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Anhydra
(by Greg
Jensen)
Anhydra is the home of
a unique race of humanoids, called the anhydrans. They
make their home in a circular air pocket deep within the
heart of the plane of Salt. This air is exceptionally dry
and hard for other creatures to breathe (all operate at
-4 Constitution while here).
The anhydrans are a peaceful
race about the size and shape of halflings, but much more
gaunt. They live here because of a unique weakness of
theirs that does not allow them to exist elsewhere.
Anhydrans have no body fluids. Some strange sort of
magical energy takes the place of blood in their bodies,
and it has a violent reaction to water. So much as a drop
of water landing on an anhydran will kill him. Any liquid
that contains water (such as blood) will have the same
effect. Even the breath of a human or demihuman is enough
to kill or injure any anhydrans nearby, because of the
moisture it contains. The plane of Salt is the only place
these folk feel even remotely safe.
Anhydrans are LG or NG in
alignment, and will not attack any visitors. This is as
much due to a pacifistic philosophy as due to
self-interest, since any bloodshed could easily kill the
whole community.
A portal to anhydra appears
in random places throughout Sigil every once in a while,
so visitors are not unknown. There is much pain and
suffering when this occurs. Anhydran physiology is so
different from most other races that few services can be
offered. The anhydrans have a rich culture, and exquisite
salt sculptures the likes of which are found nowhere else
are in Anhydra.
Note:
Anhydra is intended to present a moral dilemma to
PCs. Their very existence causes harm and death to the
natives, who have harmed no-one. Does this make the PCs
evil, because of the suffering they cause? Are they still
good, since they have not actively chosen to do harm? Can
they be morally blameworthy for breathing, an involuntary
action? What is it that makes the difference between good
and evil?
The Barren
Fields
(by Dave
Scheidecker)
 None
know whom it was who created the land where Mother Water
banished the Wol'ridae to, but it seems that it is the
creation of an ancient prime wizard, long absent even
before our arrival. The land covers endless days of
travel, the cavern top above looming dangerously close in
some places, while ascending to far to be seen in others.
Dunes, mesas, and other desert terrain fill the Barren
fields, reminding many travelers of the harshest of
deserts. The realm has it's own gravity, and it's
proximity to the Saline Sea allows several small rivers
to flow. Foolish is the traveler who believes the water a
salvation however, for its waters are as corroded and
poisonous as any of those that form the border with
Mother Water.
Two twin orbs light the
lands, small pockets of elemental radiance, which wander
about the sky in a slow, seemingly random fashion. Thus,
day is nearly constant. However, there are periods where
it may seem as night, as both orbs are far across the
dunes. The Wol'ridae have named these orbs Suntop and
Ember.
In the middle of the
trackless dunes, a great black castle rises from the
salt. None know who lived here, but most believe it to be
the residence of the mage that created the realm. Its
obsidian halls are empty now, only ruins left behind.
Outside the castle, the bones of a great dragon bask in
the orbs' glow, for this castle is never without their
light.
Many animentals walk these
lands, most being Salt's version of desert animals. Most
travelers know already to beware the snakes and
scorpions, but extra care must be taken here, for they
can grow to truly monstrous sizes. Mephits also make
their homes here, but quasielementals are few, and can
expect only a quick death at the hands of the
Wol'ridae.
The Wol'ridae travel
throughout these lands, as we do the rest of Salt, but
our home is here. Around the nexus of two saline rivers,
Hubris and Humility, one will find Redemption, our only
permanent settlement. Here our clerics lead our people in
search of a return to the graces of Mother Water. Their
spells purify the waters of the two rivers, allowing our
people to live. Merchants pass through occasionally
seeking water, crafts, and saltskins, but few outsiders
live here permanently.
My people were banished to
this land centuries ago, after our hubris led us to
demand too much of Mother Water's boundary, which already
we selfishly hoarded for ourselves, denying others her
salvation. In a great ritual, our clerics sought to
destroy the oasis of a rival tribe of humans. Mother
Water punished us for our cruelty, banishing our tribe to
the Draining Waste to teach us humility. We recognize the
sins of our ancestors today, and while we do not welcome
outsiders, we deny the mother's salvation to none.
