afroakuma's Planar And Other Oddities Questions Thread VIII

[Khedrac]

Asmodeus chooses to fight the Blood War inside of Baator when possible (though this might be a 5eism), instead of in an external plane

This bit is actually fairly simple tactics. Baator, particularly Avernus (the entry layer) has a lot of really hot features where occupants are exposed to considerable amount of fire (or heat) damage. Since devils have fire immunity as a trait but demons only have fire resistance they can get quite a bit of tactical advantage usign these parts of Avernus.
(Paraphrased from somewhere in the 3.5 Fiendish Codexes iirc.)

[Tzardok]

That one was about the defensive methods of Baator. The vast majority of Blood War battles happen in Hades, on Oinos.

[Fable Wright]

Yep, it was very definitely a 5e-ism that made very little sense to me.

Quoth the second Fiendish Codex:

Against any enemy, devils fight cleverly. First and foremost,
they try to fight on any ground except their home plane, where
they die permanently if they are slain. Thus, they spend a
great deal of time trying to ensure that battles occur at times
and places of their own choosing—preferably when the foe
occupies lower ground or faces other terrain disadvantages.

Quoth the very bizarre passage from MToF:

The devils view fighting demons on Avernus as a net
benefit for their cause. Although most devils slain there
are destroyed forever, ready access to supplies and sup-
port from the Nine Hells tilts the tide heavily against in-
vading demons. Also, the prospect of a permanent death
compels the devils fighting on Avernus to obtain the
utmost readiness and coordination. [...]

If the devils ex-
tended a tenacious defense out to the planes beyond
Avernus, they could keep the demons away from Hell's
doorstep, but such a strategy would place a great strain
on supplies, reinforcements, and unit integrity. Although
the devils killed in such planes would recover, their
weapons, armor, and other materials would remain lost.

So, uh, forget that bit.

[afroakuma]

Celestial are able to be channeled. Fiends can develop the ability to possess mortals. Do the neutral exemplars have any comparable capabilities?

Not inherently aware of any. Of course, you can get a bit of slaad inside you... but that tends to go very poorly.

In general, none of them would want to - slaad like doing their own thing too much to want to ride shotgun in someone else's body; modrons have negative interest in making deals or getting involved with mortal affairs that do not concern them; and rilmani are famously neutral.

You have not, to my knowledge, shared your thoughts on the true history of the Baatorian genocide.

I don't think much of a "genocide" happened. I believe there was a long and terrible war against a profound force of evil, and the baatorians watched the celestial beings fighting against them becoming corrupted by their own methods getting darker and harsher with no small amount of glee. Ultimately, having determined the evil they so prized would not be purged from Baator, the vast majority of mature baatorians elected to ascend (descend?) to a new form of existence, one in which they could endlessly savor corruption and suffering.

A small number chose a different path, for various reasons; some delighted too much in the personal touch and elected to stick around. Some were merely content to enjoy their existences and prey on the newcomers, and these tended to lair in lower Hells where they could exert a nameless fear over the baatezu. Their leader, whose name I cannot say, challenged Asmodeus to confront him alone. Asmodeus emerged from the confrontation claiming victory, but then of course there was still the matter of the baatorian leader's daughter. Though the Lord Below claimed that she was allowed to survive as "spoils of war" and that he elected to give her as consort to his then-ally Mephistopheles, the truth is that part of the bargain he struck to take the throne involved her presence, and she elected to side with Mephistopheles over Asmodeus. As a message.

The original leaders of the celestial host became the first of the Nine, and their first power struggles ended with Asmodeus triumphant, as we all know. While most of his most trusted lieutenants had refused to challenge him, one upstart used the void created by the Lord Below's solo confrontation with the Adversary to claim dominion over the whole kit n'kaboodle. His name was we're not going to say what his name was but when he got demoted from boss of all the things to "have the Sixth as a consolation prize you smelly thing you" he was dubbed Beherit and ceased bearing light, if you know what I mean.

Now for something fun, I realized I arbitrarily stopped doing this a while back and I thought I'd kick it off again. Here's the archive list, if anyone knows of any that I missed, please do let me know.

