Corpus draconique 3.5

Certains plans ne sont guère hospitaliers pour les visiteurs, surtout ceux venant du plan Matériel. Les conditions - le feu, le froid, l'eau, … - y sont sévères, et les natifs peuvent l'être encore plus. Les bâtisseurs de la forteresse ont bien compris l'importance de la sécurité. Si quelqu'un pénètre dans une seule pièce, il a alors immédiatement accès à tous les plans où se trouve la citadelle.
La première protection de la Citadelle des Plans est que la plupart de ceux qui passent tout près ne sont jamais conscients de sa présence même. Si la localisation de la citadelle était largement connue, une centaines de petits despotes se teindraient à sa porte avec une armée derrière eux, avec l'intention d'en utiliser les portails pour mener une croisade extraplanaire.
Pour cette raison, une Mante éclipsante couvre chaque espace de forteresse, la fondant parfaitement dans les paysages alentours. L'apparence exacte du voile dépend grandement du plan - allant de la pierre en fusion aux eaux sombres.
Initialement, l'illusion fonctionne dans les deux sens, et les habitants de la citadelle ne perçoivent pas grand chose quand ils regardent par la fenêtre. Après quelques rounds à scruter par les fenêtres, les habitants ont suffisamment étudié le mirage pour leur autoriser un jet de volonté (DD 17). Si un autre résident de la citadelle leur explique la nature de l'illusion, ils reçoivent un bonus de circonstances de +4 à leur jet de Volonté. Ceux qui réussissent leur jets de sauvegarde peuvent voir au travers de la mante et observer les paysages d'un autre monde au delà.

Si quelqu'un perce la mante, il devra ensuite s'occuper des murs extérieurs : en maçonnerie renforcée dans la plupart des cas, et quelques Murs de force. La citadelle dispose aussi de baraquements pour un petit contingent de “gardes du palais”, de plusieurs gardiens invoqués, et de la meilleure défense de toutes : le niveau élevé des personnes qui appellent de telles citadelles leurs maisons.

L'entrée principale de la citadelle est un portail se trouvant dans une allée d'une grande ville du plan Matériel. Ceux traversant le portail sont envoyés vers une salle des trophées sur le plan de l'Ombre. De là, ils peuvent voyager vers des plans plus lointains par une série de portails, et depuis les confins de la citadelle explorer les mystères des plans intérieurs et extérieurs.
Les portails reliant un plan à un autre sont des portails à double-sens. La vision normal fonctionne à travers les portails, et il est ainsi possible d'en voir la destination. Il n'est pas possible de tirer avec des armes à distance ou de lancer des objets à travers les portails.

Les habitants de la citadelle peuvent atteindre tous les autres plans depuis la salle des trophées du plan de l'Ombre. De plus, plusieurs des parties “périphériques” de la citadelle sont reliées directement entre elles. Par exemple, un portail relie les barquements sur Ysgard aux écuries d'Arborée.
Les bâtisseurs de la citadelles ont souvent des missions ou courses extraplanaires à faire, de fait des parties de la citadelle relient des parties importantes des autres plans. Les quais de la citadelle se trouvent sur les rives des fleuves Océan (qui se fraye un chemin à travers la plupart des plans extérieurs d'alignement bons) et Styx (qui relie la plupart des plans d'alignement mauvais). Une autre partie de la forteresse donne sur une discrète porte de la cité de Dis, une des plus grandes métropoles des Neuf Enfers de Baator.

La porte de l'allée - en fer et disposant d'un excellent cadenas (Crochetage DD 40) - cache un portail à double sens entre le plan Matériel et le cœur de la citadelle dans le plan de l'Ombre. Vue depuis l'extérieur sur le plan de l'Ombre, la citadelle ressemble à une étroite pyramide de granit avec une unique porte à mi-hauteur de l'un de ses pans. Autour se trouve une sinistre chaîne de montagnes ombragées. Les observateurs se trouvant ailleurs sur le plan de l'Ombre ne perçoivent rien d'autre qu'un autre pic montagneux à moins qu'ils ne parviennet à transpercer la Mante éclipsante de la citadelle.

