Web Enhancement Brave new Planes.pdf

Brave New Planes

Variant Planes in Your Campaigns:

A Manual of the PlanesWeb Enhancement

by Jeff Grubb

The new Manual of the Planes book isn’t just a toybox

filled with cool completed toys. It’s also a toolbox you

can use to create your own planes. Like the earlier edi-

tion, this one goes into great detail on the core cosmol-

ogy of the D&D ® game universe. Unlike the previous

version, however, this book also includes a number of

variant planes that you can use in addition to (or

instead of ) the Core Planes. In this way, you can create

a unique fantasy universe of your own, molded to fit

the needs of your campaign. Your universe need not be

the same as another DM’s, any more than two

dungeons in your campaign world need to be the same,

though they may use the same components.

The various planes are categorized into five general

groups. The Material Planes are the various campaign

worlds in which characters may adventure. The Outer

Planes are the homes of gods and other great powers, as

well as the “final resting places” for spirits of the dead.

The Inner Planes are wellsprings of elemental forces

and pure energy—the building blocks of the cosmol-

ogy. Demiplanes are finite planes with limited access,

often created by magical force and mortal endeavors.

Stitching all these together are the Transitive Planes,

which allow movement along and often between other

planes. In the core cosmology, the Astral Plane, the

Ethereal Plane, and the Plane of Shadow are all Transi-

tive Planes. The World Serpent Inn (described in detail

below) is also a Transitive Plane. You can use it in addi-

tion to the core Transitive Planes, or as a replacement

for one of them.

WORLD SERPENT INN: A

PLANE

The World Serpent Inn is both a place and a non-

place, existing in multiple planes simultaneously

and nowhere at all. It is a gathering place for dead

races, unborn gods, forgotten heroes, restless ghosts,

and the engineers of worlds as yet uncreated. Almost

all the inhabitants of the Inn are travelers, either by

design or by chance. Many have simply stopped here

during journeys to other places, while others came to

the Inn accidentally, then realized they could not get

home.

The central chamber of the World Serpent Inn

resembles nothing so much as an ancient tavern, with

plank floors underfoot and venerable wooden beams

overhead. This “common room” is a large, rectangular

chamber dominated by a pair of flagstone fireplaces,

one at each end. Great tables and heavy oak chairs fill

the space in between, and patrons gather around these

tables in groups of twos and threes to chat. A balcony

with more tables, accessible via a spiral staircase in one

corner, forms a partial second floor for the chamber.

There are no windows, either on the ground floor or

along the balcony. Corridors lead off from both floors

Additional Credits

Editing

Penny Williams

Typesetting:

Sue Cook

Web Production:

Julia Martin

Web Development:

Mark Jindra

Graphic Design:

Sean Glenn, Cynthia Fliege

Based on the original D UNGEONS & D RAGONS ® game by E.

Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson and on the new edition of the

D UNGEONS & D RAGONS game designed by Jonathan Tweet,

Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Rich Baker, and Peter Adkison.

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VARIANT TRANSITIVE

of the common room into other parts of the World Ser-

pent Inn (see World Serpent Inn Features, below).

The World Serpent Inn is a Transitive Plane that can

replace the Astral Plane in D&D core cosmology, or in

cosmologies that eschew the Astral Plane. While the

Astral Plane is generally accessible from any point on

other planes, the World Serpent Inn is coterminous

with (connected to) a given other plane at only one par-

ticular point at a time, and sometimes not at all (see

World Serpent Inn Links, below).

• Alterable Morphic Trait: The items and terrain

native to the plane can be affected by normal

actions (brute force, magic, and the like).

• No Elemental or Alignment Traits: The World Ser-

pent Inn has no tendencies favoring one particular

element or alignment over another.

• Minor Positive Energy Dominant Trait: The World

Serpent Inn has a mild affinity for positive energy,

which makes it seem more vibrant than most

other planes. All individuals in the Inn gain fast

healing 2 and may even regrow lost limbs over

time.

• Impeded Magic: All spells and spell-like abili-

ties, whether arcane or divine in nature, are

impeded within the World Serpent Inn. To cast a

spell or use a spell-like ability, a creature must

make a successful Spellcraft check (DC 15 + the

spell’s level).

