Date: Mon, 9 Jul 2001 11:48:56 -0500 (CDT)
From: justin tiwald <jtiwald@midway.uchicago.edu>
X-Sender: jtiwald@harper.uchicago.edu
To: “Paulson, Ray” <ray.paulson@retek.com>
cc: “‘clay lewis'” <wussking@yahoo.com>,
“‘Anil Seth'” <seth@astro.washington.edu>,
“‘Akuso'” <akuso242@hotmail.com>, “‘Alestri-ugly'” <davidw@ksu.edu>,
“‘Warmspoo (E-mail)'” <sibilantstar@yahoo.com>
Subject: on the permanent gates in this world
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The god of the owl accepts the party’s request to speak with him.
According to him (we’ll just adopt the convention of assuming that
he’s a god, and not a goddess), there is probably a total of eight
permanent gates on the Prime. There used to be quite a few more, but many
were closed recently as a result of an agreement between the immortals
which among them is called “the Closing of the Worlds.” This is the same
general agreement which now makes it dangerous to move large populations
from one plane to another.
Here are the gates which survive:
1. The Inn Between Worlds, going to a small pocket plane, in the Broken
Lands.
2. Alphak’s Isle, going to a poisonous and fiery outer plane, just off the
West Coast of the Alphatian continent.
3. The Cave of the Matron, going to an outer plane known for its diversity
in werecreatures, on Grimm Isle (just off the West Coast of the Southern
Continent).
4. The Ruins of Somastekato, going to the forbidden plane known as the
Kohaek Sea, in the underwater abyss just South of the Irendi islands (the
survival spell is recommended for visiting this site).
5. Iecca, going to a “permission only” plane known as the Fel Preserve, on
the East coast of the Southern Continent abutting the Great Forest of the
Rains.
And last, but not least, are the three gates located within the End of the
World Mountains:
6. Snowcap Portal, going to Pandius (the City of the Immortals), on the
Northeastern side of the two continental divides. The god of the owl
says that this gate is top secret and that you should simply never take
it … never.
7. The Dueling Rocks, going to the Scale, located high in mountains near
all of the most famous and oldest immortal shrines (Ka, Thanatos,
Ordana, etc.).
8. The Yellow Flight (referring to a yellowish flight of stairs), going to
a pocket plane, located in the Southwest of the EotWMts (in the same area
as the shrines of Noamgaia and Atzanteotl).
This pushes the limits of the owl-god’s resources, and with this basic
information he rests. If you wish for some elaboration on any of these
particular gates, however, there is plenty of time left to use.
Justin
From: justin tiwald <jtiwald@midway.uchicago.edu>
X-Sender: jtiwald@harper.uchicago.edu
To: “Paulson, Ray” <ray.paulson@retek.com>
cc: “‘clay lewis'” <wussking@yahoo.com>,
“‘Anil Seth'” <seth@astro.washington.edu>,
“‘Akuso'” <akuso242@hotmail.com>, “‘Alestri-ugly'” <davidw@ksu.edu>,
“‘Warmspoo (E-mail)'” <sibilantstar@yahoo.com>
Subject: RE: on the permanent gates in this world
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Phew, there are a lot of questions to be answered here. We’ll start with
those that can be answered by the PC’s own resources/memories. Then we’ll
end with some conversation with the owl god.
> Scale, btw, clay, is the home plane of the Dragon Rulers.
That’s actually a facinating mistake to make, Ray. In truth it is a kind
of homeland or playground for the rulers of the elemental planes. The
name “Scale” is meant to suggest a balancing device (and thus perhaps the
idea of maintaining a balance), not the scale of a dragon.
Just as a reminder, this plane is one of those mentioned on the “planes
page” of MDL, and this is the word-for-word description:
“Scale: And there’s also the very ancient plane, ‘Scale,’ to
which the elemental rulers have exclusive rights.”
The dragon rulers do come and go from this plane more freely than
they do the Prime, so perhaps this is what misled you.