Spoiler: Already Made

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Acheron
The Archives of Affliction

Baator
Castle of the Shuddering Rift

Carceri
The Peeler of Pelts
The Swamps of the Shrieking Tree

Elemental Plane of Air
Lasher clouds

Elemental Plane of Earth
The Ponos Cataract
Rasashadda

Gehenna
Castle of the Shuddering Rift

Hades
Castle of the Shuddering Rift
Feighetskog
The Thief of Years

Pandemonium
The Spire of Shattered Legs

Para-Elemental Plane of Ooze
The Glistening City

Plane of Shadow
The Web of Stolen Stars

Ysgard
Glaesisvettir

Spoiler: Afan al-Ramad

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Not a lot of things scare a fire elemental, let alone an efreeti, and invaders from the Prime Material Plane are normally quite low on the list of possible concerns. The environment of the Elemental Plane of Fire is so inhospitable to the majority of Prime life-forms that even with the aid of powerful magic to survive, their capacity to meaningfully threaten the locals is generally pretty trivial. Generally.

Of course, invasive pests succeed precisely because they bring something into an ecosystem that has no context for them and no response to them. Such is the case with the sporebats^FF that were shunted into the Plane of Fire by a wizard trying to destroy the predatory fungal creatures, one who did not do his homework on them beforehand. While a few of the creatures were unable to adapt, most thrived in the environment (as sporebats are fireproof) and rapidly came to dominate the immediate area's ecosystem, slaughtering mephits, azers, and efreet and using their corpses as fertilizer for new generations of sporebats more adapted to the Plane of Fire. The surreal result, over centuries, is the existence of a bizarre anaerobic "forest" miles in diameter haunting a chunk of the Plane of Fire. Known to the efreet as Afan al-Ramad, it is a place of death and fear for the locals, who avoid it with great prejudice while fearfully looking out for more of the predatory fungus fiends.

Naturally, such a location has captured the imagination of more than one rogue druid hoping to protect her wildlands against forest fires. Extracting spores from Afan al-Ramad is a dangerous business, but even worse might be letting the infestation loose on a Material Plane world, one which is unprepared for the scourge of flying fiery fungus.

Spoiler: Skiffers

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The Negative Energy Plane is a deadly place for the unprepared traveller, and not much more welcoming to those who are prepared. Largely devoid of any kind of inhabitants except for the occasional undead, the endless night of the plane does nothing to suggest any form of ecosystem.

Nevertheless, some truly unusual beings do call this place home, and among their number are the bahar al-Layl, or "skiffers," who ply narrow boatlike vessels through the vast entropic abyss, homing in on anything that arrives in the plane that doesn't belong there. Cloaked in a reflective illusion that makes them appear to be emaciated grey-skinned sailors of the same race as the one viewing them, they are in truth aberrations with one arm, one long twisting anterior limb that links them to the "rudder" of their vessel, and no head to speak of. Skiffers are almost always true neutral in alignment, though this does not exactly make them safe travelling companions - their diet is entropic potential, and while they savor the flavor created the longer something endures the Negative Energy Plane's hungering void, they do not truly feel satiated until entropy has caught up with whatever has been escaping it.

Skiffers can be negotiated with, though they are poor conversationalists, and will provide aid for a time to those visiting the dark plane. They have the natural ability to impart protection from negative energy to their guests. A single skiffer's vessel can comfortably accommodate two Medium-size creatures besides the skiffer itself.

[Tzardok]

Apropos negative plane, is it known which entities forged the Dead Truce with the Dustmen and what they get out of the deal?

[afroakuma]

Apropos negative plane, is it known which entities forged the Dead Truce with the Dustmen and what they get out of the deal?

Nope.

Spoiler: Yirtika Caverns

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The caves the dao call yirtika, sometimes referred to as grandfather caverns, can be found from time to time in explorations of the Elemental Plane of Earth. Dao employ slaves to harvest gemstones from these stalagmite-filled pockets, which have a distressingly high incidence of mysterious fatalities. The gemstones of yirtika caves include not only regular gems, but also the truly rare yirtika crystals, which require a DC 30 Appraise check to tell apart from other crystals. When properly treated with exposure to cold for 10 hours or more, a yirtika crystal can be worked by a master artisan into a gemstone that can be employed as an additional focus for spells with the Earth descriptor to increase their caster level by 1 and their DC by 2 (if applicable).

