Power Keys and the Outer Planes

Introduction: 

"By know, everyone but the most clueless of Clueless knows that the Inner Planes are all about matter and energy, while the Outer Planes are about belief and thought. A spellslinger on the Inners knows he needs to be prepared for the strange things the nature of an energy or an elemental plane can do to his spells - like, if he wants to cast a fireball on the Elemental Plane of Water, he'd better be worth his salt, heh, 'scuse me."On the Outer Planes however, that same spellslinger can happily chuck fireballs all day long, but his divinely-inspired colleague isn't quite as fortunate. See, divine magic is closely related to the ethical and moral allegiances a priest has - one might even go so far to say they're co-dependent. It's easier for a cutter to call upon his divine Power (his deity, as primes would say), if the plane he is currently standing on isn't actively opposing the Power. A typical priest of Bahamut should have no problems casting spells on planes of the Great Ring that match - or at least do not oppose - principles of good and law. But if he goes to the Lower Planes, or the Planes of Chaos, he probably won't be quite as effective, or may even find he has temporarily lost access to his top-shelf spells."

Game Mechanics:

Every plane with an alignment trait imposes a penalty on the effective caster level of divine spellcasters whose alignment directly opposes the trait. If the alignment trait is strong, the penalty is -4. if the alignment trait is mild, the penalty is -2. Planes that have two mild alignemnt traits affect spellcasters with either opposed alignment, and the penalties stack if the spellcaster has doubly-opposed alignment (such as CG is to LE). See table below for details.

Table: Outer Planes
Plane	Alignment Trait	Effective divine caster level penalty
Limbo	Strongly Chaos-aligned	-4 for lawful casters.
Pandemonium	Mildly Chaos-aligned	-2 for lawful casters.
Abyss	Mildly Chaos- and Evil-aligned	-2 for good or lawful casters; -4 for LG casters.
Carceri	Mildly Evil-aligned	-2 for good casters.
Gray Waste	Strongly Evil-aligned	-4 for good casters.
Gehenna	Mildly Evil-aligned	-2 for good casters.
Baator	Mildly Evil- and Law-aligned	-2 for chaotic or good casters; -4 for CG casters.
Acheron	Mildly Law-aligned	-2 for chaotic casters.
Mechanus	Strongly Law-aligned	-4 for chaotic casters.
Arcadia	Mildly Law-aligned	-2 for chaotic casters.
Mnt. Celestia	Mildly Good- and Law-aligned	-2 for chaotic or evil casters; -4 for CE casters.
Bytopia	Mildly Good-aligned	-2 for evil casters.
Elysium	Strongly Good-aligned	-4 for evil casters.
Beastlands	Mildly Good-aligned	-2 for evil casters.
Arborea	Mildly Chaos- and Good-aligned	-2 for evil or lawful casters; -4 for LE casters.
Ysgard	Mildly Chaos-aligned	-2 for lawful casters.
Outlands	Mildly Neutral-aligned	none*
* the Outlands has its own magic trait that imposes different penalties, regardless of alignment. See MotP or 3.5 DMG

The caster level adjustment applies on all level-dependent aspects of a spell - range, duration, damage dice, etc. - but not on the daily number of spells a character can prepare and cast. However, if the adjustment reduces the caster level below the minimum required to cast a spell of a certain level, the character is unable to cast that spell.

Example: A 10th-level cleric whose effective caster level is lowered to 8th becomes unable to cast his 5th-level spells; he retains the number of spells per day of levels 0-to-4 typical for a 10th-level cleric. He can still prepare his 5th-level spell as normal, he is simply unable to cast them until he leaves the plane whose alignment disagrees with his own. RSolution: Power Keys "You've heard of spell keys, the various trinkets that a mage adds to his spell component pouch when travelling the Planes. A priest, because a planes o' the Ring is most likely home to his high-up man, can discover power keys. A power key doesn't just restore a spell to normal (like a spell key does), it makes the spell work even better than before. For instance, a cleric who has the right key can cast cure light wounds and get the maximum effect every time. "Power keys are rare, very rare, and the priest who knows one should count himself a lucky soul. Whereas general and specific spell keys are just part of the planar landscape, power keys (as their name says) are created by the powers themselves. A power key can change anytime the deity wills it, so there's no promise that a priest can use the same key forever. F'r instance, Odin might teach one of his priests a rune that's a power key to improve all divinations; then, if that priest should foolishly go out and teach this to all his disciples, Odin might get offended and change the power key so the priest's rune no longer works. "The gods use power keys to reward faithful servants, or to give them a little extra muscle on a particularly dangerous quest, and they only pass them out to those who deserve them. A priest can't request a power key or even find one in a treasure trove. The best guess as to why power keys are so carefully guarded is that each costs the deity a tiny portion of its might. Not many deities relish the idea of weakening themselves, so power keys are pretty rare. "There's one risk in using power keys that should be mentioned, particularly to priests on the Lower Planes: More than a few of the evil powers enjoy making false power keys. It amuses them no end to let out the chant that standing on one foot while casting a spell or plucking the feathers from a chicken will work as the power key to a whole group of spells. If a priest's lucky, this won't cause anything worse than not having a key at all. More likely, the false power key's going to alter the spell in ways the priest surely won't want. In other words, when a berk gets a key, he'd better make sure it's from his deity and not some rival."Game Mechanics:A power key is an item that a divine spellcaster can use as an extra divine focus (in addition to his holy symbol) in order to reduce or negate the effective caster level penalty resulting from a plane's alignment trait. They come in many shapes and sizes, but their mechanical effects are simple: - Minor power keys: These keys reduce the effective caster level penalty by 2 for a single alignment. - Major power keys: These keys reduce the effective caster level penalty by 4 for a single alignment.- Combined power keys: These function as minor power keys, but work for two (non-opposed) alignments.Sample Power Keys: - Crimson Eye (minor power key): This power key is a third eye crudely drawn on a priest's forehead or chest in elf or goblin blood, usually made permanent by a minor enchantment. It reduces the effective caster level penalty for chaotic spellcasters on Law-aligned planes by 2 points. On Acheron, members of the military priesthood of Gruumsh are rarely seen without such symbols, whether it is actually power keys or just decorative markings. It is widely accepted that non-Gruumsh priests are unlikely to benefit from this power key.

- Gloomgrass (major power key): Resembling a shaman's medicine bag, this key is a small collection of dry leaves and grass stored inside a specially prepared pouch. It works best if the plants are collected from the Gray Waste, but this is not a requirement. This power key reduces the effective caster level penalty for evil spellcasters on Good-aligned planes by 4 points. It is often used by distinguished priests of evil nature-oriented Powers such as the Devourer, Malar, and others.

- The Celestial's Heart (combined power key): Despite the somewhat gruesome associations that its name triggers, this power key has nothing to do with gutting open a deva and ripping out is still beating heart. It is merely a precious stone from Mount Celestia, usually a diamond or pearl, worn on a pendant or attached to a holy symbol. It reduces the effective caster level penalty for good or lawful spellcasters on Evil- or Chaos-aligned planes by 2 points. Many deities of the Mount issue these power keys to their high-up mortals, including but not limited to Bahamut, Moradin, Rao, Tyr, and Yondalla.