, this heaven and that paradise, to an unschooled petitioner arriving there? I DO like the Great Wheel, just a little more wobble, so to speak. I'm currently working on a take on the Plane of Concordant Opposition wherein which great agents of balance culled from every plane and philosophy meet in grand conclave arguing the fate of the universe- much like a congress or senate- re balancing the scales of Law and Chaos when the unchanging neutral forces of are unable to decide for themselves.

[Woodland Mutant]

I've been on this very path since running Intrigue at the Court of Chaos. Opposed to the structured, well-defined wheel cosmology of other systems, I prefer a looser system more fitting DCC rules. I think of amorphous planes that differ by degrees, influenced inwardly by the will ruling powers and outwardly by bordering planes. What difference is there between this hell and that abyss, this heaven and that paradise, to an unschooled petitioner arriving there? I DO like the Great Wheel, just a little more wobble, so to speak. I'm currently working on a take on the Plane of Concordant Opposition wherein which great agents of balance culled from every plane and philosophy meet in grand conclave arguing the fate of the universe- much like a congress or senate- re balancing the scales of Law and Chaos when the unchanging neutral forces of are unable to decide for themselves.

I like where you're going. It's almost like everything is some Limbo analogue where all these different realities are maybe no so constant, even the most anal retentive of Law realms at times.

[Woodland Mutant]

THE NYDOHALOTH

This thrice damned realm is the curse of Astral travelers, wizards or otherwise, who become lost in one of the tumultuous Astral storms that pounds at the unpredictable fringes of the ubiquitous plane. Unfortunates who survive the harrowing trip into this massive pocket universe quickly find themselves in a bizarre reality devoid of gravity and/ or other constants of the physical and even astral universe.

Gigantic chunks of rock, earthen asteroid-like mountains and even small continents lazily float about the nether space. The "sky" seems to pulse from violet to almost pitch black at times. The only light comes from distant stars that wobble, twinkle and fade in and out of the view from the unreachable vastness of this nowhere.

The physics and cosmology of the Nydohaloth are little known amongst sages. It is known that this is a place of lost things. Those few who have returned sane tell long winded tales of insane astral sailors huddled together on great, gloom-filled galleons, muttering and passing eternity by distilling their strange alien meads. Random objects, structures and even coins slowly float through the weirdness. Some of these are tangible, some items will fade in and out of reality like coy spirits. Other objects and denizens are almost ghost-like, drifting through the dead-end reality like defeated sojourners.

There are also holdings and tangible confluences of lost matter that become substantial enough to allow some kind of passable existence for sentient powers that call the Nydohaloth home. A few wizards and alien beings who have escaped pursuit from demonic compacts, patrons or other cosmological circumstances have managed to cobble together brooding citadels and weirdling fiefdoms populated by half-sentient specters and shadowy life-draining wraiths.

The way in is most likely the way out: Random luck. There are beings here who have gone mad after aeons of random drifting and floating about. There are those fortunate few who, after a few hundred or thousand "years" pass (time is meaningless and not so constant either) drift into a portal or some dark pocket of astral space/time catches them and flings them into some material universe or other dimension, worse or otherwise.

[Woodland Mutant]

OUBLYSS (The Black Chasm)

Oublyss is a massive plane composed of lightless caves and pitch-dark warrens of labyrinthine tunnels carved from peppery black granite. It is a terrifying place, riddled with massive pits, subterranean landslides and cold brackish lakes devoid of life. Natural light is only half as effective as it would be in the material universe. Torches cast as much light as a flickering candle. Candles and oil lamps glow pathetically, providing only enough light to see a few feet. Even magical light is only half as effective. Other senses are unaffected, though sound here can be unnerving. Visitors can expect to hear distant scuttling and the occasional scattering of gravel and small rocks from the swallowing darkness.

It is believed Oublyss is part of some nightmare elemental reality, and there is mention of this place in certain vile tomes, to include the dread Necronomicon.

Oublyss is in fact a trap. It spans trillions of cubic miles in size and intersects the darkest caverns of thousands if not hundreds of thousands material worlds across the cosmos. This fell place was spawned by the mindless alien god Vulahie-Daoth untold millions of years ago as a means of feeding. It is a voracious entity always hungry for lifeforce of victims that stray into its clawing darkness.

Most of the channels, tunnels, abysses and pits will, after enough lightless wandering, lead to the maw of Vulahie-Daoth. The massive mouth of the elder god stretches hundreds of miles across the bottom of the blackest chasm of this terrible place. The howling maw emits a staggering stench of decay and ruin, while titanic vacuous pressures suck those unlucky enough into the devouring bulk. Once "eaten", victims are destroyed forever, even their souls. Vulahie-Daoth is eternally hungry, it's appetite never sated. Entire races have died in its churning maw, to include deities.