While highly valued by dwarves, gnomes, and dao, yirtika crystals are a deadly commodity to seek out. The stone columns within these pockets, the so-called grandfathers, seem to possess some ability to bring down misfortune on those who trespass in their lands. They are not earth elementals of any known kind, but it is evident that when the local wildlife take pains to avoid these pockets in the plane, something horrid is amiss. That "something" has been described by survivors as anything from massive rocky serpents rising from the ground to taloned appendages reaching out from the walls to crush interlopers. Sages have attributed these tales to half-remembered encounters with Material Plane cave predators such as darkmantles, lurkers above, or ropers; whatever the case, one thing is always certain - that those who fail to properly chill a yirtika crystal harvested from a grandfather cavern usually turn up dead.

Spoiler: Whisperwind Shafts

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A strange and unwelcoming phenomenon found in some of the more rugged and mountainous regions of Dothion, first layer of Bytopia, the so-called whisperwind shafts are tunnel networks that descend into the earth - some apparently natural, others formed from mine shafts and other intentional processes. Regardless of the origin of any given entrance to the tunnel network, however, the depths show themselves to be roughly hewn - some would say gnawed - rather than properly worked and reinforced. Whisperwind shafts can always be recognized by the strange "hooked" or "melted" configuration of stalactites and stalagmites, which bend or even curl as though made of some soft, malleable material that had been heated. Of course, this observation is functionally secondary to the more immediate indicator - the sound of wind creating a "whisper" effect, which appears to resemble hushed voices talking rapidly in a language known to the listener but just a hair too quiet to make out clearly. The whispering comes from deeper into the shaft, and may lead off into side tunnels.

Explorers have reported that whisperwind shafts can (somehow) connect to Shurrock, the second layer, despite the fact that Shurrock sits opposite Dothion in an inverted configuration and should be impossible to reach via tunnelling. Inhabitants of Shurrock avoid the shaft entrances on their side, and if alerted to the existence of one are likely to make efforts to board it up and ward travellers away.

Whisperwind shafts are disorienting and unnerving; travellers report being unable to secure meaningful rest while inside (starting each day fatigued no matter how many hours of sleep a creature has had, and unable to remove fatigue by resting while within the shafts). Parts of the tunnel network appear to deaden darkvision, such that a source of illumination is required even for creatures normally able to see perfectly fine in the dark. Web spells and similar effects fail to function within the shafts, as do spider climb effects. Spiders of any kind will not enter the tunnel network, even under compulsion - physical force is required and the spider will display extreme panic (as the panicked condition) for the first 10 minutes, then act as though paralyzed until removed from the shafts. No spider can be conjured to appear within.

Encounters in the tunnels are few and far between, but predominantly involve a feylike being of stone known as a gormlyn. These creatures appear to lurk in the shadows of the tunnel system, resembling bluish-black rocks slick with water. Stealthy and generally uncommunicative, gormlyns appear in small numbers to those travelling from Dothion to Shurrock, but are noted to arrive in considerably larger numbers when travel is attempted in the opposite direction. The creatures whisper in a language that always sounds familiar but meaningless to the listener, and while in small numbers they may be bribed with shiny objects, they are noted to grow hostile when offered same while in groups. Gormlyns are not known to appear in other parts of Bytopia, but have been encountered in remote parts of the Outlands, and some adventurers swear to have discovered them in Arcadia (they are incorrect) and Pandemonium (uncertain accuracy).

Gormlyns are spellwarped^MM3 mineral warrior^Und boggles^MM2 with the following spell-like abilities: At will - dead end^SC, ghost sound; 3/day - ray of clumsiness^SC; 1/day - invisibility. Caster level equal to HD, save DCs Charisma-based. Some advanced gormlyns demonstrate the ability to use guards and wards and/or phantasmal disorientation^SC. Gormlyns are aberrations with the extraplanar and earth subtypes and are nearly always true neutral in alignment. They speak only their own language and are disinclined to converse with others as a general rule. They will fight to the death to avoid being removed from the whisperwind shafts. Rumor has it that those who have been extracted and brought to settlements where gnomes or gnome petitioners reside transform into gnomes after 24 hours, though nobody seems keen to conduct experiments to confirm this.

