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MrSeth
2006-08-22, 02:43 PM
WOO! I seem to be back, thanks to the glory that is Library internet access...


ENTER THE ABYSS

~Intro~


This campaign can be set into any D&D setting where interplanar travel, et cetera has not been a focal point; specifically, no mention of the Abyss or of Demons must have been made, as it tosses the "standard" concept of the Abyss out the window.

The base concept: The Abyss is a holding cell for those that died in directly opposing the Gods themselves... even dead Gods reside in the Abyss, having been destroyed by other Gods.

The heroes are in the standard process of their campaign, away from civilization, when the party's divine caster (a DM character if none exists) starts having problems. About once or twice per encounter, his spells will randomly act up. Maybe a "sonic blast" will become a maximized fireball. Maybe a Heal Light Wounds will also confuse the recipient. Any way you put it, something odd's happening. When the party returns to town, the clergy of the cleric/paladin/whatever's God is in mourning...

You see, the God is dead.

Something's still off, though; the caster continues to get their spells, even though they're unreliable. Soonafter, an ascendancy cult claims that their new God - a cultist who worshipped himself and ascended to Godhood - killed the party's patron diety. Clash with the two should happen, the party should die...

And they end up on the Abyss. Whoo.


Alternately, you could just cut to the chase and narrate the clash between the Temple of Ascension and the party. Gets you where you're going a lot quicker.


I'm down to five minutes of `net time, so I've gotta wrap it up. Tomorrow I'll post the list of modifications for Abyssal characters.

Fax Celestis
2006-08-22, 02:58 PM
You should look into the Ghostwalk book, designed for dead pcs.

Fualkner Asiniti
2006-08-23, 09:06 AM
Neat idea, I really like it. Some PC's are going to end up in the Abyss soon...

Umbral_Arcanist
2006-08-23, 04:11 PM
interesting, here was me thinking this would be unimaginative..... silly me

i like it

Fredderf
2006-08-27, 03:26 PM
Pretty darn cool idea. With the name I expected something involving demons, but this is WAY more intresting. Pretty original too. I like it. A lot.

Eighth_Seraph
2006-08-27, 04:29 PM
This is great stuff. I personally have always disliked the whole concept of the abyss as just another plane of existence that also happens to contain demons. The whole thing of 'The Abyss as Hell' is very imaginative and flavorful, though not sure what kind of campaign you could run inside it.

MrSeth
2006-08-28, 02:50 PM
Ahh, but that's it... the abyss isn't Hell. At least, not per se. A lot of the denizens of the Abyss died while fighting EVIL gods, or at least chaotic-neutral ones. It's not alligned one way or the other... although it's certainly hellish.


ABYSSAL MODIFICATIONS

Entering the abyss as a dead soul changes you. Yes, you get a new body. No, it's not EXACTLY your own. Your DM should roll 1d4 times on this chart to determine the changes you've gone through. (Alternately, roll once for a low powered campaign, twice for a "normal, 25-point" campaign, and three or four times for a higher powered campaign.) Each modification also entails a mostly-arbitrary ability score adjustment. This may lead to unbalanced, overpowered characters... but you're in the Abyss, with no equipment, no cash, and no hope. So deal with it.

Oh... and ALL POWERS AND MODIFICATIONS STACK. If, for example, you get two kinds of wings, you get the faster of the two speeds, the better of the two maneuverabilities, and either both kinds of wings or hybrid wings with features of both.

