Our next stop in The Planes series is Bytopia- a plane of twin paradises and hard work.
Introduction to the Planes
Reflections: Feywild, Shadowfell
Inner Planes: Ethereal Plane, Elemental Chaos, Plane of Earth, Plane of Water
Outer Planes: Astral Plane, Beastlands, Gehenna, Mechanus, Mount Celestia, Pandemonium, Sigil, Ysgard

What is Bytopia

Manual of the Planes, 1987 TSR Inc. — **Manual of the Planes**, 1987 TSR Inc.

The twin paradises of Bytopia is a plane of hard and honest work, of people who believe in organizations only when it is needed and providing good deeds to others - though the concept of charity is foreign to many who reside here. This plane is best known for its two layers, Dothion and Shurruck and their arrangement as they are stacked on top of one another and share the same sky. Many compare this to a sandwich with each layer being the bread and the sky the content in between the two layers. Walking on one layer, one could easily look up and see the other layer high above as if you were looking down on it from above.

With this unique view, one can easily spot roads, villages, rivers, and other geographical features from the other layer. Dotting all over each layer are tall mountains that meet in the center, connecting two reflected layers and allowing travelers to journey from one layer to the next by ascending and then descending these mountains. Of course, the change in gravity is tricky for first-time travelers and its not unheard of for newcomers to plummet to their death when they switch layers.

History

Bytopia is introduced in 1st edition and little has changed through each iteration of this plane. It appears in 2nd edition and 3rd edition, each building on its renown for good quality work, sturdy workers, and the beauty of each layer. This plane is not featured in 4th edition, and while 5th edition returns it to the cosmology, it has so little information provided that it may not even have its recognizable shape. This plane is depicted as a plane of nature and beasts, but not the bestial nature of the Beastlands, but rather giant beasts roam each layer, their disposition largely dependent on which layer they live on.

An Outsider’s Perspective

Most visitors are drawn to this plane for trading, rare gems, and even hunting the large beasts that roam either plane. Most people arrive on the ‘top’ layer, Dothion, where the weather and four seasons are always mild. The snows of winter are never deeper than a few inches, the heat of summer never hotter than a comfortable day.

Outsiders are treated with respect, though the inhabitants have little opinion of adventurers and even less for thieves. Adventurers are seen as not doing honest work, though it doesn’t mean that they aren’t ever hired to act as guards, who do provide what the residents see as honest work. Stumbling across this plane, it's easy to find people willing to help out travelers, though a traveler won’t find anyone providing charity. If someone wants a meal, they have to work for it.

A Native’s Perspective

This plane is occupied by hard-working and industrious gnomes and humanoids, celestials like the archons, planars and solars, and a few of the elves and eladrin also call this their home. Dothion has the most residents, as many find the milder seasons to be easier to live their lives with, and they focus on agriculture and ranching. The golden fields are filled with wheat, barley, and corn, the pastoral rolling hills are home to silver-wooled sheep and gold-flecked lambs. The life of many who live on this layer is focused on individual industries, with homes spread out across this plane and many towns and villages selling the wares.

Shurruck is the opposite, where the industry of the community is held over the industry of a single creature. Here, communities pop up around mining quarries or large mills where the community produces raw materials or mine out precious gems and seams of gold and silver. The harshness of the weather and the savage wilderness keeps travel low with traders buying raw materials and selling the finished goods from Dothion.

The largest population of creatures on this plane are the beasts. These creatures are giant compared to their normal brethren on the Material Plane and, if you are on Shurruck, extremely dangerous. The beasts of Dothion are largely tame and mild-mannered, while those on Shurruck are as wild and savage as the layer. Occasionally a wild animal from Shurruck will find a portal to Dothion and will cause chaos and havoc, forcing the residents of Dothion to hunt it down or rely on adventurers to bring the beast down.

Atmosphere

The layers of Bytopia are paradises in their own, opposite ways. Dothion is known for its tamed and pastoral lands and forests, with mild seasons and pleasant days. Shurruck is the opposite with its wild, rocky lands and harsh weather for every season. Both layers have the same night and day structure as a soft, golden light radiates from the ‘center’ of this plane where the two layers meet. At night, many have mistakenly claimed to be able to see stars though it is just campfires, lanterns, and other forms of light from the opposite layer, with Shurruck having more ‘stars’ visible than its counterpart.

Planes of Conflict, 1995 TSR Inc. — **Planes of Conflict**, 1995 TSR Inc.

Traits

Travel to the Plane

Traveling to Bytopia is easily accomplished by finding portals in the Astral Plane or by taking a portal from Sigil or the Outlands, or finding a portal from its two adjacent planes, Mount Celestia and Elysium. Portals, while sparse, can be found in caverns with glowing patterns in the walls. Caverns with patterns of concentric rings lead to Mount Celestia while caverns with simple lines lead to Elysium, and caverns with spiderwebbed patterns will take a traveler to the Outlands. To find a portal to Bytopia in the Astral Plane requires finding an amber color pool, most color pools and portals deposit travelers on the top layer, Dothion.