[Brookshw]

I mean, in the case of that alternate future Raistlin, pretty sure he just killed gods until there were none left to know about him.

What does an alternate future that never comes to pass look like on temporal prime? Does it exist in any capacity?

[afroakuma]

What does an alternate future that never comes to pass look like on temporal prime? Does it exist in any capacity?

If one could perceive it from afar, it would look like a river entirely comprised of ghost lines; however, as this is extraordinarily unlikely, you're only going to see it if you unwisely wander into a "node" and end up thrown onto that alternate reality's timeline, in which case it will look real to you, and you can step out into it; it came to pass from your frame of reference. However, if you cross into a node in this way and end up in an alternate timeline, you cannot get out again. Even if you travel back in time and try to cross into another reality that could have branched off, you will fail.

Krynn is particularly dangerous for nodes; every Dragon War constitutes a node, as does the Cataclysm, the Solamnic founding, the Greygem's active cycle, and the entire lifetime of Raistlin Majere, who was personally acquainted with chronomancy and took great pains to ward others off from messing with his timeline. Toril's timestream is less inherently stable, which means fewer branches but a much higher potential to swerve as a whole - so a lot of powerful forces work to monitor chronomantic shenanigans. Oerth's is similarly unstable but multiple gods with an interest in time exist who take pains to keep things from going insane, though sites like Tovag Baragu speak to the potent instability so described.

Spoiler: The Happy Hindrances

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Dobies are fey known on some worlds of the Prime Material Plane, helpful-minded cousins of the brownies whose well-meaning but short-sighted "assistance" has a habit of making things worse for those they try to aid. Their cousins on Bytopia, the bwbachs ("boo-backs"), refine this to a science. Chiefly found on Dothion, the first layer, bwbachs stir the pot whenever they think that someone is taking it a bit too easy - always in minor and friendly ways, but the results can be a few hours of additional work that wasn't planned to be taken on, oftentimes just to get back to par rather than producing anything more than was expected. While their lessons are usually quite friendly, it must be remembered that they are still fey, and despite their good natures they can become dangerous antagonists when they perceive malicious or exploitative action instead of mere laziness.

Bwbachs are pixies with the celestial template applied. They do not possess special arrows. Their spell-like abilities (which replace those of a pixie) are as follows: At will - calm animals, charm animal, distort speech^SC, ghost sound, longstrider, obscure object, open/close, sleep, stick[/I]^SC; 1/day - bestow curse, dispel magic, entangle, lesser confusion, ray of enfeeblement. Caster level 8th, save DCs Charisma-based. Bwbachs are normally lawful good or neutral good and chiefly fight with simple melee bludgeoning weapons.

[wah3]

Is there any canon (or failing that, speculation) on Greek mythology's 5 rivers of the Underworld other than the Styx i.e. the Lethe, Cocytus, Acheron or Pyriphlegethon?

Some notes from research:

The Lethe, River of Forgetfulness, is noted in the bottom layers of Hell and the Gray Waste, but with no known inflow or outflow, or any way of traveling on it. In myth it is in Heaven as well (along with the contrasting Eunoe, the River of Remembrance). It'd be quite a twist to have a direct route from the Upper to Lower Planes (along with Mount Olympus).

The Cocytus, River of Forgetfulness, is noted in Nessus, the 9th later of the Hells, but a s a frozen lake rather than a river. In myth it flows thru Hades' realm of the Underwork (i.e. Pluton in the Gray Waste). Given its name you'd think there'd be some connection with Cocytus, the 2nd layer of Pandemonium.

The Acheron, Acherous or Akherontis, River of Pain and Woe, seems to be only in myth and homebrew, flowing from the layer of Ocanthus in Acheron thru Hades' realm of the Underworld (i.e. Pluton in the Gray Waste).

The Phlegethon or Pyriphlegethon, River of Fire, seems to be only in myth and homebrew. According to various sources it flows from Mount Erebus on Phlegethos, the 4th layer of the Hells, thru Pluton in the Gray Waste, various layers of the Abyss, the Hinterlands of The Outlands, and back to Avernus in the Nine Hells.

