Planar Tour Guide: The Plane of Shadow part 1

(art by Cim Yucesoy on Artstation)

Intro

We’re back with another look into an otherworldly plane of existence and this time we’re heading in the metaphorical opposite direction to our previous subject: the Ethereal Plane!

Beneath and behind the material world that we all know is the plane of shadow, a dark reflection of the material plane where distances are strangely warped and light is dim and seemingly sourceless, as if the dimension filters in traces of light from it’s sun-kissed counterpart.

The Shadow Plane exists as a buffer between the Material Plane and the incarnated entropic force of the Negative Energy Plane. As such, that shadowy place rest on the border of tangible reality and unreality. It is that quasi-illusionary nature that forms the basis of shadow illusion magic, which draws upon the quasi-real shadow matter to fuel it. It is also the reason why the signature shadow-themed transportation spell, Shadow Walk, is categorized as an illusion spell. As you might expect, such spells are even stronger on the plane of their origin.

The Plane of Shadow is also known in Pathfinder as the Netherworld, which 2nd edition is starting to embrace as the system and setting are distancing themselves from D&D.

Half-real and governed partially by thought and emotion in the same way as the Ethereal Plane, the majority of terrain in this realm is that of reflections of emotionally significant locations on the Material Plane. Cities are common, but places where great joy, or more commonly, great sorrow and tragedy also appear. However, these places are often a bit different than how they appear on the Material Plane. A tower where horrible tortures occurred might be considerably more sinister-looking in the Netherworld, or it might be inverted, being a pit in the ground lined with rooms of torture and pain. Meanwhile, a city might have more narrow and claustrophobic streets, and taller, more spikey towers.

Meanwhile, areas of less emotional significance do still exist, but they are… well, the best way to describe it is that they are skimmed over, much less space is dedicated to them than on the material, perhaps their lack of significance letting parts of them be vanished by the pull of the negative energy plane. Whatever the explanation, this leads to the greatest use that powerful mages have for the plane: the lack of space dedicated to “empty” places means that using magic to travel that uses the Netherworld as a shortcut can allow them to travel at a much greater speed, if somewhat inaccurately when they return to the material plane.

However, do not think that the utility of the plane means that it is safe. Far from it. The Shadow Plane is home to certain forms of undead, such as the appropriately named shadows and all manner of nightshades, those horrible former fiends turned into deathless horrors of destruction. Additionally, various villainous creatures have immigrated to the plane aeons ago, such as svartalfar fey and of course the sadomasochistic horrors known as velstracs.

However, there are also allies to be found as well (albeit mistrustful ones) such a fetchlings, wayangs, the insectile d’ziriaks and the masked shae, to name a few.

As we will see over the course of this week, there are many dangers, but also eerie beauty to this place. The wary and canny can survive, but the foolish may perish. As we progress we will come to understand the Netherworld as best as we can. Look forward to it!

Modron, Quarton

Image © @tredlocity​

[In the original Monster Manual 2, quartons have absolutely no unique abilities whatsoever. Which allowed them to be a blank slate for me. So I gave them powers of crafting and construction, and also a bunch of references to the spells and magic items of original AD&D that assumed that high level characters would settle down and build their own dungeons. On a related note, is the lyre of building a joke about Nero? Or is there some myth or story about construction sped up by playing a lyre that I don’t know?]

Modron, Quarton CR 18 LN Outsider (extraplanar) This humanoid giant has four arms, two enormous and two small. It has fan-like wings growing from its back, and a head like a helmet. A symbol of a diamond sits on the center of its forehead.

Quartons are the modron hierarchs that represent Primus’ mastery over artifice. They are engineers and builders of incredible skill, mixing magical and mundane techniques to create buildings and tools that are unparalleled throughout the planes. They often act as architects and supervisors, coordinating the efforts of lesser modrons to perform the bulk of the labor, and then adding the finishing touches to optimize efficiency. As such, a single quarton may oversee construction projects throughout Regulus, delegating to a team of decatons for most of the day-to-day affairs.

Although quartons have four arms, they are decidedly uneven in size. The smaller pair is used for spellcasting, while the larger pair is used for combat and manual labor. A quarton typically carries a massive two-handed hammer as a badge of office, and blows with this hammer can shatter inanimate objects and clear earth and stone with ease. A quarton often focuses its strikes in combat on enemy gear rather than on their flesh, hoping to demoralize foes and persuade them of the wisdom of surrender. If this fails, or if fighting chaotic enemies, the quarton instead fights with maximum lethal efficiency.

As quartons rarely leave the bustle of Regulus, they provide tools in order for other modrons to fulfill the will of Primus on other planes or planets. Their workshops build the vast majority of the weapons wielded by modrons, and they also provide hierarchs on the Great Modron March with tools for securing and defending territory. Instant fortresses, lyres of building, and simple scrolls of stone shape and move earth are provided to expeditionary forces. On the rare occasions where a quarton leaves Regulus, it is usually to inspect a site captured by modrons to determine if it is suitable for long-term occupation, and to design fortifications to spec if it is.

