DM Entry: Notes for the Plane Shift Focus Component

The plane shift spell has the following focus component:

Focus: A small, forked metal rod. The size and metal type dictates to which plane of existence or alternate dimension the spell sends the affected creatures.

Below are the specific details about research and cost of these plane shift rods.

Plane Type 1	Research Cost 2	Research Time 2	Rod Cost 3
Inner Plane or Transitive Plane	500 gp/ 1,500 gp	1 week/ 6 weeks	100 gp
Outer Plane	1,000 gp/ 3,000 gp	2 weeks/ 3 months	300 gp
Demiplane	5,000 gp/ 15,000 gp	2 months/ 1 year	400 gp
Alternate Material Plane 4	750 gp/ 3,000 gp	3 weeks/ 9 weeks	250 gp
Your Home Plane 5	None	None	50 gp
1 The inner planes include all four of the elemental planes (air, earth, fire, water), all four para-elemental planes (ice, magma, ooze, smoke), all eight quasi-elemental planes (ash, dust, lightning, mineral, radiance, salt, steam, vacuum), the two energy planes (positive, negative), the 75 border regions, as well as the elemental plane of wood that exists where all of the other inner planes converge in the center. The transitive planes include the Astral, Ethereal, Ectoplasm, Mirrors, Region of Dreams/Nightmares, and Shadow.
2 The number before the slashes are the cost and time requirements for planes that are generally known by the campaign’s spellcasters. The numbers after the slashes are the cost and time requirements for destinations about which little is known in the home campaign.
3 The number is the typical cost for constructing one rod, provided that the proper materials are available. Rods made of extremely rare materials can cost considerably more.
4 Any material plane that is not your home plane. Although the phlogiston is what makes up most of the material planes, it is impossible to plane shift directly into the phlogiston. Therefore no rods exist for the phlogiston.
5 Your home plane regardless of whether it’s on the material plane or some other plane.

This information has been updated to 3.5 from 2nd edition. I'm not sure why this information was left out, while still indicating that such information is necessary in the spell description. This has been added to the Aryathan Jiil Campaign Setting.pdf and uploaded to the google drive.

Shackled City: ECL 10 Osiris Eloah Elf Generalist Wizard: Entry 24

Far too many times have I put my life, not to mention, the life of comrades on the line for this “Fiend” and some fool quest. Like most good hearted being, I will do what I can to help a person in need, despite my better judgment; however, I can’t shake this feeling of mistrust that I have for our new “Friend”. Stage two of this quest saw the Warlock turned to stone and the Duskblade felled! If not for the “Shining Light of Pelor” as my Cleric friend likes to say, it would have been the permanent “big sleep” for our friends. About the only thing I know to be 100% accurate is, I’m tired of not being able to get a goodnight rest.  Being attacked several times during the night, what is a wizard to do? No matter, I’m sure the reward is worth the pain. It better be. The final stage of the god forsaken quest is in site, and I for one can’t wait to leave this place and return to the mortal realm, where I can release my full potential! 

xerxes (beguiler) warlock9/cleric3 ecl 11

I was turned into stone!!!!! WTF.....I am illiterate .....WTF
I am in the abyss with Mr. Mcshady I remain with the group in hopes I can find my wizards killer,
no signs so far... oddly in the company of this new wizard I do take comfort and aiding him in his task brings me comfort, but should a chance arise to avenge my former master arise I shall take it.
the planes, the abyss, the angels, the devils.......non will save this vile beast that slew my master...

DM Entry: Paladin Class (house rule)

Paladin

Make the following changes to the paladin class.

Smite Evil: These are “per encounter” rather than “per day.”

Paladin Spells: Rather than preparing and casting spells, the paladin can spontaneously cast any paladin spell, much like a warmage. A paladin knows all spells on the paladin spell list. The paladin also gains a single domain, adding the domain’s spells to the paladin spell list, and is able to use the domain’s granted power. If a granted power has an ability based on cleric level, use your paladin caster level.

Lay on Hands: You may optionally remove this ability and replace it with Crusader’s Strike (as detailed below). Once this option is chosen, it cannot be changed.

