The Windswept Depths of Pandemonium
The Windswept Depths of Pandemonium was the Outer PLane associated with the chaotic neutral and chaotic evil alignments, and an abandoned astral dominion.
Pandemonium was made entirely of rock pierced by innumerable tunnels and caverns large and small. All open space was filled with howling winds that carried the sound of every word, shout, or scream uttered in the place. Without adequate protection, beings with hearing were rendered temporarily deaf in a matter of seconds and permanently deaf in a few minutes. Normal fires could not survive and there was no natural light. Conversation could only be accomplished by shouting at close range. Gravity in Pandemonium always pulled away from the centre of any cavern so a traveller could walk on the floor, walls, or ceiling. Streams and rivers would flow along one surface of a cave, or inexplicably down the middle through the air. The larger caverns were hundreds to thousands of miles/kilometres deep, wide, and tall, and the winds there could lift up small humanoids and carry them far away before a dangerous landing. Pandemonium had four known layers, each with slightly different conditions: PANDESMOS The topmost layer with portals to Limbo, the Abyss, and Concordant Opposition was called Pandesmos and was the most habitable layer of the four. This layer had the largest caverns and the River Styx flowed through the rocky wastes. Nearly all great citadels and cities in Pandemonium were found here. Most of the gods who claimed their realms within the Windswept Depths made this layer their home. Pandesmos was the most hospitable layer of the plane. The caverns were the largest here, some literally thousands of miles across. Immigrants to Pandemonium tended to live on the surfaces of these massive caverns, which contained both cities and citadels, though these were very rare. Most caverns were abandoned to anything but wind. Despite the size of the caverns, they were as loud and windy as the rest of the greater plane, though the velocity of those winds was slightly less. Entire nations could fill the cavern walls, but the strong winds prevented this from ever happening. The Styx began here, fed by countless cold streams flowing along the walls of the otherwise rocky, subterranean wastes. Some of the streams even floated through the open space in the centres of the caverns. Dead-end tunnels with unusually strong winds (even for Pandemonium) often signalled that one was at a barrier and about to pass to the lower layer of Cocytus. Flat, square portals found in Pandesmos led to Limbo, the first layer of the Abyss and the Outlands. Yellow squares led to Limbo, red squares to the Abyss, and black to the Outlands. The portals were inconsistent, however, and sometimes sent travellers to the wrong planes. LOCATIONS WITHIN PANDESMOS One of the rare cities in Pandesmos was the Madhouse, a citadel controlled by a group of outsiders called the Bleak Cabal. The Madhouse was often used as a waypoint for travellers to Pandemonium. It was a sprawling city of poorly arranged buildings covering all of the walls of a large cavern. The citadel was divided into sections by multiple stone walls. Befitting its name, a high percentage of the residents of the Madhouse was deaf or insane or both. Deep in Pandesmos was found a cave where the never-ending winds had worn down the walls until they were as smooth as glass, forming a chamber of mirrors. This Cavern of the Self was full of magic that caused one to see her or his reflection hundreds or thousands of times. Each image, however, was of the viewer from different time points in life and expressing different emotions, and one only ever saw him- or herself, never an image of any companions. It was believed that if one could find her or his true reflection at that instant among the plethora of reflections, great personal insight would be gained. COCYTUS The second layer was called the layer of lamentation because the wind whistling through the tunnels carried the cries of anguish and the sounds of sorrow. The passages on this level were narrower making the noise shrill enough to drive insane anyone with unprotected hearing. Unlike the natural-looking tunnels and caves of Pandesmos, the passages of Cocytus were carved by beings unknown to even the gods. The tunnels of Cocytus were slightly narrower and more winding than those of the first layer, Pandesmos, making the winds more intense throughout the layer. The tunnels did not appear natural, but rather seemed to have been manually chiselled. Like all other layers of the plane, Cocytus had no light sources and was completely dark. The loud winds in the tunnels of Cocytus carried shrill sounds of sorrow and wailing. This peculiar sound earned the layer the nickname "layer of lamentation". As in the other layers, the deafening winds only allowed conversation via shouting, and any