Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Maelut 12-18-04, 12:09 AM	The Plane of Dust ((If there are any questions about Dust that this post doesn't answer, please PM me, or AIM: PiEquals2. Also, if this tastes like some setting you've seen before, please let me know. I think this is all original work, but if you feel that someone deserves credit, and it's someone that I've read, then I'll absolutely give credit. Feel free to reproduce this plane, just don't take credit for it yourself. You can interact with this plane however you want. Feel free to run NPCs, plots, whatever you want. I'm just putting it up here as a setting for people to use. If nobody likes it, that's cool too.)) The Plane of Dust is a bleak and desolate place, where brown clouds roll across the landscape in a perpetual dusky twilight. The plane is the inside of an enormous sphere with the diameter of a small continent. The land is mostly hilly scrubland, with a few hardy shrubs and trees clutching to their tenuous holds on the sloping ground. Its pale brown soil, a mixture of accumulated loose dirt and a dry crumbly clay, easily crumbles into powder. Farming is near-impossible, and the plants that exist hoard their nutrients jealously, refusing to share anything more than the smallest berries or edible leaves. Among this desolation, however, are a few surprisingly verdant areas: the Altars. Each of the five altars is a perfectly smooth obsidian disk fifty feet wide, surrounded by ancient weeping willows. The area within a mile of each altar is much more fertile than the rest of the plane, producing crops like any farmland. At each Altar there is a settlement with a few hundred people. Some have chosen to come here, while others were magically dumped by malfunctioning portals. Although each Altar shares some traits, such as improved divine and planar magic, each altar has its own unique aspects which affect the area around it. Those who attempt to plane shift into the Realm find themselves faced with a long astral path which loops back on itself, creating a circle. Five identical portals are set at regular intervals into the sides of this path, there is no way of telling what is on the other side of each one. Passing through each portal forces characters to make a DC 20 Fortitude save, or fall unconcious for one hour after entering the plane. The Dust Lord is aware of every portal, and can choose to deny access to anyone attempting to enter. As a standard action, he can discern the alignment, power and surface thoughts of any creature attempting to enter. If he denies access, the travellers are unable to pass through that portal until the Dust Lord lifts his ban. They can attempt to enter again through a different portal, or may return from whence they came. The Wet: This altar has a small river, the only one in the plane. Drops of condensation coalesce on the obsidian’s surface, and strem towards one edge of the circle which is slightly lower than the others. From there, the water runs downhill through a rocky series of streams and waterfalls to a wide pond one hundred feet long. The path of the river is lined with green mosses and even the occasional wildflower, and the pond has a small array of fish. Rains are common in this area, and are nourishing for anything native to the region. However, to creatures which have not lived in the Wet for more than a year, the rains are corrosive. Each rounds exposed to the rain deals 1d6 acid damage and 1d6 strength drain (no save). The storms at the edge of The Wet are particularly vicious, and are permanently in place; spells have no effect on them. These storms deal 1d8 acid damge and 1d8 strength drain (no save), in addition to having a 10% chance to strike each individual with a bolt of lightning, dealing 7d8 damage (Reflex half). Protection from these storms is difficult, since materials not native to The Wet also take this damage. A mist dragon, Cha’tax Lizzrit, lives in a partially submerged cave accessible through the pond. She is the guardian of this altar. The Wise: Set on the top of a low valley hill surrounded by a wide range of small mountains, the Wise is hidden away from most people. The valley is a verdant green, surrounded by gray rocky moutains which shelter it from most of the dust storms that plague the plane. When standing on The Wise, divination magic functions normally. Also, every creature with an intelligence of three or higher gains True Seeing as a permanent effect while within one mile of The Wise. Hide and Move Silently checks are made with a -20 penalty, and Spot and Listen checks gain a +20 bonus. The Wise is well guarded by those that live around it. The settlers here use its benefits to their advantage with a permanently guarded perimeter wall set up 50 feet inside the Wise’s effect. A moutain landwyrm is sometimes glimpsed weaving its way among the rocky faces of the peaks. With the benefit of the True Seeing ability, the people that live here also know that it polymorphs into the shape of a wizened dwarf when it wants to spend time inside the settlement. An engimatic creature, the draconic beast is this altar’s guardian. The White: Snow can be found in only one area of the whole plane: the moutainous peaks surrounding The White. This part of the plane is bitterly cold, with spontaneous blizzards and arctic winds blasting the landscape instead of duststorms. At first glance, The White seems to be an exception to the fertility which surrounds the altars. However, those that can find the cave networks beneath this region will