Crusader’s Strike (Su): You may optionally remove lay on hands and add this class ability. Once this option is chosen it cannot be changed. A number of times per day equal to half your paladin level, you may declare any attack to be a crusader’s strike. If you successfully strike an evil opponent with this attack, you or an ally within 10 feet of you heals 1d8 points of damage, +1 point per paladin level (maximum +5). The foe must pose a threat to you or your allies in some direct, immediate way. You can use a crusader’s strike and a smite evil on the same attack, if you choose to do so. Rather than healing, this attack may instead deal 1d8 points of positive energy damage to undead, +1 point per paladin level (maximum +5) in addition to the weapon damage.

This information has been added to the Aryathan Jiil Campaign Setting.pdf and uploaded to the google drive.

DM Entry: What is Aryathan Jiil?

I have been asked at times what Aryathan Jiil means. So I have written a very brief overview of the origins of the name and what it means today.

Way back in my 2^nd edition DMing days, I created my own game world. I had maps of a big continent, with political boundaries and races and cultures that lived in those places. City maps of kingdoms and cities with details about who was there and who was in charge. Details about the military of different places and the local economy, including names of local coinage It had places like Gaylor-Chain,  Charongale, and the Kingdom of Sapphira (a city within a valley, houses on both hills and in the valley, and a local military of griffon riders). Aryathan Jiil had some unusual characters like Tajch the bariaur ranger, Vader the spell weaver, and Floifod Thlovoid (a bat-winged vampire thief). And races like the Shield Elf  and Fire Elf.

There had been a plane-spanning tournament of champions called the Ektia Hovni Hov-E-Rankin (the sport’s founder’s name was Ektia Hovni). This Hov-E-Rankin tournament pitted the champions from each material plane world and plane against each other in single combat.

The main continent of the world (all of the known world at the time) was called Aryathan (uh-RYE-uh-thun) after this world’s first Hov-E-Rankin champion, Aryath (uh-RYE-uth). After a long time, a champion from this world came from somewhere other than the continent of Aryathan—this other champion came from a newly discovered smaller continent, and was named Jiil (the first I is long and the second is silent). As I recall, Jiil had some armor that was unusual and highly sought after, the Jiil armor. Legends said it made the wearer invulnerable to damage, but you know how legends go.

So the whole game world became known by the name Aryathan Jiil.

The final outcome of this game world was a cosmic battle on the scale of an apocalypse. A sleeping overgod of entropy was awakening. It called itself Sprug the Ungod, a sort of Anti-deity. It was not only immune to any ability generated by a deity, it could also siphon off their powers to awaken itself. Its purpose was to annihilate the gods and send mortals into a godless world. Moradin was slain and a massive dwarven procession, carrying the body of Moradin through the streets on a slab of stone marked the beginning of this time. Gods went into hiding and some panicked. Some were captured and imprisoned in Sprug’s Dungeon System, a prison for the gods. Some of the gods sought mortal champions to fight this overgod. They turned over ancient secrets and hidden caches of legendary weapons to their mortal champions, some here and some there. Some deities were not allowed to die, and were tortured and drained to collect secrets of the universe, most notably Oghma. One of the first things that Sprug did was create a high priest for himself, a greater god named Bone, who appeared as a skeletal horse with funeral tulips over its eyes. At random times mortals would see this skeletal horse in the distance, watching their activities. Bone’s purpose was to find the mortal champions and destroy them before they could thwart Sprug’s awakening. The mortal champions did finally defeat Bone, and then Sprug as well just as it was fully awakened and throwing its Annihilagators at the group. The mortals were probably around 30s or 40s in level. This ended my 2^nd edition game that ran for about 4 years.

Sadly, I have very scant notes from those days. I once had extensive notes about the people and places of Aryathan Jiil in a large binder, all hand copied. But this has been lost and what survives today is only from memory.

