The Wilderness of the Beastlands
The Wilderness of the Beastlands, are also known as the Happy Hunting Grounds, was the Outer Plane representing alignments between neutral good and chaotic good.
DESCRIPTION
The name Happy Hunting Grounds was given to this plane by those that first scryed it, assuming the abundant and varied game and wildlife would be a sportsman's paradise. But the native inhabitants of this plane were all capable of speech and comparable to humans in a range of intelligence. Some of the most intelligent creatures could even wield magic. All-natural creatures and their giant versions from the Prime Material Plane, including mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians, insects, and invertebrates, excluding enchanted creatures and monsters, were represented here, and they called their home the Beastlands. The Beastlands had three layers, all heavily forested with normal and giant trees, plants, moss, and fungi. Each layer had its own time of day which never varied. The weather was regionally distributed and provided all manner of conditions for the habitats of all creatures. Weather in one region did not affect adjacent regions, so an arid desert could exist next to a snowy winter region for example. Any attempt to control the winds, weather, or atmosphere was countered by those airborne creatures who lived in the region. Yggdrasil, the World Ash, extended its branches to all layers of the Beastlands. The reason was unclear, since there were no realms of the Norse pantheon anywhere in the plane. Some speculated that the wilderness and life-giving properties of the plane were sufficient to root the tree there.
KRIGALA Krigala was the first, topmost upper layer, connected to the Astral Plane by colour pools and to Elysium, Arborea, and the Outlands by portals disguised as large holes in hollow trees. The river Oceanus flowed in a relatively straight course from Amoria in Elysium through Krigala on its way to Arborea. The sky was perpetually lit by a noonday sun directly overhead regardless of distance travelled. It was also known as Selera's Empire, because it was bathed in perpetual sunlight from the Beastlands sun, Selera. Krigala was a heavily forested layer with trees of all sorts of varieties. The main way in which Krigala differed from the other two layers was its sky. It was perpetually noon in Krigala, with the bright sun directly overhead and never moving. The sun appeared to be at its highest point in the sky no matter how far one might travel. Time did pass, but the sun gave no indication of this; instead, time could be tracked by the fact that precipitation of some form fell exactly once per twenty-four hour period. Despite the fact that it was always midday, the layer had a variety of climates, and these climates cover the layer with no seeming organization. Deserts and savannahs were cooked by Selera's heat. Other areas were in the shade of massive and thick jungle canopy. Some regions were covered in fog; others even had snow. For the most part, however, it was just warm enough for all of the vast plant life. The temperture decreased as one climbed higher in altitude, as on the Material Plane. The River Oceanus flowed through the center of Krigala in a relatively straight path, from Elysium and to Arborea. When the river did curve, bayous and oxbow lakes were formed. Some of the largest trees were able to bridge the river with their massive branches. Similarly, some of the largest herds and most powerful predators lived close to the waters. The current was strong, and the river was marked in places by white-water rapids. It was possible to physically move from Krigala to Brux, the second plane. Such portals were invisible and seemingly random. The layers overlapped each other in a similar manner to how the Transitive Planes overlapped the Prime Material plane, so one could be walking beneath an archway formed by a large branch and suddenly find her- or himself in the twilight of Brux instead of the eternal day of Krigala without any other change in the immediate environment. Some such portals were found along narrow cliff trails, and these cliffs were sometimes considered the border between the two layers. The interlayer portals tended to be one way, so turning around to walk back under that same branch or up that same cliff path would not likely return the noonday sun. Fortunately, interlayer portals were very common, so it was not too difficult to find an alternate path back to Krigala. Portals to Arborea, Elysium, and the Outlands were also present, usually appearing as openings in large, hollow trees. The same type of tree always led to the same plane. For example, silver-plated beech trees that were portals always led to Arborea, as did lightning-blasted oaks. Sequoias connected to Elysium. The portals shifted frequently, so what used to be a portal on one day might be nothing but a dead tree on another. Branches of Yggdrasil also touched this layer, hidden in deep forests atop high mountains. Here also, a gate to Ysgard was rumoured to be guarded by a per servant of Heimdall, while other pers guarded colour pools around Yggdrasil's branches and ratatosk protected the mystical tree itself. LOCATIONS IN KRIGALA The Deeping Pool was a small lake hidden deep within a broadleaf forest. The leaves cast a shadow of green twilight over the whole area, except for the very centre of the lake, where light from the sun caused the waters to sparkle like a bowl full of