Planar Renovation Project: Acheron

Acheron is "behind the lines" of the Blood War, as would be Pandemonium. What if there's something there which the devils are protecting from demons? Perhaps a site or immobile artifact crucial to the powers of law, which demons would like to destroy or use, but can't be accessed except from Baator or Mechanus. Or, to turn this into a minor theme rather than a single site, more than one thing: fallen or corrupted sites and artifacts of law, now tainted with evil, which would be attractive to demons should they be able to take them, or hold them with sufficient forces. (Obviously, similar objects might exist on Pandemonium, likely in the fourth layer.)

And these are among the few sites in the Multiverse where devils and lawful celestials can be found working together: both are interested in protecting the sites, the celestials to deny fiends of any sort a resource and the devils to keep demons particularly from stealing an advance in the Blood War, as well as protecting a rear exposure. Both sides have learned that any but the most subtle attempts at corrupting or redeeming the other side's troops will be met with a formal protest and swift reassignment (technically a mark of shame, though usually a slap on the wrist at worst). Leadership is double-headed, with a ranking celestial and devil on site. Exceedingly complex standing orders specify under what conditions a soldier of either side may refuse an order from the superior not of its kind. For the most part, the leaders assigned by the two hierarchies are among the most pragmatic of their races, focusing strictly on the mission and avoiding the sort of proselytizing that would raise intra-unit tensions.

The Dark Left Hand of Primus: One example of such a site is this gear from Mechanus, over a mile across, which can be found in Acheron. Swathed in a deep magical darkness that restricts any light spells to a single 5 foot square, it turns due to the magnetic pull of a gear that emerges from a portal to Mechanus, orbits it once, and vanishes back into the portal, on a regular schedule known to the troops that protect the site. The gear has a powerful evil aura. Inscribed in tiny print and hundreds of languages across the gear are pieces of advice and strategies for ruling without mercy, for discipline without rest, for manipulating any manner of court or king or peasant. No one living a mere hundred years could ever read it all. To read even a significant part requires considerable effort and knowledge of several languages, but various parts enhance various skills like Bluff, Sense Motive, Knowledge (Law), Diplomacy, Appraise, and the like significantly. However, every use of this gift requires a Will roll, with the enhanced skill as the DC, to prevent one's alignment from shifting one step on either axis toward lawful evil.

It is widely believed, among those who know of this site, that the Dark Left Hand of Primus in some way mediates the use of law for evil ends. Even celestials fear what might happen if demons managed to destroy it or taint it with chaos. The two garrisons on this gear are on opposite sides of it, and rarely speak to each other except between the two commanders and occasional, strictly formal communications between quartermaster officers.

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A few similar items, uplifted by being touched with goodness, can be found on Arcadia, but the inherent antipathy of that plane to evil outsiders, its distance from the Abyss, and the defenses of the natives are sufficient to hold off demonic intrusion attempts there. However, even if diabolic help would be useful at a given site, the natives would likely refuse it. Wisdom in avoiding entanglements with devils? Or foolhardy, paranoid bigoted stubbornness? Ask the Arcadians and the devils, and get two different answers.

Palomides, the Library of Alexandria is such a good example best resemblance I can think of. You've brought a great angle to it. Just how many other centers of learning were destroyed by war? I will give another example:
Symmerians invented writing. Their empire was destroyed by ravages of war, and much of their knowledge was lost, though some, through myths, like the Tempest, remained and laid the foundations for other civilizations or religions. They were rediscovered in the 19th century, and their language is successfully deciphered, their archeological sites excavated. Recently, in the Iraq war, the Baghdad National Museum was raided and many invaluable relics from that era were lost, damaged or destroyed. Is it a curse or an example of the cyclical nature of time?
While the PCs will decide that, I think we have found a great source of inspiration for this layer.

As for frozen memories, I don't think they are necessarily memories of war. In general these are the memories of people who fell into Styx. I got this idea that the river Styx ends ep frozen here. Any way, this would mean the occasional digger could be encountered in the layer, trying to dig up his own memories or he could be a Sensate agent.

A use for these Styx ice can be that, through complex rituals of course, they may provide a boost of experience. They essentialy transfer the memories of an individual who fell into the Styx to another.

