Li Po's Guide to Carceri
Living the Evil, Chaotic-Tending Alignment

Wisdom and goodness to the vile seem vile;
Filths savour but themselves.

Men are not in hell because God is angry with them. They are in wrath and darkness because they have done to the light, which infinitely flows forth from God, as that man does to the light of the sun who puts out his own eyes.

There are no explanations for human evil, only excuses.

        -- Dean Koontz

I don't believe in the hypocritical, moralistic dogma of this so-called civilized society... I don't need to hear all of society's rationalizations, I've heard them all before and the fact remains that what is, is... I will be avenged. Lucifer dwells within us all... I gave up love and happiness a long time ago.

        --Richard Ramirez, the "Night Stalker" serial killer

My god was my art career. That's what I worshipped. I thought of how cold-hearted and cruel and manipulative I was. I felt where I had ended was where I belonged, and that the people who had come and picked me up and taken me to this place were people who had lived lives like mine. We were people who hadn't loved God and hadn't loved fellow human beings. Now in this place there was nothing left but to tear and gnaw on one another, which was essentially what we had done on earth. I was also aware that this was just the beginning, and that it was going to get worse. Much, much worse. I knew the only way to survive in this place was to be crueller than the people who were around you. There was no kindness, no compassion, no hope.

        Howard Storm's experience is described here.

Help yourself to my Planescape Character Generator for MS-DOS.

In some liturgies, worshippers renounce, or reaffirm their renunciation of, "the glamour of evil." On Carceri, the glamour of evil is weird hatreds and revenge trips. These sometimes (but not usually) erupt as killing sprees. In our own world, some people think this is what they really want.

Medieval Europe, the culture on which much of AD&D is based, depicted the spiritual powers of evil as ugly and dangerous, like human misbehavior, but also vulnerable and ignorant.

Li Po and I believe that this mirrors real life. When we see how repulsive evil is, most people will make the right choices most of the time. So long as we live, we can try to find the grace to live better.

In the AD&D/Planescape universe, Carceri is the dimension where Evil is predominant, and there is some tendency to Chaos over Law.

"Carceri" (compare "incarcerate") means "place of confinement." Jeff Grubb envisioned it as universes of red spheres bearing various unpleasant environments, from which escape is very difficult.

What little "civilization" is here resembles small frontier outposts. Carceri is the home plane of the "Revolutionary League", which seeks to overthrow civilization. ("When we've overthrown the establishment, we'll figure what to do next.") It is also home to the "Chippers", a fraternity of exiles with attitudes.

The Geography of Carceri

As described in the Planescape resources, "Tartarus" or "Carceri" comprises universes of evil without joy, humor, comfort, real affection, hope or meaning, where each layer is an endless string of spheres, and all spheres glow with a lurid red light. The spheres of various layers are concentric, though sizes differ wildly. It seems to me that on this chaotic plane, collisions would be likely here rather than among the blocks of Acheron. Demodands (gehreleths) dominate some communities. These creatures are rumored to provide living authors with visions of cosmic angst, bitterness, and senselessness. All creatures suffer from terrible tedium and weariness.

Souls finding their way to Carceri include religionists who have emphasized the cruelty of nature, secretive sex criminals, individual bullies, purveyors of bunko religions, and common career criminals.

There's no real love here -- as on the other planes of evil, the locals think it's wrong and fake, and that no one is genuinely good. Many of the things that they enjoy most are probably better left undescribed. The spiritual powers here seek to corrupt souls by encouraging ennui, egomania, revenge motives, or the desire to cause suffering to others. Beware -- those who sample these dark pleasures may find they have no joy in anything else. The locals may surprise visitors with their knowledge of any un-repented crimes they may have committed. They'll remind visitors of times when they've failed to show simple kindness, and when they've been mistreated or rejected -- and try to persuade them that they should recognize that the dwellers in Carceri are right. The locals take much satisfaction in telling visitors that all supposed altruism is simply a mask for secret, selfish agendas. Because evil is so powerful here, the locals lack even the ordinary loves of our world -- family, friendship, romance. These instead become ways in which a stronger being preys on a weaker being. The locals will talk a lot about cruelty as a way of "building character." The residents of Carceri find the idea of unselfish love to be utterly disgusting. Open-faced evil is poor politics. The locals will present themselves to outsiders as people with just grievances, fighting for what they deserve rather than "being weak". Their attitude makes them appallingly cruel, and given the opportunity, they will commit the vilest acts against one another and against visitors. Evil deeds, or any use of death magic or necromancer's spells might tend to transform the character progressively.

Living or dead, the locals are all bitter, plot revenge, and seem constitutionally incapable of telling the entire truth. Lost souls often take the form of maggots. The people of Carceri probably form communities of primitive savagery, in contrast to the "noble savages" of the Beastands and of our own world's Rousseauean fantasy. Primitives from the prime worlds will find heaps of skulls, human hearts, and other detritus of atrocities. Public portals between the layers and to remote planes are marked by masses of filth and decay. Portals or no, don't expect it to be easy to leave Carceri. Even the magic you have used in the past for interplanar travel may not work on Carceri.