Aryathan Jiil 2.0 I attempted a second game world when I started playing 3.5 and tried to incorporate as much as I could remember from the original games into the newer game world. This was also called Aryathan Jiil, but it really bore little resemblance to the original and it never really took off. I’m not even really a fan of this Aryathan Jiil 2.0 myself either.

Aryathan Jiil 3.0 Today, I use the term “Aryathan Jiil” as a collection of my own house rules and as my D&D game identity online. Basically any game that I run now is collected under the umbrella of the Aryathan Jiil games and associated with the Aryathan Jiil game blog, even though the world of Aryathan Jiil no longer exists.

Shackled City: ECL 11 Korinth the Protector Silverbrow Human Cloistered Cleric 5/ Radiant Servant of Pelor 5/ Contemplative 1: Entry 22

Journal Entry 5255

Not so long ago I was nothing but a student of history.  Well: history, philosophy, theology, these were all part of my studies.  My living at the temple was contingent on my handling certain duties apart from my studies.  I was asked to catalogue and organize the mostly ancient pieces of knowledge and history that the temple had collected.  Of course this was not a task that could be, or would be completed in my lifetime.  It was not so much a chore as a lifelong career.  Which meant I had no need to hurry.  If I managed to accomplish anything, then I was successful.  I always took my time, not just to be thorough, but to try and learn as much as I could.  This is why I know the things I do.  The obscure knowledge, the understanding of things that the world thought was lost to the ages, the secrets that most wouldn’t even bother to listen to; these are all information and power to one such as myself.  Sure this knowledge has brought some strange looks from my current companions, but it has helped us understand our situation so much more. 

Now as a Cleric of Pelor, one thing I learned without doubt is Good vs. Evil.  I learned about the nature of these concepts and the philosophies of them as well.  On the material plane, where I and most races I’ve considered putting these philosophies to use on, live; Good and Evil are ideas, choices we make, and precepts we hold to.  That is the most important issue on my mind right now.  Undoubtedly there are races that cling more to one than another.  Goblinoids typically act in an evil manner, whereas Elves generally follow a goodly path.  Of course this is not born into them.  Each race has evidence of members that don’t hold to these stereotypes.  But that is the way of the world I live in.  I must be able to recognize when someone, no matter who they are or where they come from, makes a conscious decision to be or do evil.  However, Evil is a force; a very real part of existence that cannot be fully destroyed.  In the same way most people do not care for death and wish it was not a part of life, it is in actuality a very necessary part of life.  Evil, while not my preference, is necessary in a way.  I’m not arguing for it in any way, but there must be a balance between life and death, light and dark, good and evil.  Of course no one really knows where that balance stands which is why people like me dedicate our lives to trying to make sure Good has its chance to balance against the ever present Evil. 

Creatures from the Outer planes are more a manifestation of one of these forces, then an actual entity on their own.  Devils, and Fiends are built by, or born from Evil.  Being evil is not a choice for them, it is simply nature.  Doing good deeds, actually for the sake of good can be very painful and permanently damaging to them.  The same, except opposite, is true for Celestials like Gaje.  It is his nature to be good, and do good.  Participating in an evil act, or aiding evil in any way can permanently affect his entire existence.  Of course it is against his nature to do so, and would be a powerful willful act for him to do anything evil.

This brings me to the thoughts that have weighed heavy on my mind as of late.  I have been given power by Pelor to channel positive energy and dramatically change the behavior of evil creatures, particularly the undead.  I can also imbue this ability with greater power to utterly destroy undead, which is my preference.  In my studies I have uncovered a way to slightly alter the effect of this power to instead function against creatures that are inherently, or by nature (born of), evil.  As in our fight against the Hezrou with all the Dretchs.  These were fiends that are more a manifestation of evil then they are their own person.  Evil is not a choice for them.  That is the only way my power could affect them in this manner.  Doing this gives me no fear that any of my companions would be harmed or frightened by my display of Pelor’s might.  Unfortunately, Korophon has not been honest with us.  From the moment he came to us he has chosen to be deceptive, holding an image of illusion over himself in order to hide his true form from our sight.  This has no effect on the warlock who can always see the truth of things, at least visually.  But Korophon continues to play out this lie to us.  He attempted to explain his reasoning by saying that he cannot help how he was born, or by what circumstances he came into existence.  Meaning he can’t help his nature, and wants to atone for his past and walk a path of good.  But recently during a battle I unleashed a spell that was specifically chosen at the moment to defeat evil.  As a cleric I have the opportunity to give up the spells I prepared for the day, no matter what they are, and use a spell that is wholly good as if a sanctified soul had cast it.  The spell I used was meant to damage only those that are evil, not evil by nature but by choice.  Again I felt that this would have no effect on my companions.  Even though some of their choices and methods do not exactly match my own, I felt confident that none of them had chosen a path of evil.  But Korophon received the same amount of damage from the spell as the creatures we were fighting.

