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Arcadia - Lawful, Good Tendencies
| As it's been developed in the
"Planescape" milieu, Arcadia is a generally happy place where everything orders
itself for the common good. It is full of well-tended (or even self-maintaining) formal
gardens, fields and orchards, geometric cities, and uneroded mountains. Day and night are
of equal length, and there is no dawn or twilight. Even the seasons are of equal length,
and change abruptly. The weather is moderate, and never inconvenient. There are
well-laid-out roads which lawfuls traverse much faster than chaotics. The normal animals
are robust and well-behaved, and none are wild. Social animals (dutiful dogs, benevolent
bees, etc.) are especially common. Crops grow in perfect order without weeds, and farm
animals line up willingly to be slaughtered for the common good. Every fruit and flower is
perfect. Primitives will find realms of gentle mists, fertile plains, and friendly
animals. Arcadians -- the living and the dead -- work together for the common good, and
this seems completely natural to them. They believe in promoting the public good through
strict law, and are utterly intolerant of those who do not share their views. They like to
talk about "peace through strength" and "building and maintaining
community." They will let you know exactly what they think, and will welcome you if
you think like they do. Many of them can cast "Know Alignment" at will. Armies
of soldiers who died for good causes are here. Decent folk will be invited to ride with
these armies. Creatures who live on these planes might war with one another for
ideological reasons. On Arcadia, a paladin's warhorse is able to speak. Lawful-good types
are safe on Arcadia. Neutral-good types are tolerated as long as they obey the laws, and
chaotic-good types are asked to finish their business and leave. Non-good, non-evil types
are escorted to the nearest gates. Evils are attacked at once, with no questions asked.
Actually, non-lawful-good types should think seriously about staying away from Arcadia
altogether. No matter what your alignment, your player characters will certainly get
lectured by at least a few Arcadians. They are likely to point to ways in which your group
has worked together and accomplished good things -- and if the group plays well together,
the Arcadians may welcome them as potential converts. Certain Arcadians (particularly the
Harmonium) will talk with anyone about their beliefs and actions, and point out visitors'
own good tendencies, and the obvious advantages of people working together. This will make
for good role-playing opportunities, as Arcadians try to persuade the party that they
belong here. Arcadia is a common location of the headquarters of decent sects devoted to
athletics, city life, commerce, public safety and guardianship, physical strength, or war.
Most sects that are preoccupied with forcing virtue on their neighbors have their
headquarters here. Here also are the spiritual homes of decent legalists who were
primarily concerned with keeping their own minority groups intact, safe, happy, and
well-behaved. (Sects focused on minority identity alone are usually based on Mechanus or
the Outlands. Those that emphasize old minority-group hatreds usually align with Acheron
or Baator despite all their protestations of moral high ground.) The "Harmonium"
philosophic sect, which fights evil and is not noted for tolerance, has its headquarters
here, in the city of Melodia. ("There are two ways of doing anything: Our way, and
the wrong way.") The Harmonium's idea of fun is to listen to edifying speeches and
sing hymns. Tourists are not wanted here. There is a chaotic-good underground with
alignments masked. The Harmonium has set of "training camps" to rehabilitate
non-lawful good creatures. Anyone in the camps must check vs. wisdom at -4 to disobey any
request of the guards; otherwise, it will seem right and reasonable to obey. Eventually,
most folks come to like the camps. Public portals between the regions and to remote planes
resemble vehicles for long journeys. Clear sky-blue pools reaching into the astral appear
wherever normal pools of water would be appropriate, and can be maneuvered if they connect
with a river or ocean. Portals to the Outlands, the Holy Mountain or Mechanus are often
arches within steel trellises. The classic Egyptian civilization is represented by
"Heliopolis". Divided among the Egyptian "gods", it mirrors an early
community where people discovered laws that led to peace and progress. The heroic society
of ancient Babylonia has its ideal form here. We know this society from Hammurabi's legal
code, and in Babylonian territory, justice is harsh. No dragons are allowed in Babylonian
territory, and all their special abilities fail. The culture in Babylonian territory is
bronze-age, and what's available is limited accordingly. Classical Japan, famous for its
strict feudal code, is represented on Arcadia by the world of the ki-rin, rainbow-colored
flying unicorns of great magical power and goodness. |
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Anti
Matter
Dark Matter
Mana
Ki
Chrono
Necro
Psionics |
