The Endless Sewers of Erebus

But maybe there's a point in this layer for Pandemonium: if there's no purpose in order, it's not order at all. Think about that.

Order is still order, and some lawful bloods favor order when there is nothing part of it. Acheron embodies order for the sake of having order. "Order" is only chaotic when it's a fad.

And there's nothing more chaotic than some subway system maps out there.

By the way, this is an excelent plan for the layer's mood.

Other idea: name the layer in Acheron as Erebus, and this new idea of layer as Subere (su-BEH-reh), which is just Erebus spelled backwards and has a root-word relation with the layer's theme.

I'm still almost positive that it's a 2nd edition Aboleth.

Gee... I'm such a nerd.

I checked this in my old 2nd edition book, and the gibbering mouther were then called argos, and there was the 3rd edition aboleth too.

Yes, sometimes I'm very nerdy too...

I like this a lot

Maybe its original name was gibbering mouther. Sometimes, portuguese translations are just plain senseless. Well, thanks for the feedback, anyway. The gibbering mouther will make its place on the Endless Subway.

Here's how I'd run Pandemonium in UP.

The Wailing Caverns of Pandemonium:

"You don't change Pandemonium. It changes you."

It is eternal, raging winds.
It is knowledge forever lost and hopes gained.
It is the silence.

The Planes change. Insanity doesn't. There's nothing 'good' about insanity, just an endless, hideous torment for those involved. The Caverns haven't changed - just the way a Cutter sees it. Of all the Planes, Pandemonium still runs the same. The poor sods who hang on to the edges of the Plane still survive the same way they've always done - by being the nuttiest or the strongest. Sure, they fight with guns instead of swords, eke out a living using tractors instead of plows. All they can do is *know* that Pandemonium makes the rules, and it's first and only rule is that no one can win.

The Silence: Pandemonium is infinite, insane. Every place is eternally different, yet the same as all the rest, Insanity has exceptions, however. There is the Silence.

How do you know you've entered the Silence? When feeling cuts out. It's a misleading name; it doesn't occupy only sound. It occupies existence.

Once you're in the Silence, you stop being able to feel, and things stop being able to exist. First touch, taste, smell, hearing, the eternal winds cut short. Sight next. Guvners reason belief follows next.

From there? Well, there's been no tell of those who go deeper. But one thing's for certain. The Silence doesn't follow anyone's rules, and it changes anyone who touches it. The Bards left say it's the opposite of the Eternal Song, and they comb the Ring from Ysgard to Acheron searching for it. Sensates avoid it like the plague - sure, there's a few barmies who search for the 'experience' of nothing, but they're forever lost.

Once you've touched the Silence, you must live - for you know what dying's like. But nothing will ever be as real as it was.

Is it tied to Negative? Is it the Song? Or is it simply everything and nothing?

I like the ideas for Pandesmos and Erebus. They sound cool. Can't think of any ideas though.

No, it's like the Abyss. The petitioners are chaotic and powermongering, but the plane itself is the one that's in control. A lawful person on Erebus would likely either accept his lot in life or figure out a way to work within the planes cruel plumbing system. But the Petitioners aren't Lawful, they don't just sit there and accept their lot, they have to change things, and meanwhile Pandemonium is doing what it does best, screwing with your mind. As has been said before, you can't change Pandemonium, but it can change you. When you get right down to it, my proposal for Erebus is a lot like the traditional Pandemonian caverns except instead of caves is has sewers and instead of wind it has sludge.

Erebus has the potential to be very chaotic indeed when you think about it. Lawful planes try to force you to follow the rules of the plane at all times, it's true, and, by that token, chaotic planes should do the opposite, right? Shouldn't they force people to break the rules at all times? No, because you can't force people to break the rules without instituting a mandatory rule breaking law. Therefore, if it's against the rules to follow the rules, you can't break the rules without following them and you can't follow the rules without breaking them.

Basically, there's no way to force people to rebel. To that end, a plane can't really force people to be chaotic by simply saying, "This is the plane of chaos, everyone here has to be chaotic," instead, a chaotic plane has to be a little more clever if it wants its denizens to be chaotic. Some planes do this in a nice way, the Beastlands turns people into animals and eats away at their inhibitions in the process, Arborea simply fills itself up with some of the most good-natured chaotic individuals around, gives them an endless supply of intoxicants and free food and watches the party start. Ysgard does about the same thing, but they added free ressurections just to mix things up a little. Other planes are a little bit more viscious when it comes to causing chaos. Carceri puts people into the most horrible prison imaginable and waits for them to break out. The Abyss forces people to fight for everything or lose it all to someone else. Limbo is perhaps the most clever plane of chaos because it doesn't do anything at all. It just forces people into a deady and constantly fluctuating environment, gives them the means to manifest their wills directly, and waits for them to bump into someone with a different will. And Pandemonium, of course, breaks people down, chews them up, and leaves them with nothing, and as they say, people who have nothing left to lose are capable of anything.

Erebus does the same thing. Erebus forces people to fight to survive and then waits patiently to see who they will fight. Usually it's the plane itself and its eternal sewage spill, but sometimes, people on Erebus turn on eachother after all, when you have nothing left to lose, you also have everything to gain. If you put enough control freaks in an uncontrollable setting, who knows what they might do to eachother.

To be honest, of all Ive read (going to read more carefully later on when im not quite so tired), that last post was the finest I saw; in terms of how I envisage Pandemonium.

The idea of simply removing Pand. all together, as though amputated by the planes, kinda got to me- I can EASILY seeing it be a sort of no-man's land, but it should still exist; perhaps in another sense.

Something Ive noticed- alot of the things with Pand. tend to do with endlessly expanding hallways and the like. This brought to mind, with nary a moments thought, the mazes of the Lady of Pain. Now, as is, nobody really knows wtf the Lady is or what her powers are; let alone how far they reach. Perhaps the Lady made her purpose only slightly more clear (or more obscured) by removing this "Power" that was absorbing the Plane and throwing it head first into a maze.

As the power of the 'thing' and that of the Plane itself began to combine with the inherent magic of the maze, something new was formed- not quite a Plane, not quite a maze, but some horrid mixture of the 2.