Caractéristiques du Plan de l'Ombre :
Ce monde en noir et blanc présente des versions changeantes et distordues de points de repères du plan Matériel. Les sorts du registe de l'obscurité sont améliorés dans le plan de l'ombre. Ils sont lancés comme s'ils avaient été préparés au moyen du don Quintessence des sorts, bien qu'ils ne nécessitent pas d’emplacements de sorts de niveau supérieur. En outre, les sorts de Convocation d'ombres et de Magie des ombres ont 30 % de l'efficacité des sorts qu’ils reproduisent (et non 20 %), Convocation d’ombres suprême et Magie des ombres suprême ont 70 % d’efficacité (et non 60 %) et un sort de Reflets d'ombre conjure à 90% de la puissance de l'original (et non à 80%). Pour calculer les effets de ces sorts, utilisez Quintessence des sorts pour engranger le maximum de points de vie ou de points de dégâts, puis appliquez le pourcentage ci-dessus.
Les sorts exploitant ou générant de la lumière ou du feu pétillent parfois lorsqu'ils sont lancés dans le plan de l'Ombre. Un lanceur de sorts tentant de jeter un sort affichant le registre de lumière ou de feu doit réussir un test d'Art de la magie (DD 20 + niveau du sort). Les sorts produisant de la lumière sont en général moins efficaces, toutes les sources de lumière voyant leur portée réduite de moitié dans le plan de l'Ombre.
En dépit de la sombre nature du plan de l’Ombre, les sorts produisant, utilisant ou manipulant les ténèbres elles-mêmes ne sont pas affectés par le plan.

Modifiez les descriptions suivantes en fonction des besoins de votre campagne.

Des reliques des carrières d'aventuriers des bâtisseurs remplissent cette salle des trophées prestigieuse : des armes, armures, trésors, et autres objets de valeurs, tous enfermés (Crochetage DD 25) dans des vitrines en verre. Une saillie proche du plafond accueille des têtes, trophées des victoires les plus spectaculaires des bâtisseurs, dont celles de puissants extérieurs. Des ensembles rapprochés de sorts de Flammes éternelles plongent le hall entier dans une atmosphère au relief noir et blanc. Un serviteur armé se tient tient toujours en faction ici, bien qu'il passe le plus clair de son temps à épousseter et polir les trésors, se contentant de garder un œil sur ceux qui vont et viennent dans cette pièce.
Des portes ordinaires mènent à l'est (aux quartiers de vie) et à l'ouest (aux cuisines) depuis le hall d'entrée, mais la caractéristique la plus spectaculaire de la pièce est son jeu de neuf portails qui conduisent à d'autres plans. Le plan de l'Ombre est un endroit noir et blanc, mais quiconque se trouve dans cette pièce peut percevoir les déferlantes de couleurs perçant les portails.
Une Pierre d'invocation au centre de la pièce convoque un Traqueur invisible qui attaque quiconque n'est pas habillé comme un serviteur de la citadelle si la phrase “Citadelle des splendeurs, foyer ô doux foyer”, n'est pas clamée dans le round où quelqu'un pénètre dans la pièce.
Les portails de cette pièce (tous à usage illimité, et à double sens) conduisent :

• Au plan Matériel. Lors de leur première visite, la plupart des gens arrivent par ce portail.
• Aux champs bénis de l'Elysée. Les pièces 5 à 7 (salle du banquet, quartiers de vie, quai de l'Océan) se trouvent au delà.
• Aux clairières olympiennes d'Arborée. Les pièces 8 à 11 (quartiers de vie, écuries) se trouvent au delà.
• Au plan élémentaire du Feu. Les pièces 12 à 14 (quartiers de vie, forge) se trouvent au delà.
• Aux domaines héroïques d'Ysgard. Les pièces 15 à 22 (quartiers de vie, baraquements, arsenal, camp d'entraînement) se trouvent au delà.
• Aux Neuf Enfers de Baator. Les pièces 23 à 27 (quartiers de vie, quartiers des serviteurs) se trouvent au delà.
• Aux strates infinies des Abysses. Les pièces 28 à 30 (quartiers de vie, quai du Styx) se trouvent au delà.
• Au plan Astral. Les pièces 31 à 36 (laboratoire magique, bibliothèques, quartiers de vie, portails vers les Limbes et Carcères) se trouvent au delà.
• Au plan élémentaire de l'Eau. Les pièces 37 à 38 (vestaires, bains) se trouvent au delà.

