Physical Conditions - Earth (TIP)

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While most of Earth consists of hard, unyielding rock, it is not without variation. Every manner of stone can be found here, from delectable gypsum to trustworthy granite to lustrous marble to soothing graphite. Beyond that, a fortunate explorer can find rich veins of metal-everything from silver and gold to iron and copper. It is small wonder that dwarves and similar folk talk about the plane of Earth as if it were one step removed from paradise. To others who have a fondness for things such as air and water, however, there are nicer places in the multiverse (and as I understand it, most places fit this description).
==Getting Here==
Making one's way to or from the Elemental Plane of Earth is not an easy thing. Portals to this place are rare and vortices that open into this realm are difficult both to discover and reach. Still, those determined enough can manage-with effort. I, myself, have traveled to a few other planes, though that was when I served as a slave of the dao, many years ago.
Only a few portals are known to link the Elemental Plane of Earth with the rest of the multiverse. Some are found in the strange and mysterious city called Sigil, but others appear throughout the Outer Planes. 
Perhaps the most interesting portal to the Anvil can be found on the clockwork plane of Mechanus. Those familiar with that realm of perfect order insist that the portal is merely a side effect. According to their tale, an ancient and long-forgotten race built a vast machine, one larger than many prime-material worlds. To power this device, the elder beings opened a portal to the Elemental Plane of Earth and tapped into the agonizingly slow continental drift of our realm. The machine still stands on Mechanus, its clockwork ticking ever so slowly in harmony with the plane of Earth. What this device is supposed to do is a secret that I believe no one has yet discovered. However, the portal is always open, since the machine acts as an eternal key. Those who step through it should be aware, however, that their trip will be a one-way journey.
The dismal depths of Baator hold another well-documented portal to Earth. It lies in Phlegethos, the fourth layer, near the center of the city called Abriymoch, and it provides convenient passage between Baator and the evil fortress of Stonemire. The portal allows the pit fiend that rules the accursed city easy access to great and fearful Ogremoch, the Prince of Evil Earth Elementals. While it remains clear that these two conspire together for some diabolical purpose, the nature of their alliance is still a matter for nervous guesswork.
In order to use this portal, which transports travelers both ways, one must have a large diamond. While this can be a frighteningly valuable key (especially considering the fact that it turns to powder in its use), there is an even harder trick to using the portal. Both of the gatekeepers consider themselves its sole master. As such, each has surrounded his end with guards, traps, and wards. The odds of a traveler nearing the portal, let alone making use of it, are fairly slim.
Vortices that lead to the Elemental Plane of Earth are found only among large concentrations of natural stone. Typically, this means the heart of a mountain (but not a volcano) or far beneath the surface of a prime-material world. From time to time, an unlucky group of primes stumbles upon such a gateway while mining or exploring-almost always getting themselves killed in the process.
The most commonly encountered vortices to the plane of Earth are found deep underground, in areas prone to earthquakes. Are the vortices by-products of the tremors, or vice versa? Even shad wise men cannot answer that question. The dark of the matter, however, is that these gateways tend to move around a lot, always in conjunction with an earthquake. The stronger the quake, the farther the vortex shifts. Again, no one knows whether the vortex moves because of the tremor or whether the presence of the vortex causes the tremor to break out.
It is said that the greatest of mountains have at their hearts a concentration of pure elemental Earth. In some cases, this takes the form of a vortex to the Anvil, which may be known to dwarves and other races that dwell beneath the surface of prime-material worlds. Unlike most other vortices, these are anchored in place. Once discovered, they can be used for years, decades, or even centuries to come. In some cases, they become the center of subterranean communities that recognize their importance and potential value.
==Hazards==
Let me point out that many of the problems I am about to describe can be solved easily if a traveler is willing and able to tunnel-or, at least, to follow the tunnel systems created by other creatures (dao, pech, or even the humble shad). For such a traveler, moving through the plane of Earth is not unlike journeying underground on a prime-material world.
===Pressure===
When one first appears in the Anvil, he will almost certainly find himself entombed within solid earth. One who manages to take in air (the difficulty of which is described below) finds that the plane resents intruders. It naturally tries to fill in the space they occupy, crushing the invading body. This inflicts 1d2 points of damage per tum to anyone trapped here.