Othyrus is a universe of canals, polluted rivers, foul swampland, quicksand, disease, and open graves. The mountains are the homes of the egomaniac Titans, raised in mockery of Mount Olympus. Mountaintops touch on adjacent spheres, and one can also travel by the Styx or by flying. In the void, there are rumored to be ultra-powerful monsters. One may hear a weird music that promises to fulfill one's deepest wish. Follow it, and you either vanish or return drained of 1d20 wisdom. The communities are full of fake religious leaders and people who led causes they knew were bogus. They will glad-hand you and try to recruit you. Bastion is the Revolutionary League's home. It is carved from black volcanic rock. The best face-change surgery is available here. Ochre-drab pools extending into the astral appear in the foul fens, and can be moved freely. The color contrasts with the overall red hues, indicating a gateway to another world. Portals to the Outlands, the Gray Waste or the Abyss are often doorways within obelisks. Most of the locals are are unable to use these portals, and perhaps the adventurers will have difficulty doing so as well. This is a common location for the headquarters of weird sects devoted to misfortune, and to cults where the upper echelon know it's all bunk.

Cathrus is a universe of overblown crimson jungles, where all the plants and animals are poison (1d6 damage to exposed flesh every round, rots metal in 1d8 rounds). There are also scarlet grasslands that are more habitable. Fetaphon is a jungle town of cruelty and slave labor, built on rope bridges over a bubbling tar pit. The locals throw folks into the tar from time to time to feed the monsters so that they will leave the town alone. Hill giant heaven is a savage territory here.

Minethus (Greek "minytheo", to waste away) is a desert universe of red sand, sharp like ground glass, where the air is a stinking cloud. The wind blows hard here, driving sand into unprotected skin for 1d6 damage/round. It can be used to travel from sphere to sphere. Each day, a tornado comes on 1 on d12, and takes the adventurers to some other lower plane. Pyts is one sphere in this world, where visitors lose one point of charisma daily; upon reaching zero, they are transformed into hideously ugly forms but keep their own minds and dispositions. Only the locals can influence the undead in Pyts, and any holy water brought here supposedly turns to poison. (Or maybe the locals simply find it objectionable.)

Colothys is a maroon universe of preposterous high mountains and deep canyons. There are avalanches, wandering monsters, and so forth. Gallowshome is built around a supposed portal to Sigil inside a cave. Inside the cave is a five-mile expanse, the floor (half a mile below the entry ledge) covered with titanic bones, and the ceiling hangs with titanic bodies dangling from ropes, their throats all cut. Maggots infest the bodies and drop from them to an unknown destiny; the maggots are the souls of sinners and are supposedly keeping the giants dead. You need to cross somehow to get through the portal, and the maggots will attack you. Maybe this is just a trap. Malar's realm is habitable, and here primitives hunt game. The more cruelly you kill your meat, the better it tastes. Those with nature skills get +4 against being surprised, as their senses are sharper. Sigil's prison has an extension here, and they may sell criminals to be hunted for fun.

Porphatys is a wet, cold universe filled with deep-red acid snow, which melts into corrosive lakes. Cloth rots in 1d6 rounds, but leather and metal are unaffected. Residents of the lakes fight one another to be able to stand on sandbars.

Agathys is a universe of blood-red ice and extreme cold, where the ice moves and entraps those who pretended to love other individuals for the purpose of betraying them.

Spell alterations in Carceri: Magic used for selfish purposes, that benefits the caster and makes the rest of the world a worse place, is at maximum effectiveness. Magic cast for an altruistic purpose always requires a spell key. Alterations produce the greatest possible evil, or at least horrid side-effects. Expect to see screaming faces in things produced by magic. Summoned creatures are free-willed, and must be bribed. All divinations require the sacrifice of a comrade, and the answer appears in the spreading blood pool. Healing spells are at half-effect. Raised undead are free-willed and usually attack their creator. Harmful necromancy gets +1/die. Elemental effects may be double to nil, depending on the environment. I respectfully suggest that all spells involving transportation including "plane shift" and "gate", lead to a random destination somewhere in Carceri, near or far depending on the spell.

Wizardly spell keys are a lead necklace for alterations. A round magnet for conjurations. A pint of your own blood for divinations. A fiend's thighbone for necromancy. And so forth. Power keys are symbols of the cult, and are rarely given.

Third edition "Manual of the Planes" focuses primarily on simplifying and encouraging individual campaign creativity. Ideas include:

  • The suggested color for pools from the astral is olive. Ethereal curtains might be gray-green. These must be the after-images of red.
  • The dead are immune to cold and acid, and as an additional ability get +10 on bluff checks.
  • The plane is "mildly evil-aligned". Good creatures have -2 on charisma checks.
  • I respectfully suggest that Carceri be regarded as chaotic-tending and thoroughly evil. These effects are additive

      -1 on all charimsa checks for all lawful creatures
      -1 on all intelligence, wisdom, and charisma checks for all non-good, non-evil creatures
      -2 on all intelligence, wisdom, and charisma checks for all good creatures.
      Good-based spells simply fail.
      Evil-based spells work as if caster were 4 levels higher.
      Law-based spells (non-good) require a Spellcraft check (DC 15) for success.
      Chaos-based spells (non-good) work as if caster were 2 levels higher.