• Damage Reduction: While within the common

room of the Inn, all individuals gain damage

reduction 10/–. Leaving the common room

negates this benefit.

• Visibility: This unique trait of the World Serpent

Inn grants all within the ability to see invisible to

the limits of their normal sight range as though

affected by a see invisibilityspell. As a result, invis-

ible and ethereal creatures are plainly visible to

everyone with any sort of visual capability, though

ethereal beings remain incorporeal. Potions of

invisibilityand rings of invisibilitysimply do not

function here.

World Serpent Inn Traits

Each plane has attributes known as traits, which

define the basic laws operating within that particular

part of the universe. These traits include the nature of

gravity and time, the size and sometimes the shape of

the plane, and how stable it is. (That is, are its features

relatively fixed, or can they be moved around by magic,

mental powers, godly decrees, or just plain brute

force?) Elemental or energy traits, normally the

province of the Inner Planes, represent affinities with

particular elemental or energy forces. Alignment traits,

which often define the Outer Planes, indicate a disposi-

tion of the plane and its inhabitants toward one or

more of the standard alignments. A plane may also have

magical traits, which affect the way magic works there.

For example, some magical traits enhance spells and

spell-like abilities, causing them to function as if

affected by one or more metamagic feats (such as

Quicken Spell, Extend Spell, or the like). Others

impede magic, typically making spells more difficult to

cast and spell-like abilities more difficult to use, but not

negating them entirely. Finally, a plane may have its

own unique traits. One such trait might cause a particu-

lar spell or spell-like effect to work in a certain way,

while another might grant special abilities to inhabi-

tants and transients alike while they are within the

planar boundaries.

The World Serpent Inn has the following traits.

World Serpent Inn Links

The Inn’s primary portal (called the main entrance)

connects its common room with first one destination,

then another, seemingly at random. On the connected

plane, the portal usually takes on an appearance appro-

priate for its surroundings, such as a never-before-

noticed storefront in town, a roadside tavern conve-

niently placed to provide shelter from a storm, or a

cavern revealed by a rockslide. Anachronistic appear-

ances are possible, but rare.

Often, it seems as though the World Serpent Inn is

waiting for a particular individual or group to cross its

threshold. Once that occurs, the portal vanishes, only

to open anew elsewhere—on either the same con-

nected plane or a new one. Roll on the table below to

determine the portal’s new location.

The portal, regardless of its appearance, is always

marked with the symbol of a serpent curled into a hori-

zontal figure eight (the sign of infinity), eating its own

• Normal Gravity: Gravity is the same as it is for

your regular campaign.

• Timeless: In the World Serpent Inn, creatures do

not age. They do hunger and thirst, however, so

food is provided from a kitchen alongside the

common room. This kitchen, in turn, connects

with vast catacombs and warehouses.

• Infinite Size: Though the World Serpent Inn is

limited by walls, floors, and ceilings, it extends for-

ever. Visitors can wander through the back pas-

sages and chambers forever, or until they find

themselves back in the common room.

Random Portal Appearance Table

Main Entrance, World Serpent Inn

occur mostly in the back rooms and corridors. Such

portals usually lead to the wild, desolate reaches of

Deep Shadow.

Connected Plane

1–50

Material Plane (if previously on the

Material Plane, then a new location there)

World Serpent Inn Inhabitants

An ever-changing cast of characters, including

githyanki, illithids, outsiders, planetouched, half-ele-

mentals, humans, and humanoids, can be encountered

in the World Serpent Inn. At any given time, between

one and two dozen travelers are lounging in the

common room. Some have lived in the Inn for years

and remember no other life. Others are waiting for por-

tals to open to particular locations so that they can find

loved ones, complete quests, or just return home.

The minor positive energy and damage reduction

traits reduce the incidence of death in the common

room, though they by no means eliminate it. Brawls

are frequent there, particularly between sworn ene-

mies (such as celestials and devils, or githyanki and

illithids).