An asylum seems perfectly suited to this sort of thing- the top floor seeming nothing more than a sanctuary for the slightly barmy or loose minded- all the same, stretching on into what seems like infinity, it can be maddening in and of itself. Whats more, the populace is a group of old favorites- nearly half of the population of the Madhouse (including a fair number of Bleakers) were transported upon the creation of this Maze-Plane.

Some sort of wardens (likely one of the transformed denizens of Pandemonium; if they were able to survive whatever it was that culled the Plane's power, wander aimlessly from petitioner to petitioner. Some gibber or scream, others twitch or moan, but all are at least slightly over the line of sanity.

Outsiders that have the gall to enter the remains of Pandemonium (requiring quite a bit of effort; though petitioners seem to make it just fine) always enter this first layer. The halls span on endlessly, reaching interchanges at random intervals that themselves seem to go off into eternity. Whats more, a berk may be walking down a hallway and see someone, speak to them and then continue on around a corner- only to find the same berk staring them in the face (or one that looks exactly like them) with no memory of ever having met said berk. Needless to say, that gets old fast, and maddening even faster. It is believed to be a result of the maze-magic interfering with the time/space equilibrium within the plane.

Stairs that seem to appear and disappear at random exist on the first layer; giving access to the depths below....

The next layer down, is nothing more than a series of pipes and sewers at first glance. But to a knowledgeable individual, Erebus is deadly to say the least.

The pipes contain more than just Styx water- they seem to contain nearly anything at any given moment. Break a pipe today and you may only get a spray with filty water... try that same pipe the next 'day' and you may catch broiling acid, any number of oozes and slimes, or worse.

However, for those brave enough to enter the pipes, great rewards can be the prize. There are things in these pipes, living things, terrible remnants of the former Agathion (sp?). They hunger and battle one another, but cannot escape the pipes- no matter the substance, they adapt to their surroundings and remain full functional. The vast array of items and knowledge that they have plucked from the mire is astounding.

Petitioners can be seen here as well, most scurrying about constantly to one job or another. You see, the pipes are continually leaking, and must be repaired. The life of a petitioner is constant movement and work- as soon as one pipe is fixed, 3 more seem to spring leaks, and ALL must be repaired. Many have speculated that the entire Plane may flood from the bottom up if something were not done.

Below this lies the Endless Sewers. These stretch on and on and on, appearing nearly the same around each corner; save for a pipe here or spout there. All the same, maps are useless and even memory seems to fail in these dank hovels.

It is rumored that intelligent beings dwell down here; though many claim them to be cannibalistic and savage. Not surprising considering the meager resources in the fetid pools of waste and debris.

Here and there, a bloated corpse floats along innocently- do not be fooled. These creatures are alive, or undead, as things would have it. They are the bodies of those that die during treatment in the Asylum above, and many are more than happy to drag someone else into the stinking water, to share their misery for all time.

Finally, at the very bottom of it all, lies Solitary.

Solitary is a hell beyond imagine- endless cells; each locked and bolted tight, some from within. Blaring white tile whiles stretch onward into nothing, the white broken only by the massive iron doors that line the halls. Lighting is dim; fluorescent lights click on and off, creating an even more horrifying environment- the terrors that lurk here can appear in a flash and be gone, leaving the viewer to question whether or not it was there at all....

Inside, madness reigns supreme.

The 'imprisoned' storm and shriek about their 'cells', which morph and change to fit their delusional fancy- one minute, a madman may relive the brutal murder of his family (with himself playing the leading role), and the next find himself in the arms of a former lover- only to have her sprout a second head and feast upon his entrails.

Most cells contain the raging souls of the most direly insane and tormented creatures, which writh and scream in blind horror of all they see (and much they dont). Some of the most 'powerful' Bleakers call this layer home; as do a number of former Ravagers and other evil beings.

This is where the insane come to die, or to live out their existence in incoherent, chaotic insanity. There is no escape, there is no end- the nightmare continues and cannot be shut out.

Some believe a few of these 'cells' may very well contain the remnants of things once 'stored' in Agathion- including the maddeningly powerful items and creatures. No wardens stalk these halls, and there is a reason many of the cells are locked from the inside- the thing still lives.

Whatever power truly made this place (be it the Lady of something else entirely; perhaps the Father of Portals finally freed after his last encounter with Her Serenity), somehow managed to contain this horror- but it could not be destroyed.

Where the Gods failed, Existence itself almost failed, the Lady succeeded... in a manner of speaking.

The creature cannot leave- and thus it does not. Instead, it stalks endlessly, one cell at a time, searching for a way out. Many a traveler (of the few who dare to venture to this hellish place) claim to have come upon miles of hallways, the doors torn clean off the hinges and throw about as sheets of paper. Sometimes the cell's inhabitant is simply dead, other times horribly mutilated.... sometimes, both and still living, driven to a place of lunacy outside the realm of understanding for a sane mind. Scholars say it is very likely that, given time, whatever the horror was, it will eventually find a way to fulfill its wishes- those wishes being to escape. Perhaps Her Serenity did not truly imprison this monster, but simply bought the Multiverse some time to mount an offensive- whatever the truth, we arent likely to learn it any time soon.

There is a portal to Carceri here, offering a one way trip, but even it is controlled and only a few are permitted to use it as intended (most end up at a random location within Solitary; sometimes inside one of the cells).

If you are going with the madhouse gimick, keep the bottom for the crazies. Sewers and all that need maintenance, and you typically dont want to have the maintenance people trudging past the absolute eat-your-face crazies- you keep them chained in the basement, so to speak.

Pandemonium as an Asylum sounds perfect though- gives me a very The Suffering/Silent Hill feel.

Just my 2 cents.

The only reason I can see the Lady of Pain getting involved with something beyond her personal domain is single-fold: Something that threatens everything, Sigil included.

This 'power' is bad, it has to be- to shred a God is NOT a simple task, by any means. Whats more, to envelope and absorb an entire Plane is, again, no simple task. And if the Gods themselves cannot stop you, who can?

*cue trumpet music*
Nearly the only other 'power' that can hold the Gods at bay would, in my eyes, seem a fitting adversary.

The Lady has, without a doubt, massive power- she is one of few that have been able to, with seemingly no effort at all, utterly destroy a divine being(much like this new power).