intelligible sound, including sound-based spells, only carried over a distance of 10 ft (3 m). Like in other layers of Pandemonium, prolonged exposure to the incessant winds of Cocytus could quickly sap an individual's physical disposition and sanity. Without shelter, an exposed creature could develop symptoms of madness within hours. It was rumoured that the tunnels of Cocytus were chiselled by an ancient forgotten deity who lost its followers and succumbed to madness before dying and being left to rot in the Astral Plane. Treasures left behind by this entity were rumoured to still exist scattered through the layer. Harmonica, a cave system that channelled the winds into a much more intense cacophony. It was rumoured to contain the secret of plane walking with no need for a spell or device. Howler's Crag, a tall spire at the centre of the layer, built upon the grave of a phoenix. The top of the stone pile contained one of the few portals out of Pandemonium, and from there a creature could shout a message that would always reach its intended recipient anywhere in the Great Wheel. The vicinity of Howler's Crag was inhabited by a large number of demons who preyed on visitors to the spire. The Howling Gate, an always open portal that led to the Quasi-Elemental Plane of Vacuum. The Laughing Mug, an underground inn excavated near Howler's Crag. It was run by Fat Worold, an insane and malnourished human who always talked in question. PHLEGETHON The third layer was the layer of dark and damp. The walls were matte black and absorbed all light with no reflection—all light sources could only illuminate half as far as normal. Many rivers and streams cut through the black rock and the constant dripping of aeons built up stalactites, stalagmites, and other cave formations. Unlike the other layers of Pandemonium, Phlegethon's gravity was normally oriented. This trait, together with the humidity of the place, created vast and complex limestone stalagmite and stalactite formations that were constantly battered by the incessant winds. The tunnels were dominated by the sound of wind mixed with dripping water. The darkness that permeated the entire plane was also stronger in Phlegethon, and the layer was considerably colder than the rest of the plane. The rocks in its tunnel walls absorbed light and radiative heat, both natural and magic, so all light sources within the layer only shone at half capacity. Even darkvision was impaired within the layer. Rumours existed of overgrown dragons making their lairs throughout the layer. They seemed to be reinforced by the large bounties of treasure that adventurers sometimes stumbled upon while visiting the caverns. Windglum, a town located in one of the largest caverns, and whose inhabitants were wary and suspicious of all travellers. Its largest tavern, the Scaly Dog Inn, was a common meeting place for visitors. The layer was said to be inhabited by large ferocious creatures such as albino cave wolves, giant crayfish, and enormous oozes. The Unseelie Fey who inhabited the Court entirely focused their efforts into overthrowing the Seelie Court, also by judging whether captured visitors could prove useful to their cause. AGATHION Agathion (A-GAY-thee-on), the fourth and last layer - the strangest and deadliest of all four layers, it consisted of isolated chambers within an infinite expanse of solid rock. It was the deepest known layer of Pandemonium and was made of solid rock with no tunnels and only giant spherical bubbles of air or vacuum. Those bubbles with a barrier to Phlegethon were filled with huge windstorms capable of flinging even large humanoids around. Pockets without a connection to the next level were often the final resting places of things that should not be awakened. The broad tunnels of Pandesmos narrowed down progressively in Cocytus and Phlegethon until they were reduced to nothing in Agathion. The layer was marked by dead ends and completely isolated caverns, accessible only by portals from the other layers and from other planes. Only approximately half of the caverns of Agathion contained air. The other half of the chambers were in a vacuum. In both cases, portals opening from other layers of Pandemonium invariably caused sudden and violent windstorms. The immense difficulty of locating the caverns of Agathion made them the perfect place for deities to hide a variety of items. Rumours existed of artefacts, mementoes, powerful monsters, languages, and even cosmologies hidden away within the natural vaults. For additional security, some of these chambers were also populated with monsters charged with protecting the hidden items.
Pandemonium had no known indigenous life forms but many inhabitants that were either immigrants, visitors, exiles, marooned, or prisoners. Quasits and shadow demons were plentiful, as well as many low- to mid-level demons and the occasional demon lord-in-exile.
