1001 Plane Ideas

[Dwimmerlied]

12) Plane of insanity. A great expanse of darkness which acts as a vast (not visible, but still effective) symbol of insanity. Living phantasmal killer spells stalk throughout the plane, and the following spells are spontaneously emitted from the fabric of the plane itself; Rage, Tasha's hideous laughter, Otto's irresistable dance, Crushing Despair, and Fear. Further, thoughts are spontaneously manifest (will save to prevent) as greater shadow conjuration or evocation. Characters can move in any direction or shift (as dimension door) at will as a move action.

It is rumoured that within the plane of insanity there are those who have mastered the elements of the plane enough to forge areas upon which they can live, and there are those who can master and control the figments of insanity that arise. However the entropic power of this plane seems to eventually break down all order.

 

[Einherjar101]

12) Plane of insanity.

This is giving me some great ideas of how to mess with the party by putting some sort of maze/dungeon into it and then watching them get scattered there.

 

[Matthias]

You're describing the surface of a neutron star. The "mountains" might be a centimeter tall:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/05/090513-strong-star-crust.html

I also want to know what sort of strength score is needed to survive there!

Note-my rules references are all PF based; other systems' mileage may vary
#1 awesome, I was hoping someone would put the clues together. I should add that any surface terrain material (neutronium, basically) has some huge resistance to damage, say hardness 40 or 50 and 100 hp/inch thickness. In certain spots there might be huge veins of adamantine or diamond but any ore extracted will still give off large amounts of black fire energy until quenched by cold (10 points of cold damage will render 1 pound of material inert). Black fire not only radiates heat but has the same health effects from exposure as Viridium (see Ult. Equipment or PF's PRD). Note that exposure to alchemical black fire clay (ibid) does not present a health hazard due to certain additives introduced in the alchemical recipe.
#2 the exaggerated mountain height limits were merely artistic license As is the pull of gravity, which in reality would turn any human being into an instant pancake if you could somehow teleport to its surface and survive the heat and radiation.
#3 best guess of min. Str score to survive?... Let's assume your PC's bodily functions have to resist gravity to stave off fatigue, exhaustion, and unconsciousness, using your PC's Str. score; under normal gravity, with no circumstance penalties, they require a Str check against DC -5 to resist gravity while the PC's body is at rest (so even a Str 1 PC at rest will not be stressed by normal gravity--nat. 1 on Str check, -5 modifier = -4, still beats the DC). The Heavy Gravity planar trait (in part) imposes -2 circumstance penalty on certain skill checks involving movement, which we could infer as requiring a min. of Str 4 (2 points better than Str 1) for one's heart and lungs to resist gravity without being stressed and penalties for fatigue and exhaustion, and possible fainting, are more likely. The enhanced Heavy Gravity trait for this plane does X 10 on all penalties, making the Str penalty -20, effectively imposing a Str. DC of 15 to resist the gravity at rest, without being stressed internally. A Strength of 38 or better (mod +14) would allow a creature to resist this gravity at rest, without risk of stress; all weaker creatures will eventually deteriorate over time and succumb to gravity's stress without some kind of protection. Of course, no nonliving creature would need to worry about any of this; their ability to function would depend chiefly on their ability to move. There is no established Str/Dex DCs (one roll each) for being able to stand upright or crawl on all fours, but for argument's sake I'll estimate these DCs at -5 and -7, respectively. A little more math should give min. Str and Dex. for undead and constructs to resist being paralyzed by this plane's gravity.

Some notable living monsters with Str of 38 or better: Great Wyrm Blue Dragon (39), Great Wyrm Green Dragon (39), Ancient Red Dragon(39), Great Wyrm Umbral Primal Dragon (39), Rune or Storm Giant (41,39), Ice or Tarn Linnorms (38,42), Qlippoth-Iathavos (40), Shoggoth (40), Tarrasque (41), Titans-Elysian and Thanatotic (45,49).

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Note-my rules references are all PF based; other systems' mileage may vary
#1 awesome, I was hoping someone would put the clues together.
#2 the exaggerated mountain height limits were merely artistic license As is the pull of gravity, which in reality would turn any human being into an instant pancake if you could somehow teleport to its surface and survive the heat and radiation.
#3 best guess of min. Str score to survive?... Let's assume your PC's bodily functions have to resist gravity to stave off fatigue, exhaustion, and unconsciousness, using your PC's Str. score; under normal gravity, with no circumstance penalties, they require a Str check against DC -5 to resist gravity while the PC's body is at rest (so even a Str 1 PC at rest will not be stressed by normal gravity--nat. 1 on Str check, -5 modifier = -4, still beats the DC). The Heavy Gravity planar trait (in part) imposes -2 circumstance penalty on all Str. skill checks, which we could infer as requiring a min. of Str 4 (2 points better than Str 1) to resist gravity without being stressed and penalties for fatigue and exhaustion, and possible fainting, are more likely. The enhanced Heavy Gravity trait for this plane does X 10 on all penalties, making the Str penalty -20, effectively imposing a Str. DC of 15 to resist the gravity at rest, without being stressed internally. A Strength of 38 or better (mod +14) would allow a creature to resist this gravity at rest, without risk of stress; all weaker creatures will eventually deteriorate over time and succumb to gravity's stress without some kind of protection.