The Black Chasm is inhabited by strange chittering creatures that scurry the walls and ceilings of Oublyss in small packs. These blind bipedal humanoids are pale-skinned with disturbingly human-like faces devoid of eyes. They scuttle about with long sinuous fingers that end in sharp black claws. Their chittering mouths open lamprey-like with rings of grinding teeth. "Chitterers" know the way in and out of the Oublyss. They possess a low intelligence but are very patient and clever. Chitterers will aggressively patrol the dimensional interstices and attempt to lure victims into Oublyss from the victim's home plane by producing a dull silvery light they emit from the center of their foreheads. The light acts as a magical lure requiring a Willpower Save (DC 12) to resist or the victim will feel compelled to walk the few extra feet required to fall into pit trap that plunges said victim into the dark gulf of Oublyss. It is possible for victims to backtrack out of Oublyss to their home realms, but the Chitterers know that the best dimensional interstices are in pits, subterranean landslides and cavern abysses. Most victims will simply be unable to climb out without help or magical aid. Even then, they will most likely be without an effective light source.
Chitterers will harry travelers in Oublyss from a distance and work in packs to push victims into one of the thousands of shafts that drop miles below into the howling maw Vulahie-Daoth. Chitterers are somewhat cowardly and will only attack if they are confident they can outmatch potential prey. Chitterers eat half of what they attempt to lure to the maw and at times one another.

For those wizards and adventurers brave or insane enough to attempt the dangerous caves of Oublyss, this plane is an effective way to travel between worlds. Oublyss, despite the death that crawls and plunges mere feet from the foolhardy, can be mapped and navigated by those who would chance it much easier than the Astral realms.

There is great wealth strewn about this lightless hell. There are citations and hints amongst the frenetic scrawl of the Blighted Scrolls, amongst the ruinous pages of the Tome of Rending and the footnotes of the mind-blasting Book of Patience that hints at artifacts, weapons and Arcanum of long dead deities. The Account of Yeldo the Younger, scribed in his own blood, even states that "In the antechambers of the blasted Dark...lower canyons that glow with dull gray light...Therein can be found some Crawling Temple...Descending into the cloying black...The burning dark...and in other Eating Caves where the pale ones avoid...vast and alien wealth..."

Chitterer

Chitterer: Init +3; Atk Tongue Lash +4 melee (Rng 10 ft. dmg 1d4), successful Tongue Lash in melee range grants additional attack Bite +5 melee (dmg 1d4); or claws +5 melee (dmg 1d4); AC 12; HD 2d6; MV360’ or climb 20’; Act 1d20; SP Infravision 200', Light Lure (see above); SV Fort +1, Ref +2, Will +0; AL C

These subterranean beings resemble bony humans with lanky arms ending in razor sharp claws and thin legs allowing them to crawl and scuttle through the absolute darkness of their home plane, "Oublyss." They lack any facial features other than a large jaw with rows of teeth and multiple "tongues" covered in fang-like protrutions. They communicate by "chittering" their teeth and tapping their long claws on rocks and gravel. At the center of their forehead the creature can at will emit a dim gray light that acts as a lure. Creatures who see the lure, which has a range of 50 feet (the lure is not affected by the light-deadening property of Oublyss), must make a WP 12 save or become effectively charmed. The victim will begin walking toward the Chitterer's light at a normal advance. An attempt to break the charm may be attempted each round. If the victim is unable to see the lure light, the charm effect is immediately canceled.

Chitterers make forays into the material plane, stalking the Underdark for prey to lure into their hellish realm to feed to their ancient and mindless god. Victims of the lure lights will usually fall into a pit or tunnel that connects to someplace in the Oublyss. Most of these victims take substantial falling damage, but not enough to kill them outright. The terrible deity known as Vulahie-Daoth must "eat" its victims live so as to gain sustenance from their souls. Occassionally Chitterers will instead eat victims they lure into ambushes. They hunt in packs from three to twenty individuals.

Chitterers are cowardly and will only attack and ambush prey if they are certain they can outnumber potential victims. Although not very intelligent, they are cunning. It is not known if they are creations of Vulahie-Daoth. Although they exist in absolute darkness, they do not fear light.

[Woodland Mutant]

YOAWIEL (THE VELD OF ZESRA)

This far realm is distant from known cosmology and is detailed in several Elven writings (The A'nsela Songs, The Cyclopedia of Longing and the earlier volume of the Cinder Scrolls currently held by the Shadow Elves.) There is some mention of it in the repulsive "Almanac Execrable" held under lock and key under armed guard at the Justician Temple of Light in the city of Nandor.