discover rich fields of subterranean moldgrass, and strange animals which live in this bizzare ecology. The White itself is found on the inside of a hollow glacier, the altar’s surface perpetually covered with a thin sheen of ice. Subterranean races thrive in the caverns, and snow creatures dwell on the surface, living off the ice cacti which have adapted to the frigid desert. An unnaturally intelligent remhorraz dwells in these caverns, using strange powers and vicious fighting to fulfil his duties as guardian. The Wicked: In the middle of a brutal desert, 500 miles from a moderate climate, surrounded by a cruel maze of granite slabs and sand dunes, there lies the most fertile area on the plane. The Wicked, so named for its taunting beauty, is on a wide plateau 500 feet above the desert. Windstorms and tornadoes spring up instantaneously in the desert, and duststorms are three times as common to occur. Settlers living inside the walls of the Wicked benefit from a balmy, humid climate, fertile soil, and subterranean wells which provide a seemingly unlimited supply of water. Tiered gardens and architecture which focuses on the vertical plane is very popular, and they spend much of their time pursuing the arts and leisure. At the center of the city, the Wicked itself is on a high dais in the ruins of an ancient observatory. In addition to shielding the city from the storms, the Wicked also confers special protections on everyone who is born within its walls. These individuals are immune to death effects, fatigue, exhaustion, thirst, have resistance to fire 10, and gain a +4 bonus on all Will saves. Although the land outside is brutal, vicious wyverns dine on the small desert creatures, and intelligent skeletal abominations fight with swarms of fire and earth elementals. An ancient guardian naga with exceptional spellcasting abilities is the guardian of this beautiful city. The Wistful: Land fades to nothingness, only to be replaced by lava. Shadowy moutains replace a starry void; ancient ruins and fantastic creatures appear, only to be sucked away in moments to another world. The Wistful is the nexus of planar energy, a chaotic jumble of planar transience. Although creatures can be sucked through the occasional nexus elsewhere in the plane, The Wistful is surrounded by constantly appearing and vanishing landmasses. It is weakly bound the plane, and finds itself overlapping with other planes. Creatures wishing to escape the plane, but lacking the magic to do so, often find their way here. They hope to leap onto a transient plane to be transported to somewhere better. In the area surrounding The Wistful, the planar overlap can last for days, or occur in minutes. Roll 1d% at the following times after a plane has phased into overlap: 1 round, 3 rounds, 6 rounds, 1 minute, 2 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 5 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours. On a 1-10, the plane fades out. On 11-100, the plane remains stable. After 72 hours, the plane always fades out. Any creature caught within 100 feet of the boundary during a planar shift is immediately killed, and their soul is transported to The Far Realm. The land within a 500 foot radius of the Wistful is stable, however. There is a small settlement here, mostly composed of people eking out a living while hopefully waiting to catch a glimpse of their remembered home planes. The Wistful is guarded by a strange creature, described as a 6-legged horse made from shadows. It's true name is an ecalypse, the last survivor of its clan from the Plane of Shadow. It has fearsome martial abilities, and uses tactics and shadow to its advantage, delivering strikes to the most vulnerable parts of its enemies. The Dust Lord: While on his plane, the Dust Lord has Divine Rank 16. However, his powers can never affect a creature not on his plane. He cannot grant spells to any worshipers other than the guardians, regardless of their location. Objective Directional Gravity: Down is always towards the outside of the sphere. Normal Time: Time is the same as on the Material Plane. Self Contained: The surface of the plane is the inside of a sphere approximately 1000 miles in diameter. There is a smaller sphere of a two mile diameter suspended in the center of the plane. Divinely Morphic: The Dust Lord can manipulate the plane with the power of a god, however his powers do not apply to any other plane. Non-aligned plane Limited Magic: The Ethereal Plane is not accessible from Dust. Teleport, Dimension Door and similar spells do not function. Planar travel, is only possible at the Altars. Divine spells cast anywhere other than on the Altars are impeded (Spellcraft DC 20 + spell level), and healing spells function at ½ normal power even on a successful Spellcraft check. No spells less powerful than Wish or Miracle can be used on Dust to revive a dead creature on Dust, although the body can be taken elsewhere and revived normally. Divination magic other than emanations does not function on Dust, except when at The Wise (see above). Permanent magic affects are not altered on Dust, they function normally. Supernatural abilities also function normally. Spell-like abilities which replicate divine spells, however, are subject to the restrictions which apply to regular divine spells. The point about divination magic has now been updated. Emanations such as detect magic, true seeing, etc, now function normally across the whole plane. Although a divine spellcaster using these abilties would still be subject to the Spellcraft check.