This leads me to believe that the deception of Korophon is far greater than we originally believed.  The fact that he was not affected by one ability of mine, but was by another, shows me clearly that he is an evil person.  Not the same as the fiends we have faced here in the Abyss, creatures that cannot help doing evil as it is their nature.  No, Korophon is evil by choice.  And his deception, and even the help he has provided us thus far, lets me know just how dangerous he is.  I’m at odds with the choices placed before me.  I don’t want his continued deception to mean death and destruction to any of my companions, but I only have my suspicions and my understanding of good vs. evil to propose we all turn on him.  I will give my thoughts to the others (minus Korophon of course), and use my wisdom, and let the wizard use his intelligence and hopefully we can come up with a viable option to rid ourselves of this potential threat, without dooming ourselves to be lost to the Abyss.

ECL 9:Fate Norbard: (wild) human: Duskblade 9: Shackled city: journal entry 8

The last thing I remember is running on the path of the light coming from the lantern. After that this "retriever" shot me with a fire ray, which went straight though my fire resistance. I felt my soul and spirtm get sucked out of my now useless body.
     Then I remember walking up in the middle of the forest next to the mummy lord. I assume that they defeated the challenge. But for some strange reason I feel as if I'm a lot more paranoid, of what I don't quite know. Also I have the random thoughts of me sitting in some house eating home made pies. But other that I think I'm okay. I did notice that what ever was in that bag I picked up is gone. I usually blame what ever goes missing on the raccoon, but he is was still stone. So I think that we have stealing wizard or cleric. But the cleric did raise me, so whatever. He might of bought some diamonds though, I mean I did go through his back pack. Useless stuff, nothing fancy. Except that holy symbol made of silver or gold, I can't remember. I think I hit my head when I feel on the ground or when they drug my head along the ground. That might explain the bumps and cuts.

DM Entry: Important Notes about Alignment

This is a brief article of some notes of mine that discuss alignment as it is used in D&D and in my games, and how it affects your character.

Alignment is a statistic on your character sheet that facilitates role-playing—much more than any other statistic on your character sheet. It defines how you are likely to respond to any given event.

I will list some examples of deeds below. But before I get to that, I want to discuss what happens with your character if you do things that do not match your professed alignment.

For the average character, performing a couple of actions here and there outside of your alignment is not going to change your alignment. It is only when your actions become *predominately* those of some other alignment. For example, if your character has written down that he is chaotic good, and then every time he sees someone breaking the law he ends up hauling the criminal into the authorities, after awhile he may change alignment, perhaps a step toward lawful, thus becoming neutral good.

For the D&D game (and my games in particular), the alignment on your character sheet represents what you do *mostly*. It is not a hard and fast rule or a straitjacket. For example, a neutral good character might find that he wants to do something evil “just this once.” That won’t change his alignment. However, if every time he is faced with a moral dilemma (good or evil) he chooses to go with evil rather than good actions, his alignment might change.

For characters that have class levels in Cleric or Paladin or some other class that follows the precepts of a deity or religion, doing actions outside of those permitted by your deity or religion can cause you to lose class abilities, and then eventually change your alignment. For example, a neutral good cleric of Pelor that animates a zombie might find he has been put on probation by Pelor, losing all of his spells and class abilities until he completes a quest and receives a proper atonement. If the same cleric refuses to come back in line with the precepts of the faith, he could change alignment and at that point he will also have to choose a new deity or religion if it is an alignment outside of those allowed by his faith.