Yoawiel is a bizarre and desert-like realm of cracked arid dirt and blowing dust. Strange suns blaze in the sky and there is never any night here, nor any clouds other than a perpetual haze of grayish dust in the dull blue sky. Strange scaly birds dart about like dragonflies high above, their curved beaks dripping corrosive slime which helps them break down and eat prey. Mottle-skinned rodent like creatures, strange eight-legged warthog beasts and various species of rock dwelling reptiles compete for food and water. The most dangerous predator being the colossal sand slugs that ply the dry wastes for anything organic. When these monstrosities sense potential food, their great girth splits open and massive streamers of sticky tentacle ropes whip about for tens of meters, dragging unfortunate prey into one of its eight stomachs. Few other features dot the flat expanse other than occasional basalt columns etched with ancient magic runes that reflect the sunlight, visible from miles away. These ancient sigils are wards that prevent the realm's sole sentient inhabitant from leaving her eternal prison.

Tens of thousands of years ago, during the earliest Elven epoch, there existed one of the Elven kin who attained mastery over the Dark Ways. Her name is recorded as Yoawiel, but she is also called the "Transgressor," the "Word Speaker" and even "Dark Mother." Yoaweil gained political control over most of the Elven and Fey courts through murder and intrigue. She had scores of demonic powers who revered HER as a patron and her influence over the world was unquestioned. It is not known how Yoawiel was stopped, but the Cinder Scrolls and some of the darker psalms in the Almanac Execrable detail the arrival of an ancient dragon who played some part in her defeat along with a massive war that brought her rule to an end. The A'nsela Songs also reference this event, although the myth narrative of the Elves' beautiful if not somber prose is controversial and still debated. According to the Songs, Yoawiel (called the Word Speaker), was so distraught at her defeat by the dragon's army that she decided to rend the world apart and destroy it utterly. The dragon, seeing Yoawiel from across the battlefield as she began to cast the terrible spell, channeled all the magical power he could and dove into her, destroying himself and subduing Yoawiel in a cataclysmic explosion that carved a fissure almost a mile deep into the ground. The dragon's spell was only partially successful. He knew he couldn't kill her, so instead he created a magical conduit that grabbed Yoawiel body and soul and flung her into the far realm known by ancient Elven sages as the Veld of Zesra (Also called Yoawiel after its prisoner!). The planar veld was created hundreds of years prior by enemies of Yoawiel far from the cosmological realities of the known world. They constructed large monoliths that would confound her magical powers, render her insane and hopefully imprison her long enough until future ancestors could come up with a way to actually destroy her. It is prophesied throughout the Almanac Execrable and possibly the A'nsela Songs that the Dark Mother will one day return to finish her last spell. Disturbingly, the Elven "Cyclopedia of Longing" details how there will some day come a "Virtuous Maiden of Light" who will usher the return of "The Transgressor" and bring about the end of world.

Only a handful of Elven sages are aware of this prophecy. A growing number of human wizards know but don't care. The Elven sages also know that their ancient ancestors used the Veld of Zesra as a place to stash books, scrolls and artifacts too terrible for the sentient races of the world to see. Unknowable spells, terrible magics and rituals that could potentially reshape the universe are locked up in magically sealed vaults beneath the monoliths of the Veld.

And that's not all...

1.) A number of jealous human wizards have managed to hand copy some pages of the Almanac Execrable and find ways to the Veld in the last two centuries. The Elven sages have managed to kill most of these meddling maniacs before they could accidentally bring about the apocalypse.

2.) Some wizards, like the notorious Zortulan the Discordant, have made a number of successful raids into Yoawiel.

3.) There are Chaos Lords who would love to release Yoawiel, but then there are Lords of Law who confound these plans.

4.) A demonic power, Malzar, Duke of the Burning Censer, has dispatched some of his minions to follow wizards into the prison plane. He would love to find a way into these vaults he's heard about.

5.) Ublexaal-Sabaag, Eater of Babies, and rival to Malzar has also gained some interest into this far removed plane. One of his Gore Drenchers has even located a possible vault.

6.) Yoawiel wanders the desolation of her aptly named plane. She is a withered crone, essentially a lich, who mumbles incoherently in some dead Elven language. She is invulnerable to all attacks and magic save the combined and direct attacks from deities or certain unique rune weapons flung across the universe. She has near total amnesia and as long as the ten score basalt monoliths stand under the light of the blazing suns in the dull sky, she will be locked in the Veld. She occasionally blasts sand slugs into prismatic goo with random bursts of wild magic energy.