ROLL RESULT
00: Roll twice more. (STR -2)
01: Large dragon wings, like that of a Red Dragon. Fly speed 100 ft (poor) (+2 cha)
02: Small, powerful dragon wings, like a Copper Dragon's. Fly speed 70 ft (avg) (+2 cha)
03: Batwings. Fly speed 30 ft (perfect) (+2 dex)
04: Black bird wings, large and feathery. Fly 40 ft (good) (+2 dex)
05: Rotting wings, decaying and bizzare. Fly 30 ft (good), and a +4 to Intimidate. (+2 dex)
06: White eyes. No pupils, just... white. Immune to blinding, dazzle, and pattern effects. (+2 wis)
07: Gray eyes. As above. Low light vision. (+2 wis, +2 int)
08: Black eyes. Darkvision. (+2 wis)
09: Blue eyes. Detect Magic at will as a spell-like ability. (+2 int)
10: Red eyes. Heat Vision. 30-ft ray, 1d4 fire damage as attack action at will. This is treated as a supernatural ability.(+2 cha)
11: Claws - small, piercing, retractable things like cat claws - 1d4 piercing dmg (+2 str)
12: Claws - two larger, slashing claws that extend from between your two middle knuckles on each hand - 1d6 slashing dmg (+2 str)
13: Blocky hammerlike fists - Deal unarmed damage as a creature one size category larger than you (and yes, this stacks with monk damage...) (+4 str, -2 dex)
14: Bulky, curving scimitar-claws - 1d8 slashing dmg, but -1 with all attack rolls with other 1-handed weapons! (+4 str, -2 dex)
15: Two thick, rubbery tentacles where your arms used to be. +4 to grapple, climb, and unarmed trip attempts. (+2 str)
16: Tentacle clusters. Each arm is replaced by 1d3+1 small tentacles. Ability as above. The tentacles are unusually weak if they aren't clumped together with the others; all must grab a weapon to use it, but they can still perform odd bits of work on their own/ (+2 dex)
17: Skeletal arms. Lack of flesh gives you +8 on Sleight of Hand, +2 on intimidate checks. (+4 dex, -2 str)
18: Devouring Palms. Tiny voracious mouths in your hands eat on their own at will, dealing 1d6 piercing dmg to target each round of a grapple. And make sure you're wearing gloves when you go for a handshake...! (+2 con)
19: Four arms - two off hands, two primary hands. You pick which are which. Also gain a +4 on climb and grapple attempts. (No modifier)
20: Sword-bone arm - one arm is handless, replaced by a bone replica of weapon character had in life. The stats are identical between the original and the replica; treat the bone-arm as a natural and manufactured weapon. The sword-arm can be sundered; if it is, it can be regrown with Heal spells. And yes, the sword-arm can be a crossbow-arm, or a kukri arm, or... (-2 dex, +2 con)
21: Horse legs. +20 ft base speed, 1.5x your base carrying capacity (+4 con, -2 dex)
22: Bird talons. You can carry items in your feet, although you cannot use weapons in them. Also gain a talon rake attack, 2x1d4 slashing damage(+2 dex)
23: Monkey feet. Use your feet just like hands; as usual, you have one primary and three off-hands. Gain a +4 bonus on Climb and Balance checks; lose the ability to wear boots. They just don't fit anymore. (+4 dex, -2 str)
24: Downward-facing spiked talons. Extremely impressive looking, powerful, and remarkably stable (treat as a dwarf's Stability, and yes, the bonuses stack with a dwarf's), but not particularly good for attacking. The points are just at too odd an angle. (+4 str, -2 dex)
25: Snake tail. You have no legs! Instead, you have a snakelike tail. Opponents are at a -10 to trip, bull-rush, or overrun you, and you gain a bonus of 10 feet to your base speed. (+2 dex)
26: Slug pod. As above, but with a sticky, huge slug pod, and a -5 foot penalty to base speed. (+2 con)
27: Spider legs. You gain a cluster of four spider legs, and twice your previous carrying capacity. (+2 dex)
28: No legs. Your legs are gone from the top of the femur down. You just float along... immune to tripping, treat character as hovering above ground/shallow liquid at all times. (+4 dex, -2 con)
29: Felinid legs. Your legs are shaped like a cat's hind legs, but they remain hairless. +4 to Jump checks. (+4 dex, -2 str)
30: Mangled, scarred legs. Your legs feel no pain anymore, so you take no damage from forced runs/marches, or from walking on hot or cold surfaces. Plus, you get a +4 on Intimidate checks. (No modifier)
31: Scaled hide. Because of your thick, leathery hide, you gain a +2 Natural Armor bonus to your AC. (+2 con)
32: Furred hide. Congratulations, you're somewhere between "Sasquatch" and "Robin Williams". Cold weather holds no problems for you. (+2 str, +2 dex)
33: Chitinous hide. Much like a giant bug, you gain a +3 to your Natural Armor. You also take a -2 to Open Lock checks, due to loss of fine sensation in your digits. (+2 con)
34: Thick, slimy coat. You just ooze the stuff. Thankfully, it's fairly viscous, doesn't come off easily, and dissapears shortly after you drip any of it... usually... unless you want it to get slippery... +8 to all Escape Artist checks, and Energy Resistance 10 versus acid - although if more than 10 points of acid damage are done in a round, the goop takes three rounds to grow back. (+2 dex)
35: Rubbery skin. Unnaturally elastic and springy, you gain DR2/piercing. (+2 con)
36: Fish scales and gills. You can breathe water as if it was air, and gain a +1 bonus to AC. (+2 dex, -2 int)
37: Albino skin. Completely sans pigment. You take an extra die of damage from spells with the Light descriptor, and take one point of damage an hour from being in strong light if your skin is mostly uncovered. (+4 dex, +2 int)
38: Skin barbs. Treat as if you have armor spikes. (+2 con)
39: Rocky skin portrusions. Like tiny, irregular stalagmites. You are partly infused with the power of the earth element, and take 25% less damage from any spell with the Earth descriptor. (+2 str)
40: Quilled back. Anyone who attempts to grapple you takes 2d4 points of piercing damage. (+2 int)
41: Red hide and hair. Your skin, hide, whatever it may be turns bright red. You gain fire resistance 5. (+2 str)
42: Green hide and hair. Acid resistance 5 (+2 con)
43: Porous hide. You absorb liquids in odd fashion; liquids just seep in and dissolve. You are immune to contact and injury-based poisons, and take 25% less damage from acid attacks and alchemic weapons.(+2 dex)
44: Burning back. You can suppress the flames to an effect similar to Faerie Fire at will, but it always sheds light equivalent to a torch. Anyone who attempts to grapple you while you're burning takes 2d4 points of fire damage. (+2 cha)
45: Bristles. You gain tiny, hooked bristles on your fingers and toes, and can use Spider Climb as the spell at will... as long as both your hands and feet are uncovered, or just your hands if you have 10 or more ranks in Climb. (+2 wis)
46: Icy flesh. Take one die less from spells with the Cold descriptor, one die more from spells with the fire descriptor, and become immune to the effects of cold weather. (No adjust)
47: Metal skin. Much like a living coat of mercury, your new skin doesn't add to your armor - it's quite thin and malleable - but because you now reflect light so well, you are immune to all spells with the light descriptor, and ray spells have a 25% chance of reflecting off you in a random direction if they hit. (No adjust)
48: Metal scales. Long and tough, these splint-like scales add a good deal of protection, but at the cost of effectiveness of normal armor. You gain a +4 armor bonus to AC, with no armor check penalty or maximum dexterity bonus. (+2 con)
49: Metal flesh. Your flesh is a bizzare living metal, granting you DR 2/---. (No adjust)
50: Ram's horns. Tough and curly, you gain a headbutt attack that deals 1d6 points of bludgeoning damage. (-2 wis, +2 str)
51: Bull horns. These long, sharp horns give you a gore attack that deals 1d6 points of piercing damage, and makes it heck to get a helmet that fits. (+2 cha)
52: Rhino horn. Sticking from your forehead, this cyclopean horn gives you a 1d6 headbutt that deals piercing and bludgeoning damage. (+2 str)
53: Unicorn's horn. You gain a gore attack that deals 1d8 points of piercing damage. (+2 cha)
54: Dragon's crest. Like that of a Silver Dragon, this mohawk-like portrusion gives you a +2 bonus on Swim checks (as it acts like a rudder), but does little else other than look impressive. (+2 int, +2 cha)
55: Nasty teeth. You gain a bite attack that deals 1d4 points of piercing damage. In addition, those you bite must make a fortitude save (dc10+damage) or temporarily lose one point of Constitution. An opponent can only lose one point of Constitution this way per encounter. (+2 str, +2 dex)
56: Devouring Mandibles. You gain multi-part jaws similar to those of a giant locust. They cause you to make bizzare, unsettling clicking noises when you talk, but do not impede speech. Most notably, you gain a bite attack that deals 1d10 points of piercing damage, but you must eat twice the amount that you would normally in a day. (-2 cha)
57: Lizard tail. You gain a long, scaly, slightly flexible tail. It aids your personal balance, giving you a +4 to Balance and Tumble checks. (+4 dex, -2 con)
58: Monkey tail. Prehensile in the extreme, you can manipulate and hold objects in your tail or hang suspended from it for an indefinite amount of time. You cannot wield a weapon with your tail, however. (+2 dex)
59: Club tail. Like an ankylosaur, you gain a powerful clubbed appendage sticking from your rear that you can use to make slam attacks - 1d8 points of bludgeoning damage. (+2 str)
60: Spiked tail: Similar to the above, but more like a stegosaur's. 1d6 points of piercing damage. (+2 wis)
61: Silver tongue. No, LITERALLY. The only source of alchemic silver in the Abyss is your mouth, bunky! Your kiss is abhorrent to those with a weakness to silver, but otherwise the only benefit it gives you is a +4 to Diplomacy checks. Oh, and no, the tongue doesn't remain if removed from your mouth... it immediately dissolves into sand. (+4 cha)
62: Acidic blood. When you're hit with a slashing or piercing weapon in combat, anyone standing in the square that's adjacent to you and directly in line with the attack must make a reflex save (DC12+damage taken) or be hit with a spray of acidic blood, dealing 1d4 damage per 15 points of damage taken (rounded up). (No adjust).
63: Tentacled maw. You grow four hooked tentacles around your mouth... yes, like a Flayer, but less obtrusive. You can actually SEE your mouth. You gain a tentacle attack that deals 1d3 points of piercing damage, and the benefit of the Improved Grapple feat (for the tentacle attack only). (+2 int, +2 wis).
64: Shock syndrome. The bad news? The trip to the Abyss fused your synapses. The good news is that it fused them in all the right places. You no longer sleep, gain a +4 bonus to your Reflex save, and a permanently unsettling bug-eyed expression. (+2 dex)
65: Ape arms. If you don't bend them, they scrape the ground when you walk. If you're a character of small size, then they actually grow a little at times... you gain a 5-foot reach. (+2 wis)
66: Dog's muzzle. Your chin and nose extend slightly, giving you a slight muzzle - and a dog's nose. You gain the Scent special ability. (+2 wis)
67: Multiple sensory organs. You gain double the normal amount of ears or eyes - depending on which is lower, your spot or listen score. If both are equal, this is at DM's discretion. In either case, you gain a bonus equal to half your current spot/listen score. This does not increase if your spot/listen score goes up. (+2 int)
68: Doublehands. Each of your hands grows a second hand off it's side - thus, each of your hands is twice as wide as it was, has eight fingers, and two thumbs. You gain the ability to wield weapons of one size category larger with no penalty, and a +6 on Perform checks involving playing instruments. (+2 dex)
69: Bloated brain. Your brain swells up and your skull accomodates. You gain a +4 bonus on two Knowledge skills of your choice and the Wild Talent feat (if you are not already psionic). However, the effective critical range of Vorpal weapons is one greater than normal against you! (+2 int)
70: Floating head. You HAVE NO NECK. Aside from the fact that you can now look in any direction, you are immune to Vorpal hits. (+2 wis)
71: Acid glands. You gain a visible sac on the outside of your neck that fills with acid slowly. You can spew this acid once per day as a 30-foot cone that deals 4d4 points of damage. (No adjust)
72: Throat pouch. A large pouch swells up in your lower throat and chest, that inflates and deflates as you breathe. Three times per day you can use this pouch to drastically amplify your voice in a massive, wordless shout. All who hear this shout must make a Fortitude save (DC15) or be deafened for one hour, and a Will save (DC10+Charisma modifier) or be shaken for one round. Using this ability more than three times a day causes the user to go mute for 24 hours. (No adjust)
73: Antennae. You gain two small antennae that give you Blindsense (10 ft). (+2 wis)
74: Bloated gut. Your stomach becomes large and bloated, either subtly or grotesquely so. In either case, you can now digest anything and derive nutrients from it. (+4 str, -2 cha).
75: Fungous attraction. Fungi just starts growing... everywhere... on you. It is symbiotic, giving you immunity from all diseases, but causing you to eat a bit more than you normally would. (+2 con, +2 wis, -2 cha)
76: Boils. You gain hard, green-blue boils over a portion of your body. Instead of disgusting bacteria, however, your boils are filled with Glimpool, a highly effective catalytic agent used in alchemic processes. When this is mixed with any alchemic substance (DC10 Craft(alchemy) check) the effectiveness of the substance doubles (twice range, damage, or duration... your choice). You can secrete four doses of Glimpool a day; you must use these within 24 hours or the Glimpool ferments and becomes useless. (+2 int)
77: Phosphorescent skin. Your skin/hide/whatever gives off a luminescent glow. Normally this is equivalent to a candle; you can suppress it or cause it to flare up to a torch's intensity effortlessly as a free action. While flaring (torch intensity), you gain a +2 deflection bonus to AC - not only are you harder to see, but you give off a subtle field of force. (+2 con)
78: Chameleonic skin. Your skin changes color at will, giving you a +6 to Hide and Disguise checks and a +2 on Perform checks - it's quite good for dramatic effect. (+2 dex)
79: Portruding bones. You have extra bones - some of which stick out of your skin in unnerving fashion. You gain a +2 bonus to your natural armor, and a +4 to Intimidate checks. (+2 cha, +2 con)
80: Pyronic Extension. A tiny floating orb of fire circles you constantly. It is an extension of your being, and you can control it's orbit to some extent. It is capable of a slam attack (1d4 bludgeoning + 1d4 fire), has an AC of 26 (should anyone want to target it directly), sheds light as a torch (and cannot be repressed), and any damage done to it is dealt to you. The Extension can go up to 100 feet away from you if commanded, after which point it ceases to move. It normally stays right by you. (+2 cha, +2 int)
81: Shadow-spirit. You gain a familiar... of sorts. Your shadow comes to life, acting as a creature of it's own. Treat it as an intelligent item, and have the DM create stats for it. The Shadow-spirit is a fragment of your personality, and as such must share one part of allignment with you. It can only be destroyed if you die. (+2 wis)
82: Fiery spirit. Your eyes blaze with a constant inner light, reflecting your own dogged determination. You gain a +1 bonus on all saves; in addition, if you die, you make a DC30 Will save. Success indicates that you are remade with 3/4 your levels (instead of half). Success by 10 or more indicates that you are remade with no level loss. (No adjust)
83: Killer's eye. One of your eyes becomes bloated and large, ever twitchy and restless. It shows you the best way to kill things... and your base attack bonus increases by one. (+2 dex, +2 wis, -2 cha)
84: Toad tongue. Your tongue can lash out and stick onto things. It is unnaturally elastic, with a length of 15 feet, and can instantly grapple tiny or smaller targets with a successful ranged touch attack. (+2 int)
85: Scarred. You have scars from practically every fight you've ever been in... even the ones that healed. You regenerate hit points at the rate of one an hour, but every wound you gain will create at least a small scar. (-2 cha)
86: Tiger's spine. Your torso is oddly elongated and lean, due to your spine reshaping itself. Now like a coiled spring, your back lets you take standing jumps as if you had a running start, and gives you a +2 bonus on Jump checks otherwise. (+2 dex, +2 con)
87: Vapor cloud. You constantly sweat a thin cloud of softly glowing vapor. This gives you a -2 to Hide checks. (+2 str, +2 int, +2 wis)
88: Boneless. Well, not really, but your bones can turn into a formless, elastic substance - and they do, often without you wanting them to. It doesn't have any downside, besides looking peculiar (you retain full range of motion), but if you force all of your bones to "flop" at once, you can cram yourself through holes that would normally be impossible for someone of your size. (-2 dex, +2 wis, +2 con)
89: Subdermal pockets. Only you know how to get to these pockets beneath your skin, which is a huge bonus. You gain 1d3+2 pockets, each of which can hold about 1 pound of material without bulging, or 2 pounds with a slight bulge. Items stored in this way gain a +20 or +10 on Sleight of Hand checks to conceal them (depending on amount in a pocket). (+2 dex)
90: Sting. You gain a scorpionlike appendage that launches itself from your arm. It can be used as a ranged attack that deals 1d6 points of piercing damage. When the sting deals damage to an enemy, you may use it to initiate a grapple for free. Retracting the sting is a free action; it has a range of 20 feet. (No adjust)
91: Chameleon eyes. You can look in two directions at once, and in any direction except directly behind you. (+2 wis, +2 dex)
92: Eyestalks. You gain a 360 degree vision arc and all it's benefits. (+2 wis)
93: Bone darts. You can produce an endless supply of shuriken from your bones - they just seep up through your skin painlessly. You may make one of these a round as a move action.(+2 dex, +2 con)
94: Crystal bones. Your bones are made of a porous crystal. While hard as bone, it gives your structure an uneven, stilted look, and it is far lighter. You weigh 2/3 the normal amount for your race, take a -2 penalty on opposed Bull Rush and Overrun checks, and gain a +2 on Jump, Swim, and Tumble checks. (+2 dex)
95: Shock glands. You gain a visible, dark blue and yellow pair of organs just beneath your skin on your arms. These organs allow you to use Shocking Grasp as a spell-like ability twice per day. (+2 con)
96: Third Eye. You gain a third eye, a +1 bonus on ranged attack rolls... and pyrokinesis. Once per week, with a scream of "YOU! FIRE!", you can cause a single target to burst into flame for 1d3 rounds. (+2 cha)
97: Translucent. You're not all there... or at least, you appear not to be. You can become incorporeal once per day for one minute as a free action. The minute must be taken all at once; you do not return to solid form until it is up. (+4 dex)
98: Non-euclidean. Your new form doesn't follow the laws of physics entirely, meaning that you get fuzzy around the edges. Not a problem, but now you've got a few extra edges. You gain a +4 displacement bonus to AC: It's just hard to keep one's eyes on you. (+2 int)
99: Unstable form. Once per week, at DM discretion, you change your form to one of his choosing. The process takes one round, is painless (although uncomfortable), and may change any number of your traits. You lose the ability modifiers from any modifications you lose, and gain the modifiers from any you receive. You cannot lose the Unstable form modifier with any method shy of a Wish or Miracle. (+4 to any one stat)