And whats more, nearly nothing is known regarding how her powers function, where she draws them from, WHAT she is or how far reaching her powers are- from my understanding, it could well be that the Lady of Pain is THE POWER, that which was before all else and that which will continue to be. Dietys cannot oppose her and Her will is infallible- shes the closest thing to the western idea of 'GOD' as powers come within the Multiverse.

And whats more, shes one of the few who refuses to be worshipped. There are so many questions regarding the Lady, and revealing a minor chapter in the library of Her existence (such as the fact that, perhaps, Her powers are NOT limited to within The Cage; as many believe) does little, if anything, to change Her role as 'that crazy all powerful thing in Sigil'- if anything, more questions arise; none of which can truly be answered because, as we all know, curiousity kills the cat when it comes to the Her Serenity...

The thing about Pandemonium that strikes me most is the appearance of limited space- in caverns (or, in this case, in a series of every expanding rooms) you usually cannot see what is beyond that next corner (or that next door, in this case).

This leads to the impression that quarters are confined and limited- this is where Pandemonium becomes even more maddening. There is no end- ever. It may appear that you are making progress, only to open the next door/turn the next corner and find youve made a massive circle, or worse, have entered an area from which you cannot easily escape.

Infact, repetition seems to occur at some point; as if space and even time contort and rearrange, making adventurers wary even of their own memories.

As far as the dark.... well, what can i say? lol... The previous Pandemonium was a rather dark place when you think about it- endless caverns of howling, maddening winds and ever tightening tunnels, eventually reaching a point where the tunnels end and become closed off pockets of reality; in which the Gods themselves stored that which was too horrible or too powerful to control. Madness is scary, and very very dark- some of the jabbering Bleakers up above may come off as almost comical; but when you see the truly mad, those whose lunacy has earned them a cell in Solitary, there is nothing funny and nothing light hearted about the situation. These are depraved minds, lost into something that, as sane individuals, we cannot really fathom- insanity is the ultimate loss of control, losing control over ones own mind, over ones very self.... I have a hard time seeing that as anything BUT dark.

The key is to, as many IRL Asylums have done in the past, 'cover up' the true horrors- lock them away, chain them up, close them off from the eyes of those whose sanity they could threaten with their very existence.

Those jabbering fools and drooling dolts in the upper layers, yes, they have lost their minds- but there are minds that, once lost, become something terrible (take for example, the harried mind of a Balor who was given a 'good' conscience, or that of a gith-slave that was forced to murder its family under mind flayer control, or simply the void mind of humanitys finest accomplishment in the field of lunacy- and of course, a number of the Mind Flayer's of Thoons creations have begun to funnel into this place- the Far Realm does that to a blood); and these are the sort which MUST be segmented from sanity, else chaos spread like an ever darkening presence.

Perhaps this 'Power' lurking in its depths, is meerly the corporeal form of insanity- chaos, rage, fear, lust, all combined into one ever changing, lost-minded horror with power the likes of which no creature with even the slightest hint of intellligence can stand before- even Gods must fear insanity, for in losing control of themselves, they would cease to be what they are.

Even the barely animate can become maddened, driven to wild hysteria, delusions, fits of rage or sobbing, or simple entering a catatonic state for periods of time- a raccoon is a cute enough creature and can do little harm; but a rabid raccoon, its anger and rage foaming over from some unknown well of inherent aggression, is something that can infect you with its madness, and thusly its danger is greatly increased.

This, however, is where the Lady is different than all the rest- it may well be that Her Serenity (note the name here) is simply beyond sanity altogether. She cannot be insane, because she was never sane- her consciousness is so far removed from what we can even fathom, that she is simply beyond such things as sane or insane- she simply is. This is The Will of Existence vs the Chaotic Rapture of Madness; Her Serenity vs "The Suffering"- this is the battle which has played out, and Existence has, for now, managed to buy itself some time.

(Note: 'The Suffering' above being synonymous with the 'Power' whose release from Pandemonium was the first step in the creation of this new existence- the thing needs a bloody name, lol)

Madness is a key note on Pandemonium- its something the residents are in a constant struggle with (some likely understand the concept of Solitary; perhaps even spent some time there before conning a group of adventurers or worse to drag their shambling form back to the upper layers); and even those entering this place must take measures to stave off the inherent chaotic-lunacy that makes up the plane.

In this case, I think something should be enacted on a Will save basis.

Im not really familiar with how these sort of things go (DC wise and what not), but madness saves should be a requisite upon entering Pandemonium. They are meager at first; perhaps a DC 10 save once a day to stave off the madness; 2 failures signifying a loss of sanity (which can be cured through leaving the Plane).

But as you delve deeper, first into Erberus and then Solitary, the saves become increasingly difficult and constant- upon reaching the deeper layers of Solitary (or entering the cell of a particularly blarmy beast), the saves should be difficult at best and require protective measures or short periods of exposure.

Being surrounded by those who minds are gone is not a good experience and it really shows you how weak the human mind really is; like a sheet of glass, the mind can easily be broken and after that, even if put back together, there are still cracks.

The Fun House gatetown would be a great entrance into Pandemonium; but it would have to handled correctly.

I myself wouldnt be the best to handle that sort of thing, as my understanding of the gate towns is limited at best. All the same, I think it would function as required and would have a number of points that could tie it quite easily to Pandemonium as described.

I think the key would be to find a way to maintain the carnival atmosphere, while injecting just abit of the inherent madness of the plane, resulting in a surreal wonderland with a sinister side to it- its all fun and games, until someone goes crazy

The time issue is one of those things that truly good GM could handle.... I am not a truly good GM, hehe.

I, like you, think Id have a ton of trouble keeping on task with the timeline of the game- but, if one COULD manage to run it in such a way, or to make its use easier, i think this would be a very good gimick for Pandemonium.

The way I see it, when PCs enter this place, they really shouldnt be sure of anything: whether they can trust the residents, whether they can trust their friends and even, whether they can trust themselves.

A very real sign of incurrng madness is jumps in memory, or even delusions- if you see someone and speak to them at length, then take a corner and run into them again as if you never had, you really begin to question yourself and your memory.

