Known and Suspected Demiplanes (GEP)

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There are more demiplanes in the Ethereal than a body could hope to catalogue. Some of these protoworlds partake in elemental characteristics that are particularly useful, while others are extremely dangerous. 'Course, for every demiplane that's known and "familiar," countless others strange and foreign pocket dimensions exist-most of which remain dark to most ethereal travelers.
==The Black Abyss==
Here's the chant on the Black Abyss: It's a demiplane in a permanent state of dissolution. Just how and why the demiplane entered into a protracted period of decay is unknown. However, periodic visits by brave bashers indicate that the breakdown of time and space at the demiplane's core has somehow reached an equilibrium with the breakdown at the pocket dimension's edge, where time and space still resemble that on the Prime.
Travelers who enter the Border area of this demiplane find themselves surrounded by stone in all directions. Moving through the Border, a body can see hundreds of open, air-filled caverns and tunnels capable of safely housing a needy cutter. Along the walls, brilliant points of white light provide illumination and magical sustenance for vegetation. Inside these caves, well-trimmed shrubs, trees, flowers, and bushes grow in orderly rows. Neat paths wend through the areas, and tunnels connect many of the caverns-although other locations are self-contained, possessing no obvious connections to nearby caves.
Farther into the demiplane, the area of the Border Ethereal begins to chum and tatter. Continued movement becomes difficult soon after, as the Border area becomes unstable. Cutters who continue to press on in spite of this turbulence fall back onto an adjacent plane when the Border finally shreds to nothingness a few moments later. Anyone in this situation has a 50% chance to materialize in solid stone. Those cutters lucky enough to materialize in a cavern still have a 20% chance to appear in a sealed one.
At the point where the Border begins to shred, the white stone of the demiplane comes to an end. Many of the caverns possess outlets into the actual demiplane itself; however, racing red clouds fill this space, obscuring vision at distances farther than 1 mile. In the caverns and tunnels open to the hollow interior, the wall lights are dim and eventually lose the battle against the flickering ruby-colored light emanating from the swirling red clouds without. The vegetation looks limp and sickly yellow, with dead and defoliated plants located closer to the outlets. Most of the exits possess small "balconies" of crumbling stone overlooking the terrifying storm, but a few outlets connect to natural-looking bridges of white stone that reach out and into the red swirl, their destinations soon lost to sight by the racing clouds.
Legends tell of two enigmatic carved stone figures discovered in a cavern. One of the figures contains the inscription "TIME," and the other "SPACE." Some bloods say that a large obelisk with writing caived into it sits between the two figures, but no one's been able to confirm the existence of the writing. Some graybeards think that these figures may represent the demiplane's guardians.
If these figures are guardians, they don't seem up to their task, as brave travelers will discover if they move onto the stone bridge abutting the cavern that contains these figures. As a body continues to move along the bridge, she first loses sight of the cliff face from which the bridge springs. Then, the laws of space and distance begin to crumble. Spells and spell effects-whether from items, memorized spells, or natural abilities-have only a 20% chance to work as intended; otherwise they are warped beyond recognition.
Bashers who press on through this breakdown area finally penetrate the true Black Abyss. Here, all bridges disappear from view, as the swirling red clouds prevent longdistance vision. Huge shards of rock break away from bridge tips and swirl off into the center of the storm, but even though chunks of rock continue to fall away, a body can't make out any discernible erosion in the bridge's length.
Here at the center, the glowing clouds become a whirlpool of red lightning and wind, spinning down into blackness. In addition, chunks of rock spiral down into the abyss and are quickly lost from sight. Random bolts of ruby lightning play along the very edges of the crumbling bridges, making navigation even more uncertain.
No one knows what lies at the bottom of the Black Abyss-if it even has a bottom. Does it dump a sod into the real Abyss as some stories indicate, or is it really just a short vortex to the Negative Energy Plane? If it's true that the Black Abyss provides a connection to the Abyss, it's likely a hazardous journey, forcing travelers to dodge bolts of the strange red lightning.
==The Boundless==
The Boundless has a most foul reputation, and any cutter who's heard of it avoids this demiplane at all costs. The demiplane draws a body into its depths by disguising its true nature. See, the Boundless heals the wounds of any who enter it for the first time, restores youth and vitality to all who enter the second time, and permanently traps all who enter a third time.