    The Fourth Edition retains Carceri as a prison behind a red color veil. It is still "wretched and lawless." Perhaps visitors would get bonuses or penalties to intelligence, wisdom, and charisma-based skill checks depending on how much their behavior has been in keeping with the ideals of the locals.

    In keeping with the flexibility of the third and fourth editions and the backgrounds of many players, perhaps Carceri is essentially a world where like-minded spirits meet. It looks and works like our own world, except that after a while, visitors will realize that it is a place where mean-minded criminals have been confined. NPC attitudes are typically "hostile"; the locals may respond best to visitors who assent to the "convict's code" (do not interfere with our illegal activities, help us escape, help us get revenge). If there is a spiritual race native to Carceri, it is devoted to promoting the community's ideals among the living by encouragement and subtlety, rather than by force. The dead find communities matching their own ideals and interests, and continue to live much as they did on earth, though no longer able to visit the Prime Plane.

    Instead of the "gods" of polytheism, each living evil, chaotic-tending divine spellcaster is sponsored (and monitored) by a prayer fellowship with similar interests based on Carceri. For the fourth edition, I suggest no penalties for divine spellcasters from elsewhere. For earlier editions, I respectfully suggest that the only penalty for such a cleric on a differently-aligned outer plane is the loss of one spell of the highest available level for each plane removed, with the Outlands two planes from Mechanus, Elysium, Limbo, and the Gray Waste. When one level is depleted, spells of the next highest level are lost. Thus a cleric sponsored from Carceri would lose one spell on the Abyss or Gray Waste, six spells on Bytopia or Arcadia, and seven spells on Mt. Celstia. Moving to the Outlands loses three spells.

    A world where there is no love and the locals cherish only their grievances would be as confining and horrible as any rules-intensive world ever visited by adventurers.

Referees might not want players to realize that they have entered Tartarus. Depending on the site of arrival, visitors might simply recognize a world of ordinary people with chips on their shoulders, where love is scorned and hatreds are even stronger than in our world. The clergy will have a lot to say about revenge and hitting-back as the essence of spirituality.

The People of Carceri

"Evil with Chaotic Tendencies" is all too familiar from our world. It's the mentality of ordinary career criminals. If you've lived or worked around these people, you'll recognize their indifference to the rights of others and their ability to manipulate good people.

  • They suffer less from the pangs of conscience than others;

  • They socialize poorly, and are not interested in being real friends;

  • They continually seek new sensations and thrills, and means of "creative self-expression";

  • They are demanding of everyone except themselves -- ordinary criminals are the world's worst crybabies;

  • Of course, they have learned to cite past wrongs (personal, ancestral) to obtain sympathy and special privileges.

  • Regardless of ethnicity, they exhibit more-than-average racial ill-will;

  • They have selectively-delicate consciences. (Hitler and Ted Bundy were vegetarians, since they professed to abhor harming innocent creatures.)

  • Almost all drink alcohol for its effect on their thinking and mood;

  • They have no real interest in forms of religion that require altruism, though they may become active in racist sects or cults of selfishness;

The roots of criminality remain mysterious. Perhaps the genes and/or subtle brain problems are the cause. An adoptee's number of adult convictions correlates more with the number for one's natural parents than with one's adoptive parents. Liberal explanations of criminality simply don't work. Poverty's not the explanation -- most of the poor hate the criminals among whom they must live. "Lack of opportunity" isn't the problem in America -- our crybabies amaze the rest of the world. "Social injustice" isn't the explanation -- criminals, police, and private citizens all agree in theory about right and wrong, and despite much effort, nobody's been able to show that on average, harsher sentences are given to particular grievance groups. "Bad homes" account for childhood problems, but the vast majority of siblings of criminals are well-behaved.

Regardless of its causes, the current mood in the US is to hold people responsible for their behavior, and not to try to correct all of society's wrongs by government intervention. In fact, jails (our "Carceri") are now holding-areas for many of the truly mentally-ill, released from custodial institutions by "enlightened social legislation" of the early 1970's.

In our world, most people who escape from the criminal life do so by a decision to try real religion. Perhaps this is why (in an adventure game) escape routes from Carceri are so hard to find.

The Cults of Carceri

Tartarus/Carceri is the place where the old gods of classical Greece are sometimes said to be confined. The very ancient poet Hesiod listed twelve old gods, or "Titans", who were replaced after a struggle by the twelve Olympians. "Coeus and Phoebe", "Hyperion and Theia", "Oceanus and Tethys", and "Cronus and Rhea" are male-female couples. Mnemosyne, Themis, Iapetus, and Crius are unpaired; notice that the Mnemosyne and Themis seem to personify human culture.