This a staple of many "mental issue" movies (such as Fight Club, Vanilla Sky, etc)- if you remember something in one fashion, and then are forced to accept that fact that what you remember was not real, its something that I think really gets to people in a very real sense.

Id even go as far as to say perhaps these madness checks should be hidden rolls, and any singular PC may slowly wander off into a delusional reality, without even realizing it, if their sanity begins to wane. This is a very atmosphereic touch, lending a new and sinister twist to the maddening effects of Pandemonium's winds.... in this place, you must keep a very tight grip on your mind, or you will lose it.

"If you cant trust yourself or your memory, who or what can you trust?" should be the general feel of this Plane (imo), with the effects becoming progressively more powerful the deeper in you go.

As one progresses, they begin to not trust their senses or even their own minds, and when you can no longer trust yourself, you can no longer control yourself- inner fear nips at sanity, bringing everything into question, until madness eventually sets in.

This is a place that only the brave or foolhardy would venture, much like the previous Pandemonium- you will have to be fully prepared (physically, mentally, and in terms of preparation) to even think of entering this place; and if you arent, your chance of eventually joining the residents increases exponentially.

This sounds especially interesting, as it really lends abit more to the idea of ever changing madness- perhaps the circus draws you in, pulling you ever closer towards said sensory overload, even as you try to pull back.

The denizens of the circus are certainly far from sane- some moreso than others. 'Mad Clowns' meander about, entertaining one moment, luring others to their grisly demise the next. Insane animals, kept in cages far too small for far too long and subjects of horrible mistreatment litter the circus and occasionally manage to enact revenge upon some blood foolish enough to linger too close. The ride operators seem friendly enough, but one can see a glimmer of sick passion when they force a frightened individual to board the ride; perhaps even going so far as to refuse to turn said ride off until their sick desires are met.

And of course, EVERY carnival has a freakshow- and an interplanar freak show would be, IM SURE, one hell of a thing to see (though infact, some of the perversions of nature are so bizarre in and of themselves, that looking upon them too long may draw ones mind abit too far from the safety of sanity- a perfect example being the Ooze Lady; a constantly pulsating mound of horrid slime that can, at will, appear to a male of any species as a beautiful member of their race and drawing them in, only to absorb them gleefully).

Ah... I love creating things

I couldnt have said it better myself

An option I think might be the best way to use that memory thing- have it be an optional method of running the Plane, but not necessary for DMs/Players who dont wanna go through the hassle.

This way, as you said, everyone can still use it; but still offering the option for an experience that people might not be able to formulate themselves (in terms of mechanics).

I think offering a number of interesting things to do on Pandemonium will be quite the project, and im going to take it on head first

I always liked Pandemonium and the idea of Agathion in particular. Im going to do some brain storming and see what I can think up, using various sources for inspiration.

New Monster for Pandemonium

Gentlemen
The Gentlemen are one of the subtle dangers of Pandemonium, especially for the clueless berks.

Description
Gentlemen appear to be a human males (females are almost unheard of) dressed in the fine livery of an arisoicatic bulter, and wearing a pale clay mask, depicting a serine experrsion. They always seem to to have a cup of tea and sometime a tea pot to hand. However, underneath the suite and mask, a horrid creature, prephaps once human, remains, its skin flayyed (they usually wear white gloves), its face amess with cuts, deformities or self mutilation, though most never see what is behind the mask. Their clay masks never move, and no sound is ever heard from them (even just moving they make no sounds), apart from the the sounds of tea being poured into a fine china cup. They do however, commicate, merely telepathic, quite often with their victims, to ofter them a cup of tea....

Threat
The threat of the Gentlemen is not them, but their tea. For it is tea, but made from the waters of the Styx which collect in the planes lower depths. Drinking a cup from one of these creatures steal's a bashers memory and drives him insane...or if hes really unlucky, slowly pursades him to 'join' the Gentlemen....

The Gentlemen themselves, are also quite persauvise in their offerings, their telepathic commication able to persaude even the most resolute and wise cutter.

They can be founnd on any of Pandemonium's layers, and even at the Circus of the Lost, but none have ever been reported further afield than that. Some grey breads believe that the Gentlemen are actually encharge of Pandemonium and that they're working towards some sinster plan, but most of them go bramy or just wander off, their tea pots empty......
_____________________________________

So then, thats the fluff type bit of them. I havent stated them up in full, buty I imagaine them to have powers such as Charm Person, Silence and Leviate (never know when you might be in need of a table to poor tea). They would be poor fighters, but good at getting others to fight for them.

I was also thinking that their tea could be rumoured " its either turns a sod mad or cues him of his pains, but thats a chancey deal it you ask me" sort of thing, to tempt some berks into drinking it without persauation

I've left them pretty vaue to allow folks to use them as they need, but what do you think???

Also, sorry about the spelling in this post, its not the best, but I'm in a little bit oif rush, its they work, I'll write them up neat and porper later.

Kal

Lol, great! Sewer Alchemy, love it and its a brilliant draw to the layer! Well done Jem

Also, I though of someone for soliatry - (taken from hitch hikers guide to the galaxy) a berk who has the whole truth of the multiverse instead his head - it has sent him almost cataonic, but sometimes, it your lucky, he a give a cutter a bit of information inbetween the fits of laughter, terror etc...but first that cutter has to reach him in solitary. Any good?

Kal

The animal idea is a good one- perhaps they are the disgruntled souls of animals that died of diseases that drove them mad (rabies being the most obvious).

Ive been thinking about the sewer thing, and Im going to compile a small list of creatures that I could see inhabiting the sewers.

