Twin Paradises of Bytopia
“Industry is the guiding principle of Bytopia, where there’s always a job that needs doing and work that needs to be completed. An inherent natural property of the plane breaks down goods and even buildings, which means everything constantly needs to be repaired, updated, or improved upon. The folk of Bytopia, gnomes mainly, seem to not mind this, and most natives keep a cheery attitude towards the never-ending industry. After all, the results of that industry are clear and definite, even if they’re not destined to last. The reward for hard work is the satisfaction of a job well done.”
Malakara the Warden
The Twin Paradises of Bytopia is a plane of rewarding work against a backdrop of ceaseless industry and relentless wilderness. Manufactured goods, from tools to buildings, break down beneath the weight of a powerful if subtle force. Because of this, things require constant maintenance, and it’s in this never-ending cycle of create-reward-repair that Bytopia earns its reputation.
The residents of Bytopia understand this cycle and relish it, for it gives their lives purpose. This is not the meaningless purpose of a cog in the wheel, such as on Mechanus, nor is the manufactured purpose of building and upholding laws, such as on Arcadia. No, this is the pride of the individual or community that originates from confronting a problem and solving it.
This feeling of independent pride in a job well done runs through to the core of Bytopia and it permeates every aspect of existence. The plane is divided into two separate layers, but the layers face each other like the inside of a massive sandwich, which creates a gravity-neutral zone in between referred to as Betweensky. The two layers, the Twin Paradises that give Bytopia its moniker, are separate yet similar.
Dothion is the more pastoral and civilized of the two, with rolling grasslands, hills, and low mountains dotting its endless landscape. The more prosperous communities exist here, spread out and independent from one another, but most are on friendly terms with any neighboring regions. There are few if any monarchs or true rulers in Dothion and commerce is guided by the principle of work. Want to stay at an inn for the night? Perform some chores. The more involved or lengthy the work, the greater the reward.
Shurrock is the other side and it’s a wilder, more feral land. The natural order of plants and animals work against the advance of industry as sure as the plane’s subtle material breakdown effect, but pockets of civilization still exist. These outposts are usually dedicated to harvesting a specific resource and converting it into goods, or shipping it to Dothion for manufacturing. The weather and beasts of Shurrock ensure that Bytopia’s reputation for plentiful and rewarding work do not go unjustified.
Many types of people dwell in Bytopia, but the most common are the gnomes. Whether they originated on Bytopia or migrated here from elsewhere is not commonly agreed upon, but regardless they have built towns and cities on both of the plane’s facing layers. Their natural tendencies line up with the industrious nature of Bytopia perfectly, and the literal and figurative heart of their lives on the plane can be found in the Golden Hills of Dothion. Garl Glittergold, the chief gnome god, and his alliance of powerful gnome deities dwell there and keep many industries pumping throughout the multiverse.
The gnomes of Bytopia group themselves into extensive families known as clanns, with disagreements, strife, and even conflict breaking out between the clanns on irregular basis. A gnome’s full title always includes their clann name, which includes Clann Coinnich, Clann Alasdair, Clann Ruanaidh, and Clann Madagain.
The industry that marks Bytopia from other planes is guided largely by the individual, but that doesn’t mean broader representation and coordination is not required. For many fields of work, powerful organizations have risen up to handle the supply and demand which stretches beyond Bytopia’s endless planar boundaries. Known collectively as the Great Guildclanns, these forces of commerce are responsible for transforming Bytopia into a large-scale operation of manufacturing and resource harvesting.
Most of the guildclanns have interests in keeping everything moving forward, so conflicts are rare – in the open at least. Behind the scenes, guildclanns maneuver resources and workers around in order to gain the upper hand, but they are all overshadowed by the machinations of the mysterious Artificer Syndicates. These rogue entities operate outside the normal guildclann power structure as they touch upon many elements of many different guildclanns. They wield enormous power on Bytopia and across the multiverse, but their dealings are kept confidential and their members anonymous. Most Bytopians even disagree on the exact number of Artificer Syndicates – most agree there are at least four, but some have claimed there are as many as twelve!
Bytopia is a plane of industry and opportunity for those willing to work hard and complete a job. Laziness is not tolerated, and cheating is often viewed as “creative solution discovery” and is lauded as often as it is derided. The powerful guildclanns and secretive Artificer Syndicates control much of the larger movements across the plane but the powerful of the individual on Bytopia can never be underestimated.
Powerful & Mighty
The constant industry of Bytopia feeds the clanns and other powerful organizations of the plane with a steady diet of quality goods that last longer the sooner they are moved out. Trade connections abound across Dothion specifically, but other groups have arisen as well, some obvious and others more secretive.
- Ama-Tsu-Mara (Japanese)
- Callarduran Smoothhands (svirfneblin)
- Epimetheus (Titan)
- Gnome Pantheon: Baervan Wildwanderer, GArl Glittergold, Flandal Steelskin, Gaerdal Ironhand, Segojan Earthcaller
- Ilmater (Toril)
- Inari (Japanese)
- Kiri-Jolith (Krynn)
- Tefnut (Egyptian)
Artificer Syndicates
Bytopia is largely concerned with the work of the individual to create useful and functional components of existence. On the grand scale, this is evidenced by the output of the Great Guildclanns who have banded together to leverage the bargaining power of a single entity over individuals or smaller clanns. These are the heavyweights of Bytopia who operate the largest mining and foresting expeditions across Shurrock and Dothion.
But there’s a more secretive layer beneath the guildclanns that work behind the scenes of Bytopia’s industry and common work. Known collectively as the Artificer Syndicates, these smaller organizations focus their efforts on combining the materials of many different vocations and harnessing them in new and often dangerous ways. There are four known Artificer Syndicates functioning across Bytopia in small groups, usually no more than two or three, but with deep connections (and leverage over) many of the Great Guildclanns.
The interesting truth is that there is only one Artificer Syndicate, but there are specific groups called cabals within the organization that specialize in specific areas. The Cabal of Alchemy is devoted to the mixing of ingredients into potions and unguents; the Cabal of Awakening is concerned with the function of awaking intelligence in inanimate objects; the Cabal of Artillery builds explosives of all kinds; and the Cabal of Battlesmithing constructs devices for armies. Rumors of a fifth cabal have spread around towns like Yeoman for years.
