They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, says the LORD.
--Isaiah 65:25
Worship One God, Who only is good.
Bow to no idols of stone or of wood.
Speak not of God in careless ways.
Try to make Sunday the best of days.
Father and Mother, love and obey.
Hate not God's children, hurt not nor slay.
Pure be in thought and in word and in deed.
Keep your life free from stealing and greed.
Speak the truth always, never tell lies.
And look not on others with envious eyes.
--The Ten Commandments [from a Unitarian site]
The Spirit of Jesus is continual forgiveness of Sin: he who waits to be righteous before he enters into the Saviour's kingdom, the Divine Body; will never enter there.
--William Blake, "Jerusalem"
Whatever gods are in this place, give us what we need to live without being wasteful, and make our goodness genuine.
The goodness and the love and the holiness were permeating through me, and I thought to myself, I'm a piece of garbage. They've made a terrible mistake, because I don't belong here. I was so ashamed. With that we stopped our movement and He spoke to me for the first time and He said, "You do belong here, and we don't make mistakes."
-- How Socrates said table-grace
-- Howard Storm, another account here
Help yourself to my Planescape Character Generator for MS-DOS.
Li Po's understanding of his alignment plane follows the description in Dante's "Divine Comedy", which was a primary source for the official description of Mount Celestia.
The idea of a holy mountain is ancient, and occurs from time to time in the Old Testament. The Psalms refer to God's mountain, and other sects met on mountaintops ("the high places"). In Dante's "Divine Comedy", the fall of Satan to earth created the pit of hell and pushed up a mountain on the opposite side of the earth, which the contrite dead climb as they review their lives and practice living better. When a soul's remediation is completed, the entire mountain cheers. The mountain had seven cornices, where the seven deadly sins were removed one at a time. Thomas Merton, the famous modern Christian monk, borrowed Dante's image in his "Seven Story Mountain", the account of a monk's spiritual journey. (Some of Ed's Pathology Notes were actually written years ago in Thomas Merton's fire tower.) Dante's vision of heaven itself was the ptolemaic planetary spheres, and the seven layers of Mount Celestia are named for the planets rather than the layers of Dante's mountain.
Planescape's Mount Celestia is a universe of ever-rising cliffs, each brighter and more glorious than the last. It is a place of stately beauty and strict, no-nonsense law. But it is good law and tempered by mercy and understanding. Love is abundant, is often tough, and always builds up. Nowhere in the multiverse are the locals better equipped, or more willing, to help others. The spiritual beings of Mount Celestia are good company and have a sense of humor. They will invite the adventurers to make the mountain their spiritual home, but they are more likely to proselytize by example than by hard-sell. The mountain represents spiritual perfection, but no one can even begin the ascent without realizing his/her own imperfections. Begin to do this, and you will no longer be uncomfortable on the Holy Mountain.
On the plane's first five
layers at least, there may be more than one mountain, or
the geography may be different for different people or at different
times. People who are tolerant of other decent religions probably see
several mountains, while radical sectarians can see only one.
It seems reasonable to think that all portals
connect a mountaintop on the lower layer to a valley on the
higher layer. The portals are likely to be guarded
by a saint or angel, who will ask challenging questions of those
who would pass. Perhaps mountaintop shrines are testing stations
that exist in a valley of the next layer as well. Mount Celestia is home to innumerable grand
cities and formal gardens. Outside, there is a natural
ecosystem, with animals that are not naturally tame but that
present no danger to humans.
Here the terrain is always difficult and
dangerous, with rockslides, winds, avalanches, and sudden
storms.
The people of the mountain(s) often patrol
and form rescue parties. Apart from the physical dangers,
a decent creature is safer here than anywhere else in the multiverse.
Gary Gygax brilliantly conceived Bahamut, the king of all good dragons,
as among the guardians of spiritual goodness -- enormously
strong, enormously wise, and in many places at once,
yet unobtrusive and difficult to find.
Because this is a plane where
goodness is very strong, you will find genuine unselfish
love from many (probably most) of the locals.
People will go out of their way to help you on Mount Celestia.
The locals -- living and dead --
follow an internalized code of goodness, and know
and do what is right by instinct. They may surprise
visitors by their knowledge of their past deeds, good and bad.