7.) There are in fact scrolls, spellbooks, weird magic artifacts and unknowable relics locked away in this realm. The vaults are guarded by powerful spells and enchanted guardians from pyrokinetic dragon golems to radiation spewing dimensional centaurs.

8.)The plane is called both Yoawiel, after the Dark Mother and the Veld of Zesra. Zesra is most likely the Elven enchantress who found/ created the prison realm, though this is speculation.

Sand Slug

Sand Slug: Init -5; Atk x1d8 Tentacles +4 Melee (Rng 80 ft. dmg 1d6); AC 18; HD 6D6; MV 10’; Act 1d20; SP Regenerate 3 hit points/ round; Infravision 100', Swallow Whole, Stomach Acid (See Below), SV Fort +6, Ref -5, Will -1; AL C

This sand crawling terror plies the dunes and rocky crags of the plane of Yoawiel in constant search for food. It eats everything. Everything! The massive sticky tentacles whip up lizards, rocks, cacti, other slugs and bands of sleeping adventurers with hungered abandon. Sand slugs grow to over one hundred feet in length. Their whip-like mouth tentacles blindly flail about grabbing up everything not cemented to the ground to digest amongst eight stomachs. Rocks, minerals, metal and armor are excreted out one of its waste sphincters. A foul smelling trail of caustic acid from these waste glands trails the slug and does 1d4 acid damage to anything that touches the putrid slime. Sand slugs regenerate three hit points per round so they can and do eat sharpened weapons, spears and sharp stones, healing any residual damage received during the "digestion" process.

Treat the tentacles similar to "Cave Octopus". For each tentacle that strikes the same opponent, Sand Slug receives 1d4 opposed Strength test to drag the opponent to its pulsating maw. Each tentacle does 1d6 damage and has a range of 80 feet! If the Sand Slug wins the opposed strength test, the opponent is quickly whipped into the maw and swallowed whole. Swallowed victims take 2d4 damage per round as the fast acting stomach juices begin the work of breaking down organic matter. Characters may hack their way out if they can inflict 20 points damage vs. AC 12 (tough, constricted stomach muscles and slugular girth).

Ublexaal-Sabaag, Eater of Babies (Type IV Demon)

Ublexaal-Sabaag: Init +5; Atk Hook Limbs +8 Melee (2d8+4 dmg and Evisceration--see below) or Bite +10 melee (1d14 dmg); AC 22; HD 8D12 (90 hitpoints); MV 40’; Act 1d20+1D14; SP Regenerate 5 hit points/ round, Infravision, Telepathy, Crit Range 17-20 (Immunites and see below) SV Fort +10, Ref +10, Will +10; AL C
Immune To: Weapons of less than +3 enchantments or natural attacks from creatures of 7 HD or less; immune to fire, cold, electricity, acid and gas.
Gate Infernal Servants: Can attempt to gate 1d3 Gore Drenchers per day (50% Chance per attempt, counts as an attack, Gore Drenchers arrive at start of turn in 1d3 rounds).
Evisceration: If Ublexaal successfully strikes with a Hooked Limb attack, he may attempt an evisceration. Roll another attack. If it hits, resolve per "Evisceration Result". If the attack misses, then no damage is dealt from the original attack, Ublexaal fails for the round. Evisceration Result: Ublexaal's enormous strength tears his opponent apart! Roll 5d8+8 damage and victim must make a Fort Save or sustain an additional 2d4+4 damage!

Ublexaal-Sabaag hangs suspended from thin strands of ethereal marionette chord which pierce his body and limbs. The silvery chords seem to sparkle and scintillate. The chords run in straight lines above him, disappearing many feet above into some other plane of existence. Who or what the "puppeteer" is might be best left unknown. His presence on the plane of Yoawiel is believed to be some kind of banishment; it's thought the Dark Mother herself brought him here as a companion or play thing, but neither is known to communicate with the other. Ublexaal is actually terrified of the lich-being, Yoawiel. Her random blasts of crushing magical energy have zapped him into a craterous ruin twice already for her own cackling amusement.

Ublexaal-Sabaag does indeed relish baby meat. He will go to great ends to savor this infernal and horrific delicacy. Such is his ravenous hunger that to sate this demonic appetite he would be willing to sacrifice/ annihilate himself for just a nibble of tender baby. Should the right adversary or wizard play his cards right, they might be able to pull this off. The old "Make a Fake Baby Out of Stuffed Goblin Pelts" ruse has already been tried though, much to the misfortune of Olzimune the Ostentatious.

