Editing Planescape (section)

===[[Outer Planes]]===
[[Image:Outlands_and_Outer_planes.jpg|thumb|Map of Outlands and Outer Planes]]
There are seventeen Outer Planes, each formed from the moral and ethical alignments of the sentient beings in the multiverse. Most of the Outer Planes are divided into ''layers''; the majority of portals deposit beings on the first layer of the plane. Many of the gods (or ''Powers'') in the multiverse reside on the Outer Planes, in lands called ''realms'' that are under their direct control. The souls of those who worship these powers reform in their powers' realm upon death. If a being follows no power, their soul is instead drawn to the plane that most matches their alignment. Mortals also dwell on the Outer Planes; their alignment generally matches the plane they are on, for fairly obvious reasons (from "this place is unpleasant to anyone who doesn't share the same mentality" to "the planes tend to brainwash people into thinking their way"). Enough like-minded beings of another alignment can cause a portion of the plane to break off and appear on the plane that matches their alignment. The Outer Planes are:

====The [[Abyss]]====
Stupidly Chaotic Evil.
The Abyss has an infinite number of layers, each one unique and filled with hateful, unthinking evil.  (Some say there're exactly six-hundred-sixty-six, but that's both applying the orderly logic of math to the fundamentally chaotic and unprovable, and completely theoretical anyway since nothing's ever gotten past three-hundred or so.) The [[tanar'ri]] (or demons, as they are known on the Prime Material Plane) dwell here.

====[[Acheron]]====
Lawful Neutral (Evil).
The first thing that anyone hears upon entering and the last upon leaving Acheron is the sound of constant conflict off in the distance. The first layer of Acheron is the most traveled; an infinite realm of gigantic nation-sized to continent-sized iron cubes floating in an airy void on which vast armies clash. The cubes occasionally collide, utterly destroying anything caught between them. The second layer known as Thuldanin is the multiverse's junkyard where all the weapons ever made somehow get deposited here. Over time everything, including living beings, turns into an inert solid. Tintibulus is much like the first layer except it holds more of a wider variety of shapes but are still referred to as cubes. This layer is very popular with powerful wizards and magic users who wish to seclude themselves from the rest of the plane. Ocanthus is the final and most lethal of Acheron for it is rumored that this is where the River Styx ends. Large razors of black ice, some even as large as buildings, fly dangerously through the pitch blackness. Anyone visiting the last layer will surely be killed unless they bring very powerful protection.

====[[Arborea]]====
Chaotic Good.
This is the plane of the elven and Greek powers. It is typified by vast rugged geography, immense forests, mountains that peak above the clouds, and other splendors of nature. Being a place of chaotic good, there's an entire layer of hippie-esque free love, free drugs, peace, love, and par-tay!ing.

====[[Arcadia]]====
Lawful Neutral (Good).
Arcadia is a plane of law first and good second. Day changes to night with no pause, and vigilant militias of dead paladins patrol the perfectly-straight roads. This is where the good of the group is always ahead of the individual. The formians -- a caste race of ant-centaurs -- are native to Arcadia.

====[[Baator]]====
Lawful Evil.
'The Nine Hells' of Baator are the domain of the [[baatezu]] (or 'devils'). There are nine layers to the plane, each more terrible than the previous. Avernus, the first layer, is a land of scorched rock, constantly bombarded by fireballs that tumble out of the sky and is a constant battlefield in the [[Blood War]]; especially when the Demons are pushing back the devils. But try as they might, [[Creed|Bel's tactical genius]] prevents them from ever holding onto any territory on Avernus for more than a day. The fact that Devils are immune to fire and thus aren't bothered by the raining fireballs while Demons merely get fire resistance 10 (though balors are totally immune to it) and get loads of pain from them, and the fact that [[Tiamat]], [[Kurtulmak]] and quite a few other lawful evil gods live here and gladly provide their hordes of petitioners and outsider servants in defense of the realm probably has something to do with it too. Whenever Kurtulmak provides help it will come in the form of a swarm of [[kobold]]s so vast that even the Demons are outnumbered fifty billion to one since so many kobolds die every second.

====The [[Beastlands]]====
Neutral Good (Chaotic).
Relatively few humans/humanoids live on the Beastlands, compared to the number of animals dwelling here - everything from ants and cats to dinosaurs and they're all celestial creatures, meaning that they're all innately good and pure. Most of the plane is wide-open savannas, deep primeval forests, and unfathomable oceans, so it covers most environments with the exception of deserts, mountains, and tundras. Few things are more awesome than meeting a celestial max hit dice tyrannosaurus rex here.

