Planar Towns and Prime Worlds to Call Home

Well - one suggestion - what are the primes from Ortho like? That'd be the prime world the Harmonium originated. (No elves, halflings or fey need apply - these chaotic rabble rousers were dealt with in the proper manner according to hte Hardheads.)

ORTHO

Planar Savvy - Bashers (+1 to Planar Knowledge checks)

Orthoans are familiar with the names and natures of the various planes. They are warned about the dangers likely to be found (or come from) them, the major types of fiends and other dangerous planar predators (like the temptuous, seductive, and deadly eladrins), the factions, and those plans the Harmonium makes public. They even know several reliable ways to get to the planes, and the paperwork and (in some cases) bribes necessary to use them.

Some of what they know is highly colored by Harmonium propaganda, however. Their opinion of the planes of chaos, for example, is much more negative than that of a typical Cager.

Obviously, many more savvy people exist on Ortho - many are as learned as any Guvner sage (and many are Guvner sages). But they have to buy Planar Knowledge points like everyone else. Fortunately, training in this skill is much easier to come by on Ortho than it is on most Prime worlds.

Suggested planar savvy scale:

None - The community doesn't believe in other planes (and may not even believe in the plane they're on). Can't make Planar Knowledge checks until better educated. No one knows what a "plane" is.

Primitive - Beliefs about the planes are wildly simplified. May acknowledge a "spirit world" or an upper and lower world. Doesn't know much about them except that they're sacred, powerful, and extremely spooky.
-5 penalty to Planar Knowledge checks. Like a hunter-gatherer in the real world, or like a science fiction writer with vague notions of "quantum."

Rudimentary - The community may be aware of some of the most well-known planes, such as the elemental planes, the Seven Heavens of Celestia, the Nine Hells of Baator, and even the Astral. However, their knowledge isn't great, and they probably use names wildly variant from the Planar Common terms for them. From -4 to -3 to Planar Knowledge checks. Like someone whose knowledge of the planes comes entirely from the Monster Manual.

Low - The community doesn't use the "proper" names for things, and may have terribly erroneous information, but they basically know about the planes in the cosmology and what they're for. -3 to -1 to Planar Knowledge checks. Like someone who believes the Faerun cosmology is all there is.

Average - The community, as a whole, is vaguely aware of the Planar Common names for the planes due to a low level of trade by extradimensional merchants. If pressed, they might be able to figure out how to even reach the planes - through legendary portals in forbidden dungeons, mysterious regions of the sea avoided by sailors where great whirlpools suck those who venture too close into the elemental realms, underworld and wizardly contacts, astral conduits at the top of sacred mountains, and the like. They don't know a lot about the denizens and hazards other than gods, spirits, and elementals dwell there, but some might be able to remember a few details in an emergency. No bonus or penalty to Planar Knowledge checks. Like someone whose knowledge of the planes comes entirely from 1st edition AD&D books.

Bashers - The people of this community have a regular amount of planar trade in some sections of their population. Their knowledge of the planes may be distorted, but they know what's what. Anyone with enough jink can get to the planes. +1 to +2 on Planar Knowledge checks. Like someone who's read the 3e Manual of the Planes and has at least read about Planescape's Inner Planar cosmology.

Cutters - The people of this community have a large amount of planar trade. They know the planes with no real distortive filter. Travel to and from the planes here isn't as frequent as land or sea travel, but it's nearly as easy. +3 to +4 on Planar Knowledge checks. Like someone who's read the Planescape Campaign Setting.

Bloods - These are the most truly planar places in the multiverse, a true part of the planewalking community. Interplanar travel is as frequent or even more frequent than any other kind. Everyone here knows what's what and where they can find things. +5 to Planar Knowledge checks. Like someone who's read all the boxed sets.

Size - Interplanetary/interplanar. The Harmonium has brought Ortho's civilization to many worlds and planes. Spelljamming is only in the hands of the government, but they're a major power in parts of Wildspace. Everyone on the world of Ortho and beyond is part of essentially the same society and has the same government.

Alignment - Lawful neutral. The Harmonium in Ortho is even harsher than the Harmonium in Arcadia (not being mitigated by the presence of celestials) - which is itself dangerously close to true lawful neutral - but Ortho's government is not truly evil. At least, not most of it. Orthoans tend to be law-abiding and thoroughly indoctrinated into the Harmonium creed. When they're not, they're often assumed to be mad or posessed by fiends.

Religions - The people of Ortho are allowed to worship any deity they choose, as long as that god is approved by the Harmonium. Typically this means the god is lawful in nature, more often lawful neutral than not. The native pantheon - or what's left of it after centuries of Harmonium rule - is commonly referred to as the Lords of Law, but many gods from other planes and spheres have also gained popularity on the world. Particularly, Saint Cuthbert of Oerth is a popular choice. Marduk, Enlil, and Anu of the Babylonian pantheon and Re-Horakty, Isis, and Osiris of the Egyptian pantheon are also widely worshipped.

Everyone is required by law to attend church regularly. Truant officers ensure that this law is enforced. The churches are licensed and their activities are supervised by Harmonium officers.