The Eater of Babies has spent quite a few centuries on the plane of Yoawiel and is privy to its guarded and warded secrets. He might be willing to negotiate with adventurers who have something for him (Their souls of course, or willingness to scheme against his rival on the plane, Malzar, Duke of the Burning Censer.) He will of course first demand adventurers offer up any babies in their possession, or disturbingly, suggest they attempt to make one. Should adventurers refuse these demands and offers, Ublexaal Sabaag goes berserk and presses the attack. He will attempt to immediately gate in 1d3 of Gore Drenchers. Should the adventurers drop Ublexaal-Sabaag's hitpoints to 20 or less, he pleads with them to cease their attack and will negotiate in their favor. He alone knows many of the secret ways and solutions to the hidden treasure caches left by the elves many thousands of years ago. However...he is a demon. Ublexaal-Sabaag is bound to the plane of Yoawiel and may not in any way leave it short of a Wish spell or divine intervention.

Adventurers who attempt to attack the marionette chords attached to Ublexaal-Sabaag may attempt to do so. They are AC 26 and each have 10 hitpoints and may only be attacked with weapons of +4 enchantment or higher. There are seven chords attached to his body. Each chord severed drops his initiative by 1 (to a total of -2 initiative). Cutting the first chord eliminates his ability to use his Evisceration power. Cutting a second cord eliminates all his Hook Limb attacks and reduces his movement by half, he may now only bite attack. Cutting the third chord cancels his ability to regenerate. Cutting the fourth chord reduces his Action Die to 1D20. Cutting the fifth chord reduces his Crit Range to a natural 20 only. Cutting the sixth chord cuts all his Saves by half. Cutting the seventh chord destroys him utterly. He is not banished to his home plane. He is eliminated from the cosmos.

Gore Drencher (Type II Demon)

[thogard]

This topic brings to my mind the Chronicles of Amber, with its maybe-infinite worlds of Shadow between Amber and the Courts of Chaos.

[Fenris Ulfhamr]

Wowee- how to follow all that! Now I just want to stick a straw in Woodland Mutant's brain and siphon out all that weird goodness... mwahahaha!

If Gehenna and Valhalla are "close", in what dimension are they close? Length, width, depth, and time are meaningless or near so in the Void between worlds... Do the aspects of Law/Chaos/Good/Evil represent a charged polarity that acts as the physics of the Outer Planes? Do they overlap and coexist on differing frequencies as in certain Lovecraftian tales?

My sources say "PROBABLY", heh heh....

[Woodland Mutant]

Wowee- how to follow all that! Now I just want to stick a straw in Woodland Mutant's brain and siphon out all that weird goodness... mwahahaha!

If Gehenna and Valhalla are "close", in what dimension are they close? Length, width, depth, and time are meaningless or near so in the Void between worlds... Do the aspects of Law/Chaos/Good/Evil represent a charged polarity that acts as the physics of the Outer Planes? Do they overlap and coexist on differing frequencies as in certain Lovecraftian tales?

My sources say "PROBABLY", heh heh....

Thanks! Maybe the dominant forces of Law / Neutrality / Chaos don't even know for sure or where they fit into the great machine ...Or how and why the eternal struggle even matters? It just does...

[Woodland Mutant]

MARYYN-THEL

The verdant woodland realms called Maryyn-Thel are eldritch hunting grounds of some nameless and forgotten race of which little is known. Vast rolling hills and strange, torturous mountains carved from ancient rock jut into the crystalline, blue sky. Massive cedar-like trees and huge oak analogs known as "Sky Trees" tower thousands of feet above the misty woodlands below. Deep freshwater lakes and murky swamps cut through the tree-lined valleys and strange crags. Very little sunlight reaches these strange bodies of water which are home to thousands of varieties of fish and terrifying aquatic predators.
The size of this expansive plane is not known, but is theorized to dwarf most material worlds of the multiverse. Very little of Maryyn-Thel has been explored by mortal travelers, wizard or otherwise. Demonic beings, Celestials and elemental lords hesitate before setting foot in the "Thel" due to colossal terrors that stalk this place. Whatever proto-thing existed before saurian beasts and Serpent people ruled material worlds millions of years ago and even the forgotten epoch of the first dragons is certainly at home here.
Travelers to this plane who manage to summit one of the giant sky trees may see the abandoned citadels that brood over the planar expanse in the distant haze. These megaliths are most likely unexplored, at least by travelers from the mortal planes. Sages believe they are the ancient dwelling place of the progenitor beings who spawned the Thel hundreds of millions of years ago. Magical scrying performed near these mind-boggling towers hint at some strange aeon where giant alien demi-gods crossed the multiverse and germinated this strange paradise for their own kind of terrifying sport.
Entry into the Thel is not difficult. Like the nightmare plane of the Oublyss, there are small tears in the material planes that intersect the Thel. These interstices are mostly accidental and exist in deep fens, the bottoms of dark marshlands and woodland caves.