Maelut 12-18-04, 12:53 AM	From out of nowhere, a swirling portal appears in the Altar's obsidian base. It spits out three groaning individuals onto the ground, who land on the hard rock and tumble to a stop at the feet of an elderly dwarven man with simple clothes and a face as rugged as the granite mountains that rise in the distance behind him. Muttering something about elves, he shakes his head and walks over to a small rock at the side of the altar and sits down to watch them. Savrael stands groggily, a raging headache threatening to split him in half. He looks over his companions, and sees that Yikkiy is lying on the ground, unconcious. Savrael merely growls at his companion's inert form before staggering over to the side of the stone altar. Slumping against a willow near the dwarf, he manages to regain his head enough to speak with a bitter sarcasm that has a note of grudging but amiable familiarity in it. "Oh, it's you. Bloody dragon, don't offer us some help or anything like that. We're clearly just fine here." ((You can decide if Sapphira makes the DC 20 fortitude check to stay concious))
Mystic Theurge 12-18-04, 09:21 AM	((You can decide if Sapphira makes the DC 20 fortitude check to stay concious)) ((Considering that she would fail only on a natural 1, I am certain she made it without a hitch.)) Serenity, as always, follows her wherever she goes, even to the Abyss. And so she finds herself in these environs. She is not overwhelmed by the vortex through which they travelled, and so when she gains her bearings, she immediately moves to Yikkiy to check on his condition. Looking up to Savrael, she asks "would you like me to revive him, or let him rest?" Even as she asks, she is also checking on Savrael's condition, if only from afar. Though somewhat woozy when they exited the vortex, she seems to have regained her pristine state as before within moments.
Maelut 12-18-04, 12:27 PM	"Eh, he'll come around in an hour or so. But feel free to help him out. This place here is about the only area that you'll be able to use your magic effectively, so you might as well take advantage of it. We're on Dust, it's a plane I've visited a few times." With a nod, he indicates the dwarf sitting on the rock. "That lazy lump over there asked the Leaf Council to get back his walking stick, and I ended up with the assignment. After that, some of his colleagues started using my services too. I'm pretty well known around here, so you'll be safe so long as you stick with me." After their heads fully clear, the Altar's powers begin to affect the planar travellers. With a glance, they are able to tell that the wizened dwarf is not in his true form. The shadowy outline of an enormous mountain landwyrm dwarfs the Altar and its ring of trees. With a scowl, the dwarf hobbles over form his rock and strikes Savrael once over the head with his walking cane. When he speaks, it is with a deep multitonal voice whose rumbling power is incongrous with the dwarf's form. "That's for being rude. She seems alright though; why is she with you? Not an apprentice. A friend? You?" The dwarf begins to quake with a laughter which echoes of the mountainsides, returning as something just short of a feral roar. Turning to Sapphira, the dwarf moves over to her side and tugs his beard in greeting.
Mystic Theurge 12-20-04, 06:00 PM	With a slight grimace, she decides to let the wolf rest, knowing that it is sometimes better. She turns to acknowledge the "dwarf", though she is not fooled by the disguise, and thus makes no other reaction other than to smile serenely when he is "revealed" to be something else. However, she does radiate light, the strength of a torch. In greeting, she bows her head and curtsies, as is the custom from whence she comes, though in her peasant garb, it looks rather silly. "Greetings, master... er... I don't believe I caught your name? I am Sapphira." Deliberately leaving out her titles.
Maelut 12-20-04, 08:51 PM	The dwarf gives a low grunt of approval at Sappira's lack of surprise. Nodding his head, he spreads his hands and gestures at the valley. "This is the Wise, the first of the Altars to be created. I'll show you around, although I should warn you about something..." The dwarf trails off as his voice is drowned out by a deafening hum. It begins quietly, an incessent undertone. But slowly the noise increases until it feels as though waves are crashing onto their ears. Turning upwards, they see that it is a small hummingbird, the size of a pear. The dwarf waves his arms, and the humming bird darts away into the trees. "As I was about to say...you may find that your heightened senses are overwhelming sometimes. You'll adjust, don't worry. To give you an idea of how much more powerful they are, I've been whispering since you got here." With a wave of his hand, he turns to a small path leading down to the fields. The dirt trail goes through a grove of trees before emerging on a wide orchard. In the distance, they can see some children running between the trees chasing what appears to be a throughly contented hunting dog. Passing through the orchard and into the open fields in the valley, they can see the high perimeter wall that surrounds the settlement. Smoke comes form the chimneys of several small buildings. "This is where they live. The wall protects them from the raiders, and the ground is so fertile that they can grow enough to support everyone who lives here. It's a good place, and deserves protecting." In the distance, a bestial cry pierces the serene quiet. The dwarf seems not to notice it. "Join me for some dinner. One of the benefits of this form is that I can stomach normal food, and it actually nourishes me in such piddling amounts."