The one permanent inhabitant of the World Serpent

Inn is the barkeep, Mitchifer. He always appears as a

large, bearded, human male, but his abilities (and even

his character class) seem to change depending upon

the situation. Regardless of his specific abilities, he is

always 20th level or higher, and he most often seems to

be a fighter. Speculation runs rife that Mitchifer is a

refugee of one cosmic faction or another, or perhaps

even a god or former deity in his own right. There have

been reports of his death over the years, but he has

always returned.

Mitchifer provides newcomers with basic informa-

tion about the Inn. (“Food’s on the house. Leave when

you’re ready. Management is not responsible for loss of

property or life in the back rooms.”) Beyond that, he

swears ignorance, though he often hooks up like-

minded individuals in the common room or recom-

mends a source for particular information that some-

one seeks. Mitchifer employs an ever-changing crew of

waitstaff and cooks, some of whom are former travelers

who have chosen to remain and serve. Should he not be

present, one of these employees or another traveler

greets new arrivals and acquaints them with the law of

the land.

Mitchifer may or may not be a god or godlike power,

but his superior (known only as “ The Owner”) proba-

bly is a deity—perhaps even of Uber-God status. The

nature and identity of the Owner is a common topic of

conversation around the fireplace. Most travelers

assume that this being can determine where the

common room’s portal next opens, and Mitchifer lends

51–60

Alternate Material Plane

61–62

The Seven Mounting Heavens of Celestia

63–64

The Twin Paradises of Bytopia

65–66

The Blessed Fields of Elysium

67–68

The Wilderness of the Beastlands

69–70

The Olympian Glades of Arborea

71–72

The Heroic Domains of Ysgard

73–74

The Ever-Changing Chaos of Limbo

75–76

The Windswept Depths of Pandemonium

77–78

The Infinite Layers of the Abyss

79–80

The Tarterian Depths of Carceri

81–82

The Gray Waste of Hades

83–84

The Bleak Eternity of Gehenna

85–86

The Nine Hells of Baator

87–88

The Infernal Battlefield of Acheron

89–90

The Clockwork Nirvana of Mechanus

91–92

The Peaceable Kingdoms of Arcadia

93–94

The Concordant Domain of the Outlands

Plane of Elemental Fire

Plane of Elemental Earth

Plane of Elemental Air

Plane of Elemental Water

Positive or Negative Energy Plane

(roll d% again; a result of 1–50 indicates

the positive energy plane, and 51–00

indicates the negative energy plane)

Demiplane (DM’s Choice)

tail. The door, if there is one, is never locked, and it

opens into the World Serpent Inn’s common room.

This main entrance is a two-way portal, though as

noted above, its destination changes frequently. The

Inn also has hundreds of other exits, which are accessi-

ble from a maze of passages leading out of the common

room in all directions. Most of these other exits are

one-way portals, and they are usually (though not

always) clearly marked. Some always lead to the same

plane, but others have variable destinations.

The World Serpent Inn has its own Ethereal Plane,

which does not connect to the Ethereal Plane coexis-

tent with the Material Plane. Like its counterpart, this

Ethereal Plane is home to creatures such as ethereal

filchers and ghosts. The Inn’s Ethereal Plane coexists

primarily with its back rooms and corridors, but the

presence of a powerful ghost may cause a tendril of it to

reach into the common room from time to time.

Because of the Inn’s visibility trait, ethereal creatures

are visible to those within the Inn.

The World Serpent Inn is also coterminous with the

Plane of Shadow, but again the points of connection

credence to this theory by occasionally taking requests

for destinations. Sometimes, such requests are fulfilled,

though there seems to be no pattern as to which are ful-

filled and how soon.

Storage Room: These rooms are little more than clos-

ets filled with supplies, unused furnishings, and food

or treasure stashed here by travelers who never found

their way back. Roll d% to determine the exact contents

of the room. A result of 1–40 indicates food, 41–80 indi-

cates linen, 81–95 indicates old furniture, and 95–00

indicates treasure. Any treasure in a storage room is

appropriate for a 6th-level encounter and has an 80%

chance of being trapped in some way.