Faith communities tend to be highly organized and regimented, both
for worship and for community service. They are usually interested in
doing whatever they can to promote good government.
Places of worship may be grand and filled
with symbols, or they may be stark and simple.
Laws and edicts exist to guide
visitors. Depending on the area, they range from very simple to
very elaborate, but they are never arbitrary or unreasonable.
Because this is a lawful plane, there may be some very large civilizations.
The "Planescape" materials talk about "archons",
grotesque human-animal crosses. I'd imagine instead
that departed souls arriving on the
Holy Mountain keep their character forms from the start, and
have the opportunity to transform into angelic beings as they progress
in goodness. Perhaps the monstrous "archons" are actually
initiates of particular orders of good beings who develop their abilities in common.
Lawful-good creatures are immune to all magical or
psionic mental influence, and have a bonus of
2 on armor class and saves. Magic has a percentage chance
to fail for non-lawful-good types, depending on their
moral and ethical distance.
On Mount Celestia, a paladin's warhorse is able to talk.
You will not find any self-satisfied, self-righteous
people on Mount Celestia.
You can climb to the next layer only by being faithful to
one of the paths of virtue taught by the world's faiths or
philosophers. The locals can automatically distinguish
visitors to a particular layer from real climbers.
Perhaps a permanent point is gained each time a level is completed.
The most popular saying on the Holy Mountain is, "You
shall love the Lord with all your heart, and you shall
love your neighbor as yourself. These are the two great
laws, and they are inseparable." Secularists and honest
doubters can also follow any of the paths.
Lunia ("the moon"): The heaven of innocence.
Here children and simple folk enjoy peace and safety and find
opportunities for fulfillment. In some places, social
animals live together as they do in children's stories.
Their defenders are invisible, but powerful. The lawful
joys of childhood are the theme here. The
heaven of holy innocence is an infinite sea of holy water
("the silver sea")
under a summer-night sky full of silver stars and eternal
moonlight. When holy water touches an evil creature, it is that creature's evil,
not the water, that burns. Every creature might glimpse, reflected in the water,
the best that he/she could be. People come to Mount Celestia to learn about themselves.
Sapphire pools to the astral may be found
as bright spots in the water. The stars and moon are far brighter and more
beautiful than on any prime plane. From the sea rise
the grand mountain-islands, while other holy beings live
in the water itself. All portals from other planes open
in or just above the ocean, so that new arrivals are
immersed, recalling the initiations of certain world-faiths.
Unholy creatures will be severely damaged, while others
will be rescued if needed by dolphins, sea folk, or
Michael,
the ultra-likable and ubiquitous boatman of the upper planes.
Some souls newly-released from the body may
float for a time in the air as points of light
before their spiritual bodies form on the
plane. "Speak with
Dead" will result in good conversation.
This is a common plane for the headquarters of sects
devoted to child care, education, and simple goodness.
Visitors will probably find opportunities to raise their
constitution and dexterity scores.
On the islands, you can also find communities of good
social animals. There is a kingdom of holy
rats on one of the islands -- long ago, rats rescued
a great minion of goodness.
There is a realm of wise and good dinosaurs.
Good dogs are extremely common. Many of the
animals can talk. "And a little child shall lead them."
Mercuria ("the
planet Mercury"): The heaven of
learning, the spiritual home of all who advance
human knowledge for good. The layer is full of the spirits
of those whose first concern was using their special skills
and knowledge for the good of others.
Unimpeded thought and free scientific inquiry
are the theme here. You will find the greatest universities
in the multiverse here, and any book that a good person
could use might be found. If you bring "comprehend
languages" and make an intelligence check, you can probably
find any single piece of information you want.
Mercuria is a realm of perpetual
sunrise, far more glorious than dawn on any prime plane.
There are realms with a high-tech focus, and other
realms where good magicians can learn most anything they would want.
This is a common location for the headquarters of good, decent
sects devoted to athletics, commerce, communications,
dawn, knowledge, or good magic. Characters will find
opportunities to improve their dexterity and intelligence
scores on this plane. All poison is slowed here and above,
as per the "Slow Poison" spell. Any act of creation is doubly
successful, including "Creation" sphere spells, as is all
artistry and craftsmanship. There are rumors of an ancient race
that can make technological replacements for any lost body parts.
