Acheron

The first sounds that are heard upon entering the plane of Acheron are the screams and clashes of battle for that is all this plane knows; Conflict, war, strife, and struggle. Endless armies fight eternal wars and though there are many soldiers, generals and leaders are scarce and few. It is difficult to avoid a skirmish anywhere within this plane no matter who populates it, be it petitioner, mortal, fiend, or Celestial.

It is where ignorant armies clash by night.
It is the refuse-plane of a million failed rebellions.
It is a plane of enforced order, where conformity is more important than good.

— Manual of the Planes

Acheron has four prominent layers all comprised of cube-like shapes. Sometimes these cubes are the size of continents while others are conglomerates of many. These cubes frequently collide with each other, leaving wakes of destruction in their midst with the deafening sound of clashing metal emanating upon their impact. Acheron is the home to many deities including Wee Jas, the deity of Death and Magic, Gruumsh, the god of the Orcs, and Maglubiyet, the Goblin deity. They are all ruled over by the supreme god of tyranny and the entire continent of Tok, Hextor.

Acheron Links

Like much of the other Lower Planes, the River Styx flows through Acheron on its top layer called Avalas. Avalas is made up of many cubes and the river flows through all of them, connecting the cubes in odd perfect geometric manners. It flows from all sides and then spills off to drip into another cube and then welling up in large craters leftover from the many battles that occur throughout the plane. Portals are common along the River Styx, usually appearing in tunnels and deltas off-shooting from the main current.

Acheron Inhabitants

Armies fill the plane that comprises all races found on Oryth and beyond. There are those who attempt to rise up as a general or leader to guide the army, but madness takes holds and mutiny quickly follows even the strongest of willed. Armies of Undeath or constructs can last longer due to their mindless following of orders and not having to worry about the effects the plane has on the mind. Armies that have not gone completely mad attempt to seek a goal that once had in life, such as defending a place of importance, retrieving goods or provisions, or even overthrowing a tyrannical leader. The unfortunate fact remains, however, that most of these goals were far away in a plane that Acheron will never see and their fruitless efforts will go in vain.

Rakshasa clans rule several of the cubes throughout Acheron which are cloaked with their powerful illusionary magics. There are also Clockwork creatures from Mechanus such as the Modron have hidden mining colonies throughout the two lowest layers of Acheron who have been preparing for war with rumors of their plans to invade the Material Plane of Oryth. Finally, there are many flocks of enormous birds that sore through the skies, picking the corpses of the fallen soldiers clean after a skirmish has cleared from the immediate location.

Art From: Planes of Law, 1995 TSR Inc.

Acheron Petitioners

Much of the armies on Acheron are the petitioners and deserters of Oryth. When a soldier fights and kills for a cause he doesn't truly believe in or kills happily for the sake of killing, they may end up as petitioners in the plane of Acheron.

Terrorists and revolutionaries can also end up on the Infernal Battlefield, finding themselves in a never-ending war after death. These particular petitioners often become leaders of roving armies, unable to rest until they are slain in the battle on Acheron and their essence becomes one with the plane itself. Petitioners often don't realize that they have died on the Material Plane, resuming their onslaught and bloodlust for centuries on one of the many cubes, never truly knowing the peace of death.

Movement & Combat

Movement and combat are similar to that of the Material Plane, save for the gravity shifting to align movement with whatever face of the cube a person is on at any given time. There can often be bottlenecks and clusters at the corners of the cubes and are often where phalanxes and polearm users make their stand. Traveling between cubes is difficult to the untrained, but relatively easy. Flight is required to move from cube to cube or waiting for the collision of two cubes. The various six-sided islands can be seen for days before actual impact, allowing for evacuation or well-timed, but dangerous, maneuvering between the two places. If a person is not careful during this collision, they can be caught in cracks and caverns that form during impact, or worse, be completely disintegrated from the kinetic onslaught of the two colliding bodies.

Art By: Wizards of the Coast

Alternative Name(s)

Infinite Battlefield, Infernal Battlefield,
Iron-Shode Battle Planes

Type

Dimensional plane

Owner/Ruler

Hextor

Characters in Location

• Gruumsh
• Hextor
• Maglubiyet
• Wee Jas

Acheron Traits

Acheron has the following traits.