The Artificer Syndicates utilize networks of spies and informants to keep the flow of information coming into their secret headquarters. Individual members identify each other with a magical tattoo that is only visible when exposed to a special light held by syndicate members. Their interests often lie far beyond the borders of Bytopia but they are believed to have secret headquarters in Shurrock from where they build and experiment away from prying eyes.
Why are the Artificer Syndicates so secretive? They have a sinister reputation that makes them feared by most of the guildclanns of Bytopia, but few have a true understanding of their motives or purpose.
Circus Fortuna of Countess Fortulla
Most of the residents of Bytopia are hard-working individuals who take pride in a long day’s toil. This pervasive attitude speaks to the core of the plane’s nature, but that doesn’t mean the people are dour or unhappy. The joy of a job well-done keep them content but everyone needs a chance to relax every once and a while.
To provide that relaxation, a number of traveling circuses roam about Bytopia entertaining villages and towns with acrobatics, antics, and daring feats. None are more recognized than the Circus Fortuna of Countess Fortulla, a grand affair that tours throughout Dothion. The Circus Fortuna constructs a massive colorful tent in a clearing and then invites all around to view the show. Under the big tent, amazing acts of aerial acrobatics are performed by the most talented entertainers of the plane. The material erosion nature of Bytopia makes such acts more dangerous which just adds to the thrill of the experience.
Countess Fortulla is a female half-orc with a flair for the dramatic and an eye of true talent. She has cultivated a great number of skilled performers within the Circus Fortuna but she’s always on the lookout for the next breakout star. She has taken her circus across the multiverse on several occasions, performing in Arcadia, Arborea, Elysium, Mount Celestia, Ysgard, and more, but she and her troupe always come back to Bytopia.
For the Circus Fortuna and most other traveling performance groups across the plane, admission to see the show has a price of some amount of labored time. Countess Fortulla keeps it to an hour’s worth of work but most know that she could charge several times that and still turn out a crowd. The circus could always use a hand setting up, tearing down, or repairing the acrobatic equipment used by the performers, so there’s rarely a shortage of work. Small items that can be built, carved, or constructed in an hour are sufficient as well.
Clann Fennid
Bytopia has no standing army or military force. The clanns protect their own interests, and the Great Guildclanns often hire out guards and mercenaries to protect their interests, on Shurrock primarily as Dothion is much more stable. However, that doesn’t mean the plane is left to fend for itself. Wandering bands of guardians and warriors known as Clann Fennid travel throughout Bytopia, maintaining the peace and keeping an eye out for dangerous monsters and invaders.
The Fennid are a clann in and of themselves and its members are largely made up of family outcasts and wanderers who have given up their own clann name. Fennid has no official home and they usual travel in small bands of three to ten. Joining Clann Fennid is a simple manner of taking an oath of loyalty to protect Bytopia from harm at all costs. The oath can be administered by any member of Clann Fennid but there’s no binding magic or mystic power behind it. But the people that take the Fennid oath usually adhere to it religiously.
Legends say that Bytopia was once ruled by a powerful sorcerer known as the Gem King. Clann Fennid were his elite soldiers and guards that protected the realm against invasion, but then something happened. Different stories tell different tales, but most agree that the Gem King’s mind slipped and he lapsed into madness. The warriors of Clann Fennid turned on their ruler for the good of Bytopia, but they never stopped defending Bytopia even after the Gem King was long gone.
Gnome Powers of the Golden Hills
Are gnomes native to Bytopia or did they emigrate from some other place? There is no greater population of gnomes in the multiverse than on Bytopia, but given the number of stories passed around about their origin this could be from any number of factors. Regardless, gnomes are part of Bytopia now, and nowhere is this more evident than the Golden Hills of Dothion.
There, seven massive hills sit covered in rolling fields of golden grass that give the area its name. In, above, and around are hundreds of gnome communities serving under the watchful guidance of Garl Glittergold, the chief gnome deity. Garl Glittergold doesn’t rule and wouldn’t pretend to, but he does extend a divine watchfulness over the region that includes the rest of the gnomish pantheon. Seven of them, excluding Garl who dances and watches over them all, claim one of the Golden Hills as their representative home.
The gnome clanns of the Golden Hills usually pay homage to one of the powers of the region, who are viewed as the pinnacle of gnomish ingenuity and skill in their particular field of expertise. And above it all, Garl Glittergold reminds everyone that life is to be taken lightly and that a good laugh serves better than a grim attitude against hardship and strife. The Great Guildclanns all have representatives among the Golden Hills and it is believed at least one of the Artificer Syndicates are headquartered here. With so much activity, intrigue is a common element as each power maneuvers their people and goods to the most advantageous position.
Great Guildclanns
Clanns on Bytopia function as families of similar workers, whether they be cobblers, glassblowers, masons, smiths, or anything else. They take in orders, assign it to one of their members, and work to complete the task as requested. The Great Guildclanns operate on this same principle but leverage a much larger network of workers and take in orders from all over the multiverse. They source the raw materials themselves, often working with other guildclanns to pool their collective resources. In this way, they dominate much of the larger trade on Bytopia where they can use their larger teams of workers to complete jobs faster and with little delay if an individual were to fall behind or be unable to complete their task.
There are dozens of recognized Great Guildclanns, and they form a larger trade organization called the Council of Guildclanns to settle disputes and organize their work efficiently. Each individual guildclann is a powerful trade force that focuses on one type of work – the Leatherworkers Guildclann, the Masons Guildclann, the Glassblowers Guildclann, and so forth. Each operates differently but usually as an extended family that became ambitious over the generations and grew their influence and skills to encompass smaller clanns.
As a whole, most on Bytopia view the guildclanns as necessary tools to conduct trade on a planar scale. But that doesn’t mean they agree with the guildclann’s more ruthless practices, most of which remain firmly in the realm of suspicion and not confirmed actions. Nonetheless, the guildclanns are responsible for a variety of underhanded activities usually meant to undercut a rival. Sometimes this is as innocuous as not sharing information about a newly discovered vein of rich ore. Other times it can be as ruthless as actively sabotaging the efforts of a rival guildclann in the effort of stealing a wealthy client.