Cette étude prestigieuse fût d'abord construite pour de puissants illusionnistes, et des Images programmées dépeignent des fresques de villes dynamiques, de rapides levers et couchers de soleil, et de batailles titanesques sur tous les murs. Le mobilier en ébène ciselé est de la plus grande qualité, et des écrits profanes remplissent les bibliothèques basses. Des bustes en ivoire ou d'autres statuettes sont placés sur des colonnes dans les coins.

La plupart du mobilier ici est à la taille d'un halfelin, pour correspondre à l'occupant originel, mais le lit est fait de chêne et d'ébène massifs, et une cheminée de 3 mètres de large domine le mur ouest. Le plan de l'Ombre étant un monde austère, en noir et blanc, un feu allumée dans ce foyer fournit de la lumière et projette d'étranges jeux d'ombre, mais ne rend pas les lieux très chaleureux. Une porte dans le mur nord conduit à un petit balcon duquel des escaliers descendent dans les paysages ombreux - une étendue vierge, sombre, montagneuse.

Des serviteurs font de fréquents aller-retours entre le hall d'entrée et cette cuisine, qui peut servir à préparer des repas pour jusqu'à 30 personnes sans difficultés. La nourriture est entreposée dans le garde manger, mais les repas sont le plus souvent amenés par les serviteurs jusqu'aux chambres en suite individuelles ou jusqu'à la salle à manger sur l'Elysée (voir zone 5).

La beauté naturelle des Champs bénis de l'Elysée - des prairies d'un vert éclatant, des nuages d'argent, et des collines entièrement fleuries à perte de vue - en fait un lieu de loisir tout naturel. Les rives du fleuve Océan, qui s'écoule de l'Elysée à travers les Terres des Bêtes et jusqu'à Arborée, s'offrent aux occupants de la citadelle qui souhaitent voir plus les plans supérieurs.
La partie de la citadelle présente sur l'Elysée est un palais d'albâtre surplombé d'un dôme transparent niché sur les berges de l' Océan. Des vallons et de tranquilles prairies constituent le paysage dans toutes les directions. Vu depuis ailleurs sur l'Elysée, le palais d'albâtre est dissimulé derrière une Mante éclipsante, le faisant ressembler à une autre colline parsemée de fleurs.

Caractéristiques du Plan de l'Ombre :

Elysium Traits: Positive energy flows through Elysium, so every character on the plane gains fast healing 2. Nongood characters suffer a –2 penalty on all Wisdom-, Intelligence-, and Charisma-based checks. Elysium is also such a joyful, satisfying place that it’s sometimes hard for visitors to leave. A nonoutsider on Elysium must make a Will saving throw (DC 10 + the number of consecutive weeks on Elysium). Failure indicates that the individual has fallen under the control of the plane and will never leave voluntarily.

5. Vista Room Simple round oak tables provide seating for 30 in this fancy dining hall. A transparent dome (wall of force) allows views of the spectacular Elysian landscape, and servants can slide open panels on the walls to let fresh breezes in. A marble floor is kept clear for dancing, and the servants can quickly assemble a small stage for musicians, poets, or other performers.

6. Meadow Suite This room has the simple, rough-hewn wood furniture favored by its original occupant, a ranger who preferred function to form. A grand balcony and large windows provide plenty to see, and kennels below the balcony are suitable for all manner of animal companions. Note that Elysium’s entrapping nature makes the Meadow Suite a dangerous place to stay long-term. That’s why the citadel’s builders turned it over to the ranger, who wouldn’t be there for more than a few days at a time anyway. Of all the bedroom suites in the citadel, the Meadow Suite is clearly a better guest bedroom than the others.

7. Oceanus Dock A series of stone steps leads down the riverbank to the River Oceanus, a gently flowing waterway that passes through Elysium and the Beastlands on its way to Arborea. At any one time, a wooden dock is home to 1d6 keelboats, galleys, and longships. The most common vessel is the citadel xebec (see sidebar). At the end of the dock is a summoning stone that calls an avoral guardinal whenever someone approaches within 30 feet without first giving the command phrase: “Oceanus, brightest of rivers.”