diamonds. No one knew how deep this lake was. It was the only lake for hundreds of miles, and so it was a common drinking spot for the many animals of Krigala. It was said by some that sharing a drink from the pool's waters with one of the native animals granted the visitor temporary animal-like abilities, such as enhanced night vision or scent or improved skill at climbing. Three concentric circles of menhirs, fittingly called the Standing Stones, stood upon a tall hill in a rugged region of the layer. The Standing Stones were believed to have once served as a shrine to a nature deity. Herds of grazing animals frequented the area around the hill and its Stones, and predators hunted them. A tiefling known simply as the Warden defended the herds from would-be hunters who were not natural animals. The town of Signpost was a frontier settlement located on this layer. One of the only settlements on the entire layer, it was governed by a tiefling priestess of Pansopia named Sarazh. It was founded as an outpost for the Sign of One faction. The town was considered as wild as the environment around it by many, but it was frequented by many seeking the grand view, as it was located near the cliffs that served as one of the borders to Brux. The Forbidden Plateau was an isolated ecosystem full of dinosaurs and other large, 'prehistoric' life. All manner of diurnal celestial animals inhabited this layer. These animals were more intelligent than animals from the Material and able to speak, but they were still animals in their outlook and manner of life. Most of them knew how the interlayer portals worked and could instinctively avoid them if desired. BRUX The second layer of the Beastlands was constantly in dusk or dawn due to two suns on opposite ends of the horizon. Hovering there and turning the sky a reddish hue. The sun appeared as a red orb always touching the horizon of Brux, while a half-moon could be seen hanging low on the opposite side of the sky. It was considerably cooler than Krigala, so fog and mist commonly rose from the ground and obscured the trees. All trees grew slanted on the layer, pointing toward the dim source of light of the perpetually setting sun, and created long shadows. This seemingly frozen state could be disconcerting to visitors, but it did not disturb the activity cycle of the animals that lived there. The layer had an abundance of creeks and streams that led to Krigala and eventually flowed into the Oceanus. The layer's main inhabitants were animals whose activity cycles peaked around dawn and dusk, such as tigers, bats, and foxes. KARASUTHRA The bottommost layer was the third and deepest layer of the Beastlands. It was the land of perpetual night, starlight and home to dangerous predators. Above any clouds or fog that might exist in a region was a clear night sky full of wandering stars. The stars moved randomly such that all attempts to map them into constellations were unsuccessful. The dominant celestial body in the layer was the moon Noctos, which absorbed the light that emanated from the plane's sun Selera and reflected part of it off its surface, providing the layer with a very dim silver moonlight. Noctos's phase changed extremely slowly. Light sources such as torches, fires, and magical light were also considerably weakened while in the layer, giving off only about half of their nominal light and heat for only half of the normal duration. Nonmagical light only worked if brought from outside of the layers, and no new nonmagical light could be initiated there. Like the rest of the Beastlands, this layer had no settlements. Rumours existed of connections between Karasuthra and the Shadowfell. Shadow creatures were occasionally found in the layer, usually hiding from predators. The layer's main natives were the mortai, who were present in the skies of the entire plane. Like the rest of the plane, Karasuthra was inhabited primarily by natural beasts. The layer's most frequent inhabitants were nocturnal celestial animals such as owls and panthers. Despite the perpetual night, the layer had extensive vegetation that provided food and cover for a variety of herbivore animals as well. This realm has one particular location - the Labyrinth of Fiery Doom, once a detached fragment of Phlegethos (fourth layer of the Nine Hells) rumoured to be the lair of a couple of lovers: a red dragon and a succubus. Their identities were known to almost no one. The red dragon was in fact the agathinon Janarr, whilethe succubus was in fact an erinye Nalura. They had fallen in love with each other before realizing they were supposed to be enemies, and decided to adopt their disguises in order to hide from their pursuing hierarchies. It is said that the couple was expecting their first child.
In addition to the myriad species from the animal kingdom were the usual Upper plane sentient creatures, such as hollyphants, planetars, solars, devas, foo creatures, agathia, and baku. Another form of life unique to the Beastlands was the mortai, also known as the "faces in the clouds". They appeared as cumulus clouds with large humanoid faces and could communicate with anyone if they so wished. The mortai was considered very wise and could converse on most any subject. They also had complete control over the air and weather. Their origin was unknown but it was thought they might be collections of good and somewhat chaotic spirits. The Seelie Court of the Faerie Queen Titania often visited the Beastlands on its wanderings.