Notes from the Water Minstrel Karindreil Nessana, Elven Gate-Walker

Reader: These excerpts are drawn from the Elves' "Solemn Folios, Volume IV, Water Psalms and Footnotes." The collection belongs to Jander the Magnanimous, High Evoker of the Incendiary Court. Most of the scrollwork was damaged in a previous fire and also sustained significant water damage. Areas that are illegible are annotated with [.....]. The Solemn Folios are estimated to be around 1,400 years old.

* Our first forays into Maryyn-Thel were remarkable if not full of fear and woe. We lost none of our kin to the hideous, fanged beasts that slithered through the crennelated roots of the majestic trees. We remained hidden observers and explored mostly with our scyring gems. Our human friend Cantori G[.......Approximately Two Paragraphs...........]en the lines of power. We posit that there are ley lines or some k[.............Approximately One Paragraph.......] The "ley lines" may assist in naviga[......Approximately One Paragraph.......]ing machine which lead to his injury.

* We found no sentient beings here, not even kin of the fey courts or anything remotely similar. There were small goblinoid creatures who were quite savage but lacking any true cultural attributes. They swarmed the undergrowth in great swarms, like an army of ants, killing and eating.

* [........Approximately Three Paragraphs.......]adels were incredible. We made it to the top and th[........Approximately One Paragraph......]ound from the clouds? No dragon could esteem that! This was something beyond the scope of those ancient serpents, this was[........End of Page.........]

* Ursalii attempted to commune with Nature with his enchanted lyre, so we set camp and gave hi[.......Approximately Three Paragraphs........]isce here? It was an incredible insight, something akin to some great synthesis! Ursalii was rattled. He grew quiet after some time but, as is his nature, picked up his lyre and th[.......Approximately One Paragraph.......]ther attempt. He said that what he heard between the notes was not only difficult to comprehend but that there was an "answer" to this place. He had our attention for sure, and stated that he had gleaned something meaningful from his ancestral music. Ursalii set down his lyre, took in a deep breath and with feverish intensity said, "The natural world here, the absolut[........End of Page.......]

* [............First Half of Page Missing........]ty feet high! What noble god, what cosmic power could weild this implement that spanned the wooded heights like some star-borne sword? We were in awe, and decided to travel on foot again, but with great caution. We should use the scrying gems, but this "forest" of mountainous trees! Do our own ancient and revered gods envy this place? Oh how they do! We broke camp again and se[.......Approximately Four Paragraphs........]ffied! No beast should walk the multiverse such as this! We were in the thrall of a nightmare demigod? Its tentacles breeched the wooded canopy above, this behemoth in the dark labyrinth of limbs above us seemed to hunt about li[.....End of Page......]

* Despite his injuries and with the help of our limited healing magics, Cantori was able to focus his scrying gem for some brief glimpse into the stony vault. He claimed that there were great cubes of some unknown granite that could be magically assessed and understood. These, he claimed, were repositories of some ancient alien knowledge. Cantori stated they were deep inside the vault. We had no way of prying into it. He felt disturbed by the knowledge cubes, and felt sure that they were "scrying" into him as well. Our remaining time here was fraught with peril. Cantori felt he was being "read" like a book and that his mind was being paged through and interpreted by unknown intellects. Cantori is convinced the absolute record of the multiverse is in these vaulted cubes. He wants desperately to stay. Poor Cantori. His wounds are so grievous and his demeanor has worsened. We are nervous about him. In his sleep he can be heard to rasp strange edicts. "The mind is the key! Open the BLACK GATES!" he occassionally shouts in fitful slumber.

*[..........Approximately Three Paragraphs.......]erous. We were cornered under the waterfall by this gigant[...........Approximately One Paragraph........]o effect. Staridriel ran out of arrows and it ripped his sword from his off hand! It's "tongue" grabbed hi[...........Appoximately One Paragraph......]ve. We survived but our injuries were too mu[..........End of Page......]

*[......No other mention of Maryyn-Thel is made or legible in this volume of the Folio.......]