Those who move through Earth by tunneling discover this same phenomenon filling in the passages they have worked so hard to make. A man-sized opening in the Anvil heals itself over the course of 1d6 days, with larger or smaller passages taking more or less time to seal shut. The shad (along with others who have learned the secrets of the plane) know ways by which tunnels, chambers, and other constructions can be made permanent. It would be of little value to present the details here, but for those inclined to learn, the plane of Earth provides opportunities to do so. Unfortunately, most of them lie within the slave-worked mines of the dao.
===Breathing===
With the exception of scattered pockets of air, mist, and the like, the plane of Earth has no air to breathe. One must hold his breath, use a magical means of respiration such as the spell airy earth, or leave the Anvil-or die-before very long. The DM can resolve such matters by using the standard rules for holding one's breath as presented in the DUNGEON MASTER Guide.
One other option exists as well. An outsider who moves through the plane of Earth with the help of a native guide can often manage to breathe normally. Why does this occur? Outsider thinkers have argued about that question for years. But for us, there is no mystery. It is the way of things.
===Vision And Hearing===
Unless one is gifted with x-ray vision or a similarly remarkable sense, he cannot see at all in the depths of the Elemental Plane of Earth. Those who employ sonar or another means of echolocation can "see," though it takes time for them to adjust to the way sound travels through stone and earth. An outsider traveling with an elemental guide usually shares that creature's senses, allowing him to see through the endless miles of solid earth (or, at least, the minute portion of it nearest to him).
Sound travels very well through the plane of Earth. Indeed, the average person can detect even the passing of an ethereal or phased creature. Such events produce a hissing sound that can be heard at a distance of 60 feet. For outsiders with exceptionally keen hearing (including those with the skill to detect noises), this range is increased to 90 feet. One can be sure that we who have dwelt in these lightless realms for our entire lives have learned to hone our sense of hearing to incredible levels.
===Gravity===
There is a great deal of debate (among those who feel the need to debate such things) about whether or not the plane of Earth has gravity. Some say that my home is like the plane of Air, free from the encumbering chains of such a force. Others, however, insist that gravity does exist here, but that it comes from every direction at once, effectively canceling itself out.
The truth of the matter is that no one knows, and it does not make any difference. The end result is the same. It may be important to remember, however, that one cannot count on using conventional means to move around. Crossing a big open area, such as a pocket of elemental Air, requires some other method. This can be as simple (and inefficient) as flapping one's arms or as speedy and expedient as a fly spell. Of course, one can always crawl along the groundthis method always works, and that is the reason we shad rely upon it.
===Fossils===
Scattered throughout the plane of Earth are the bodies of creatures that died while in the clutches of the Anvil. In some cases, they were poor souls whose travel plans did not turn out the way they had intended. Others were imprisoned here by wicked tyrants who knew that the punishment would be a death sentence.
Those two kinds are the most common. But a third type of fossil, more hazardous and rare than the rest, is that of a prisoner who yet Jives. Over the untold centuries since the creation of the multiverse, many powerful creatures from other planes have been entombed in the Elemental Plane of Earth. As a rule, they were put here because they were too potent to destroy or contain in any other way. Travelers who stumble upon such fossils are in grave danger, for these relics are just sleeping and often awake if freed or disturbed.
The DM can use the following table to determine the nature of a fossil, then add further details as desired.
1D10 ROLL	TYPE OF FOSSIL
1-2 	Prime-material creature
3-5 	Planewalker/adventurer
6-8 	Outer-planar creature
9-10 	Inner-planar creature
===Earthquakes===
When most folk think of earth or rock, they picture a dependable, faithful material that they can stand on with assuredness or build things from with a guarantee of durability. If that held true throughout the entire plane of Earth, the place would not change much. But as I have already said, that is not the way of things. The so-called Anvil constantly tries to close up tunnels and crush elemental pockets out of existence. Such movements are not swift, but they are inexorable.
Every so often, however, the slow crawl of the plane of Earth becomes a sudden jump. When that happens, a great tremor ripples through the endless stone. Such quakes are not common, but they can be quite severe. To determine the area affected by a tremor, the DM can use the table that determines the size of an elemental pocket (presented on page 14).