Races - Humans are Ortho's most common race, as is true on many worlds. Closely following them are the world's lawful orcs, goblins, hobgoblins and kobolds. Dwarves have a strong presence as well, and their influence isn't confined to the mountains. Humans, orcs, dwarves, and other humanoids mingle among themselves peacefully, living and intermarrying in mixed communities. There is little distinction made between the various species, and no distinction at all under the law. Among Orthoans, every sentient being is a "person," regardless of their race, and they are surprised and horrified that anyone could think differently.

Surprisingly, there is also a large beholder population on Ortho. The beholders tend to keep to themselves, and have a limited form of self-government under their Hive Mothers, but they cooperate with the other races of Ortho in many things and have their own units in the Harmonium army. Orthoan beholders have chitinous red shells and tend toward evil, but they fanatically uphold the laws of Ortho and would never harm those not of their race, under penalty of strict beholder justice. They have a few laws of their own designed to maintain their racial purity and their distinctive physical appearance (under penalty of strict beholder "justice"), and the Harmonium authorities do not seem to mind. Those beholders infected with the "madness" that causes them to actually enjoy the company of those not of their race and breed are exiled to live among other citizens of Ortho, and many mixed-race communities have their share of "insane" beholders who seem to get along with everyone else perfectly well and help provide a good opinion of their race. "Sane" beholders carefully exterminate the mutants among them, but "insane" beholders may sport unusual features which they normally hide with cosmetics or cosmetic surgery.

Many other races in Ortho exist in varying proportions, but chaotic races such as elves, trolls, and fey were killed or driven from the planet centuries ago (orcs, obviously, are an exception, since Orthoan orcs are or have become lawful). Any elves or half-elves on Ortho are the decendents of immigrants from other worlds.

Conflict - The major threat to Orthoan peace is the Revolutionary League, which operates in secret cells throughout the planet. Some are terrorists, while others are just political agitators and radicals, but all are treated as terrorists by the Harmonium government. The penalty for being a member of the Revolutionary League, or having similar beliefs, is death after a proper trial by a Harmonium judge.

There are some who claim the Revolutionary League actually got its start on Ortho and spread to the planes from there, but uttering this blasphemy on Ortho is tantamount to admitting you're a member of the organization. As far as the Harmonium is concerned the Anarchists began in Carceri, although they were probably inspired by fiends from the Abyss. The Abyss is considered the worst plane of all in Ortho, the ultimate source of all ills.

Technically, having any beliefs divergent from the Harmonium creed is illegal, and it happens that some are tried as Anarchists who are nothing of the sort. The penalties for other heresies is reeducation in one of the Harmonium camps (which itself sometimes results in death, but that's not the intention), but Harmonium officers and judges sometimes get confused. Particularly, the beliefs of the Free League are often confused with those of the Anarchists - the many subtle differences between them (such as the fact that most Free Leaguers have no intention at all of overthrowing the government) sometimes escape the Hardheads.

Martial rhetoric is often found in the Harmonium's political speech. For example, it's not uncommon for a Harmonium politician to speak of a "war on crime" or a "war on Chaos."

The Harmonium is officially (or, at least, rhetorically) always at war with the entire multiverse beyond Ortho, its colonies, and Arcadia, but this usually isn't a hot war except on distant colony worlds and the Lower Planes. Except for the regular influx of mentally and physically scarred veterans, high taxes, and parades, this effects ordinary Orthoans not at all.

Interesting take on Ortho, especially the part on indoctrinated equality. It is interesting to note that so many dystopias are simply utopians ideals taken to an extreme conclusion. In my version of Ortho, gnomes organize the population with mathematical precision, and have perfected the science of producing happiness in so structured a fashion that they can measure all forms of it, from MegaHuxleys to decalitres of Anticipation of a New Lover's Arrival.

I always imagined that Ortho would look not much unlike Zamyatin's We.

I don't quite agree with this. Infiltrating a society as perfect, harmonious and happy as Ortho is well-nigh impossible. All external threats and attempts at espionage would be rejected by the population. Think of how incredibly difficult it was to insinuate agents into the Soviet Union. Multiply that by a thousand times. Ortho would be the terra incognita of the Revolutionary League; it's infiltration the holy grail of all operatives.

The only form of rebellion on Ortho, I suspect, would be a derangement on the part of some members (perhaps divinely inspired). Freedom only through insanity.

Has anyone ever fully detailed Ortho? Mayhap this deserves its own topic in The Chant section?

OERTH

Planar Savvy - Average (+0 to Planar Knowledge checks)

Oerthlings tend to be at least vaguely familiar with the Planar Common names for the planes, though they often get them wrong. Oerth is something of a planar nexus with many natural portals to the rest of the multiverse, making it a natural center of interest for many planar groups. This is most likely why the first instinct of most Oerthlings upon finding a portal is to try and seal it up for ever.

Some Oerthling cultures are more savvy than others. While there are sages and even universities who can tell you about the Twin Paradises, the Happy Hunting Grounds, and Concordant Opposition, and even village witches who know more than any mortal should about the politics of the Abyss, the people of Hepmonaland and the Barrens know only of the "spirit world."