According to those who've explored this demiplane, it contains endless crystal strands, spires of spinning vapor whose heights scrape the roof of the sky, and gelatinous deeps containing the dark, fluid shapes of enigmatic creatures. Most cutters agree, however, that the dark of the Boundless is better left alone-though some tempt fate and willingly pass from the Ethereal onto the Boundless one too many times, joining the ranks of all those trapped before.
Planewalkers who discover the copper-and-crystal-colored area of the curtain that leads to this plane always encounter an individual who calls herself Asahel (Pl/♀ human/Fl3, Ill 13/N). Asahel appears with blinding radiance, and a penetrating glow heralds her approach through the ethereal mists. She greets each individual who wishes to enter the demiplane for the first time with these words: "I am Asahel. Beyond this curtain boundless toil awaits, though your first taste will seem refreshingly sweet."
Asahel never repeats her warning twice, and she doesn't answer any further queries. Mental probes or commands, whether applied by magical or psionic methods, cannot penetrate her mind. The guardian of the curtain defends herself coolly and unconcernedly if attacked, and her body immediately evaporates into ethereal mist if she's killed. The really strange thing is, Asahel is always near the curtain to warn off new travelers-even if countless bashers've "slain" her. The means by which Asahel accomplishes this feat is unknown. Perhaps she is an avatar of the Boundless itself, acting as an intelligent extension that it can regrow at need.
Because the Border Ethereal doesn't touch this demiplane, cutters who disregard Asahel's warning and pass the curtain immediately arrive in the demiplane itself. First-time visitors stand upon the crystalline shores of a vast gelatinous ocean of varying hues. Shadows flicker across horizonwide swells, possibly the result of natural "tidal" events-though a traveler can't see any moons in the purple sky. Moving inland, a body can see towering whirlwinds and crystalline strands that act as scaffolding for the sky itself, climbing up into the purple haze.
A basher with the means and time could easily travel the entire length the demiplane, as it's a sphere only 3,000 miles in diameter and seemingly composed of the gelatinous ocean upon which float continent-sized crystal isles. Those who look deeper at the massive shapes oozing within the ocean never find anything but shadows and fading wakes.
One of the strangest characteristics of this demi plane is the fact that no matter how long a body remains in it, time doesn't pass for her. A cutter who spends three "days" in the demiplane exits at virtually the same moment as she arrived. If a group splits up and leaves the Boundless at separate times, it seems to those who leave first that the second group is right on their heels, even if the second group spent minutes, days, or even years on the demiplane.
On her first visit, a body who drinks from the ocean of the Boundless enjoys the combined effects of a heal and restoration spell. However, cutters can't bring anything native to the Boundless-such as a skin full of the healing liquid-outside the demiplane, even through the use of a wish spell. Native objects simply don't translate into the Border.
On the second visit, a body finds the Boundless much the same as before, except that any sign of her first visit, such as trash, cairns, and construction, are no longer anywhere in evidence. In fact, a cutter can't even spot anyone she left behind-though these companions aren't dead, they're simply separated from the return traveler. This occurs no matter how quickly a traveler reenters the curtain.
A body who drinks from the gelatinous ocean a second time combines the magical healing and restorative effect of earlier visits with the power of an elixir of youth. However, a cutter can melt away only a maximum of 50% of her current age.
Unfortunately, a second drink from the gelatinous ocean sets up a strange link between the imbiber and the demiplane. From then on, whenever the traveler attempts to move through the Ethereal Plane toward a stated destination, she has a 50% chance to find herself before the area of the color curtain that leads to this demiplane. What's more, plane shift and teleport without error cast anywhere on the planes have a 50% chance of depositing her near the entrance to the Boundless, no matter the intended destination. No magical purification can strip this effect from the afflicted sod.
Travelers who enter into the Boundless after drinking twice from the ocean disappear completely. Many bashers've tried to figure out the true fate of those berks lost within the demiplane, but the fact is, no one's tumbled to the dark of the Boundless-unless the lost are aware of their final fate, and they're not speaking
==The Demiplane of Dread==
Also called Ravenloft, this demiplane is a realm where terror stalks a body's waking and sleeping. See, the demiplane's made up of various lands pulled from their original locations on the Prime, warped and twisted until they're dark reflections of their former selves, and sealed behind gray mists. Once the mists claim a body, the poor sod's trapped within the demiplane until Ravenloft's dark powers decide to release her. Even the powers choose not to involve themselves in the demiplane's business-though a cleric can still cast spells within Ravenloft's borders. Fact is, a body'd do well to avoid this demiplane at all costs.
