The Outer Planes

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MP.101

    The 666 layers of the Abyss are an estimate, but the Abyss
definitely has the most layers and therefore potentially the most
inhabitants of any of the Outer Planes. No sage II scholar claims
to have visited or catalogued each of the layers. Each Power
seems to claim at least one layer of the Abyss as its own, making
further definition difficult. The thought of an 8infinite8 number of
infinitely large layers boggles most minds, so the estimate of 666
layers is generally used.

    The Abyss combines all that is evil with all that is chaotic to produce
an ugly, violent plane where the strong survive only on the
backs of the weak. It is the birthing place of the demonic races,
and is called Demonholme by the natives of Gladsheim and
Jurgarten (misshapen lands) by those of Arvandor.

    The only layer of the Abyss that is well known is the first layer
that is called Pazunia (for Pazuzu, who is most often found here),
the Plains of Infinite Portals, or the Palace of 1,001 Closets. The
layer is the topmost of the uncountable Abyssal layers. It is a barren,
dusty place without life or greenery, baking beneath a hell-red sun.
The dusty plains are broken by three features: huge
holes in the earth, great iron portals, and the river Styx.

    The holes of this first layer are conduits to the various layers of
the Abyss. These function like conduits in the Astral plane in that
those who descend are immediately taken to the layer the conduit
leads to. The iron fortresses usu. house the {material}
bodies of higher level demons && demon lords when they
are travelling astrally. The iron fortresses are usu. guarded by the
demon's servants who fight to the death (permanent in this plane)
to protect their lord's body. Demons sometimes war against each
other while one is away on the PMP, seeking to
SLAY their enemies physical form and either kill the Deity ||
maroon it on a Prime plane. Sieges are common in the first layer
of the Abyss. Demon lords xpend much energy fortifying their
strongholds against attacks. They return as soon as possible if
given word that their true body is in danger.

    The river Styx flows in a winding course across the top layer of
the Abyss. Some channels of it pour into holes, while other portals
feed the river of forgetfulness with waterfalls that {run} in
esrever. Travellers are advised to USE the boatman Charon || his
servants when journeying on this river.

    A character thrust into a random layer of the Abyss (either through
curse, item, or choosing the wrong conduit) can find himself in any of
a # of terrains. These terrains stretch on forever and are
inhabited by all manner of foul creatures. For a general description
of some of the Abyssal layers, see the following tables:

<make WSG links>
<added column>

D100 Roll	Type of Layer	Description
1-10	Desert Layer	--miles of hard dust ([black], [white], [red]) spreading without end. No water, and standard chances for dehydration (as per WSG) <e> unless rations are available.
11-20	Glacier Layer	--miles of ice ([black], [white], [orange]) with few peaks sticking out. Effects as if trapped in the plane of para-elemental Ice. <C?> <effect of black ice? if so, note at Ice>
21-30	Spatial Layer	--no gravity, no native matter. Air exists, but nothing else.
31-40	Maelstrom	--Limbo-like layer filled with matter churning and bubbling.  Same difficulties as [Limbo], but a safe zone cannot be generated by any being of power less than that of a lesser god.
41-50	Rocky Layer	--typical of most lower plane territories, lava regions with volcanoes.
51-60	Underground Layer	--this layer is pure, solid rock, burrowed and carved by whatever inhabitants have the the misfortune to be living there.  Conduits into this realm always lead to areas of at least temporary safety.
61-70	Water Layer	--an ocean with normal gravity and a surface (which may be miles above the point of entry).
71-80	Normal Terrain	--this layer has the variety of a Prime Material plane.
81-90	Layer of Delusion	--appears to be like Prime plane, but the layer itself is a sentient being seeking to destroy the invaders.  Poison flowers, attacking trees, <cf. A1> and friends-turned assassins are common.  DM deviousness encouraged.
91-95	Realm or palace <>	Realm or palace of a powerful Abyssal creature, usually a demon prince but often a god-like Power.  Visitors are not appreciated, so the traveler who finds himself in the court of Demogorgon had best have a good story or a quick way out.
96-00	Layer of Evil <> incarnate.	Mortals of good alignment must save vs. spell or be slain. Neutral mortals (and those good-aligned individuals who make the saving throw) are flung into another layer randomly.  Mortals of evil nature are transformed into bodaks (no save).

The interplanar portals on the topmost layer of the Abyss also
look like large holes, creating havoc for the traveller seeking to
pass through the Abyss to other destinations. Most travellers
avoid this method. The iron fortresses are usu. immune to the
effects of astral viewing portals, so that astral travellers cannot
enter the iron fortress from the Astral plane.