Traversing the Plane

Walking across the plane is no different than journeying across the Material Plane, though depending on which layer you are on, the weather may make movement difficult. Dothion is always mild, it’s winters are never harsh, its summer is never too hot and the layer is seen as incredibly pleasant at every season. Dothion is a layer of pastoral greens, personal industries, rolling hills, and tamed forests.

Shurruck on the other hand is a layer of extremes and the harsh wilderness. From the winter’s deep snow to the summer’s parched heat, every season is amplified by the savage nature of this layer. This layer is also the least occupied of the two with small settlements of people around a central quarry or mill, very few people live outside of these communities.

Crossing the Boundary

In between these two layers, where they meet, is the tricky business of flipping between the two different gravities. Flying creatures have little issue crossing this boundary between the two layers as they can easily flip around before falling. In 1st and 2nd edition, the distance between these two layers was roughly 20 miles, though in the 3rd edition this distance is reduced to just a mile. There are very few portals between the two layers, and the ones that are known are heavily guarded by communities who charge a hefty fee in order to use the portals.

Some of the columns that connect these two layers actually have a carved staircase that spirals around them, making it easy to determine where the gravity flips on the path and helping travelers cross over without too much incident. Of course, it isn't unheard of for travelers to be overconfident, or not to be paying attention, and find themselves tumbling down the opposite layer when the gravity switched. Some also blame this misfortune on the ni’iath, a strange flying fish-like creature that seems to be able to ignore gravity. These vicious creatures hunt along the gravitational border of this plane, attacking as travelers concentrate on crossing the boundary and aren't paying attention to dangers outside of gravity.

Balloon Ride

The gnomes of Bytopia are an industrious lot and have come up with a variety of ways to take advantage of Bytopia’s two facing layers. One method they have created to ship supplies from one layer to the next is filling up great leather bladders with hot air and tying it to metal spheres filled with raw materials and finished goods. These bladders filled with hot air rise up to the center of this plane and, if they properly prepared and timed it right, will switch gravities of influence in just enough time. When it reaches the very center, the hot air in the balloons will have cooled down enough that as the metal sphere holding the goods crosses the boundaries, it will yank the balloons down and begin descending to the ground on the opposite layer. This is a jarring and bumpy ride, especially as if there isn’t enough hot air, the materials may plummet and crash to the ground on the opposite layer.

Locations

Dothion, the Pastoral Industry

The ‘top’ layer of Bytopia is a layer of pastoral fields, tame forests, and communities that sell top quality crafted goods. The craftsmanship of Bytopia is highly regarded across the planes, and the craftsmen boast of honest prices for honest work. Of course, traders who sell these items in Sigil or other planes wrack the price up, charging high premiums or outright lying about items crafted in Bytopia.

This layer is calm and mild, the residents not having much to worry about. Occasionally the inhabitants of this plane might have to deal with bandits on their lands, but adventurers and hunters can normally deal with such problems. Life on this layer is focused on the industry of the individual, for travelers and adventurers willing to work, they can easily find a meal on a farm or a bed for the night in an inn.

While numerous roads stretch all over this plane, most find it far easier to simply take a boat down the river, carrying large amounts of goods and materials to trading posts found all over this plane.

Yeoman

This bustling town is the place to be if you need to find goods or want to sell something. Trade caravans from the Outlands can be found here haggling over prices and products, selling to the town and taking goods produced to the various other planes. Due to this town being situated along two major rivers, people from all over Dothion can easily make their way to this town to sell their goods at the best price.

Thousands can be found in this town, and that number swells during the harvest season as those from all over the planes come here to be hired on as workers and to buy the harvested goods. Craftsmen of all types can be found in this town, from furniture makers to weavers, from brewers to millers and more can be found in this sprawling town.

Golden Hills

The home of gnomish pantheon can be found not too far from Yeoman, here are seven golden hills and the surrounding area of farmland and forests. The deity, Garl Glittergold, makes his home here and many residents and creatures are affected by his good cheer, mischief, and protection. Those who reside here, including the plants, are gold-tinged, much like the god himself. Gold-speckled butterflies fly from one golden-tinged flower to another golden-specked flower. Critters of all sorts may have golden specks or their fur takes on a golden hue.

The gnomes have a vast underground network of tunnels beneath this realm where they mine for gems and make their home in these deep burrows. Beyond the gnomish petitioners, this realm is also home to the giant burrowing creatures like moles, badgers, and gophers. There are so many of those burrowing beasts that the beastlords from the Beastlands will often journey over to this realm to commune with their respective beasts, checking on them and communicating with the gnomish pantheon about issues that affect both of them.

Shurruck, the Storm-Wracked

Shurruck is a land of wild forests, harsh country, and savage beasts. The inhabitants of this layer are few and far between, often living in small communities around a central quarry, mill or lumber yard. This layer is best known for the raw materials they dig out of the ground, the lumber from the wild forests or the pelts of the large, wild animals that hunt through the forests. These residents send their goods and materials to Dothion and the trading posts there as few trade caravans are willing to journey to this harsh layer.