==The Demiplane of Electromagnetism==
Chant is, this demiplane's almost completely dead, as most of its essence has bled away into the Quasielemental Plane of Lightning. Any cutter wearing metal armor while on this plane'll find himself drawn to its center. Once there, the sod suffers Id4 points of damage per round as arcs of electricity strike him. The only way to escape from the center of this small demiplane is by spell (such as plane shift) or item that translates a body onto another plane, or he can remove his armor and travel freely. 
The demiplane itself is an almost-formless realm made up of flashing electrical sparks. Some cutters report hearing a low-pitched hum echoing throughout the demiplane, but no one's tumbled to the dark of its presence.
==The Demiplane of Imprisonment==
The Demiplane of Imprisonment remains a rumor long discussed but never authenticated, at least by bashers who retain a lease on life. The legends of ancient races speak of a dark and chaotic force that came into this multiverse from somewhere "outside." So powerful and evil was this force that the powers of the multiverse banded together to defeat this creature, sending it spiraling into the Negative Energy Plane. If a body believes these tall tales, the powers didn't completely destroy the dark force. A part of it still lives, imprisoned in a long-forgotten demiplane far beyond the common routes traveled through the Deep. According to the legend, this pocket dimension is ruled by the remnant of these dark forces.
No one knows the exact color of this demiplane's curtain, and most bloods'd like to keep it that way. Not even the barmiest cutter wants to find himself face to face with such evil-regardless of whether or not the legends are anything but stories to frighten the Clueless.
Most cutters call this fabled place the Demiplane of Imprisonment, but more than a few planewalkers confuse it with the Demiplane of Dread. As far as the most learned sages can determine, the two are entirely different domains.
==The Demiplane of Moil==
Graybeards speak in hushed whispers about the Demiplane of Moil. Long ago, on the prime world of Ranais, there was a city called Moil. It was a bright place of polished marble and ornate statuary, warmed by the light of the sun. But the bright radiance of the city didn't keep its citizens from dark pursuits. In their youth, they worshiped a powerful demonlord once known as Orcus. As their race matured, many citizens began to favor less-bloodthirsty powers, and this made Orcus angry. The demon-lord cast a magical slumber over Moil, a curse that could only be broken by the dawning of the sun. However, Orcus managed to rip the city from its normal place on the Prime and push it into a fiendishly prepared pocket demiplane.
In doing this, Orcus sealed his curse for all eternity, as the Ethereal has no dawn, noon, or sunset; the sun would never again shine upon Moil's tall towers. Orcus never came again to the city, for he was later slain by Kiaransalee, the drow goddess of vengeance. In short order, the slumbering citizens all perished in their dark sleep, leaving the place strewn with unquiet dead and dangerous dreams. Their deaths went unmoumed, for no one knew of the dark tragedy.
Centuries passed in unremarked silence, but finally an evil being rediscovered Moil's existence. This being, called the Devourer by some, twisted the dark city toward its own ends, transforming the dead citizens into an undead work force used to build a fortress near the demiplane. It was a massive effort, and most of the undead citizens were destroyed in the construction. Fact is, few undead now reside in the city itself.
Ethereal travelers who find the area of the color curtain leading to the Demiplane of Moil should avoid entry. Like the Boundless, this pocket dimension doesn't connect with the Border Ethereal, and any cutter who passes through the curtain arrives on the demiplane itself. Once in the demiplane, a body's trapped, unable to return to the Deep through any method. However, Moil does possess a definitive planar boundary visible from most portions of the city. The thing is, this boundary doesn't lead back onto the Border Ethereal or the Deep.
A writhing, black fog actually defines the boundary between the City That Waits and the Negative Energy Plane. Any sod who ventures into the black fog, willfully or after an accidental fall from a tower, plunges into the depths of the Negative Energy Plane. If a cutter tries to fly up into the lightning-lit clouds above, there is a 45% chance per round that a bolt of lightning strikes her for 10d6 hit points (a saving throw vs. breath weapon reduces the damage by halt). The clouds gradually bleed into the black mists that encompass the sides and bottom of he City That Waits; traveling into them thrusts a body onto the Negative Energy Plane as described above.
The Demiplane of Moil contains only the city. The architecture of the city was warped when Orcus transferred it from its original location; Moil's thin towers now rise from the depths of an almost endless pit. The sides and bottom of the pit are bounded in writhing black fog. In fact, the towers of the city actually rest upon these insidious mists.