[Author's note: The
description of this vast location was supplied by one of
its primary inhabitants, a member of a divergent, and
strangely savage subrace of halflings. The race seems to
originate from the prime world of Athas, a land with a
climate scarcely more survivable then Salt, if the
stories are to be believed. The Wol'ridae, as they call
themselves, are also unique in that the Mother Water they
worship is not an actual power, but the elemental force
of water itself. How they came to be banished here then,
is something of a mystery.]
Epsomnia
(by
Rip
"Snort Breathe Fire" Van Wormer)
Slick tunnels wind
through the expanses of crystallized deadwater. They are
dark, they are warm, they are polished, and they are
probably the fastest routes through the quasiplane. The
guardians of the Epsomnia Tunnels are the Crusty Gods,
terrible creatures, the spawn of elementals and unknown
demiurges. Generally, they ask for scented waters, or
especially sweetwater and potions of healing, as a
toll.
The dark of Epsomnia is that
the whole place is way too nice. 'Course, it'll still
drain you of your water as quickly as any other spot on
the plane, but it'll cut down on your travel time like
nothing else. Whoosh! You go sliding down its dark
meanderings, and you're on the other side before you can
say, "Are you going to finish that beer?"
There really doesn't seem to
be a drawback, any mysterious disappearances or hidden
devouring maws on the other side, nothing. Just a smooth,
wild ride that hardly ever makes you sick once you get
used to it.
One thing, though: some
report strange visions in the darkness, and that they
sometimes even come true once you're out. I don't know
what to make of that.
The
Grinder
(by Tom
Bubul)
Character:
At the very heart of
Salt is the Grinder, the infinitely large source of the
plane. The two fantastically large boulders which have
been smashing away at themselves for all of eternity have
given birth to the quasiplane itself. It is said that
when the Grinder finally grinds itself completely, that
Water will wash over the plane and it will then cease to
exist.
The
Chant: Not as
infinitely large as they are made out to be (but
nonetheless rather imposing), the two perfectly round
boulders that make up the Grinder have indeed been
smashing at each other for quite a long time. Massive and
extremely rough to the touch, the Grinder's purest salt
corrodes metal (not mentioning skin) almost instantly. It
is nearly impossible to approach the boulders, as the sea
of Salt surrounding them is only slightly less potent as
the salt the boulders themselves produce - and the
incredible cacophony the boulders produce in their
eternal crashing is nearly unbearable. Without adequate
protection, even swimming near the Grinder is a hazard.
Should an enterprising enough cutter be able to get a jar
full of this purest of salt, there is no telling what
price he might fetch for it.
The
Dark: Crashing
together to form the purest of salt, the gargantuan
boulders are in fact a little-known retreat of the Norse
powers, Frey and Freya. It is said that in days long
passed, the two were captured on a prime world and forced
to grind salt on a pirate ship to preserve its hold full
of meat. The stones that the two powers ground together
eventually made enough salt to sink the ship - where from
the bottom of the sea, the twin powers continued
grinding. Since ascending to power status, the two have
actually cast the magical stones off into Salt - where
they occasionally come to visit them. It is these trips
the two take to the boulders every 101 years that keeps
them from wearing away into nothing; something about the
presence of the two powers renews the boulders to their
original size.
The Teeth of
Maaleh
(by Rip
Van Wormer)
 Enormous
pillars of ivory thrust through the saltlands, sharply
pointed. Salty vulture animentals burrow about, picking
the Teeth clear of all other forms of life. Even the
fundamentals have very short lifespans here.
You'd never know it from
looking at the surface, but Maaleh is the site of the
major outpost of the race of Marid on the plane of Salt.
The Teeth are hollow, and filled with clear water and a
typical coral-and-precious rare material genie dwelling.
There's no opening, but the djinn teleport in and out
what and who they desire. The maridim are friendly enough
to non-saline lifeforms, and are even willing to overlook
the salt found in the bodies of most Prime Material
natives, so relieved are they to be distracted from the
tedium and annoyance of the plane on which they're
stationed. They may even aid their visitors in some way,
if they are sufficiently amusing and promise to
return.