Citadel Xebec The Citadel of the Planes has six xebecs it uses to make trips through the Upper and Lower Planes (three for the River Oceanus and three for the River Styx), although it’s unusual for more than one or two to be sailing at any one given time. The 70-foot-long xebec, distinguished by its sloping bow and stern, has an open top deck, three triangular sails, and a completely enclosed lower deck. A crew of 10 is sufficient for sailing, although an extra 20 rowers are necessary on planes where wind is a problem (and breezes are common along both Oceanus and Styx). Its magically hardened wooden hull is proof against even jagged rocks, and its smooth polished hull slips through the water almost effortlessly. After 5 rounds of preparation, the crew can swing two of the masts sideways and raise magic sails that enable the xebec to fly, although slowly and ponderously. It takes a further 5 rounds to return the xebec to seaworthy state. The xebec has +1 ballistas in cupolas fore and aft. Both regular ammunition and ballista bolts of lightning are plentiful. Citadel Xebec: Spd 40 ft., fly 20 ft. (poor), 24 mph; Turn 90 degrees; Hull magically treated wood 6 in. thick; hardness 10; hit points 120; AC 4; Break DC 20; Crew 10; Cargo 20 tons; Cost 228,700 gp; Face 70 ft. by 30 ft.

Arborea Rooms The citadel’s presence on the Olympian Glades of Arborea is a massive tree house constructed of living wood at the edge of a golden-grass clearing. The veil of obscurity hides the citadel behind layers of leaves and tangles of root and branch. From within, citadel denizens can enjoy the forest splendor and the thrill of riding through the sun-dappled glens and glades of Arborea.

Arborea Traits: The plane is mildly good aligned and mildly chaos aligned, so evil or lawful characters suffer a –2 penalty on all charisma-based checks. Lawful evil characters suffer a –4 penalty.

8. Entry Platform This three-walled room, carved from living wood and festooned with woven wreaths of leaves and branches, has portals leading to the Entry Hall on the Plane of Shadow and the Vista Hall on Elysium. Gently sloping rope bridges connect to the Oakleaf suite and the Botanists’ study.

9. Oakleaf Suite This fancy bedroom suite features intricate, delicate wooden furniture and rough-fiber tapestries on the walls. Originally the home of a sun-cleric who adored the outdoors, this bedroom includes a small chapel and a rope elevator that connects the room with both the forest canopy and the ground below.

10. Botanists’ Study This office is given over to botanical treatises on the bookshelves, specimen jars and work tables, and a hothouse designed to cultivate rare plants. Much of the roof is glassed over to allow the right amount of sunlight in. A rope elevator connects to the ground below.

11. Arborean Stables Nestled among the roots of the living-wood tree that makes up this part of the citadel are the stables. This structure, sufficient for about a dozen Large steeds, features water that trickles into each stall through hollowed out root tendrils and succulent shoots that spring from the tree itself. About half the stalls have a stable of understanding effect, so the grooms can converse with their charges. The other stalls are usually reserved for mounts and animal companions who can speak on their own.

Plane of Fire Rooms Nestled inside a volcano cone on the Elemental Plane of Fire is another bedroom suite and the citadel’s smithy. The veil of obscurity makes this part of the citadel (a torus that rings the lip of the volcano) appear to be just more basalt and magma. The views from inside the citadel show the magma of the volcano’s heart and the fiery sea that is the Elemental Plane of Fire.

Plane of Fire Traits: Almost everything on this plane is ablaze. Unprotected wood, paper, cloth, and other flammable materials catch fire immediately (although not if they’re protected within the citadel’s walls). Characters outside take 3d10 points of fire damage every round. Down in the magma below the citadel, it’s worse—the lava deals 20d6 points of damage each round. Spells and spell-like abilities with the fire descriptor are both maximized and enlarged (as the relevant metamagic feats), but they don’t use up higher spell slots. Casters attempting spells and spell-like abilities that use or create water (including spells from the Water domain and spells that summon creatures with the water subtype) must succeed at a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + level of the spell) or have their spells fizzle. The smoky atmosphere limits normal sight to a range of 120 feet, and darkvision doesn’t function. The constant crackling of the elemental flames provides a –2 circumstance penalty on all Listen checks.