[EDIT: ker-DONE!]

MrSeth
2006-09-05, 07:50 PM
OTHER NOTES ON THE ABYSS

While denizens of the material plane believe that the Abyss consists of an infinite number of layers, anyone who lives on the Abyss can find the truth in commonly-available mapbooks. There are four hundred "natural" layers of the Abyss, and thirty-one sublayers that were created by magic. Some of these layers are controlled by dead gods, others by powerful abyssal denizens, and many are unclaimed wilderness.

Gold, platinum, and other "traditional" precious metals don't exist on the Abyss. Neither does mythril, alchemic silver, or cold iron. Adamantine, however, is relatively common.

Coin in the Abyss is made of bone (copper), bloodstone (silver), adamantine (gold), or brackgem crystal (platinum).

While mythril, alchemic silver, and cold iron do not exist, there are materials that mimic their effects. Bonecoral, harvested from the sea-planes of the Abyss, is remarkably hard and lightweight, and often used as mythril would be otherwise. Items made of bonecoral are bulbous and irregular, very natural and unrefined in appearance, and are colored a bleached white-yellow. Brackgem crystal, a black-green crystalline substance, is commonly used in place of alchemic silver. It is quite hard to find a strain of the substance, but it grows like bamboo - fast and long. Finally, while cold iron simply cannot be made on the abyss - the spells that would create it simply do not function properly - a similar substitute can be found in an abyssal metal called teflon.

Anyone entering the Abyss does so at the topmost layer, the Desert Crust. None of their vaunted possessions come with them, except for the "lucky few" that find their most favored weapon has fused with their arm. The transition from earthly life to Abyssal is not any easier from the bizzare mutations that entering this place causes; at least 5% of all who enter the Abyss go completely mad and end up wandering the Crust for all eternity.

(In game terms, you could optionally make anyone with a wisdom of under 10 roll a will save, DC15. Failure indicates permanent insanity...)

The entry point to the rest of the Abyss is at the center of Crust, the great city of Ghorrash Phytath - translated to "Adamantine Keep" from the Abyssal tongue. Here, new arrivals can look for jobs (which are always in good supply; denizens of every other plane come here to look for cheap labor), get a free sackcloth to cover up, or just complain loudly to the guards about the fact that they didn't deserve to enter this hellish plane. Don't worry, it won't bother the guards at all... they're just constructs. Ghorrash Phytath is a megalopolis, much like the city of Sigil (see the DM's Guide); there is no spending limit, nor is there any limit to what you'll find there.

The Abyss has no law structure per se, although almost any major city in the Abyss has a few common laws. First, killing anyone else is frowned upon, unless it's in self defense. There is no "permanent" death in the Abyss - the soul in question is instantly remade at the Desert Crust, complete with a new set of Abyssal mutations (that replace his old ones), half his previous class level (unless you're at first level, then... well, it doesn't get any worse), and none of his possessions. Theft is a far worse crime, if you're caught.

Umbral_Arcanist
2006-09-05, 07:59 PM
Awesome, glad you can start posting....

MrSeth
2006-09-06, 12:13 AM
Modification chart updated, up to 46 now. I'm still typing that bloody chart out... yes, I've got all 100 written down, just not transcribed. Gargh. >.<;

paddyfool
2006-09-06, 02:58 AM
One problem - those modifications offer very powerful benefits. With 1D4 modifications, a player with 1 might get bitter that some other player got 4 (especially with the additional possibility of "rolling two more"). Why not make it a little less random, eg 1D3 + 1 (2 to 4 rather than 1 to 4), or 2D4/2 rounding down (1 to 4 but usually 2 or 3), and/or maybe tone them down a tiny bit?

EDIT: Sorry to be so critical. Generally, I really like your idea.

MrSeth
2006-09-06, 03:44 PM
One problem - those modifications offer very powerful benefits. With 1D4 modifications, a player with 1 might get bitter that some other player got 4 (especially with the additional possibility of "rolling two more"). Why not make it a little less random, eg 1D3 + 1 (2 to 4 rather than 1 to 4), or 2D4/2 rounding down (1 to 4 but usually 2 or 3), and/or maybe tone them down a tiny bit?

EDIT: Sorry to be so critical. Generally, I really like your idea.

That would work too. Or, as I said below it, you can have one roll for a low-powered campaign, two for a "25-point" standard power level campaign, and three or four for a higher powered campaign (with some munchkining inevitable at that point).

And that being said, I know that there are balance issues with some of the Abyssal Modifications above, but that's really the whole point of the random roll... you could get massively powerful, and your buddy could get a host of abilities that are relatively useless to him. It's all in the dice.

Randomman413
2006-09-06, 04:22 PM
I like. The High Priest of Banjo approves this chart.

Loren_and_Kivsith
2006-09-06, 04:46 PM
I normally don't post if I don't have any advice to give, but this is just too amazing an idea not to compliment! Very well done!

MrSeth
2006-09-06, 05:44 PM
I normally don't post if I don't have any advice to give, but this is just too amazing an idea not to compliment! Very well done!

;D Aww, thanks.
And hey, don't let lack-of-adviciness stop ya. In fact, if you have any ideas for Abyssal sites, stick `em in here. I haven't put much thought into places other than Ghorrash Phytath.

ExHunterEmerald
2006-09-06, 07:35 PM
Seeing as my rogue has this tendency to go horizontal, I like this rather much.
...now to see if I could arrange an undead adventure in the event I lose him. I'm too attached ;_;

...so, unless I missed it, did you mention what happens when the dead PCs "die?"

MrSeth
2006-09-06, 08:18 PM
...so, unless I missed it, did you mention what happens when the dead PCs "die?"

Mentioned it briefly in the post below the Abyssal Modification chart. Murder for reasons besides self defense is frowned upon in the Abyss, but not a capital offense because... well... you can't really die there. If you do, you're reborn on the Desert Crust again some time later, with a new set of Abyssal modifications (in place of your old ones), and half your original level. If you're a first level character when you die... well.. that's about it. You just get remade, no level loss.

I didn't mention it back then, but there are plenty of denizens of the Abyss that have figured out ways to make others suffer for extremely prolonged periods of time without actually dying... ah, but for now, I leave that to your imagination.

Randomman413
2006-09-06, 08:20 PM
Would a spell that resurrects people with a chance of them coming back as an animal and a chance of them coming back with a roll on this table be higher than 7th level or lower?

MrSeth
2006-09-06, 10:15 PM
Would a spell that resurrects people with a chance of them coming back as an animal and a chance of them coming back with a roll on this table be higher than 7th level or lower?


I... have no idea. Possibly, especially if it was a very high chance of ending up as an animal.

(And the Abyssal Modification table is updated again...)

Eighth_Seraph
2006-09-06, 10:28 PM
Wow, them's some great stuff, Mr. Seth. I like the variety in each of the possible applied modifications, and how each would lead to a completely different experience with everyone you meet. I also like how there's no 'booby prize' mutation to screw your character over completely upon rolled. Good stuff and a very interesting campaign setting.

MrSeth
2006-09-07, 12:10 AM
... I also like how there's no 'booby prize' mutation to screw your character over completely upon rolled...