Among other evil remnants that still haunt the city, the Vestige represents the worst threat by far. This creature is the combined nightmare dream of all Moil's citizens who perished in their sleep when Orcus laid his curse. The Vestige constantly roams the chambers, bridges, and open spaces of the City That Waits looking for a body to vent its malice upon. Every four hours a cutter spends anywhere in the city, there is a 20% chance he'll encounter the Vestige. Such is the power and hate of the undead dream that visitors should flee if they encounter it; even the Devourer himself flinched at dealing with this horrible monster. If travelers put 1,000 feet or more between the Vestige and themselves (the creature moves at Fl 6), they can escape its clutches (for the time being). Those bashers barmy enough to stand and fight the Vestige are engulfed in roiling mists from which faint cries, whispers, and ghostly music emerges. When the roiling mists move on, nothing remains of these sods.
Because Moil rests close to the Negative Energy Plane, horrible influences seep into and saturate the entire city. These affect the City That Waits as follows:
All undead are turned as if four categories higher on the "Turning Undead" table.
* Any necromancy spell cast within the city reduces its casting time by 4 (minimum of I).
* Any living creature of rat size or larger slain within the city has an 80% chance of spontaneously animating within I d3 rounds as an undead zombie with the same HD as the original creature.
* Healing spells are only 75% effective (round up) when cast within the confines of the City That Waits. For example, a healing spell that would normally heal 20 hit points heals only 15 hit points.
* The city radiates a supernatural chill. Visitors without cold-weather gear (furs, gloves, and caps, for example) must make a Constitution check with a -4 penalty after every 6 hours. Failure costs the character 1 hit point. Also, if a DM's campaign uses the optional Infravision rules found in the DUNGEON MASTER® Guide, then infravision is almost useless here, as a numbing cold saturates everything. 
==The Demiplane of Nightmares==
Here's a place where a body's darkest thoughts and fears become reality, like living nightmares. The demiplane itself is terrible to look at, designed with strange angles and stranger geometry, and even a well-traveled blood's sure to think twice about staying in this realm for long.
The creatures inhabiting the demiplane are horrific beings, monsters whose essence repels the most twisted bashers. 'Course, some cutters say that these nightmare beasts find other planewalkers equally horrifying, but no one's stuck around on this demiplane long enough to find out.
The small number of bloods who've found their way out of the Demiplane of Dread say that the dark powers must have pulled a portion of the Demiplane of Nightmares into Ravenloft. They say that these Nightmare Lands represent some of the most terrifying areas in Ravenloft's dark expanse. These poor sods haven't been the same since the Demiplane of Dread released them, and a body'd be foolish to take everything they say to heart.
==The Demiplane of Shadow==
Ever wonder where a shadow comes from? Folks on the Prime note what they believe to be the boundaries of shadows upon their own planes, but shadows actually extend much farther. Fact is, shadows cast upon the planes eventually terminate in the Demiplane of Shadow. See, the Demiplane of Shadow isn't the source of all shadows in the same way that the Elemental Plane of Water is the origin of water. Instead, the Demiplane of Shadow is the conclusion of all shadows. It's where they end up.
Shadows dwell within the shifting darkness of this demiplane, and the cumulative shadow "mass" resonates throughout the entire realm, giving birth to the demiplane's peculiar relationship with the boundary between light and dark. If asked the chant on the Demiplane of Shadow, some graybeards speak of shadowstuff (the -essence of the demiplane) as being a "semi-element" composed of equal parts Positive and Negative Energy mixed by twin vortices each leading to one of these respective planes. While it's possible that vortices to one or both of the Energy Planes exist in the Demiplane of Shadow, these -Vortices don't create the demi plane. It exists independently of the two opposing forces.
A body who goes through the color curtain moves onto the demiplane's Border area. From the Border, the adjacent demiplane appears mostly shaded, and so it gives up few hints as to what the dark interior actually contains. Once a cutter steps fully into the Demiplane of Shadow, she finds that the temperatures are tolerable (if a bit cold) and breathing, is not a problem. On the other hand, torches burn only as brightly as candles, while candles barely glimmer. In addition, magical light is at only 75% of full strength, and vision in this shadowy realm is limited to that available under twilight conditions as per the Player's Handbook rules for vision. Furthermore, infravision works normally only on creatures not native to this demiplane; natives to the Demiplane of Shadow don't show up on infravision while on this plane.