12. Fire Entryway Stepping into this room for the first time is startling, because the floor is a wall of force and below is the roiling magma of an elemental volcano. The ceiling is likewise merely transparent force, revealing angry, red-limned smoke clouds. The room is otherwise unadorned, with burnished steel walls interrupted only by two doors. One leads to the smithy, and the other leads to a bedroom suite where the citadel’s weapon master and armorer lives.

13. Citadel Smithy This fancy smithy has everything a smith could want: the finest tools, plenty of room to work, and a blackmarble forge lit by elemental fire itself. If the citadel is occupied, dozens of weapons, pieces of armor, and other bits of metalcraft sit at long work tables in various states of completion. A stone of summoning in one corner summons a Large fire elemental. It will stand there for 2 rounds for someone to say in Ignan, “I, the smith of the citadel, beseech you.” If someone does, the elemental obeys commands for the next 9 rounds. The fire elemental attacks anyone in the smithy if the command phrase isn’t given within 2 rounds, or if it’s attacked.

14. Coal-Ember Suite This fancy bedroom suite is decorated with arms and armor on every wall—and even the ceiling has swords, axes, and other melee weapons mounted on it. Most weapons are ceremonial and don’t have sharp edges, but others are of masterwork quality with embedded gems and jewelry flourishes. Depending on who owns the citadel, some may be magical. The metal furniture has gold-leaf trim in abundance. Porthole-style windows in the floor afford a view of the volcano crater, and skylights reveal the crimson glow of the sky, giving everything in the room a reddish tinge.

Ysgard Rooms The plane known as the Heroic Domains of Ysgard is home to the citadel’s military wing, a small barracks and training complex suitable for small “palace guard” contingent. From time to time, the citadel has been host to larger military forces, but they generally camp outside the citadel; usually on Ysgard, which is unusually hospitable to soldiers. Ysgard is a plane of floating “earthbergs”: giant flying mountains that drift past each other in midair. The citadel is a masonry-and-timber stockade in the center of a mesa on one of the smaller earthbergs. Around the stockade is the still-smoldering ruin of an age-old battlefield, and the citadel’s veil of obscurity makes the citadel look like more of the same: empty, smoking ground littered with broken weapons and pierced armor.

Ysgard Traits: Positive energy flows through Ysgard, so all characters here gain fast healing 2 as a supernatural ability. Even lost limbs will grow back given enough time on Ysgard. Furthermore, anyone slain on the battlefield surrounding the citadel rise anew the following morning as if a true resurrection spell had been cast on them. This makes this part of the citadel an ideal training ground for combat, because the soldiers can practice against each other with real weapons but without the risk that accompanies them. The plane is also mildly chaos-aligned, so lawful creatures suffer a –2 penalty on all Charisma-based checks.

15. Hall of the High Ground This simple wood-paneled room contains the portal to the Plane of Shadow, so it’s the first place most visitor see. A gold-filigree inscription above the door to the north reads in Common “We seize the high ground.” Along the wall are testaments to that credo: glass cases full of dirt collected from the battlefields of countless different planes. The soldiers here have a tradition of collecting some “high ground” from wherever they fight, and the accumulated soil collection here is as diverse as the planes themselves. A set of iron double-doors leads out into the training yard, but this part of the citadel is otherwise unguarded. The citadel’s original builders figured the presence of the guard barracks was protection enough.

16. Warden’s Suite This fancy bedroom suite is decorated in a martial theme, of course, with frescoes and oil paintings of battle scenes covering the walls. Hunting trophies stare down at visitors from high on the walls, and cases display various military medals and trophies. The most striking feature of the room is the lifelike mannequins that display the military uniforms of armies past and present from a dozen planes. The furniture is simple, unadorned wood, and creature comforts are minimal.