Keep reading

Smog Wraith (Planescape, PF2)

Hey, let's do something Christmas themed! How about the smog wraith? What do you mean that isn't Christmas-y? A Christmas Carol is an iconic Noel tale set during the Industrial Revolution, where smog wraiths would be right at home. Dead industrialists and profiteers reanimated by their greed and willingness to tear down the world around them for coin? Tell me that doesn't fit in with Dicken's intent (or Twitter's current implosion).

Okay, so you can question my logic, but the point is you can be creative with how you tie themes together. Smog wraiths also have a couple of unique abilities going for them. Tactically, you need to be wary of their noxious smog, which poisons and conceals anyone who gets too close. They also cause nearby corpses to start levitating within the smoke, which has absolutely zero effect, but is creepy as all get out. Play that up when you use these undead.

Also I will fight anyone who says the Muppet's Christmas Carol isn't the definitive edition.

Roleplaying Races 12: Suli

(art by Samantha Keller on Artstation)

Of all the genies, the jann, who combine all four elements into one, are perhaps the most humanoid-like, often living alongside humans on the material plane.

Inevitably, such proximity breeds fondness and love, and from such unions come children. However, unlike other genie-kin, who favor one element over all others, the suli-jann, as they are known, invoke all four, being famed for their ability to charge their limbs and weapons with the four elements.

Just as the jann themselves are something of a bridge between the mortal realms and the elemental planes, so too are the suli a bridge between mortals and the jann. As such, they are also well-known as shrewd negotiators in matters both political and merchantile, learning from their true genie kin.

A suli-jann resembles the race of their mortal parentage, usually human, but other suli do exist as well. In general, they are typically strong of body and attractive for their species.

In a similar way to half-elves, suli are charismatic beings, but even in the most accepting communities, they still feel caught between two worlds, never really belonging to either. Like other geniekin planetouched, they also don’t really have many communities or civilization of their own, but instead add their own elemental flair to the art and work they do in other communities, be they rooted or nomadic.

Suli tend to be strong and charming, but a little slow on the uptake.

Their upbringing among the janni does give them a knack for diplomacy though.

Their most dramatic ability lets them shroud their limbs in elemental energy, be it acid, electricity, flame, or frost, which they can deliver either with unarmed strikes or channel into their weaponry.

Naturally, they also have resistance to all four of these elements as well.

Of course, mixing multiple elements and various forms of mortal blood will often result in variation, such as having a stronger connection with a single element, able to channel only that one, but gaining other benefits while doing so (rough terrain shifting slightly for earth/acid, throw flames, stride on frozen platforms on the surface of water, and electrify themselves against foes that touch them). Meanwhile, others train to ward their mind so as to be trusted mediators, and others seem more mortal than other suli.

With their strength and charm, as well as their ability to add extra elemental damage of their choice to their damage rolls, it’s no surprise that they favor not just social classes, but also martial ones. Paladin and magus are natural picks, especially since they have their very own archetype for the magus in the elemental knight, as well as any magus archetype that changes the spellcasting stat to charisma. That charisma also proves useful for martial bards and swashbucklers as well, as well as spellcasters like oracle, sorcerer, and bloodrager. Their weakness in intelligence does damage their skill points, so skilled classes and int casters are not a first choice but not impossible builds either.

Madness is arguing with the universe. Magic is getting it to listen to your opinion.

Quote stolen from an irl person

Client work, portrait of Rosalind Chaos the Tiefling Warlock (he/him)

Gossiping

Mephistopheles

I need to do some butt kissing to start this entry. @wesschneider is a god amongst writers. Why?

Mephistopheles has been kicking around TSR’s playground in Cania since 1983, courtesy of Gary Gygax and Ed Greenwood. Its origins stretch much further back, of course, Mephistopheles has been a stock devil ever since Faust, and much of Western folklore that was used to create Planescape and Pathfinder’s Devils has developed as a result of Faust’s bargain with Mephistopheles.

Here’s a confession: I always found WotC version of Mephistopheles boring, so I’ve never actually used it. For me, it was always too generic, there were other Archdevils and Infernal Dukes that I found had more promise, so I’d substitute them in for the Crimson Son instead. I’d far rather use the Hag Countess and Glasya than someone so generic a Mephistopheles, and once Pathfinder revealed their Archdevils, I had several other compelling despots to use in its place on top of that.

Wes has fixed that for me. Mephistopheles has gone from a devil I hated to use, to one that I’m looking for excuses to use. 

Image by the one and only Wayne Reynolds

I was actually a little sceptical of Mephistopheles’ write up in Book of the Damned, but Breaking the Bones of Hell is a whole different story. It makes Mephistopheles almost a personification of Hell, not just the first devil to be created, but almost a perverted version of the Christian mythology of Eve. Mephistopheles was called to birth by Asmodeus from the very ribs of hell itself, and is so calculating that it actually ends up being somewhat Lovecraftian. The fact it may be the first Baatezu just heightens that feeling of it being a lawful ancient tyrant.

