| From the Notes of Dr Byran Lorft - Senior consultant of the mind , The Fraternity of Order.Day 194, Year the eighth:After a hard days work as was my custom I relaxed back into my favorite seat within the Fortunes Wheel. The atmosphere was rowdy as always , but for the most part I was (as normal) given a wide berth. It wasn't the atmosphere I was here for of course , what interested me was the people and moreover the wild spun web of tales they told. My small ear piece attached, I turned myself towards a table at which were seated three robed and hooded figures. Expecting some routine assassination plot , I found myself quite supprised at the subject of their conversation. "Look, no excuses Berk. I must have the full delivery before I pay." said the one on the left in a gruff voice."B-but its harder to cut than we thought - magic don't w-work and the a-acid aint cheap." stuttered the one opposite.As if to emphasize his point , the stutterer held up what looked like some kind of crystal , it glinted in the lantern light."Get that down fool! , we don't want to attract attention" The gruff one barked.The silent one in the middle swept his gaze around the room, presumably scanning to see if anyone had noticed. I turned away , making a show of taking a drink from my tankard and passing a tip to the waitress. From the corner of my eye , I spotted the three had once again resumed. "That Is Enough To Begin Work With" the hence silent one, his words grated as if they had an edge."Its barely enough to make a bracer from , meanwhile a whole suit." Gruff replied."Y-you wont get anything if we can't m-mine a-any more"Reaching into his robe , the gruff one produced a bag of coins and thumped it down on the table, causing it to wobble."Very well then, take this as advance payment. Buy what you NEED , hire who you NEED, but I warn you if in two weeks you do not produce what I NEED no amount of pleading will save you." the gruff one slammed back his chair and stormed out past me and through the exit.Lifting the coin bag and placing it into his robe the stutterer remarked."T-this should be enough to h-hire someone to take care of the p-problem""Yes , That Will Be More Than Enough. Place An Advertisement. Be Subtle"Leaving a few coins on the table the two figures stood up and walked slowly towards the exit. As they passed me I caught a glimpse of the only part of them exposed, their hands. The stutterers were covered in grease and grime , a sure sign of work within the Lower ward or Hive. While unusual to see one from those wards within the Wheel , what was more remarkable was his companions digits. Each one was not made up from the accustomed curves and natural sweeps common to all humanoids , but of joined blocks, triangles and sharp edges. Most interesting indeed. Gathering my belongings , I left the Wheel. There was much to think about tonight. Note to self: Return to Fortunes wheel in two weeks time.LorftThe plane of Finite Angles (demiplane):Appearance:Believed to be some sort of offshoot from the Quasi-Elemental plane of glass , the plane of Finite Angles takes the appearance of a series of randomly shaped enclosed caverns built entirely from crystal clear glass. There are no curves or soft edges anywhere , only angles sharp and oblique. The whole of the plane is lit with a dull but steady white light causing glints and half reflections on the angled walls.Conditions:Gravity in this plane is relative to the nearest crystalline surface, whatever your feet are on is down. While this makes it possible to walk up the "walls" and onto the "roof" , the dangerous accute angles and smooth crystal footing make safe travel somewhat slow. What is more , the reflective and deflective qualities of the plane make mapping and navigation a serious issue in the best cases. The chaos of combat exasibates this.Safe movement is at 1/2 normal speed. This applies to walking , flying , and all other forms of transportation.Any actor attempting to move faster than this , or make any sort of combat action must make a reflex saving throw or suffer 2D6 damage from the sharp angular environment. In combat all relevant attacks suffer a -4 to hit. Spellcasters are not left unaffected , such is the nature of the plane that the crystal walls stand a chance to deflect magic. For every targeted magical attack roll a D6.1: Spell is deflected to a random other target (friend or foe).2-3: Spell is deflected out into the plane before dissipating.4-6: Spell hits as normal.Morphic Transmutation:Over time the plane begins to warp anything that remains within it. Slowly the things change , becoming like the plane itself , devoid of curves and soft natural edges. This progression takes three weeks to complete and takes an equal time to dissipate when the object leaves the plane.Week 1:Perceptions are the first things to start to change , the plane starts to become less intimidating. Easier to understand and move about. Physical alterations are small at this point , the participants face could be thought of as square jawed or angular.Adds +2 to any reflex rolls made within the plane. Subtracts 2 from reflex roles made elsewhere.Week 2:Minor but noticeable physical changes start to appear. Hair becomes dead straight , or bends only at angles. Fingernails , claws , ear-tips and other such features become more sharp and accute. Long curves become more broken like a series of oblique angles. Adds +4 to any reflex rolls made within the plane. Subtracts 4 from reflex roles made elsewhere.Can move safely at 3/4 normal speed on or off plane.Only suffers -2 to hit , and adds +1 to the above chart when casting spells in plane.Suffers a -2 to hit and a 1 in 6 chance to miss-target targeted spells off plane.Week 3:Major physical changes occur. All curves become a series of angles and geometric shapes. The participant could quite literally be said to be square eyed.Adds +8 to any reflex rolls made within the plane. Subtracts 8 from reflex roles made elsewhere.Disregards all penalties on-plane.Treats off-plane