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The Outlands - True Neutral
In the "AD&D"
universe, the great ring of alignment planes has, at is center, the plane of
"Concordant Opposition" or "The Outlands". Introduced later in the
history of AD&D than the other planes, it is the universe where good and evil, law and
chaos find a near balance, and can meet in truce. Don't expect to find unselfish love
here. But the ordinary loves -- family, friendship, romance -- must be very similar to our
own world.
Each visitor experiences the plane slightly differently -- whatever is most comfortable. A
Maztican concept is that primitives are likely to see the caves "from which all kinds
of people emerged in ages past." The weather is always temperate, and there are few
extremes of any kind. The plane is flat and circular, but those who try to walk past the
ring of towns out to the edge will never reach it, but will turn back towards the center.
Magic begins to fail, from strongest to weakest, as a visitor travels inward. Up to nine
hundred miles from the center, ninth-level spells fail, and so forth. One hundred miles
from the center, where all magic is nullified, creatures have little ability to battle one
another, but can still communicate and understand. Here, they meet in truce, if not in
friendship. Most cannot remain here for long. The rulers of realms on the outer planes,
and the dead assigned to areas on the outer planes, cannot usually enter other such areas.
However, they can travel freely to "Concordant Opposition". The Rilmani, who
seek to preserve all moral and ethical outlooks, have their abode near the spire, and can
enter other worlds when a powerful outer-planar creature is called. Perhaps the Rilmani
wish to be sure that every creature always has moral and ethical choices. Here the Fates
spin the web of destiny, but they will never reveal the future, only give wholesome
advice. Some may see the Greek Fates, while others see the Norse Norns among the roots of
the world-tree. This is a common location for the headquarters of amoral sects devoted to
destiny, luck, nature, theft, time, trickery, wealth, or the wilderness. At the very
center of the plane, everyone sees something rising to infinity. A few powerful druidical
creatures and their friends, certain clergy dedicated solely to pleasure (the Temple of
Delight from Li Po's own world) or greed (the Palace of Prosperity, the neutral dwarves),
and certain wise scholars and cold intellectuals (there are a mind-flayer cult and a
beholder cult headquarters), can make their permanent homes in the Outlands. There is a
small but stable community of half-orcs. The Time Dragon sleeps among running hourglasses
that tell the lifespans of living dragons; perhaps every grain of sand is the spirit of a
dragon who has died. Enter his realm, and your apparent age will change greatly from
moment to moment. The mind-flayer cult territory houses a gigantic brain
("Ilsensine") which will expose all a person's secrets, and which will trade any
information for the theft of your skills, or the likelihood of making you insane. Those in
power send mind-wiped spies into other worlds. Come here with your mind magically
shielded, or lose points of intelligence permanently as well. Beholder cult territory is
here also, since both mind-flayers and beholders make war on good and evil, law and chaos.
Lady Luck reportedly has an abode here. The naga realm will test each visitor to see
whether he or she has been true to professed ideals and chosen role in life. Success
brings complete healing and rewards, while failure brings oblivion. At the center, be
prepared to confront your own expectations, fears, and regrets. There is a huge farm for
rustic halflings, where it is never winter. The dwarven mines (the gems are linked with
the souls of the inhabitants) and gambling halls (you can bet anything, and they can
collect it) are here. The Chinese Hall of Judgment is here, where the Chinese faithful
line up for processing and final disposition by a monstrous Confucian bureaucracy. The
Celtic Druids have a nature preserve ("Tir Na Og", or "The Land of
Youth"). Here one can find the Rainbow Horses, gaudy, plane-shifting females that can
change color at will and which mate with male equines of other kinds. The nature preserve
includes an entire underwater kingdom, and the headwaters of the River of Truth. The
library of Thoth, the Egyptian Scholar, is further down the river; you can find any
knowledge here. Lizard Folk heaven is in a swamp adjacent to the nature preserve.
There are altars which read simply, "Moderation in all things." Gray pools
leading back to the astral only appear far from the central tower. Public portals take
many forms and lead to all the outer planes, and around each, a city has sprung up with
that plane's ethos. If and when the city really exemplifies the alignment, with no
counterculture, it shifts permanently into the other universe. Modron parades march the
circle of these cities, going in and out of the other alignment planes to make the
appearance of a huge gear. Very few modrons survive to complete the circle.
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Anti
Matter
Dark Matter
Mana
Ki
Chrono
Necro
Psionics |