It seems reasonable to think that the listed Titans were selected from the gods of the inhabitants of Greece prior to the Dorian invasion. Whoever invented the tale about their being confined in Carceri may also have paired Cronus (destructive time) with Rhea (protective Mother Nature). Civilized people will think of the past as cruel and unorganized (i.e., evil with chaotic tendencies).

The Titans was physical giants, and the huge ship "Titanic" was named for them. They appeared as untamed elemental forces in the Disney movie "Hercules". I'm told that the pre-Doric Greeks were also Indo-European speakers. We can also think that the portfolios of their gods covered the interests of primitive peoples. For the sake of fantasy, let's add the unjustifiable assumption that their gods were cruel and generally chaotic. Let's also assume (as the names suggest) that the society is hunter-gatherer. How can we reconstruct "the Titans" for the enjoyment of visitors to Carceri? My best guesses:

    Cronus: Father Time, the destroyer
    Rhea: Mother Nature; protection in a harsh era
    Oceanus: The cruel sea
    Tethys: The wild lakes and rivers
    Hyperion: The uncaring sky
    Theia: The mystery of the stars
    Coeus: The chaotic weather
    Phoebe: The burning sun
    Crius: The bloody hunt; the world of the dead
    Iapetus: War and slaughter
    Themis: Harsh justice
    Mnemosyne: Unforgiving memory; a culture's survival skills

1. Cronus (Κρόνος, kronn-oss) is "chrono-", "Time." Spelled with initial kappa instead of chi, supposedly the nuance is "time as destroyer" rather than "time as history". According to one myth, he castrated his father Uranus ("sky") at the request of his mother Gaea ("earth"), who disliked being impregnated with monsters. Supposedly he was the father of Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, and Hestia, but devoured his children. Others identified him with the ancient agricultural god "Saturn", beloved of the Romans.

Kronos -- quotations from classic sources

Ideas for gamers: Clerics of "Cronus" belong to a weird, ancient, harsh sect. They preach on the briefness and meaninglessness of all things. All these clerics can command the undead into service, and even non-evil ones use destructive necromantic spells.

    Clerics of this sect may be of Chaotic-Neutral or Chaotic-Evil alignment. Most are Chaotic Evil.

    Insignia: Sickle
    Concerns: Ignorance Time
    Major Spheres: Elemental Healing Necromantic
    Minor Spheres: Protection Sun Weather
    Command undead
    Preferred weapons: Big Sickle (1d8, 1d10 L) Arrow (1d6, 1d6 L)

    Third Edition: CN/CE/NE; free exotic weapon proficiencies as required. In place of domains, consider filling both domain and as many ordinary spell slots as desired with signature spells that involve manipulating time, and spells that create ennui or promote unthinking. Even the non-evil ones command/rebuke undead.

    Fourth Edition: Chaotic evil. Perhaps a leading primordial. Powers of darkness, destruction, tyranny.

2. Rhea (`Ρέα, hreh-ah) was an earth-mother goddess, the wife of Cronus, and sided with Zeus. "Rhea-" is an ancient root for "flow" (rheO-, hreh-oh) (compare "hemorrhage", "rheostat", and "diarrhea"). Chrysippus explained the name as derived from rivers flowing through the earth. According to the myths, she was mother to Zeus and other Olympians. This makes it easy to believe that the Rhea worshipped by the first Greeks was a beloved goddess of motherhood and natural fertility, whose cult was preserved. She was the protectress during a harsher age.

Rhea -- quotations from classic sources

Ideas for gamers: Clerics of "Rhea" assist mothers and families, especially with the placement of orphans.

    These clerics must stay faithful to Neutral Good.
    Insignia: Lady-face
    Concerns: Fertility
    Major Spheres: Animals Charm Guardian Healing Plants Protection
    Minor Spheres: Creation
    Turn undead
    Leather armor, wood shield
    Spear (1d8, 1d10 L) Arrow (1d6, 1d6 L)

    Third Edition: Any good alignment; free exotic weapon proficiencies as required. Considering adding druidical abilities in exchange for limiting armor, weapons, and perhaps combat abilities. In place of domains, consider filling both domain and as many ordinary spell slots as desired with a generous selection of druidical spells that nurture living things.

    Fourth Edition: Good. Perhaps a rare primordial of good nature. Powers of life, nature, protection.

3. Oceanus (Όκεανός, oak-eh-ahn-oss) has a name cognate to the great oceans ("the outward sea"), which were dimly known to the people of early Greece who lived on the Mediterranean ("the inward sea"). His common title was "deep-eddying" or "deep-flowing". A god of salt-water and seafaring would be expected in early Greece. He and his wife did not war on Zeus, and protected his sister Hera.

