Limbo is a place of pure chaos where everything is in constant motion and change, especially the landscape, which can shift unpredictably and randomly rolls over upon itself like liquid. Very few places in Limbo are stable enough for normal travel.
Limbo is home to the slaadi and their lords (most notably Ygorl and Ssendam), and to the githzerai. Very few gods call Limbo home, as the plane is not well-suited to any sort of permanent structures. The shared realm of Tempus and the Red Knight can be found on Limbo, as can Shaundakul's realm. The elven god Fenmarel Mestarine calls this chaotic plane home as well.
Traits[]
| Gravity | There’s no true down. You’re pulled by nearby mass and, more often, driven by the wind. Touching a large shard gives you face-gravity along that surface until the gale rips you free. |
| Time | Normal, but indeterminate pockets exist; effects that randomize durations roll each minute. |
| Shape & Size | Infinite and shapeless. |
| Morphic Traits | Amorphic; Highly morphic (sentient Creatures can stabilize and shape local reality. |
| Elemental Energy | None Dominant |
| Alignment | Strongly Chaotic Neutral. |
| Magic | Alter self, creation line, fabricate, major image, polymorph, shadow conjuration/evocation, silent image are enhanced while spells like hold person/monster, dimensional lock, geas/quest, mark of justice are impeded. |
Planar Phenomena[]
Power of the Mind As an action, a creature on Limbo can make an Intelligence check to mentally move an object on the plane that it can see within 30 feet of it. The DC depends on the object’s size: DC 5 for Tiny, DC 10 for Small, DC 15 for Medium, DC 20 for Large, and DC 25 for Huge or larger. On a successful check, the creature moves the object 5 feet plus 1 foot for every point by which it beat the DC. A creature can also use an action to make an Intelligence check to alter a nonmagical object that isn’t being worn or carried. The same rules for distance apply, and the DC is based on the object’s size: DC 10 for Tiny, DC 15 for Small, DC 20 for Medium, and DC 25 for Large or larger. On a success, the creature changes the object into another nonliving form of the same size, such as turning a boulder into a ball of fire. Finally, a creature can use an action to make an Intelligence check to stabilize a spherical area centered on the creature. The DC depends on the radius of the sphere. The base DC is 5 for a 10-foot-radius sphere; each additional 10 feet added to the radius increases the DC by 5. On a successful check, the creature prevents the area from being altered by the plane for 24 hours, or until the creature uses this ability again.
Coalescence Showers: Minutes-long rains of usable matter (timbers, bricks, tools) that evaporate unless incorporated into a shaped structure. Cacophony Fronts: Spoken words become objects for 1 minute (a “bridge” falls as a plank unless you keep talking). Reversion Gusts: Unattended objects try to return to simpler states (steel sweats iron, books unprint into blank codices).
Spell alterations in Limbo[]
All magician spells require an intelligence check. If passed, the spell succeeds. If failed, the spell fails, and a wild surge is generated on a roll of "20" on d20 on stable terrain, and always if in the soup. Keys might help prevent this. Alterations are very likely to produce oddities as cited above. Divinations require a check vs. prime requisite or the results are totally confusing. Again, keys might help make divinations clearer. Illusions have a 10% chance of becoming fully, permanently real. Spell keys might prevent this. Wild magic always produces a surge. Roll twice for level variation and use the more extreme result. Elemental spells come off normally, and have duration and area doubled; if instantaneous, they last 1d6 rounds; if single-target, they have an area 1d12 feet across.
Wizardly spell keys are constantly changing. Check vs. prime requisite to know the key of the moment, then vs. wisdom to create it from chaos.
- The suggested color for pools from the astral is jet black. Ethereal curtains might be swirling black.
- The dead are immune to fire and cold, and as an additional ability popping in and out of chaosLimbbbo accepts *NO* structure at all (other than the conflicting order
Realms[]
The plane of Limbo is the location of a number of godly realms:
- The elven god Fenmarel Mestarine's realm of Fennimar.
- Indra, Vayu, and Agni's realm of Swarga.
- Llerg's realm of Beasthaven.
- Procan's realm of Seasedge.
- Ralishaz's realm of The Kiss of Luck.
- Shaundakul's realm of Shaunadaur.
- Shina-Tsu-Hiko's realm of Windshome.
- Sirrion's realm of The Flame Void.
- Tempus and the Red Knight's shared realm of Knight's Rest.
- Susanoo's realm of The Globe of Raging Chaos.
More[]
imposed by individual whim). Such is anathema to all the plane represents.
The dimensional nature of Linmbo should change constantly, and never in its
history has it ever been consistent planewide. I refuse to even spel it
consistently, although I perversely always remember the difference between the
slaadi and a slaad (not that a slaad recognizes it).
The D&D Immortal's set had some interesting material on dimensions. It claims
that
magic requires one more dimension than the caster has in order for it to work,
because magic travels through this other, invisible dimension. Thus, a two-
dimensional being can cast spells in a three-D space, but a four-dimensional
Immortal requires five dimensions in which to work. When two planes collide,
a wave of dimensional distortion can result, plunging a planet into an era
without any available magic at all.