The Council of Guildclanns is credited with the creation and distribution of the Bytopian gemcoin as an accepted currency. These round discs of precious gemstones are constructed by a wide variety of guildclanns, ensuring no one of them has a monopoly on the creation of the money. Gemcoins come in three values based on rarity, each representing an amount of work accepted on Bytopia – sapphire gemcoins are a day’s worth, emerald gemcoins are a tenday’s, and ruby gemcoins are a year’s worth of work. The gemcoins are accepted currency at every guildclann outpost and are starting to spread across the multiverse as a universally accepted currency.
Urdlen
The dark side to the gnome powers of the Golden Hills is the great creature known as Urdlen the Crawler Below. This massive monster appears as an albino mole, blind, hairless, and sexless, with claws of steel and a primal appetite for destruction. Urdlen is a force of nature that burrows beneath the ground of both Dothion and Shurrock, traveling between the two layers via spontaneous gates it creates and collapses, with hundreds of miles of tunnels left in its wake.
Urdlen is now nearly mindless but legends say it was once an honored friend of Garl Glittergold. The creature became greedy and dug too deep into forbidden caverns where it unleashed a powerful evil left trapped in the ground. The evil seeped into Urdlen, consuming the mole utterly and transforming it into a monstrous force of wanton destruction and hunger. The Crawler Below is now used as a warning to gnomes on the dangers of greed and avarice.
Urdlen is as powerful as a deity, and some small cults of gnomes and miners worship it in the dark corners of the multiverse. It is a widely known fact that Urdlen travels between Bytopia and the Abyss, specifically the 399th layer known as the Worm Realm, where it can be found among other terrifying burrowing monsters of the multiverse. Because of this travel, spontaneous portals to the Abyss are more frequent than most denizens of Bytopia are comfortable with, and Clann Fennid has had to step up and push back Abyssal invaders on more than one occasion.
Creatures & Denizens
Bytopia has its share of dangerous creatures roaming the land. Shurrock gets most of the attention here, with its wild untamed regions, but Dothion has a number of beings that can cause mischief and panic among the fields and villages.
Beasts
Most planar sages have a vision of a simple pastoral landscape when they think of Bytopia, and the vision isn’t necessarily wrong. There is more to it than that, however, and there are plenty of wilderness regions even on Dothion where wild beasts roam. Hunting cats, bears, wolves, and other temperate climate beasts can all be found in abundance outside the hamlets and villages of the plane. The most ferocious creatures dwell underground, though. Moles of all kinds burrow and dig beneath the surface of Bytopia, and while some are simple animals many are servants of Urdlen, a powerful and evil monstrosity of gnomish legend. Terror moles are capable of letting loose a horrifying screech that can send the bravest running in fear, enormous behemoth moles eat and kill with reckless abandon, and fierce storm moles wreak havoc when the weather turns bad.
The region between the two facing layers of Bytopia, Betweensky, sees a few flying beasts soaring around, but the ni’iath are particularly vicious. They are flying fish that are capable of flinging targets away, sending them crashing to the ground of either Dothion or Shurrock. In the wilderness of Shurrock, beasts of all kinds can be found. Dobhar are large otters that live and play in the waterways of Shurrock. Numerous other aggressive beasts dwell in the untamed layer, providing a challenging living for the loggers and miners working there.
Fey
The fey hold a strange position in Bytopia. They are not known for their hard work and they don’t contribute to the sense of goodwill or community fostered by the majority of the inhabitants. Instead, they act as instigators, rabble-rousers, and troublemakers. Cathshay are fey creatures that resemble large black cats, and they have a capricious nature and a tendency to steal souls – and then make outrageous demands in exchange for the soul’s release. Bytopians have learned to fear the presence of any black cat and regularly leave out offerings of fresh meat and sweet treats for the unpredictable creatures.
Pooka are similar pranksters but they can take on the form any woodland animal, so spotting one is more difficult. They also tend to be more cruel than the playful cathshay, with a legendary ability to hold grudges through generations. Mostly, if a Bytopian takes no more than they need and honors the land around them, pookas are content to leave well enough alone, but there are plenty of stories of cruelty and malice being inflicted by wicked pookas – and conversely, stories of generosity and random acts of kindness from others.
Humanoids
A wide variety of humanoids live and work on Bytopia. Most live in small communities, helping each other with chores and coming together to celebrate life’s simple pleasures. Humans are common but anyone who can prove themselves in a day’s work are welcome, including humanoids traditionally considered abhorrent to good society, such as drow elves and goblinoids. The residents of Bytopia strive to see a person for their actions, not their history, and it has become a haven for outcasts looking to start a new life.
Gnomes. The most common inhabitant of Bytopia are gnomes. Their hardworking nature and strong belief in helping others is a perfect mirror of the plane’s inherent qualities. The Golden Hills are the home to the pantheon of gnomish powers which helps to bolster the gnomes’ sense of pride in Bytopia. Gnomes work hard, enjoy their leisure time, and operate many of the powerful guildclanns of the plane that bring lucrative trade in from across the multiverse.
Families of gnomes on Bytopia are referred to as clanns, and many are part of a larger guildclann dedicated to a single crafting skill. Each clann typically dwells in a single sprawling house, with above and below ground regions, with the halls filled with laughter, the sounds of work, and a sense of contentment. They gather with neighbors on special occasions but most clanns are pretty insular, coming out to assist in emergencies but maintaining their own customs and traditions separate from even the larger gnome communities. To the gnomes of Bytopia, community is family, and family is community.
Hazards & Phenomena
Bytopia’s twin realms are a study in the duality of existence – tranquility and strife, peace and conflict, order and chaos. Shurrock is known for its dangerous storms, unpredictable weather, and ferocious wildlife, but Dothion is not as innocent nor benign as it seems at first. Natural hazards exist across both layers along with the omnipresent erosion that eats away at all manufactured goods.
Hungry Grass
Hungry grass is an insidious weed that grows in small patches, usually no larger than 5 feet across, blending in with the tall grasslands that sweep through both Shurrock and Dothion. Each patch of hungry grass stems from roots that have been tainted with the passage of Urdlen the Crawler Below, the great mole beast of gnome legend. Touched by Urdlen, the hungry grass seeks to consume life itself with a mindless determination.
