Post by Stix on Apr 12, 2007 0:56:25 GMT -5
There are multitudinous layers of the Abyss, perhaps even an infinite number. No one has ever catalogued them all, and it's doubtful that any of the plane's natives, let alone any other bean counter, has ever considered the effort worth the time and danger. Plain and simple, no one's ever done so because each layer is so horribly grotesque that a berk would have to be barmy to want to see any of them. Even fewer sods have the power to actually do so and survive. For one thing, almost every layer of the Abyss is completely inhospitable. For another, this plane is home to the tanar'ri, one of the two races locked forever in the infernal Blood War - and they aren't particularly hospitable either.
Watch out for those tanar'ri bashers. They'll either try to impress a berk into one of their armies - whether for the Blood War or a local squabble - or they'll flat out put him in the dead-book. Their reason? As often as not, just because they can. Don't expect a better reason from beings of utterly evil chaos. They're devoted to seizing everything they can for themselves, and killing or enslaving everyone else. To their minds, that's the only way to power, and power is the goal of their existence.
Petitioners on this plane are the spirits of the chaotic-evil. Most take the form of manes, the very lowest of the tanar'ri, though a few especially powerful or evil ones may begin their Abyssal existence as something more powerful. Being a mane isn't so special, because more powerful fiends vent their bloodlust on these poor sods, sometimes slaying them in droves. But tanar'ri ain't tanar'ri because they're being punished or because of any other dim-sided reason some green prime has thought up. Here's the real chant: Tanar'ri want to be tanar'ri, even if all they are is a lousy mane. Those who survive long enough may be transformed to more powerful forms, should a master find the need for such a servant. Raw, indomitable power's all those sods care about, and the Abyss is the place to get it.
Layer: The Plain of Infinite Portals. This, the top layer of the Abyss, is a dim, barren place baking forever beneath a bloated red sun. Innumerable holes and huge iron fortresses dot the landscape. The holes are conduits that lead to other layers of the Abyss. The fortresses are strongholds of individual tanar'ri lords, where their bodies are protected by slavishly devoted servants while the leaders' spirits traverse the Astral Plane and the Prime Material, seeking corrupt and evil types to press into service.
Special Physical Conditions. There's no single unifying theme to the physical nature of the layers of the Abyss, except that they're all incredibly harsh. Some are endless deserts of baking sand, salt, or even rust. Others are nothing but bitterly cold ice plains, with razor shards of ice dotting the land. Some are endless seas of stinging salt or smoking acid. Others are plains of rock and lava, with atmospheres of choking fumes. Still others are unimaginably worse.
Special Magic Conditions. Spellcasting on the Abyss is as normal as can be expected for the Outer Planes. The only problem is that magic use tends to draw the attention of the locals - especially the agents of powers - who are likely to view the spell user as a threat, one to be dominated or destroyed. Interestingly, illusions are enhanced on the Abyss.
Watch out for those tanar'ri bashers. They'll either try to impress a berk into one of their armies - whether for the Blood War or a local squabble - or they'll flat out put him in the dead-book. Their reason? As often as not, just because they can. Don't expect a better reason from beings of utterly evil chaos. They're devoted to seizing everything they can for themselves, and killing or enslaving everyone else. To their minds, that's the only way to power, and power is the goal of their existence.
Petitioners on this plane are the spirits of the chaotic-evil. Most take the form of manes, the very lowest of the tanar'ri, though a few especially powerful or evil ones may begin their Abyssal existence as something more powerful. Being a mane isn't so special, because more powerful fiends vent their bloodlust on these poor sods, sometimes slaying them in droves. But tanar'ri ain't tanar'ri because they're being punished or because of any other dim-sided reason some green prime has thought up. Here's the real chant: Tanar'ri want to be tanar'ri, even if all they are is a lousy mane. Those who survive long enough may be transformed to more powerful forms, should a master find the need for such a servant. Raw, indomitable power's all those sods care about, and the Abyss is the place to get it.
Layer: The Plain of Infinite Portals. This, the top layer of the Abyss, is a dim, barren place baking forever beneath a bloated red sun. Innumerable holes and huge iron fortresses dot the landscape. The holes are conduits that lead to other layers of the Abyss. The fortresses are strongholds of individual tanar'ri lords, where their bodies are protected by slavishly devoted servants while the leaders' spirits traverse the Astral Plane and the Prime Material, seeking corrupt and evil types to press into service.
Special Physical Conditions. There's no single unifying theme to the physical nature of the layers of the Abyss, except that they're all incredibly harsh. Some are endless deserts of baking sand, salt, or even rust. Others are nothing but bitterly cold ice plains, with razor shards of ice dotting the land. Some are endless seas of stinging salt or smoking acid. Others are plains of rock and lava, with atmospheres of choking fumes. Still others are unimaginably worse.
Special Magic Conditions. Spellcasting on the Abyss is as normal as can be expected for the Outer Planes. The only problem is that magic use tends to draw the attention of the locals - especially the agents of powers - who are likely to view the spell user as a threat, one to be dominated or destroyed. Interestingly, illusions are enhanced on the Abyss.