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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Libertad" data-source="post: 6197101" data-attributes="member: 6750502">I just realized that Bytopia is more individualist, yet closer to Law on the Great Wheel, while the Beastlands are more collectivist, yet closer to Chaos.  They're both technically Neutral Good, though, so it's not a big problem (unless you group in Law with collectivism and Chaos with individualism).Some loose ends:The Pantheon Exemption ClauseAn astute reader of divine pantheons may notice that the ones located on the Celestial planes have members of Neutral or even Evil alignment.  This is particularly strange, considering the fact that evil creatures are usually attacked on sight in most Upper Planes.  So why the exception?It has to do with the natures of the deities.  The Gods and Goddesses of the pantheons have self-governing territories in many planes.  The divinely morphic nature of the planes gives most deities easy access to land and resources to carve out a splendid domain for their followers.  It's commonly assumed that the deities of a pantheon police the affairs of their fellows, and the pantheon needs a common meeting ground to discuss matters relating their created people.  In most cases, the deities of Good alignment outnumber the Evil ones, and an Upper Plane is chosen as the headquarters through majority rule.  In the case of a Good head deity, the decision may be entirely up to the leader of the pantheon.The phrase "keep your friends close and your enemies closer" is the primary incentive for this arrangement.  People located on the same plane have an easier time of scrying upon and communicating with each other through magical means.  Sure, having the Dwarven God of Greed in Celestia may put the Archons and other Gods on edge, but they can easily find out what he's up to than if he were located in the Nine Hells.  This also grants the advantage by cutting off Lower Planes contact with the Evil deities and forcing them to rely on less convenient means of communication or cooperation with the rest of the pantheon.  Some of the Evil deities find this a satisfactory arrangement (less competition in the Upper Planes, a less dangerous region, higher standard of living for worshipers, etc).  Sometimes an evil deity may defy this arrangement and cut off all ties with the pantheon and relocate (such as in the case of Urdlen).The River OceanusThere's plenty of underwater civilizations in Oceanus, from Merfolk kingdoms in Elysium to Bronze Dragon coves in Arcadia and Celestia.  Planar tradesmen use the River to ply trade, and it's less dangerous than Styx.  However, certain planar layers are "cut off" from the river via artificial dams.  A good example is Elysium's third layer of Belierin.The river on Arcadia is oddly artificial, flowing in straight lines and curving at right angles.  Harbor towns have regular patrols of inevitables and archons, and inter-planar tariffs on trade discourage all but the most affluent merchants.The river in Celestia empties out into an ocean surrounding the mountain.  The water takes on holy properties, making the plane a prime location for people seeking this valuable water.  Celestia allows the water to be taken freely by all, due to its high supply.  Many people make a living journeying to Celestia, taking holy water, then selling it at a premium elsewhere.  Many celestials disapprove of this practice, and rely upon their free supply and trustworthy nature to encourage people to seek them out instead.The river in Bytopia goes through the layer of Dothion.  The rivers on Shurrock are rapid mountain streams and thus seldom used.  The enterprising petitioners often claim ownership of land the river passes through, often charging rates for others to "use" their property.  Passage through Bytopia often becomes a puzzling course of avoiding cutthroat tollkeepers and plotting out the cheapest routes. Oceanus pours through all four layers of Elysium before exiting into the oceans of Thalasia.  Trade thrives on the fourth layer, and many devout pilgrims of Pelor travel en masse on ships to visit the Citadel of the Sun.  Many people sail between the islands of Thalasia on longboats and sea-going vessels; more than a few ships are capable of submerging beneath the waves with unique magic.The rivers of the Beastlands appears one of the least-traveled byways of Oceanus, second beneath Ysgard.  The place is scarcely traveled, with almost no docks or harbor towns.  The fact that the river turns into rapids upon transition to a nearby planar portal does make it a frequent passage for riverboats.  In reality, the rivers are highly congested, as many aquatic petitioners use Oceanus as their primary means of maneuvering the plane.Due to numerous floating islands in Ysgard, the river is more of a massive series of waterfalls.  Tradesmen use floating airships as the most common means of travels.  The more settled islands often have massive gates at the head of the waterfalls to catch any wayward ships, but most towns cannot afford these structures.The Beastlands: Strength in Numbers    The Beastlands is unique among the Upper Planes is that it has more petitioners than all the others combined.  They’re literally everywhere; every flower in the field, every ant in the colony has its own soul.  The Beastlands contains the souls of every non-sapient animal, plant, and vermin that has ever lived on the Material Plane.    To get a sense of scale, imagine a number of the total number of life forms on your own world.  Now imagine the number of humans living today: around six billion.  In regards to species of animals, there are over 10 million different kinds still alive (and we didn’t even get to the plants).  Now stretch that number you have in your head over hundreds of thousands of years of evolution.  And imagine that amount all living in one plane, all of them with the Celestial template and a bare minimum Intelligence score of 3.    This is why the laws of consumption exist in the Beastlands: valuable space is saved by having multiple souls share a single body in a kind of hive-mind state.  It’s also why Elysium has not made any inroads over assimilating its neighbors: any significant form of aggression would be met with endless waves of animal petitioners crashing over the Guardinals like a stormy sea.  Add some Eladrin reinforcements, unicorns, magical beasts, and druids, and you’ve literally got an unconquerable plane.    The management of such a vast number of souls is incredibly taxing, even for the nature deities.  This is where the Animal Lords come in.  A Lord is responsible for the task of managing the affairs of petitioners of his species.  The Lords have geographic boundaries and common residences, although this can vary in the case of animals known to migrate.  The style and system of governance is as varied as the forms of government in the Material Plane, ranging from autocratic rulers to “do your own thing” societal minimalism.  There are Plant Lords, and even Ooze Lords, but the name “Animal Lord” is most common because they’re the leaders most visitors meet.    Political maneuvering between the Lords is fierce, as the leaders barter, trick, threaten, and ally with each other over territory, food, and power.  Lords of more violent species often have to prove their “Alpha” status by fighting off challengers and not appearing weak to their subordinates.  Many Lords have much in the ways of magic items and nature magic, and enterprising adventurers can benefit from this by doing quests and tasks on behalf of the Lord’s species.</blockquote>

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