Creatures that come within 5 feet of a patch of hungry grass must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or become infected with the crawling hunger disease (DC 16 for moving directly through the hungry grass patch). The disease takes 1d12 hours to gestate, during which a lesser restoration spell or a treatment of special herbal flowers (found only on Bytopia) and a DC 15 Wisdom (Medicine) check is sufficient to remove the disease.
If left to gestate, the crawling hunger takes over and the victim is consumed with a ravenous desire to eat worms and dirt. The desire is overpowering, inflicting a -1 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, and ability checks. Each day the hunger grows worse, increasing the penalty by -1, until it reaches -5 by the end of the fifth day. After that, unless treated, the victim’s organs erupt in violent protest of the disease and the victim dies a horrible violent death.
Stopping the crawling hunger after it has taken over is difficult. A greater restoration is sufficient to remove the penalties for 1 day but the disease is divinely produced and requires more than this to deal with. The gnomes of the Golden Hills are said to possess the knowledge of a cure, which requires the acquisition of a rare flower in Shurrock mixed with a large quantity of mole blood. Few are known to survive the crawling hunger.
The people of Bytopia are careful to watch out for the grassy fields, and some rangers have taken to watching for signs of mole passage in the dirt. Hungry grass grows quickly after Urdlen or its stronger spawn pass by and it doesn’t live for more than a week before withering as it consumes itself.
Material Erosion
Some inherent byproduct of Bytopia’s planar nature causes manufactured goods to erode and collapse far more quickly than they should. Rooves leak, timbers break, weapons snap, and items simply collapse of their own accord. This creates an unlimited demand for the workers of Bytopia to repair and rebuild but it can also cause stress to travelers and merchants visiting Bytopia from across the multiverse.
Anytime a character rolls a 1 on a saving throw, ability check, or attack roll, something they possess breaks and must be repaired. Magical items and equipment are immune to this effect, but otherwise all items are fair game. Ideally, the item should be related to the task at hand, such as the roll of a 1 on an attack roll causing the attacker’s weapon to break, but if a magical item prevents this another item in the person’s equipment breaks. This can be insidious for those not paying attention – too many adventurers have trusted rope in their pack that has mysterious become frayed and useless only to learn it after using it to climb a mountain!
Slothsludge
Bytopia is referred to as the Twin Paradises and because of this most people that know of it think it is a sacred place where evil doesn’t exist. It’s true that the majority of Bytopian residents are good-natured, hard-working people who enjoy an honest day’s work, but that certainly doesn’t mean darkly natured things don’t exist. Case in point are the fields of slothsludge that have been sighted on both Shurrock and Dothion.
Slothsludge appears as a thick, black or brown tar-like substance that oozes up from the ground. The gnomes believe it is caused by the portals to the Abyss created by Urdlen, but others say it is a byproduct (or cause) of the material erosion that eats away at manufactured goods all across the plane. Living creatures that touch slothsludge must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or gain a level of exhaustion as feelings of apathy wash over the victim.
The exhaustion can be restored by normal means, but for every 1 minute the victim remains within sight of the slothsludge, they must succeed on additional DC 15 Constitution saving throws or gain additional levels of exhaustion. There are some regions of Shurrock that have lakes of slothsludge but few have ventured near them for fear of the malaise that overwhelms people in the area.
Shurrock Weather
Shurrock is rocked by violent storms and extreme weather on a regular basis. The temperature can plummet in summer to below freezing or become humid and sticky in winter. Snow, wind, and rain whip about in great gusts with little or no notice.
Once per day, or whenever it would be more exciting, you can roll on the below table to determine the nature of the extreme weather on Shurrock that strikes at that moment. Unless it’s important to the story, the extreme weather lasts for 1d12 x 2 hours.
| Extreme Shurrock Weather Effect | |
|---|---|
| 1D20 | Extreme Weather |
| 1-3 | Extreme cold |
| 4-6 | Extreme heat |
| 7-9 | Strong wind |
| 10-12 | Heavy precipitation (snow) |
| 13-15 | Heavy precipitation (rain) |
| 16-17 | Extreme heat and strong wind |
| 18 | Heavy precipitation (rain) and strong wind |
| 19 | Extreme heat, strong wind, and heavy precipitation (rain) |
| 20 | Extreme cold, strong wind, and heavy precipitation (snow) |
The effects of the extreme weather can be found in Chapter 5 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide.
Sites & Treasures
The rich landscape of Bytopia is filled with more than just natural beauty and the sweat of a hard day’s work. Many mysterious sites sit on both sides of the Twin Paradises, and some are less hidden than others. Plenty of adventure opportunities abound for those willing to risk the erosion of their manufactured goods!
Bytopian Gemcoins
Gold and silver pieces don’t hold much value on Bytopia. Some of the more established guildclanns with presences across the multiverse adhere to the gold coin standard, but for the most part these coins are not worth anything on Bytopia. The most traded commodity is labor but for ease of commerce this is represented by a unique economic system – Bytopian gemcoins.
Gemcoins come in five different types each with three different sizes. The most common gemcoin is the opal ess which is a flat disc similar to a silver piece carved from a piece of emerald. Crafting this coin takes one hour of work for the United Gemcrafter’s Guildclann, the largest gem crafting organization on Bytopia, and thus it represents one hour’s worth of work. The opal emm is thicker but about the same size representing three hours of work, and the opal ell is larger and as thick as emm, representing seven hours of work.
After opal comes amethyst for days (amethyst ess is one day, amethyst emm is three days, and amethyst ell is seven days), followed by the emerald (emerald ess is one tenday, emerald emm is three tendays, emerald ell is seven tendays), then ruby (ruby ess is one season or about three months, ruby emm is three seasons, ruby ell is seven seasons), ending in diamond (diamond ess is one year, diamond emm is one decade, and diamond ell is 100 years). Very few diamond gemcoins exist.
Outside of Bytopia, these gemcoins are valued little beyond their intrinsic gemstone value (the ess gemcoins are small, the emm gemcoins are medium, and the ell gemcoins are large). Most residents of Bytopia recognize the gemcoins and their values, though many farms and homesteads prefer to take their payment in actual work rather than representative coins of work. In Yeoman, the gemcoin is king and the United Gemcrafter’s Guildclann hold great sway as one of the most powerful of the Great Guildclanns.
