Chapter 12: Outlands Exploration

Before digging in deep here, I can't stress enough that these are the opportunities to explore your characters' backstories and motivations. If your players are motivated and pushing those stories, by all means scrap every one of these encounters and work those threads to the maximum.

Let's start with a overview of what's presented in the adventure book and the opportunities we have there.

Planar Glitches

On the whole the glitch encounters are great. They add to the feeling that the central mystery is affecting the Outlands and the planes beyond.

• The glitching Spire is a great one-off. Running this after an incarnation comes back is a great place to create a cause and effect feel.
• The inquisitive kolyarut is a bit on the nose and trivializes the feeling that only the characters are equipped to solve the glitch. If the greater powers of Mechanus are involved it takes agency away from the characters.
• The swapped gate towns are great! It's hard to imagine the 1d4 day delay contributing positively to the pace of the session. I'd reduce that to a short or long rest, otherwise it might feel like a railroad.
• The illusory modron march is great foreshadowing. If there are other NPCs present make it so that only the glitch characters see it.
• The dead sunflies are another spooky harbinger. I'd create a cause and tie it to a mystery the characters are about to uncover, like [Mick's raids], [Raachaak's "Attack"], Uncle Longteeth's garden, etc.
• The duplicate walking castle is very evocative. It's also a good follow up to incarnations swapping out, especially if multiple characters come back at the same time.

Angels in the Outlands

I find the baseball game to be a jarring note in Planescape’s tone for reasons similar to The Cakers, so I cut it. If your table loves it, keep it.

Renesnuprah

This is a great set of encounters. It meshes thematically with the characters' glitching out without stepping on their story. The one thing to be wary of is time travel shenanigans complicating the characters' plot. Make sure that Renesnuprah holds fast about not interfering with events to come.

If you want to deepen Trikante's motivations or work her into character backstories, connect her to the Incantarium and Alluvius Ruskin. She should also be an Incantifier performing secret rituals to absorb power and reshape the multiverse. That's why her eyes are silver, and she is seeking powerful magic in order to extend her lifespan.

Semuanya's Bog

This scenario is a fine diversion, but also not essential to progressing the overall adventure. Run it if it connects to a character or if you want the party to get firsthand experience of petitioners interacting with their divinity.

You could also use it to sew plot hooks if needed. Have the characters see some of the lizardfolk wielding the corrupted celestial weapons. If the characters inquire about them, the lizardfolk will give up their source and provide another clue.

Velios, the Veiled Fire

We introduced Velios earlier to tie up loose ends and introduce some intra-planar stakes we could use for this adventure to feel epic. He should have easily escaped that encounter with his ability to plane shift, so let's bring him back to keep the threat elevated.

Velios moves like a shadow through the cracks of reality—never an enemy, never a friend, but always a devil whispering at the edge of fate. He might even act as an uneasy ally if it serves his greater purpose. His repeated appearances foreshadow Gargauth’s growing influence in the adventure and ensure that the party questions whether they are truly solving the glitch or playing into the hands of something far worse.

We can run these scenarios throughout the Outlands exploration. Much like the Renesnuprah encounters, they should be spaced out and build on each other.

Aftermath

The walking castle comes across the skeletal remains of a great giant who never found the Hidden Realm lies half-buried in the ground. The ground around it is scorched by magical flame. Broken celestial weapons and traces of fiendish death cover the ground.

There is a dormant portal to Hades in the skull of the giant. This is where the Blood War spilled out into the Outlands.

The giant eye socket flashes with grey light. A barren wasteland stretches beyond. A horned figure dressed in svelte leathers steps out–Velios, the fiend from Undersigil.

"Bah, I detest that place. It's only called Hades because Hell was taken." He brushes grey ash from his clothes and gestures at the carnage around you, "Now, can we talk about this like civilized people?"

The cambion does want to parlay, and here's what he's willing to discuss:

• If the characters have knocked down some of the gate towns and reversed pieces of Gargauth's plot Velios says that Asmodeus is pleased with their progress.
• He is aware of their glitch. He asks questions and wants to know what's happening. He's trying to figure out who is behind it.
• He wants to know if the characters have uncovered any information about their prior employer or other players. If they give up any of the NPCs connected to the plot he will be quite pleased.
• He offers a boon from his lord–information about the next pieces of the plot. This should help fill in any gaps the characters may have or help provide direction.

After a brief information exchange he bids the charactes adieu, smiles, and says that his lord will be watching.