No known barriers xist in the first layer of the Abyss. Those
that are known in other layers are jealously guarded by the inhabitants
of those layers. Barriers can be located in any terrain in the
Abyss and can lead to any terrain on the other side.

Features of the Abyss

The most numerous of the creatures of the Abyss are the
demon races, a fell group of foul monstrosities seemingly limitless
in number. Their proliferacy would cause concern in other
planes were it not for the fact that demons always TURN on each other.
The stronger always seek to dominate the weaker, and the weaker
always conspire to overthrow the stronger. Alliances
mean little in the Abyss, for the demonic allies of one moment
become the enemies of the next.

A full listing of the general frequency of various demon
races is given on page 35 of the MM2. Several additions
should be made to this list:
 

Rulers of the various layers often maintain vast standing forces
in their home layers.

The demon lords are the most powerful of their race. Each demon
prince controls one or more layers of the Abyss, but they
are continually at each other's throats with plans and counter-plans
to expand their domains. The only unifying force is their hatred
of good and organized peoples. The exact layers inhabited
by the demon princes are unrevealed. This is left for the traveller
to discover.

The rumored dwellings of the demon princes are as follows:

* The dwelling of Orcus is a great palace made of bones, rising
out of ground bone meal. His guards && servants are
undead. From his empty halls Orcus rules many layers and is
said to have conquered a number of PMPs.

* The realm of Demogorgon spans several layers, yet each is
a jungle filled with dinos, wild apes, and bird-like monsters in
+addition+ to the standard complement of demonic life.

* Yeenoghu's great manshion is the size of a city. It rolls across
the barren salt-waste of his layers, pulled by slaves and controlled by gnolls.

* Juiblex has a layer made of living fungus and rot. Here all
matter is decaying and all manner of slimes and molds live off
each other's putrid remains.

* Lolth controls a number of adjacent planes but is reached
through a great web in the midst of a primal maelstrom.

* Baphomet lives at the center of an infinite maze that spans
his layer and the layers adjacent to him. The maze is said to
change as it passes between the layers. It is rumored to be populated
by all manner of minotaurs, some of whom have breath weapons
&& magickal abilities.

* Fraz-Urb'Luu has only recently returned to his home realms.
He is still in the process of removing those lesser creatures who
usurped his domains during his absence. At its height, Fraz-
Urb'Luu's realms rivalled the beauty of of those of Paradise ||
Arvandor, but this is only cruel deception; for beneath the
illusion is decay && rotting flesh.

* Graz'zt makes his domain in a great palace that fills an
entire layer and dominates the nearby layers of lesser demon
lords. Here Graz'zt marshals his army against the forces of Orcus
&& Demogorgon.

* Kostchtchie's domain is only part of a single layer, but the
hatred of this demon prince spans the layers of the Abyss. His
plane is a glacial place, filled with all evil creatures of cold.

* Pazuzu has no abode, but is ceded the air above the surface
of every layer of the Abyss. The demons depend on Pazuzu (and
to Charon in those layers where the Styx runs) for ready transportation,
making him that rarest of beings, a well-liked (or at least tolerated) demon.

* Zuggtmoy has several realms scattered among a # of
layers of the Abyss. In general, they appear as normal environments
overrun by fungi and lit by a purplish light. All manner of
fungoid creatures inhabit the realms of Zuggtmoy.
 

    Demon lords && princes are considered Lesser Deities in
their home planes. If slain in the Abyss, they are dead (though
another creature will evolve into a being similar to the deceased
demon to fill the gap).

    Creatures used as servants && lackeys in the Abyss have
+additional+ powers && abilities compared to their Prime Material
counterparts. In general, such creatures encountered have these
benefits:

    * Subtract 1 from the listed AC
    * +2 bonus to hit if of less than low INT
    * 10% chance of spell ability if of low INT or higher (as
evil priest of level 1d10)
 

    Few Greater Deities make the Abyss their home, as they
would have to continually deal with the upstart demon life that fills
the plane. Some deities are merely souped-up demons || powerful
monsters from the Prime Material, such as Vaprak of the trolls
and Laogzed of the troglodytes, who are less powerful than most
of the demon princes in adjacent realms (and they each rule only
a part of their native layer). The evil gnome-god Urdlen makes his
home in a layer of solid rock crisscrossed with the infinite tunnels
that he has carved in his hatred.

