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VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.WIZARDS.COM/DND Plane Below_Ch00.indd 2 9/21/09 9:34 AM contents 1: CHAOS INCARNATE . 4 Githzerai . 60 The Plains of Rust . 122 The Basic Elements . 6 Slaads . 62 The Spires of Rajzak . 124 Nature and Size . 6 Other Races . 64 Elemental Realms . 6 Dao . 64 5: CREATURES OF CHAOS . .126 Elemental Buoyancy . 6 Demons . 64 Abomination . 128 Unstable Mutability . 6 Dwarves . 64 Primeval Ooze . 128 Optional Rule: Very Long Range . 7 Elementals . 65 Unique Abominations . 128 Traveling the Elemental Chaos. 8 Humans . 65 Storm That Walks . .129 Elemental Collision . 8 Phoelarchs . 65 Archon . 130 The Chaos Ship: Riding in Style . 10 Primordials . 65 Iron Archon. 130 Features of the Plane . 11 Mud Archon . 130 Weather and 3: ELEMENTAL LOCALES . 66 Demon, Blight-Born . .132 Environmental Dangers . 11 The Brazen Bazaar . 68 Dust Demon . .132 Elemental Fantastic Terrain . 12 Canaughlin Bog . 70 Ash-Wrought Soulburner . 133 Fantastic Terrain from The Choking Palace . 72 Consumptive Swarm . 133 Other Sources . 16 Gloamnull, City of Rain . 74 Sibling Rivalry . 134 Elemental Hazards . 18 Irdoc Morda . 76 Writhing Crag . 134 Elemental Flexibility . 19 The Moteswarm . 78 Eisk Jaat . 136 Skill Challenges . 24 Pandemonium Stone . 80 Eisk Jaat Warrior . 136 Bargaining with an Efreet . 24 Pillars of Creation . 82 Eisk Jaat Rimebolter . 136 Reasoning with a Slaad . 25 The Riverweb . 84 Eisk Jaat Mauler . .136 Reasoning with Sanzerathad . 86 Eisk Jaat Mystic . 136 the Unreasonable . 26 Mind over Matter . 86 Elemental . .138 Repairing a Lightning Skiff . 26 The Glittering Mine . 88 Scorchwind Phantom . .138 Sailing the Sea of Fire . 27 Encounter: Over the Edge . 90 Ashfrost Assassin . .138 Campaign Arcs . 28 Encounter: In the Pits . 92 Sunsearer . 138 Hidden Elements . 28 The Body Luminous . 94 Diamondstorm Reaper . 139 To Harness the Chaos . 29 Encounter: Upper Vestibule . 96 Caustic Slayer . .139 The Bigger They Are . 30 Encounter: Inner Lock . 98 Primordial Blot . 140 Planar Adventurers . 31 The Mountain Builder’s Barrow . 100 The Mythic Blot . 140 Adventures. 32 Encounter: The Slopes . 102 Life, but Not as We Know It . .141 Adventure Hooks and Quests . 32 Encounter: The Barrow . 104 Slaad . 142 Patrons . 35 Chaos Phage Swarm . .142 Shah Abdul-Azim Abassi . 35 4: INTO THE ABYSS . .106 Green Slaad Madjack . 142 The Stone Council. 36 The SampleDeepest Depths . file. 108 Blue Slaad Digester . 142 Valaphyr . 36 Infinite Layers . .108 Gray Slaad Havoc . 143 Zat . 37 Traveling the Abyss . .109 Red Slaad Juggernaut . .143 Orders out of Chaos . 37 Abyssal Campaign Arcs . .110 White Slaad (Chronos Slaad) . 143 The Cult of the Paragon Tier: Black Slaad Entropic . .144 Elder Elemental Eye . 37 The Best-Laid Plans . .110 The Grave-Minders . 39 Epic Tier: MASTERS OF The Speakers of Xaos . 40 The Conquering Demon . 111 THE ELEMENTS . .146 Xaositects . 41 Abyssal Adventures . 112 Ehkahk . 146 Artifacts . 42 Closing the Portal . 112 Smoke Hound . 147 Plastron of Tziphal . 42 Streets of Demons Liricosa . 148 The Mountain Builder . 43 (Paragon or Epic Tier) . 112 Liricosa’s Disciples . 149 Crystal of Ebon Flame . 44 Demons Galore . 112 Sirrajadt, the Vengeful Storm . 150 Wave . 46 The Last Witness . .113 Djinn Cloudstalker . 151 To Trick the Prince of Beasts . 113 Solkara, the Crushing Wave . .152 2: RACES OF CHAOS . 48 Skill Challenges in the Abyss . .114 Xixecal, the Living Glacier . .153 Archons . 50 Abyssal Madness . .114 Mirmakur, the Raving Priest . .154 Djinns . 52 Destroying a Demongate . 115 Crushing Wave Cultists . 154 Efreets . 53 Escaping a Demon Horde . 116 Ygorl, Lord of Entropy . 156 Mapping Chaos . 54 Navigating the Demonweb . .116 Shkiv . .156 Change in the City of Brass . 55 Abyssal Locations . .118 Skirnex, Voice of Ygorl . .157 Genasi . 56 Mal Arundak, Acolyte of Entropy . 158 The Water Thief . 57 the Bastion of Confusion . 118 Giants and Titans . 58 Molor, the Stinking Realm . .120 New Monsters . .159 The Battle of the Torn Plain . 58 Juiblex, the Faceless Lord . 120 About the Designers . 159 Plane Below_Ch00.indd 3 9/21/09 9:34 AM CHAPTER 1 Chaos Incarnate A riotous realm, the Elemental Chaos is incomprehensible to those who have not experienced it firsthand. Here, flame speaks and lightning dreams, iron hates and seas hunger. Islands of earth, ash, mud, salt, or semisolid smoke and flame, some as vast as continents, float amid an endless sky. Rivers of water, lava, or liquid air flow from oceans bounded by nothing solid, cross 1landscapes of broken crystal, and spill over cliff faces made of tangible lightning. Winds of heavy vapor are guided by currents of chaos, whipping into enormous storms of burning hail and sharp-edged thunder. As disconcerting as the substance of the Elemental Chaos is, worse still awaits visitors. Direction has no meaning. Locations shift constantly. Even gravity is capricious, exerting its pull differently on living things than on objects. This chapter helps you to comprehend this tumultuous place. Using this material, you can better convey the wonders, terrors, and peculiarities of the realm to your players. It offers tools to let you work the Plane Below into your adventures and campaigns,Sample file ensuring that your players experience it as someplace truly alien. It covers the following topics. ) The Basic Elements: An overview including game mechanics for travel, direction, and gravity. ) Features of the Plane: Descriptions and rules for some of the peculiar environments, terrains, and hazards of the Elemental Chaos. ) Skill Challenges: Situations that might arise as adventurers explore the plane. ) Campaign Arcs: Illustrative campaign arcs—one for each of the four varieties of planar campaigns discussed in the Manual.