Due to the extremes of this layer, wild storms can suddenly appear across this layer, a sight many on Dothion can admire from the safety of their mild-tempered layer. These storms can knock down forests, fling travelers off of the columns connecting the layers, and some are so powerful that they will occasionally explode out of this layer and bring devastation to Shurruck’s opposite. The inhabitants of this layer don’t see this as a horror, but rather as a challenge to survive. For those who wish to prove themselves, this is a paradise.

The Ridiculous Tower

Epimetheus, a foolish titan who wanders both layers of this plane, is supposedly a powerful entity, though the creature rarely acts with much thought towards outcomes. One day, Epimetheus had decided that he wanted to build a realm for himself and begun building a tower, at first everything was going well for the titan, except he decided after the first floor was built that he should really have a larger home and begun building outward with random rocks he had found, all different sizes and none worked into a uniform shape. As he grew his tower outward, it began taking on the form of a funnel and one of the wild storms of this layer swept through, causing the unbalanced structure to collapse completely.

Upon the destruction of his home, Epimetheus gave up on his tower and re-begun his aimless journey across the plane. For those who have found the build site, the bottom layer of the tower is still standing though it is sized for a 20-foot tall titan. Rocks lay haphazardly splayed out around this building, though it is still standing and in good shape.

Factions & People

Beasts

The animals and beasts of this plane are similar to their brethren except they are larger and more intelligent, though not to the degree that they could talk. These creatures are often called dire beasts and these extra-large creatures are perfect for the inhabitants on Dothion who specialize in animal husbandry. A single dire-sheep produces far more wool than a single sheep found on the Material Plane, and the dire-cows and dire-goats produce vast quantities of milk. These creatures are mild-mannered and tame, even the ones who live in the forests like the dire-deer and dire-squirrels.

Of course, that is only on Dothion, on the layer of Shurruck everything is taken to the extreme and the wild animals there are savage and vicious. Dire-wolves, dire-tigers, and more hunt through those forests, trappers and hunters don’t get old hunting these creatures. Occasionally one of these dire beasts will stumble on a portal to Dothion and cause havoc to break out in the mild environment there until the dire creature can be dealt with.

Ni’iath

The ni’iath are the cruel creatures that fly through the central sky of this plane, they are found mostly near the very center of the sky where the gravity shifts as they seem unaffected by the strange pull of two gravities. They fly through this area, waiting for creatures to climb those rock columns, and when they are switch from one gravity to another, swoop in and attack, using their claws and teeth to tear a creature asunder. If the creature proves to be more difficult than they thought, they can use their powerful tails to knock into the creature, causing gravity to shift on the creature in the direction of the ni’iath’s choice - this often means that the creature will be ‘falling’ at a 90-degree angle from true gravity for 100 feet until the new gravity wears off and they begin plummeting to the ground far below them.

Petitioners

The petitioners of this plane are largely gnomes who busy themselves in industry, creating highly sought after goods famed for their craftsmanship and honest prices. Even if a mortal wasn’t a gnome in their mortal life, if they are judged to be decent folk who belong to this plane, they may find themselves in the body of a gnome in their afterlife.

Encounters

Adamantite Lair - Rumors persist of a great adamantine dragon who has several homes throughout both layers of this plane. Many claim that the treasure hoard of such an ancient beast is filled with massive crystals and gems worth hundreds of thousands of gold, the only problem is finding these well-hidden caves… and avoiding Mercialla, the adamantine dragon, if you do find the caves.

Dothion in Danger - A great dire beast has escaped from Shurrock onto Dothion and has attacked several small towns. A group of adventurers have been hired to track down this beast and bring it down, unfortunately, the beast has proven far smarter and has taught other dire creatures to use the portal.

Glittergold Butterfly - A sage in Sigil has heard rumors that the dire-butterflies of Bytopia glitter with golden flecks and is curious as to any magical or medicinal properties they may have. It’s up to a group of adventurers and a massive butterfly net to capture several dire-butterflies and bring them, still alive, to the sage.

Ni’iath Ride - An enterprising young gnome has figured out a way to tame a ni’iath and ride it like a mount. Unfortunately, the gnome can’t train mature ni’iath and wants to grow a large business out of riding these creatures. She can only train baby ni’iath as the mature ones are too chaotic and cruel and she is looking for a group of adventurers to go into a nest of ni’iath and retrieve her a few eggs.

Order of the Planes-Militant - A group from Mount Celestia is making moves to ‘corrupt’ the land of Bytopia and send large chunks of it to Mount Celestia as a way to grow their own plane. Rumors persist that they are hoping of taking the entire layer of Dothion and merge it into a new layer for Mount Celestia, no one knows if taking an entire layer is possible, though there are disturbing rumors of towns suddenly vanishing from Bytopia.

Resources & Further Reading

Planescape Campaign Setting (2nd edition)
For more information on factions and their influence on this plane.
Planes of Conflict (2nd edition)
For more information on locations, the layers, and inhabitants of Bytopia.
Manual of the Planes (3rd edition)
For more information on the layers and inhabitants in Bytopia.

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Apr 6 The Planes: Bytopia