Heres a small exerpt:

Watery Depths
-Half Farspawn/Anarchic-Creature Lizardfolk
-Yuan-Ti
-Behir
-Eyes of the Deep
-Chuul
-Maralith (demon)
-Lemure (devil)
-Dire Shark
-Black/Green Dragons
-Dragon Turtle
-Elementals (varying)
-Gibbering Mouthers
-Green/Sea Hags
-Hydra
-Kraken
-Kuo-Toa
-Locathah
-Medusa
-Oozes/Slimes
-Purple Worms
-Sahuagin
-Sea Cat
-Shambling Mound
-Skum
-Mutated Tojanida (these I think would make greast nasties for the water)
-Troglodyte

Perilous Danglers
-Ankheg
-Aranea
-Assassin/Razor Vine
-Behir
-Beholder-kin
-Carrion Crawler
-Chaos Beasts
-Choker
-Cloaker
-Darkmantle
-Bebelith (demon)
-Ice/Horned devils
-Devourer
-Dire Bat/Rat
-Drider
-Elementals (varying)
-Ettercap
-Fungus (varying)
-Gargoyles
-Ghouls
-Grick
-Harpy
-Mutated Howlers (see below)
-Invisible Stalker
-Lycanthropes (Wererat, Werebat, Werecroc, Wereviper)
-Manticore
-Mohrg
-Naga
-Nightshades
-Oozes/Slimes
-Otyugh/Neo-Otyugh
-Phantom Fungus
-Phase Spiders
-Phasm
-Purple Worms
-Altered Ravid
-Roper
-Shadows
-Shocker Lizards
-Spider Eater
-Stirge
-Vermin Swarms
-Tendriculos
-Troglodyte
-Umber Hulks
-Will-o-Wisps
-Wraith
-Wyvern
-Yrthak (one of these winging around through the pipes would be a great fluff addition as well i think)

... this is by no means complete (all creatures are from MM1), but just a few of the beings you MIGHT encounter in the new Pandemonium; or in Erebus at least.

The Orderlys

While most Modrons shut down long ago, a few still wander the Great Wheel. Of those few, the greatest number can be found within the first layer of Pandemonium. Known as The Orderlys, these ultra lawful beings have taken on the role of automated caretakers- they lead incapacitated petitioners to and fro in biomechanical wheelchairs , feed the catatonic and even remove those that die to the levels below (usually Erebus). They are responsible for the everyday 'maintenance' of the raving residents of this highest layer; doing their best to stave off the madness raging unchecked through the minds of their charges (and, some say, themselves- though I certainly wouldnt want to meet an insane modron, its corrupt logic constantly twisting in circles). Orderlys do not speak or communicate in any way- they appear to be completely autonomous, even moreso than their clockwork ancestors.

Orderlys appear as various gemoetric shapes, their previous clockwork mechanics having slowly been 'updated' (some say by the Gentlemen) into amalgomations of biomachinery (I see these modrons {and most others that might be encountered} as something H.R. Giger might create; with these particular beings somewhat resembling Giger's alien- if it were cubic, triangular or sphereical in design).

The Courtyard (mid-high level)

Located on the first layer, this strange room (200 ft. L. x 250 ft. W. x uknown height) appears as a bricked in courtyard, complete with fully functioning daylight and illusion spells to provide the appropriate day/night cycle. The 'floor' is covered in thick, green grass (though it is infact nothing but sod, which is replaced almost daily as it wilters in the presence of the largest permanent resident of the 'Room') and large trees grow throughout, though by the lights of the illusionary stars, they seem to wilt and droop; springing back to full life when the daylight-spell eventually reactivates.

Entering The Courtyard is easy enough via any of the doors which, from time to time, attach to the room. These doors access random places across the first layer, though there is always at least one that leads to Solitary (which, if viewed from the outside, appears to be a cell door unlike any of the others- leading some to wonder whether or not Bontko'tsu itself is truly serving its time in Solitary, and that those who enter The Courtyard are entering Bontko'tsu's own private 'cell').The Orderlys occasionally 'dump' a petitioner into the Courtyard, for 'exercise'; however the Orderlys themselves never enter.

From within, all doors (there are between 4 and 7 attached to The Courtyard at any given time) appear to be locked and cannot be opened- any physical attempt fails miserably, while any magic attempt is immediately disrupted. Teleportation spells fail immediately upon casting. The only exemption to this is that, on a whim, Bontko'tsu The Blood Root can open any of the doors currently attached to The Courtyard and knows where all of them lead.

Summon spells still work.... in a manner of speaking- while things can be summoned INTO the room, if none of the room's doors are open at the end of the spell's duration, the summoned being immediately disappears (though horrified, pained screams are often heard shortly after), only to reappear 1d4+1 days later as a Servant of the Root with no memory of their previous existence. Should an individual cause this to be the fate of their summoned creature, there is a 50% chance that creatures of the summoned being's type will no longer answer your summoning call (ie, they are removed from the Summon spell monster list), a 30% chance that creatures of the summoned being's alignment will no longer answer summoning calls, and a 10% chance that no creatures of any type will answer your summoning calls (these effects are cumulative); making The Courtyard the bane of summoners and a location they tend to avoid at all costs. The only way to remove these effects are via a Miracle or carefully worded Wish; requiring one of either for each effect.

Also, spells, abilities and effects that create or manipulate fire, or bear the 'Fire' type in their description, fail immediately unless the caster succeds on a DC 35 caster-level check (treat this as though the entire area has SR for purposes of fire effects). Any non-magical fire (such as torches, lanterns, alchemical fire, etc) do not activate or, if already activated/lit, immediately dissipate.

The Chute is the only door attached to The Courtyard which can constantly be opened from the inside. Upon opening the door, one finds themselves at the top of a massive elevator shaft, which seems to drop downward into eternity. Upon entering The Chute and descending a variable distance (it seems to be a different distance each time- sometimes longer, sometimes shorter) a locked and sealed door is encountered, which upon opening leads to a random location on Erebus. Even if this lock is picked or broken (not altogether difficult), it reappears exactly the same the next time someone visits the door. The Chute always appears to continue downward, past the door to Erebus; but those who continue onward are never seen again- some say that to continue on downwards is to descend into madness; the eventual result being the poor sod locked up for his own private, long-term vacation in Solitary. It is said this may have once been a maintenance elevator for those attempting to enter Erebus- or it was, before The Blood Root took up residence.

This is where Bontko'tsu, The Blood Root, makes it residence (whether by choice or force is unclear). At the center of the heavily wooded 'Room' is a thicket amongst the massive tree trunks, where the ancient treant sits in constant concentration.

History of Bontko'tsu

Bontko'tsu (CE Half-Fiend, Half-Farspawn Treant Cleric7 of The Xammux/Soul Eater6/Loremaster6), is an elder of his kind, which says alot in and of itself(his exact age is unknown; though it is not beyond measures to assume he is many hundreds, if not thousands, of years old).