Alternatively if you're in need of some action have a group of demons spill out of the portal, armed with the weapons, and demanding Velios's head. He will take that as his cue to leave, plane shift away, and leave the demons to the characters.

Bad Judgement

Near one of the final gate towns the party comes across a truly massive palace, fallen into ruin. It's surrounded by old granaries, stables, out buildings, promenades, residences, etc. There was once an entire society built around the palace. Almost everything is built from red brick, and a large wall encircles the entire palace.

This used to be a place where Neutral divinities would judge petitioners and send them to the appropriate realms. There's thousands of rooms in the palace, and portals to places all over the multiverse.

Of course all of this would be difficult to find out if it weren't for our friend Velios making an appearance. He emerges near the exterior wall, walks down a road that intersects with the castle's path, and hails the characters. He's at a crossroads (literally) and says he wants to speak plainly.

Velios leans against the ruins, the barest flicker of fire in his amber eyes. "You and I are not so different, you know," he says, adjusting his coat. "We’re both on borrowed time. My master is patient, but he doesn’t like to be kept waiting. So I’ll make this easy for you: say yes, and we both might live to see the end of this story."

He describes the prior function of the palace and says there's a special place where they can air the truth. The palace contains an audience hall where any spoken lie is quickly discovered. It's a place where deals are made, making it favored by warlocks, fallen deities, and devils brokering contracts.

Hall of the Soul’s Truth

This grand, vaulted hall is covered in drifts of fine sand. It’s lined with arches and finely carved pillars. Stonework faces look down from atop the pillars, and their eyes always seem to follow the person looking at them. A large dais is lit with magical flame and covered with pure white sand. A broken judge’s bench lies beyond it. The ceiling is almost a hundred feet up and a large cave-in casts a beam of down onto the sandy dias.

The doors open to a grand hall where echoes of a thousand trials still whisper. The pillars seem to stare—faces of forgotten gods etched into stone.

Blinding light glints off of a sand-covered dais. Eternally burning torches ring the audience hall. Velios walks forward, beckoning you to follow.

If someone standing on the dais speaks a lie, they will partially sink into the dais as they become buried by their falsehood.

• The first lie sinks the character leg-deep into the sand. They are Restrained and require a DC 20 Strength (Athletics) check to break free.
• The second lie buries the character to their chest. They are Restrained and take 6d6 force damage with a DC 20 Dexterity save for half damage.
• The third lie completely swallows the character. They become Restrained, Incapacitated, can’t breathe, and take 6d6 force damage per round. Another creature can attempt to free them with a DC 20 Strength (Athletics) before they are crushed or suffocate.

Velios will stand on the dais with any character who wishes to speak honestly. He will convey the following information truthfully, but remain cagey, only revealing pertinent details if asked directly.

• He believes a fallen archfiend is behind this plot–Gargauth, the so-called Tenth Lord of the Nine, The Hidden Lord, The Outcast, The Exile.
• Gargauth seeks apotheosis and dominion over the Hells. Velios doesn’t know how he’s planning to go about this.
• The characters are involved in this plot, and Asmodeus is not happy about that. There must be someone between Gargauth and the characters, and Velios needs to find out who. As penance they must work to thwart Gargauth’s plot and turn over anyone involved.

This should play as a high stakes negotiation. Velios will trade information tit-for-tat, asking for individual collaborators, organizations who are aiding the scheme, and details of the operation. This is also a place for him to give any final bits of information about Gargauth or the scheme (barring Shemeshka) that the characters haven’t pieced together. He can also provide a final clue or push if you need the party to set out on their path.

If role-played well and trust has been established, Velios will confess that he is bound into servitude by his father's contract. His heart is not completely in the mission, but he does enjoy the perks.

Devil’s Bargain. Sometimes the worst thing the devil can do is tell the truth. Once the characters and Velios have reached the end of their tet-a-tet, Velios will tell the characters that Asmodeus is not pleased that they aided a fallen devil in a scheme to overthrow him. He will tell them that unless they sign a contract swearing fealty to Asmodeus, there will be consequences.

This final exchange should be entirely dependent upon the characters’ perceptions of Velios. If he is regarded as a respectable adversary it may be a “we will meet again as enemies” kind of tension. If they detest him it may read as a direct threat. The characters should feel that they are brushing up against the ire of the multiverse’s greatest mob boss.

Regardless of the reception, Velios will not attack, and if he’s provoked he will Plane Shift away. If the characters don’t fall in league with Asmodeus then wait for the right moment in the final part of the adventure to spring an ambush on them. After all, a promise is a promise.