Even when I wrote this though, I thought that Styx doesn't provide memories, it drains them, so a more logical approach would be to say that Sensates need Styx ice to produce memory stones.
Another thing is of course, Styx ice would be used to make level drain+cold damage weapons.

All in all, I think people would come to Ocanthus, if it hadn't been so in such a hard to reach location so damn inhospitable.

Why are the bladelings found here?

I thought the 3E MMII was quite clear on why-- the Bladelings were planeshifted to the 2nd cube (the technological trash heap of the multiverse) from a prime world where they were created. The plane was not inhospitable for them, so they remained here.
It's that simple.

^^Probably due to their xenophobia. They don't like non-natives entering THEIR territory (cube).
Tintibulus is a tad too inviting to outsiders, despite its inhospitable environment.
Ocanthus OTOH has very little of interest to outsiders, and is a helluva lot harder to reach (and is even less hospitable than Tintibulus) Please note that any Bladeling info from Planar Handbook does not apply here since that book refers primarily to Planewalking Bladelings.

Let me look at the MMII article again here...

A quote:

Bladelings are superstitious and xenophobic creatures, so it’s no surprise that they abhor intrusions into their home territory. (Of course, as residents of Ocanthus, they rarely have visitors.)

Planewalking and wandering bladelings tend to lack this xenophobia, but still don't trust people they don't know (they're probably more likely to be lawful neutral than lawful evil).

Oh, sorry, I got their origin mixed up with another Acheronian creature. MMII states that they were originally native to Baator, Gehenna, or "some unknown metal-based plane", so I suppose you could add the Quasielemental Plane of Mineral to the list of possible planes. Otherwise, "some unknown metal-based plane" would presumably refer to an ethereal demiplane.

Their automatic language is common, and additional language (if INT is high enough) is infernal.

There's slightly more info in the 3E Manual of the Planes.

First of all, it states that odd-sided solids outnumber six-sided cubes. The solids are described thusly:

made of gray volcanic stone, each coated with a layer of ashen dust to a depth of several inches (and in some places several feet or more).

Collisions of said solids occur continuously and cause a deafening "ringing" throughout the cube.

It mentions nothing about magical experiments or being of interest to mages.

The main consensus thus far:

GENERAL THEME
Acheron is blind conformity instead of harmony (like Arcadia is). It represents the evil side of loyalty, the evil side of tradition, etc.
This is the plane for soldiers who died in pointless wars, who died unfulfilled deaths.
This is the plane for the soldier who could not adapt to peacetime; not all soldiers with PTSD and maladaption end up here; just the ones who ended up doing evil things because of it.
This is the plane for those who abandoned their convictions in the name of loyalty (this is what sets it apart from Baator; the Baatezu aren't truly loyal to their masters, they simply follow the rules and use them to their advantage. Such is also the case for most Baatezu petitioners. Acheron is for the soldier who kills his own family *despite this being the 2nd to last thing he wants to do* because his master demands it of him.)
This is also the plane for blind, obstinate tradition.
The soldiers who knowingly fight in a war that has been going on for centuries, a war for which the two sides have forgotten the original reason for, and do it simply out of ancestral reverence or 'tradition', will end up here.
This plane also embodies xenophobia-- another evil side of traditionalism.
It embodies traditionalism to the point of self destruction.

Also, each cube represents some stage of war.

The first layer represents hot war.
The second layer represents the aftermath of war (junkyard of war machines)
The third layer represents the regression of society, and the 'ruin' and 'despair' of war.
The fourth layer represents...
Well, the consensus hasn't been reached on the 4th (or 3rd layer for that matter), but I would say that the fourth layer represents oblivion/genocide. The lost memories of the Styx tie in quite well with this-- once genocide is complete, the lost race is only a 'memory', and eventually even that memory will be lost. Obviously the Bladelings on the 4th layer do not fit this theme, however.

They sort of do. Their tiefling ancestors fled to Ocanthus because of persecution, possibly attempted genocide, on other planes.