Only the spirits of the most merciless bugbears travelled to Pandemonium after death.
DESCRIPTION
Pandemonium was made entirely of rock pierced by innumerable tunnels and caverns large and small. All open space was filled with howling winds that carried the sound of every word, shout, or scream uttered in the place. Without adequate protection, beings with hearing were rendered temporarily deaf in a matter of seconds and permanently deaf in a few minutes. Normal fires could not survive and there was no natural light. Conversation could only be accomplished by shouting at close range. Gravity in Pandemonium always pulled away from the centre of any cavern so a traveller could walk on the floor, walls, or ceiling. Streams and rivers would flow along one surface of a cave, or inexplicably down the middle through the air. The larger caverns were hundreds to thousands of miles/kilometres deep, wide, and tall, and the winds there could lift up small humanoids and carry them far away before a dangerous landing. Pandemonium had four known layers, each with slightly different conditions: PANDESMOS The topmost layer with portals to Limbo, the Abyss, and Concordant Opposition was called Pandesmos and was the most habitable layer of the four. This layer had the largest caverns and the River Styx flowed through the rocky wastes. Nearly all great citadels and cities in Pandemonium were found here. Most of the gods who claimed their realms within the Windswept Depths made this layer their home. Pandesmos was the most hospitable layer of the plane. The caverns were the largest here, some literally thousands of miles across. Immigrants to Pandemonium tended to live on the surfaces of these massive caverns, which contained both cities and citadels, though these were very rare. Most caverns were abandoned to anything but wind. Despite the size of the caverns, they were as loud and windy as the rest of the greater plane, though the velocity of those winds was slightly less. Entire nations could fill the cavern walls, but the strong winds prevented this from ever happening. The Styx began here, fed by countless cold streams flowing along the walls of the otherwise rocky, subterranean wastes. Some of the streams even floated through the open space in the centres of the caverns. Dead-end tunnels with unusually strong winds (even for Pandemonium) often signalled that one was at a barrier and about to pass to the lower layer of Cocytus. Flat, square portals found in Pandesmos led to Limbo, the first layer of the Abyss and the Outlands. Yellow squares led to Limbo, red squares to the Abyss, and black to the Outlands. The portals were inconsistent, however, and sometimes sent travellers to the wrong planes. LOCATIONS WITHIN PANDESMOS One of the rare cities in Pandesmos was the Madhouse, a citadel controlled by a group of outsiders called the Bleak Cabal. The Madhouse was often used as a waypoint for travellers to Pandemonium. It was a sprawling city of poorly arranged buildings covering all of the walls of a large cavern. The citadel was divided into sections by multiple stone walls. Befitting its name, a high percentage of the residents of the Madhouse was deaf or insane or both. Deep in Pandesmos was found a cave where the never-ending winds had worn down the walls until they were as smooth as glass, forming a chamber of mirrors. This Cavern of the Self was full of magic that caused one to see her or his reflection hundreds or thousands of times. Each image, however, was of the viewer from different time points in life and expressing different emotions, and one only ever saw him- or herself, never an image of any companions. It was believed that if one could find her or his true reflection at that instant among the plethora of reflections, great personal insight would be gained. COCYTUS The second layer was called the layer of lamentation because the wind whistling through the tunnels carried the cries of anguish and the sounds of sorrow. The passages on this level were narrower making the noise shrill enough to drive insane anyone with unprotected hearing. Unlike the natural-looking tunnels and caves of Pandesmos, the passages of Cocytus were carved by beings unknown to even the gods. The tunnels of Cocytus were slightly narrower and more winding than those of the first layer, Pandesmos, making the winds more intense throughout the layer. The tunnels did not appear natural, but rather seemed to have been manually chiselled. Like all other layers of the plane, Cocytus had no light sources and was completely dark. The loud winds in the tunnels of Cocytus carried shrill sounds of sorrow and wailing. This peculiar sound earned the layer the nickname "layer of lamentation". As in the other layers, the deafening winds only allowed conversation via shouting, and any intelligible sound, including sound-based spells, only carried over a distance of 10 ft (3 m). Like in other