====[[Bytopia]]====
Neutral Good (Lawful).
The Twin Realms are stacked in a unique way- imagine them as the floor and ceiling of a great cave, connected by enormous stalactites and stalagmites that merge into each other. Unlike many other planes, where travel between layers is accomplished with portals, the two layers of Bytopia can be reached by climbing one pillar until gravity reverses and one finds themselves climbing 'down' to the other layer. Most people just find it easier to fly, and the place is lousy with hot air balloons. The beings that dwell here are industrious, cheerful, and helpful, in other words, horribly boring unless you're evil (and thus can kill them without going out of character.)

Almost all the best stuff in the planes gets made here, so if you wanna stock up, feel free.

====[[Carceri]]====
Neutral Evil (Chaotic).
The 'Prison Plane' is where the souls of backstabbers and traitors dwell. There are many portals leading to the plane, but very few portals leading out. This started out as "Tartarus" from Greek Mythology, but it was asked "how is this big hole different from the Abyss' big hole" so Jeff Grubb fixed that with help from Dante. ''These'' tarterian depths comprise an infinite number of orbs which are like little planets in this plane. The fallen Titans occasionally boss the rest around but the other prisoners say, fuck you, you're not the warden of me. There are also [[demodands]] here but nobody gives a toss.
Fun trivia: Carceri is Italian for 'prisons'.

====[[Elysium]]====
Neutral Good (and the entire plane and everything in it will make sure you see things its way).

The Peaceful Plane is a land of soft fields, quiet woods, and calm waters. It is home to the [[Guardinal]]s, a race of [[Furry|animal-like celestials]]. Spending too much time on here without having decent spell resistance will cause you go [[Meme|I'M SO HAAAAAPPPPYYYY]] to the point that you  will forget everything and completely refuse to leave the plane of your own will, becoming a Elysian petitioner, which means becoming permanently bound to the plane short of reversing the condition with high-level magic. Now doesn't that just scream overwhelming goodness?

For those who want to do more than kill anything they meet in their D&D experience, there are some interesting quirks here, like losing XP by solving problems with violence, or getting killed by the fact that using magic to hurt people tends to need a spell key, and the locals are a good deal hardier than they appear.

====[[Gehenna]]====
Neutral Evil (Lawful).
This plane is comprised of a series of immense double-ended volcanoes, floating in the void. Each volcano is its own layer, and there are no flat surfaces, so if you fall, you'll probably keep falling for a while. The [[yugoloth]]s (or '[[daemon]]s') rule this plane in name, but they aren't native to it and there are several other powerful fiendish races that dwell here as well.

====[[Hades|The Gray Wastes of Hades]]====
Neutral Evil.
The Three Glooms are desolate lands where all color is muted to shades of gray. Visitors soon find their own color fading away, and their ambition soon follows, leaving them empty husks, devoid of emotion. The yugoloths are a powerful force on this plane (they are in fact actually native to the Gray Wastes, it's just that the General of Gehenna decided to move most of Yugoloth kind to Gehenna, though the Oinoloth and those that followed him stayed put), but the night [[hag]]s and their larvae trade are the real power here; just don't tell that to the Oinoloth unless you enjoy getting super-syphilis (because AIDS just isn't unpleasant enough), as the throne in his dark tower grants him total mastery of disease on the plane and lets him spring up plagues from the dirt that make mummy rot look positively pleasant. It's so fucking depressing that spending too long on it without having decent spell resistance will make you too depressed to remember who you are or have the will to leave the place.

It's also the primary battlefield in the [[Blood War]], just in case you wanted another reason to keep away. The [[tanar'ri]] and [[baatezu]] use the Gray Waste to slaughter each other in droves here (as well as anything/anyone stupid enough to visit what can be referred to as the anus of the multiverse), as its metaphysical location is halfway between that of Baator and the Abyss.

====The Ever-changing Chaos of [[Limbo]]====
Chaotic Neutral.
Limbo Limbo Limbo chaos ever-changing '''NO NOT THAT''' listen berk it's like every mad power CRUMBLING FROM THE INSIDE '''flowers rusting''' HOPE SPRINGS DIAGONAL. 