> Or, depending on what the nature of the pocket plane is, if that’s where
> they’re at, we could have 4 or 5 people in DD come rushing in with some
> important kind of message and then WHAM!, smack their asses like l’il
> babies. There are a couple of problems with that though: we don’t know what
> they’re doing, we don’t know what to expect on the pocket plane, we don’t
> know that they are IN THE POCKET PLANE, and lastly, we know that the deadies
> usually use arial servants for such messages – not gangs of ghosts, etc.
> But that doesn’t mean that we can’t do nothing. If we can trap them on
> another plane, then that will still cut them off from help from their
> buddies — unless they’re forging alliances and are in meetings all day with
> dragon lords, then we’re still fuct, but let’s not count on that…
During the livespoo session, the owl god told Efrim and Carrock that they
were probably doing research. It is not clear how certain he is.
> We should also keep in mind that if they are sneaking away to a secret place
> on secret business through a permanent gate, then they probably have some
> sentries posted at this side (or both sides) or the gate to watch for people
> like us. You know, like those 28hd skeletal dudes. This may be an
> opportunity to use the DD potions, just to get through the gate unmolested.
Nameless One agrees that they would not stupidly leave the gate unguarded
— perhaps not even on this side. They might be so sloppy if they
believed their location a perfect and inescapable secret, but who knows.
> So the the EOTWMs are protected from scrying. Does this apply to Immortal
> scrying too? Can the owl god tell what’s going on back there?
No it does not apply to immortal scrying.
> what does the owl god think about our guesses for where Bisspith and Vesso
> might be going? If I recall, the original information on them came from a
> Commune or a COP – not from the Owl. Can we get verification?
The original information came from the owl god, who believes that they are
probably doing research. He mentioned some of the evidence for this: the
duration of their absences and their tendency to return with new magic
items.
> Seriously can we examine our Pocket Plane and start
> devising a plan of attack. Like can we block the
> entrance of the gate? will that truely trap anyone
> inside? Can we set up a cage around the Portal and
> catch any baddies that come out? If we did attack, Im
> sure some would escape, thru various means. But mostly
> we could kill most of them Especially if we just
> popped up all of a sudden! Hee Hee!
Catalon’s pocket plane is located a few layers into the outer
planes, and borders four other planes (allowing for four possible
directions of escape). But remember also that with the gate spell a
person can immediate move from a node to another plane up to twelve planes
away, making it difficult to predict where a person will go.
> We can build a steel Cage before hand to be SHRUNK and
> carried to the site then errected over the stairs. as
> soon as we go thru our peeps on the otherside throw up
> CLOUDKILL, EXPLOSIVE CLOUD, BONESOLVENT, WALL OF FIRE
> BLADE BARRIER and all that jazz on the entrance so
> when the baddies try and run they get SCHMACT! Then
> our boys will be hanginging on the ethereal? If that
> plane has one and wait for any baddies that come along
> trying in vain to escape!!! Then we all go in and
> start a killin! What Id like to do is Phase in with a
> bunch of Banshees and have them all Scream! and
> hopefully kill a bunch of people outright, anyone left
> gets the Sunkill action or Symbol of death or Al’s
> Cakes of Madness and Mirth!
During the livespoo session, the owl god suggested that it was just
Bisspith and Vesso who were recently going abroad to conduct
research. He may be wrong about this, but in any case he does have good
reason to believe that the group which departs to do research is a small
one. There may not be so many “baddies” to catch.
> OWL GOD
> Does the Yellow Flight have an Ethereal and Astral and
> all that?
It is very rare for a plane to have an etherial frame. Only the Prime and
a handful of major planes do. It is therefore almost certain that this
pocket plane does not.
I know it’s just damn complicated getting a handle on this world’s planar
geography, but basically it doesn’t make sense to ask where this plane has
an astral. The astral is just a huge plane to itself — a great sea
amidst which all other inner planes are islands, and which is itself
bordered from end to end with the random and asundry outer planes.
Short geography lesson: The astral plane is the sea, the inner planes are
islands in that sea (although a few islands abut one another), the outer
planes surround the sea on all sides.