Demiplane: This two-way portal is the sole access to a

random demiplane. Effectively, this is a chunk of some

other reality that has hung onto the World Serpent Inn

during its planar perambulations.

Portal: The door opens onto another plane. Roll ran-

domly for its destination on the Random Portal Appear-

ance Table for the main entrance. This is a one-way

portal that disappears when the main entrance changes

its destination.

World Serpent Inn Features

Beyond the common room, the World Serpent Inn is a

mass of twisting hallways and passages, broken by

numerous doors and staircases to other levels. Some of

the doors are portals to other planes, while others lead

to libraries, studies, storage chambers, and rooms for

the various inhabitants.

Use the following table to determine the features

encountered by anyone moving randomly about the

back rooms.

Nature of the World Serpent Inn’s

Back Rooms and Hallways

Type of Feature

Mapping the back rooms and passages is possible, but

such maps are valid only as long as the Inn’s main

entrance remains coterminous with a particular plane.

When it changes connecting planes, the back rooms

and hallways shuffle as well, forcing those within to

map their surroundings again.

Sometimes the movement of walls caused by such a

shift cuts off a few back rooms and passages entirely

from the rest of the World Serpent Inn. If these areas

are uninhabited, they tend to disappear. If they are

inhabited, those within may break through the wooden

walls to reconnect with the Inn. (Alternatively, at the

DM’s option, breaking through a wall can cause that

portion of the World Serpent Inn to shear off and

dump those within it unceremoniously into a random

plane.) Characters can use spells such as find the path

to locate particular spots within the World Serpent

Inn—such as the closet where they stashed a vorpal

sword before the main entrance changed connections.

Getting truly lost in the back rooms is difficult. A trav-

eler wishing to return to the common room merely has

to make that his or her goal. After that, every new door

has a 10% chance of leading back to a familiar area

(such as one of the hallways leading to the common

room, the balcony, or the warehouses near the kitchen).

Though killing an opponent is difficult given the

plane’s fast healing trait, subdual works normally. As a

result, there are stories of kidnappers roaming the back

halls—in particular, a gang of vampires that capture

and keep travelers for their blood.

A few of the hallways and rooms have windows. These

are always one-way portals that look out over other

1–10

Stairs

11–30

Additional corridor

31–60

Door to bedroom/living quarters

61–70

Door to library/study

71–80

Door to storage room

81–90

Portal to demiplane

91–00

Portal to another location or plane

Stairs: The stairs access another floor of the Inn that

has additional passages. Roll d% to determine the direc-

tion of the stairs. On a result of 1–50 they lead up;

otherwise they lead down.

Additional Corridor: Any such corridor has 1d4 doors

in it, as placed by the DM. These may include secret

doors as well as normal ones.

Bedroom/Living Quarters: These rooms are domi-

nated by large furniture—beds, armoires, sofas, large

chairs, and the like. Each such room has a 50% chance

of having a second door. Any living quarters or study

may (50% chance) be inhabited by one or more beings

of a challenge level equal to that of the visitors. An

inhabited room has only a 10% chance of treasure.

Library/Study: Libraries and studies usually contain

desks, chairs, cabinets, bookshelves, and the like. Any

such room may (25% chance) be inhabited by one or

more beings of a challenge level to equal to that of the

visitors, and there is a 20% chance of treasure in this

case. The selection of books in a study or library often

includes rare and fantastic volumes, the contents of

which may or may not be valid for the current cotermi-

nous plane. There is a 25% chance that such a room has

a second door.

planes. A traveler seeking to escape the World Serpent

Inn can sometimes find a likely-looking plane, open

the casement, and simply leap out.

the original F ORGOTTEN R EALMS ® campaign setting.

Among his many credits include the original Manual

of the Planesback in the eighties, so he thinks of going

back to Outer Planes like going to a high school

reunion. (Hey, have you noticed Orcus has really put

on weight?) He is currently on the loose in the Star

Warsuniverse. The Empire has been alerted.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jeff Grubb is a gifted veteran of game design, with

almost 20 years of experience behind him. He was one

of the cofounders of D RAGONLANCE ® and cocreator of

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