Okeanos -- quotations from classic sources

Ideas for gamers: Clerics of "Oceanus" serve sea-faring people. They emphasize the destructive, anarchic, cruel sea. On reaching 8th level, they can breathe underwater without using a spell, and can change into marine animals as druids do.

    Clerics of this sect may be of any alignment. Most are Chaotic Neutral.
    Insignia: Waves
    Concerns: Oceans
    Major Spheres: Healing Weather Elemental (Water)
    Minor Spheres: Animals Creation Divination Guardian Necromantic Protection
    Preferred weapons: Trident (1d8, 1d10 L) Arrow (1d6, 1d6 L)

    Third Edition: CG/CN/CE; free exotic weapon proficiencies as required. In place of domains, consider filling both domain and as many ordinary spell slots as desired with signature spells that involve manipulating water and promoting navigation. Water-breathing and transformation into animals are feats that must be taken. "Swim" and "use rope" are class skills.

    Fourth Edition: Chaotic evil. A water primordial. Powers of sea, storm.

4. Tethys (Τηθίς, tay-theess) has a name that in early classical Greek means "aunt", and must have meant something like "revered lady". We know nothing else about this goddess except that she was the wife of Oceanus, and the mother of water nymphs and the rivers (Theogony). Hesiod calls her "lovely". Pindar calls her "goddess of many names" and says she gave value to gold, and that races are held in her honor. The "Tethys sea" is a frozen lava lake on the moon. It seems reasonable to conjecture she was a fresh-water goddess. We read in the Iliad (14: 200-210) that Oceanus and Tethys cared for Hera while Zeus was fighting the other titans.

Tethys -- quotations from classic sources

Ideas for gamers: Clerics of "Tethys" serve lake and riverbank communities. They emphasize the wild power of floods and storms. At eighth level, they can breathe normally underwater without using a spell, and turn into fresh water animals in the same way as druids do.

    Clerics of this sect may be of any alignment. Most are Chaotic Neutral.
    Insignia: Waves
    Concerns: Fishing Fresh Water
    Major Spheres: Healing Elemental (Water)
    Minor Spheres: Animals Creation Divination Guardian Necromantic Plants Protection Weather
    Preferred weapons: Trident (1d8, 1d10 L) Arrow (1d6, 1d6 L)

    Third Edition: CG/CN/CE; free exotic weapon proficiencies as required. In place of domains, consider filling both domain and as many ordinary spell slots as desired with signature spells that involve water and weather. Breathing underwater and becoming an animal are feats that must be chosen.

    Fourth Edition: Chaotic evil. A water primordial. Powers of sea, storm.

5. Hyperion is the father of the old gods of the sun, moon, and dawn. "Hyper-" means "above", and probably Hyperion was either a sky god or some group's "highest god" whose consort is simply "the goddess". In the "Iliad", he is sun god. Jack Keats wrote some poetry about him.

Hyperion -- quotations from classic sources

Ideas for gamers: Clerics of "Hyperion" worship under the night sky. They are dreamers with mystical propensities, and preach about the terrors of infinite space. All possess infravision to 120' regardless of race.

    Clerics of this sect may be of any alignment. Most are Chaotic Evil.
    Concerns: Sky
    Major Spheres: Healing Sun
    Minor Spheres: Creation Divination Guardian Necromantic Protection
    Preferred weapons: Spear (1d8, 1d10 L) Arrow (1d6, 1d6 L)

    Third Edition: CN/CE/NE; free exotic weapon proficiencies as required. In place of domains, consider filling both domain and as many ordinary spell slots as desired with signature spells that involve darkness, fear, and the sky. If the race naturally has darkvision, double its distance, otherwise grant it.

    Fourth Edition: Chaotic evil. Perhaps something from the Far Realm. Powers of darkness, tyranny.

6. Theia (Θεία, theh-ee-ah) appears to be a feminine cognate to "theos", i.e., a name that means "the goddess". The word replaced "Tethys" in later Greek as a word for "aunt", hence "revered lady". Theia is wife to Hyperion and mother of the sun, moon, and dawn. We can guess she was goddess of the stars. Homeric hymn XXXI "To Helios" says that "Hyperion wedded glorious Euryphaessa, his own sister" who bore him dawn, moon, and sun. Pindar calls her "goddess of many names", suggesting she had assimilated or been identified with a host of other goddesses.

Theia -- quotations from classic sources

Ideas for gamers: Clerics of "Theia" belong to an ancient, cruel, amoral sect that worships in starlight. They are mystics with knowledge of the myriad planes. They preach about the terrors of the infinite multiverse. All possess infravision to 120'.

    Clerics of this sect may be of any alignment. Most are Chaotic Evil.
    Concerns: Darkness Stars
    Insignia: Stars
    Major Spheres: Healing Sun
    Minor Spheres: Creation Divination Guardian Necromantic Protection
    Preferred weapons: Spear (1d8, 1d10 L) Arrow (1d6, 1d6 L)

    Third Edition: CN/CE/NE; free exotic weapon proficiencies as required. In place of domains, consider filling both domain and as many ordinary spell slots as desired with signature spells that involve the sky and starlight. Darkvision is granted to races that lack it, doubled for races that already possess it.