Home of the [[Slaadi]], who rule the plane insomuch that one can rule a mess of pure anarchy. This is also the adopted home of the [[Githzerai]], who paradoxically love order and live highly regimented lives (Githzerai monks are as stereotypical as Dwarf Clerics or Orc Barbarians), they live here instead of say Mechanus because they find this plane that so dramatically opposes their way of life to be a great test, despite this excuse, their cities have magic to neutralize the strongly chaotic aligned trait. They used to be more chaotic, but time, shifting editions, and [[Planescape: Torment|one fuckawesome vidya gaem]] have changed all that.

The [[Blood War]] occasionally comes here, but since both demon and devil are negatively affected by the plane (-2 to all mental stat related checks for demons for being chaotic evil instead of chaotic neutral, -6 to all mental stat related checks for devils for being lawful evil instead of chaotic neutral), the fact that the Slaadi aren't terribly fond of either and are on average a great deal stronger individually than demons or devils (Lemures and Manes are CR1 1 hit dice monsters, Mud Slaad; the equivalent to these two, are CR6. Black Slaadi at the opposite end of the scale are more powerful than any Demon Lord and can overpower most [[Archdevil]] aspects and make a mockery of pit fiends and balors) if less organized, and the fact that it's not actually in between either plane keeps these incursions down to a minimum.

====[[Mechanus]]====
Stupidly Lawful Neutral.
Mechanus is comprised of immense gears (some of which are thousands of miles in diameter), each revolving in tandem with the other. This is the most orderly of all the Outer Planes. The [[Modron]]s are the only native species, making their home at the Tower of Primus at the center of the great gear Regalus. But as of 3.X the Mordons largely dropped off the face of the earth (explained as Tenebrous aka Orcus killing Primus); later editions re-added Modrons but also added the [[Formian]]s and [[Inevitable]]s as the joint representatives of the plane.

====Mount [[Celestia]]====
Lawful Good as the driven snow.
The Seven Heavens are comprised of seven ascending peaks on a great mountain. The Mount is surrounded by the Shining Sea, an endless ocean of sparkling holy water. The archons oversee Mount Celestia, from the lantern archons that guide new pilgrims to the throne archons that watch over all else.

====The [[Outlands]]====
Neutral.
This is the smallest of the Outer Planes, though it is still technically infinite. The best-known features of the Outlands are the Spire and the sixteen gate-towns that lie in a ring around the "edge" of the plane (imagine a disc with a pen stuck in the middle- Sigil floats above the Spire, and the gate-towns form a ring around the edge). Each gate-town is tied to one of the other Outer Planes, and each contains a permanently open portal to that plane somewhere inside. The gate-towns reflect the plane they lead to, and most inhabitants share the alignment of that plane. Between the gate-towns and the Spire are nine rings (the Outlands' version of planar layers). At the ninth ring, where the gate-towns are, magical spells function more or less normally. As one approaches the Spire, higher-level spells cease to function, starting with ninth-level spells and descending, to the base of the Spire where no magical spells function. Beyond the gate-towns are the Hinterlands, a strange area where space and time break down, and further movement away from the Spire is severely restricted.

====[[Pandemonium]]====
Chaotic Neutral (Evil).
The four layers of Pandemonium are nothing but an endless series of caves, cut through by a howling wind that never ceases. Exposure to this wind inevitably drives one insane. The first layer is the most open, and each below it becomes more cloistered. The final layer is nothing but a series of air-pockets inside the endless rock. The worst monstrosities of the planes are imprisoned here by the powers. It is said that the [[Lady of Pain]] once sent her enemies here before she gained the ability to create Mazes. Essentially, this is the Underdark on steroids, and everyone in it is crazy.

====[[Ysgard]]====
Chaotic Neutral (Good).
Ysgard is most famous as the home of the Norse powers, but many other creatures live here, including giants and bariaur (a sort of ram-centaur unique to the Outer Planes). The entire plane is comprised of floating islands of rock--some the size of continents--drifting in an open sky. The undersides of most of these ''earthburgs'' burn with a constant magical fire, though in some places the earthburgs float flaming-side up.

If you like getting into fights, but are too cheap to pay for resurrection spells, then Ysgard is the plane for you! Thanks to the special healing qualities of this plane, anyone who dies in battle here gets right back up the next day, just like in old Norse myth.

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