Let’s round out our Krynn and Planescape connection with Gilean, The Void, and take a look at the Outlands, the home of Gilean and the hidden Vale. Buy A Players Primer to the Outlands (2e): https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/17301/a-players-primer-to-the-outlands-2e?affiliate_id=50797
Transcript
Cold Open
For every Good there’s an evil, and for every land of order there’s a swirling morass of Chaos.
Intro
Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam and today we are going to talk about Planescape and the Outlands, known by some as the Plane of Concordant Opposition. I would like to take a moment and thank the members of this channel, and invite you to consider becoming a member by visiting the link in the description below. You can even pick up Dragonlance gaming materials using my affiliate links. I am referencing the Planescape Campaign Setting boxed set, On Hallowed Ground, and A Player’s Primer to the Outlands supplements for this information. If I leave anything out or misspeak, please leave a comment below!
Discussion
We have discussed the foundation of the Planescape setting and its connections or changes to Krynn’s gods through Takhisis and Paladine. But there is one other greater god worth discussing as we round out our Planescape and Dragonlance series. That is Gilean, The Void. What I find interesting is that Planescape doesn’t just take the Krynn creation myth, it expands on it slightly, and in some unusual ways. For example, it correctly states that the High God called Gilean, brought him to the beginning of time and made him the keeper of the eldritch tome called the Tobril. But it adds that this is how Gilean became a god! That’s right, it suggests that Gilean was once a mortal, a scribe who was so scrupulous that he never made a single error. This is what drew the High God’s attention. Of course, others refute that myth as a mortal could never ascend to godhood… right Dragonlance fans?
In any case, it places Gilean’s home, the Hidden Vale in the Outlands of Planescape. Also known as the Plane of Concordant Opposition. While I am completely ignorant about the Outlands, I decided to look into it, and much like how Takhisis and Paladine have their Krynn noted homes in the Planes, but they are never actually referenced in the same way as the rest of the planes, Gilean is no different. So let’s take a look and have a bit of a primer about the Outlands, the home of tThe Hidden Vale.
The Outlands is a bit different than all of the other planes, as it holds entrances to them all. The inhabitants of the areas around the entrances built up towns called Gate-towns. Each of these gate-towns reflect the nature of the plane they are connected to. It has been suggested that any gate-town that becomes too similar to its connected plane, actually gets pulled into that plane. The opposite can also be true. If the area in the plane around its gate grows to be in opposition to its home plane, it will be ejected from the plane into the Outlands! This makes a revolving door of order and chaos–as well as a motley population throughout its regions. In the center of the Outlands is an infinitely tall spire, at the top of which rests Sigil.
Of course, Sigil and the gate-towns are not the totality of the outlands. It contains small villages and realms belonging to unaligned powers. Most are neutral or at the very least amoral. Outside of these regions and gate-towns, the Outlands remains a sparse wasteland of rolling hills, wind-swept badlands, sharp-toothed mountains and forests of all kinds. While any map representing the Outlands is more suggested than reality, one can find guides to take you around, but Sigil itself also holds portals to the Gate-towns and or planes, if you prefer not to take the adventurous route. Let’s look closer at the various gate-towns and regions in the Outlands.
Automata has an estimated population of 10,000. The town is a perfect grid, laid out as clean as a cartographer’s study. In the middle rests the Gate to Mechanus in a block unto itself. It is surrounded by government buildings. With 50,000 residents Bedlam has bad parts and worse parts. Spread out like a giant fan, it rests at the side of Maurash, a hill of volcanic stone. The Gate to Pandemonium is at the bottom of the hill from which eight roads run uphill like spokes of a wheel. The gate is a tower of black obsidian. Curst has a population of 15,000. It’s a near circular, walled city with the Gate to Carceri at its center. This gate is a four-pillared arch made of black razorvine, and its center glows with a ruddy hue. As Carceri is a plane of imprisonment, understandably the gate doesn’t see much use. Ecstasy has 25,000 people within. It is known as the city of plinths due to the tall monoliths of stone and iron that dot the city. The Gate made of ivory known as the Bone of Plinth takes you to Amoria, on the banks of the river Oceanus, a day’s travel from the Elysian city of Release From Care. With 25,000 residents, Excelsior is a city with roads paved with gold! While it’s not actual gold, it glows as if it were. Somewhere in its highest tower is the Gate to Mount Celestia. The tower features stairs that twist and cross endlessly, making it challenging to say the lease to find the gate. Faunel has approximately 900 humanoids and twice as many other types of creatures. It appears as a town of ruin with vegetation breaking through the wreckage like a meal splattered in a spider’s web. Its Gate leads to the Beastlands, and appears as a wide pool guarded by Wrath, a large stone statue. Fortitude has 5,000 residents. It’s called the egg due to its outer wall which curves in an oval around it. Its streets are broad boulevards, spanning beautiful parks and orchards. The Gate to Arcadia rests atop a circular stepped pyramid. Glorium has 300 residents. It’s known as a burg for its small size and features longhouses and work sheds tucked along the shores of a fjord. It features two gates to Ysgard. The first is a maelstrom at the mouth of the fjord, called watergate. The second enters the fabled city of Yggdrasil and is located in a cavern in the mountains above the town.
Hopeless has 20,000 residents. It has a single entrance with a single long road spiraling down into a pit. The gate is a well at the pit’s base and leads to the Gray Waste. With 20,000 residents, Plague-mort is an outlander town where the strongest thrive. It’s a bundle of shacks clustered around the walls of a shiny keep. The gate is one of three archways in the keeps walls that leads to the Abyss. Ribcage has 35,000 residents. The town is nestled between the Vale of the Spine. Its large iron gates open to towers and private keeps. The gate of Baator is within the Citadel, home of Quentill Paracs, the Lord of Ribcage. It’s a tall, spinning pillar of red light. Rigus has a population of 20,000, and is a permanent military encampment. It’s divided into seven stacked rings. The Gate to Archeron is far below the surface accessed through a mile long staircase in the smallest ring called the Crown. With 1,000 residents, Sylvania is known as a non-stop party. Drums, singing, ballads and songs echo through its winding streets. It is surrounded by woods and in them is the Gate to Arborea, accessed by getting lost in the woods. Torch has 17,000 residents and is built on the slopes of volcanic spires. It holds the Gate to Gehenna which appears as a bloor-red eye hovering in midair. Tradegate has 20,000 residents and is a city of commerce, a swirling hive of activity. New construction is replacing old. Its Gate to Bytopia is a creature named Master Trader. He wanders the forest near the town. You need to make a successful trade to enter. Xaos (KAY-oss) has from 1-5,000 residents. The town has gone mad, and is in a constant state of flux. It’s surrounded by rocks, swamps and fields. The Gate to Limbo changes like the city from a blue pyramid to a glowing ball of spirits, or even a pit lined with spikes.
Outro
There are even more realms in the Outlands than there are gate-towns, but that will have to be detailed out in another video. For now, that is all I have to say about the Outlands. What do you think of this barren waste? Would you prefer to teleport from Sigil to the relevant gate-town, or travel across the Outlands? Leave a comment below.
I would like to take a moment and remind you to subscribe to this YouTube channel, ring the bell to get notified about upcoming videos and click the like button. This all goes to help other Dragonlance fans learn about this channel and its content. Thank you for watching, this has been Adam with DragonLance Saga and until next time, remember:
So, you want to know why the outlands have both day and night when there’s no sun or stars in the sky? What are you–clueless?
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