Venya ("the
planet Venus"): The heaven of love.
The layer exemplifies family love at its best. Here also
is the spiritual home for doers of good deeds for the
larger human family. "The Pearly Heaven" or "Summerland" is a
lush and fertile mountain universe glowing with a pearly light as
bright as a prime plane noonday. It is the spiritual home
of all decent, right-living, ordinary folk. The weather is
milder here than on the other layers. Plants grow twice as fast as
usual, and all plant magic is doubly strong. Pearly Heaven
is also the spiritual home of the finest artists. Denominations that
serve decent communities often have their headquarters here.
This is a common location for the headquarters of holy sects
devoted to agriculture, ancestors, or genuine family values.
Characters will find opportunities to improve their
strength and charisma scores. All poison is immediately neutralized
here and above.
Solania ("the sun"): The heaven of wisdom.
Here the multiverse's philosophies and theologies, and
its honest doubts, come together in peace. "The Golden
Heaven" or "The Heaven of Wisdom" is filled with colorful
glowing mists, soaring mountains and tremendous canyons,
all under a sunlit golden sky. Light here is more brilliant
than any noonday on the inhabited prime plane, but it is not
oppressive. This is the spiritual home of the good philosophers
and teachers, of those who have preserved the best traditions,
and those who organized worthy charities. On the mountain
tops are monasteries where all worthy questions are answered
truthfully and completely, where a lawful-good cleric can
gain experience, and where any creature that presents itself
will obtain mercy. Those receiving mercy must in turn show
mercy to others later. Fourth Heaven is a common location
for the headquarters of holy sects devoted to healing,
kindness, light, oracles, philosophy, or the sun. Characters
will find opportunities to improve their intelligence and
wisdom scores here. Here and above, all curses are permanently
nullified.
Mertion ("the planet
Mars"): The heaven of courage.
It is the home for all who fought for goodness and decency.
Also here are the pacifists and martyrs, who gave their
lives for good causes without fighting back. "The Platinum
Heaven" or "Camelot" is the home of heroism and self-sacrifice.
Here the armies of holy angels are marshalled for just wars.
The realm is filled with sweat, blood, and friendship at their finest.
The sky glows with a platinum-colored light, brighter than the
fourth heaven, and painful for creatures who are not either extremely
good or native to the upper planes. Unholy creatures take
1d6 damage/round, no save. Chivalry and the best
bonds of military comradeship are real here. This is the
spiritual home of paladins and all others who were organized to fight
for good. Equally, this is the home of all holy martyrs, souls
who renounced violence and advanced the cause of righteousness by their
sacrifices and death. Atop the mountains are colossal ruby-domed
citadels. Here all kinds of creatures receive the best
possible combat training, and perhaps fighters can gain experience
here. There is a battle training ground where every wound heals
at 1 hp/hour and even mutilation and death are temporary, provided that
the battler is there by approval of those in authority. There is a
city of hard work and healing, where anyone can be cured of diseases,
insanity, lost body parts, or lost life levels -- but using the waters
tends to turn the user Lawful Good without penalty. Metal from
this heaven is probably used to make Holy Avenger swords and similar
weapons. This is a common location for the headquarters of sects devoted
to healing, missions, strength, and just-wars. Characters will find
opportunities to improve their strength and constitution scores
here. Here and above, all diseases are cured, even mummy rot and
lycanthropy.
Jovar ("the planet Jupiter"):
The heaven of justice.
At the center is a ziggurat, intricately carved. Good
folk see their own good deeds engraved here. Wicked and
selfish folk see the good deeds of their enemies.
And perhaps good folks of all ethical persuasions see
the hidden things that make sense of seemingly-senseless events.
Atop the ziggurat, a court meets in perpetual session.
Any being presenting itself to the court will receive
justice. Beware, all who approach the court!
