11 - The Derelict Planes

**The Derelict Plains**

This stretch of land has a long and storied history, one that passes far beyond the memory of this land's current inhabitants. The rumors that spread out into the realm are tales of strange wriggling beasts that leap through the air and can swim through the dirt and sand as though it were water. A great green beast whose wingtips stretch from horizon to horizon, a remnant of what was who wanders the land dazed searching for what was lost.

Under the the light of the sun, the heat is immense, this is not a land of dirt to be sown and rocks to be hauled or cleaved, the entire expanse is from the city of Shimmering Relief in the south to the untamed ocean to the north from the forest in the west and mountains to the east is broken steel that cannot be tamed. Made of crags and outcroppings that reveal strange broken hallways and passageways beneath the ground, life in this land is hard to find, but not impossible.

Those that traverse the land do so at night to avoid the astounding heat of the day. There are merchants and plunderer's from Shimmering relief that make forays out for trade items found in the strange underground passages. The only structures on the land are those that are part of the terrain, spires of steel and glass, the Black Pyramind, the Headless Woman, the Great Spire, and the Crow's Nest. Anything that the races of man and elven kind has brought to bear was corroded and eaten by the Steel Wyrms. There are many legends of the derelict plains and the people that built the great structures, but it is impossible to separate the myth from fact as both have been stained by the passing of the ages. There are whispers of the people that came, the people that passed, the dangers, and the sleeping beast beneath.

Prominent Monsters

Steel Wyrm - Bulbous grey beasts with smooth skin that is wet in appearance, they write and wriggle through the Halls of the Seed, eating through walls and doors. Four times as long as they are wide with no legs or arms. Their mouths are capable of drooling an acidic substance and then they are able to ingest it. They grow larger with each meal they ingest, some are the size of fruit flies, while other's have swollen to the size of houses. When they reach a critical point of volume and mass, they burrow deep into the heart of the Derelict Plains and create a cocoon of black steel. Few know the secret of the Steel Wyrm, but if fed a forged weapon, they will expel from one orifice or another, a weapon of higher quality, or armor of higher quality.

Size: Tiny to Gargantuan

AC: 5

Hit Points: Size x d20 (Tiny = 1, Gargantuan = 6)

Speed: Size x 5

Str: 20 + size Dex: 10 Con: 5 Int: 5 Wis: 5 Cha: 5

Skills: None

Senses: Passive Perception of 5

Languages: Groaning

CR: ?

Actions:

- Bite: Melee size d6 piercing + 1d10 Acid damage

- Smash: Melee size d8 bludgeoning

- Roll: If multiple creatures are next to it, it will roll and try to crush them. Size

Greenblight Wyrm - A gargantuan creature whose wingtips touch the edge of each horizon, it soars over the Derelict Plains sporadically, searching for something. Though those that travel the Derelict Plains are few, only one has crossed the Wyrm, other's only have seen it from afar as it soars and sweeps the sky.

Size: Gargantuan +

Alignment: True Neutral

AC: 25 (Steel Scales that glow green at the edges)

Hit Points: 30 x d20

Speed: 50 ft, Fly 100 ft

Str: 30 (+ 10) Dex: 10 (+0) Con: 18 (+4) Int: 20 (+5) Wis: 20 (+5) Cha: 20 (5+)

Senses: Passive Perception of 27

Damage Immunities: Electric, poison

Condition Immunities: poison

Senses: Darkvision 120 ft, Heat vision 40 feet,

Languages: Draconic, Common, Ancient

CR: DON'T

Actions: Refer to Ancient Green Dragon actions

- Radiate: Aura that does 1d6 radiation damage at end of player turn. Must be activated, does not require concentration.

- Meltdown: Charge x1 turn, radiation aura amplification x 20 (20d6 radiation damage)

The Sleeper - 4-armed blade wielder, radiation poisoned. Heavily muscled body with a miasmic cloud of poison.

Prominent NPC's

The Nomad - One of the only people scraping together a living on the plains, frequently finds respite in the Shimmering Relief. He is old, very old, and knows all the legends of the Derelict Plains, and seems to have a mental sieve that can differentiate the myth from fact. He is rumored to know where the Sleeper lies, where the Greenblight Wyrm hunts, and why the entrails of the steel wyrms are in such high demand for the master forgers across the land. He is frank and blunt with his words, but needs help delving into the depths of the Halls of the Seed. He carries no weapon, and has mapped each of the levels of the Halls of the Seed down to the 17th level. Has the key, but lacks the password.

Priestess of the Headless Woman - A shimmering image in the likeness of the headless woman, a flickering entity that speaks nonsense, but to those who know the password and possess the key, she is a well of knowledge.

Greenblight Wyrm - Seeks the same thing as the Nomad, access to the levels below the 17th in the Halls of the Seed. Blunt and frank, has no interest in politics or in other nations. Other dragons have approached him, great mages and demons have offered him alliance, but he ignores their offers. Knows the password, but lacks the key

Steel Wyrm - Eat Steel.

Structures

The Black Pyramid - In the center of the Derelict Plains a stout black pyramid of steel that is only one story tall, but hides a shaft for which it is capable of piercing to the heard of the seed

The Headless Woman - A structure of a woman thrice as tall as a human female with four arms, lightly muscled, bare from the waste up, holding aloft a rotating globe. The globe is of black marble and fractured, but upon study you can see that the lands are not of Irulan (?).

The Great Spire - A great tube seemed to be made of moving parts that reaches into the sky, can be seen from anywhere in the Derelict Plains.

The Crow's Nest - A structure outside of the Shimmering Relief that is a lone disc suspended in the air. Two rope ladders drape from the floating black disk and it offers a vantage point to see the presence of any Steel Wyrms that may be approaching.

The Halls of the Seed - The entirety of the Derelict Plains hides the secret beneath, a ship from a time long past, a world forgotten. Its halls are filled with ash and dust and Wyrmlings. What was sound structures has now been corroded and rusted away by untold ages of being devoured by Steel Wyrms. It creeks and moans with the weight of those who dare venture in, but at it's core it bears that which the Nomad/Greenblight Wyrm seeks. What the Priestess can tell of only.

Legends

 Legend of the Steel Wyrm - Behold the Wyrm of enormous girth, give it that of little worth, and it will give a gift you desire, but careful not to stir it's ire.

Legend of the Headless Woman - Truth as bare as her chest, but as sensible as her head, her priestess knows the way, but will not tell, lest you have the key and know the word.

Legend of the Greenblight Dragon - He came from the sky with the seed, and departed from it in their time of need, cursed with blight he poisoned the earth, and divided his soul despite his girth. He wanders now, seeking his half, but cannot remember, of what he knew, half.

Legend of the Sleeper - The last of the kingdom of four armed men, he wanders with blades to cut and rend, he cares not for life or gem or umber, but will steel (spelling intentional) your soul should you disturb his slumber.

Legend of the Vassals - Great beings from a plane on high, that descended long ago from the sky, they brought a Seed, strange in form and strange in kind, it took root and now they pass forgotten.