The name Happy Hunting Grounds was given to this plane by those that first scryed it, assuming the abundant and varied game and wildlife would be a sportsman's paradise. But the native inhabitants of this plane were all capable of speech and comparable to humans in a range of intelligence. Some of the most intelligent creatures could even wield magic. All-natural creatures and their giant versions from the Prime Material Plane, including mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians, insects, and invertebrates, excluding enchanted creatures and monsters, were represented here, and they called their home the Beastlands. The Beastlands had three layers, all heavily forested with normal and giant trees, plants, moss, and fungi. Each layer had its own time of day which never varied. The weather was regionally distributed and provided all manner of conditions for the habitats of all creatures. Weather in one region did not affect adjacent regions, so an arid desert could exist next to a snowy winter region for example. Any attempt to control the winds, weather, or atmosphere was countered by those airborne creatures who lived in the region. Yggdrasil, the World Ash, extended its branches to all layers of the Beastlands. The reason was unclear, since there were no realms of the Norse pantheon anywhere in the plane. Some speculated that the wilderness and life-giving properties of the plane were sufficient to root the tree there.
LAYERS
KRIGALA Krigala was the first, topmost upper layer, connected to the Astral Plane by colour pools and to Elysium, Arborea, and the Outlands by portals disguised as large holes in hollow trees. The river Oceanus flowed in a relatively straight course from Amoria in Elysium through Krigala on its way to Arborea. The sky was perpetually lit by a noonday sun directly overhead regardless of distance travelled. It was also known as Selera's Empire, because it was bathed in perpetual sunlight from the Beastlands sun, Selera. Krigala was a heavily forested layer with trees of all sorts of varieties. The main way in which Krigala differed from the other two layers was its sky. It was perpetually noon in Krigala, with the bright sun directly overhead and never moving. The sun appeared to be at its highest point in the sky no matter how far one might travel. Time did pass, but the sun gave no indication of this; instead, time could be tracked by the fact that precipitation of some form fell exactly once per twenty-four hour period. Despite the fact that it was always midday, the layer had a variety of climates, and these climates cover the layer with no seeming organization. Deserts and savannahs were cooked by Selera's heat. Other areas were in the shade of massive and thick jungle canopy. Some regions were covered in fog; others even had snow. For the most part, however, it was just warm enough for all of the vast plant life. The temperture decreased as one climbed higher in altitude, as on the Material Plane. The River Oceanus flowed through the center of Krigala in a relatively straight path, from Elysium and to Arborea. When the river did curve, bayous and oxbow lakes were formed. Some of the largest trees were able to bridge the river with their massive branches. Similarly, some of the largest herds and most powerful predators lived close to the waters. The current was strong, and the river was marked in places by white-water rapids. It was possible to physically move from Krigala to Brux, the second plane. Such portals were invisible and seemingly random. The layers overlapped each other in a similar manner to how the Transitive Planes overlapped the Prime Material plane, so one could be walking beneath an archway formed by a large branch and suddenly find her- or himself in the twilight of Brux instead of the eternal day of Krigala without any other change in the immediate environment. Some such portals were found along narrow cliff trails, and these cliffs were sometimes considered the border between the two layers. The interlayer portals tended to be one way, so turning around to walk back under that same branch or up that same cliff path would not likely return the noonday sun. Fortunately, interlayer portals were very common, so it was not too difficult to find an alternate path back to Krigala. Portals to Arborea, Elysium, and the Outlands were also present, usually appearing as openings in large, hollow trees. The same type of tree always led to the same plane. For example, silver-plated beech trees that were portals always led to Arborea, as did lightning-blasted oaks. Sequoias connected to Elysium. The portals shifted frequently, so what used to be a portal on one day might be nothing but a dead tree on another. Branches of Yggdrasil also touched this layer, hidden in deep forests atop high mountains. Here also, a gate to Ysgard was rumoured to be guarded by a per servant of Heimdall, while other pers guarded colour pools around Yggdrasil's branches and ratatosk protected the mystical tree itself. LOCATIONS IN KRIGALA The Deeping Pool was a small lake hidden deep within a broadleaf forest. The leaves cast a shadow of green twilight over the whole area, except for the very centre of the lake, where light from the sun caused the waters to sparkle like a bowl full of diamonds. No one knew how deep this lake was. It was the only lake for hundreds of miles, and so it was a common drinking