As a body might guess, this demiplane's stocked full of shadows-shadows of forests, mountains, hills, deserts, and a whole lot more-as the shadows cast by an infinite number of planar features all fall here.
Although the place is full of hazy, insubstantial elements, it doesn't mean the demiplane's a safe place. Fact is, the demiplane's full of creatures. Some, like Loliadac the rakshasa or the sorcerer-fiend Gwydion and his shadow-elf thralls, are outsiders who have come to live permanently in the demiplane. Most of the other entities in the Demi plane of Shadow are natives. That is, they're the shadows of living animals (sometimes called umbrimals) and individuals on other planes that mirror the actions of their casters-although often imperfectly. Most shadow creatures encountered in the demiplane have come "unstuck," and they move independently of their casters. Thus, a body who loses her shadow can travel to this demiplane to confront and retrieve it.
All natives of the demiplane are composed of shadowstuff. Shadowstuff is matter that acts normally so long as it remains in the Demiplane of Shadow but dissipates in bright light if brought off the plane. 'Course, shadows shrink or swell in silhouette, and on this demiplane a creature's silhouette is often directly proportional to its command of shadowstuff; thus, big shadows are also potentially big threats. Then again, monsters such as shades, shadelings, and shadows are dangerous no matter how much shadowstuff they have at their command. In addition, these creatures don't dissipate as all other things formed of shadowstuff do if they leave the Demiplane of Shadow.
The Demiplane of Shadow is vast (some claim it is infinitely so), and it contains empires of shadowborn creatures who possess concerns and agendas completely related to this realm. Other groups of non-natives maintain strongholds upon the demiplane in hopes of subtly influencing events on other planes. It's even possible for knowledgeable beings to trace a shadow back to its source in order to find out secret information. Those creatures even more skilled (both natives and nonnatives) can sometimes (with great effort and/or magic) pass to and from other planes by walking the paths offered up by falling shadows. The spell shadow walk is an example of such magic-although casters generally use that spell to move great distances between two points along the same world. Thus, a shadowbom entity might seem to skip from one shadow to another when moving on other planes-even if those shadows are actually miles apart. Fact is, the creature's really sliding down one shadow to the demiplane, than back up another shadow trail to a new location.
Many legends exist about the Demiplane of Shadow, and it's difficult to tell the tall tales from the real thing. One story has it that if a traveler to the demiplane discovers her own shadow (previously cast from another plane), she is consumed by her dark double or somehow transfigured. The barmiest legend says that the entire Demiplane of Shadow once animated to become a being known as the Dragon of Shades, and it brought cataclysm and ruination to an entire world! Despite the amount of conflicting information, all visitors to the Demi plane of Shadows have a 1% chance to "come unstuck" from their shadows once they leave the demiplane.
==The Demiplane That Lives==
Although it might sound like a lot of screed, there's actually a living demiplane floating on the Ethereal. At the very least, Neth believes itself to be living, and that's enough proof for most bloods. 
Cutters who approach the Demiplane That Lives from the Deep see an area of the curtain like that of any other demiplane, except for its metallic flesh tone. Those cutters who spend any time studying the curtain from a distance sometimes (5% chance) notice the semblance of a massive eye flash into focus on the curtain as if it were a screen. The eye quickly fades, and those who've observed this phenom ena are sometimes unsure if they witnessed anything at all.
Bloods who pass the curtain onto the Border around Neth see only a vast expanse of mist that ranges between light pink and dark brown. No matter how far or how fast these travelers move, they can't see anything but unrelieved pink and brown. It's only when a body travels onto the demi plane itself that she realizes its true nature. 'Course, Neth has a 20% chance per turn to notice trespassers on its Border, and when it does, the Demiplane That Lives magically forces the travelers to materialize on the demiplane itself.
Berks who materialize inside Neth find themselves suspended in an oxygen-laden fluid, floating between the massive folds of what looks like an organic membrane. Creatures that breathe oxygen don't have any trouble in the fluid, but creatures adapted to other environments must find some way to escape or to breathe, or they'll perish.
Neth is a continent-sized living membrane averaging about 30 feet in thickness-though it's much thinner and thicker in certain places-chaotically folded upon itself like a piece of parchment crumpled into a ball. The spaces between the membranes' folds range in size and shape between a slim space no larger than a handspan to caverns larger than a city. These spaces are filled with fluid that serves to nourish the demiplane. Furthermore, Neth can flex and fold its interior membrane according to its own desires, creating or destroying fluid-filled spaces at will.