Well, Albino Skin and Fog Cloud are both hindrances instead of helps, but they're balanced out by heavy positive ability modifiers. Spekkin'ofwhich... I'm down to the last 13, but I lost the last page of the modifications, so I'm relying on my memory for this part. They'll be up tomorrow...

henebry
2006-09-07, 12:25 AM
Intriguing set of ideas so far — though in my experience while DMs like charts that give random mods/mutations to characters, players HATE them. If you're determined to go implement the chart as described above, you might consider starting your players off with brand new 10th level chars and with the understanding that they'll be undergoing some weird s--t not very far down the pike. That would certainly blunt the sting.

Two considerations you don't seem to have considered yet: Druids and Clerics. What happens to Clerics whose Gods are still alive but far off in other planes relatively inaccessible from the Abyss? And what happens to the spell and other class abilities of the Cleric whose God has just recently been killed and now lives somewhere nearby IN the Abyss? Answering these questions probably won't prove too difficult, but I sense that the answers will, to a considerable extent, determine the flavor and tragectory of your Abyssal campaign. In essence, what do the Gods (both the living and the recently dead) want their servants to accomplish in the Abyss?

Druids are probably the trickier class, since their powers (at least in my understanding) are premised on the natural order of the Prime Material Plane. What, for instance, would it mean to spontaneously Summon Nature's Ally while standing in the middle of the waste plain of Grumuush? I suspect any Druids will need to be wholly rewritten upon arrival in the Abyss: whereas they used to key into the natural order, they now find themselves keying into an unnatural disorder. So perhaps more power (Grumuush contains a lot more hideous power than the bear-filled Green mountains, after all) in exchange for the threat of impending madness?

Which brings me to my final point: as a former player of Call of Cthulhu, this campaign would seem to beg for the insanity system of C of C. I haven't played (or even looked at) the recent d20 version of C of C, but I suspect that it could easily be adapted to suit your purposes.

My own approach would be to STRIP the characters of most of their powers upon "rebirth" in the Abyss rather than giving them 1d4 new powers, as per your present plan. Make them relatively helpless, force them to survive for a bit by their wits alone. Then offer the prospect of power (whether regained from their prior life or as wholly new abilities), power which comes at the heavy price of impending insanity. For the longer they stay in the Abyss, the more they become Abyssal creatures, tearing endlessly one another's flesh, screaming endlessly into the night...

MrSeth
2006-09-07, 11:43 AM
Intriguing set of ideas so far — though in my experience while DMs like charts that give random mods/mutations to characters, players HATE them....

Actually, this entire campaign was based on my experiences with my last great DM, Neil McMaster. He was the one that decided my dwarven ranger really needed to be turned into a Werespider... then a PLAID werespider as I crossed the plane of chaos... then a hairy plaid werespider (think Cousin It, but with spider legs stickin' out of his back)... then an earth elemental (and still a werespider, but not hairy or plaid anymore). And the list went on... and we all had a blast with it.

Yes, the players would DEFINITELY have to be apprised of the fact that there is going to be some bizzare crap going on later in the campaign, and starting off with mid-level characters would probably be a good idea.



Two considerations you don't seem to have considered yet: Druids and Clerics....

You're right, I haven't addressed that yet.

Clerics on the Abyss can still access powers from Gods beyond the Abyss, as long as that God wishes them to continue their work while trapped there. Some Gods, especially more lawful ones, will refuse to grant any powers to anyone in the Abyss. Others have no problems with it, and some actually have an overriding agenda in the Abyss.

Olidammara, for example, has no problems with where his joyous brand of trickery takes place, as long as it happens. Hextor wants to bring all of the Abyss under his cruel grasp. Nerull wants to raise an Abyssal denizen up to become his avatar, so that he can partake of a neverending slaughter. Saint Cuthbert has lost too many good warriors to the Abyss; he just wants them back, as does Moradin and Corellan.

Dead Gods are a special case; they can only be worshipped on the Abyss, and if you ever change planes you cannot derive powers from them again. It is possible for them to grant powers to someone beyond the Abyss, but it's extremely hard for them... and often comes out lopsided (see the first post regarding spell misfires). Dead Gods are also greatly reduced in power, effectively becoming 0th/1st level dieties.



Druids are probably the trickier class, since their powers (at least in my understanding) are premised on the natural order of the Prime Material Plane....

Normally, yes. However, the Abyss has it's own natural order. You see, in this setting, the Abyss has a slight chaotic bent, but despite the way it twists the forms of those that live there, it does have an underlying logic. And thus, while a Druid would have to take time to acclimate himself to his new surroundings (penalties on Knowledge (nature) and Survival checks, for instance) his powers would still work.

At least that's how I'd rule it. But then, you could easily allow for a retool of Druids upon entering the Abyss if you wanted to.




Which brings me to my final point: as a former player of Call of Cthulhu, this campaign would seem to beg for the insanity system of C of C. I haven't played (or even looked at) the recent d20 version of C of C, but I suspect that it could easily be adapted to suit your purposes.






No.

Just... no.

You know the old saw...

DM: "Got your Call of Cthulhu characters ready?"
PLAYERS: "Yep! Just rolled them up!"
DM: "They're all dead! Got new ones?"
PLAYERS: *rollrollroll* "Yep!"
DM: "They're all insane! And dead, too!"

Well, it's true. I tried putting the CoC insanity rules into a Deadlands campaign. To be fair, I ran a few sessions solo before I put my players through it. And the way I planned the campaign, we'd have lost about eight characters by the sixth session - every player would have lost at least two characters to insanity, except the Padre, who had a Wisdom of 20 and was essentially immune to the effects of insanity.

Yes, it would fit the setting. Yes, if your players do not fear the insanity rules then it would fit brilliantly. Yes, the way you have it figured out is remarkably well reasoned and creative. No, I will never be an advocate of the CoC insanity rules.

MrSeth
2006-09-08, 08:21 PM
Bump for completion of the D100 Abyssal Modification chart!

Magnus_Samma
2006-09-08, 11:44 PM
Not only is that really cool, it's one of the few ideas for a campaign set in the afterlife that I really find viable. Very nice.

ExHunterEmerald
2006-09-08, 11:47 PM
Awesome work.

MrSeth
2006-09-09, 01:01 AM
Awesome work.


;D Danke, danke.

And, because this page is fairly light on Abyssal info...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THURL GIKILINH
The Sea of Gimilinh

The fourth layer of the Abyss is the great cavern-sea of Gikilinh. The salt sea there is uniformly 70 feet deep, except for the center line, which is a trench that (purportedly) leads to the sky of the next layer. The only problem with testing that theory is that the water pressure obliterates anything that goes that deep. Grikilinh has no sky to speak of, only twenty feet of air pocket between the water level and the rock ceiling. There is, however, a form of natural illumination on the plane; luminescent schools of phytoplankton keep large pockets of water glowing at any given time of the day or night.

The waters of Gikilinh are infested with millions of abyssal denizens that have manifested aquatic traits. Most just swim constantly, always on the hunt for a tasty blind eel that would make a decent lunch, or for another denizen if the hunter is of darker tastes. Some, however, have banded together to create small settlements, forging towns from the Bonecoral and gray-kelp beds that are abundant near the bottom of the sea.

There are no true cities in Grikilinh, but there is at least one large town that is known of. The town has no name, referred to simply as "The Town". It is watched over by a stodgy dwarven denizen named Agrum, who is apparantly in love with his own power over the place. He rules with a brackgem fist (quite literally; it's a fully animated prosthetic) and refuses to let anyone defy him in the slightest. Thankfully, the rules that keep The Town running are mostly fair. The only true oppression lies in the heavy export tariff; it's not worth taking anything you buy in The Town out of it.

The most valuable asset of Grikilinh is the Bonecoral that lies on the sea beds. While the coral is remarkably hard, it is fairly easy to mine with magic assistance. The true hazards of mining it come from dealing with mad and/or feral denizens of the sea layer, giant eels, and other bizzare creatures of the sea. Thankfully, there are no Abyssal kraken in Grikilinh....


yet.

Diem
2006-09-09, 07:04 PM
Hey Seth, I love the work you've done on this system, it's far beyond anything I could have done in the campaign; a well ordered system where I only had a random "screw with the players" motif. Can't wait to see the other layers.
~N

MrSeth
2006-09-09, 11:09 PM
NEIL! DM o' my past! Glad to see you on the boards. ^w^


Can't wait to see the other layers.

Well, I won't be doing all 400+ layers, but... I'll at least be writing a smattering of `em. Speaking of which...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MYRNSIS
The Brazier

Myrnsis is the nineteenth layer of the Abyss, a blazing hot desert where flaming geysers erupt from the ground at random intervals. The heat is usually in excess of 130 degrees in the desert; temperatures near an active flame geyser are far higher, while those further away in "livable" territory are a bit lower, sometimes as low as 100 degrees. There is no night in Myrnsis; the sun that burns above this plane never moves, eternally in a state of high noon.

Myrnsis has few natural predators, a rarity in most layers of the Abyss. If you can avoid the Goreshrikes, you're most likely safe. However, the cities in Myrnsis are crawling with thieves, assassins, and worse sorts of predators. The very structure of the plane is friendly to those of darker dispositions, and normal, "law abiding" people usually meet with a grisly demise within weeks of entering the desert-plane.

The largest city in Myrnsis is Kom-Al, population 10,300 (give or take a few). Wondrously advanced in it's magic, the sorcerer cabal that runs Kom-Al keeps the temperature inside the city walls at a balmy 80 degrees, with fountains of magically created, ever-pure drinking water flowing throughout every street. It would be a paradise, if not for the guilds that rule the streets. The Assassin's Guild, the Banker's Guild, the Slaver's Guild, and the Alchemist's Guild keep the populace slaving beneath their grasp for the barest bits of sustenance, and the Cabal in turn keeps each of the guilds on a short leash. Harsh fees mean that anything bought in the city will cost one and a half times the normal amount; the only exception are the Temples of Boccob, Wee Jas, and Scrassia, which offer their spellcasting and healing at the normal amount. While the Assassin's Guild has been threatening to uproot the Cabal's rule, they have not yet made their move, and so a feel of the calm before the storm pervades the city.