A few planes have a kind of “frame”, almost like an attachment, which you
can think of as a kind of wall around the plane. This is the plane’s
etherial border. As a wall it serves two functions: First, it makes it
that much more difficult for a person to travel to and from the
plane. With an etherial boundary, any person travelling via travel spell
now needs to spend an extra turn (ten minutes) on the etherial before
either leaving or entering. Second, the effects of certain powerful
immortal spells and artifacts are blocked by the etherial. A good example
of this is the effects of the Yanse artifacts. The astral has its own
Yanse artifacts. Now, take a plane like Saunteau — without its own
etherial it would be subject to the same magical rules as is the
Astral. But since it does have its own etherial it is subject to its own
magical rules. In this case, since it has no Yanse artifacts of its own,
those rules are rather simple: no magic-user magics.
I hope that gives a basic sense of it. Maybe I should draw a picture some
day and send it to Clay.
> Hell yeah tell me all about the yellow Flight? Never
> heard of it. A pocket plane to where? how bigs the
> Plane?
The original purpose of the Yellow Flight is unclear, although most
believe it was some form of shrine itself (some now-extinct god’s
followers pilgrimaged to the staircase and then climbed into this pocket
plane in order to meet their patron). In any case it has not been
carefully looked after for a long time. This is not to say that it is
abandoned entirely, just that the immortals have not taken any real
interest in it.
The stairs are actually of the spiral variety, climbing up into the
sky. They and the gate appear only in the dewey morning, when the rays of
the sun seem to generate them out of the moisture in the air. On the rare
occassion when the air in the region is too dry to generate any droplets
then the stairs do not appear.
The pocket plane on the other side of the staircase is about the size of a
small castle or palace — smaller even than Catalon castle. The entire
plane appears to be indoors, although some sort of sunlight pours in
through the windows for exactly twelve hours every day. The days and
nights on the pocket plane correspond roughly with the days on the Prime.
Given this sort of description of the pocket plane, it might be compared
in some general respects to the Inn Between Worlds. But there is one
noticable difference between the plane of the Yellow Flight and the plane
of the Inn: it does not really trap its wayward visitors. Unlike the
Inn, where few can leave without either the gate spell or the aid of a
friend on the other side, anyone in this plane with any decent
intelligence will eventually figure out that they can escape at roughly
the same time every day (morning, shortly after dawn). Thus the only
creatures which tend to become trapped in this one are those who are too
low-functioning to make observe patterns and make calculations —
creatures with animal-intelligence.
The god of the owl cannot give you a very precise description of the plane
itself, and certainly cannot provide a map. He has never visited the
place knows not even its planar coordinates, thus making it difficult to
scry. Few among the gods probably even do know the planar coordinates of
this place since it has lost all meaning and significance long ago.
> Where is Scale? does it have another name? Ive heard
> it before but its not in my notes.
The Scale is basically a plane with the regime which existed at the
closing of the Age of Giants still prevails. The Rulers of the Elements
were granted the Scale as a concession to them sometime after their former
power and glory had been swept out from beneath them. It is considered to
be a “permission based plane” because no god or otherwise exalted creature
may enter without the consent of the four-god committee which supervises
it. The four gods of the elements have basically allowed none but the
immortal dragon rulers to enter, and yet they themselves come and go quite
freely, even on a weekly basis.
The owl god believes you would find the place interesting and encourages
you to visit. Human beings are a minority there, although the places
where they make their homes are brimming with a sense of comaradarie
and racial identity unparalleled anywhere else in the known planes. The
four elemental gods have taken on all kinds of identities, visit their
mortal disciples in any of a vast array of known forms, and represent to
their followers a great assortment of ideals. The god of earth, for
example, is not just a god of earth to the people of the plane. He also
stands for strong defenses, stoic attitudes towards death, dispassionate
displays of strength, and so on. Life for the denizens of the Scale is
frought with religious significance, and actual encounters with the divine
are frequent enough to keep the air abuzz with rumors of avatar-sightings,
whether in the form of a passing raven or of a mysterious old man that one
day came wobbling into town on his cane.
