afroakuma
2014-07-20, 08:11 PM
Shoo.
They are hopes and fears personified, the embodiments of the sacred, the profane, the ordered and the anarchic. They figure in iconography from all cultures and religions. They are saviors and menaces, bringers of corruption and salvation, structure and madness. They are outsiders, the powerful exemplars of ideology, and they are all inherently dangerous to mortal life.
It is wondrous and terrifying to behold, even for a moment, the barest glimpse of the otherworlds known as the Outer Planes. Vast beyond measure, the Planes have a nature all their own, radically distinct from that of the Prime. To visit the Outer Planes as a Material Plane traveler is to endure the strange wasting of Hades, form bubbles of possibility in Limbo, awaken from a warrior's glorious death in Ysgard and stare up at the face of the world mirrored on itself in Bytopia. In all of these places, travelers will sense a strangeness about the realms in which they roam, an alien nature different from the way of things on the Prime.
This effect is rather muted when one walks the Outer Planes; the nature of spells that allow travel to these realms and the comparative triviality of an individual mortal inside an infinity result in visitors being treated as little grains of curiosity rather than sand to be soaked through by the energy of the plane. It is most perceptible on Elysium and in Hades, where even the comparatively minor effects experienced by travelers are severe enough to be lethal.
When the extraplanar touches the Prime, though, the effect is at its fullest and most terrible, for the natures of the hereafter in all its forms contaminate the base reality of the Prime. Even a single lowly manes or lemure can, over time, cause a dreadful and toxic stain on the Prime Material Plane, one not easily remedied. Imagine how much worse a mighty glabrezu or fierce cornugon might warp reality, to say nothing of an open portal between Hell and the world of mortals. Of course, the dangers of planar contact are spoken of frequently in terms of the Lower Planes and in such a guise are quite familiar to those who combat or worship evil. Less recognized, though, is the comparative danger presented by celestials. The Upper Planes may seem joyous and benevolent, but their touch is no less dangerous, their contamination no less toxic. The otherworldly aura of a powerful archon or eladrin will kill a mortal just as surely as that of a devil or demon. For this reason, few celestials travel voluntarily to the Material Plane, and fewer still for a noteworthy length of time.
Otherworldly Auras
An otherworldly aura is projected by any outsider with one or more alignment subtypes as well as the extraplanar subtype who is fully present on the Material Plane. Summoned creatures are not fully present and do not project an otherworldly aura. While the magnitude and range of each aura will vary based on multiple factors, most especially the might of the outsider, all otherworldly auras have the same basic capacity to erode and destroy and even multiple weak auras can combine to pose a very serious threat. The traits of specific otherworldly auras depend on the nature of the outsider, but the common traits are defined below.
The strength of an otherworldly aura is equal to 1/2 the outsider's HD + the outsider's Charisma bonus + the outsider's Presence value (see below). Certain special factors can increase the magnitude of the aura. The base range of an otherworldly aura is determined by number of outsider HD possessed: up to 5 outsider HD, 30 feet; up to 10 outsider HD, 60 feet; up to 15, 90 feet; and up to 20, 120 feet. An outsider with more than 20 outsider HD adds 30 feet to this range per two outsider HD possessed above 20.
Presence
Presence is the sum of the three values found on the tables below.
Total HD
Presence
1
0
2
0
3
0
4
1
5
1
6
1
7
2
8
2
9
2
10
2
11
3
12
3
13
3
14
3
15
4
16
4
17
4
18
5
19
5
20
6
+5
+1
Highest Level SLA*
Presence
0th/none
Special
1st
0
2nd
0
3rd
1
4th
1
5th
2
6th
2
7th
2
8th
3
9th+
3
*excludes teleport without error and spell-like abilities listed outside of a "spell-like abilities" entry (i.e. a marilith's true seeing ability) or with use frequency less than 1/day (1/week and 1/year, for instance)
Outsider Subtype
Presence
None
-1
Archon
+2
Guardinal
+1
Eladrin
+2
Slaad
+3
Tanar'ri
+2
Yugoloth
+1
Baatezu
+2
Modron
+1
Rilmani
0
Obyrith
+5
Loumara
-3
A non-obyrith outsider which possesses no spell-like abilities or whose highest-level spell-like ability is a 0th level spell has no Presence value at all.
Sample Otherworldly Aura Strengths
Dretch: 4 (1 for HD + 1 for 3rd-level spell-like ability + 2 for tanar'ri subtype)
Ekolid: 10 (3 for HD + 1 Charisma + 1 for total HD + 5 for obyrith subtype)
Ghaele Eladrin: 14 (5 for HD + 3 Charisma + 2 for total HD + 2 for 7th-level spell-like ability + 2 for eladrin subtype)
Glabrezu: 19 (6 for HD + 5 Charisma + 3 for total HD + 3 for 8th-level spell-like ability + 2 for tanar'ri subtype)
Hound Archon: 8 (3 for HD + 1 Charisma + 1 for total HD + 1 for 3rd-level spell-like ability + 2 for archon subtype)
Imp: 3 (1 for HD + 2 Charisma + 1 for 3rd-level spell-like ability -1 for no outsider subtype)
Night Hag: 9 (4 for HD + 1 Charisma + 2 for total HD + 3 for 9th-level spell-like ability - 1 for no outsider subtype)
Osyluth: 12 (5 for HD + 2 Charisma + 2 for total HD + 1 for 4th-level spell-like ability + 2 for baatezu subtype)
They are hopes and fears personified, the embodiments of the sacred, the profane, the ordered and the anarchic. They figure in iconography from all cultures and religions. They are saviors and menaces, bringers of corruption and salvation, structure and madness. They are outsiders, the powerful exemplars of ideology, and they are all inherently dangerous to mortal life.