The Dark of the
Teeth: These maridim
aren't stationed here to gain allies among the
quasielementals or to watch the Facets, though there are
individuals doing these things as we sit here jabbering.
The maridim live in the Teeth because they are
confused.
Long ago, they offended some
petty saltlord by trying to forcibly impress it into the
service of the Padisha. More clever than anything as
stable as salt ought to be, the lord managed, through
refracted thought and drained reason, to convince the
maridim that they were home, and the genies settled down
where they stood, wondering what happened to the
neighborhood.
They're aware, of course, of
their salty surroundings, and frustrated by it. Repeated
petitions to their shah to do something about the sudden
influx of riffraff in their vicinity have met with no
response, and with every pulse it becomes more likely
that one of them will go out and give someone a
tongue-lashing (and likely become entirely
drained).
Comments:
"Maaleh" is Arabic
for Salt. There should be a little dot under the
h.
In case you wondered, the
pulses of the energy planes measure time in the
quasielemental planes. It's not perfectly reliable, but
those attuned to the plane's nature can feel enough to
get through their routines, if they have any.
Transcendence
(by Rip
Van Wormer)
Death of
Seas
Intermediate Power, "Old Wasting"
AoC: The destruction of water
Alignment: N
WAL: any
Symbol: An eel, twisted like a noose.
Home Plane/Realm:Quasielemental Plane of
Salt/Transcendence
It is said that entire
oceans have fallen to this predatory god, seagods left
twitching in the silt like beached squid. Myths have it
that Dandreth had a quarrel with the powers of Water, and
vowed that he would have revenge. In truth, Dandreth
simply is, and bears no malice about it.
Dandreth is a beautiful god,
looking like a vague humanoid shape with limbs ending in
short tentacles, glowing with mother-of-pearl
irridescence. He has an alliance with certain solar
powers who offer allies and secretive help. His realm is
mountains and hills of salt under a cloudless blue sky,
with the occasional skeleton of some unknown leviathan
poking out.
Dandreth's favored proxy is
a creature like a long eel who boils the sea in which it
swims. Dandreth is worshipped by creatures of salt and
bitter survivors of shipwrecks, and the haters of
maritime nations.
White
Gold
(by Erik
Arneson)
Everybody's heard
stories that Sigil has a few permanent portals here and
there that lead to the Quasi-elemental Plane of Salt, and
one or two temporary portals have even popped up from
time to time before vanishing again by the Lady's
whim.
What most folks don't know
is that a rich and powerful high-up merchant named Lamar
Creigston stumbled across a particularly interesting Salt
portal about six months ago. Those who know the dark of
things around Sigil happen to know that Creigston's main
trade is the mining business. While he normally makes his
gold transporting valuable and rare metals out of his
Bytopian mines to the Astral Plane and the Outlands, he
apparently wasn't too opposed to the idea of sinking a
claim in one of the deadliest of the Inner Planes.
The portal's usefulness
stems from the fact that it opens right into a natural
salt arch in the middle of a bubble of elemental air
embedded in the salt. It's a pretty wide bubble, too,
being about two-thirds of a mile across and roughly
elliptical in shape. Lamar sent in some wizardly pals of
his to check the place out, and then started moving in
his miners.
The head honcho of the place
is a rough-and-tumble ex-mercenary named
Raul Maxin (Prime/male
human/F14/Fated), who named the place "White
Gold" after his home world's
colloquial name for salt. Raul is a grizzled old man, and
those who have tangled with him in the past know that
what his age has taken away from his muscles it's added
to his brains. He's a smart cutter and prefers these days
to use his brains instead of his sword.
Creigston is apparently
pulling in quite a profit by shipping his mined salt off
to some of the gate towns and has seriously put a crimp
in the business of some of the small-time salt miners on
the Outlands. There are rumors, in fact, that they are
putting together some sort of syndicate to try and drive
the Sigil-based merchant out of business, perhaps by
informing the Salt Quasielementals of his mine's
location.
Copyright
2000, the Mimir Team, layout by Jon Winter
and Jeremiah Golden salty maps by Vicki Hood
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