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ShortQuests -- individual adventure modules! An all-new collection of digest-sized D&D adventures designed to plug in to your game.

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Libertad" data-source="post: 6197097" data-attributes="member: 6750502">Celestia <img src="http://i.*****.com/AY2Qj.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /> With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility    Celestia is a realm of holiness infused with order and mercy.  Archons, lawfully-aligned angels, and exemplars of Law and Good formulate rules and encourage others to follow their path.  Celestia’s ideal of Good is multi-faceted, yet has predominant views: society’s rules and conduct must promote a high standard of living for as many people as possible; self-sacrifice of the individual in order to benefit others and promote altruism; a restorative form of justice which focuses on the needs of the victims, offenders, and involved communities; and increased accountability and duties for those in power.    Celestia is a lot like Arcadia in the sense that it uses the influence of society and rules to promote their ideals, although they realize that not everyone can live up to such high standards.  Thus the need for numerous tests and trials; the plane has seven layers, all but the lowest barred from the general public.  In order to ascend, travelers must dedicate themselves to the virtues of Law and Good.  They undergo numerous tests, oftentimes without their knowledge, which measure their willingness to live a life of altruism, restorative justice, self-sacrifice, and good works.People who pass a test receive blessings from the Gods and Celestials, but these powers are not meant as a reward in and of itself: those who stray from the path are in danger of losing them, much like the Paladin and his duties.  The more tests one completes, the greater the blessings and restrictions.  Goodness is just as much a burden as it is a reward: this separates the true altruists from those who pursue Good for selfish reasons or out of fear of punishment.  Ironically this means that most people in Multiverse cannot meet Celestia’s high standards, but it’s perfectly in line with the plane’s ideology of power through accountability and sacrifice.The Tests    Ascending Celestia’s layers is not only a matter of physical and extraplanar travel, it’s a spiritual one as well.  People who wish to travel upwards are pointed to winding mountain pathways, the doors of holy citadels, monasteries of ascetics, and other areas associated with enlightenment and self-improvement.  The reality is that the petitioners and inhabitants of the plane direct the travelers to the testing areas, with archon and angel observers posing in more subtle forms.  From here on out, the travelers will confront numerous obstacles to test their moral character, inconvenient hurdles to test their patience, and sometimes the announcement that all their efforts were in vain!  This last part is a vital part of tests in the upper layers, for it determines if the seeker’s intent was truly focused on moral self-improvement and not on more selfish motives.    The tests are both high in number and varied in application to prevent easy ascertainment for seekers to know when they’re tested.  Sometimes the tests carry on outside of Celestia or when the travelers complete their duties, or are even administered to unwitting people who’ve never visited the plane at all!  This last part is especially common when it comes to potential Paladins on Material Plane worlds.    Tests can be either a short series of encounters or adventures in and of themselves.  Adventurers in need of Celestial assistance, a sacred artifact, or entry into a vaunted Prestige Class may need to pass these tests in order to receive their object of desire.  The tests should also have the appearance of danger and conflict, even if located within the Plane itself: the illusions are so expertly crafted that they can fool mortal forms of divination and detection magic, and summoned creatures are actually in on it (creatures with the form of chaotic/evil creatures are specially-trained archons in disguise, and their “dark magic” only has the illusion of Evil).  This is the perfect opportunity to introduce rampaging demons, vicious warlords, and other enemies in a Celestial adventure.The Power of Redemption    Celestia’s emphasis on restorative justice means that the Archons do everything in their power to ensure that as many people seeking to abandon a life of Evil are successful in their efforts and become better people as a result (Castle Mahlhevik is a good example of this in the Manual).  Doubting and guilt-ridden evil creatures (and reluctant supporters of evil powers) who come to Celestia are brought to a citadel in Lunia known as the Restoration Center (informally known as the “Gray Light”).  Evil creatures that are sincere in their attempts to improve go through a series of programs, the end result hopefully being conversion to the side of Good healing the wounds of past atrocities.    Patients of the Restoration Center receive magical treatment intended to wean them off of any supernatural influence encouraging or compelling them to do evil.  Those dependent on Evil sources of power for survival receive gold bracelets which provide an alternate source of sustenance.  People such as Ogres and Drow who were raised in evil societies and know no other way of life undergo therapeutic procedures akin to “exit counseling” in our own world for people leaving cults and similar groups.    The Restoration Center’s most notable program involves the procedure of evil beings to repair the harm they’ve done to specific individuals and communities, usually through apologies, financial restitution of crimes committed, and good works.  The being is encouraged to communicate with his victims and help minimize their suffering; an archon usually accompanies the being and provides guidance on how he or she can do the most good to the people wronged.  Even if the being doesn’t receive forgiveness, he’s still encouraged to lend a helping hand if asked.    The Center receives a lot of controversy from outside Celestia; more paranoid elements of the Upper Planes insist that the program is open to abuse and treachery, while fiendish lords and evil deities hate the thought of losing their number to the enemy.  Despite numerous attacks and sabotage efforts, the Restoration Center stays open and continues to redeem evil entities with a surprisingly high rate of success.Loopholes in the System    There are ways of ascending the layers without getting through the tests.  Bahamut’s Palace can travel freely between the first four layers, although only trusted allies of his can make use of this privilege.  The other way is much more dangerous and requires traversing a network of shady go-betweens, mazes of planar portals in the back allies of Sigil, and cash paid upfront to the guides.  The people most interested in bypassing the tests are usually arrogant mortals who failed the tests and feel denied, greedy merchants hoping to steal rare objects of value for the black market, and Lower Planes spies.  The reliable guides go on a reputation-based system, and many newcomers fall prey to charlatans and thieves posing as the genuine article.  Ideally, passage to Celestia is quicker this way, but the chances of getting trapped in a dimensional soul prison or ambushed by planar highwaymen is much higher.Adventure Hooks in Celestia:•    The PCs need to reach the fifth layer of Celestia in order to gain access to the healing fountains of Empyrea City.  In order to ascend the layer, they must either pass a multitude of tests or find an alternate path through guides in Sigil.  Either way, the adventurer’s skills are put to the test against numerous enemies and unreliable passageways.•    Bahamut’s practice of decorating his interior palace with the bones of would-be thieves and spies earns lots of condemnation.  Family members of the deceased and people against corpse desecration endlessly petition the Archons to take action, but Bahamut’s word is law in his domain.  The PCs are given the task of retrieving the bones of Bahamut’s victims for a proper burial.  They can either appeal to the Platinum Dragon’s worshipers, or risk their own lives and steal the remains.•    Due to a common exception in the pantheon system, Abbathor, an evil deity of avarice, is headquartered in the dwarven heaven of Erackinor.  Although Moradin and the other deities do their best to keep tabs on his behavior and worshipers, there’s a rumor going around that one his clerics plans on selling the location of Celestia’s hidden planar portals to the highest bidder.  The PCs must verify the rumors, locate the secret auction, and block/destroy the portals before a Lower Planes invasion force learns of them.</blockquote>

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