Cairns of Clann Coinnich
Countless generations of gnomes have lived on Bytopia and over the centuries, family clanns have taken on mythological proportions. A gnome with a certified claim to one of the family clanns of Bytopia, such as Clann Braonain or Clann Ardghail, can expect to be treated with respect at least they do something to lose that respect. Clannholds dot the landscape of Dothion especially around the Golden Hills but few are as whispered about as what’s left of Clann Coinnich.
Long ago, Clann Coinnich was a respected family of gnomes with a clannhold that oversaw a great forest and prairie. They were far from the Golden Hills but their prowess with working the land and crafting goods earned them high honors all over the plane. It is said that Garl Glittergold himself came to pay homage to the good works of Clann Coinnich. They were well-liked, respected, and did quality work in the name of the common good of Bytopia and their family.
Then, disaster struck. No one knows for certain but somehow, an evil presence crept into the clannhold of Clann Coinnich. Was it brought accidentally? Or called down by a lesser scion of the family? No one knows for sure but a blight spread out from the clannhold to the fields and forests. One evening as the clann elders gathered to discuss what to do, the evil took hold of the family cairns nearby and in the course of a single devastating night wiped out Clann Coinnich in a wash of undead horror. The independent warriors of Clann Fennid arrived days later to find the place overrun, and they petitioned Garl Glittergold to put an end to the family’s misery.
A great earthquake swallowed up the Coinnich clannhold and most of the evil sank into the earth with it. The family cairns are all that remain of the site now but most believe the evil that took Clann Coinnich still resides there, lingering, waiting to resurface again.
Field of Glas Gavlen
A picturesque farmhouse stands amidst a sweeping landscape of rolling grass and planted crops. It’s similar in many ways to hundreds of other homesteads like it that dot the land of Dothion, but this is Glas Gavlen, and it is home to a herd of monstrously huge cows. The steers and heifers that graze in the field of Glas Gavlen are each as large as dragons, roughly fifteen feet across and twice that tall.
The people that run the Glas Gavlen farm are humans of the Gavlen family who have lived on the site for generations. And for generations, the cows that come to the field grow stupendously over the course of a year. No one knows for sure why, though some persistent rumors about the family point to warlock bargains in their past that have traded souls for the enormous cattle. Others say it is something to do with the field itself, which would explain why any cow that comes to the field to graze and stays for a year turns into a gigantic beast. The Gavlen family stick to themselves for the most part and don’t have too much to offer on the subject of why or how their herd is so big.
For their part, the cows are simply gigantic versions of normal cows – they graze, moo, and are a generally peaceful herd used primarily as dairy cows. Due to their size, the Gavlen family can only keep a half dozen of the creatures fed but that is plenty big enough. The milk produced by the Glas Gavlen cows is hearty and sells well in the markets of Yeoman and across the multiverse.
Golden Hills
Gnomes are intrinsically linked to Bytopia, though whether they originated on the plane or simply emigrated there is a matter of debate. Part of the reason for this linkage is a magical realm known as the Golden Hills wherein dwell the gods of the gnomish pantheon, Garl Glittergold and his divine allies. Seven massive hills dominate the area, each housing one of the gnome gods and their devout followers. The grass, flowers, trees, and leaves all carry a golden sheen to them, creating a brilliant sparkling landscape of divine beauty atop the otherwise pastoral splendor of Dothion. Even the creatures have golden attributes about them – gold-furred squirrels, golden-winged song birds, and gold-specked butterflies all dance about the realm.
The tunnels below the Golden Hills are near-endless and well-worked. They crisscross beneath the hills, serving as the homes to many of the gnomish powers. The Gemstone Burrow is the home of Segojan Earthcaller and his ilk, along with one of the largest gem mines in all of Bytopia. The Mithral Forge serves as the home of Flandal Steelskin and rests atop a rich and never-ending vein of precious metals, including mithral and gold.
Countless homes are built in and around the seven hills of the region, though more exist underground than most visitors realize. Some of the hills are covered in lush forests of golden-barked trees while others are capped with enormous mushrooms as strong as steel, glittering in the light of the Bytopian sky overhead. Garl Glittergold himself is said to wander the Golden Hills at his leisure as none of the hills are directly dedicated to him – his home is where he decides it to be for the time, which can be anywhere in the Golden Hills, Bytopia, or even beyond.
The friendly industrious nature of the gnomes means they welcome travelers who come with a purpose. Numerous bard colleges of great renown sit in the Golden Hills, taking in worthy students from across the multiverse, while the mines and fields of the region are in constant need of tending. The material erosion native to Bytopia eats away at all manufactured goods and buildings but for their part, the gnomes are happy to rebuild, usually better, stronger, or more dependable.
Golemwood
The storm-wracked layer of Shurrock hides many strange secrets within its boundless realm of natural wonder. One of the stranger ones is a stretch of forest that has become known as Golemwood, named for the mystical lure it holds over golems and constructed creatures across Bytopia. Something calls out to constructed creatures, especially those with little or no intelligence, sending them on a journey across the plane into Shurrock’s uncharted wilderness. Eventually, they come to Golemwood where they seemingly disappear.
What draws golems to Golemwood? Is it a divine power or powerful wizard, calling constructs to the forest to serve in some grand plan? Where do the golems go? The few non-golems that have journeyed to Golemwood report unusually high patterns of wild magic and a definite feeling of dread and uneasiness. What lurks in Golemwood’s dark heart? The presence of the strange forest keeps most of the guildclanns of Bytopia from investing heavily in constructs as a peacekeeping solution (the livestone creatures built by the Artificer Syndicates seem either immune or at least highly resistant to the call of the Golemwood).
Peak of Continuation
Some people see the primal wilderness of Shurrock as a place to be avoided. The weather is extreme, the creatures are dangerous, and all of your equipment breaks down eventually due to the natural erosion of the plane. There are few trails, almost no roads, and only a handful of settled areas. There are those that look upon this as the most extreme of challenges, and for them, the challenge of the Peak of Continuation sits as the ultimate test of skill versus nature.
Located in a rough line of craggy mountains, the Peak of Continuation is a mountain with a double summit. The twin peaks at the top are separated by a 300-foot chasm filled with nothing but jagged rocks and broken dreams over which spans a poorly built rope bridge. Just reaching the summit tests the mountain climbing and wilderness survival skills of anyone, especially with flocks of ni’iath gathering around the top waiting for their next meal.