The gravity on a neutron star is *MUCH* greater than this.

I would take the minimum strength to be that in which your body weight does not exceed your max load. (Yes, normally that's in addition to your body weight rather than including it but the extra weight from the gravity will utterly dominate.)

On the low end we are looking at 10^11g. Looking at myself I'm ~200#, Str 10 is probably a reasonable estimate--just enough to meet the standard above.

Every 10 str adds 4x to the limit, that seems to say Str 183 to be able to walk at heavily encumbered. For the heaviest of neutron stars that goes up to Str 197.

 

[Matthias]

Tying minimum strength to body weight < max load is a nice idea, but some low-Str humanoids are going to fail that test even in normal gravity.

Perhaps we can look at it this way: for purposes of variant gravity the value given for "max load" does not include one's own body weight. So for example a character with 13 Strength and 120 lb body weight might have a listed max load of 150 lb. but his "true max load" equals 150 + 120 = 270 lb, because his muscular system has had adapt to his body weight since infancy. Under lighter gravity (say 1/2 gravity), only 60 lb of the 270-lb limit has to be spent on body weight, leaving 190 lb to be used for equipment. On the chart this is equivalent to a max load of between 14 and 15 Strength, or a difference of -1 Strength modifier. Pretty good job, that. These values will of course vary from one individual to the next so it would be better to come up with a general rule to simplify matters.


If your goal is to be ultrarealistic then by all means turn up the gravity. But make the environment hostile enough and the only purpose such a plane could serve in a campaign is to act as part of an instant-death trap or as a means to dispose of something that can't be destroyed or unmade otherwise (such as an artifact or a BBEG).

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Tying minimum strength to body weight < max load is a nice idea, but some low-Str humanoids are going to fail that test even in normal gravity.

Yeah, it's an approximation. I disregarded the own body weight because it was lost in the roundoff of the calculation I was doing. For gravities near our own your math is correct.

If your goal is to be ultrarealistic then by all means turn up the gravity. But make the environment hostile enough and the only purpose such a plane could serve in a campaign is to act as part of an instant-death trap or as a means to dispose of something that can't be destroyed or unmade otherwise (such as an artifact or a BBEG).

Or it's a realm you venture only with some pretty extreme magic.

The thread about diamonds on Uranus got me to thinking of what sort of environments magic can protect you from.

Stormwrack says elementals are immune to pressure damage. Energy immunity: fire will protect you from stellar fury. Three items:

Necklace of adaption.
An item of energy immunity: fire
An item that turns you into an elemental

and you can go pretty deep into a star.


The great evil is coming to destroy the world. The only way to stop him is the artifact he tossed onto the neutron star because he couldn't destroy it. You need to develop the magic needed to retrieve it.

(Obviously a simple strength buff to that level isn't practical with any sane amount of epic spellcasting {it *IS* possible if you extend the casting time long enough} but that doesn't preclude magic that gets it via a tradeoff.

How about a spell: Condense strength. The caster's strength score is doubled in exchange for acting at half speed in all regards. Melee weapon use is impossible {they're sure to dodge}, missile weapon use is reduced to one/every other round, suffers a -10 to hit and is certain to miss an adjacent enemy as again they can dodge. Spellcasting is possible but neither speech nor gestures are, you'll have to still/silent everything and it's likewise one/every other round. The spell stacks fully.)

 

[Matthias]

Polymorph into elemental form sounds good. Depending on the system, you can get a spell, class, or perhaps a prestige class to let you do that.

Plot hook to retrieve an item: I like this. It could be an artifact there, or maybe he established a 'back door' to a secret vault demiplane of his. This backdoor is a portal set into the largest 'mountain' on our "spindle star" plane. (And if the mountains are only cm tall there, another question is how to fit through, eh?)

Condense Strength: From personal experience as a DM, I'm somewhat wary of any spell that performs multiplication or division on a creature statistic rather than simple addition or subtraction. (For two specific examples, see the Avasculate and Avascular Mass spells from D&D 3.5 Spell Compendium.) it's your spell, but I think I would reference all the physical abilities in the spell.

Condense Person
School: transmutation
Level: cleric/oracle 8, druid 7, magus 8(?), sorcerer/wizard 8
Casting Time: 1 round
Components: V, S, M (a lead figurine painted to resemble the target)
Range: close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: one humanoid creature
Duration 1 min./level (D)
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates; Spell Resistance yes

Effects:
Target gains +8 to Strength due to massively enhanced musculature.

Target gains +10 to Constitution due to increased density; this grants the target 5 temporary hp per hit die. Fort saves made to resist poison and disease are made using the target's normal Constitution modifier, but the onset and frequency durations for these threats are all doubled for the duration of the spell (since toxins and pathogens cannot propagate as quickly and will remain in one's system for longer).

Target gains -8 to Dexterity (spell fails on a target of less than 8 Dexterity).

