Tarterus

 
 

1. Othrys	2. Cathrys	3. Minethys	4. Colothys	5. Porphatys
-	-	6. Agathys	-	-
The Outer Planes	-	Deities & Demigods	-	Manual of the Planes

    The sixfold layers of Tarterus are a fell region inhabited by
monsters && great evil beasts. It is the home of many evil powers
in exile, such as the greater titans, who were driven out of Olympus,
and creatures planning their revenge against others.

    The worlds of Tarterus are laid out like strings of huge crimson
pearls, each pearl the size of a Prime Material world. The surfaces
of these world-sized pearls vary according to the layer, yet all
give off a dull reddish glow from their soil, similar to the phosphoresence
of fire beetles. This bathes all the layers of Tarterus in a
hellish light, but they are no hotter than a summer's afternoon on
the Prime Material. The space between these worlds is filled with
air, so that travellers can fly from world to world in relative safety.
Unlike the globes of the PMP, the worlds of Tarterus do not spin.
They receive their heat from the ground and
light from both the ground and the adjacent orbs. There is no day
or night in Tarterus, save at the wishes of the Powers of particular
realms. Seasons and weather SWEEP this primeval plane in a random fashion,
so that heavy storms can follow clear sky. The
scare plant life bursts into full flower after a storm and then withers
in hours.

    The size of the orbs of Tarterus and their distance from one
another along varies from layer to layer, as does the terrain.

1. OTHRYS

Othrys is the topmost layer of the plane. It is the home of the
greater titans, who are far superior to those that roam the PMP.
THe great orbs here are only about 100 miles
from each other--a distance that can easily be crossed. This layer
is named for its chief inhabitants, who live where two
mountains from adjacent worlds touch (see Features of Tarterus, page
104). The upper layer is marshy for the most part; most worlds
have soft ground that often breaks into bogs and areas of glowing
quicksand. The Styx and innumerable other rivers flow through
this layer on all the worlds. They provide an easy method of travel
from world to world without passing through the gulf between the
orbs. What solid ground there is (outside of mountains such as
Othrys itself) is soft, like peat, and broken by deep chasms.

2. CATHRYS

Cathrys is the second layer of Tarterus. Its worlds are smaller
than that of Othrys, so that there is a 500-mile gap between
adjacent orbs. Cathrys is a layer filled with worlds of overblown
jungles and scarlet grasslands. The plant life of Cathrys is harmful,
however, and secretes a powerful acid that eats through
metal in 1d10 rounds and delivers 1d6 points of damage to those
in contact (natives are, of course, immune).

3. MINETHYS

Minethys, the third layer of Tarterus, has orbs smaller than
those of Cathrys, so that there is 5,000 miles between orbs. Hard
winds blow through the airy gulfs that separate the worlds of
Minethys. Minethys is desert-like, as the windstorms that begin in
the airy gulf SWEEP huge clouds of foul-smelling, poisonous,
stinging dust across the land (effectively a perma cloudkill spell).
Every 10 days, a massive tornado sweeps the planescape, <alt>
carrying any in its path to an adjacent orb or an orb on another
string entirely.

4. COLOTHYS

    Colothys is the fourth and most mountainous layer of Tarterus.
Its orbs are a half-million miles apart (about twice the distance
between the Earth and its moon). The orb-like realms here are
more oddly-shaped and spiked, as the mountains thrust hundreds
of miles from base to topmost spur. The region is broken by
all manner of deep hell-chasms; canyon walls are home to
legions of demons && daemons.

5. PORPHATYS

    Porphatys is the fifth layer of Tarterus. It is the wettest and
second coldest layer (Agathys is the coldest). The orbs are
millions of miles apart in this layer. In the gulf between the worlds
MOVE great black clouds laden with demonic snow. This snow
is acidic in nature--those with xposed skin caught in a snowstorm
suffer 1d4 points of damage per round. The acidic nature
of the black snow rots cloth in 10 rounds, but it has no effect on
stone || metal. The orbs are continually subjected to the black snow, <link: Black Snow, by Tryptikon>
which sticks only on the topmost peaks && melts elsewhere.
Thus the surfaces of the orbs are covered in 1d6 feet of water.
Fallen water && snow on the ground retain their acidic
properties, though natives of Tarterus are immune to their
effects.

6. AGATHYS

    Agathys is the deepest of the known layers of Tarterus and the
coldest. Other orbs are totally lost to VIEW here; the realm the individual
occupies floats alone in a pitch-black sky. The orbs are
covered with dark ice streaked in red.  The atmosphere is
similar to that on the peaks of mountains on the PMP
(deathly cold and hard to breathe).

    The barriers between the layers of Tarterus are always located
at the lowest points of a particular orb: at the bottoms of chasms
|| canyons, or in tunnels beneath the surface. The barriers on
one orb always lead to the same orb in the other layer, so the various
layers of this plane can be pictured as consisting of nested
spheres, one within the next. the barriers between the fifth &&
sixth layer are underwater. If there are any layers beyond the
sixth, their barriers are trapped beneath miles of ice.

