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Carceri - Evil, Chaotic Tendencies
| As described in the Planescape
resources, "Tartarus" or "Carceri" comprises universes of evil without
joy, humor, comfort, real affection, hope or meaning, where each layer is an endless
string of spheres, and all spheres glow with a lurid red light. The spheres of various
layers are concentric, though sizes differ wildly. Demodands (gehreleths) dominate some
communities. These creatures are rumored to provide living authors with visions of cosmic
angst, bitterness, and senselessness. All creatures suffer from terrible tedium and
weariness. Souls finding their way to Carceri include religionists who have emphasized the
cruelty of nature, secretive sex criminals, individual bullies, purveyors of bunko
religions, and common career criminals. There's no real love here -- as on the other
planes of evil, the locals think it's wrong and fake. The spiritual powers here seek to
corrupt souls by encouraging ennui, egomania, revenge motives, or the desire to cause
suffering to others. Beware -- those who sample these dark pleasures may find they have no
joy in anything else. They may surprise visitors with their knowledge of any un-repented
crimes they may have committed. They'll remind visitors of times when they've failed to
show simple kindness, and when they've been mistreated or rejected -- and try to persuade
them that they should recognize that the dwellers in Carceri are right. Because evil is so
powerful here, the locals lack even the ordinary loves of our world -- family, friendship,
romance. These instead become ways in which a stronger being preys on a weaker being. The
locals will talk a lot about cruelty as a way of "building character." The
residents of Carceri find the idea of unselfish love to be utterly disgusting. Open-faced
evil is poor politics. Instead, the locals will present themselves to outsiders as people
with just grievances, fighting for what they deserve rather than "being weak". Evil
deeds, or any use of death magic or necromancer's spells might tend to transform the
character progressively.In some liturgies, worshippers renounce, or reaffirm their
renunciation of, "the glamour of evil." On Carceri, the glamour of evil is weird
hatreds and revenge trips. These sometimes (but not usually) erupt as killing sprees. In
our own world, some people think this is what they really want. Living or dead, the locals
are all bitter, plot revenge, and seem constitutionally incapable of telling the entire
truth. Lost souls often take the form of maggots. Primitives will find heaps of skulls,
human hearts, and other detritus of atrocities. Public portals between the layers and to
remote planes are marked by masses of filth and decay. Portals or no, don't expect it to
be easy to leave Carceri. |
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Anti
Matter
Dark Matter
Mana
Ki
Chrono
Necro
Psionics |