"The Glittering
Heaven" or "Heaven of Gems" has a silvery sky filled with
huge celestial bodies of every color, glowing with intense
light, like thousands of suns. No one knows who or what
inhabits these bodies, but it is rumored that they are worlds
inhabited by the spirits of contrite sinners who have done their
penances and passed beyond the known outer planes. Jovar
is the spiritual home of all who administered justice, all who planned
wisely for the good of all decent folk, and (depending on the
region) also for those for whom organized religion was the means
of promoting love and kindness. Here the councils of holy angels
rule and plan for the good of all creatures. And here,
every visitor knows the wrongs that he or she has done, and the evil
that he or she still harbors. This makes all but the very
finest folks uncomfortable. The finest of all
sacred music is heard here. There are pools where any
creature making a wisdom check can view most any place in the
multiverse for 1d6 hours. There is the multiverse's best
law library, and if a visitor knows where to look,
he or she can find a catalogue of every being's morally
significant actions (well-repented sins have been erased).
Regardless of merit, merely entering this plane heals all
physical, mental, and spiritual ills, and restores
all lost abilities, levels, and body parts. Perhaps one could
even find lost memories from Styx/Lethe or a cure for insanity
caused by casting "ESP" on the Lady of Pain. The courtroom
provides the only entry to the seventh heaven.
Chronias ("the planet
Saturn", or "Father Time"): The cloud of unknowing.
For Dante, this heaven was the home of the contemplatives
and mystics,
whose prayer was their whole life, and who sought grace to receive
the direct vision of God during mortal life.
Dante's "heaven of Saturn" is cold and silent, yet
with a central instrument for further ascension to the true home
of all blessed souls. In the
TSR worlds, no player character has ever returned from
Chronias, but it must be a realm of truth, goodness,
love, and light beyond description. The wise say that
the seven heavens only reflect the joy for which
all beings were created.
Spell alterations in
Mount Celestia: Spells that encourage misbehavior or confusion or
that involve harmful necromancy or causing pain
("blur", "fool's gold", "misdirection", "delude", "confusion",
"contagion", "enervation", "distance distortion", "mislead",
"demand", "trap the soul", "chaos school spells", and so forth)
simply fail. Non-lawful-good types have a straight percentage
chance of spell failure (10% for neutral-good and lawful-neutral,
30% for lawful-evil, true-neutral, and chaotic-good, 60% for
neutral-evil or chaotic-neutral, and 90% for chaotic-evil).
Conjured lawful creatures obey the letter of every command. Good
creatures serve lawful-good or neutral-good summoners
faithfully. Others cannot command any obedience
from anything. All divinations are true, without exception.
All life-enhancing necromancy of mages or clerics is
double-effect, while killing spells attempted for a bad purpose
probably fail and mark the would-be user
(stories about their
doubling the hit dice of the intended victims are hard
to credit). Wild mages' levels
are reduced by one per level of the plane, no surges are
possible, and wild magic spells over fourth level simply fail.
Elementals are tractable if they are conjured for a decent
purpose. Magic
that would damage the mountain(s) simply
fails. It seems unlikely that spell keys would overcome any
of the basic changes in magic. The original rulebook state that
a unique key is required to cast "fear" -- think about why this might be.
Wizardly spell keys are
metal shapes. They must be kept pure and undefiled.
Power keys for clergy are holy symbols, and they lose their power
in 1-3 months.
Third edition "Manual of the Planes" focuses primarily on simplifying
and encouraging individual campaign creativity. Ideas include:
I respectfully suggest that Mt. Celestia be regarded as thoroughly lawful and thoroughly good. These effects would be cumulative
The Fourth Edition has retained Mount Celestia, with all seven mountains
visible after one crosses the "brilliant golden aurora."
The dwarf patron Moradin, the Platinum Dragon, and the former "chaotic good"
patron of strength sports Kord all reside here.
And we read in "Manual of the Planes" that "the just, the righteous,
and the merciful dwell here in light and joy forever." The "spiritual paths"
theme is retained by mention of "mystic monasteries", and there is still
a region offering the most potent healing anywhere.
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 Mt. Celestia is essentially a world
where like-minded spirits meet. It looks and works like our own world,
except that the people are good, the institutions are genuinely philanthropic,
and everybody works together effectively to help
visitors and one another. Especially,
business, government, and religious institutions all actually
work consistently and well for the good of the public.
NPC attitudes are typically "helpful" unless the visitors seem bent on mischief.
The holy angels of Mt. Celestia are a non-human (or formerly human) race 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 Lawful Good divine spellcaster is
sponsored (and monitored)
by a prayer fellowship with similar interests based on Mt. Celestia.