    The Chinese Deities Tou Mu && Lu Yueh make their home in
a realm called Feng-Tu. Feng-Tu appears as a mighty citadel that
rises up a forked branch of the Styx called How Nai-ho. This
branch can be reached by Charon and the charonadaemons.
The citadel of Feng-Tu is entered via Kuei-Men-Kuan, the gate of the
demons, which is large enough to permit elephantine behemoths
to pass through easily. The god of epidemics and the goddess
of the northstar hold sway over a household of manes and
demons.

    The lesser goddess Kali controls her entire layer, a realm of jagged
peaks && blood-red tropical vegetation. The Black Earth Mother maintains
a # of abodes in this realm, decaying temples
overgrown with scarlet vines and crimson flowers. Her servants
are demons and CE rakshasas.

* Pazunia, the Palace of 1,001 Closets (H4.30, 31: map)
* The Layer of Desert (H4.33)
* The Glacial Layer (H4.34)
* The Realm of Demogorgon (H4.34, 34: map)
* The Layer of Space (H4.35)
* The Maelstrom (H4.36)
* The Abyssian Ocean (H4.36)
* The Manshion of Yeenoghu (H4.37, 36: map)
65. Queen of the Demonweb Pits (H4.37)
* Layer of Rock (H4.37)
* The Realm of Juiblex (H4.37, 38: map)
* The Realm of Urdlen (H4.39)
* The Layer of Delusion (H4.39)
* Baphomet's Maze (H4.39, 40: map, NPC Capsule: 64)
* Lair of the Semi-Demons (H4.40)
* The Caverns of Zuggtmoy (H4.41, 45: map) (#222)
* The Palace of Graz'zt (H4.41, 41: map)
* The Realm of Fraz-Urb'luu (H4.42)
* The Realm of Feng-Tu (home of Tou Mu & Lu Yueh) (H4.43, 43: map)
* Temples of Kali (H4.43, 44: map)
* Vaprak of the Trolls (H4.44)
* Lair of Laogzed (H4.45)
* Layer of Evil Incarnate (H4.45)
* The Realm of Orcus (H4.45)
* Iron Fortress (Ahrimanes) (H4.45)
* Iron Fortress (Aseroth) (H4.45)
* Iron Fortress(Dagon) (H4.45)
* Iron Fortress (Eblis) (H4.45)

1. PLAIN OF INFINITE PORTALS
2. DRILLER'S HIVES
3. THE FORGOTTEN LAND
4. THE GRAND ABYSS
5. WORMBLOOD
6. REALM OF A MILLION EYES
7.
 
 
 
 

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1. The only layer of the Abyss that is well known is the first layer
that is called Pazunia (for Pazuzu, who is most often found here),
the Plains of Infinite Portals, or the Palace of 1,001 Closets. The
layer is the topmost of the uncountable Abyssal layers. It is a barren,
dusty place without life or greenery, baking beneath a hell-red sun.
The dusty plains are broken by three features:
    huge holes in the eath,
    great iron portals,
    and the river Styx.

423. Perhaps, a demon has made a +5 weapon on this layer. (cf.)

The Throne of Demogorgon, by Eugene Jaworski

The Darklands

Yeenoghu's Realm (medium .jpg)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gray Mouser
Hey, Gary, thanks for the additional info about your players "escapades" in the Abyss. If anything was learned I would assume it was not to be too helpful to demons (even unintentionally!) as their idea of a "reward" doesn't seem to be so great. Especially when dealing with the Demon Queen of Fungi, I suspect

Gray Mouser

<laughing>

Just so!

Of course I had the demons laughing hideously as they carried off their respective victime to be their "cherished slaves."

I do believe that son Ernie has never forgiven me for the loss of his two Vorpal Swords, these turning touseless hunks of iron in the abyss. Also, Rob was rather upset when his main PC was likewise treated, Robilar's orc henchman Quij, made a poncho out of the Flying Carpet he was guarding due to the long wait and cold nights, and eventual seige of his castle as word got out that Robilar had freed the evil from the Temple of EE...

<paranoid>
Gary

<EEK!>
Gary

Dragon #243
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gray Mouser
...

Seriously, though. I assume that there was at least a smattering of thanks given the fact that the PC's in question could've simply been slain out of hand <laughing>
 

Gray Mouser

No.

As usual the DM was reviled, went unappreciated. Without having the stories to relate, both of those excellent adventures would count for nothing <devious>

<laughing>
Gary

<links to Zugg & Fraz>

Above the Gates of Malevolus