17. Map Room No commander likes to be far from her maps, so this room was intentionally built near the Warden’s Suite. Shelves and cubbyholes cover the walls from floor to ceiling, each with a meticulously labeled map of an important battlefield, stronghold, or other feature of military interest. About half of the maps are of sites on the Material Plane, a quarter are useful sites on Ysgard for extended maneuvers, and the remaining quarter are maps of other Outer Planes. Some maps are covered with the arrows and symbols of military maneuver, telling the tale of an important battle in the universal language of generals. Others depict the terrain in great detail, identifying the slightest defensible rise or the least bit of cover.

18. Armory Weapon and armor racks cover the walls of this room, and someone is almost always on duty sharpening blades or performing minor armor repairs (the citadel’s smith makes major repairs in the smithy). Along the far wall are large cabinets holding the officers’ weapons and armor—accumulated treasure from the many adventures of the adventurers who built the citadel. A trap-door leads into a basement where the citadel guard stores arrows, crossbow bolts, and other ammunition.

19–21. Barracks The palace guard barracks are divided up into three buildings. The smaller barracks each hold 8 bunks and a small day room, while the larger, L-shaped barracks has 16 bunks and a spartan mess hall. Troopers tend to share bunks (one shift sleeps while the other trains), so the barracks complex can handle more than 60 soldiers. Depending on the force structure, the smaller barracks are sometimes assigned to special troop types or officers. A wide ramp between the two smaller barracks leads through a portal to the stables on Arborea, so cavalry stationed on Ysgard has easy access to the steeds in the stables. A stairway along the south wall of the large barracks leads to the Abyss and the dock on the River Styx.

22. Training Field This yard is the primary area for drills, inspections, and combat training. Because fallen warriors on Ysgard rise from their wounds the following morning, the soldiers practice against each other with real weapons. The yard is also large enough for calisthenics, marching in formation, and any of the countless disciplines that make up the soldier’s craft. Because this part of the citadel is located on a sparsely populated earthberg on Ysgard, the citadel’s guard can go on extended maneuvers in the forests, fields, and mountains of the plane. Doing so isn’t entirely without risk, however—Ysgard may be the home of good-aligned deities, but many of its inhabitants are spoiling for a fight.

Hell Rooms The citadel reaches into the second layer of Hell: the iron city of Dis. The citadel’s veil of obscurity makes it look like parts of other buildings in one of the hell-city’s warehouse districts, and only careful measurement of all the neighboring buildings would reveal that there’s “missing space” in the citadel’s city block. The city of Dis is a place of red-hot iron—iron that forms the walls of the buildings and even the cobblestones on the streets. Smoke fills the air, and screams from captives held in subterranean prisons echo through the alleyways. Inside the citadel, things are much cooler and quieter. The architecture is all white marble columns, and black ivy grows across almost every surface. The black ivy grows so fast that it visibly moves during a growth spurt, and the servants must constantly prune it back. No windows look out onto the city of Dis, and only a single set of double doors in area 27 (hidden by the veil of obscurity) connects the citadel to the plane it’s built on.

Hell Traits: The Plane of Hell is aligned with law and evil, so chaotic characters and good characters suffer a –2 penalty on all Charisma-based checks. Chaotic good characters suffer a –4 penalty on all Charisma-based checks.

23. Foyer This room features marble statuary in alcoves on the walls and low benches placed so visitors can sit and admire the sculpture. Artistic appreciation is an acquired taste—all the sculptures depict either physical suffering or mental anguish. The servants mutter that the builders of the citadel put the statues in this foyer intentionally, to remind the hired help of their lot in life.

24. Dis Suite This fancy bedroom suite is furnished in black marble that contrasts with the white of the walls. Only the bed has cushions that make any effort at comfort; everything else is hard and slightly warm to the touch. Every vertical surface is covered with oil portraits from a dozen ages done in a hundred styles, but none smile and all stare straight ahead out of their picture frames. The ever-present black ivy that grows over every surface obscures some of the older ones.

25. Office of the Treasurer This office handles the citadel’s purchasing and payroll, so it’s generally a bustling place. The treasurer and his servants purchase the citadel’s food, building materials, and other mundane goods at the marketplaces and bazaars in the city of Dis. (Because Dis is one of the most important mercantile centers on the Outer Planes, almost anything can be purchased here.) Depending on the state of the citadel’s finances, there could be quite a lot of money here. Note that the owners guard their treasure with extraordinary care and effort.