Visitors can swim around and between the folds of Neth's membranes much as if in a prime sea. A cutter who remains unnoticed can see many huge organ buds engaged in organic functions, strange objects and creatures held in stasis behind the thickness of the membranes, and humansized "antibodies" mindlessly going about their tasks. Neth has a 40% chance to notice visitors for every turn they spend materialized within the demiplane. Neth can move its massive membranous folds almost like a bellows, "flushing" visitors to any area that it desires; newly discovered visitors are usually flushed to the Visage Wall. 
The Visage Wall is a special area along Neth's membrane where it has protruded several thousand fleshy bumps shaped like heads in bas-relief over the space of many hundreds of yards. Each head possesses the likeness of an individual previously absorbed by Neth (see below). Neth begins to question its visitors through these heads, speaking in a blended, whispery voice distorted by the fluid. If visitors move along the Visage Wall as they are questioned, new heads pick up Neth's conversation in mid-word, if necessary, as heads left behind cease speaking.
What does the Demiplane That Lives want to know? Everything. If any one trait characterizes Neth, it's curiositywith a bit of naivete thrown in for good measure. Neth doesn't know how it came to be, and it doesn't understand much about the surrounding multiverse. Fact is, Neth's still amazed that anything besides itself exists. Those whom it questions within its folds can make the demiplane very happy if they give it information that it doesn't already possess. Those who don't know anything useful (Dungeon Master's discretion required) are in danger of making the demiplane upset.
When communication fails or when Neth grows overly curious or upset (or when the demiplane has need to protect itself from hostile visitors), the sentient demiplane can attempt to absorb visitors by encapsulating them between two opposing folds of membrane. An initial absorbing attack encapsulates anything within a 10-foot diameter of the target. Against such a small-scale attack, a body can swim clear with a successful saving throw vs. paralyzation. However, Neth quickly escalates its attacks to larger and larger scales (up to 1 mile in diameter after just 1d4 smaller-scale attempts) until the target either magically flees the demiplane or is encapsulated.
If Neth absorbs a victim, it can flood the compartment with a preservative or absorptive fluid. In both cases, the victim must make a saving throw vs. death magic every round to resist the attack. In the case of preservative fluid, the victim is completely immobilized, as if a feign death spell were cast upon him. Neth can revive the victim later (by draining off the fluid). A failed save against Neth's absorptive fluid indicates that the demiplane has absorbed the victim directly into its mass. When a living being dies in this way, 10d10 of her memories are also absorbed by the Demiplane That Lives; thus Neth slowly learns more about the multiverse around it.
Neth also possesses specialized membranes. For instance, at the very center of Neth's crumpled folds, the membrane thickens to form a denser knot measuring at least I mile in diameter. This knot, where all the folds come together, serves to coordinate the thought processes of the entire demiplane. Other portions of the membrane can serve other special functions as needed, including areas where the membrane can be easily deformed for purposes of communication, encapsulation, and the budding of Neth's Children. 
Neth's Children represent portions of the Demiplane That Lives' tissue that transform into moving "avatars" of the plane. Each child possesses a rough template of Neth's personality, and it attempts to fulfill any directives Neth places in it at the time of its creation. Neth's Children are not truly sentient; they react instead to stimuli in accordance with Neth's preprogrammed will. Children are sometimes budded to serve as interior "antibodies," but more often Neth dispatches them to explore the Deep Ethereal and return for reabsorption into Neth's folds in order to relate all they have learned in their travels (see "Neth's Child" on page 68 for more information).
Mortals who seek to harm Neth from within by hacking away at its membrane with sharp edges, magic, or other destructive energies can kill localized tissue, but berks engaged in such a barmy enterprise have to remember that the Demiplane That Lives is the size of a large continent; their efforts at damaging the demiplane bother Neth less than a pinprick. However, Neth doesn't stand for such impertinence long, and it seeks to put a stop to such activities by first flushing perpetrators to its interior membrane surfaces where it can communicate with the offenders. If this proves ineffective, it may bud avatars of the demiplane and dispatch them to stop the damage. Finally, Neth may merely encapsulate and absorb the lot of the offenders.
Those who venture into Neth to harvest the demiplane's tissue are dealt with harshly; however, Neth rewards those cutters who seek to communicate-especially if they offer up valuable chant about the surrounding multiverse. Canny bloods can bargain for a bit of chant in return for a specially budded nethling to serve the blood for a period of 1 year.