[afroakuma]

Is there any canon (or failing that, speculation) on Greek mythology's 5 rivers of the Underworld other than the Styx i.e. the Lethe, Cocytus, Acheron or Pyriphlegethon?

The Lethe is explicitly present in Hades's divine realm, the Underworld, where it bears the same famous property of forgetting. Then again, the Styx does that too. The Lethe actually splits off from the Styx. The rest, canonically, don't exist as such, unsurprising as their names belong to different parts of the Lower Planes. I would surmise that the error arose from distributaries of the Styx flowing into the various layers and taking on interesting qualities as a result, and the marraenoloths under Charon plying their trades on these. The River Acheron likely flows through Avalas, cutting through steely cubes weighed down with the blood of a thousand pointless wars and the screams of a million soldiers realizing the futility behind their anguish. The River Cocytus carves its way through the Pandemonium layer of the same name, picking up the howls of madness and lamentation for the loss of hope that characterize the wailing tunnels of that horrid place. The River Pyriphlegethon runs through Phlegethon, acquiring its signature flames and drawing them into itself to become a river of burning torture deep within the Nine Hells of Baator.

[Thurbane]

Which NPCs are most well known for "multiverse hopping", or visiting alternate Prime Material Planes?

I know there was a series of Dragon articles where Elminster, Mordenkainen and some Krynn guy...Dalamar (?) use to catch up.

Any other notable examples, either from canon or headcanon?

[Khedrac]

Which NPCs are most well known for "multiverse hopping", or visiting alternate Prime Material Planes?

I know there was a series of Dragon articles where Elminster, Mordenkainen and some Krynn guy...Dalamar (?) use to catch up.

Any other notable examples, either from canon or headcanon?

Murlynd (the Greyhawk quasi-deity) is famous for having brought six-shooters back from another world while still a mortal.

[Tzardok]

Don't know wether they count, but St. Cuthbert hails originally from Earth, and the canonical descriptions of the Aztec pantheon in 1e claim that they live on an alternate Material instead of the Outer Planes.

[Eldan]

Which NPCs are most well known for "multiverse hopping", or visiting alternate Prime Material Planes?

I know there was a series of Dragon articles where Elminster, Mordenkainen and some Krynn guy...Dalamar (?) use to catch up.

Any other notable examples, either from canon or headcanon?

For Planescape specifically, Rowan Darkwood, head of the Fated. He's actually a bit of an injoke on power gamers in second edition, given that he's an epic level ranger/cleric who has, according to his backstory, completed most of the famous dungeons/adenture paths of the multiverse: he is said to have fought in the Demonweb Pits, the Bloodstone Wars, the Nine Hells, drank from the Well of Mimir, has been to Undermountain, the Temple of Elemental Evil, the Temple of the Toad, the Caverns of the Giants and the Tomb of Horrors...

[Caelestion]

And in what seems like a dig at "good-aligned" power gamers, he eventually commits an act of undeniable evil that kicks off the Faction War.

[Thealtruistorc]

Would you say that the re-emergence of Karsus that acts as the instigating even in "An Old Man Died Today" would qualify as an Elder Evil? Certainly, he seems to have an vested interest in the Material Plane and seems capable of affecting events on a grand scale. If yes, how would you stat him?

[Bad Wolf]

Apologies if this isn't your wheelhouse, but what's the best/largest source of fluff for the Aasimar in 3rd edition? It feels like the planetouched are a little underwritten.

[redking]

Would you say that the re-emergence of Karsus that acts as the instigating even in "An Old Man Died Today" would qualify as an Elder Evil? Certainly, he seems to have an vested interest in the Material Plane and seems capable of affecting events on a grand scale. If yes, how would you stat him?

According to the FR wiki, Karsus was either Neutral or Chaotic Neutral in alignment. That being, it would be extremely implausible for Karsus to be an Elder Evil. Even if Karsus was evil, you've got to be a special kind of evil to be an Elder Evil.

[Tzardok]

According to the FR wiki, Karsus was either Neutral or Chaotic Neutral in alignment. That being, it would be extremely implausible for Karsus to be an Elder Evil. Even if Karsus was evil, you've got to be a special kind of evil to be an Elder Evil.

