[ Beastlands ] [ Krigala | Brux | Karasuthra | Threefold Ocean ]
[ Animal Lords | Language ]
Beastlands
Also known as — (by Planewalkers) The Lands of Savage Beauty, the Land of Instinct, Animal’s Rest, the Wildlands; (by Primes) The Happy Hunting Grounds
The Beastlands. At first glance, it all seems harmless enough, right? There’s nothing nasty like tanar’ri or baatezu here. That don’t mean there ain’t critters with big sharp teeth hungry for your flesh, though! This is the wildest plane of all: a primal place of savagery, instinct and survival. It’s also one of the most beautiful places around. It’s like all your senses are heightened — hunger pains are more intense but food tastes more delicious. Days are more exhausting but sleep is more refreshing. The weather is more intense, and also changeable. And weirdest of all, cutters who visit the plane start to take on bestial traits and appearances.
The plane has three layers, each representing a different time of day. Each layer also has a similar geography, and gates between the layers are incredibly common. Any natural archyway, cave opening, hole in a tree or vine covering a path could be a gate. Step through and you’ll find the landscape to be similar, but day has instantly changed to night, or to twilight. It can be jarring, and dangerous. Because creatures who like to hunt are able to use these gates as well. And you’d better believe that on the Beastlands, the animals are smart. Each kind of animal has a leader, a exemplar of the species. These cutters are called the Animal Lords, and you’d better believe that they’re virtually powers in their own right.
Krigala — Layer the First
Krigala is the Wild of Eternal Noon. Selera, the sun that looks down upon these lands, never stops shining, and never shifts from her position at the zenith of the sky. The weather here can be baking hot, but frequent storms sweep across the land to keep things from turning to desert. The terrain varied from savannah to woodland to valleys and mountains, rivers, lakes and marshes. The animals who dwell here are those happiest in a diurnal environment: reptiles, insects, many birds and large mammals.
Brux — Layer the Second
The second layer of the Beastlands is Brux, the Wild of Twilight’s Embrace; Selera is always just on the horizon setting, and the moon Noctos is always crescent. The plants strain towards the half-sun to get enough light. This is the domain of the crepuscular creatures, those who flourish in the liminal time between day and night. Deer, foxes, frogs songbirds, rabbits, beetles, toads, wolves and tigers all haunt this layer.
Karasuthra — Layer the Third
The final layer of the Beastlands is Karasuthra, the Wild of Night Imperishable. The moon Noctos hangs in the sky, fat and full, casting a weak silvery light across the land. The moon is a jealous beast though, and does not like competition. Cutters aren’t able to make any kind of natural flame on the layer, and magical light is half as effective. This makes the layer doubly dangerous for a berk without low-light vision, because Karasuthra is the home to creatures of the night. Badgers and bats, hedgehogs and mice, but also far more dangerous creatures like panthers and leopards.
The Threefold Ocean
There is a single ocean on the Beastlands, that connects the three layers—but not in the way a prime would expect. The surface of the ocean is found on Krigala, where the sun smiles on the surf and flying fish play in the reefs. As you dive deeper into the sea, the light becomes dappled and the shadows play tricks on your eyes. When you reach these crepuscular depths, you have crossed over into Brux, and it is here the ocean fish dwell, the whales and the octopus. Plunging deeper still, to the very bottom of the ocean abyss, the light is completely extinguished. Down here in the gloom lurk strange and sinister creatures. Unexplored tunnels in the ocean trenches lead into deep grotto caves, carved through the bedrock by unseen hands and fast flowing waters. Here are the deep caves, where creatures who have no need for eyes dwell.
More on the Threefold Ocean here…
Source: Jon Winter-Holt. Canonwatch: The Threefold Ocean is homebrew—none of the Planescape sourcebooks mention where the aquatic beasts dwell.
