I'm not quite happy with this one., but I'm posting to see if it can be cultivated.
Elysium: The Realm of Boundless Tranquility
Theme: Contentment and freedom through altruism.
Unique Element: The River Oceanus, a sentient force, ties the plane together as a physical and spiritual thread, carrying dreams, forgotten lore, and opportunities for reflection. It represents the freedom to drift and the responsibility to guide.
Key Features of Elysium
The Layers
- Amoria (The Pastoral Haven):
This is a realm of rolling meadows, serene groves, and idyllic villages. The River Oceanus splits into countless channels, forming hidden enclaves of celestial beauty. Elysian pears grow here, their taste evoking cherished memories.
- Adventure Hook: Villagers are mysteriously falling asleep and dreaming collectively of a forgotten tragedy. What is Oceanus trying to communicate?
- Eronia (The Mountain of Trials):
Rugged peaks and cascading waterfalls dominate this layer. Oceanus tumbles through cliffs, creating natural challenges and awe-inspiring vistas. This is a layer where freedom is tempered by perseverance.
- Adventure Hook: A phoenix has gone rogue, spreading fire across the mountains. The heroes must determine if it’s a corruption—or a desperate plea for help.
- Belierin (The Whispering Marshes):
A maze of wetlands and isles where Oceanus slows to a near-stillness. Shrouded in mystery, the swamps host ancient spirits and echoes of forgotten deeds.
- Adventure Hook: A guide, one of the River Spirits, has stopped moving. What secret weighs them down, and how can it be resolved?
- Thalasia (The Boundless Sea):
The destination of Oceanus. Endless azure waters dotted with emerald islands form this layer. Thalasia is where souls seeking eternal rest find solace.
- Adventure Hook: The heroes are asked to locate a lost ship carrying a relic of great importance. But some believe the ship is best left undisturbed.
Inhabitants of Elysium
- Guardinals:Animal-headed celestials embodying pure virtues.
- Lionhearted (Courage): Warriors and Guardians.
- Foxborn (Wisdom): Scholars and tricksters.
- Dovekind (Peace): Mediators and healers.
- Blissborn:Mortals transformed by Elysium’s energies. They radiate joy but often grapple with hidden sorrows.
- Adventure Hook: A Blissborn holds the key to ending a feud, but they’ve lost their memory in Oceanus's flow.
- River Spirits: Oceanus’s personifications. Playful, enigmatic, and wise, they can be both allies and challenges.
- Other Denizens: Moon dogs, holly plants, phoenixes, and rare creatures like the Agatha or Baku.
Unique Mechanics
- The Call of Oceanus:
Time spent in Elysium can be risky, as one may lose oneself to its serenity. Characters must pass periodic Wisdom (Insight) checks to resist becoming part of the plane and forgetting their worldly goals.
- Gifts of Contentment:
Performing selfless acts in Elysium grants temporary boons:
- Advantage on Charisma-based checks.
- Resistance to psychic damage.
- Echoes of the River:
Oceanus can carry messages or lost items to the heroes but requires a token of sacrifice or an answer to a riddle.
Potential Adventures
- A Game of Virtues:
Two opposing factions of Guardinals (e.g., Lionhearted and Dovekind) clash over how to address a threat. The heroes must mediate while navigating their ideals.
- The Voice Beneath the Waves:
A Blissborn claims Oceanus is speaking to them directly, warning of a hidden corruption in Thalasia. Is it truth—or delusion?
- The Shattered Harmony:
An ambitious planar traveler steals an artifact tied to Elysium’s balance. The heroes must retrieve it before the theft destabilizes the layers.
Key Plot Hooks:
1. The Lost Secrets of Oceanus
Hook: The River Oceanus is more than just a waterway; it holds forgotten messages, dreams, and lore. Something important—an ancient prophecy, a celestial decree, or even a mortal's forgotten dream—has been lost in its currents.
Potential Adventure:
- The party is tasked with navigating the unpredictable currents of Oceanus to retrieve the lost knowledge. Along the way, they must deal with river spirits, aquatic celestials, and dangerous whirlpools that test their resolve and virtue.
- A rival group (perhaps corrupted Blissborn or malevolent outsiders) is also searching for the same secret, turning the quest into a moral race.
2. The Blissborn’s Burden
Hook: A Blissborn, a mortal who has achieved perfect peace in Elysium, begins to show cracks in their serene facade. They are plagued by visions of an unresolved past life or a looming threat to their loved ones in the material plane.