Not really. One of the canonical Elder Evils, the Leviathan, is after all CN.

[wah3]

Are there powerful beings associated each of the great planar rivers?

The Styx has Charon.

Mythology has Saraswati the One Who Flows, daughter of Shiva and consort of Brahma, the Indian intermediate goddess of knowledge, wisdom, learning, speech, memory, art, music and rivers, who is said to dwell along the Oceanus. There is also the titan Oceanus (perhaps before he was banished to Porphatys on Carceri)? and his eldest daughter Styx, titaness of magic, crossroads, the moon, ghosts, necromancy, oaths, hatred and devastation, who lives in a grotto at the edge of Hades where the River Styx flows forth. And Lethe, the goddess of forgetfulness and oblivion, who is the daughter of Eris, the goddess of discord, and a granddaughter of Nyx of Erebus, the goddess of night.

[afroakuma]

Would you say that the re-emergence of Karsus that acts as the instigating even in "An Old Man Died Today" would qualify as an Elder Evil?

If he ended up within spitting distance of actually manifesting, certainly. The entire premise of "An Old Man Died Today" is that the gods basically see an Elder Evil coming and drastically alter their world to prevent it, quite successfully as well.

Apologies if this isn't your wheelhouse, but what's the best/largest source of fluff for the Aasimar in 3rd edition? It feels like the planetouched are a little underwritten.

These threads, arguably; there have been a couple of articles in Dragon Magazine about planetouched, but by and large the best source will be poking me for nonsense.

Are there powerful beings associated each of the great planar rivers?

Not... really. Semuanya could be considered related to the River Ma'at, as its source is the divine realm of that power. Charon, as you noted, plies the Styx. The Oceanus doesn't have anyone - the closest thing is a terribly tenuous connection with Selûne.

[Fable Wright]

Google is failing me: What is "An Old Man Died Today"? Where does it come from?

[Bohandas]

Google is failing me: What is "An Old Man Died Today"? Where does it come from?

I was wondering this as well

[MinimanMidget]

It's on the first page of this very thread.

I'm not entirely sure I have ever elaborated on it, come to think of it...

The fundamental idea is that the Realms come under threat due to the machinations of Karsus, the extremely-temporary deity of magic, more recently a vestige. A veeeery long-term plan to pull himself back into reality through the Weave is reliant on there being a high concentration of Mystra's power to jack into, which would be Elminster. If he were to do so, Karsus's residual backdoor into the godhead of Mystryl would result in absolute catastrophe for a second time. Of course, Mystra, as a greater goddess, can sense the threat to her power several weeks out, and starts laying plans.

Ultimately, Elminster chooses to pass of old age, relinquishing his Chosen immortality, and goes peacefully in his sleep after a pleasant meal with his assistant. When the threat doesn't clear, Mystra recalls her power from the other Chosen, and other gods are swift to follow suit, fearful that the willing withdrawal of the goddess of magic must be an indicator of grave danger to their own power (which hey, they are not wrong, there is a chance that any concentration of divine power that large could serve as Karsus's host). With so many individual casters reduced in power, and many of the greater evils (liches, etc.) choosing to flee the sphere entirely and set up shop elsewhere, uncertainty reigns as the greatest arcane powers are concentrated in artifacts and relics of past ages, many of which are in the trapped but now vacant domains of said greater evils.

The Red Wizards fall back into their towers and fortresses, weakening the magocratic foundations of Thay, as they jockey for scraps of power in the new diminished regime, fearful of a plot by the absent Szass Tam. Bane's forces in the north strike an uneasy peace with the Dalelands with neither side trusting the other. Shar is too cautious to believe Mystra has left a true power vacuum, but in an era of fear and loss, she's already making out like a bandit, so she doesn't care. In the far south, Zakhara's sha'irs quest to other lands to explore the weakening of magic.