The target's height, length, and width are halved; its weight remains unchanged. The creature's size category changes to the next smaller one. A Small creature whose size decreases to Tiny has a space of 2-1/2 feet and a natural reach of 0 feet (meaning that it must enter an opponent's square to attack). A Large creature whose size decreases to Medium has a space of 5 feet and a natural reach of 5 feet.

All equipment worn or carried by a creature is similarly reduced in size by the spell but made more dense. Melee bludgeoning weapon damage is not affected but slashing and piercing weapon damage is reduced by one size category. Any condensed item that leaves the reduced creature's possession (including a projectile or thrown weapon) instantly returns to its normal size. This means that thrown weapons deal their normal damage (projectiles deal damage based on the size of the weapon that fired them).

The target creature also moves and attacks at a drastically slowed rate. Creatures are considered staggered and can take only a single move action or standard action each turn, but not both. Full-round actions require twice the usual number of rounds to perform and may provoke attacks of opportunity on each round. A condensed creature moves at half its normal speed (round down to the next 5-foot increment, minimum 5 ft.), which affects the creature's jumping distance as normal for decreased speed.

How's that?

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Polymorph into elemental form sounds good. Depending on the system, you can get a spell, class, or perhaps a prestige class to let you do that.

Plot hook to retrieve an item: I like this. It could be an artifact there, or maybe he established a 'back door' to a secret vault demiplane of his. This backdoor is a portal set into the largest 'mountain' on our "spindle star" plane. (And if the mountains are only cm tall there, another question is how to fit through, eh?)

I was figuring plane shift or gate--after all, you described it as a plane.

Condense Strength: From personal experience as a DM, I'm somewhat wary of any spell that performs multiplication or division on a creature statistic rather than simple addition or subtraction. (For two specific examples, see the Avasculate and Avascular Mass spells from D&D 3.5 Spell Compendium.) it's your spell, but I think I would reference all the physical abilities in the spell.

Yeah, they're scary but I think I put enough downside in it that it's only useful to let you perform feats of great strength. The combat penalties from moving slowly are so great you're not going to be hitting with it. About the only way you could actually use the great strength in battle is to use a bow with an insane strength rating--and in my world that would be very hard obtain as you're going to have to spend that time with the guy making it (I consider the pull strength a requirement of manufacture, either the bowyer has it or someone who does must assist) and in condensed form. Even with that you're giving up an awful lot of attacks and you have basically no defense against someone walking up to you and hacking you to pieces. I can't picture it being a viable combat strategy.

The idea of using one or more high level slots to do an insane feat of strength doesn't seem out of line. Yeah, you'll get by any strength-based DC check--but a high level spell would likely have blasted away the item anyway.

Condense Person
School: transmutation
Level: cleric/oracle 8, druid 7, magus 8(?), sorcerer/wizard 8
Casting Time: 1 round
Components: V, S, M (a lead figurine painted to resemble the target)
Range: close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: one humanoid creature
Duration 1 min./level (D)
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates; Spell Resistance yes

Your version only gives +8, by the time people are thinking about doing this they no doubt have +6 items already. Thus there's little reason to use your version. It also doesn't stack like my version, there's no way to get up to the requisite strength. (I was specifically intending multiple stacked castings.)

The target creature also moves and attacks at a drastically slowed rate. Creatures are considered staggered and can take only a single move action or standard action each turn, but not both. Full-round actions require twice the usual number of rounds to perform and may provoke attacks of opportunity on each round. A condensed creature moves at half its normal speed (round down to the next 5-foot increment, minimum 5 ft.), which affects the creature's jumping distance as normal for decreased speed.

How's that?

I think moving slower would cause a lot more of a combat penalty. That sword is going to be coming in at half speed--any competent opponent is going to have no problem stopping it.

 

[Einherjar101]

13) In this plane none of the pc's abilities seem to work. The fighter might feel weak, the spellcasters can't cast their spells... In actual fact what has happened it that they have each gotten the abilities of another class of the dm's choice (could even be a homebrew class). But the pc's are completely unaware of this until say the wizard picks up a club and suddenly downs a foe or the rogue suddenly blasts another enemy with magical energy. It would obviously be up to the dm to decide when and how some of these certain abilities are relieved to the players but I think it would make for a fun session.

Once the pc's have left this plane some lingering knowledge of this other class could follow with them like a new ability or at the very least some extra rank in an appropriate skill.

 

[Razjah]

14) A plane where the world is hollow, filled with a great sea. Travel across the world is most often done with magical submersible ships. There are strong currents that can catch the wearing unaware and drag them to an unknown location. These currents are generally visible, but in the deepest reaches of the plane's core it can be difficult to see the current before being swept into it (picture it like the EAC in Finding Nemo, but more difficult to see and nearly impossible in the core).

15) A plane that exists as a giant library. It is said that all the knowledge of the universe can be found here. The problem is locating it, and finding a way to read it. Every bit of knowledge is recorded in books of every language that was, is, and will be used. Finding a book that you are able to read is a daunting task. Some have spent decades and may only find a few tomes that contained information they could read. Any who travel here should note that any fire that touches a part of the plane (excluding the air) summons a deep, ice cold darkness upon the area extinguishing the flame and all life around it.