No one knows how a demiplane ever managed to gain sentience, least of all the demiplane itself. The reason for its existence remains Neth's single most important question, and it fuels its inquisitive tactics. In many ways, the Demiplane That Lives is still far less powerful than many planar threats-but like all demiplanes, Neth continues to grow.
==The Demiplane of Time==
The diligent research efforts of graybeards produces a large body of lore on a myriad of topics. Unfortunately, such lore often contains obvious inaccuracies illuminated by later knowledge. Worse, a body who compares the wisdom of sages often unearths glaring contradictions over a specific topic. The Demiplane of Time is one such topic. Fact is, there are too many contradictory first-hand accounts for a shrewd cutter to cull the "truth" about the existence of this demiplane. Some believe that Time does have its own demiplane, a pocket dimension set apart from the rest of the multiverse, while others argue for the existence of a Temporal Material Plane that overlays the Prime. Still others see the concept of time as illusory. These cutters say they've moved beyond the need for such a linear point of view and have transcended time, living only in "the moment."
Regardless of its true relationship with the larger concept of Time, there does exist a pocket dimension within the Deep Ethereal that possesses a number of unique temporal characteristics. It is this area that most planewalkers refer to when they speak about the Demiplane of Time. Little is known about this demiplane, but most bloods agree that it's very dangerous to even pass through the area of the Border surrounding the demiplane. Those cutters who pass through the Border (no matter the length of their stay) without specialized skills, magic, or protective items have a 50% chance of suffering from an aging anomaly. Half of those affected experience magical aging, returning only ldlO years younger than their maximum lifespan, while the other half return Id 10 years younger than their minimum starting age. 
Those brave or foolhardy enough to leave the Border for the demiplane itself plunge into the midst of a chaotic expanse. Countless lines, threads, and cords range in every direction. Some appear merely as shadows that eventually fade into nothingness, while others glow and pulse with illumination. The whole skein twines into an overall pattern so vast that even a power might have a difficult time comprehending it all. Amidst these cords-which some believe to be the personal timelines of all living beings-dwell fearsome chronovores, vortex spiders, temporal gliders, temporal stalkers, and time dimensionals. 
Cutters who visit the Demiplane of Time often do so because of their belief that traveling a physical distance either up or down the cords propels them a corresponding "distance" either forward or backward in time. However, no one who has entered the Demiplane of Time for this purpose has ever returned-though there are rumors of specialized spellslingers, called chronomancers, who've mastered this art
==Marlost==
Also called the Ridged Land by the lillendi, this demiplane exists in a spacial bubble that floats somewhere in the Deep. Space curves in upon itself in Maelost, and once a body travels about more than 120 miles, she'll end up where she started. Most firsttime visitors to Maelost find this place a bit dreary, as cold, black rain falls in torrents and fierce winds buffet travelers.
The demiplane consists almost entirely of black rock that rises and falls, creating steep ridges. Black, stagnant liquid, choked with silt and oily residue, fills the narrow valleys of this demiplane. Some bloods say that the black water's actually alive, that it can form solid extensions of itself and pull a sod down into its depths.
As if that wasn't deadly enough, two races of monsters, the wormlike valgoss-small, pinkish creatures measuring 2 to 6 inches long-and the terrifying slaiyiths-round, bulbous creatures that possess pseudopod extensions ending in sharp mouths-live within the water at the base of the demiplane's stone ridges. It's no wonder most bloods avoid this place, though chant is a group of tribal humanoids called the Hanim make their home throughout this deadly realm.
All-in-all, Maelost's a place most bashers should go if they seek the dead-book.
==The Mazes==
Forget about factols, proxies, and even powers-only one being rules the city of Sigil, and that's the Lady of Pain. Whenever a Cager starts to think he's a bit bigger than he actually is, the Lady dumps him into the Mazes. See, these traps are actually demiplanes created by the Lady, infinite expanses that double back upon themselves in an endless series of corridors and blinds.
These mazes are sealed against planar travel. Fact is, a body can transport himself in, but his magic won't help him give the laugh to the Lady's own unique form of punishment. 'Course, the Lady always leaves a portal hidden in the mazes, so a trapped sod has some chance of finding his way out-though most bloods agree that the Lady places these portals more out of cruelty than any sense of compassion. Nothing'll frustrate a body more than wandering around the infinite corridors of a maze knowing that the door to freedom lies somewhere.