What happens to my character if his alignment changes? When your character changes alignment, you lose all experience points for the level you are on (returning to the minimum xp for your level), and also gain a -50% xp penalty until you gain a level. There may be other repercussions as well, like being kicked out of your church or losing some associations. And you might not be able to benefit from magic items that require a certain alignment.

How will I know if my character’s alignment changes? There are two ways this can happen. 1) You can willingly choose to change your alignment. 2) The DM will inform you that your character’s alignment has changed, either because of your role-playing actions or perhaps because of sinister magic items that alter your alignment. In any circumstance, if your alignment changes, you suffer all of the penalties for changing alignment.

Alignment on the Outer Planes. Now a word about alignments on the Outer Planes. The Outer Planes are the abodes of the gods, the home of the afterlife for mortals, and the haunts of such extreme beings like angels and demons. Out there your alignment actions can have an effect on the planes themselves. On the Outlands are gate towns, each connected to some Outer Plane. These frequently slide over to their nearby plane when the attitudes and actions of the citizens tip the balance enough to change the town’s alignment. For example, in Plague-Mort (the gate town to the Abyss that resides on the Outlands, near the Abyss), fiends frequently go about town causing chaos and evil, until the town is so out of control (finally becoming so chaotic and evil) that it slips into the Abyss.

Alignment in Occipitus. In the Shackled City adventure path, there is a situation on Occipitus, the 507^th layer of the Abyss (a plane of Chaos and Evil). There was a war long ago where demons fought against angels and tipped the balance of a portion of Mount Celestia (a plane of Law and Good). Many angels and demons died in that battle and some portion of Mount Celestia slipped into the Abyss, partially merging itself with Occipitus. In this layer of the Abyss, both moral (good vs evil) and ethical (lawful vs chaotic) behavior actually shapes and reshapes the environment. It is the hope of many lawful good outsiders (angels, for example) that that portion of Mount Celestia be returned to its rightful place. However the denizens of the Abyss take unholy delight in perverting the pure good of that place, and hope that that portion of Mt Celestia will completely merge with the Abyss. In this place, every lawful and/or good deed is exaggerated and revitalizes that portion of Mt Celestia that is found there. Conversely, every chaotic and/or evil action is also exaggerated and pulls that portion of Mt Celestia further into the substance of the Abyss itself. In a sense, the battle for good and evil, law and chaos, still rages on Occipitus until the merging is complete or Mt Celestia is restored. This is why Kaurophon constantly tries to warn the party about its actions. It is his hope that Mt Celestia be restored. A simple evil act like animating a zombie (while “simply” evil on the Material Plane) is an act of severe violation against the very core of Mt Celestia down here in the Abyss. Kaurophon explains that the gods of Mt Celestia and the gods and demon lords of the Abyss watch the events of this place, waiting with baited breath to act on behalf of their plane if something goes too far in one direction or the other.

In the real world, alignments (moral behavior and ethical actions) are highly subjective. And it is the topic of every religion to guide people with their own particular version of what is good and what is evil.

In Dungeons & Dragons, alignments are *not* subjective. Good is specifically defined, and so is Evil. I will try to discuss some of those things below for each alignment.

Good

Helping others just because it’s the right thing to do, not for reward.

Charity. Providing material assistance for those in need. Like food for the hungry, clothing for the naked, lodging for the homeless, hope to the hopeless.

Healing. Healing wounds, removing disease, and neutralizing poison for those around you, strangers as well as allies; and for the purest of good, even healing your enemies.

Personal Sacrifice. One of the acts of good that I view as the best definition of good is personal sacrifice. If you help someone at a personal cost just because it’s the right thing to do, this is one of the strongest acts of good you can do. This comes in various forms, from the poor man who gives his last gold piece to provide food to a starving child, to the most extreme like martyrdom, sacrificing yourself for the good of someone else, especially strangers and your enemies.