Crossing the bridge safely is said to be a life-changing experience. All who walk away from the Peak of Continuation after crossing the chasm have stared death itself in the face and not flinched, and that experience can really change a person.
Pipe of the High Pooka
The pooka of Bytopia are a wild, carefree lot who give into their own whims in regards to everything. Or at least, almost everything, as they do obey the words of their leader, a mysterious and powerful figure known only as the High Pooka. The High Pooka has eyes and ears everywhere but one thing they are always on the lookout is for his intricately carved wooden pipe.
Nobody stole the pipe of the High Pooka. The fey ruler simply loses it, either forgetting it somewhere or, more commonly, when it runs away, for the pipe is imbued with a singular intelligence and sentience. The pipe has served the High Pooka since time immemorial and over that time, it has grown bored with the powerful fey. It longs to see the multiverse, to experience the joys and wonders that are out there to be reveled in, but the High Pooka doesn’t leave Bytopia (or at least the High Pooka doesn’t bring the pipe with it).
So the pipe leaves from time to time. It enjoys playing games with travelers and has accumulated a great wealth of knowledge about Bytopia and the High Pooka. The pipe finds Bytopians to be a rather droll, boring people, so it views them as little more than means to an end, an end in the hand of a new adventurer to the plane for example.
Pool of Reflection
The mountains of Dothion are barely more than rocky hills, but they can still hold mysteries and dangers. One particularly remote mountain range is the home of a magical source of divination magic called the Pool of Reflection. It sits as a tranquil mountain lake surrounded by tall peaks, some of the tallest on Dothion, and for those that make the journey to its gentle shores, the pool is said to offer a glimpse into their true desires.
The Pool of Reflection is not without its guardians, however. A settlement of deep gnome monks have built simple homes in the caves surrounding the pool, and they have taken upon stewardship of the waters. Clann Somachain are devoted to knowing their hearts and souls, and they make sure any that come to the Pool of Reflection are seeking the same thing. More than one traveler looking to profit off the pool’s power have been turned away, violently at times, by the monks of Clann Somachain.
There are rumors that say the pool does more than simply reveal a glimpse into the true desire of a person. Its divination power is said to run deeper and more potent than that but the tales are almost too fantastical to be true. Some say that the water of the pool can change fate itself, or that any who drink of it receive a vision of their death with the knowledge to change it. The deep gnomes of Clann Somachain have only allowed a handful of visitors to gaze upon the mountain lake so the truth remains a mystery.
Quarryhome
Shurrock is dotted with small villages and logging camps, most separated by days of travel, but these tend to be ephemeral locations that come and go with the needs of the people. The only permanent settlement on the layer is Quarryhome, in the rocky foothills of a large mountain chain, where several of the great guildclanns have established a massive and complex mining operation. Like Bytopia itself, Quarryhome has two layers. The top layer is on the surface and consists of multiple stone buildings built into the side of a massive quarry. Most squat on large rocks for ledges and the whole place stretches up the side of the quarry nearly as far as it is wide. Miners of all kind live and trade in this section.
Deeper into the mountain itself lies the other side of Quarryhome. Hundreds of mine shafts and tunnels extend into the rock itself where rich veins of nearly every natural metal have been uncovered. The veins of ore seem to replenish themselves nearly as fast as the miners dig them out leading to a never-ending supply of high quality raw materials. The materials are sent via mine cart to the surface of Quarryhome where they are organized and eventually shipped out to Dothion.
Gnomes, dwarves, and humans are the primary inhabitants of Quarryhome, and for the most part the guildclanns work together to make sure everyone profits from the work done in the mines. But sabotage and subterfuge are not unheard of, which is why a large contingent of Clann Fennid mercenaries function as the de facto law around Quarryhome. They’re independent of the guildclanns, interested only in peace and justice, and they are grudgingly respected by the merchant leaders.
The guildclanns are always digging deeper into the mountain in search of veins of new and undiscovered metals. Rumors are always flying around about the latest find by a mining team, whether it be a new source of mithral, a portal to the Plane of Elemental Earth, or a vicious monster unleashed in the dark. Adventure always find a way to pop up around Quarryhome.
Sparkling Tunnels
Gemcoins form the basis of the economy on Bytopia, which means the raw materials for the gemcoins are just as valued. The largest source of gems in all Bytopia is a sprawling complex of rich natural resources called the Sparkling Tunnels, which sit beneath the Glittering Mountains in a remote region of Dothion. It is said nowhere else in the multiverse can be found as rich a source of emeralds, rubies, sapphires, and diamonds.
Unfortunately, the Sparkling Tunnels are also plagued with rock-eating creatures that resemble dinosaurs. Ankylosaurus, brontosaurus, stegosaurus, and triceratops are all known species of beasts that inhabit the region and feed off of the gemstones, and they are all very territorial and hungry. It has been noted that the dinosaurs of the Sparkling Tunnels and Glittering Mountains are all natural herbivores but have adapted their diet to precious gems – no carnivores have been seen in the area.
Various guildclanns over the years have tried to establish a permanent colony at the Glittering Mountains to establish a monopoly on the gems beneath the ground, but the dinosaurs have put an end to that. The expeditions into the Sparkling Tunnels all have to be well-guarded to protect the miners from the herds of dangerous dinosaurs which in other realms have been known as ‘gentle giants.’ Not so in this region of Dothion, where the locals call them ‘gem gobblers.
Stairs of Centerspire
There are only a few ways to go between Dothion and Shurrock. Natural gates exist between the two layers but these appear infrequently and without any regularity. Using magic is another way but the spells necessary to transport the raw materials from Shurrock to Dothion, including lumber and quarried stone, are out of the reach of most guildclanns and merchant outfits. The safest and most used route is an overland trek that follows a path around the tallest mountain of Bytopia, Centerspire, that actually serves as a bridge between the layers.
The road, known as the Stairs of Centerspire winds around the massive peak, the loops becoming tighter the closer to the center of Betweensky one gets. Gravity shifts in that central region, up becoming down suddenly, and so the raw materials being transported must be secured tightly to compensate for the change. This region sees the highest concentration of ni’iath attacks in all the plane which means that caravan guards are always in demand. The trek is slow but most experienced drivers know that slow and steady wins the race every time.