Swarmling

[Woodland Mutant]

The Laughing Chantry

We were lost in the turmoil of this mad ocean, tossed about like drowning sailors as the weirdling currents threatened to tear our magic vessel apart. The first watch cried out, "Tower at the Starboard!" He was almost thrown from the crow's nest as it was buffeted by racks of blinding witch wind. Amidst the hideous maelstrom of strange colors and horrible thundering from the pulsing orbs, we heard laughter. A malignant laughter that only broke down our already beleaguered spirits. We steered our faltering vessel through the punishing tempest and moored there, at the banks of some floating island. There were other vessels here, destroyed or crushed along the rocky banks. Many were formed of alien woods, polished metals of differing colors or hazy cloud-like mists that only barely resembled any kind of boat. Other than the abandoned vessels and impish laughter, there was a muted calm here. The hellish limbo we had sailed through seemed distant and blurred as it roiled about the mouldering rock ilsand. The laughter we heard was mocking and repellent, like a sardonic old hag or spell-burn maddened wizard. We salvaged what we could from our crumbling astral caravel and set toward the yawning portcullis of the "laughing chantry."
-Hunrich the Elder, Sojourner Diaries

The Laughing Chantry is a small pocket dimension accessible from the storm-wracked reaches of the astral seas which border the planes of the Multiverse. It was built there by the powerful "Xhumael the Indifferent" only a few hundred years ago as a place safe from the eternal struggle between Law and Chaos. Xhumael, an absolute true Neutral, quarried and shaped the stone for his gigantic citadel from the primal matter of Limbo. Utilizing powerful enchantments, he molded the interior of his new domain to accomodate an entire planar realm! Although his towering chantry stands some five hundred feet high, the insides are much, much more spacious. Thousands of rooms, stone causeways, dungeons, banquet halls, libraries, laboratories, theatres, servants quarters and other chambers warren this realm like some massive castle keep.
Xhumael had a great desire, despite his legendary apathy, to chronicle the balance of the multiverse, record all the deeds thereof, and come to know exactly what the point of the entire nonsense really was. After decades of study, and with the assistance of dozens of fellow apprentice wizards and even some Elementals, he found his answer. Using one of a number of clockwork Finder Outers , advice gleaned from a certain "Black Goat" and the souls of his unfortunate, somewhat bored acolytes, he began to conclude his grand experiment. It took all his physical, mental and psychic strength to spell burn the answer to this ultimate question: Life, the Multivervse, and Everything.

It drove him mad.

His existence was essentially snuffed out, but whatever soul essence remained of Xhumael lingered on at the chantry as the answer was so obvious to him it rendered him a laughing, moronic lunatic.

Astral wayfarers who come upon the Laughing Chantry will certainly hear his demented giggling and crazed fits of japed chortling, screaming mirth and howling laughter.

Legends of the Chantry linger on. Wizards who brave the cosmic byways of the Multiverse know of the place; many would love to explore the corridors and libraries poor Xhumael left behind. Getting there is a dangerous risk given its isolation in some of the stormier parts of the astral plane.

Tales of terrifying golems formed of quartz rock and invulnerable alloys are written of in journals and ships logs of those who have braved the journey to the Chantry. Many who have entered its majestic confines have disappeared. The clockwork "Finder Outers" are also feared, as they roams the larger hallways in search of their former master and companion, quickly evaporating anything that moves with colossal lightning wands.

The legendary Library of Xhumael can be found near the center of the Chantry. Amongst his thousands of tomes, scrolls and journals is the carefully cataloged research Xhumael and his acolytes managed to collect and shelve. Amongst these writings can be found weaknesses, mysteries and ways of exploiting certain powerful demons, meddlesome celestial beings and even gods!

*There are ways of accessing the Laughing Chantry from the material plane. If anyone were to ever find Xhumael's temporal wizard tower or one of his heavily guarded dungeons where he began his research long ago, they might chance upon a magic portal to the chantry. Neither his tower nor any of his dungeons have ever been found. They are most likely difficult to impossible to find with magical scrying.

*The Helm of Mystical Insight: This mundane appearing warrior helmet with its tattered plumage and misshapen nose guard grants the wearer the ability to know if sentient beings are Lawful, Neutral or Chaotic. It sees through effects of Charmed or otherwise enchanted creatures as allows the wearer to look directly into the heart and soul. The Helm may only be worn by Neutrally aligned characters. Lawful or Chaotic beings who attempt to wear it take 1D4 temporary PER and LUCK damage, and the Helm while worn by Lawful or Chaotic characters grants none of its magical ability. The whereabouts of the helmet in the Laughing Chantry is thought to be in one of the many treasure rooms secreted away in its labyrinthine depths.