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 Mt. Celestia would lose one spell on Bytopia or Arcadia,
and eight spells in the Abyss. Moving to the Outlands loses four spells.
A world where people are actually as they pretend to be
on our earth would be as magnificent and grand
as any rules-intensive world ever visited by adventurers.
Referees might not want players to realize that they have
entered the Holy Mountain. Depending on the site of arrival,
visitors might simply recognize a community of good, unselfish
folks where religion
and science both work as they really should. The local clergy will
preach with conviction and power, and live their own message.
There are indeed such places, even on our world.
Here are some questions that you can explore while
climbing Mount Celestia.
Other ideas about what heaven is like:
Other Episcopalians have explained
to me that
heaven starts in this life.
I'm told that
when we try to give up our petty greeds, hatreds, vanities,
and laziness,
and brighten the world for other people, there's a certain
happiness, peace, and fulfillment that are hard to explain.
Maybe heaven becomes more concrete for us
when we die. If there is no
afterlife, I think this is still the best way to live.
Even if you are not Lawful Good, please respect TSR's
copyrights. Their products have brought us more than
pleasure -- they present a universe of meaning and insight.
Bahamut's Retinue -- Sean K. Reynolds "Celestia exists in all its glory to remind us that we are never perfect....
It is only when ya begin to realize this that you can begin yer journey up
the Mount and on to betterin' yourself." -- Planewalker
Gamers for Christ --
news group
Virtue
+1 strength
Fortitude, temperance, fairness, good judgment
Generosity
+1 charisma
"Give till the Lord stops giving to you",
invest with a social conscience
Valor
+1 dexterity
Be quiet and do good deeds daily
Renunciation
+1 constitution
Live poor, give to anyone
Mystic union
+1 wisdom
Meditation and asceticism
Gnosis
+1 intelligence
Edifying books
-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 evil creatures
-1 on all intelligence, wisdom, and charisma checks for all non-lawful, non-chaotic creatures
-2 on all intelligence, wisdom, and charisma checks for all chaotic creatures
Good-based (non-chaotic) spells work as if caster were 4 levels higher.
Evil-based spells simply fail.
Law-based (non-evil) spells work as if caster were 4 levels higher.
Chaos-based spells simply fail.
Look for gates to Mount Celestia wherever:
Mount Celestia -- obsidian portal
Don Brubaker --
God said, "You must learn to love others, to have compassion,
and to forgive them.
You must live so that others will see Me in you." Link is now down.
"Hello from
Heaven" -- spiritualist
Bill Wilson --
founder of Alcoholics Anonymous -- "standing high on a
mountaintop". Link is now down.
Israfel --
Edgar Allan Poe on a Muslim theme. "If I lived in heaven and the
angels had to live in Baltimore..."
Near-Death Experiences --
big site
A J Ayers --
"He became so much nicer after he died."
Near-Death
Experiences -- first-hand accounts
Also good reading: The
Great Divorce -- the very subtle book by
C.S. Lewis, Christian.
Angels
in art
Serpent and Goddess
Academy of Love -- Link is now down.
This was Postmodernist Heaven.
Descriptions of near-death experiences, minus any mention
of
the strong sense of right and wrong, and of personal responsibility to
others, that these so often impart.
"The core problem is that we all assume that an objective reality exists
as the absolute standard."
George Ritchie
-- "How could [Christ] have told me, and I not heard?"
"I told you by the life I lived. I told you by
the death I died."
King of the Golden River -- last chapter, climbing the mountain
Unity of the Rings -- comic book art
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)
Source of the page background is unknown
Ed's character generators:
Less good
Less extreme
Less law
Fourth Edition
Third edition: DD3.5, d20 Modern, Dragonlance, Eberron, Forgotten Realms, lots more.
AD&D2 Generic Character Generator for MS-DOS.
AD&D2 for very limited machines for MS-DOS.
Alternity Science Fiction Character Generator for MS-DOS.
Birthright Character Generator for MS-DOS.
Dark Sun 2 Character Generator and
documentation for MS-DOS.
Jakandor Character Generator
Lankhmar Character Generator
Planescape Character Generator for MS-DOS.
Psionics Character Generator for MS-DOS.
Red Death Character Generator for MS-DOS.
Skills & Powers Character Generator for MS-DOS.
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