It is said that not so long ago, an evil force destroyed Bontko'tsu's home forest, burning every tree to the ground and then tearing out its roots. Bontko'tsu was taken as a captive and forced into a most foul experiment.

His captors, were clerics to the evil forces known as The Xammux; an assortment of evil beings fused together into a single entity, its cold, logical mind ever seeking the darkest of knowledge. In an attempt to summon one of the Six Aspects of The Xammux, using the elder treant as a foci, the clerics enacted a ritual taken from the darkest of tomes- the book of vile darkness.

Sadly (for them at least) they had recieved one of the many fakes in circulation; only slightly altered from the original, but just enough to make it a trap for those seeking to pursue the evil acts scribed within- the ritual transported them to an unknown location somewhere outside of the Great Wheel. Here, they were infact found by something (perhaps even the force they had sought to summon) and got their just deserts.

The cultists were flayed in seconds, their tattered skins falling in ribbons as their flesh exploded outwards from within. The ancient treant however, endured far worse torments- Bontko'tsu was forced to read, from cover to cover, the real book of vile darkness; not a reprint or recreation, but the original, scribed by Vecna himself and bound in human skin and demon bone.

This act transformed the previously good creature, warping its wooden form and corrupting its very soul. Bontko'tsu's bark turned black and sooty, as though burned; and its leaves died long ago, though they still hang lifelessly in shades of gray from the enormous creature's 'head'. Its limbs end in jagged wooden spikes, and 5" curved thorns (secreting a poison similar to that of the Violet Fungus found in some dungeons) have sprouted across every inch of its blackened bark. Its eyes are typically(see below) a dark gray color, with no pupil to be seen.

This monstrosity was in turn set loose upon the Multiverse; tasked with collection of the foulest and most perverse of knowledge. For nearly 60 years, the sudden death of large trees or the apperant outline of massive black sticks on the horizon (The Sorrow Thorns; see below), were reason for grave concern to the residents of many a village, city or even region. The trees animated by Bontko'tsu instantly catch aflame, burning until their bark is similar to that of its animator, before the flames puff out and the hulking, leafless timber stalks onward, trailing black smoke in its wake- these are Bontko'tsu's shock troops, and they have come to be called The Sorrow Thorns.

As fate would have it, not short after the alteration of Pandemonium the elder treant found itself deep within Solitary, seeking the soul of the original BoVD's author; a miserable Varashan spellcaster known only as 'Enigma'. What the tree-beast found, however, was something far more terrible- what this was is completely unknown; but it was shortly afterwards that the Courtyard appeared and that Bontko'tsu took up residence there.

Where once the great tree roared its hatred and dark thoughts upon the ears of its victims, it now sits quietly and unmoving; the only sign of life being the occasional branch reaching forward to turn a page. For here, in this prosthetic eden, the great tree stands rooted firmly, its dull gray eyes locked deep within the pages of the true original BoVD- whether it managed to find the lost soul afterall or not is unclear, but it did somehow ascertain the book, which it reads cover to cover (starting over once reaching the end) at all times.

Those who enter the Courtyard rarely incurr the ire of the 'Blood Root' without cause- though cause seems to be anything from outright threats or attacks, to sneezing or making enough noise to disturb the creature from its reading. Typically though, even a large group can move through the courtyard without drawing the creatures gaze- should the beast's patience be tested though, its dull gray eyes begin to flood with brilliant red (appearing much as a few drops of blood leaked into a glass orb of brackish water), signifying that its reign of terror is going to begin again, shortlived though it may be- once finished pummeling the bodies of its foes into the grassy 'soil', the creature immediately returns to its reading.

Encountering Bontko'tsu

Bontko'tsu is a CR 30 creature on his own, not including The Servants of the Root (at least 10 of which are constantly by Bontko'tsu's side) or The Sorrow Thorns; for those brave or foolhardy enough to make an attempt on his life.

There are only 2 ways to approach Bontko'tus without risking ones life.

The first, and most common, is for one to make clear that their intentions are seeking knowledge regarding the horrid tome, the book of vile darkness. This seems to be the only topic the creature will readily (and with great interest; seeming to lose all evil qualities for that of an excited child) discuss at length, and without battering its fellow speakers into oozing piles of gore. Any subject even briefly mentioned in the BoVD (either the true original or Vecna's copy; both of which are still in Bontko'tsu's possession) can be a catalyst to start a conversation with the Blood Root; and once it starts talking, it has a tendency to drone on and on at length about any subject it feels the listener might benefit from knowledge of. One must take great care however, for if the conversation should stray too far from the book; the inherent madness and rage of the violated nature-spawn will be drawn out.

The other, and less commonly attempted, approach is to be in the company of a Woodling creature (MM3). These creatures are apperantly the only beings the elder treant seems to connect to in any way; besides non-sentient plant life. However, any Woodling creature that enters into conversation must make an immediate DC 25 Will save vs madness(DC 18 if under the influence of a drug sold by the WaveRats, the wererat hordes of Erebus), or be drawn away from their very sanity and turned into Servants of the Root, simply by being in the presence of the befouled, former champion of the forest. This is, obviously, the reason few Woodlings dare to risk their luck.

Though it is possible to attain bits of information that would be, for all intensive purposes, impossible for a good-aligned creature to learn (as they are detailed in the BoVD, the possession of which is corrupting in and of itself); prospective conversationalists must take great care in their method of approach and their essential guiding of the meandering thoughts of Bontko'tsu.

Servants of the Root

Woodling creatures that fail their madness saves upon entering conversation with The Blood Root, and summoned creatures that become trapped and re-formulated into Woodling creatures, are the most common additions to the ranks of the Blood Root's servants, though a few of those 'dumped' by the Orderlys have also entered the ranks.