spot for the many animals of Krigala. It was said by some that sharing a drink from the pool's waters with one of the native animals granted the visitor temporary animal-like abilities, such as enhanced night vision or scent or improved skill at climbing. Three concentric circles of menhirs, fittingly called the Standing Stones, stood upon a tall hill in a rugged region of the layer. The Standing Stones were believed to have once served as a shrine to a nature deity. Herds of grazing animals frequented the area around the hill and its Stones, and predators hunted them. A tiefling known simply as the Warden defended the herds from would-be hunters who were not natural animals. The town of Signpost was a frontier settlement located on this layer. One of the only settlements on the entire layer, it was governed by a tiefling priestess of Pansopia named Sarazh. It was founded as an outpost for the Sign of One faction. The town was considered as wild as the environment around it by many, but it was frequented by many seeking the grand view, as it was located near the cliffs that served as one of the borders to Brux. The Forbidden Plateau was an isolated ecosystem full of dinosaurs and other large, 'prehistoric' life. All manner of diurnal celestial animals inhabited this layer. These animals were more intelligent than animals from the Material and able to speak, but they were still animals in their outlook and manner of life. Most of them knew how the interlayer portals worked and could instinctively avoid them if desired. BRUX The second layer of the Beastlands was constantly in dusk or dawn due to two suns on opposite ends of the horizon. Hovering there and turning the sky a reddish hue. The sun appeared as a red orb always touching the horizon of Brux, while a half-moon could be seen hanging low on the opposite side of the sky. It was considerably cooler than Krigala, so fog and mist commonly rose from the ground and obscured the trees. All trees grew slanted on the layer, pointing toward the dim source of light of the perpetually setting sun, and created long shadows. This seemingly frozen state could be disconcerting to visitors, but it did not disturb the activity cycle of the animals that lived there. The layer had an abundance of creeks and streams that led to Krigala and eventually flowed into the Oceanus. The layer's main inhabitants were animals whose activity cycles peaked around dawn and dusk, such as tigers, bats, and foxes. KARASUTHRA The bottommost layer was the third and deepest layer of the Beastlands. It was the land of perpetual night, starlight and home to dangerous predators. Above any clouds or fog that might exist in a region was a clear night sky full of wandering stars. The stars moved randomly such that all attempts to map them into constellations were unsuccessful. The dominant celestial body in the layer was the moon Noctos, which absorbed the light that emanated from the plane's sun Selera and reflected part of it off its surface, providing the layer with a very dim silver moonlight. Noctos's phase changed extremely slowly. Light sources such as torches, fires, and magical light were also considerably weakened while in the layer, giving off only about half of their nominal light and heat for only half of the normal duration. Nonmagical light only worked if brought from outside of the layers, and no new nonmagical light could be initiated there. Like the rest of the Beastlands, this layer had no settlements. Rumours existed of connections between Karasuthra and the Shadowfell. Shadow creatures were occasionally found in the layer, usually hiding from predators. The layer's main natives were the mortai, who were present in the skies of the entire plane. Like the rest of the plane, Karasuthra was inhabited primarily by natural beasts. The layer's most frequent inhabitants were nocturnal celestial animals such as owls and panthers. Despite the perpetual night, the layer had extensive vegetation that provided food and cover for a variety of herbivore animals as well. This realm has one particular location - the Labyrinth of Fiery Doom, once a detached fragment of Phlegethos (fourth layer of the Nine Hells) rumoured to be the lair of a couple of lovers: a red dragon and a succubus. Their identities were known to almost no one. The red dragon was in fact the agathinon Janarr, whilethe succubus was in fact an erinye Nalura. They had fallen in love with each other before realizing they were supposed to be enemies, and decided to adopt their disguises in order to hide from their pursuing hierarchies. It is said that the couple was expecting their first child.
INHABITANTS
In addition to the myriad species from the animal kingdom were the usual Upper plane sentient creatures, such as hollyphants, planetars, solars, devas, foo creatures, agathia, and baku. Another form of life unique to the Beastlands was the mortai, also known as the "faces in the clouds". They appeared as cumulus clouds with large humanoid faces and could communicate with anyone if they so wished. The mortai was considered very wise and could converse on most any subject. They also had complete control over the air and weather. Their origin was unknown but it was thought they might be collections of good and somewhat chaotic spirits. The Seelie Court of the Faerie Queen Titania often visited the Beastlands on its wanderings.
Type
Dimensional plane
