I'm not sure where to post this, the Codex doesn't seem the place. Its a new layer of the Abyss (but I numbered it 406, filling in the gaps in the existing numbers). Hopefully the first of many ideas in my head to be put in usable form.
Please let me know what you think.
Abyssal Layer 406: The Abyss of Ooze
from the journals of Belenyr the Explorer, Bariaur planeswalker
At first impression, this layer is easily mistaken for the Para-Elemental Plane of Ooze. Certainly, the similarities are great. The Abyss of Ooze is an infinite layer of ooze and muck stretching in all directions, with no bottom and no surface. Much of the layer is made up of mud, clay, and silt, as well as other fairly harmless substances such as slush, quicksilver, and various unidentifible chaotic goos. Most of this is somewhat more liquid than Elemental Ooze, making it relatively easy to swim in, although there are slicks of viscous oil and sticky, clinging tar as well.
Unfortunately, there are also great expanses of acid, poisons of every kind, and oceans of corrosive liquids that will burn even acid-protected travellers. A blood might find herself swimming through a sea of necrotic, liquified flesh with floating organs, or a morass of disease-ridden bodily fluids. Streams of icy, near-frozen sludge flow between seas of raw sewage and bubbles of radioactive jelly. There are vast regions that drain hit points, attributes, or skills, cause mind-bending hallucinations, or suck away at memory or a cutter’s very life force. Other areas simply cause terrible pain or infuriating skin irritation. And the various substances have a horrible propensity for seeping under clothes and armor, and remaining even after a traveller swims to a less deadly region.
These hazards float randomly in the infinite ocean of mud, and since there is no light on this layer, avoiding them is difficult. Of course a traveller can try to remain in a “safe” area, but most visitors will eventually find themselves fleeing from the hungry slimes, demons, and other monsters that infest this layer.
The ooze is not still -- it pulses, vibrates, and shudders, and some areas flow in rivers swift or sluggish, or even blow around furiously, catching up anyone caught in their path. Globules and bubbles the size of mountains float and move amongst each other, forever joining and splitting, but since the layer is infinite the mess never becomes homogenous.
Special Conditions: There are no elemental pockets of water or air in this layer. But one of the first things an unfortunate visitor discovers here, just when they think they will begin to drown, is that they can breathe whatever medium they are swimming in -- even if it is brains. All visitors are safe from drowning on this Abyssal layer, although that is not any protection if they happen to inhale acid, poison, or infected blood. Death takes other, more slow and cruel forms here. Most of the inherently dangerous liquids kill slowly, over a matter of hours or even days, dealing relatively small amounts of damage at a time so that death is slow and rather painful.
There is no source of light in the Abyss of Ooze, and since the majority of the layer is opaque or only somewhat transluscent (vision limited to 3-7 feet, varying), bringing illumination from outside usually does not work very well. Although the medium is breathable, most regions can barely support a flame, and the rest can’t support fire at all.
Fire and light domain magic is impeded.
There is no gravity at all on this layer, one is merely suspended in the infinite ooze. This does not impede movement at all, but people adapted to a world with gravity who stay for more than a week will find themselves weak when they return to gravity, and those who remain for a month or more usually lose a fair bit of muscle and bone mass as well. Of course, why a blood would stay for more than a week anyway is beyond me.
Inhabitants: The Abyss of Ooze is infested with hungry larvae, slimes, oozes, puddings, ooze mephits, acid quasi-elementals, aquatic demons, flesh-eating worms and insects, blood-sucking vermin, internal parasites (especially guinea worms), manes, Abyssal lampreys, blood weirds, water elemental demons, ooze para-elementals, alkali quasi-elementals*, bloodbloaters, demoncrocs, venomous jellyfish, ordinary eels and fish, and writhing grubs that grow as large as dragons.
Other inhabitants include Styx dragons, giant amoebas, leviathans, and colossal pulsating oozes the size of Prime Material moons. The icy areas are home to hydraggons and a few ice mephits and para-elementals, while the fleshy regions swarm with horse-sized maggots and other vermin.
Sites: Some demons and mephits have constructed smallish, crude shelters or communities in the Ooze using mud to rock and other spells, but none of these really deserves to be called a burg. The closed surface of any bubble of liquid could be a portal, but portals are unfortunately very rare on this layer, and portal keys are generally even rarer, so a mephit guide is pretty much the only hope.
*An alkali quasi-elemental is exactly the same as an acid quasi-elemental, except it is strongly alkaline, and acid-resistance does not protect from its attacks. If an alkali elemental fights an acid elemental, both parties suffer massive damage.