These creatures are members of varying races and classes, though all bear the following traits:
-Woodling template (excluding fire vulnerability)
-Half-Fiend or Half-Farspawn template
-DR 5/+2 (all DR from base creature applies)
-Energy Resistance Fire/Cold/Electricity/15 (if base creature has energy resistance fire, cold or electricity; use whichever is better)
-SR 11 +HD (if base creature has SR, use whichever is better)
-Acid Vulnerability (x1.5 dmg)

These creatures do not communicate and appear completely autonomous (not unlike the Orderlys outside), aside from an occasional twitch, shriek or stuttering/mumbling fit. They are constantly at work- dumping fertilizer (a green, pulsating goo; drawn from a pump which some say draws its source from the Refining Plant) on the roots of Bontko'tsu and the other trees, replacing the wilted sod and dragging away the bodies of those who fail to avoid the Blood Root's wrath. These bodies are in turn dumped down The Chute into the stinking waters of Erebus' sewers, most becoming meals for that layer's resident horrors or becoming horrors themselves- the Bloats.

The Bloats

Most corpses that enter Erebus meet one fate or another- becoming a meal to one vile creature or another in the water, serving as a hatchery for one of the many mutated arachnid species clinging to the pipes and tunnel cielings or being sucked through one of the many intake-vents to be 'Refined'.

Some however (approximately 35% researchers claim) seem to draw some of the inherent madness of Pandemonium into themselves. These undead horrors typically float face down on the water's surface, waiting to feel the vibrations of a living being approaching; at which point they spring forth, latching on with tooth and bony hand, dragging its struggling victim to its death- all such victims immediately become bloats themselves, and some say that there are miles-long tunnels where the water cannot be seen through an evergrowing layer of bloated corpses, all of which are ready and willing to add more to the floating horror.

The Bloats seem to retain their intelligence, and a life floating on ones face in stinking, filthy water does little for the sanity- some leap from the water shrieking in fear, others grinning ear to ear with glee, others still seem almost sad to complete the vile task of increasing their kinds' numbers.

The typical Bloat can be of almost any race, though the skin of its face-side is always white, wrinkled and extremely maleable- its not unusual for a powerful warrior to strike an attacking bloat, only to knock the outer layers of its skin and flesh flying away to splatter sickeningly against the tunnel walls; while having no effect on the Bloats ability to kill.

Their backside, however, appears as though they had died only moments before- this aids their ability to lure in victims, as many a dead-robbing thief has thought themselves all the smarter for only searching fresh bodies, but in turn soon find themselves the ones floating facing down.

The Cleaners

The cleaners are the reconfigured remnants of the Howler species.

They appear much as they did before in size and general shape; but the creatures themselves are much changed. The first thing one will notice are the screams. The Howlers that eventually became The Cleaners lost their howling ability, reminiscent of the Pandemonium that once was.

They instead emit, what many believe to be, the harried cries and echoing shrieks of those trapped in the cells deep within Solitary- these sounds, emanating from the blarmiest minds in the Multiverse and channeled through The Cleaners' quills, are a sonic attack with a range of 20' and that requires a DC 20 Will save vs madness or be drained of 1d4 points of Wisdom. Each cleaner can attack with up to 3 quills in a single round (using 1 quill being a swift action, using 2 being a standard action, and using all 3 being a full-round action). Any creature whose Wisdom score is reduced to 1 or less in this way becomes completely mad in 1d3 hours, unless the Cleaner who caused the affliction is killed (which can be quite a pain). A creature maddened in this way is immediately located by the nearest Orderly and placed in one of the many rooms covering the whole of the first layer.

Because of their tactics (moving in large groups to confuse foes as well as hit-and-run tactics) it can be very hard to single out and destroy any particular Cleaner in a pack, especially within the rather short time frame of the affliction's onset- a favorite tactic of a Cleaner pack is to move in on a group, a few closing in melee while others use their quills from range, moving away as soon as any of their foes are afflicted and waiting for their sanity to fade and the Orderly to arrive before moving in to attack again (should the afflicted character's compatriots attempt to ward off the Orderly, they only succeed in summoning more Cleaners; see below).

The only way (short of a Miracle called for by a lawful cleric of at least 20th level) to remove the affliction once it has taken effect is to locate and destroy the Cleaner who caused the affliction- if the creature was summoned as a result of attacking a Gentleman or Orderly, it often requires first tracking down said creature and attacking them again to locate the offending Cleaner- and even this is chancey, as the particular Cleaner you want may not be summoned (20% chance desired Cleaner will not be summoned if attempted in this manner).

Additionally, Cleaners as a whole have no eyes; only empty black sockets. The mere sight of this eyeless visage causes those native to the Material Plane to take a -1 morale penalty on attack rolls and lose their Dex bonus to AC, and requires all lawful/good aligned creatures to make a Will save; failure signifying that the Cleaner's bizarre nature was so scarring as to have serious mental effects (as the mind fog spell, with CL being Cleaner's HD, save DC is Wisdom based).

Finally, twice/day those hit by The Cleaners' melee attacks must succeed on a Will save or be overcome by a mind-dulling effect (as touch of idiocy spell; DC is Wisdom based, CL equals Cleaner's HD+3).

Seperately, a Cleaner is a dangerous foe- but in a pack, they are truly terrifying; easily capable of turning a well-equipt party into a band of drooling dolts. And so the flock of the mad grows...

The Cleaners' sole purpose on the Plane appears to be exactly what their name intends- any non-resident, or any creature not exuding the proper aura of madness or evil for that matter, is seens as 'trash' and is a potential target of the cleaners. Moving in groups of up to 10, these creatures prowl endlessly through the various rooms of the upper most layer, occasionally even delving down into the pipes and sewers of Erebus below in their relentless hunt of those few among the sane brave or foolish enough to enter The Maddening Sanitorium. They serve as the guards of the upper layers (leaving The Suffering to reign in Solitary)- any time a Gentleman or Orderly is injured/attacked by a non-resident 2d4 Cleaners are summoned, appearing the following round and acting immediately to purge the sanity, or lives, from those threatening the agents of Pandemonium.

The Cleaners' never speak, though they seem to understand Abyssal. The only sound at they are known to emit (as they simply channel the screams, not emit them) is an erie laughing sound, much like that of hyenas on the plains of the Prime Material. One can always tell when The Cleaners are drawing near, as their chattering laughs echo throughout the halls, concealing the steady beat of their clawed feet propelling them towards their next assignment.