    Fourth Edition: Chaotic evil. Perhaps something from the Far Realm. Powers of darkness, tyranny.

7. Coeus (Κοίος, koi-oss) is the father of Latonia (Leto, called "dark-mantled", perhaps a night-goddess), who became the mother of Apollo (sunlight, athletics, music, archery) and Artemis (moon, hunting, celibacy). "*Keu-" is the ancient Indo-European root for "bent / hollow" (compare "coelom", "hydrocele", etc.), suggesting the dome of the sky. The link to sun and moon conforms this is a sky / weather god. "Koios" is a Greek dialect term for "sacrificial animal", and perhaps this means Coeus included farm animals in his portfolio. Derivation of the name from "what, how, and why" seems harder to believe.

Koios -- quotations from classic sources

Ideas for gamers: Clerics of "Coeus" are sky-worshippers, who emphasize the remoteness and indifference of the vast sky, and the mindless cruelty of bad weather.

    Clerics of this sect may be of any alignment. Most are Chaotic Evil.
    Concerns: Animals Weather
    Insignia: Lyre
    Major Spheres: Animals Divination Elemental Weather
    Minor Spheres:
    Preferred weapons: Spear (1d8, 1d10 L) Arrow (1d6, 1d6 L)

    Third Edition: CN/CE/NE; free exotic weapon proficiencies as required. In place of domains, consider filling both domain and as many ordinary spell slots as desired with signature spells that involve weather, air, and animals. "Animal empathy" and "animal handling" are class skills.

    Fourth Edition: Chaotic evil. Perhaps an air primordial. Power of storm.

8. Phoebe (Φοέβη, foy-bay) is cognate with Indo-European "*bha", meaning "shine / bright" and Greek "phoibos" (foy-boss), meaning "bright, pure, radiant". Hesiod calls her "golden-crowned." Compare "photon", "phosphorus", "photograph", and many other words having to do with light. "Phos" is Greek for "light", and "Phoebus" was another name for Apollo. Phoebe must have been goddess of light. One of the early Christian ladies mentioned in the New Testament bore the name of this ancient goddess. In the "Eumenides", Aeschylus says that oracle at Delphi first belonged to Gaia (Earth), then to Themis, then to Phoibe, and finally to Phoibe's grandson Apollo who took his name from her.

Phoibe -- quotations from classic sources

Ideas for gamers: Clerics of "Phoebe" are light-worshippers. They revere the cruel power of the midday sun.

    Clerics of this sect may be of any alignment. Most are Chaotic Evil.
    Concerns: Light
    Insignia: Starburst
    Major Spheres: Elemental Sun
    Minor Spheres:
    Preferred weapons: Spear (1d8, 1d10 L) Arrow (1d6, 1d6 L)

    Third Edition: CN/CE/NE; free exotic weapon proficiencies as required. In place of domains, consider filling both domain and as many ordinary spell slots as desired with signature spells that involve manipulating bright light, fire and heat.

    Fourth Edition: Chaotic evil. Perhaps a fire primordial. Power of fire, sun.

9. Crius (Κρειός / Κριός / Κρεύς kraay-oss) is Greek for "ram", and a ram was later the totem of the death-god Hades. ("Theoi", linked below, tells me that "krios" was a dialect term for "ruler", and a Homeric hymn calls the father of Pallas "Megamedes", which evidently means "big ruler".) A river was named for the titan Krios in Achaea, and a city there was named for his son Pallas, who married the river Styx. I suspect that Crius was a god of death and the dead. Sometimes Crius is given Eurybia ("bright goddess" "heart hard as flint", daughter of Pontus and Gaea, the sea and earth, maybe a sky goddess because "eury-" means "wide / broad") as the consort by whom he gave birth to Astraeus I who fathered the stars (compare "astronomy"), the monster Pallas I ("Pallas" became another name for Athena, who supposedly killed the monster), and the wise (wizardly?) Perses I, who gave birth to Hecate. The common theme perhaps is darkness. Perhaps Eurybea is the undersky, thought to be beneath the earth, through which the ancients know the sun passes at night. Pausanias says that the dragon-like python slain by Apollo was really a person, "a violent son of Krios" who was in turn an important man in Euboia.

Krios -- quotations from classic sources

Ideas for gamers: Clerics of "Crius" operate the full range of death-related ministries. They have a cynical, cruel, anarchic outlook on life.

    Clerics of this sect may be of any alignment. Most are Chaotic Evil.
    Concerns: Death
    Insignia: Ram
    Major Spheres: Elemental Necromantic Sun (reversed)
    Minor Spheres:
    Command undead
    Preferred weapons: Spear (1d8, 1d10 L) Arrow (1d6, 1d6 L)

    Third Edition: Any evil alignment; free exotic weapon proficiencies as required. In place of domains, consider filling both domain and as many ordinary spell slots as desired with signature spells that involve death and the underworld.