26. Servant Quarters Alcoves in these two rooms give the citadel’s maids, cooks, and other servants some measure of privacy. Each room has six alcoves, which houses enough servants to cover the requirements of the citadel’s other rooms. If guests or large events call for more help, the citadel’s owners generally use unseen servants and other magic to supplement the regular staff.

27. Vomitory Amphitheater-style benches sit against the outside of the walls, and a small stage is available for performances (although most singers and musicians prefer the larger capacity, better acoustics, and more pleasant scenery in the Vista Room on Elysium). A set of double doors that give the room its name opens to the city of Dis. A stone of summoning is mounted on the lintel over the door. Unless a visitor utters the phrase “it takes a wise man to bargain in Hell,” 1d3 barbazu appear and attack anyone coming through the door.

Abyss Rooms The citadel has a minor presence in the Abyss—just a single bedroom suite and a dock on the river Styx. Because the top layer of the Abyss, the Plain of Infinite Portals, is a major battlefield, the citadel is placed out of the way. At one point, a minor channel of the River Styx drops into an underground channel for a mile or two. Carved out of the rock wall and camouflaged by the veil of obscurity, the citadel survives by escaping notice.
This part of the citadel is roughly hewn from the black bedrock of the Abyss itself. The floors are rough and cracked, and the ceilings curve upward from about 20 feet high at the walls to 30 feet at top of the vaults.

Abyss Traits: Lawful characters and good characters suffer a –2 penalty on all Charisma-based checks on the Abyss, because chaos and evil suffuse the plane. Lawful good characters suffer a –4 penalty.

28. Stairway Landing This area has only three notable features. Irregular steps carved into the stone lead upward and north to the portal to Ysgard. A second set of steps ascends south to the Entry Hall on the Plane of Shadow. A menhirlike stone of summoning calls forth a bebilith who attacks anyone who doesn’t give the phrase, “I long to forget the River Styx.”

29. Cave Suite This fancy bedroom suite is decorated entirely by items looted from a dozen castle sieges and dungeon delves. No two pieces of furniture match, although all are of the highest quality. The arrangement is haphazard, with tapestries obscuring frescoes on the walls, coins, and jewelry strewn across the floor, and rich garments hanging from every chair corner and bedpost.

30. Dock This dock is exactly like its counterpart in room 7, except that it squats alongside the River Styx, which connects to the Plane of Pandemonium downstream and Carceri, Hades, Gehenna, the Nine Hells, and Acheron upstream.

Astral Rooms The Astral Plane is a bright gray haze in all directions, devoid of features. The citadel’s astral wing is a gray stone jewel that hangs in the misty void, its many facets gleaming. It only gleams to those who pierce the veil of obscurity. Anyone else sees only more of the bright haze. The interior of the astral rooms in the citadel is darkpaneled wood and white stucco ceilings. It’s unusually quiet in these well-insulated rooms, so the citadel’s spellcasters can research in the libraries and experiment in the laboratory without distraction.

Astral Traits: The Astral Plane is beyond the reach of the ravages of time. Age hunger, thirst, poison, and natural healing don’t function here, although magical healing functions normally. There’s no gravity on the Astral Plane, although the inside of the citadel has normal gravity. The Astral Plane is also a place where magic comes easily. All spells and spell-like abilities may be employed as if they had been improved by the Quicken Spell feat, although the spells don’t use higher spell slots. Characters can still use only one quickened spell per round.

31. Astral Entrance This room contains the portal to the Entry Hall on the Plane of Shadow. Large chalkboards along the walls are covered with experiment schedules, messages from one spellcaster to another, and half-completed magical formulae and diagrams.

32. Blue Library This fancy library, named for the inky blue ceiling painting of a starry night, has a large collection of books on arcana, the planes, and religion. Desks and study carrels are scattered across the floor, and ladders on sliding rails allow easy access to the thousands of books here. A librarian is always on staff here to help researchers find a particular volume.

33. Violet Library This room is exactly like room 32 except that the ceiling painting is of a canopy of grape vines and the books cover the topics of geography, history, and nobility. The geography books are sometimes missing because they have been borrowed by citadel guards. The missing books can usually be found in the Map Room (17).