*Myrnsis is moderately Evil-alligned. Spells with the Evil descriptor are extended; spells with the Good descriptor are impeded. Any spell that reveals a creature's allignment will not function on Myrnsis.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SCRASSIA
LE
Dead God
Divine rank 1 (demigod)
Portfolio: Goblins, chaos, ruin, psionics, mages
Domains: Psionics, Evil, Chaos, Magic

Scrassia is also known as the Kamikaze God, the Assured Assassin, and the Mind of the Sea.

Ascending to Godhood after destroying a goblin diety, Scrassia enjoyed his position of divine power for less than an instant. A powerful wielder of the anti-magic force known as Negatis tore him from existance, banishing him to the Abyss. So complete was this erasure that not even his former traveling companions remembered him well, or could tell what happened to him - but the goblins knew. They knew their God was dead, and that their new God destroyed himself to kill the old one - at least, that's how they perceived it. And who was Scrassia to disagree? He had his new worshippers, even if he was dead.

Scrassia appears to be a bizzare fusion of fish and homonid, with large wings that double as fins underwater, four tentacles that he can slide along by effortlessly, and a large goblin-like nose. He travels from sea-layer to sea-layer in the Abyss, gaining worshippers wherever he can. Once he's called enough to his following, he might try to return to the material plane... then again, he might not.

Scrassia preaches zealous conflict, taking down one's foes by any way neccessary, even if it destroys both sides of the conflict. He wields both psionics and magic with equal skill, and holds worshippers who take both disciplines on in high esteem (at least outwardly). Scrassia's favored weapon is the dagger.

Fizban
2006-09-09, 11:43 PM
Nice. Your table of traits reminds me of warp touch in the BoVD. Difference?: as was said, yours doesnt screw the PC's over. Course, warp touch was meant to be harmful, but when half the effects are beneficial, a players gonna want it.

Anyway, keep it up, it's good stuff.

MrSeth
2006-09-10, 07:50 PM
MOATHOP IZIK
Izik's Prison

One of the demilayers of the Abyss, Moathop Izik contains no land, no water, and no real ecosystem. There is only one life form in Moathop Izik, and that is Izik himself. Originally a gnome sorcerer who was killed by a group of Inquisitors of Hextor, Izik never stopped mutating when he entered the Abyss; now he is a massive inverted half-sphere of being, eighteen miles in radius, constantly floating through an endless sky.

Those that end up on Moathop Izik invariably land on Izik's back, a broad, hilly plain of orange flesh. There are no natural predators here, but Izik doesn't like people walking on him. Clusters of tentacle-like portrusions might attack the unwary if they disturb the skin too much. Likewise, he may employ various spells of the school of Illusion to lead adventurers off the edge of his back into nothingness, or into one of the pits in his back that emit noxious vapor - the method by which he controls his flight. In extreme cases, Izik may change his speed, lurching forward and downward, hoping to toss the offenders off. In most cases, however, the travellers will eventually end up at one of the organ clusters where Izik is capable of communication, at the front or back of his being.

Izik does enjoy talking to intelligent folks, but he is rather depressing to speak to; his bland life has led him to a rather nihilistic viewpoint, as has the fact that he was banished to this demiplane with no way to escape (Teleport, Plane Shift and other such spells no longer effect him). Izik has no desire to accumulate wealth or material possessions, since he does not have any way to use or keep them reliably. The main reason that one would come to Izik is that he has an eidetic memory, and uses his scrying spells to keep tabs on what happens in most of the major cities in the Abyss. This is his one form of entertainment and stimulation, other than the random visitors that pop in. He is willing to part with information he has gathered in this way freely, as long as the person who requests it is polite, or better, comes with a good story to tell.

Izik speaks common, gnomish, elven, draconic, abyssal, and three dialects of orcish. He has 988,300,004 hit points, a hardness of 400, and an AC of 300 (10, -60 for size, +350 natural armor). He has spell resistance 128, energy resistance 400, and power resistance 158. Izik is immune to Vorpal effects; his actual head is on the underside of his body, and is well-protected.

In other words, no, you can't kill him. So stop trying.


Moathop Izik has normal gravity and air content, and no allignment. No spells are empowered or impeded while in Moathop Izik.

MrSeth
2006-09-11, 02:13 AM
YAW-DIM YLAAB
Chaotic-Neutral Dead God
Divine rank 1 (Demigod)
Portfolio: Gamblers, risk-takers, adventurers, sadists
Domains: Evil, Good, Luck, Chaos

Yaw-Dim Ylaab is also known as the Silver Sphere, the Torturous Master, and the Master of Dungeons.

Yaw-Dim Ylaab is a God whose powers are ancient; it is said that he was one of the primevil entities that existed before time itself was. In that endless, nonlinear void he crafted all manner of bizzare amusements with other non-temporal entities, invariably making himself rulekeeper, to watch them fail miserably at his games. His endless existence was not to be, however; the Goddess of Order known as Irata bound him to the Abyss when she started forging time from nothingness. He was one of the first ten entities to enter the Abyss, and the first to master it's intricacies. It is said that he was the one that divided the Abyss into it's 400 layers. Whether or not this is true is a matter of speculation; he won't talk about his early days in the prison plane.

Yaw-Dim Ylaab flits from one layer of the Abyss to the next with no seeming pattern, masterminding dozens of schemes at once, many of which contradict each other so that his pawns will have to face off - much to his amusement. It is extremely dangerous to trust Ylaab, but on the other hand, he knows the Abyss like none other.

Yaw-Dim Ylaab is always seen the same; a smooth silvery ball, which bounds chaotically around a room once it enters, only to come to a stop, hovering in the doorway. He speaks in a buzzing, crackling voice that seems to come from everywhere. Yaw-Dim Ylaab is barely known of and not worshipped outside of the Abyss; his favored weapon is the shield or cudgel.

(Oh, and if you can spot the two pop-culture references hidden in this post, you win a No-prize! ^w^)

MrSeth
2006-09-12, 12:55 AM
PHY GHARLIT
The Endless Plain

One of the only good-alligned layers of the Abyss, Phy Gharlit is an endless sweeping grassland, so close to the Material Plane in appearance that many denizens believe they are back home... until they see the Abyssal cattle swarming about. Phy Gharlit is almost without geographical feature, covered entirely with the subtle roll of plains, but it does have several small freshwater streams and rivers that flow from east to west, and (most notably) a monolithic white column, three foot in diameter, that stretches from ground to sky at the center of the plane. The column cannot be moved by any known force, and is mostly used as a landmark for navigation.

Life is quiet on Phy Gharlit; many that live there attempt to take on the life of a farmer. While the plants that they can grow are peculiar, far different from what is found in the worlds beyond the Abyss, they are still edible and delicious when prepared properly. There are dozens of small rural communities in Phy Gharlit, but no large cities. Similarly, there is no power center in Phy Gharlit. A few laws have been agreed on by the populace, and any citizen of the plane (someone who has lived in Phy Gharlit for at least a year, has started a farm, and who has broken no laws) has the right and responsibility to enforce those laws appropriately. Most people on Phy Gharlit are just trying to settle down and have the life that they wanted before. As many of them are former adventurers, it is not a good idea to try and mess with these farmers. There is a sort of figurehead in the plain, a former warblade named Mortnol. He appears to be a tall, red-haired human who just happened to grow a unicorn's horn, and was apparantly a master of the Ninefold Path in life. He currently has a small farm where he raises freshwater tentleels in an artificial lake he dug out.

There are three seasons in Phy Gharlit; summer, deep summer, and the rainy season. Summer is uniformly 80-90 degrees in the daytime, 65-70 at night. Deep summer fluctuates from 90-100 in the daytime, and about 80 at night. The rainy season is uniformly 50-60 degrees at all times, and while it does not rain every day, it is overcast at all times. The seasons divide the year into clean thirds. There is one holiday (of sorts) that occurs only on Phy Gharlit - Locustsfeast. Near the end of Deep summer, on the same week every year, a horde of fiendish locusts arises from the plains, barreling through and devouring everything organic in sight. The week before, all cattle are brought into reinforced barns or underground holds, and all crops are harvested. The week of the swarm is marked by constant indoor celebration, usually in the largest barn in the region.

There are two sorts of cattle common in Phy Gharlit; Grassreapers and Crelmis. Grassreapers are quiet little abberations that vaguely like a mound of flesh in the shape of a pyramid, with a dozen stumpy legs below them. They sleep twenty-two hours a day, then wake up, sit down, and begin to eat whatever vegetation is beneath them - their jaws, which are built like those of an enormous insect, are set into their bellies. Once a spot is devoid of portruding grass, they move over to the next spot and continue the pattern. Grassreapers are remarkably docile, but hard to herd, as they move very slowly. Crelmis, by contrast, are wild things like bison with nonfunctional, leathery wings. They are prone to stampede, fiery tempered, and don't like to spend much time in one place. Thankfully, they're about the size of an average pig at the largest. Crelmis wings are quite a popular delicacy, especially when smothered with Chechaghal pepper sauce.

Phy Gharlit is the 193rd layer of the Abyss. It is slightly good alligned; spells with the Good descriptor are maximized, while spells of the Evil descriptor are impeded.

MrSeth
2006-09-13, 02:21 AM
PHY KOTUS
The Endless Twilight

The 288th layer of the Abyss is Phy Kotus, a place where the Elemental Plane of Shadow encroaches on Abyssal land. Some go there, hearing of the supposed weakness of the boundaries between planes, and are greatly dissapointed to find that A) the encroachment is one-way, and B) the Abyss is still as impregnable as ever.

Phy Kotus is a place of eternal dusk; twelve hours a day are barely lit, by a sun that hangs just under the horizon no matter where on the plane you are. The other twelve hours are a "normal" night cycle. Phy Kotus has no seasons; it is always cool, not quite cold, and it rains sporadically no matter what time of year it is elsewhere. The geography of the plane is a large cluster of small wooded islands, about 300 miles wide, surrounded by a calm, deep sea with Gods-know-what beyond it.