Mystic Theurge 12-21-04, 09:14 AM	As if the mention of heightened senses clears her mind, she nods as she recognizes why things she was seeing were more clear, with colors more vibrant, why she was smelling flowers as if for the first time, and hearing the sound of laughing children from afar. She vlushes when she realises that she has been sounding as though she has been shouting at them, though she is normally very quiet and reserved. "Truly, this is a fascinating place. It is no wonder there are many who call it home", her voice a whisper, though, when she sees the children playing, her laughter seems to roar out before she cuts it short by clapping her hands over her mouth, her face blossoming in red again. When she is invited to dinner, she stifles a slight sigh as she responds "I am not particularly hungry, though, perhaps I can have a small bite so as to be a polite guest."
Arcuna 12-21-04, 01:19 PM	Another portal appears behind them, and a grown man in a blue cloak falls out. He attempts to keep his hood on, but when he hits the ground, his hood comes off revealing two short, dull, red horns. He moans for a second, but then quickly becomes silent as he "realizes" his sorroundings. What kind of place is this, where one is aware of every little thing around them? Had he died and become omnicient? No, that couldn't be it... He looks up, suprised to see that there are other people here. Still too confused as to where he is, he doesn't say anything.
Maelut 12-21-04, 08:39 PM	The heavy thump of the newcomer's form onto the obsidian surface manages to stir Yikkiy. The wolf shakes his head and slowly climbs to his feet, his nose pointed upwards and he head jerking around to take in the surroundings. Seeing Savrael in the distance, he quickly begins pattering across the Altar, his claws clicking on the surface as he walks. He suddenly notices the man lying on the Altar and walks over to him. He bends his horse-sized head down and nudges the creature gently. *What are you doing here?*
Maelut 12-21-04, 08:52 PM	Remembering her discomfort with eating, Savrael speaks up. "Actually, we were eating just before we came here. The two of us were having a pleasant conversation when the entire tavern was attacked. I bravely decided to get the heck out of there and leave them to deal with it themselves. Not my problem, not worth my time." The three hear a lound thump from up on the altar, and look up to see Yikkiy standing over a somewhat disoriented creature. Savrael looks at the dwarf and then nods at the Altar. "Friend of yours?" Tilting his head to one side for a moment, the dwarf seems lost in thought. In the distance, though closer, the alien cry breaks the silence again. An answering cry comes, this time clearly from within the encampent's wall. The dwarf stifles a laugh, and then refocuses on Savrael before replying as though the interruption had never occurred. "Nope, I've never seen him before. Maybe I should introduce myself." As the last syllable of his comment trails off, the dwarf begins to grow and change shape. Over the course of a single breath, he transforms into an enormous beast whose rocky hide resembles the mountains. The creatures four feet are almost thirty yards apart, and his gaping jaw is directly over the creature sitting on the altar. There are a couple seconds of pause, before he instantaneously returns to his dwarven form, now standing right beside the newcomer. Savrael merely looks at the polymorphing landwyrm and shakes his head. "Showoff. Waste of abilities if you ask me; he should be in my profession." ((2x Polymorph as supernatural ability, second one was quickened.))
Arcuna 12-22-04, 01:16 PM	((Sorry I didn't post sooner, I left the boards alone for a while since they kept dying. Hopefully it won't happen again. :P )) What...is this place?
Maelut 12-22-04, 08:00 PM	The dwarf looks down with amusement. "This place here? It's a valley. A geographical depression. You might also be interested to know that you've arrived on the plane of Dust. Where did you come from, horned one?"
Arcuna 12-22-04, 08:26 PM	The Prime Material Plane. I needed a way to escape from... He stops short. What was he running from? What was he even doing before he got here??
Maelut 12-22-04, 10:46 PM	"The Prime? You're a long way from home. Most fugitives stick to Shadow or in your case, some backwater Abyssal corner of the multiverse. What in the Nine Hells brought you all the way here? This is a good place to hide, to be sure, but not a tourist destination either." With his walking stick, the guardian lifts the planar traveller to his feet. He taps the man a few times on the shoulders and stomach with the stick before nodding to himself. The dwarf turns to walk away, hobbling slowly on his cane. A few seconds later, he spins around to the sound of crackling electricity. The cane extends into a pole with a wickedly jagged axe blade humming with rhythmic electric pulses. In a single leap, the dwarf jumps with impossible power over the head of the newcomer, swinging his weapon at the creature's head as he reaches the apex of his leap.