It is said by those that make the journey that the view from the Stairs of Centerspire is one of the most breathtaking in all of Bytopia. Standing in the center of Betweensky with a mountain peak to stand upon, gazing out across both Shurrock and Dothion, it’s a wonder more travelers don’t take the route. Of course, the howling packs of ni’iath may be a bit of a deterrent.
Yeoman
The bustling heart of trade and commerce on Bytopia is the city of Yeoman, near what is considered the center of Dothion. Here, dozens of guildclanns and independent workers operate workshops, factories, and more to craft the items Bytopia is known for. Yeoman is a place of constant activity, where there’s always a wagon being unloaded or a new caravan coming or going, but the erosion effect of the plane gives the city a worn-down look. The streets are unpaved, the buildings are simple and rarely more than one or two stories tall, and horses and oxen are the main means of transport, which all adds up to a frontier-like feel.
But make no mistake, Yeoman is rife with its fair share of intrigue and complications. The guiildclanns compete with one another for the best contracts while the taverns and inns are filled with merchants from all across the multiverse. Most have come seeking Bytopian crafted items, eager to get them off the plane as soon as possible in order to avoid the possibility of erosion. Representatives of demons, devils, angels, elementals, genies, and more can be found making deals with the guildclanns, most of which understand the value of the gold and silver coin.
Yeoman is run by the Yeoman Conclave, a group consisting of representatives from many of the prominent guildclanns of the city. The Conclave itself is led by a single leader elected by the Conclave to serve as the Master of Guilds – or, as in the current case, the Mistress of Guilds. Raxiris Illmath, a female copper dragonborn, is a diviner of some skill and has guided the Conclave for nearly a dozen years. Her steady hand and keen eye on the future has kept Yeoman from descending into anarchy, but there are some who say her time has come to an end.
The Yeoman Conclave keeps a standing militia to deal with external and internal threats, and if need be there is a standing treaty between the city and the gnome powers of the Golden Hills were a true problem arise. Trade comes in and out along the roads leading into the city along with the rivers Diligence and Splendor, making river travel an easy option for those seeking Yeoman’s merchant hub. The surrounding landscape is dotted with smaller villages and family farms that support the trade interests of Yeoman, making it a vital feature of Dothion and one of the true connections to the rest of the multiverse.
Highlights & Impressions
The below listings include notes on highlighting the nature of Bytopia as characters explore and travel through it. These are suggestions of elements that can be used in descriptions of the landscape and denizens with the goal of actualizing the “outside” nature of the multiverse beyond the Material Plane. Use them to incorporate into encounters and adventures on Bytopia.
Simple Pleasures. Bytopia is a plane of simple pleasures. Residents relish the feeling that comes after a day of working, whether it’s tending to fields or maintaining homesteads, and the pastoral landscape of Bytopia responds to that work by revealing natural wonders and splendors for all to witness. Flowers openly bloom in well-tended gardens, a cooling breeze dries the sweat from the brow, and a sense of peaceful relaxation settles over much of Bytopia by evening.
Community Work. The people of Bytopia work to help build their communities into strong, vibrant places of safety and welcoming. Neighbors offer to help with chores when their own work is done if they notice someone has more to do than they can manage, and entire families work together on tasks that a single person would have to spend days to complete. These communities welcome travelers as unrealized friends, as long as they are willing to help out in some way, and everyone enjoys the sense of peace that comes with knowing your neighbors have your best interests at heart.
Visible Goals. Bytopia life is not easy. Constructed objects and buildings breakdown far quicker than they should, even if left unattended, so there’s always something that needs tending or fixing. But Bytopians view these as challenges rather than annoyances, and they persevere through adversity with a smile on their face since they know their goals are visible. All they have to do is look up to see the impossible – there’s another whole layer of wonder above their heads! Nothing seems impossible on Bytopia if you work hard and long enough at it, whether it’s tilling a farm on Dothion or breaking new ground in the wilds of Shurrock.
Lay of the Land
The Twin Paradises of Bytopia are beautiful landscapes of striking contrasts. Dothion holds sweeping grasslands, gentle forests, and low hills, marked by easy weather patterns and comfortable seasons. Shurrock is wilder, with denser forests, rough mountains, and violent storms that roll through the land with surprising speed and ferocity. Both of these layers embody the spirit of personal achievement on different levels.
Sitting between the two sides of this planar “coin” is a strange and often violent gravity-less region known as Betweensky. Crossing between Dothion and Shurrock requires passing through Betweensky, whether it’s via magical transport, winged mount, the Stairs of Centerspire, or one of the other mountain peaks that pierce into the central veil, but it all carries an element of danger.
Dothion
By far the most benign of Bytopia’s layers, Dothion is an idyllic realm of easy seasons and comfortable terrain. Hundreds of rivers cut through the countless grasslands and fields, flowing down from hills and mountains that gather the moisture from the sky. Many of the rolling hills hold shards of volcanic rock jutting from the ground as a reminder of Shurrock’s more savage nature overhead.
Many small communities dot Dothion’s landscape. Most of these are oriented around a single family or clann concerned with the well-being of their flocks and fields. The constant erosion effect of Bytopia means there’s always work to be done in these places – fences needing mending, rooves needing repair, buildings needing maintenance. Most clanns are happy to provide a safe place to sleep and rest in exchange for a little work.
This industrious and independent nature runs through all of Dothion, where trade between the clanns is not done in coins but in shared work. Several larger cities exist that deal with more travelers and outsiders, necessitating a certain amount of commerce be done with hard coin, but beyond these areas work is the payment for a good or service. The city of Yeoman is the largest hub of trade in all of Bytopia and serves as the home to most of the guildclanns (and, rumors say, most of the Artificer Syndicates as well).
Dothion is not all sunshine and coziness, however. Dangerous beasts stalk the wilderness and some of the larger guildclanns operate machinery that can produce unpredictable results. Most family clanns protect their own, but an informal planar militia has sprung up to help out everyone across Bytopia, Known as the Fennid, these free-ranging scouts, warriors, and guards often gather in small bands as they wander Dothion. Many clanns welcome a member of the Fennid but some view them as family-less outcasts with no interests beyond their own.