Meanwhile, Talos has discovered that in a time when Shar and her Shadow Weave have backed off, and Bane is down a number of powerful wizards and uberclerics, destruction has a pretty good day. First among the greater powers to be willing to risk committing his own might onto the world once more, he has come with a plan - a plan taking place in a corner of the world so pivotal, yet so obscure, that nobody really saw it coming. In the so-called Utter East, beyond Durpar and the Golden Water, beyond even Ulgarth, the Five Kingdoms are the site of ancient fonts of primal magic, channeled by powerful artifacts known as "bloodforges" that were used in ages past to create living armies of pure magic to wage war on one another. Talos plans to seize the bloodforges and use the most ancient magics of the world to sow destruction and chaos, becoming the preeminent deity of darkness.

Lastly, a group of terrifying riders cloaked in black, redolent with the stench of the grave, have appeared across the Realms, all of them conducting unusual errands as they gradually converge on the Five Kingdoms, each bearing the symbol of a long-gone Lord of the Dead. The church of Kelemvor investigates these sightings with growing alarm, worried about the possibility that in this age of shadow, Myrkul may yet return.



Only one mention outside of the monster references that I've seen; it's noted that she's a lesser power or demipower of the Celtic pantheon, and resides in Tir na nOg with them.



Doubtful.



Hard no.

[Thurbane]

My knowledge of Planescape is pretty limited, but I've been interested in Dabus ever since reading about them in EttDP.

I don't have the fluff in front of me right now, but do Dabus ever "go rogue" and leave Sigil/leave the service of the Lady of Pain?

Do they ever just go off to do their own thing, or even become adventurers?

[enderlord99]

I don't have the fluff in front of me right now, but do Dabus ever "go rogue" and leave Sigil

No.

leave the service of the Lady of Pain?

Fell did, sorta, but otherwise not.

[afroakuma]

My knowledge of Planescape is pretty limited, but I've been interested in Dabus ever since reading about them in EttDP.

I don't have the fluff in front of me right now, but do Dabus ever "go rogue" and leave Sigil/leave the service of the Lady of Pain?

No. The only case of a dabus "going rogue" was when one took up the mantle of a priest of Aoskar, and even then he stayed in Sigil. Even though the Lady was...

...let us say unhappy...

...when she found out, he's still there and going about his day. He doesn't float, though, which is why he's been nicknamed Fell.

Do they ever just go off to do their own thing, or even become adventurers?

No and no.

[redking]

...when she found out, he's still there and going about his day. He doesn't float, though, which is why he's been nicknamed Fell.

Creating a simulacrum of a Dabus would be an interesting experiment. If floating is a boon granted by the Lady of Pain, then a Dabus simulacrum should not float.

[Khedrac]

Speaking of the Dabus, one thing that puzzled me - how do they interact with races that don't use sight?
Their communication system is the sort of thing that for me would be fun in a novel, but would be an absolute pain for the DM for any encounter not pre-scripted. Anyway back to the unsighted:

As a sight-only illusion, I am not sure how it would interact with the following alternatives to "vision":
blindsense/blindsight - almost certainly don't show up
mindsight - might show up as only in the mind
tremorsense - nope
lifesense - nope

Going back to 2nd Ed I cannot remember if high Intelligence scores made one immune to illusions as in 1st Ed, if so what level of spell would the dabus comms count as - I could see a high-ranking planar representative turn up and not even realise they are trying to communicate with them!
Also on the 2nd Ed front - presumably they should not show up to infravision either (though I don't remember any races with infravision but not normal sight).

Spoiler: mild rant about Planescape that goes off topic

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Sorry, but one reason I never took to Planescape when it launched was the way they invented a new slang and wrote everything in it - I am bad at languages so having to learn a new one to play AD&D did not appeal. I also thought it elitist - it felt like it was designed so that those who mastered the slang could look down on the 'berks' who didn't. As such I did not encounter the Dabus until 3rd Ed - at which point their comms method comes out as insulting to the visually impaired.
And another thing - while 'berk' is a pretty mild insult here in the UK, its derivation is cockney rhyming slang for an extremely insulting term so did WotC really have to use it as the common insult for people new to the planes? Even back in 1990 they should have known to invent a new word rather than repurpose and existing insult.

[Tzardok]

As far as we know the Dabus can only communicate with seeing beings. I don't see how that comes as insulting to the visually impaired, unless using spoken speach is insulting to the hearing impaired.

As for the slang, well, the whole Cant is based on Cockney Rhyming Slang, so why not use the words that are already there?