Arcuna 12-22-04, 10:51 PM	The tiefling spins around as well. He sees the landwyrm in front of him, but does not hesitate to begin casting a spell. A bunch of glowing, red balls shoot out of his hands and at the beast. The force is enough that it pushes the tiefling back and knocks him over. The balls hit the landwyrm head on and create small explosions on impact. Despite the fact that the battle's not over yet, he looks at his hands. What the...How did I do that? Come to think of it, how'd I even get here in the first place??
Maelut 12-22-04, 11:13 PM	The balls of fire scorch the guardian's clothes, but he escapes unscathed as the fiery energy dissipates on impact with his unnaturally resilient skin. He lands on the other side of the tiefling, and the walking stick shrinks back to its original size and shape. The dwarf looks down at his chest, and shakes his head. "Magefire? You didn't strike me as a spellcaster, little hellspawn. Those kind of surprises will serve you well here. Wouldn't suggest trying those tricks while you're in the valley, though. What's your purpose here?"
Mystic Theurge 12-23-04, 05:27 AM	She observes closely the newcomer, trying very carefully not to become overwhelmed by her newly heightened senses. At first, she looks on with concern as the newcomer, like herself, seems to be disoriented when he enters, but he seems to recover quickly. She watches the exchange between him and their host with as much of a placid expression as she can muster, and so she can only watch in dismay as they both suddenly attack each other! She hurries toward them, her arm in the air in a pleading gesture, and in that fleeting moment, she forgets herself and shouts "please! There is no need for this!" Of course, in this environment, her pleas turn into booming shouts, something one would never be accustomed to hearing from her.
Maelut 12-23-04, 09:08 AM	Yikkiy meets her halfway to the Altar, and turns sideways to block her from moving any further. *Don't worry, nobody will get hurt. He's a nice funny dragon man person guardian, he just wants to know what the new tiefling man can do. He did the same thing when we first arrived, it was fun!*
Arcuna 12-23-04, 01:02 PM	((Wait, I'm confused. I thought there was a landwyrm behind him that the dwarf was attacking. My bad. :embarrass Oh well, I guess I'll run with it.)) I'm...sorry, He says in confusion. I saw that giant thing in front of me and I just kinda...reacted. I wish I knew how I did it, though... My name's Lyon-Thai. I apologize for the rough introductions.
Maelut 12-23-04, 09:29 PM	The dwarf grins benevolently. "No apology necessary, lad. You wouldn't be here if you were an obvious threat to me or my corner of this world. Just wondering what lay beneath that bone-adorned head of yours. I'm the guardian around here, and it's good to meet you. Are you connected with that flea-mage and the elf, or their somewhat more reasonable friend?" As he speaks, he indicates the others, standing a ways down the path.
Arcuna 12-23-04, 09:55 PM	No, I've never seen them before...I don't think... Lyon-Thai tries to recall their faces, but to no avail. Heck, he can't to much besides remember his own name and how to talk. ...And that he can Plane Shift and shoot flaming balls from his hands.
Maelut 12-23-04, 10:04 PM	"You're not sure? I guess you hit the Altar a little harder than you meant, eh? Maybe Sapphira can help you. This is about the only place on the Plane that her magic will be much good." The dwarf turns and calls out to the young lady. "Sapphira! This lad needs some help, that's in your line of work, isn't it?"
Mystic Theurge 12-24-04, 12:38 AM	Hearing her name called, she makes her way back to the alter and begins to examine the newcomer. "Hmmm, I don't see any bumps, aside from those bony protrusions. Are you feeling well? Be sure not to... exagerate. I can tell when someone fibs, you know... I can't make you feel better if you don't tell me where it hurts. But then, I could call upon the One to tell me where your hurts are..." She trails off as she continues the examination. Her touch is tender yet firm, and she seems quite absorbed in her task.
Arcuna 12-24-04, 02:53 AM	To be honest, my whole body aches, Lyon-Thai says, relieved that someone is tending to him. Specifically, though, my hands, feet, and left upper arm hurt.
Mystic Theurge 12-24-04, 11:20 AM	She nods thoughtfully as he lists off the places of his pain and so begins to touch them each individually, offering soft prayers each time. Almost instantly, the pain subsides as soon as she completes each prayer. "Are there anymore injuries you have suffered that, perhaps, are now revealed?"
Arcuna 12-25-04, 01:15 PM	((Sorry, I would have posted sooner, but my internet decided to move at the rate of a snail caught in flypaper...)) I can't feel anything else in particular that hurts. I still have no idea why I'm here, though. Do you think it would be possible to regain my memory through divination?