Shurrock
Wild, savage, and untamed, Shurrock is the dangerous counterpart to Dothion. Its forests, mountains, and fields are overgrown and filled with all manner of beasts, and the weather can turn especially violent in large areas. Driving rain, howling tornadoes, and lightning strikes assist the plane’s natural erosion effects to strike down manufactured buildings and structures.
But that doesn’t mean Bytopians haven’t settled Shurrock. It’s a land rich in natural resources, from gold and gems in the mountains, rich timber in the thick woodlands, and wild game all across the layer. The Great Guildclanns that manufacture goods in Dothion pull their raw materials from Shurrock’s bountiful tracts of land. Unfortunately, however, many factors make extraction difficult, but the ingenuity of the guildclanns is on full display.
The communities of Shurrock tend to be smaller and more work-based, primarily mining and logging encampments. Buildings are hastily constructed but built so they can be repaired quickly and easily, as most don’t last a season considering Bytopia’s natural erosion and the violent storms that pepper the landscape regularly. Quarryhome is the largest and oldest settlement on Shurrock and it holds less than 5,000 workers – gnomes mainly – all living and working in stone shelters on the side of a massive quarry of natural stone beauty.
The Fennid bands that protect Bytopia have no trouble finding work to do on Shurrock and they are well-regarded by the settlements as benevolent protectors and watchful guardians. The creatures that stalk Shurrock’s wilderness are less intelligent than those in the Beastlands but no less fierce or ferocious, and unlike their Beastlands counterparts they do not respond to parlay requests!
Betweensky
The Twin Paradises of Dothion and Shurrock face each other across an endless landscape over a distance of roughly twenty miles. The distance is not huge but that empty region, known as Betweensky, holds many unusual mysteries and dangers. The first is the lack of gravity, disappearing completely after about five miles up from either layer. Creatures and objects float in this region, propelled by nothing more than the turbulent and unpredictable winds. Several monsters have adapted to the unusual environment, such as the ni’iath – large fish with wolf-like features that can fly through the air and physically hurl opponents out of the anti-gravity region.
Another mystery is the source of light that serves to mark daytime from night across Bytopia. To date, no one has found what exactly causes the light to brighten and then fade in a pattern resembling the rising and setting of a sun, but no sun or source of heat has ever been found. Betweensky is simply lighter at times, then darkening as twilight approaches before falling into night, and then repeating the cycle the next day.
Cycle of Time
One of the mysteries of Betweensky is the cycle of day and night. The sky between Dothion and Shurrock lightens with morning, brightening with full daylight, before darkening into twilight and finally into night. The cycle is regular, predictable, and seasonable. The days are shorter in the winter then the summer, but in general the whole cycle runs through 24 hours like a typical day in the Material Plane.
The source of this cycle is not known but it has puzzled planar scholars for generations. Ancient libraries in the Golden Hills offer cryptic hints at a pair of beings that lived in Betweensky, one dark and the other light, but most learned scholars believe this to be simple legend.
Surviving
Dothion, Shurrock, and Betweensky offer no planar hostility towards life. The weather on Shurrock can be dangerous at times, and traversing Betweensky can be difficult, but Bytopia itself does not actively affect living creatures like several other planes.
Getting There
Many portals exist to Bytopia from across the planes, many of them known and maintained by the Great Guildclanns that operate large operations across the multiverse. The key to many of these gates is a manufactured item of a specific type – a specific type of wood or stone for example. These keys must be crafted over the course of several days while within a certain radius of the portal itself.
Most portals are doors or archways in very old homes and they can spontaneously appear without warning if a building is constructed of a certain type of material and is of sufficient age. Buildings containing a portal to Bytopia that are subsequently destroyed still hold the planar gate together and, over time, the natural power of the plane reconstructs a frame around the freestanding portal. These unusual sightings are sometimes referred to as “witch doors” by superstitious locals who do not understand their true meaning.
Traveling Around
On Dothion, travel is easy. Many trails and paths exist between the countless small communities and farmsteads, though no formal road system can withstand the natural erosion effect of Bytopia. Besides from the odd wandering monster, often from a spontaneous gate to Shurrock, travel is unimpeded across Dothion.
Shurrock is another matter. The game trails that cut through the savage wilderness are erratic and sometimes deliberate traps meant to capture foolhardy travelers. The weather is violent and extreme, adding another wrinkle to moving across Shurrock’s expansive regions.
With its lack of gravity, moving through Betweensky can be tricky without the right tool or magic to aid. Flying creatures are unimpeded in Betweensky but without the magical or natural ability to propel oneself through the air, travelers are buffeted by the unpredictable winds (how the winds blow in a gravity-less environment is a puzzle no planar scholar has solved). The Stairs of Centerspire are the most used mode of transport through Betweensky, where travelers move up the circular stairs around a great stone spire that spans the twenty-mile gap between Dothion and Shurrock.
No stable gate exists between Dothion and Shurrock. Spontaneous gates appear as a result of particularly violent or disruptive storms on Shurrock, and the guildclanns that operate mining and logging operations are always on the lookout for these to appear. Using them makes transporting raw materials back to Dothion much easier, for otherwise they must use winged mounts such as hippogriffs or magic.
Creatures by Plane of Existence
The multiverse is a wondrous, strange place populated by all manner of creatures both fair and foul. Each plane of existence hosts its own unique creatures of some variety along with the more mundane types of monsters found in the Material Plane.
The below tables offer details of the unique creatures found in each plane, but it should be noted that most planes feature biomes common to the Material Plane, many with exaggerated or unique features. Consider looking to the encounter tables for each biome as well as the below tables for populating the planes with creatures to both threaten and aid characters during their extraplanar journeys.
The creatures listed pull from the following sources: Monster Manual, Volo’s Guide to Monsters, Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes, and Monsters of the Infinite Planes.
| Twin Paradises of Bytopia | |
|---|---|
| Monsters | Challenge (XP) |
| Blink dog | 1/4 (50 XP) |
| Dryad | 1 (200 XP) |
| Dobhar, ni’iath, pegasus | 2 (450 XP) |
| Cathshay | 3 (700 XP) |
| Livestone badger, storm mole | 4 (1,100 XP) |
| Pooka | 5 (1,800 XP) |
| Terror mole | 6 (2,300 XP) |
| Behemoth mole | 10 (5,900 XP) |
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