34. Magic Laboratory This room has all the tables, grimoires, rare spell components, and other trappings you would expect from any magic laboratory. The hexagonal room is dominated by four inward-pointing engraved circles of protection in the center of the floor—one each for good, evil, law, and chaos. These circles provide a measure of protection during dangerous summonings, especially planar bindings. Those who look through the ceiling skylight see eruptions of flame, crashing waves of water, tornadoes of air, and massive chunks of earth all in an everchanging chaotic boil. The “skylight” is actually a oneway portal to the Plane of Limbo. Not only is it visually impressive, it provides a quick way to safely dispose of magical experiments gone awry.

35. Heart Suite The walls, ceiling, and floor of this fancy bedroom suite look vaguely organic and are warm to the touch, almost as if the room were made of skin over muscle. The furniture likewise is molded into the floor and seems to be a part of the room. Anyone who succeeds at a Listen check (DC 20) can hear a faint throbbing— like a heart beating. It’s actually a permanent image—the room isn’t alive. The wizard who originally lived in this suite wanted a décor that would simultaneously comfort her while unsettling her visitors. A stairway leads down to the arcanist’s study.

36. Arcanist’s Study This room is almost a miniature version of the magic laboratory, although it lacks some of the more impressive pieces of arcane equipment, the engraved circles, and the portal to Limbo. It’s a more comfortable place, with overstuffed furniture and even a pull-out bed. A stairway descends to a portal to Carceri.

Plane of Water Rooms The Elemental Plane of Water is an unending ocean without surface or floor, so it’s the perfect place to put a luxurious bath. The citadel is a simple wooden chamber attached to a large force-bubble in a particularly warm stretch of elemental water. The veil of obscurity is simply haziness added to the water to obscure the room and any bathers from the denizens of the plane.

Elemental Plane of Water Traits: The Plane of Water doesn’t have normal gravity; the inhabitants of the plane can rise and sink at their swim speed as they see fit. Spells and spell-like abilities that use or create water are both extended and enlarged, as if the relevant metamagic feats were used, although they don’t use higher spell slots. It’s hard to employ magic fire on this plane. Spellcasters must succeed at a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + level of the spell) to cast spells with the fire descriptor. Creatures with the fire subtype are very uncomfortable, and those actually made of fire (such as fire elementals) take 1d10 points of damage per round spent on the Elemental Plane of Water.

37. Changing Rooms This room, which contains the portal to the Plane of Shadow, has a number of small changing alcoves and a door to the top of the Bath Sphere.

38. Bath Sphere This room is a vast bubble of force with a door near the top where the bathers enter and a hole in the bottom that lets fresh water in. The water is pleasantly warm, and a chamber of airy water throughout the sphere means that nonaquatic bathers can swim throughout the inside of the globe without worrying about drowning. The servants periodically feed small tropical fish in the bath, and vast schools of colorful fish sometimes give bathers something to watch as they relax in the hot water.

Carceri Rooms The Tarterian Depths of Carceri serve as the prison of the multiverse, so there’s no better place for the citadel to have its prison cells and torture chamber. The citadel is a self-contained cave carved into the sixth layer of the plane, Agathys, a sphere of black ice.

Carceri Traits: Carceri is evil-aligned, so good characters suffer a –2 penalty on all Charisma-based checks. The layer of Agathys has negative energy coursing through it, so living characters take 1d6 points of damage each round. The citadel’s prisoners only survive because the shackles provide negative energy protection to those they imprison. Escaping from one’s bonds is a mixed blessing at best. These rooms are all bitterly cold, and the walls, ceilings, and floors all have the crystalline sparkle of black ice. Furniture is minimal, because no one tarries here overlong—other than the captives, of course.

39. Torture Chamber The stairway descending from the portal to the Astral Plane ends in this irregular chamber full of the iron maidens, racks, and other implements of the torturer’s trade.

40. Prison Ten sets of shackles are strung along the walls of this prison. These shackles grant negative energy protection to any creature wearing them (though they only function when set into a wall or other structure). Prisoners who spend more than one day in this place find themselves trapped up to their waist in a chunk of black ice (hardness 10, 480 hit points, break DC 57). The prison can handle ten captives at a time.