layers of Pandemonium, prolonged exposure to the incessant winds of Cocytus could quickly sap an individual's physical disposition and sanity. Without shelter, an exposed creature could develop symptoms of madness within hours. It was rumoured that the tunnels of Cocytus were chiselled by an ancient forgotten deity who lost its followers and succumbed to madness before dying and being left to rot in the Astral Plane. Treasures left behind by this entity were rumoured to still exist scattered through the layer. Harmonica, a cave system that channelled the winds into a much more intense cacophony. It was rumoured to contain the secret of plane walking with no need for a spell or device. Howler's Crag, a tall spire at the centre of the layer, built upon the grave of a phoenix. The top of the stone pile contained one of the few portals out of Pandemonium, and from there a creature could shout a message that would always reach its intended recipient anywhere in the Great Wheel. The vicinity of Howler's Crag was inhabited by a large number of demons who preyed on visitors to the spire. The Howling Gate, an always open portal that led to the Quasi-Elemental Plane of Vacuum. The Laughing Mug, an underground inn excavated near Howler's Crag. It was run by Fat Worold, an insane and malnourished human who always talked in question. PHLEGETHON The third layer was the layer of dark and damp. The walls were matte black and absorbed all light with no reflection—all light sources could only illuminate half as far as normal. Many rivers and streams cut through the black rock and the constant dripping of aeons built up stalactites, stalagmites, and other cave formations. Unlike the other layers of Pandemonium, Phlegethon's gravity was normally oriented. This trait, together with the humidity of the place, created vast and complex limestone stalagmite and stalactite formations that were constantly battered by the incessant winds. The tunnels were dominated by the sound of wind mixed with dripping water. The darkness that permeated the entire plane was also stronger in Phlegethon, and the layer was considerably colder than the rest of the plane. The rocks in its tunnel walls absorbed light and radiative heat, both natural and magic, so all light sources within the layer only shone at half capacity. Even darkvision was impaired within the layer. Rumours existed of overgrown dragons making their lairs throughout the layer. They seemed to be reinforced by the large bounties of treasure that adventurers sometimes stumbled upon while visiting the caverns. Windglum, a town located in one of the largest caverns, and whose inhabitants were wary and suspicious of all travellers. Its largest tavern, the Scaly Dog Inn, was a common meeting place for visitors. The layer was said to be inhabited by large ferocious creatures such as albino cave wolves, giant crayfish, and enormous oozes. The Unseelie Fey who inhabited the Court entirely focused their efforts into overthrowing the Seelie Court, also by judging whether captured visitors could prove useful to their cause. AGATHION Agathion (A-GAY-thee-on), the fourth and last layer - the strangest and deadliest of all four layers, it consisted of isolated chambers within an infinite expanse of solid rock. It was the deepest known layer of Pandemonium and was made of solid rock with no tunnels and only giant spherical bubbles of air or vacuum. Those bubbles with a barrier to Phlegethon were filled with huge windstorms capable of flinging even large humanoids around. Pockets without a connection to the next level were often the final resting places of things that should not be awakened. The broad tunnels of Pandesmos narrowed down progressively in Cocytus and Phlegethon until they were reduced to nothing in Agathion. The layer was marked by dead ends and completely isolated caverns, accessible only by portals from the other layers and from other planes. Only approximately half of the caverns of Agathion contained air. The other half of the chambers were in a vacuum. In both cases, portals opening from other layers of Pandemonium invariably caused sudden and violent windstorms. The immense difficulty of locating the caverns of Agathion made them the perfect place for deities to hide a variety of items. Rumours existed of artefacts, mementoes, powerful monsters, languages, and even cosmologies hidden away within the natural vaults. For additional security, some of these chambers were also populated with monsters charged with protecting the hidden items.
INHABITANTS
Pandemonium had no known indigenous life forms but many inhabitants that were either immigrants, visitors, exiles, marooned, or prisoners. Quasits and shadow demons were plentiful, as well as many low- to mid-level demons and the occasional demon lord-in-exile.
AFTERLIFE
Only the spirits of the most merciless bugbears travelled to Pandemonium after death.
Type
Dimensional plane