Thus, a soupwalker can stumble from a three-dimensional timeless space where
bags of holding and teleport spells don't work to an ordinary five-dimensional
space, where things seem to be fairly ordinary except for the constantly
morphing matter, to an awkward one-dimensional space where everything seems
stretched-out and linear for awhile (probably it would be possible to move
these away mentally).
I wouldn't connect Llinbo's elemental transformations with dimensional shifts,
and I wouldn't restrict them to pure elements either. This isn't, in my
opinion, what Limboo's about. Milbo is without rules or explainable
mechanisms, without consistency, and without anything that can be analyzed in
a traditionally logical manner. Extremely arbitrary systems of divination
like I Ching or Tarot cards will work within the limits of their medium,
however.
I posted this to the list some time ago, but here it is again:
Hey. This is LImmbow. Limb*o changes constantly and randomly. If you want to predict the state of a random piece of Limb0, it might be: 20% Solid 20% Liquid 20% Gaseous 20% Transitionary 20% Other
It might last for
· 20% One instant
· 20% One Second
· 20% One year
· 20% One decade
· 20% a million years
Any local laws may apply.
Solids might include fleshy textures, stony textures, woody textures, plastic textures, fabric or textile-like areas, crumbly dust rings, or giant mounds of cookies, ice cream, dough, or other food products. Limbo might have areas of solid fire, water, earth, air, ether or phlogiston, continuously transforming into other elements (fire to water, water to wine, wine to fire, fire to cookie dough) or into ephemera like music, colors, or feelings. Oh, the colors! Limbo should be filled with every alien color you can't imagine, and many that you can. Impressionistic landscapes, surreal juxtopositions, de Kooningesque streaks and splatters and geometric pseudo- africana fade into bubbling fields of acid and mountains of cuddly bunnies fade into distorted reruns and vast landscapes that seem part amusement park, part rainforest, part tuna casserole, part lava lamp, partly the letter L, and part Milton Berle. Why do you think slaadi look like frogs? It's because with their fins, flippers, strong legs and hopping ability they can transverse any and all terrains unimaginable. A slaad has be able to burrow through the Bastard Lewinsky Lagoon, swim through the Editor Desert Nebula, and hop across the FluxPool Test Slide all in a span lasting anywhere from instantaneously to centuries. If they were purely aquatic or landbased or avian they couldn't get anywhere.
That's Limbo, and it's not very predictable.
Animals[]
The Zhisto is an animal that seems to be all horns: antlers, rhino horns, giant ram horns, bull and gazelle horns, unicorn horns and more all arranged in fantastic winding shapes that curve around each other in mazelike patterns. Zhistos drift randomly through the plane of ultimate chaos, feeding on much of whatever the soup happens to be at the time. It is, however, very fond of the vegetation in anarch-shaped lands and is quite a pest there. It chews things with hornlike teeth in the center of its horny body, which means it can usually only get at long branches, tall grains, and grasses.
The Ghizto is a bizarre githzerai-zhisto hybrid. Those who've seen it describe it as a humanoid covered in horns which spiral around its body. Ghiztos spend their entire lives shepherding zhisto flocks. They seem to have evolved from ancient egg-laying githzerai, back when they existed. Ghiztos are powerfully psionic and off Limbo or in anarch-produced or chaotic gravity they normally levitate to get around, because their horns spiral beyond and around their feet.
The shelled Krackadoon is a limbo-dwelling mollusk that feeds on stray chaos emitions. Their shells look like solid chaos, filled with spirals, loops, jagged edges and fractal nonsense. They are of three types: The winged krackadoon has great chitonous sails that grow from its outer shell, which it can adjust slightly to navigate the winds of Limbo.
The crawling krackadoon has manipulatory tentacles, which it uses to push itself along solid soup.
The striding krackadoon is a variant bred by the githzerai as a beast of burden and for riding. They have long horns and four legs ending in multiple hooves. Their tiny faceless heads are framed by vast horns.
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The cheerful Maugway is a creature made of transparant sails, which it uses to steer similarly to (but better than) a winged krackadoon. Maugway have froglike bodies with eyes on stalks, and no limbs. Natural anarchs, they tend to live in stable bubble-areas filled with gases of seemingly random type. Maugway are terrified of bright light. , gibbering and laughing.
- The plane is "strongly chaos-aligned". Non-chaotic creatures have -2 on all intelligence, wisdom, and charisma checks. -1 on all intelligence, wisdom, and charisma checks for all non-lawful, non-chaotic creatures
-2 on all intelligence, wisdom, and charisma checks for all lawful creatures Good-based spells (non-lawful) are unaffected. Evil-based spells (non-lawful) are unaffected. Law-based spells simply fail. Chaos-based spells work as if caster were 4 levels higher.