[Woodland Mutant]

I've been on this very path since running Intrigue at the Court of Chaos. Opposed to the structured, well-defined wheel cosmology of other systems, I prefer a looser system more fitting DCC rules. I think of amorphous planes that differ by degrees, influenced inwardly by the will ruling powers and outwardly by bordering planes. What difference is there between this hell and that abyss, this heaven and that paradise, to an unschooled petitioner arriving there? I DO like the Great Wheel, just a little more wobble, so to speak. I'm currently working on a take on the Plane of Concordant Opposition wherein which great agents of balance culled from every plane and philosophy meet in grand conclave arguing the fate of the universe- much like a congress or senate- re balancing the scales of Law and Chaos when the unchanging neutral forces of are unable to decide for themselves.

Feel free to post a summation of the Plane of Concordant Opposition when you finish it. Sounds cool, like there'd be a lot of faction fighting, conspiracies, etc. I imagine the "True Neutrals" as being dogmatic slow-to-act types who brood over how to act and what to believe. Like maybe the drive lords of Law and Chaos batty at time?

[Fenris Ulfhamr]

The plane of concordant opposition is the hub of the Great Cosmic Wheel, the grand planar crossroads wherein which all worlds meet. Portals to and denizens from nearly any plane can be found here, even those diametrically opposed to each other. This is possible in part due to the fact that as one approaches the relative center of this infinite plane, neutrality becomes more and more a tangible effect, neutralizing magic, damage, chemical reactions, etc., literally preventing change of any sort. Angels and devils may meet here, unable to harm one another as may elementals of Fire and Water. It is rumored that an immense dark tower lies at the epicenter of the plane tying all creation together, although none who have sought the tower have returned to say for sure.

The immovable lords of neutrality favor this plane as the pinnacle of their philosophy, and myriad impassive elementals and nature spirits dwell with them. It is here that the Agents of Balance reign. Absolute true neutral beings are unable to decide to do anything, and merely do as they have always done (fire burns, wolves hunt, night is dark, etc.) without moral are ethical concern. For this reason the Agents are chosen from other planes- often opposing faction- to strike balance via the very opposition that would make their collaboration impossible elsewhere. For reasons unknown, only eight agents are known to operate at any one time. They meet to argue the fate of the cosmos, interfering in person from time to time by incorporating themselves as great heroes or villains as needed to alter the flow of events as they see fit. Agents work together as often as against one another when they aren't in unanimous agreement, and while never harm one another directly, great cataclysms on foreign worlds are at times proxy wars. The Agents of Balance are unknowable, as they assume differing identities throughout time, but are known to have included membership of ascended heroes/villains, oni, titans, and lords of Law and Chaos simultaneously.

I'm working up patron write ups for all eight!

[Woodland Mutant]

The plane of concordant opposition is the hub of the Great Cosmic Wheel, the grand planar crossroads wherein which all worlds meet. Portals to and denizens from nearly any plane can be found here, even those diametrically opposed to each other. This is possible in part due to the fact that as one approaches the relative center of this infinite plane, neutrality becomes more and more a tangible effect, neutralizing magic, damage, chemical reactions, etc., literally preventing change of any sort. Angels and devils may meet here, unable to harm one another as may elementals of Fire and Water. It is rumored that an immense dark tower lies at the epicenter of the plane tying all creation together, although none who have sought the tower have returned to say for sure.

The immovable lords of neutrality favor this plane as the pinnacle of their philosophy, and myriad impassive elementals and nature spirits dwell with them. It is here that the Agents of Balance reign. Absolute true neutral beings are unable to decide to do anything, and merely do as they have always done (fire burns, wolves hunt, night is dark, etc.) without moral are ethical concern. For this reason the Agents are chosen from other planes- often opposing faction- to strike balance via the very opposition that would make their collaboration impossible elsewhere. For reasons unknown, only eight agents are known to operate at any one time. They meet to argue the fate of the cosmos, interfering in person from time to time by incorporating themselves as great heroes or villains as needed to alter the flow of events as they see fit. Agents work together as often as against one another when they aren't in unanimous agreement, and while never harm one another directly, great cataclysms on foreign worlds are at times proxy wars. The Agents of Balance are unknowable, as they assume differing identities throughout time, but are known to have included membership of ascended heroes/villains, oni, titans, and lords of Law and Chaos simultaneously.

I'm working up patron write ups for all eight!

Keep us posted on those patrons.

I'm editing my planes I typed up above and adding a few more critters and plot hooks. I've got some ideas for some other astral travel shenanigans too. Thanks for the reply, your synopsis sounds pretty cool.

[Fenris Ulfhamr]

Thanks! The plane itself is drawn heavily from what I recall from Planescape, but the Agents of Balance and the immortal congress are mine (for now!) !