Nether Realm

The Nether Realm is a formless place of magic and illusion. It is indistinct and chaotic, with no size or shape. Coterminous to all other worlds, the Nether Realm can be a gateway for those who know how to use it. For mortals, the Nether Realm is notoriously difficult to access. Spells and portals can take one there, but few other options exist. Traveling to a location within the Nether Realm, can then lead a hero into the formless plane itself.It is a stream of pure chaos that surrounds the worlds and binds them together.Chunks of worlds float among prismatic clouds, and colorful energy ribbons twist through the void. All is spectral and shadowy — blurring together in a muted, multicolored haze that brushes and teases the senses. Physical laws do not exist in this realm of ghosts, save those that a traveler creates for his or herself. Magic and illusion dance across the ever-changing vastness.

The Twisting Nether region does not co-exist with the worlds in any physical sense. It is a completely different state of being, one that is fundamentally incompatible with the universe as most creatures know it. Someone cannot look from the Nether into a world and vice versa; it is much easier to move between the Nether and a world. A shadow walk spell will take one through the Nether as he moves from place to place, and one can reach the Twisting Nether and its inhabitants with just about any planar travel or communications spell. Entering the Nether Realm brings one to a realm of pure, lunatic thought. Most of the Nether Realm is protean, never appearing the same for more than a few seconds. Colors change, it grows dark and light from moment to moment, sparkles and strange sounds emit and then vanish. One moment someone is suspended in nothingness, the next he is standing at the bottom of a deep canyon of purple rocks. His next shift may be to a tiny rock suspended in a starry night, and he has no way of knowing whether the change will occur in seconds or days. The Nether is an intensely magical environment, and some speculate that it is the true source of all arcane magic.

The Nether Realm has subjective directional gravity. The strength of gravity in the Nether is the same as on the mortal plane, but each individual chooses the direction of gravity’s pull. Such a plane has no gravity for unattended objects and nonsentient creatures. The Nether Realm can be very disorienting to the newcomer, and the plane appears weightless.Movement is controlled by the will, and one can travel in any direction simply by deciding to do so.Creatures in the Nether Realm can move normally along a solid surface by imagining "down" near their feet. If suspended in midair, a person "flies" by merely choosing a "down" direction and "falling" that way in a straight line only. In order to stop, one has to slow one's movement by changing the designated "down" direction.Though limited to regular movement speeds, one can sprint as long as he wishes without growing tired. The Nether Realm does not restrict him from simply appearing wherever he wants to within it (this normally "impossible" action is known as point-to-point movement). Merely existing within the Nether strains the mind of non-native creatures, though, and ignoring traditional physical laws is even more painful.

Creatures native to the Nether Realm, such as certain demons, can move point-to-point at will without any handicap.The Nether Realm is of infinite size, there are no known borders of to the Nether. The Nether Realm is timeless. Age, hunger, thirst, poison, and natural healing do not function in the Twisting Nether, though they resume functioning when the traveler leaves the plane. It is also strongly chaos-aligned. It also enhances magic. Magic is extremely powerful in the Nether. Any spell cast while in the Nether has its duration extended. Illusion spells cost no mana and last for extended periods. The Nether region is highly morphic and little shifts occur all the time in the Nether Realm, and many changes are caused by the landscape adjusting itself to fit the thoughts of those within it. Worry about war, and the landscape may become a battlefield populated with undead soldiers. If one is lonely, his lost love may step out of a nearby cottage. The solidity, detail, and potential danger these images possess depend on how well a creature can control its thoughts. If a creature is in control of its thoughts, then images the creature's mind triggers are benign or easily ignored. If it doesn't control its thoughts, then the images that appear are realistic and frightening. Strong-minded individuals may consciously influence the Nether Realm. The changes made may be subtle or drastic. One can create an image of a dog wandering around the area sniffing others and licking any hand that is presented or place oneself and those nearby at the top of a windswept mountain.

A creature cannot create any knowledge that it does not already have. If someone creates a well-appointed library, for instance, the only information in the books is information he already knows. If more than one creature tries to manipulate the environment, the one with the strongest will controls the environment. This control persists until another stronger willed creature changes it. The forces of the Nether Region steadily erode any attempt at a static environment. If someone creates a cozy chalet with a roaring fire on the hearth, he should not be surprised if a few moments later the fire poker has morphed into a duck. A harmful environment created requires all those within the area to be willful to avoid being harmed by it.

Inhabitants

 * Chaos beast
 * Devourer
 * Doomguard
 * Ethereal
 * Felhound
 * Force dragon
 * Prismatic dragon
 * Howler
 * Invisible stalker
 * Imp
 * Mimic
 * Nightmare
 * Nightshade
 * Phase spider
 * Phasm
 * Pseudonatural creature
 * Shadow mastiff
 * Succubus
 * Voidwalker
 * Will-o'-wisp
 * Yeth hound
 * Infernal
 * Nether dragon
 * Nether drake
 * Netherwyrm