Good Spells. Perhaps this is a simple concept but casting Good spells is a simple way to do a good deed. Learning, preparing, and casting spells with the Good descriptor are all good acts.

Mercy. When you are fighting against someone and they drop their weapons and plead for mercy, the good character stops attacking and accepts the plea. To ignore a plea for mercy is a strong act of evil.

Forgiveness. Abdicating your right to exact vengeance. Encouraging someone who is trying to turn from evil. Not holding the past against them. These sorts of things are essential for good characters. Forgiving those who ask but do not deserve it.

Bringing Hope.

Redeeming Evil.

Taking Exalted Feats.

Tithing to a Good Church or Religion.

Slaying Creatures that have the Evil Subtype. This is always a good act.

Being Humble.

Showing Kindness or Love to those who have Harmed You.

Chastity. Resisting inappropriate sexual encounters.

Zeal. Taking a righteous stand against overwhelming or impossible odds.

Channeling or Infusing Good Outsiders. When you share your body with that of an angelic being.

Performing Exorcisms. Casting out evil possessing spirits.

Consecrating or Hallowing a Church or other Religious Place.

Overthrowing an Evil Regime or Government.

Sometimes people assert that doing something evil to help the greater good is a good act. But in D&D, doing something evil is an evil act, regardless of whether or not it is for the cause of good or helps the cause of the greater good.

Evil

Lying. Misrepresenting the truth for personal gain. In D&D, lying itself isn’t evil unless it’s done for personal gain.

Betrayal. Betraying the trust of an ally or family member, or even the people of your community.

Murder. Killing creatures with Intelligence scores of 3 or higher for nefarious purposes like theft, personal gain, perverse pleasure, etc. Killing in self defense or in defense of the helpless is not evil.

Vengeance. Taking revenge against slights against you, seeking to punish people for their actions.

Animating or Creating Undead. This is an inherently evil act, one of the most heinous crimes.

Evil Spells. Learning, preparing, and casting evil spells are evil acts.

Harming a Soul. Doing harm to a soul is one of the most powerful forms of evil a person can do.

Using Others for Personal Gain. This is perhaps the strongest definition of evil in my games. Selfish acts at the expense of others, especially if it causes harm (even the slightest) to someone else.

Greed.

Bullying and Cowing Innocents.

Bringing Despair. The opposite of bringing hope.

Tempting Others. Tempting others to do evil.

Taking Vile Feats.

Slaying Creatures with the Good Subtype. This is always an evil act.

Indulgence. Engaging in inappropriate sexual encounters, indulging substance abuse with drug or alcohol addiction. This also includes seduction of a good creature into such acts.

Cannibalism. Consuming any portion of a creature that has an Intelligence score of 3 or more.

Sadism and Masochism.

Self-Mutilation or Self-Harm.

Necrophilia. Especially taking the Lichloved feat.

Bestiality. Having sex with a creature that has an Intelligence score of 1 or 2.

Humiliation.

Intimidating, Painful, Excruciating, Sadistic, or Indescribable Torture. See the Fiendish Codex II page 22.

Performing a Bloody Sacrifice to a Demon Lord (or the like).

Desecrating a Good Church or Place.

Possession. Possessing an unwilling creature, or facilitating such possession.

Inflicting Pain to gain Power.

Using Evil Spell Components.

Speaking a Dying Curse.

Overthrowing a Good Regime or Government.

Lawful

Lawful Spells. Learning, preparing, and casting lawful spells are lawful acts.

Slaying a Creature with the Chaotic Subtype.

Swearing Fealty to a Leader.

Overthrowing a Chaotic Regime or Government.

Bringing a Lawbreaker to Justice.

Reporting Lawbreakers.

Helping to Revise Unjust Laws.

Disciplining Underlings.

Resolving Disputes through the use of the Law.

Accepting Legal Judgment against You.

Following a Rule you think is Stupid.

Obeying a Leader that you do not Respect.

Chaotic

Chaotic Spells. Learning, preparing, and casting chaotic spells are chaotic acts.

Slaying a Creature with the Lawful Subtype.

