How Dangerous ARE the Outer Planes?

[Ravilah]

I'm a DM with a (barely) level 10 party in my "clutches" right now, and I have decided that its about time to send them off to the outer planes. Now I had already drawn out details on the Bastion of Last Hope on Carceri, so I had their quest artifact (Runglorion the Chalice of Light) happen to be there.
Anyway, I was just wondering, just how devestatingly dangerous are the outer planes (the lower ones especially) supposed to be? I mean, not every outsider is a Balor, right? And there are level 20 baddies on the Material plane, too. So, just how rife with imminant death is, say, the Tarterian Depth of Carceri? Mine is pretty dang deadly--if you don't keep your eyes wide open and your hands to yourself.
Thoughts?
R

P.S. I am familiar with Planescape, etc. and I am not dissatisfied with how I am currently writing things. This is just a quandary on how dangerous (daunting?) other DMs make extraplaner encounters.

 

[Crothian]

THe encounters are not always harder, but the situation very well might be. The planes themselves can alter how spells behave, they can make it so that a party gets little rest or safe place to seek aid. Sometimes the very enviroment can be against the players. I like to show that there are more powerful creatures on the planes, but also allow the players to use other tactics then a frontal assualt

 

[Nifft]

IMC, Carceri's sky is lit by a thousand blazing red stars, circling slowly above the Spheres. Sometimes one of the stars flies closer, close enough that you can see the glint of its sharp, jagged sword and flaming whip. Sometimes they fly close enough to bombard a swath of Petitioners with fireball after fireball... depends on their mood, I guess.

-- N

 

[VoiceOfReason?]

The outer planes all have their own dangers associated with them. Carceri in particular is not all that dangerous physically (many of the petitioners will be maniacally jealous if they learn that the PC's have a feasable means of escaping the plane, other than that and whatever guardians you throw into your campaign, that's about it). The danger of Carceri is that, generally speaking, you can't get out. Planar travel (and teleport style) spells pretty much don't work, and portals are nigh inaccessable, being miles from the nearest body of terra firma.

side note: I thought the 3.x manual of the planes was pretty well done, going cover to cover resulted in scores of tangents and ideas.

as for most of the other lower planes IMC's, a party of 10th level PCs wouldn't survive much more than a short foray (a few hours in the shallow end of the pool) in the abyss/hades/baator.
Extended extraplanar romping (more than a day) in hostile outer planes for my players is generally restricted to lvl 14+ or 60ish character levels, assuming the group isn't lacking for heals, utility spells, magical firepower, or melee DPS.

 

[VoiceOfReason?]

odd..why'd the site make "travel" a link to an empty web page?

and gratz crothian on TILT

 

[Slife]

odd..why'd the site make "travel" a link to an empty web page?

A/D/w/a/r/e?(added in to prevent software, if any, from censoring) It isn't on mine.

 

[Li Shenron]

I think outer planes are just as dangerous as you want them to be

In a setting like planescape, where countless people live on every plane, I suppose there have to be safe locations almost everywhere, tho of course the lower planes are still inhospitable because of their denizens.

But if you want to emphasize the difference between the realm of mortals and the outer planes, you can make them much more dangerous, either with hazards or abundance of powerful hostile creatures.

It also depends on what kind of adventures you're going to offer your group. If you plan to have a combat-heavy campaign (which of course is the case most of the time), you obviously have to plan the encounters depending on the group level.
Otherwise it could be possible to run a series of adventures where the players are told that encounters aren't usually possible to win by combat. In that case, you can make an outer plane outright deadly for any mortal who engages in battles with the devils/demons/whatever, and the group has to use stealth, non-combat spells, skills, or even negotiations to get past the challenges.

 

[Jupp]

wow, I would put my players in alot of planes but Carceri certainly isnt on that list There is virtually no way back out of Carceri once you are in there. Thats the reason Carceri is called the prison of the multiverse. IIRC the only way to get back out is that you have to become stronger than the person that put you there and the other way would be to travel on the Styx which is running through Carceri. And the other big thing is that Carceri slowly alters your players into despaired and desperate freaks.

Well they could try to visit Nerull and ask for a way back

About how dangerous the lower planes are is also dependent if your players are clueless or even bloods. I think alot of the danger in the planes comes from the fact that someone might not know what the dangers actually are so they just stumble around without proper preparation. But overall I'd day that the outer planes are a pretty dangerous place to travel in. Deadly for those that do not know what dwells there.

 

[Ravilah]

IMC, Carceri is only a prison for those who have been PUT there. If you go of your own free will, the few portals that exists will funtion for you. There is one portal in the Bastion and that is a decorative pillar in the midst of the underground vault of the Vampire's Ball (imagine being unable to die, and unable to leave a wearisome and repetitive party with people you despise). The portal takes you to the Outlands.

R

 

[diaglo]

IMC, Carceri is only a prison for those who have been PUT there. If you go of your own free will, the few portals that exists will funtion for you. There is one portal in the Bastion and that is a decorative pillar in the midst of the underground vault of the Vampire's Ball (imagine being unable to die, and unable to leave a wearisome and repetitive party with people you despise). The portal takes you to the Outlands.

R

send some dupe there by convincing him of some subplot/etc... have him switch places with a prisoner by way of magic and viola.. a breakout.


or does being conned not count as free will?