• Objective Directional Gravity. The strength of gravity is the same as on the Material Plane, but which way down depends on which face of the cube you’re on. Walking across edges between faces can be dizzying for the inexperienced.
• Normal Time.
• Infinite Size. Each cube is finite, but the void the cubes hang in is infinite.
• Divinely Morphic. Acheron changes at the whim of its deities. Ordinary creatures must use spells and physical effort to change the infernal battlefield.
• No Elemental or Energy Traits.
• Mildly Law-Aligned. Chaotic characters suffer Disadvantage on all Charisma checks.
• Normal Magic.
• Petitioner Qualities.
• Immunities. Electricity, Thunder
• Resistances. Cold, Fire
• Hearten. All members of a renegade army within a 100-foot radius of a petitioner commander receive Advantage on Saving Throws against Charm and Fear effects and add 1d4 to attack and damage rolls.

The power of the collision can vary depending on the size of the cube and the speed of impact, but most armies with tactical sense, stay clear from impact sights in order to not fall victim to its power. There are few, however, that use this to their advantage, using the event to launch full-frontal attacks that often lead to heavy casualties, but can also lead to momentary victory.

The Orc-Goblin War

The realms of Clangor and Nishrek were once a single cube, but the opposing deities of each realm finally managed to separate their realms into two wholly separate cubes. Though they are separated, the enmity between the goblins of Clangor and the orcs of Nishrek is still great. Though the rival deities can prevent an entire cube face from being crushed by an opposing cube sent hurling through the void, that doesn’t stop either side from trying. Most battles are now fought when one side manages to land an invasion force on an opposing cube.

Features of Acheron

There are four layers on Acheron and each one is made up of giant, floating cubes that are scarred and cracked from the many impacts and collisions throughout the many eons. Due to the lawful nature of the plane, the cubes rust and fracture along these cracks, but always follow straight lines and right angles. Some of the cubes that make up Acheron are smaller, only consisting of a few hundred feet in size, while some are big enough for entire cities or even kingdoms. Though there are different geometric shapes that exist, there is a rare sight throughout the plane except on its third layer of Tintibulus. Vision is normal with light emanating from fluctuating illumination like that on a dark cloudy day and hearing is similar save the echoing ring of metal clashing in the distance.

Avalas

Also known as the Battleplains, Avalas is the first of the layers of Acheron and where the most cubes (and most combat) are found. The cubes of Acheron are in a constant state of movement, often colliding with others, destroying some, and creating new cubes in the process. The cubes can vary from the size of small cities to vast continents. The small the cube, the older it likely is to the amount the cube has colliding and broken off after eons of collisions.

Clangor

The cube of Clangor has been completely carved out and converted into a single, massive barracks for the goblin nations. This is also where the great goblin deity, Maglubiyet holds his seat of power.

The towers and walls of Clangor have been arranged in a tactic manner that allows for maximum damage against invading armies, allowing bottlenecks and deathtraps to be sprung on any intruders. The spikes and protrusions of the towers are also specifically designed that, should they collide with another cube, they will inflict superlative destruction to the colliding cube while often the best defense for Clangor's structure. The air here is dry and cold, with fog billowing from its surface, providing cover for the wolf riders of the goblin city. Since most of the population of Clangor are petitioners, there is no need for storage of food or water, allowing them to focus sheerly on battlefield preparation and destruction.

The great fortress of Shetring blends effortlessly into the surrounding walls and structures of Shetrin. Lorfang River runes through the fortress, with five heavily guarded bridges providing access between the two sides. The river pools into a small spring then travels once more for a few miles before cascading down below into the cube once more. At the bottom of the waterfall stands the great throne of Maglubiyet inside his magnificently carved steel cavern dripping with the moisture accumulated from the Lorfang River and the blood of his enemies. The goblin armies will often throw their enemies over the falls so that the corpses impact the floor in front of Maglubiyet as an offering to his majesty.

Nishrek

The metallic cube of Nishrek is home to the Orc Pantheon, lead by Gruumsh, the one-eyed maleficient deity of the orcs. After housing himself on the plane, Gruumsh affected this cube in particular to negate the Law-Aligned effects of Acheron. Much like Clangor, Nishrek is carved and tunneled throughout its borders in a vessel of war. Unlike Clangor's strategically aligned barracks, the tunnels of Nishrek are chaotically placed with little regard to efficiency. Rather the Clangor's grid-like arrangement, Nishrek winds and swirls throughout its streets and trenches with the tunnel being built as needed with blotchy and haphazardly arranged strongholds.

Three prominent fortress cities are known as Rotting Eye, White Hand, and Three Fang. These great orc cities lie under the direct dominion of Gruumsh and he often goes from location to location, not only to deliver orders to the armies but also to never stay in one place for long to sway any attempts of assassination.