with all above penalties.Divination within the demiplane:Divination is the art of looking at the multiverse from a different point of view , a different angle. It should thus hold true that while within the plane divination spells are dramatically increased in power. A few cutters have tried this only to be disappointed. The dark of it is while there is indeed a power gain it only holds true for those attuned to the plane. Most Berks give up and leave before they realize this.Those that have been resident for one week gain an effective 1 level increase for divinations.Those that have been resident for two weeks gain an effective 2 level increase for divinations.Those that have been resident for three or more weeks can double the power of any divination.Inhabitants:The demiplane has no natural inhabitants , however over the years it has attracted a number of visitors for various reasons. The Angleers.A small group of miners (or angleers as they call themselves). They use acid and picks to break off small stalagmites/tights and take them back through a portal to Sigil. Within Sigil they run themselves out of a small building in the lower ward (which houses the portal in the frame of a broken first floor window). Historically they have sold their crystals as curio or gems for jewelry. Recently due to some martial interest from a high up (who wants to build magic reflective armour) , they have recruited a few more workers.Ole Robert - The discoverer of the portal and oldest hand. He rarely appears within Sigil , spending most of his time mining or within the hut at the portal site in the plane. As a result he is at the third stage of morphic transformation and appears totally made from geometric shapes. Offplane he moves iregularly, constantly stumbling. He always wear's a robe and cowl to hide his angular features. His very words seem to have An Edge To Them.Stuttering Dan- Nephew of Ole Robert. At first he attempted to help his uncle with the mining , but his clumsy and stuttering nature nearly got him skewered too many times. He now acts as the front-man for the portal , and is in charge of selling the crystals in the bazaar and bringing in supplies.Jackson - Friend of Ole Robert , and last of the original angeleers. Jackson is a quiet man who sleeps and drinks away the wealth he gains from the crystals every night in the "mermaids cup" tavern. Many of the other regulars think him drunk before he even enters , but his disorientation is due to his perpetual state of level 2 morphic transformation.Kell Stonegrin - A female dwarf recruited recently to help with the workload. Has previous experience in mining and smithery , but was pushed out of her businessby the hive thugs hired by opposition. Desperate to make a living she took the only job going from Stuttering Dan.Michael - The second of the new recruits. A tall , muscular but unfortunately dead man. Killed by the random spellfire of the mad mage....Xerk- The last of the new recruits - guant, slim , and unfortunately for the other Angeleers - a totally barmy chaosman mage. Trouble for the Angeleers.How even Stuttering Dan managed to miss the fact that Xerk was a total loon is unknown. Once into the plane he started randomly casting spells , shouting things like "NOW BEST SIDE YOU SEE I DO" and " I REFLECT THIS ON". The nature of the plane rained a ricochete of magic around the cavern , striking Michael and bringing him to the ground dead. After attempts to speak with the madman failed , the angeleers exited the plane back to Sigil. With their new high-up employer promising punishment if the delivery is not made in two weeks , both Stuttering Dan and Ole Robert are seeking someone go and take care of their mad mage problem. Dan is actively looking through the Bazaar while Ole Robert is visiting local Inns. Jackson is absorbed in self pity and can be found within the "mermaids cup" drinking his last savings away. Kell has regarded this as just one more thing in a long series of bad luck , and sits on a corner near suicide alley contemplating the future.The CongregationIt seems many moons ago , a misguided priestess led her small congregation away from certain destruction through an ancient portal to the Plane of Angels. Of course this clueless had not quite read the ancient texts correctly and ended up here. Long since accustomed to the plane (morphic phase three) these poor primes regard it as a trial before they reach thier final destination. The dark of it is that the belief of this a journey to the plane of Angels has actually created a planar portal to Esylium. No doubt when they feel they have passed the trial they will find it.The congregation consists of:Alex Disiea , a 12th level Female human cleric , dressed in full clerical robes. Sir James, a 10th level Male human paladin , riding his war horse.Fourteen assorted male and female commoners.The whole group has been within the plane for so long that they perceive any non angular (phase three) being as a threat. Sir James will charge the hostiles on his horse , while Alex remains behind to protect the commoners. If asked for parley they will eventually back down and relate their story.CubistA miscast mirror trap spell threw this Eye Tyrant into the plane of Finite Angles. For many weeks the monstrosity floated searching for a way to escape. With no food it grew gradually more tired. In a last desperate attempt the Beholder welled all its power into a divination to seek a way to escape. With hunger clouding its usually sharp mind , and the amplifying power of the plane the divination returned not only just one, but a flood of ways to escape the plane of infinite angles. After a short journey off plane to feed the Tyrant returned , sensing the inherent possibilities of divination here. That was many centuries ago, who knows what Darks this creature now holds. One thing is for sure , if you ever see a floating cube with angled tentacles tipped with smaller cubes you had better watch out for the being that now calls itself .... Cubist. |