==The Semblance==
A community of powerful wizards known as the Mhagane transported themselves farther into the Deep Ethereal than anyone else. The Mhagane desired to carve their own vision of reality, and found what they sought amidst the possibilityrich mists of the Ethereal Plane.
The Mhagane initially inhabited small pockets of quintessential ether, but they soon realized the instability of such abodes. Working in concert, the united Mhagane community pooled its sorcerous might and fashioned a large region of permanently stabilized protomatter bounded by fast-moving ethereal mists. The area's core regions transformed into solid matter-although the wizards' combined will forced the whole area to remain in place. Thus, the Mhagane created the Semblance, a naked demiplane without a Border area or an entryway from the Wall of Color. It simply floats in the infinite expanse of the Deep. It's the only one of its kind known to exist on the entire Ethereal Plane.
A cutter in the Deep who comes upon the Semblance may not even notice it; it appears as just one more concentrated knot of vapor-though possibly more agitated than in other places. See, it's the perfect planar hideaway. There are some who say that the Mhagane planned it this way because they fled a dangerous adversary. So far, no blood has seen proof of this adversary, but the Mhagane continue to float within their hidden fortress, possibly preparing for some great battle.
A body who presses on through the dense mists passes into a region of agitated, unstable ethereal fog called the Tumult. Here, boiling mists herald the appearance or dissolution of tumbling protomatter. An unprotected body in the midst of the Tumult must make a Constitution check (with a +4 bonus) every 1d10 turns. A failed check indicates that the agitated ethereal mists boil away some portion of a traveler's body; she loses 1 Constitution point permanently. In this way, the ethereal mists absorb an unprotected sod's essence, breaking it down into its smallest parts. Some among the Mhagane know how to protect themselves within the Tumult, but they don't make that information available to outsiders.
Any berk who doesn't turn back (and doesn't lose herself in the Tumult) soon comes to the edge of the stabilized region of protomatter. The boundaries of the Semblance protect environments not unlike those of more traditional worlds; rivers, trees, mountains, and seas abound, but they're limited in scope by the size of the landmass. The Mhagane live, grow, and finally die in an almost-familiar cycle within their artificial world, but even in their isolation the wizards remain ever-vigilant against the nameless threat that instigated their creation of the Semblance. Thus, a cutter who penetrates to the core of this demiplane can expect a suspicious welcome from the Mhagane. 
==Wormscape==
For a basher with a phobia about worms, this demiplane is worse than all of the Lower Planes put together. Wormscape is literally a solid, three-dimensional mass of living, writhing worms. The extent of the demiplane remains unmapped; however, there can be no doubt that its expanse is vast. The slick, writhing worms vary in length between 1 inch and 10 feet.
Thankfully, the Border Ethereal does indeed touch this demiplane, so a body knows what she's about to enter. Once a body moves onto the demiplane, she's surrounded by worms. The literally billions of worms that comprise this demiplane make an almost subsonic slithering noise as they weave their way in and out of each others' slime-covered bodies. This noise penetrates the ear at some level no matter what precautions a body uses-even magical ones.
Those cutters who move into Wormscape can breathe normally-though the air reeks of rotten eggs-as long as they remain in a pocket of air (most air pockets average 30 feet in radius) and don't venture into the mass of worms. Any berk foolish enough to plunge into the worms discovers that while individual worms aren't any threat, a giant mass of these creatures subjects the individual to the effects of a creeping doom spell as long as he remains immersed in worms.
Chant is that Wormscape's airpockets move and shift, so berks who think they're snug in a pocket best remain peery or they'll lose the window of good air, leaving the poor sods immersed in the midst of the worms. For every turn travelers spend in an air pocket, the pocket has a 15% chance to shift to a new location, plunging cutters deep into the worms unless they make successful saving throws vs. death magic.
Travelers thrust into the worms can make a saving throw vs. spell every 3 rounds to break into another air pocket. Trapped sods make each succeeding saving throw with a cumulative -1 penalty (a natural roll of 20 always indicates a success, no matter how steep the penalty), so that those who continue to fail the saving throw only flail farther and farther away from true safety.
The origin, true nature, and meaning (if any) of Wormscape remains dark. One story has it that Wormscape is merely the outer skin of a hideous entity that exists at its core. If this is true, then Wormscape might actually be the rot of a truly gargantuan being that died long ago, or it might be the by-product of this creature's ghastly nature.