[ Outlands ] [ Spirelands | Ringlands | Gate-Towns | Hinterlands | Splinterlands | Underlands ]
The Gate-Towns of the Brinklands
Also known as — The Great Road; the Gate Ring
More is known about the Outlands than many other planes put together, but there are also a great many mysteries to be encountered here. Not least is the Spire itself, an infinitely tall tapering pillar of dark rock that rises from the flat plains of the Outlands both suddenly and with eye-watering proportions.
The central Outlands themselves can be divided into three portions: The Spirelands, the Ringlands, and the Brinklands where the gate-towns can be found. The last of these applies to the circle of sixteen gates which connect the Outlands to each of the other Outer Planes. Around each gate springs up a burg with a philosophy that’s part Outlander but heavily influenced by the neighbouring plane. In fact, most of these gate-towns cling on to the Outlands by the narrowest of margins, always poised to slide off the face of the Brinklands into a neighbouring Outer Plane if the prevailing beliefs of the inhabitants become too closely aligned with the plane.
As you walk with the Spire to your back, the Brinklands are the first part of the Outlands where all magic functions to its full effect. Beyond the relatively narrow strip of normality, things start to get weird again if a body keeps walking, into the Hinterlands, and eventually the Splinterlands right at the edge of the plane.
The rilmani tend to become less commonly encountered when a body gets this far from the Spire; their domain is the magic-dead heartlands of the plane. Most of the cutters you’ll encounter are gate-town locals, planewalkers, or folks travelling between the Outlands and the neighbouring plane for trade, pilgrimage or mischief. Dwelling at the fringes of the Brinklands however, are weird creatures called the Strangers who have taken the concept of balance to extremes.
The Paths of the Brinklands
- The Great Road — what to expect if you travel between the gate-towns
- The Gate Ring — how to use the gates, and more importantly, how to get back again
- The Modron Procession — an epic and dangerous journey undertaken by the clockwork outsiders
The Gate Towns of the Brinklands
- Automata (gate town to Mechanus)
- Bedlam (gate town to Pandemonium)
- Curst (gate town to Carceri)
- Ecstasy (gate town to Elysium)
- Excelsior (gate town to Mount Celestia)
- Faunel (gate town to the Beastlands)
- Fortitude (gate town to Arcadia)
- Glorium (gate town to Ysgard)
- Hopeless (gate town to the Gray Waste)
- Itharin (wandering gate town to the Astral)‡
- Plague-Mort (gate town to the Abyss)
- Ribcage (gate town to Baator)
- Rigus (gate town to Acheron)
- Sylvania (gate town to Arborea)
- Torch (gate town to Gehenna)
- Tradegate (gate town to Bytopia)
- Xaos (gate town to Limbo)
The Flavours of the Brinklands
- The Outlandish Lands — Being an exploration of what makes the Outlands unique and, well, outlandish‡
- Bestiary of the Outlands — In which we meet the creatures that lurk, flutter and wander the Outlands
- Calendar of the Outlands — In which we discover an account of the months and seasons of the Plane of Balance, helpful to both local and planewalker alike.‡
- Outlandish Folk — Being a balanced look at the cutters who call the Outlands their home plane‡
- Tales of the Outlands — In which we hear the stories of travellers who’ve been here first, who’ve perhaps seen it all before, or never want to see it again‡
- Terrain of the Outlands — Being a journey through the surreal terrain of the Outlands, where opposites collide‡
- Talk Like an Outlander — Being a glossary of the lingo that is peculiar to the Outlands‡
Powers of the Brinklands
In which we discuss how powers with realms tend to avoid settling in this most heavily-travelled part of the Outlands. Conversely, it’s the most interesting part of the plane for those meddlesome wandering powers.
Movers and Shakers
In which we learn of the folk and creatures that inhabit the plane, and how best to approach — or avoid — them.
- The Brothers of the Dark Hood — a brotherhood of banditry‡
- Chaos Engineers — a sect who seeks to find order in chaos‡
- The Tacharim
- Walking Castles — a way to travel the Outlands in relative safety and style
Source: Jon Winter-Holt, mimir.net. Canonwatch: Entries are from D&D canon unless otherwise marked, although when the canon is sparse I’ve got creative with the details; †adapted from a 3rd party publication; ‡ homebrew.