The physical features of the plane are:
- First layer: War, war and more war on the cubes; Goblin and Orc pantheons on their separate cubes, Mercykiller city of Vorkehan, walking-living castles, armies belonging to related deities, Orcish and goblinoid deities and rogue armies, (belonging to a warlord who answers no one), a number of custom cubes. Very high Rakshasa, their deity Ravanna supposedly resides here.
- Second Layer: Cubes; mines with old and future weapons, mostly discarded, lost or disfunctional. Lots of traffic from the first layer and other places, looking for new usable weapons. Maugs and their secretive cities, where the masters of their race create new Maugs. Rakshasa influence unknown.
- Third layer: Different shaped volcanic stone solids. No natives and seemingly desrted plane, but the constant crash of cubes make a lot of noise. Wizards are drawn to the layer, mostly because its empty and they can do research undisturbed. It is said there are many left over libraries from these wizards. the plane sees archeologists, raiders and excavators in search of hidden and forgotten knowledge, said to be inside vaults, silos, libraries within the solids. The solid's constant crashes and distinct shapes also draw some geometricians and mathematicians, even diviners. Rakshasa influence: Major.
- Fourth Layer: vorpal black ice storm. Nearly empty, except the bladeling city, Zoronor. There is a "bottom", an infinite block of black ice, which sees some traffic from Sensates, Styx survivors and others looking for useful memories. Wee Jas has a new realm on the Ice block. Rakshasa Influence unknown.

Chant has it there are two types of crashing sounds that echo throughout Acheron. The first is the one that we've all heard about, made by the crashing of those iron cubes into one another. They're a right misery to hear and'll leave a basher barmy for a while if they're too close.

But there's a second sort that doesn't get talked about. It's a sound that doesn't have an obvious source on the plane. The way I hear it, it starts off as a sort of low rumble that a cutter can feel more than hear. And it doesn't matter where you might find yourself on Acheron. From the battlefields of Avalas, down all the way to Ocanthus, you can feel it, like a thrumming. Like something terrible is on its way. Preceding that rumble, like a shallow earthquake before the main one strikes, are waves upon waves of petitioners, engaged in battle against one another. As more and more appear, the sound grows and grows until it drowns out all other sound. As it reaches a crescendo, the layers seem to explode. On Avalas, cubes seem to appear from nowhere and start slamming into one another with more vigor and more randomness than before. On Thuldanin, ruins and debris start to rain down, crushing all who are unfortunate enough to be caught out unprotected. Not sure what happens on Tintibulus, but I do know that bladestorms sweep across Ocanthus during the cacophony.

The dark of that second sound? As I understand it, sometimes some of those Prime worlds get it in their heads to dabble in terrible magic in an effort to get a leg up on their enemies. Magic capable of ending their world. And some of them? They believe their own hubris and the justness of their cause and actually use their magic to destroy their enemies. And that sound is the echoes of that magic being released.

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Ok sure, that's kinda cheesy, but I hope it was interesting to read at least.

I had an idea while thinking about Acheron at work today. Thinking about the crashing, clanging sounds that supposedly echo throughout the entire plane (or at least throughout any particular layer), and this idea about how Acheron is supposed to be a sort of embodiment of tyrannical warfare, and how a consequence of prolonged cold warfare usually ends up with the warring nations having an arsenal of world destroying weapons/magic pointed at each other. Well, I figure, what happens when one side decides to pull the trigger? There's going to be some sort of effect that echoes back on the planes, and all of those artifacts of war on Thuldanin have to come from somewhere, right?

So, the sound that would echo across the layers would actually be the sound of the weapon/magic (or maybe even the resounding voice of some super-creature that was harnessed) unleashed on the Prime.

Thinking on it further, the magic/weapon/creature used might not even have to be on the scale of world-shaking. It would have to be just enough to create a local cataclysm (the Mournlands from Eberron spring to mind). I also like the idea of a living spell manifesting or some sort of physical representation of the creature/weapon used appearing on Tintibulus. It gives folks who seek power a reason to settle on the layer, in that they'll hunt, study and research a specific manifestation.

Just going to do a dump of all of the ideas that have been percolating in my head and see if anything sticks.

I feel like we should expand on the nature of the sounds that echo throughout Acheron. I mean, they're ever-present, but they're really nothing more than set dressing. It seems like there could/should be something more to it than just that. Correct me if I'm wrong or forgetting something.