> I have a question for the owl-god. Two of the gates go to pocket
> planes. If I understand correctly, pocket planes are each associated
> with a particular god. If so, who are the dieties associated with these
> pocket planes?
It is often the case that pocket planes are created for a specific
purpose by a specific immortal, but many pocket planes nevertheless become
abandoned or ignored. There is no law stating that all pocket planes are
associated with some god, and while this one may have been so associated
at one time, those days are long past. No god in particular lays claim to
this small piece of virtually worthless planar territory.
> It seems likely that if we are trying to narrow down the movements
> of Bisspith and Vesso, that they would probably be taking one of the
> gates behind teh EOTWMs. The Snowcap Portal seems unlikely, that would
> leave the Yellow Stairs, or the gate going to Scale. I imagine that the
> pocket plane would be the most advantageous to quiet study, if that’s
> what they are doing. But who can say what their business is? Perhaps
> they’re trying to enlist Dragon help on Scale…
The owl god does not know for sure if the Yellow Flight is truly the one
that they are taking. Perhaps you will have to seek out some other
council before you make your move.
Justin
Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2001 15:23:49 -0500 (CDT)
From: justin tiwald <jtiwald@midway.uchicago.edu>
X-Sender: jtiwald@harper.uchicago.edu
To: clay lewis <wussking@yahoo.com>
cc: Anil Seth <seth@astro.washington.edu>,
“Paulson, Ray” <ray.paulson@retek.com>,
“”Ales Tria ‘ ‘” <davidw@ksu.edu>,
“”Takesit Updabutt ‘ ‘” <sibilantstar@yahoo.com>
Subject: planar travel
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> Also. One last thing: since we only planned to be in here a short time
> and the only fast way to move around behind the EotWMtns is to rainbow
> can we assume that Iustal is hanging tight outside the location of the
> gate?
Yes.
> I’m realizing also that I’m still a little confused about the nodes. I
> assumed that one node corresponds to exactly one point on each plane
> that it connects. Can you please explain how things are different from this?
That’s right, but there are two intervening factors:
1. A gate can take you through as many as twelve planes.
2. One of those planes is the astral.
Since the astral has this peculiar nature which makes it highly condusive
to interplanar travel (anyone can cross from anywhere on the astral to any
node on an adjoining plane) it is possible for you to go from here
(assuming “here” is no more than twelve planes away) to any node on the
Prime (which adjoins the astral plane).
The astral plane is what has made immortal rule over the inner planes
possible. Without it, it would be a hell of a lot harder for them to come
and go as freely as they do. Fortunately it also makes it easier for you
mortals to come and go as well, when you have the resources and daring to
do so.
This might appear to give rise to another question: Say we already know
we want to go to the plane of the Yellow Flight. Why then do we need to
go into the special node in the End of the World Mountains in order to get
there? The answer is that neither you nor anyone you know (including the
god of the owl) has any idea where the Yellow Plane is. No one has its
planar coordinates. Most likely it is buried somewhere in the outer
planes and therefore a real hassle to find. Unless you want to explore
the outer planes yourself the best way to get there is just through
pre-established routes. But that doesn’t mean its the only way to get
back. To get back via the gate spell you simply name your destination. I
assume you already more or less know the planar coordinates of the
Prime. So you name your destination, and if is within 12 planes of your
present location you’ll find the gate opening right to it.
If it is not within 12 planes…well, then you should be shocked. The
immortals themselves do not know how to open a gate which spans a
greater distance than 12 planes. If this gate at the top of the
Yellow Flight actually brought you out further than that…well, that
would mean that the Yellow Flight is a truly astonishing piece of
magical crafstmanship.
If this rather extraordinary circumstance were in fact true, then you’d
lose your gate spell and have to get out either by waiting for the Yellow
Flight porthole to open up (tomorrow) or by travelling out via the travel
spell (one plane at a time) or simply by casting gate again and naming
another destination, hoping that it might be closer.
Justin