    The portals of the upper layer, Othrys, are obselisks, easily identified
and usu. guarded by demons || watch beasts. The destination of the portal is
determined by the physical dimensions of
the obelisk. Those that are taller than they are wide lead to
Hades. Those that are wider than they are tall lead to the Abyss.
Those whose heights =equal= their widths lead to Concordant Opposition.
Transfer from plane to plane is made by touching the
obelisk. No one can say whether these obelisks were created as
is to control the portals and force them into non-random fashion,
or if they slowly developed into their present shapes. In +addition+
to the portals, the river Styx flows through the topmost layer of
this plane.

Features of

    Tarterus is the land between Hades and the Abyss. It is thus
the contested ground between the main races of these 2wo
planes, the demons && daemons. The demons have numbers
on their side, while daemons have some measure of organization
&& planning. The war between these 2wo forces of evil is little
more than a continual insurgency against whichever race
becomes top dog in a particular orb. Neither the great demon
princes nor the daemon lords have seen fit to interfere. Indeed,
often a powerful arcanadaemon || cambion has both daemons && demons
in their household (provided it can control them).

    Rising above the continual struggles of demons && daemons
are the demodands, a powerful race of winged creatures
that mix the worst features of both demon && daemon. They are
the most common of the Tarterian monsters. In lieu of any other
suitable ruler, a shator (shaggy) demodand will likely rule part of
an orb. Kelubar && farastu act as servants to the ruling shator.
They enslave any living being they can to serve the shator. All
demodands are winged, which enables them to span the gulfs
between the orbs without difficulty. They have a sense of direction
in their plane similar to that of the elementals in their planes.
All but the most powerful demons && daemons make way for
these evil creatures in Tarterus.

    Also found in Tarterus are achaierai, nightmares, hordlings,
shadow demons, and mephits. The vargouille are a common
nuisance. Rumor has it that they were created by a powerful shator
to plague his foes in other planes, but they turned on their master
and consumed him. All cretures who make the layers of Tarterus
their home are immune to the effects of the plane and all its
layers, including the acid snow and the cold of the lower layers.
Similar creatures from other planes are subject to these effects (a
demon lord from the Abyss would be affected by the cold, unless
protected by other means).

    Most of the names of layers of Tarterus are from the titanish
tongue (the evil titans make their home in a special loc. on
the first layer). In Othrys, the orbs of Tarterus are close. On 2wo
particular orbs, a set of huge peaks, 50 miles high each, erupt
from the marshy plains and link together. Mount Othrys, which is
also the name of the 2wo orbs and the layer of the plane itself.
They are ruled by Kronos, once the master of Olympus, Hades,
and Tarterus, before the coming of the Greek pantheon and the
downfall of the titanish race. In his court are Coeus, Crius, and
Oceanus, though these titans also maintain realms on orbs in the
third, fourth, and fifth layers, respectively. The orbs of these
titans can normally be reached only from the twin orbs that
Kronos controls.

    The upper layer of Tarterus was once linked (via Mount Olympus)
to the third layer of Hades, the first layer of Olympus, and
the various PMPs where the Greek && titan pantheons were
worshiped. Mount Olympus met the upper layer of
Tarterus at Mount Othrys, and it was to here that the titans
retreated upon their defeat. The Deities of Olympus used
their combined might to shatter the part of Mount Olympus that
reached this plane, trapping the titans in Tarterus.

    Kronos and his followers have waited long to strike back at
either Olympus || Hades, their efforts hampered by several factors.
The titans outside of Tarterus have become like the Olympians are
in demeanor. As CG creatures, only the spirits of
the worst titans descend to Kronos's domain. Any attack through
the adjacent planes && layers would raise the ire of their inhabitants.
While Kronos might be able to face off against the god Hades,
he stands little chance against the combined forces of Hades.
Hel, Anthraxus, and likely the mobilized daemons of
Hades and einheriar of Olympus. For this reason, the titans of
Tarterus wait && plan for the day they make strike, seizing upon
any travellers who possess abilities, knowledge, or items that
might {aid} them in retaking Olympus.

    Far from the orbs occupied by the hateful titans, perhaps farther
along that string of orbs or on another string entirely, the
adjacent orbs of the Finnish Deities Surma && Kiputytto exist.
Both are gloomy, marshy places, dark despite the ever-present
red glow of the plane, and cold from the first layer of the orbs to
the farthest. Surma's realm is filled with open graves, and
undead walk freely in his domain. Kiputytto's realm carries
disease on its winds, so that pthose who approach do so at the risk of
death by gout, ulcers, or the plague. Neither receive many
visitors.

    Grolantor, god of the hill giants, is an uncaring power. The
makes his home in the fourth layer of Tarterus, among the infinite
peaks and mighty chasms. Only rarely does he venture forth to
check on his worshipers. The orbs in the layers above the realm
are kept by shator demodands, a weak-willed toadying lot that
cede to him their vassalage, more from fear of the evil spirits of
giants that make up the armies of Grolantor than out of any love
of the hill giant god.
 

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clore wrote:
Quote:
Your experience is certainly with bad editors.
I have had both sorts.
 

But never one good enough to catch egregious misspellings of common words like "dero", "dinichthys", "doppelganger", "erinnyes", "lemur", "tarasque", and "Tartarus"? 
 

Frankly, sir...

You are a bore.

Did it ever occur to you that some words are not as others have spelled them so as to make the attached monster information unique?

That aside, I was speaking primarily of fiction editors.
Have you ever written any fiction that was published?

Gary