Thanks for the feedback- for the most part, its just basis and needs further fleshing out

With the Orderlys, they arent always milling about mind you, and they are by no means a majority within the layer- consider something of a ratio like 1 orderly / 50,000 blarmies; it would be something you would rarely see within Pandemonium as a visitor, but if you somehow did manage to run into one, it would be best to just stay out of its way.

Also, something to note- while they may SEEM lawful and such; its very difficult to tell whats going on inside their minds- a previously lawful being trapped in a plane of maddening chaos is likely to not be altogether sane themselves; which could be fleshed out further. It may well be that, in time, the madness of the plane infects the orderlys themselves and their bretheren drag the blarmied creature down to Solitary (the only time they enter the bottom layer) to lock the poor former-modron in a cell of its own. Whatever the case, insane modrons MUST be included, lol- they are just too cool an idea.

The idea of the courtyard is essentially the 'exercise yard' within the Asylum; which was eventually overtaken when the giant treant arrived.

As far as paved over and such.... well, the walls are infact bricked like a city court and its likely the floor has as well.

Perhaps in a previous time, it was much as you described it- bricked and broken where the Blood Root sat. However, over time, its Servants have changed things to suit their naturally-inclined master's will. The trees are almost a requirement; otherwise you greatly limit the strength of the character as a treant- and would have to remove the idea of the Sorrow Thorns altogether; or I would at least.

I see this as a seeminly overgrown room; the pure chaos of nature overtaking the previously ordered brick and stone- just another addition to the madness motife. Within the courtyard is a semblance of nature; but it is obviously twisted by where it lies- nature gone mad, if you will.

The chute itself can easily be re-formulated to fit better- the idea (a bottomless bit leading into insanity and darkness, Solitary itself) can easily be changed to something besides an elevator shaft.

The Far-Realm is quite an odd one- however I wouldnt see it as devoid of morals (though, it could perhaps be devoid of OUR visions of what good/evil/law/chaos are). There are beings within the Far-Realm that would understand the use and power of the BoVD- not as a tool of evil, but simply as a tool.

This is where the Xammux, detailed only briefly in the Book of Vile Darkness, come in. I have always seem the Xammux as a rather interesting entity; and it would explain, in my mind, their seeming non-existence is a result of being locked away in the Far-Realm; where their previously ultra-logical mindset has been skewered and corrupted.

There is something inherently... well, I wouldnt say 'evil', but 'dark' about the Far-Realm. It is, in my eyes, like the bottom of IRL oceans- its unknown whats down there, surviving there as a mortal is nigh unto impossible and the things that we know DO live there are seemingly, as you have said, free of set form and function.

Quite simply, I think it would be about time that those interested in the place would start attempting to explore it further (using technology to do so). It is beyond the Great Wheel and, I feel, has a very real place in Planescape- its the place beyond; much like the Outer Planes would be for a game set in the Material Prime.

The idea of a creature like a treant being dragged into the Far-Realm and returning as a living-dead tree bent on the discovery of forbidden knowledge at the behest of some twisted, alien force from beyond, is just something that kinda seemed to fit- its the alien perversion of our natural world, the undead version of nature; and I think thats the sort of thing an experimental being of the Far-Realm might consider interesting. And, obviously, this does not appear like a normal treant- the Far-Realm's touch ca be seen in the strange, venomous twisting thorns, tentacle like branches and what not- not to mention the overall mental state of the elder treant, which is by no means something that we as humans could begin to understand originally, let alone in its current form.

Any truly evil force (residents of the lower planes) would not entrust the book to one of its servants- infact, they themselves might seek to located and capture the ancient tree; whose twisted powers from the beyond far exceed their own evil-oriented strength. Even evil would have some inherent fear of the Far-Realm, and those that serve what inhabits it.

It would not be beyond measure to see forces from the Lower Planes making attempts at defeating Bontko'tsu, only to find themselves trapped in The Courtyard and battling not only the ancient treant, but also a few dozen Servants and the massive trees of the room, transformed by the Blood Root into Sorrow Thorns.

I agree with the name of the 'Cleaners'- needs something more sinister; but it was late and i was fried, lol

I think its very logical to think that they ignore the typical gravity of the plane as well, as you said- would not be unusual for a party to be making their way steadily through the plane only to encounter an 'Orderly' or some such, which notes their presence and moves on without a word; silently sending the signal that summons forth 'The Cleaners', which come storming onward in search of the outsiders- sometimes along the floor, other times across the cieling or even vertical walls.

I see your line of thought, and its very appropriate.

However, I dont see the Far-Realm being quite the same as the Lower Planes- there are no simple measures one can take to protect themselves from the Far-Realm.

Its a place you just cant go and expect to return even remotely similar to what you were upon entering- just look at what happened to the Thoonians.

Using the mindset you stated, I dont think I would consider the Far-Realm as a place of bigger and badder nasties.... its something completely different and bizarre- there is no little protective trick you can use, no little secret to entering without effect.

As a mortal, you just CANT enter there if you dont want to experience the effects.... however, using technology, some have managed to begin exploring it without exposing themselves directly to said effects.

I see this as something like the Lady of Pain, in terms of how its handled via story- any manner of beings might have come free of the Far-Realm to serve one purpose or another, but its a place the PCs should not venture. While its known of in basic regards (ie, its known that it exists), little else is known about it.

I really see the Far-Realm as very similar to our version of the deep sea- its not inherently 'evil', though things like anglerfish are pretty nasty; as is the creature which was the basic inspiration for Giger's alien (and yes, there IS a nasty lil thing at the bottom of our oceans that resembles the alien and lays its eggs in living creatures).

There are bizarre, twisted, alien things in the Far-Realm (such as psuedonatural creatures); but they arent altogether evil- some of the beings you might encounter that hail from the Far-Realm are just as likely to give you a tentacle massage as they are to use said tentacles to kill you. And the bizarre and amazing things that those who send their techno-creations into the F-Realm are finding are more than enough to draw serious attention.

Its a place where life from normal existence cannot exist normally; though they can learn about it.

Meh, just how I see it.

EDIT: For those who would like to see the creature that helped inspire Giger's alien, take a look here, approximate time 3:25:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9Er4dpUfrM&mode=related&search