The lesser deities of the Orc Pantheon, Bahgtru and Ilneval, control the smaller cities of orcs while a hidden orc deity named Luthic remains in the heart of the cube where she sends forth plagues and misery throughout the realms from inside her own pocket dominion on Nishrek. Those that find the hidden tunnels that lead into Luthic's territory are met with experimental plagues and rarely make it into her realm. The unlucky who do are imprisoned and used for frequent experimentations in the sadistic orc god's musings never to be seen again.

Scourgehold

Belonging to one of the most powerful deities of the multiverse of Oryth, Hextor's domain is on one of the largest cubes in Acheron where battle always rages. Hextor's fortress has many walls engulfing much of the cube. In its center is The Great Coliseum, which stretches for miles and many layers of beaten bronze and glass. Hextor himself will often walk the grounds of the coliseum with his six arms whirling weapons about in a frenzy of hate and discord. Since his rebirth, Hextor has influenced an entire nation of the Material Plane and often is called up in one of his avatar states to assist the Tok Empire. Though this doesn't stop him from getting into the fray of the coliseum and bloodying his hand, his attention is often geared toward the prosperity of Tok.

Art By: Wizards of the Coast

Thuldanin

Although they are arranged in much of the same way as Avalas, the cubes of Thuldainn are riddled with pockets and chasms with many of them being hollowed wastelands. Much of the pits will weave into labyrinthine mazes that are cluttered with the refuse of every war ever fought. There are broken scraps and devices along with broken ships, toppled siege towers, and enormous weapons that can be found throughout the cubes. Many of these devices and weapons are inoperable and petrified by the "preservative" quality of this layer. Searching for intact weapons is a profitable market for planar scavengers due to many of the fantastic abilities within. Though they are few and far between, scavengers can find a plethora of devices from nearly every plane of existence.

Resisting Preservation

Any given object or creature is 1% likely per 30 days spent on Thuldanin of spontaneously petrifying into stone. Creatures, if potentially affected, can avoid the effect with a successful Constitution save (DC 18). Objects or creatures petrified by the natural qualities of Thuldanin cannot be returned to their previous state, except with such high-level magic as a Wish or successful Divine Intervention pell.

Tintibulus

The layer of Tintibulus consists of not only cubes but multi-faceted polyhedral solids. These solids are made of a gray obsidian-like stone with each being covered in a thick layer of ashen dust. When collisions occur the fractures create faultlines and break off into other polyhedral shapes erupting in roaring-loud bell-like cacophonies that can be heard all throughout the plane. The constant ringing on Tintibulus causes characters to have Disadvantage on hearing-based Perception Checks while on this layer of Acheron.

Ocanthus

The fourth and final layer of Acheron is void of light and filled with razor-thin shards of ice. Some of these shared can be the size of a needle while others are miles in length. The larger shards can actually have objective-gravity much like the cubes of the up layers and even breathable atmospheres albeit of freezing cold air. The shards are constantly colliding and breaking into smaller shards or combining by freezing together and creating jagged icicles that fly by at extreme speeds creating a blizzard of shards known as a Bladestorm. At the very bottom there is a layer of ice that stretches the boundaries of Acheron. Some say that this barrier is actually the source of the River Styx itself or a destination thereof. Many believe that every memory that has been stolen by the River Styx is brought to this layer of ice and frozen at its depths where it is forever sealed. The sheet of ice itself has objective directional gravity and it is also possible that the layer is simply a large shard that has been mistaken as Ocanthus's boundary.

Surviving a Bladestorm

Creatures that are not protected by some supremely strong artificial structure (which eventually is breached anyway) are constantly vulnerable to shards slicing through the darkness like knives. Creatures and objects are subject to the equivalent of a greatsword attack (2d6 Slashing Damage) every round with Advantage on the attack roll. The magical property of this damage bypasses damage resistances.

Cabal Macabre

In her citadel of ice hosts the powerful goddess of death and magic, Wee Jas. The tower was built with a delicate and beautiful grace, yet horrifying architecture. It gleams with a pale light that can be seen brightly on the final layer due to the nature of its darkness. Inside the Cabal, Wee Jas kidnaps spell casters throughout the Multiverse to test their arcane might, though none pass her tests and the punishment for failure is death. Though this leads to the demise of these spell casters, those faithful to the goddess consider this a great honor. Wee Jas often spends her days walking the boundary of ice and sifting through the memories of lost magic and death. Wherever she walks, Bladestorms within a quarter-mile are halted to a stop.