Overthrowing a Lawful Regime or Government.

Cheating. Breaking the rules.

Stealing. Taking things that don’t belong to you.

Breaking Laws.

Humiliating Law Enforcement.

Inciting or Partaking in a Riot.

Disobeying Orders from Superiors.

Disobeying Law Enforcement.

Morally Neutral (Neither Good nor Evil)

Ethically Neutral (Neither Lawful nor Chaotic)

For both of these alignments, as long as you strike a balance between the acts you perform, you will maintain your neutral alignment. If you are neutral good, you should have an equal amount of lawful and chaotic behavior, for example. And if you are chaotic neutral, you should have an equal amount of good and evil actions.

If you have made it this far, I have a little bonus since we are not able to play this weekend. Everyone who comments on this post (using the Comment link below) will be eligible to “Dice Off” against each other for a special magic item. In the comment, just put the name of a fictional character (like Superman, Optimus Prime, Darth Vader, Robin Hood, Robocop, Jessica Rabbit, etc.) and what you think his/her D&D alignment would be and why. The magic item will be specific to one of your character classes, but chosen by the DM. We will do the “Dice Off” at our next game session.

ECL 9: Fate Norbard: duskblade 9: Shackled City: journal entry 7

After killing the angel killer and his Friend I don't think I'm ever going to find Norril Demoneye. I will still keep looking for him though. I will find him if its the last thing I do.

Shackled City: ECL 10 Korinth the Protector Silverbrow Human Cloistered Cleric 5/ Radiant Servant of Pelor 5: Entry 21

Journal Entry 5254

What a horrible encounter.  I mean, I've devoted my life to Pelor; to spreading his light and wisdom, and that means opposing evil wherever I find it.  But this was atrocious.  I can't even imagine how Gaje felt fighting the monsters that had tortured him and taken parts of his body in order to befoul his essence into powerful magic.  I'm just glad that part of this nightmare is over.  He has his trumpet back and stands a little taller knowing that what was taken from him can no longer be used for evil.  Now I contemplate what I must do about these other things we found.  I have no interest in the gems but the unusual body parts that would have been used for evil magic vex me so.  I can't think of any means by which to properly lay these remains to rest, if that were even an option.  I would like to remove whatever magic keeps them in this state and allow nature to attempt to take its course.  I do feel that these body parts need to be burned.  Whatever happens , I can't allow them to fall into the wrong hands again.  I'm sure Gaje won't stand for it either.

Shackled City: ECL 10 Osiris Eloah Elf Generalist Wizard: Entry 23

After laying waste to the Fire Giant and Rakshasa, a detailed search of the bodies uncovered they were carrying a bag used for spell casting. Within the bag where 5 halfling fingers magically preserved to be still bloody and 2 eyes taken from a elf child. An observation of the items reviled that both are optional material components that can used during spell casting, although it would be considered an evil act. In addition, hidden in a secret pouch, the bag also contained 5 onyx gemstones worth 25 gp each. After careful consideration and deliberation, I've decided to hang on to the fingers and eye's no matter how gruesome that sounds, the Abyss can be a cruel place. I wonder if the warlock would be interested in some Onyx for his dark deeds?

DM Entry: More Notes about Magic on the Planes

Below is a couple of tables with some notes. The first table indicates which kinds of effects are modified by the planar magic effects. All effects fall into one of four categories: Extraordinary (not magic), Spells, Spell-like Abilities, and Supernatural Abilities. And all abilities are subject to all three kinds of planar effects, General, School/Subschool, and Element. So the first table below is to cross reference your ability and see how it is affected. Extraordinary is not listed, since that is not magic and thus not affected.

	Spells	Spell-like Abilities	Supernatural Abilities
General Planar Modifications (such as failure chance based on alignment in Mt Celestia, and lack of extradimensional spaces in the outer planes)	All	All	All
Planar Modifications by School and Subschool (creatures native to the plane ignore this row)	All	Only if it mentions a specific spell name, or if it lists schools and/ or subschools	Only if it mentions a specific spell name, or if it lists schools and/ or subschools
Planar Modifications by Element (air, cold, earth, fire, water)	Yes, if it has an element	Yes, if it has an element	Yes, if it has an element

The next table shows some examples of how some abilities and class abilities are affected on the planes.