    Fourth Edition: Chaotic evil. Perhaps an earth primordial. Power of darkness, death, earth, undeath.

    In the 1980's AD&D books, Crius got dominion over gravity for some reason.

[Do Justice, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly]

10. Iapetus was the father of Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Atlas, either by Themis or by an ocean-nymph ("Klymene"). The Iliad mentions him being confined in Tartaros with Kronos. We know Iapetus better as "Japeth" (really Iapeth), the patronymic in Genesis for the very early Europeans. If this was the god best-known to the Hebrew people, then Iapetus was probably their war god. The name survives in Italian as Giapetto, maker of Pinocchio. The Indo-European root may be "*yap-", meaning "yell" or "war-cry", or the Greek "iapto" (ee-ahp-toe), covering a range including "wound", "pierce", "hurt", "spear" and "shoot". The name is sometimes said to mean "piercer". ("Theoi" may be in error in saying that "petos" means wing or that "winged speech" is a common ancient Greek expression.)

Iapetos -- quotations from classic sources

Ideas for gamers: Clerics of "Iapetus" are wild, cruel war-priests. They glory in the wild destructiveness of war. They use the warrior's table "to hit".

    Clerics of this sect may be of any alignment. Most are Chaotic Evil.
    Concerns: War
    Insignia: Sword
    Major Spheres: Combat Elemental
    Minor Spheres:
    Preferred weapons: Spear (1d8, 1d10 L) Arrow (1d6, 1d6 L)

    Third Edition: CN/CE/NE; free access to all martial weapons. In place of domains, consider filling both domain and as many ordinary spell slots as desired with spells from the war, strength, and protection portfolios. "Intimidate" is a class skill.

    Fourth Edition: Evil or Chaotic evil. Perhaps a more capable leader, more organized than others of the old godlings. Power of war.

11. Themis (Θέμις, theh-meese) is a female Titan. "Themis" is a Greek word derived from "lay down", and meaning "that which is established as right by custom rather than legislation." We know that her ancient symbols were the sword and scales, and she reappears as "Justice" in courthouse statues and Tarot decks. Aeschylus lists Prometheus, whose father was Iapetus, as having Themis for his mother. In the Iliad, Themis greets the returning Hera with a drink, and later Zeus tells Themis to summon all the gods into assembly. In the Odyssey, Telemachus appeals to the suitors "by Themis, who convenes men's councils and dissolves them".

Themis -- quotations from classic sources

Ideas for gamers: Clerics of "Themis" belong to an ancient sect, perhaps the first one dedicated to advancing all forms of justice. This sect is held in high esteem, especially in primitive communities, because they are incorruptible, though harsh and merciless. Each can cast "Detect Lie" once per day without using a spell.

    Clerics of this sect may be of any Lawful alignment. Most are Lawful Neutral.
    Insignia: Scales and Sword
    Concerns: Justice
    Major Spheres: Combat Divination Healing
    Minor Spheres: Creation Guardian Necromantic Protection
    Preferred weapons: Long Sword (1d8, 1d12 L) Arrow (1d6, 1d6 L)

    Third Edition: Any lawful alignment; free exotic weapon proficiencies as required. In place of domains, consider filling both domain and as many ordinary spell slots as desired with signature spells that involve justice administration and getting at the truth. The daily "Detect lie" must be taken as the first feat. "Sense motive" is a class skill.

    Fourth Edition: Unaligned, or lawful-neutral if allowed. Perhaps sided with the new gods to create civilization. Power of justice.

12. Mnemosyne (Μνεμοσύνη, mneh-moss-uh-nay) got her name from "*men-", an Indo-European root meaning "to have one's mind aroused" ("mental", "mantic arts", "mania", "mantra", many more), via a Greek form "mnaomai" or "to be mindful of" and "mnem-", "remembering". "Amnesia" means "no memory", "mnemonics" help you remember, and "menthenein" was Greek for "to learn". By Zeus, Mnemosyne became the mother of the various arts and sciences, personified in the Muses, who in turn gave their name to "music", the purest of the arts.

Mnemosyne -- quotations from classic sources

Ideas for gamers: Clerics of "Mnemosyne" belong to an ancient sect, probably the first one dedicated to preserving all valuable knowledge. This would be especially important in a preliterate society with oral histories. All have some sage ability, and all seek out knowledge while adventuring. However, the sect is noted for its indifference to morals and ethics, and its emphasis on remembering evil deeds. These clerics are immune to "confusion" and "forget" spells. Perhaps Mnemosyne can restore lost memories from the Styx or elsewhere.

    Clerics of this sect may be of any alignment. Most are True Neutral.
    Concerns: Knowledge
    Insingnia: Pen and scroll
    Major Spheres: Charm Divination Healing
    Minor Spheres: Creation Guardian Necromantic Protection
    Preferred weapons: Spear (1d8, 1d10 L) Arrow (1d6, 1d6 L)

    Third Edition: Any alignment with a neutral component, i.e., those charged with remembering must be at least somewhat impartial; free exotic weapon proficiencies as required. In place of domains, consider filling both domain and as many ordinary spell slots as desired with signature spells that involve learning and remembering. "Gather information" is a class skill.