Of course, the cool and the dank lends itself well to those that disagree with the light; all manner of subterranean races, fungous beings, and those that just work best in the dark head to Phy Kotus to live. There are two large cities on the layer, named Lishimerrazux (which means Toadstool Harbor in an antiquated dialect of Drow) and Qutus (Allegedly the name of one of the town's founders). Money is everything in these cities; there is nothing that someone with enough coin cannot purchase there. There is no government to speak of; there is a town guard in Qutus, but they just report to whomever is paying them that week. Most often, this is Ghlaxis, an Ithilid with a peculiar sense of honor that keeps forcing him to protect "his city", or else Muregem, a female Duregar merchant with a known interest in collecting rare hallucinogens and other narcotic substances. There is a temple in Lishimerrazux - of sorts. It is not dedicated to any given God, and bears no holy symbols normally. If rented out for a service, the owner quickly sets it up with the neccessary regalia; the only requirement is that the God in question have some neutral aspect to his allignment. The owner is a devout follower of the "Path of Balance", and refuses to rent his temple to followers of any of the extreme allignments.

There are several natural predators to watch out for in Phy Kotus, not the least of which is Dragons. Several dozen Black Dragons - complete with Abyssal mutations - exist on this plane in the scattered far islands. Occasional dragon-slaying parties and tributes of Brackgem and Adamantine keep them sated for now, but it won't be long before they turn on the twin cities...

Phy Kotus is slightly chaos-alligned. Spells with the Chaos or Shadow descriptor are enlarged; spells with the Law or Light descriptor are impeded.

MrSeth
2006-09-14, 12:16 AM
FALENOR
True Neutral
Dead God
Divine rank 1
Portfolio: Thieves, assassins, shadow-dwellers, cowards, risk-takers.
Domains: Darkness, Death, Luck, Protection

Falenor was once a Shadar-Kai assassin. Much happened to him in his relatively short life, and he became uncannily skilled at the arts of thievery. If it had a lock, he could open it. If it was trapped, it wasn't so anymore. If it was valuable, it was gone. More notably, he developed a remarkable sixth sense about danger; whenever something that could kill him was nearby, he felt something strange that provoked an (oft inappropriate) verbal reaction: "The room is bad". By the time he died, he was so skilled that Olidammara himself sponsored the thief for Godhood. Unfortunately, it wasn't to be; Falenor had stolen from every other God's temples. EVERY ONE OF THEM.

So, off into the Abyss he was chucked. It's unsure how he developed his divine powers - although he says, naturally, that he stole them.

Falenor's dogma is a simple one: Steal what you desire if you have no other way to obtain it (especially that which would never be within your grasp otherwise), kill those that try to kill you, be courteous to everyone else... except Dwarves. And even then, try and tolerate them. His worshippers are any on the Abyss who belive they could benefit from the Sacred Sense of the Shadow-God. Falenor's favored weapon is the scythe.

(Anyone still keeping up with this thread?)

Legoman
2006-09-14, 12:43 AM
I like it.

I just drafted up a campaign world where the world was created by a group of mortals not 500 years ago. The mortals had Godhood instantly thrust upon them, and began a frantic rush of creation to assert their power.

As such, the world is a grab-bag, anyone who can gather a shard of the original staff of creation, and can get enough worshippers attains diety.

This means that a lot of the Lawful gods are trying to preserve the order, and a lot of the Chaotic gods are trying to overthrow it, and have a very real chance of doing so. That means that anyone that's not a true neutral would probably piss off a God at some point, and end up in the Abyss.

This gives another world of opportunities :D. Keep up the good work, man!

ExHunterEmerald
2006-09-14, 06:52 AM
I am most absolutely keeping up with this thread.
It's one of the plain awesomest things EVER.

MrSeth
2006-09-15, 01:21 AM
(Just checking! It's good to make sure you're not just writing to yourself every now and then... thanks, guys!)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NARG CHAKTAJ
The Mage's Caverns

Narg Chaktaj is an unobtrusive artificial layer of the Abyss, between the 363rd and 364th. Just far enough from the bottom that it's protected from the bizzare happenings there, but far enough down that only the determined find it. Narg Chaktaj is an endless, six-mile-deep slab of granite - making it the largest artificial layer that has definite vertical boundaries.

A visitor to Narg Chaktaj will quickly discover that the entire plane is a massive tunnel complex, filled with massive caverns that are used to farm rare herbs and spell components, libraries of arcane lore, massive emporiums of every sort of magical wand, scroll, and other such item, and (naturally) the sanctum sanctorums of those mages that live on the plane.

There is no geography on the plane per se; there is a road map. A dungeon-like maze of hundreds of levels, lit by floating lantern constructs. The upper levels are the friendliest to newcomers, with all the shops available for perusing. The lowest levels contain the darkest-minded of the wizards, toiling away on their dark projects of necromancy, infernomancy, and (occasionally) pellidentimancy. These lower levels are often full of bizzare constructs that watch over the warehouses of the mages that live there; whether they attack without provocation or not depends on how old the construct is and how crazy the mage that created it was.

There is no government on Narg Chaktaj; rather, there are a host of unspoken rules. No one who is a "troublemaker" can live there, and anyone who is found picking fights can expect to be ejected swiftly. Defending one's property and/or person is the only excuse for combat on Narg Chaktaj. Similarly, only mages who intend on spending their time in the Abyss on research and magical development may live in the tunnels.

Narg Chaktaj is a high-magic area; all spells are extended on the layer. It has no allignment.

MrSeth
2006-09-16, 01:53 AM
LOLTH MOATHIRZ
The Webs of Lolth

Lolth, spider-Goddess of the drow, is a contradiction; she was a Goddess, defied her lover (Corellan Latherian) and was sent to the Abyss for her crimes, and yet she has kept her status as a full diety... on the Material Plane. In the Abyss she is powerful, yes. More powerful than most of the denizens there. But she is no Goddess.

Her home - Lolth Moathiriz, the 66th layer - is likewise full of contradictions. The infinite cluster of roads running through the plane bend at impossible angles, intersecting at even more impossible ones, and most cartographers will go completely insane there if they care about accuracy in mapping. At the "center" of these roads (as an infinite expanse, there cannot truly be a center) is Lolth's palace, the Unholy Nest. In this massive snarl of daemonic webbing (which Lolth excreted herself) lies her personal vanguard of Abyssal drow assassins and wizards, as well as several dozen varieties of mindless spider-kin that she created as guard dogs. Lolth does not employ clerics in her legion; she cannot grant powers and spells to individuals in the Abyss, and she hates the idea of someone in her service gaining divine power from another source. Not even Lolth can remember every turn of her palace, twisted non-euclidean place that it is, and unbeknownst to her (or her legion) there is actually a small, highly advanced race of spider-kobolds living in the lowest cellars.

The only populace in the plane other than Lolth's chosen are those of her followers that died in her name, came to this plane, and still were not chosen. These poor souls have the distinction of being Lolth's personal slaves, all of whom live in small, walled cities watched closely by construct guards. Their purpose is simple; help maintain the webwork of spells that allows Lolth to remain a diety on the Material Plane, and serve as "entertainment" when Lolth desires it. Depending on her mood, this may be musical performance, gladiator matches, "courtesian services", or food. No, not preparing food... being food. Every few months, Lolth goes on a feeding rampage, devouring an entire city of her slaves. The slaves regenerate the next day (in their city, not at the Desert Crust) and continue their lives. Some desperate, masochistic souls actually grow to enjoy being devoured, considering it a long-awaited sign that their Goddess is somehow pleased with them (or, at the very least, with their flavor).

Lolth Moathirz is midly evil and chaos alligned; spells with the Evil and Chaos descriptors are extended, while spells with the Good and Law descriptors are impeded. Drow denizens gain a +1 inherent bonus to all rolls while in Lolth Moathirz, while all other elves take a -1 penalty to all rolls. Lolth Moathirz has objective gravity; down is the direction beneath the nearest floor.

ExHunterEmerald
2006-09-16, 01:39 PM
Oh man. That one reminds me of the Forest temple in OOT.
Lots of spiders, webs, and GRAVITY DOES NOT WORK THAT WAY!
The twisting corridors are some of the coolest things I remember that game having.
...and now I have the music going through my head. Curse you, Seth.

MrSeth
2006-09-16, 05:43 PM
Just blast the music out with something even catchier. Repeat after me:

In the toooown...
Where I was boooorn...
There lived a ma-a-an...
Who sailed zhe seas...
And he tooooold us of his life...
In the la-a-and...
Of submarines...

If the theme isn't gone yet, there isn't much I can do.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bhalkaa
Chaotic-Evil
Dead God
Divine rank 0 (quasi-diety)
Portfolio: Necromancy, the Undead, Darkness, Rot, Decay
Domains: Evil, Chaos, Death, Necromancy

Once a quiet cleric of Corellan, the half-elf, half-fuzzy thing (his exact parentage is uncertain) known as Balka spent years as an adventurer. He fell to the agents of darkness, who brainwashed him, turning him into a living weapon. For a time he was a living battery of necromancy, a semi-undead harbinger of obliteration. Eventually, he was slain by the very adventurers who he had journeyed with.

Bhalkaa, as his zombie minions pronounce his name, is a cunning, intelligent foe. He lives (er... exists?) to see the replacement of all life with unlife, to see all that is rot and decay. He can create undead by simply thinking of doing so. If he had a broader base of worshippers, he would be a menace to all reality... as it is, he's stuck on the Abyss, and his only followers are the undead and a handful of especially twisted Liches and Necromancers.

Bhalkaa has no dogma, beyond "kill everything that lives". He has no holy books, no churches, and his clerics have no set time to pray to recieve spells. He has only one command: "Wait for my orders". He commands his armies on the Material Plane via divine missive... once in a blue moon. However, he has all of his eternal unlife ahead of him... he isn't too worried about the wait. Bhalkaa's favored weapon is the Warmace.