I also have this idea for a region in Ocanthus where the blades, when rung like a bell or struck like deflecting a blade, sound out rousing speeches and oratories for war. I think it works with the idea of the layer being spent memories. I could also see Ocanthus as a place where one could see the original causes for a given war being played out in the reflections of a particular shard. I mean, in canon, the layer is supposedly the final resting place of the Styx. I think setting the place up as being full of disjointed half-forgotten memories, and having them all play out in a sort of dream-like fashion could be really interesting.

Thoughts on how the layers might structure themselves on Acheron:

For the first two, rather than having them be discreet layers that you would have to move between, I favor the shift occurring based on your proximity to an active battlefield. If you seek out your enemies or just seek out any sort of battle to fight in, then you would find yourself shifting into the first layer. Fleeing from combat moves you into the second layer. This puts the onus on the individual or group to always be seeking out somebody to fight, or risk turning into stone and merging with a cube on the second layer.

Between the second and third, in addition to moving away from battle, one would move away from the scarred landscape left behind by warfare. I see this as a sort of refugee march mentality. You're seeking out a safer place, and you do that by moving as far as you can away from war. This sets up an interesting dynamic where, if a group of refugees trying to flee from the battlefront encounters any sort of hostility, they'll end up back on the first layer. What I see happening is that the individuals inclined towards fighting in any given refugee group eventually get picked off, and the only people who are left are the poor sods who are so broken by the experience that they'll do anything to ensure they're safe. And those folks who maintain that shred of hope while on the second layer are the ones who'll eventually end up merged with it; Acheron has no need for people like that.

These groups eventually find their way to the third layer, with its scattered outposts and towers and such, and they're ready and willing to submit themselves to whoever is in charge, just to ensure that they don't have go back to the battlefront.

Getting to Ocanthus itself might be a bit of dark.

Ok, that's it for now. I'm really starting to build up a good idea of what Acheron might behave like if I were to ever place anything there.

Perhaps the flying shards of really sharp ice, is shrapnel from a really large violent explosion from a conflict in the distant past.

I can't help but think about how, in some of the other Outer Planes, the top/bottom layer is sort of the ideals of that plane realized. Menasus on Arcadia represented that plane's ideal of a utopian society before it slipped into Mechanus. The seventh layer of Mount Celestia likewise is an idealized heaven. I'm really coming to think of Ocanthus as possibly representative of something more primal and ideal than just warfare.

So, when you distill it down, what is the essence of warfare? Why do wars happen? Maybe a desire for control and for resources. Maybe just hatred of anybody outside of the tribe. Maybe the love of battle and of fighting (though that seems more Ysgardian). How does Ocanthus represent that sort of distillation? Or should it?

Maybe there's a better track I could take in approaching the layer, but that thought has been bothering me for a while.

I know this is an old thread, and that a lot has already been covered, but I had a couple of thoughts while reading this. I like the idea of Acheron as the plane of mindless drudgery in general, and not just in the form of militias.

There's a book called the Phantom Tollbooth that I think holds a lot of inspiration for Planescape. It's practically "Planescape for Kids." It's about a boy who travels through the titular tollbooth (which is essentially a portal) to another world where the characters and places are manifestations of particular concepts and ideals. Anyway, in that book there's a "demon" named the Terrible Trivium who enthralls the heroes by giving them each some ludicrous and pointless task to complete, like moving a mountain one grain of sand at a time. He (almost) convinces them that working endlessly at some mindlessly simple task is better than struggling with a difficult or risky one. That concept seems appropriate for Acheron.

There's also the Fields of Asphodel from Greek religion. (I think it was brought up recently in another thread.) It's a kind of purgatory where the dead continue their work from life, but without joy or purpose. According the wikipedia page, the souls that enter the Fields of Asphodel "drink from the river Lethe before entering the fields, thus losing their identities and becoming something similar to a machine." (They could perhaps drink from the Styx, instead.)

Regarding Tintibulus and its role in the greater theme of Acheron... I could see it as a place where magic-users become slaves to their own power. They are lured by the magic-enhancing properties of the layer, but as they grow in power, they also lose some of their identity and purpose. Perhaps they eventually become living spells or some similar entity.