It is wondrous and terrifying to behold, even for a moment, the barest glimpse of the otherworlds known as the Outer Planes. Vast beyond measure, the Planes have a nature all their own, radically distinct from that of the Prime. To visit the Outer Planes as a Material Plane traveler is to endure the strange wasting of Hades, form bubbles of possibility in Limbo, awaken from a warrior's glorious death in Ysgard and stare up at the face of the world mirrored on itself in Bytopia. In all of these places, travelers will sense a strangeness about the realms in which they roam, an alien nature different from the way of things on the Prime.
This effect is rather muted when one walks the Outer Planes; the nature of spells that allow travel to these realms and the comparative triviality of an individual mortal inside an infinity result in visitors being treated as little grains of curiosity rather than sand to be soaked through by the energy of the plane. It is most perceptible on Elysium and in Hades, where even the comparatively minor effects experienced by travelers are severe enough to be lethal.
When the extraplanar touches the Prime, though, the effect is at its fullest and most terrible, for the natures of the hereafter in all its forms contaminate the base reality of the Prime. Even a single lowly manes or lemure can, over time, cause a dreadful and toxic stain on the Prime Material Plane, one not easily remedied. Imagine how much worse a mighty glabrezu or fierce cornugon might warp reality, to say nothing of an open portal between Hell and the world of mortals. Of course, the dangers of planar contact are spoken of frequently in terms of the Lower Planes and in such a guise are quite familiar to those who combat or worship evil. Less recognized, though, is the comparative danger presented by celestials. The Upper Planes may seem joyous and benevolent, but their touch is no less dangerous, their contamination no less toxic. The otherworldly aura of a powerful archon or eladrin will kill a mortal just as surely as that of a devil or demon. For this reason, few celestials travel voluntarily to the Material Plane, and fewer still for a noteworthy length of time.
Otherworldly Auras
An otherworldly aura is projected by any outsider with one or more alignment subtypes as well as the extraplanar subtype who is fully present on the Material Plane. Summoned creatures are not fully present and do not project an otherworldly aura. While the magnitude and range of each aura will vary based on multiple factors, most especially the might of the outsider, all otherworldly auras have the same basic capacity to erode and destroy and even multiple weak auras can combine to pose a very serious threat. The traits of specific otherworldly auras depend on the nature of the outsider, but the common traits are defined below.
The strength of an otherworldly aura is equal to 1/2 the outsider's HD + the outsider's Charisma bonus + the outsider's Presence value (see below). Certain special factors can increase the magnitude of the aura. The base range of an otherworldly aura is determined by number of outsider HD possessed: up to 5 outsider HD, 30 feet; up to 10 outsider HD, 60 feet; up to 15, 90 feet; and up to 20, 120 feet. An outsider with more than 20 outsider HD adds 30 feet to this range per two outsider HD possessed above 20.
Presence
Presence is the sum of the three values found on the tables below.
Total HD
Presence
1
0
2
0
3
0
4
1
5
1
6
1
7
2
8
2
9
2
10
2
11
3
12
3
13
3
14
3
15
4
16
4
17
4
18
5
19
5
20
6
+5
+1
Highest Level SLA*
Presence
0th/none
Special
1st
0
2nd
0
3rd
1
4th
1
5th
2
6th
2
7th
2
8th
3
9th+
3
*excludes teleport without error and spell-like abilities listed outside of a "spell-like abilities" entry (i.e. a marilith's true seeing ability) or with use frequency less than 1/day (1/week and 1/year, for instance)
Outsider Subtype
Presence
None
-1
Archon
+2
Guardinal
+1
Eladrin
+2
Slaad
+3
Tanar'ri
+2
Yugoloth
+1
Baatezu
+2
Modron
+1
Rilmani
0
Obyrith
+5
Loumara
-3
A non-obyrith outsider which possesses no spell-like abilities or whose highest-level spell-like ability is a 0th level spell has no Presence value at all.
Sample Otherworldly Aura Strengths
Dretch: 4 (1 for HD + 1 for 3rd-level spell-like ability + 2 for tanar'ri subtype)
Ekolid: 10 (3 for HD + 1 Charisma + 1 for total HD + 5 for obyrith subtype)
Ghaele Eladrin: 14 (5 for HD + 3 Charisma + 2 for total HD + 2 for 7th-level spell-like ability + 2 for eladrin subtype)
Glabrezu: 19 (6 for HD + 5 Charisma + 3 for total HD + 3 for 8th-level spell-like ability + 2 for tanar'ri subtype)
Hound Archon: 8 (3 for HD + 1 Charisma + 1 for total HD + 1 for 3rd-level spell-like ability + 2 for archon subtype)
Imp: 3 (1 for HD + 2 Charisma + 1 for 3rd-level spell-like ability -1 for no outsider subtype)
Night Hag: 9 (4 for HD + 1 Charisma + 2 for total HD + 3 for 9th-level spell-like ability - 1 for no outsider subtype)
Osyluth: 12 (5 for HD + 2 Charisma + 2 for total HD + 1 for 4th-level spell-like ability + 2 for baatezu subtype)