    Fourth Edition: Unaligned. Power of knowledge.

More on the titans here.

Lesser Titans include Helios (a sun god), Selene (a moon goddess), Eos (a dawn goddess), Atlas (who held up the earth and/or sky), Epimetheus (creator of animals), and Prometheus, most famous of the titans.

Elsie Russell's Prometheus Prometheus may derive his name from "forethought". There are several extant versions of his story, including some accounts that make him creator of humankind. All agree that he also sided with Zeus against the other Titans, that he gave fire to the human race, and that angry Zeus chained him to a mountain peak in the Caucasus mountains. Aeschylus's account is the best-known. Prometheus saw the human race groping about in darkness, with the other gods indifferent to them. Prometheus gave them fire, and along with it the rest of culture -- government, navigation, agriculture, architecture, and science. Finally, Aeschylus suggests (lines 250-252) that Prometheus gave human beings the ability to hope for something after death, beyond their understanding.

More than one Christian thinker has seen in the story of Prometheus an image of a greater mystery of altruism, crucifixion and redemption -- by which we can find freedom from our own evil tendencies and the dominion of the past.

Fourth edition: Consider Prometheus as Good, but not Lawful Good (my suggestion for all the Olympians, who built the civilization that was the "point of light" in the ancient world.) Powers of hope (especially), life, knowledge, skill, trickery.

Whatever you may decide about Prometheus and the other Titans, Carceri is a superior place for adventurers to visit.

  • The NPC's are bullies, criminals, crybabies, and their stupid apologists;

  • The local cults focus on harsh nature and harsh communities;

  • The environments are weird and dangerous, and escape presents special difficulties.

  • "Planescape" is about ideas. If I am smarter and work harder than others, can I glory in the feeling? Can I exploit my inferiors? When should I hurt someone who has hurt me? Someone who simply wants to hurt me? Can I enjoy the sweetness of revenge when I'm right?

Think about taking a trip to Carceri. Perhaps your only way out will be by working together to make a tiny portion of the plane into a kinder place.

Homer's Iliad Book VIII -- in which Zeus threatens to hurl somebody "down into dark Tartarus far into the deepest pit under the earth, where the gates are iron and the floor bronze, as far beneath Hades as heaven is high above the earth."
Plato's Phaedo [my link is now down] -- includes Socrates's imaginative description of Tartarus
The Birds is a classic Greek comedy in which Aristophanes lampoons Greek mythology -- Eros (sex) mates with Chaos in Tartarus and begets the birds
The Plane of Hell -- full of abusive egomaniacs. "With a feeling of sick familiarity, I recognized here my own thinking."
Don Brubaker -- "You'll first experience hell", God said evenly, with a tone of complete control, "to prove to you the reality of evil. You've only believed that there was goodness. You must see for yourself that hell is real."
Near Death Experiences -- including accounts of hell.
Hell's Dominion -- a near-death experience

Arthur Rimbaud -- author of "A Season in Hell". Arthur Rimbaud was bitter about his childhood and wrote visions of cosmic angst. If you like, look at how he treated others as a teen and as an adult, and decide whether I have aligned him properly.

Hurricane Carter is the subject of several sites. Working with defendants has taught me that they often present wildly improbable stories intended to win the support of people who do not want to check the facts.
Hurricane Carter
Hurricane Carter
Hurricane Carter -- account by a woman who had worked very hard to free him. "Satan can fool a lot of people."

Gary Graham. You will need to decide for yourself about the facts of the matter. I have no firsthand knowledge of this case, but know how both prosecutors and defendants' advocates can misrepresent the truth. I have spent a lifetime examining disinformation campaigns targeting emotion over a desire to have the facts, and I recognize features in the worldwide campaign to "Save Gary Graham."

Final Note

Unity of the Rings -- comic book art

Gamers for Christ -- news group

The Alignment Planes

The Abyss -- Chaotic Evil
Acheron -- Lawful, Evil Tendencies
Arborea -- Chaotic Good
Arcadia -- Lawful, Good Tendencies
Baator -- Lawful Evil
The Beastlands -- Good, Chaotic Tendencies
Bytopia -- Good, Lawful Tendencies
Carceri -- Evil, Chaotic Tendencies
Elysium -- Neutral Good
Gehenna -- Evil, Lawful Tendencies
The Gray Waste -- Neutral Evil
Limbo -- Chaotic Neutral
Mechanus -- Lawful Neutral
Mount Celestia -- Lawful Good
The Outlands -- True Neutral
Pandemonium -- Chaotic, Evil Tendencies
Ysgard -- Chaotic, Good Tendencies
The Inner Planes
What "Planescape" could be
AD&D and the Religious Right
Li Po's Hermitage (character generators, more)
Background by Ed


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