	General Modifications	School (Subschool) Modifications	Element Modifications
Warlock
Eldritch Blast (Sp)	Yes	Not affected by planar modifications	Not affected by planar modifications
Invocations (Sp)	Yes	Only if it mentions a specific spell name	Yes, if it has an element
Baleful utterance (Sp) invocation	Yes	Yes (as shatter)	Not affected by planar modifications
Blast shapes (Sp)	Yes	Only if it mentions a specific spell name	Yes, if it has an element
Eldritch cone (Sp) blast shape	Yes	Not affected by planar modifications	Not affected by planar modifications
Truenamer
Utterances (Sp)	Yes	Only if it mentions a specific spell name	Yes, if it has an element
Inertia surge (Sp) utterance	Yes	Yes (as freedom of movement)	Not affected by planar modifications
Greater word of nurturing (Sp) utterance	Yes	Not affected by planar modifications	Not affected by planar modifications
Binder
Vestige granted powers (Su)	Yes	Only if it mentions a specific spell name	Yes, if it has an element
Geryon vestige (Su)	Yes	Acidic gaze— Not affected by planar modifications All-around vision— Not affected by planar modifications See in darkness— Not affected by planar modifications Swift flight— Not affected by planar modifications	Not affected by planar modifications
Andromalius vestige (Su)	Yes	Jester’s mirth—Yes (as Tasha’s hideous laughter) Locate item—Not affected by planar modifications See the unseen—Yes (as see invisibility) Sense trickery—Not affected by planar modifications Sneak attack—Not affected by planar modifications	Not affected by planar modifications
Shadowcaster
Mysteries (Spells, Sp, and Su)	Yes	Yes (each mystery has a specific school and/or subschools)	Yes, if it has an element
Flesh fails (mystery)	Yes	Yes (necromancy)	Not affected by planar modifications
Martial Adept
Maneuvers (Ex) counter, stance, strike, or boost	No	Not affected by planar modifications	Not affected by planar modifications
Maneuvers (Su) counter, stance, strike, or boost	Yes	Only if it mentions a specific spell name, or if it lists schools and/ or subschools	Yes, if it has an element
Fan the flames (Su) maneuver—strike	Yes	Not affected by planar modifications	Yes (fire)
Martial spirit (Ex) maneuver—stance	No	Not affected by planar modifications	Not affected by planar modifications
Factotum
Arcane dilettante (Sp)	Yes	Yes (as spell)	Yes, if it has an element
Dragon breath weapon	Yes	Only if it mentions a specific spell name, or if it lists schools and/ or subschools	Yes, if it has an element
Brass dragon line of fire (Su)	Yes	No	Yes (fire)
Brass dragon cone of sleep (Su)	Yes	No	Not affected by planar modifications
Tanar’ri
Summon tanar’ri (Sp) (when not in the Abyss)	Yes	Yes (as summon monster)	Not affected by planar modifications
Summon tanar’ri (Sp) (when in the Abyss)	Yes	Not affected by planar modifications	Not affected by planar modifications

The first two players to leave a comment on this have discovered additional treasure on the rakshasa and fire giant. They were carrying a bag used for spellcasting. Within the bag are 5 halfling fingers magically preserved to be still bloody and 2 eyes taken from a elf child. Both are optional material components that can used during spellcasting, described below. Using these as a spell component is an evil act.

Halfling Finger: If a spell that this component is applied to requires a touch attack (melee or ranged), there is a 40% chance to receive a +1 profane bonus on the attack roll. The finger must be intact and well preserved (still bloody).

Elf Child’s Eye: A spell that this component is applied to has a 20% chance to have its duration doubled. The eye must be intact and fresh (or preserved).

The bag also contains 5 onyx gemstones worth 25 gp each.

The two people who comment can decide how to split this treasure with each other (or to divide it up with the party if you like).