The biggest bias Oerthlings face in dealing with the planes is their conviction that their world is the center of the multiverse. Canny planewalkers can tell them that they're absolutely right: Oerth is the center of the multiverse. But so is every other world and plane.

Size - Continent. When most planewalkers speak of Oerth they mean the Flanaess, which is technically only the eastern half of the continent of Oerik but close enough to a continent for our purposes. The people of the Flanaess tend to look down on those beyond their little region as savages. There are several very sophisticated civilizations in Western Oerik, but these are seperated from the Flanaess by thousands of miles of trackless waste created by an ancient magical war.

Counter-Oerth - This strange parallel world is little known to planewalkers. The most significant figure to come from this plane is the Duchess Rowena Darkwood, who is currently eyeing Sigil after her counterpart's disappearance.

Alignment - True neutral. The forces of law and chaos, good and evil are currently at close to a perfect equilibrium on Oerth, with large nations representing each of these alignments; the rilmani and several deities and quasi-deities work very hard with a number of mortal orders and cabals to keep it that way. The world has been through a series of extremely close scrapes recently, with enough fiends pouring in that it looked like Oerth was going to become a Blood War casualty. Several planar sages had written the world off as dying, but it seems to have come out the other side in one piece. This peace is extremely fragile, however, so planar interest remains high.

Religions - The Flanaess recognizes dozens of pantheons and hundreds of deities, enough to fill a good-sized multiverse. In the planes, the most well-known of Oerthling deities are Celestian (a god of planewalking and the Astral Plane), Saint Cuthbert (beloved by the Harmonium), Trithereon (god of liberation), Vecna (a god of secrets), and Keoghtom (a planewalking demigod). The trickster god of magic, Zagyg, is responsible for several dozen of the Ethereal's more bizarre demiplanes.

Demonology and diabolism are unfortunately common in parts of the Flanaess. One of the Dark Eight, Baalzephon, has even connived to be worshipped on Oerth (in what was called the Great Kingdom) as a god of wealth, though as yet she is not a true deity.

Races - Humans are the dominant race. Elves, dwarves, orcs, and gnomes rule nations on Oerth, while halflings, goblins, giants, and dragons dwell in smaller communities. Tieflings are more numerous even then what should be expected in such a world. The drow are powerful but secretive, maneuvering with illithids, derro, aboleths, kuo-toas, duergar, ghouls, and cloakers for dominance underground. Thri-kreen, centaurs, and wemics wander the plains of the Paynims to the west. Races like skulks, derro, and dopplegangers were apparently created by the ancient Suel Imperium from slaves. Githyanki and githzerai have several fortresses on Oerth, especially in the Hellfurnace Mountains (githyanki) and the neighboring Sea of Dust (githzerai).

The mercane have a small underground presence in parts of Oerth, and are responsible for helping to encourage locals to seal as many portals as possible - the better to give themselves a monopoly over cross-world travel.

Conflict - The conflict on Oerth is ultimately the conflict of the multiverse itself: the great forces of order, disorder, benevolence and malevolence in a dance with Balance. Representing law and good are the nations of Furyondy and Veluna (who came dangerously close to acheiving dominance over the world a few decades ago; the extreme overcompensation of the shift the other way shortly thereafter is blamed by the rilmani on Jemorille the Exile, a bit unfairly). Representing Law is the Kingdom of Nyrond. Representing law and evil are the Great Kingdom of Aerdy and the Scarlet Brotherhood. Representing Chaos are the Sea Barons, the Hold of the Sea Princes, the Rovers of the Barrens and the Cold Barbarians. Representing Chaos and Good are the Kingdom of Celene, Highfolk, and Geoff. Representing Chaos and Evil are the Empire of Iuz, the Vault of the Drow, and the Orcish Empire of the Pomarj. The Protectorate of Greyhawk is the most neutral government on the continent, a place of both heroism and utter corruption from the highest to the lowest, and the place where the Pact of Greyhawk was signed a few years ago ending the continent-ravaging wars.

The tanar'ri and the Dark Eight are still trying to figure out ways to use Oerth's portals in their Blood War tactics. Graz'zt seeks to make of the world another layer of the Abyss. Meanwhile celestials and rilmani fight among the mortal races in disguise.

The defining time of Western Oerik was the Demon War, when the Abyssal lords Yeenoghu and Baphomet invaded the Material Plane in force. Another important event in Western Oerik was the Battle of Zarum tens of thousands of years before, the greatest defeat of the followers of Gith against the Illithid Empire. To this day the River of Angry Souls flows with the tormented spirits of the slain.

The level of magic has been slowly fading on this world for millennia. Tharizdun, the imprisoned Dark God or Elemental Evil, is suspected to be to blame. The most potent magical regions are detatching themselves from the world, slowly fading into the Ethereal Plane. Once, epic wizards were capable of destroying vast tracts of the continent with a single spell that would last thousands of years. Now the mages of Oerth are no stronger than those of most other worlds, though they try and make up for it with bombast and panache.