MrSeth
2006-09-16, 07:10 PM
Abyssal Alterist

The chaos that causes mutations in those that enter the Abyss is supposed to be a cause of strife and pain; some, however, revel in it. These arcanists, known as Abyssal Alterists, learn to manifest small surges of the chaotic magic that causes the universal mutation of Abyssal life.

Abyssal Alterist is a 5-level prestige class.

PREREQUISITES:
*Any non-lawful allignment
*Able to cast 5th level transmutation spells
*Must have been altered by at least three Abyssal mutations (these need not have all happened at once).
*10 ranks in Spellcraft

SAVES: Will good, Fort good, Ref poor
ATTACK PROGRESSION: Average
HIT DIE: d6

ARCANE CASTING - The Abyssal Alterist advances his casting level at 2nd and 4th level.

MANIFEST MUTATION: At first level, the Abyssal Alterist gains the ability to manifest an Abyssal mutation. Once per day, he may as a full round action take on a new mutation from the Abyssal modification chart. This new mutation is randomly rolled; it lasts for one hour before dissapearing, conferring all benefits (including ability adjustments) for that hour. The Abyssal Alterist must sacrifice a fourth-level spell slot to gain this ability. At third level, this ability improves, and the Abyssal Alterist may add or subtract up to five points from his roll. At fifth level this ability improves again, and the Abyssal Alterist can manifest mutations twice per day. These mutations may overlap.

IMBUE MUTATION: At third level, the Abyssal Alterist gains the ability to give another ally an Abyssal mutation. This ability works exactly like Manifest Mutation; the ally must be within 20 feet of the Abyssal Alterist. At fifth level this ability improves, and the Abyssal Alterist may change the mutation roll by five points in either direction.

REMOVE MUTATION: At fifth level, the Abyssal Alterist gains the ability to temporarily strip an Abyssal mutation from another. The Abyssal Alterist makes a Spellcraft check against an opponent within 20 feet; that opponent must make a Fortitude save equal to the Spellcraft check or lose one mutation of the Alterist's choice for fifteen minutes. The mutation re-mainfests itself after this time.

ExHunterEmerald
2006-09-16, 09:18 PM
Man, that was playing today at a party we went to.
Not stuck, thank goodness.

I_Got_This_Name
2006-09-17, 12:46 AM
Except for Lolth's cell here, this works just fine as it's own plane, completely separate from the conventional Abyss.

That said, this one is much cooler, because it's not just another alignment plane.

MrSeth
2006-09-17, 02:50 AM
Danke, danke...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

YRARG
The Pit

The bottommost layer of the Abyss is not the 400th layer, the chaos-plane from which none ever return; it is the 401st, the Pit. Created scarcely a millenia ago, the Pit is a gambler's dream - an eternally open fighting arena, open to anyone on the Abyss.

Geographically, the Pit is an endless, waterless waste. It has normal day and night cycles, slightly lighter than normal gravity (very slightly), and no seasons. It's always quite hot, usually between 80 and 100 degrees. There are no creatures that inhabit the Pit; only tourists, who come to the great fighting arena - a massive crater a mile deep that is the source of the Pit's name.

At any given time, up to 50 fights will be going on, either in the suspended stages or in the main battleground at the floor of the crater. The walls are lined with hundreds of rows of seats, booths for betting, and concession stands. Entertainment at the Pit is usually one-on-one gladiatorial matches, but contests between Abyssal beasts are becoming more and more popular.

The current owner of the Pit is the woman whom created it, Elnai DuComos, a snake-tailed human who in life defied the church of Boccob one time too many. (Best not to ask her about it... she'll flay you alive). She takes a huge cut of all gambling that happens there, and isn't above subtly "fixing" matches if there's enough profit on the line. She is currently working on creating portals to the Pit from every relatively-neutral layer of the Abyss.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nimpaur
Lesser artifact

A Dwarven throwing hammer that was once wielded by a dwarven gladiator whom didn't even belong on the Abyss, Nimpaur (which translates to White Fist in Elven) is an elegantly, if simply, crafted weapon. The entire hammer is made of white onyx, with leather straps around the handle.

Nimpaur acts as a Dwarven Thrower in most regards; however, after it hits its target, it immediately reappears in its wielder's hand (or in its holster, if its wielder is currently carrying another weapon). The white onyx that Nimpaur is made of is just as strong as steel, but lighter, increasing the throwing range by 10 ft. and reducing the item's weight by 2 lbs.

Nimpaur was lost during the dwarf's bout, and is currently stored in one of the Pit's weapons lockers, buried beneath hundreds of military-grade double-swords, glaives, and quickrazors. The only way to gain access to said lockers is with a hefty bribe to Elnai DuComos, or to participate in the arena's battles.

MrSeth
2006-09-18, 12:40 AM
(An explanation before I go on; while I list both the Abyssal name and the translation for every plane, the one I use most is whichever is most commonly used, hence why it bounces back and forth.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
IG XIRMOS
The Black Cauldron

Despite it's ominous-sounding name, Ig Xirmos is nothing but the largest inn in the Abyss; it has grown such over the years that it has had to expand to it's own demi-layer to contain it. It began as a small boardinghouse in Ghorrash Phytath, and the boardinghouse is still there, serving as an entry to Ig Xirmos. As time passed and travellers came and stayed, using the inn as a base of operations, the establishment grew... and grew... and grew.

Now, Ig Xirmos has entries on six different layers. It towers eighty-one stories tall, aided by the fact that there is no gravity in the layer; gravity spells cast on the floors keep guests oriented normally, but don't always function at 100%. The decor is... staccato. Some rooms are examples of gorgeous elven design, others the spartan stonework of hobgoblins. The whole inn has a certain random feel to it, which isn't lessened by the fact that non-euclidean architecture makes it possible for someone to make eight 90 degree turns before coming around a corner... without going up or down. Granted, that is only one specific coridoor, but other related oddities are reported in other places.

Besides the normal inn staff, there are at least 300 individuals whom reside permanently at Ig Xirmos at any given time. The staff encourages this, and treat their regulars with a certain measure of preference.

The current owner of Ig Xirmos is Grick Grisworm, a Halfling that has been in the business of hostelling far too long to remember when he started. He is a more-than-decent magician as well as entrepreneur, having forged all the spells that keep Ig Xirmos together himself. As such, he's also a bit touchy about customers that complain about the patchwork nature of the place...
Grick doesn't particularly care about his clients' individual agendas, as long as they don't whine incessantly about the few shortcomings the inn has, or start fights within his property. He's a devout servant of Wee Jass, and is hoarding money in the hope that one day he will be able to buy a pass from this place back to his home.

Ig Xirmos hosts its clients for three bloodstone a night, plus two more for dinner (an excellent buffet-style banquet held in the gargantuan common room). Guests can save two bloodstone a week by paying a week up front. By paying a month in advance the same discount applies, but meals are also half-price. Any greater in-advance payment usually leads to less tangible, but still highly noticable, preferential treatment.

ExHunterEmerald
2006-09-18, 01:35 AM
Now I LIKE that one.
Seth, do you DM?
'Cause if someone made a PbP game off Enter The Abyss, I would totally be all over that.
...and wouldn't it be funny to begin in a tavern...in Hell? Funny twist on the usual adventure starter...

MrSeth
2006-09-18, 02:36 AM
I DM occasionally, but I haven't done anything with PbP yet. After I finish the move to Toledo (six days left in Montanaville!) then I'd be glad to set one up.

Elrosth
2006-09-18, 05:44 AM
I'd definitely play. Let me know if/when you start this.

MrSeth
2006-09-18, 09:03 PM
I'll announce it here around the first of the month, perhaps a bit sooner. People are actually interested in playing this... definitely a good sign! ^____^
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Brothers of Nothingness

Another religion that was borne of the Abyss, the Brothers of Nothingness revere no dieties and follow no dogma. They are best described as one step beyond a doomsday cult; they do not seek death to all that lives, but nonexistence to all, including the Gods, immortal souls, and any other eternal beings.

The Brothers are lead by three beings of unknown race; their mutations are such that it is impossible to tell what they once were. Their names are Kaal, Mugeris, and Doz. All are (presumably) male, and utterly psychotic. All are also accomplished warriors and arcane researchers (if not actually arcanists), and are frighteningly close to discovering how to annihilate souls... permanently. The last step in the theorem is a steep hurdle, how to dissipate the scattered soul-energy in a permanent fashion, and it may take centuries to properly crack the last bit of conversion. Or it might take a week. If they can discover this, then there might be no end to the damage they can do. What's worse, they have found a way to hide their intent from divine eyes; so far, the only Gods that are even remotely aware of their existence are Garl Glittergold (who thinks of them as a group of crazies that are no real threat) and Olidammara (who does his best not to think of them at all).

It is difficult to determine what, if anything, the Brothers would gain from the annihilation of all that is - but that does not seem to concern them. All they are sure of is that nonexistence is better than an eternity on the Abyss.

Clerics of the Brothers of Nothingness always use the Death, Destruction, and/or Fire domains. They use whatever weapons they can get their hands on, but favor crossbows or scythes. There are only a handful of followers of the Brothers on the Material Plane, none of which are above level 3.

MrSeth
2006-09-19, 02:01 AM
YLAN OLIDAMMARA
The Temple of Olidammara

Nowhere is Olidammara more universally revered than the 21st layer of the Abyss; a megalopolis that spans tens of thousands of square miles. Most of his unsuccessful temple raiders end up here... or at least those that were robbing the temples of zealously lawful dieties.

The city-plane of Ylan Oli (as it is most often called) has short days, four or five hours a pop, and 19 or 20 hour nights. All property is "fluid" in this city - meaning that it's expected that it will be stolen, and that you will have to steal from others to make your way. Unwary travellers who stumble into the city by accident are taken care of by the Temple proper; not by handouts, but by teaching the uneducated, clumsy, or just inept how to steal properly. The populace here does not consider a failed attempt at theft a crime, but a cause for criticism or pity. Thus, some truly horrid thieves still make a decent living... their "victims" are too embarrased for them to turn them in.