Potential Adventure:
- The party must help the Blissborn reconcile their past or confront their fears. This journey might involve traveling to the material plane, uncovering the Blissborn’s forgotten life, and confronting figures from their past.
- Alternatively, the visions may warn of an impending danger to Elysium itself, compelling the party to uncover and address the source of the disturbance.
3. A Rift Among the Guardinals
Hook: The normally harmonious Guardinals are divided over a philosophical disagreement—perhaps about the balance of altruism and self-sacrifice or the extent of intervention in mortal affairs.
Potential Adventure:
- The party is drawn into the debate when a mortal village under threat petitions the Guardinals for aid, only for them to bicker over whether to act.
- Resolving the feud may involve mediation, performing a service that exemplifies their unity, or uncovering an external force exacerbating the divide (e.g., a fiendish agent sowing discord).
4. Intrigue on the Isles of Belierin
Hook: The marshy layer of Belierin is home to island nations, each with its unique celestial inhabitants and cultures. A diplomatic incident or resource scarcity has disrupted the peace.
Potential Adventure:
- The party must mediate between the islanders, exploring the marshy terrain and uncovering the root cause of the discord.
- They may also face challenges like dangerous wildlife, planar storms, or even interference from other planes (e.g., Abyssal incursions or mercenaries hired by a rogue faction).
5. A Light Lost in Thalasia
Hook: A phoenix native to Thalasia has gone missing, and its absence threatens the equilibrium of Elysium's celestial ecosystem.
Potential Adventure:
- The party is tasked with locating the phoenix, which could involve diving into Thalasia’s ocean depths or searching its scattered islands.
- Poachers may have captured the phoenix, lured away by malevolent forces, or deliberately hidden due to a prophecy they fear fulfilling.
6. The Corruption of the Oceanus
Hook: Sections of the Oceanus have inexplicably turned stagnant or corrupted, causing unease among the plane's inhabitants.
Potential Adventure:
- The party must trace the corruption to its source, which could involve fiendish meddling, a tainted artifact washing in from another plane, or even an ancient celestial dispute resurfacing.
- Restoring the river’s purity may involve moral quandaries, such as deciding whether to destroy a powerful relic or convince celestial beings to make personal sacrifices.
7. Guardians of the Pilgrims
Hook: Mortals often journey to Elysium seeking peace or enlightenment. A group of pilgrims has gone missing along the banks of Oceanus or in the mountainous regions of Eronia.
Potential Adventure:
- The party is hired to track down the pilgrims, navigating natural hazards like cascading waterfalls, treacherous cliffs, and dense forests.
- The pilgrims might have been led astray by malevolent forces, entranced by a Blissborn into joining their idyllic isolation, or overwhelmed by Elysium’s otherworldly beauty.
8. The Price of Perfect Harmony
Hook: An ambitious mortal has stolen a fragment of Elysium’s essence (e.g., an Elysian pear or a shard of celestial light) to bring peace to their war-torn home. However, this theft destabilizes the plane.
Potential Adventure:
- The party must retrieve the stolen fragment, confronting the moral implications of their quest. Is it right to return the essence if it saves countless lives elsewhere?
- Along the way, they face the wrath of the thief’s allies and potentially the anger of Elysium’s inhabitants for the disturbance.
9. The Celestial Key
Hook: A rare celestial artifact is said to open a portal to the most remote sanctum of Thalasia, where a great secret of Elysium lies hidden.
Potential Adventure:
- The party competes with planar explorers, treasure hunters, and fiendish agents to obtain the artifact.
- They must prove their worthiness through tests of character, resolve, and teamwork, reflecting the ideals of Elysium.
10. A Shadow Over Elysium
Hook: A small section of Elysium has inexplicably taken on traits of the Lower Planes, and its celestial inhabitants are powerless to stop the transformation.
Potential Adventure:
- The party must investigate and resolve the anomaly, which might be tied to a fallen celestial, a rift in the planar fabric, or an artifact washed up from the Styx.
- The resolution may involve diplomatic efforts, combat with fiendish invaders, or a sacrifice to restore balance.
In this version, Elysium becomes a living, breathing plane—a place of infinite beauty, compelling challenges, and a constant interplay between serenity and purpose. The River Oceanus serves as a dynamic element, weaving together narrative threads that are personal, philosophical, and heroic.
*********************************
I'm going to stew on the last few.
Ysgard already has an incredibly strong theme and presents well, so I'm not worried.
However, Arcadia needs cultivation, so we will have to do some serious thinking to make it work other than "good fallen sorta and bugs."
Perhaps in a Monster Manual 2? 