To determine the intensity of a quake and its effects on those caught in it, the DM can use the following table. An earthquake lasts for 1 d 10 rounds and inflicts the stated amount of damage each round upon creatures in its clutches.
1d10 ROLL	INTENSITY 	SAVE ADJ.	DAMAGE
1-3 	Tremor 	+4 	2d6
4-6 	Minor 	+2 	4d6
7-8 	Moderate 	0 	6d6
9 	Major 	-2 	8d6
10 	Catastrophic	-4 	10d6
In order to escape serious injury from any number of sources (including falling rocks, fractures in the fabric of the plane, and so on), each being caught in a quake must make a successful saving throw vs. breath weapon once for every two rounds the quake persists. The adjustment indicated on the table above is applied to this roll. If the being fails the save, he suffers the damage shown on the table. If he makesthe save, he suffers only half that damage. Furthermore, a being traveling with an elemental guide is thrown free of the guide if he fails his saving throw. This may leave him stranded in the heart of rock, unless his guide opts to rescue him. 
===Gas Pockets===
Another danger-one greatly feared by the shad-comes in the form of pockets of gas. Though similar in some ways to elemental pockets, gas pockets are natural features of the plane created by any number of causes. Three major types exist: explosive, noxious, and toxic. In order to determine the size of a gas pocket, the DM can roll on the table for elemental pockets (on page 14). The result should be halved, though, for gas pockets are generally smaller than elemental pockets. 
EXPLOSIVE GAS. Pockets of explosive gas generally have the same effect as either noxious or toxic pockets (but not both). In addition, however, they combust if an open flame is brought into their area. Such a blast requires everyone in the pocket to make a successful saving throw vs. breath weapon or suffer 8d8 points of damage. The explosion also has a 30% chance of triggering an earthquake twice the size of the gas pocket in the immediate area.
More than a few outsiders have gone to pieces when they discovered one of these natural traps. Shad, however, rarely carry flame. Fire consumes valuable air and provides only uncomfortable, even dangerous heat. I, for one, see no value in it. 
NOXIOUS GAS. A pocket of noxious gas has the same effect as a stinking cloud spell. It can bring even a shad to his knees before he knows what has hit him. While it may not kill an outsider, it will make him feel like something that just clawed its way out of the dao slave pits. Over the years, we shad have developed a resistance to all forms of poison due to exposure to such horrid surprises.
TOXIC GAS. These pockets of gas do more than cause sickness. They can kill. A traveler who enters a place filled with toxic gas is affected as if a wizard had cast a c/oudkill spell upon him. 
==Moving About==
As if reaching the Elemental Plane of Earth were not hard enough, upon arrival an outsider must then find a way to move around. An individual of sufficient strength can travel through the infinite expanse of earth without suffering any damage due to the pressure (which remains a concern for most, as discussed earlier). As I have stated, this is the way of the shad. We make our own paths.
The DM can use the following table to determine the type of rock comprising a given region of the Anvil. For the sake of simplicity, the table uses general descriptions in lieu of specific types of stone or minerals. 
1D10	TYPE OF EARTH 	MINIMUM STRENGTH
1-3 	Packed soil 	15
4-6 	Very soft rock	17
7-8 	Soft rock 	19
9 	Hard rock 	21
10 	Very hard rock	23
This table also indicates the minimum Strength score required to move through such a region. A being with exactly the indicated score can move through the rock at a rate of one foot every 10 minutes. For every point of Strength a being has above the minimum, he can move one additional foot in 10 minutes. Thus, a creature with an 18 Strength score can tunnel through packed soil at a rate of 4 feet per tum or through very soft rock at a rate of 2 feet per tum.
Tools obviously make tunneling much easier. One who employs the proper digging implements, such as picks, shovels, chisels, and hammers, decreases his needed Strength score by 8. (It's a whole lot easier for a basher to get where he's going if he can make use of magical spells. A stone shape or passwall can be of great help.-the Editor)
The very best way to move through the Anvil is with the aid of an elemental guide. Creatures such as the mysterious xom are able to travel freely through even the densest stone and can extend this ability to anyone who touches them. Xom, however, can be trusted only so far-and not at all if their hunger for metals or gems gets the best of them. A word to the wise: An outsider should not ask a xom to guide him anywhere near a vein of mineral, or he will never get where he is going.