Mephistopheles has no pretences of morality, but will also do what it takes to win, so in a twisted way, it may be the Baatezu most likely to work against Baator’s short term interests. Furthermore, Mephistopheles is explicit genderless, and the way I read the article was also as being asexual. (As an aside, I’m using it as the neutral pronoun instead of zher since that’s the pronoun I think Mephistopheles would use for itself.) While Mephistopheles is by no means a role model or representative of that community, this is a breath of fresh air from the hoards of fiends in fantasy literature seeking sexual gratification.

Ignoring all of the other juicy bits in this book, including the rules for Genius Loci and the actual adventure into Hell, Breaking the Bones of Hell was worth it just for this take on Asmodeus’ seneschal. That does leave me with a dilemma though, I once again have way too many Archdevils to use as the Lords of the Nine. Obviously, Mephistopheles works as the Lord of the Eighth but there have been plenty of writers better than me who have written about that role. Where could Mephistopheles fit in if it’s not in its traditional role?

The first thing that pops into my mind is that he could be one of the greatest of the Infernal Dukes, not controlling his own layer, but rather acting as Asmodeus’ seneschal and emissary to all the layers of Baator and perhaps even beyond the boarder of Hell. This adds the dynamic of Mephistopheles being accessible from anywhere, and likely to crop up for heroes in the most inconvenient of times and place.

Another possibility is that Mephistopheles is the Lord of the First. Definitely not the traditional role, but it makes a certain amount of sense if you look at Mephistopheles as the ultimate contract maker who has influenced how mortals view that Baatezu. As the Lord of the First, it would have significant contract with mortals to influence how they looked as the lawful fiends.

That’s not the boldest move you could make though. If you really want to shake things up, make Mephistopheles Lord of the Ninth. Asmodeus may have been a god, you see, but gods can fall to hubris too. Archdevils are capable of going toe to toe with the powers on occasion, and in the moment of its birth, Mephistopheles was more than just another fiend. It was Hell given flesh. The entire plane was an extension of its form for those first few hours, and that was more than enough time to consume Asmodeus, rend him limb from limb, and claim the Ruby Rod alongside the flaming trident as the symbols of Hell’s Domain.

Oh yes, I will be having fun with Mephistopheles in the future.

- A new legal school within Baator has been opened, but this one has a major twist: it is only accessible to mortals regardless of origin, faction, or alignment. Naturally, many are suspicious of Baator’s motivations in doing this, but the aim isn’t actually to corrupt mortals (that’s just a happy side effect). Mephistopheles is the driving force behind the project, and its intentions are to develop an appreciation for immortal law within the mortal mind. Of course, this isn’t exactly healthy for said mortal mind, and that goes double for the dozens of double agents who have been enrolled in the program.

- Mephistopheles is one of the few Archdevils who can actually enjoy dealing with demons. They are absolutely corrupt and can’t be trusted to keep their word in the slightest, but Mephistopheles find that this forces itself to understand the legal magic with which to bind them all the more. Sometimes, it even leads Mephistopheles to consider new loopholes and subtleties to justify the demon’s actions, if retroactively. To that end, Mephistopheles maintains long-term living strategy games with demons such as Graz’zt and Dagon. Unfortunately for many bands of adventures, they play the role of living pieces for both side.

- While they do not journey into Baator uninvited, the Rogue Modrons of Acheron have recently received envoys from the Eighth Hell. Chant is that Mephistopheles seeks to fold them into the ranks of its allies. The fears are that the Crimson Son seeks a way to create biomechanical devils, study the primal stuff of Mechanus, or even subvert Primus itself.

Fallen Aasimar by Palamarchuk Mikhail

Elesh Norn by El_Kalku

Deep Frog

do you think this is what lovecraft meant whenever he described something as being beyond description

“It was a terrible, indescribable thing vaster than any subway train—a shapeless congeries of protoplasmic bubbles, faintly self-luminous, and with myriads of temporary eyes forming and un-forming as pustules of greenish light all over the tunnel-filling front that bore down upon us, crushing the frantic penguins and slithering over the glistening floor that it and its kind had swept so evilly free of all litter.”

— H. P. Lovecraft,

At the Mountains of Madness

This.. actually makes a fine reference to what a lovecraftian eldritch abomination SHOULD BE. not just.. tentacles and darkness. Perpetually changing, not cemented in form, with an otherworldly feel to it. Completely unrecognizable by most human descriptions, and only able to be viable perceived by those fine enough to be an adept wordsmith.

I think that this is very nearly an ideal representation of a lovecraftian eldritch horror, because the video that we see is (I’m fairly certain) footage that has been fed through Google deep dream.

The reason the frog looks so weird is because the program is trying to look at the frog, figure out what it is, and then overlay other images of the same thing.

The the thing about lovecraftian horrors issn’t just that they look conventionally weird or gross or scary. Instead, they are things that are so utterly alien that the human mind cannot properly comprehend what it is looking at. They defy description because they defy understanding.

And here we have a video of a computer, a simple silicon substitute for the human mind, struggling to understand what it is looking at, in much the same way that you would be hard pressed to understand a shoggoth.

deep frog

forbidden knowledge