Of Players Planes and Survival [Archive] - Wizards Community

Of Players Planes and Survival [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
VBakes
07-12-07, 01:46 PM Im currently designing a city based campaign in which my players will be traveling to many if not all the outer planes. I was wondering for those of you who've sent their players there, how do you make them survive? I was reading up on Pandemonium, Carceri, and Acheron and Id like for them to go there but they seem damn near impossible to not die in. Just looking for some input for working the planes in for your players.
420
07-12-07, 05:04 PM The Planar Handbook has lots of options for travel and survival across the planes.

Planar substitution levels make core classes abilities more relevant the planes. Spells such as Astral Hospice, Avoid Planar Effects, Perinarch, Planar Perinarch, Planar Tolerance, Protection from Negative (or Positive) Energy, and Resist Planar Alignment can all be used to make various planes more hospitable. Also, there are magic items that can confer similar effects to those spells as well as mundane equipment and even magical mounts and vehicles.

-420
Eye of the Beholder
07-13-07, 12:46 AM I'm assuming you're referring to environmental hazards rather than willed creatures. If the problem is just 'fiends are too high level' I suggest some creative fudging with monster descriptions (no one has to know the demon is actually just an ogre you described as having horns). If the problem is more of the 'just walking around out here kills people' sort, there's a number of solutions.

Avoid planar effects and, better still, the 24-hour attune form (both from Manual of the Planes and updated in Spell Compendium) will protect against most any environmental effects. Consider making scrolls of these spells cheap and accessible. Rings of sustenance (for food and water) and iridescent spindle ioun stones (for air) might also be good investments if your campaign features survival and endurance challenges prominently. Disguise self or alter self will make diplomacy much, much easier, as will comprehend languages or tongues. Any effect that allows flying negates a wide array of environmental dangers.

Specifics for the planes you mentioned include:

Pandemonium: Wear earplugs. The PCs will be deaf while wearing them, but it beats being deaf permanently, and going crazy to boot. Consider giving the players cheap telepathy-type items (with charges, if you don't want them keeping them forever) or let them learn to sign as a bonus language.

Carceri: Trust no one; assume someone will betray you. Stay out of Porphatys and Cathrys unless you have access to long-lasting acid resistance; same goes for Agathys and the cold. Make sure someone in the party has a decent Sense Motive bonus, and use it on everything.

Acheron: Look up. Don't stay on Thuldanin more than a month at a time. Don't go to Ocanthus period unless you've got a damn good reason and a hefty armor class.

All that said, mere survival probably shouldn't be the goal of the adventure. Sure, the planes contain the nastiest environments anywhere, but that doesn't mean your players have to deal with those problems all the time. Planar environments can be great sources of flavor, window dressing, and potential plot twists or tactical complications, but worrying about surviving minute to minute just from breathing the air gets old fast.

Remember that you're the GM - use the planes, don't be used by them. Don't want your PCs crushed between the cubes? Fine; no cubes hit. Players will still scramble to get out of the way if you've described other cubes colliding in the distance (one never can tell when luck will run out). Want to have an adventure with the gereleths on their home turf but think Carceri is too brutal? Let the players find some 'planar doldrums' where the acid rain just singes instead of burns, or let a trail lead them to their destination on Colothys rather than making them climb.

Spice things up - the planes are infinite, so there's room for variation. You wouldn't make a dungeon crawl of all identical orc fighters; whole planes shouldn't be identical balls of fire either. Make the players face the planar effects when they first arrive, but give them some magical or mundane protection early on. Then when the bridge is sabotaged or the gas mask breaks or fiendish spider monkeys run off with the wizard's scrolls the players have to deal with the new problems, or at least find new solutions to the old ones. But there's spells and items aplenty for the basic 'X damage per minute' stuff.
VBakes
07-13-07, 11:48 AM Thanks guys, incredibly helpful.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
VBakes 07-12-07, 01:46 PM	Im currently designing a city based campaign in which my players will be traveling to many if not all the outer planes. I was wondering for those of you who've sent their players there, how do you make them survive? I was reading up on Pandemonium, Carceri, and Acheron and Id like for them to go there but they seem damn near impossible to not die in. Just looking for some input for working the planes in for your players.
420 07-12-07, 05:04 PM	The Planar Handbook has lots of options for travel and survival across the planes. Planar substitution levels make core classes abilities more relevant the planes. Spells such as Astral Hospice, Avoid Planar Effects, Perinarch, Planar Perinarch, Planar Tolerance, Protection from Negative (or Positive) Energy, and Resist Planar Alignment can all be used to make various planes more hospitable. Also, there are magic items that can confer similar effects to those spells as well as mundane equipment and even magical mounts and vehicles. -420
Eye of the Beholder 07-13-07, 12:46 AM	I'm assuming you're referring to environmental hazards rather than willed creatures. If the problem is just 'fiends are too high level' I suggest some creative fudging with monster descriptions (no one has to know the demon is actually just an ogre you described as having horns). If the problem is more of the 'just walking around out here kills people' sort, there's a number of solutions. Avoid planar effects and, better still, the 24-hour attune form (both from Manual of the Planes and updated in Spell Compendium) will protect against most any environmental effects. Consider making scrolls of these spells cheap and accessible. Rings of sustenance (for food and water) and iridescent spindle ioun stones (for air) might also be good investments if your campaign features survival and endurance challenges prominently. Disguise self or alter self will make diplomacy much, much easier, as will comprehend languages or tongues. Any effect that allows flying negates a wide array of environmental dangers. Specifics for the planes you mentioned include: Pandemonium: Wear earplugs. The PCs will be deaf while wearing them, but it beats being deaf permanently, and going crazy to boot. Consider giving the players cheap telepathy-type items (with charges, if you don't want them keeping them forever) or let them learn to sign as a bonus language. Carceri: Trust no one; assume someone will betray you. Stay out of Porphatys and Cathrys unless you have access to long-lasting acid resistance; same goes for Agathys and the cold. Make sure someone in the party has a decent Sense Motive bonus, and use it on everything. Acheron: Look up. Don't stay on Thuldanin more than a month at a time. Don't go to Ocanthus period unless you've got a damn good reason and a hefty armor class. All that said, mere survival probably shouldn't be the goal of the adventure. Sure, the planes contain the nastiest environments anywhere, but that doesn't mean your players have to deal with those problems all the time. Planar environments can be great sources of flavor, window dressing, and potential plot twists or tactical complications, but worrying about surviving minute to minute just from breathing the air gets old fast. Remember that you're the GM - use the planes, don't be used by them. Don't want your PCs crushed between the cubes? Fine; no cubes hit. Players will still scramble to get out of the way if you've described other cubes colliding in the distance (one never can tell when luck will run out). Want to have an adventure with the gereleths on their home turf but think Carceri is too brutal? Let the players find some 'planar doldrums' where the acid rain just singes instead of burns, or let a trail lead them to their destination on Colothys rather than making them climb. Spice things up - the planes are infinite, so there's room for variation. You wouldn't make a dungeon crawl of all identical orc fighters; whole planes shouldn't be identical balls of fire either. Make the players face the planar effects when they first arrive, but give them some magical or mundane protection early on. Then when the bridge is sabotaged or the gas mask breaks or fiendish spider monkeys run off with the wizard's scrolls the players have to deal with the new problems, or at least find new solutions to the old ones. But there's spells and items aplenty for the basic 'X damage per minute' stuff.
VBakes 07-13-07, 11:48 AM	Thanks guys, incredibly helpful.