The Black Market here is one of the largest marketplaces in the Abyss. Held every other day, dealers set up tents and booths in the thirty square mile barren expanse near the middle of the city. All day, stolen items are haggled over, bought, sold, traded, and occasionally filched. It's seen as bad form to steal from the Black Market, since the booth fee of two bloodstone a day goes directly to the Temple. That being said, some merchants just get stuff that's too good to pass up. The Market's incredible size makes it tough to find exactly what you're looking for from time to time; thus, diviners make a decent living pointing people in the direction of their desired merchandise. It's about all they're good for on this layer... scrying magic usually doesn't work well.

Olidammara himself has been known to visit in a weakened avatar form from time to time. He loves his city, and desires little more than to steal his followers back from the plane that stole them from his side. According to the God, thieving from a thief by cleverness is admirable; by systema is detestable.

Ylan Oli has access to the Thieves' Guild, naturally. The current leader is Silas Marner, an almost supernaturally gifted half-elven thief. He runs a smooth operation in the city, making sure that no one accumulates too much wealth, and making sure that his guild doesn't degenerate into an assassin's nest.

ExHunterEmerald
2006-09-19, 10:54 AM
...I REALLY like that one.
Win win win win.
Now I gotta decide which plane my rogue would gravitate to if I could run the gamut...

MrSeth
2006-09-20, 12:08 AM
Already did two layers that could be piratey, so no theme post today. Sorry, Deppophiles. I'm more the ninja sort anyway.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
KURZHIL MAAR
The Bellowing Winds

The 301st layer of the Abyss is a 100-mile cube of windstormstorm-ridden sky. To fall off the bottom of this layer is to reenter at the highest point; to pass one boundary wall is to reenter at it's opposite point. Those that cannot fly are stuck "swimming" around, hoping to land on one of the sparse floating islands. Thankfully, gravity is only 1/4 the norm in this plane, so landing isn't nearly as painful as it would be.

The Winds are a hazardous place; aside from the possibility of not hitting land for weeks there are dozens of predators waiting to devour the unwary. Goreshrikes, Yrthak, and other nasty creatures scour the skies for denizens to torment. The aerial denizens of this layer, naturally, take arms against these enemies regularly, despite the fact that they will never be rid of them.

The government of the Winds is a tribal system of sorts; the strongest leads, the others support his rule. This horde is about 100 strong, no more, but all the members are remarkable warriors. They rule the scattered bits of land harshly, with an unwritten and utterly arbitrary code of laws that only applies as they see fit. "Fallers" (those that cannot fly) are little more than slaves in their code; they are used for menial labor, food (if the horde is desperate and the Faller is not an orc), or are sent offplane as soon as the Faller has been stripped of his goods. "Flyers" are afforded at least minimal respect, but are still expected to either contribute heavily in either muscle or goods or get out. Arcanists and divine casters are afforded no respect; there are no material components besides gravel in the Winds, and the horde acknowledges the patronage of no god. The current leader is a half-ogre, half-black dragon who answers to no name. He is called only by his title, "Skyslayer".

Spells with the Earth descriptor are impeded in the Winds; spells with the Air descriptor are maximized and extended.

MrSeth
2006-09-22, 04:15 AM
Aw, heck with it.

NOW ANNOUNCING THE EtA PbP BETA CAMPAIGN. THING. Thread.

...Yeah.

It's here... http://www.giantitp.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=play_ooc;action=display;num=11589127 93;start=0#0

Oh, and we're not done with the Abyss by a longshot. Expect plenty more to come up here as I work on this campaign!

ExHunterEmerald
2006-09-22, 02:25 PM
Woohoo!

This is gonna rock so freakin' hard.

Keep up the good work on the Abyss, Seth.

Diem
2006-09-24, 12:31 AM
Hey Seth,
PM sent, I hope you still have room.

The_Glitch
2006-09-24, 06:26 PM
Man. This stuff is awesome. I'd probably use it in my campaign (which, coincidentally, is called "Dimensions") if I didn't already have storyline, and if I were a more experienced DM.

Wow.

And by the way, I was thinking. Do you think that a group of players could have a base of operations on Ig Xirmos and have a portal to the Material Plane, or would that just not work?

WarBrute
2006-09-30, 07:34 PM
Hey I realy like this concpt and I already summited a character for your game. I had a question about The Pit. It says that none ever return, so does that mean if you die there you are reborn there or do you go back to the Crust?

Fredderf
2006-10-01, 06:10 PM
You will still post new ideas on here, won't you? While I don't have the time to commit to a fully fledged game right now, I would still love to see the development of the abyss.

MrSeth
2006-10-03, 08:35 PM
Natch! The Abyss will continue to grow until I've got about 1/4 of the layers, all the demilayers, and a good selection of important NPCs and dead gods listed here. I've just been sans internet while I moved to Ohio...

Toric
2006-10-03, 11:48 PM
Good to hear you're keeping at it. Ylan Oli in particular seems like it'd be an interesting place for a party to travel through, even though it's the closest thing I've seen to a Kender plane. No property is ever permanent, and if you want something you can have it if you're clever enough.

MrSeth
2006-10-04, 01:45 AM
The False Godhand
Greater Artifact

An imperfect replica of the diety-level power source known as the Godhand, the False Godhand is nowhere near as powerful; however, it appears almost identical. The hand is mostly red jade, with a ring of white-green jade around the wrist. It is in the shape of the hand of whomever possessed the False Godhand before. When it is touched by one's bare hand, it dissolves into dust. Eight hours later, that individual's hand (whichever touched it) becomes the new False Godhand.

The False Godhand confers the following powers to its owner:

*Can cast Shocking Grasp as a spell-like ability twice per day plus one additional time per point of Charisma bonus.
*Can cast Burning Hands as a spell-like ability twice per day and Bixby's Grasping Hand once per week.
*The False Godhand has a mighty grip; add +2 to all opposed disarm and grapple attempts.
*Wielder gains a single Slam attack. This attack deals damage equal to a Monk of half his level's unarmed damage.
*Three levels after gaining the False Godhand and every three levels after, the wielder gains a +2 bonus to Strength.

There are reputedly other powers; however no one has possessed the False Godhand long enough to gain knowledge of them. It is also rumored that the False Godhand and the True Godhand would enhance each other's powers if they were united. Whether or not this is true is pure conjecture.

The False Godhand is often mistaken for the real thing; it can only be "removed" by force, and many are the thieves who would want to chop the hand off to fence it. It cannot be destroyed by any known force (a Wish or Miracle would probably do the trick, though), but it has been "lost" before, as it is now.

MrSeth
2006-10-15, 12:31 AM
RANDOM NOTES ON THE ABYSS, part one

*Plane Shift and similar spells do work on most layers of the Abysss. They are limited in power, however; a person can (usually) go a number of layers up to his caster level away from his previous location. If he does not know anything about where he's going, this takes a DC20 Spellcraft check. Failure leads to an error; a difference of 1d4 layers difference in the DM's choice of direction. If the caster is familiar with the layer he's about to shift to, this check becomes DC15 instead. Spells and spell-like abilities that rely on a person "becoming ethereal" (ie: entering the ethereal plane) or otherwise dipping into other planes function; however, they cannot be used to push a person through to that plane fully. It's been tried thousands of times; the Abyss always sucks the unfortunate soul back in. Any attempt to simply shift out of the Abyss fizzles; repeated attempts may injure stubborn spellcasters.

*While the Abyss was created to house those that directly defied the will of the Gods, and originally it was agreed upon that the Gods would not aide those in the Abyss, few of the Gods hold to that old pact. In fact, only a few of the currently-existing Gods were probably around when that pact was created! Still, Vecna, Hextor, and Kord virtually never give their blessing to worshippers that fall into the Abyss. St. Cuthbert, Moradin, Wee Jas, Pelor, Ehlonna and Hextor will give their blessings as long as the individual is effectively a martyr of their faith, having been killed while doing the church's bidding. Most other Gods have no problem whatsoever with blessing those that find their way into the prison plane; Olidammara favors those of his children that are trapped there (See Ylan Oli), Fharlanghn realizes that roads are roads no matter what the location of them, Nerull doesn't give two figs about where his worshippers are... et cetera.

*At least three layers of the Abyss - the 91st through 93rd - are formless "proto-layers" that have come unshaped over the aeons. These layers are remarkably susceptible to transmutation magic, so it wouldn't take a diety to warp them as they saw fit... the only hitch is that there are no publically available portals that can access these layers.

*While most of the time those that oppose the Gods directly are sent to this place, sometimes the Abyss is too good for a person; those that choose to war with a God directly (IE, mano-a-mano) often find themselves in more "creative" punishments. An excellent example is found in the legend of Irata and Erythnul.
The ancient Goddess of law clashed with the Many too many times to count; he was hideous, she was perfectly made (and quite vain about it). He was the essence of chaos, she was pure order. Naturally, Erythnul took every opportunity to tweak his opposite, laying waste to her shrines and temples. After a short while, the temple of Irata declared holy war on Erythnul; the resulting clash obliterated both armies, leaving only the two dieties and a small number of their retainers. Irata might have won, had not Erythnul wrenched her beloved spear from her at the climax of the battle, driving it through her in a single fluid stroke. As Irata slowly died, unable to do anything but curse her opponent, the Many gloated. And then, he decided that the moment was too good to waste; he had one of his retainers, a necromancer, preserve Irata in temporary, paralyzed unlife. For two weeks she lay on a stone slab in Erythnul's lair; at the end of that time the Many himself completed a ritual that changed her forever... into a statue of her former self. The marble form was flawless, living but forever immobile, and (most importantly) it repaired all but the most superficial damage done to it. Erythnul spent weeks defacing her formerly flawless form, then smashing her to shards and watching the pieces reassemble themselves. All the while the dead Goddess screamed inwardly, her cries heard only by the captor who enslaved her in this form. He still keeps the statue; it is now horribly deformed, the face an unrecognizable mishmash of scrapes and jagged edges, but the body is mostly intact, and will continue to be forever.