![[Carceri.webp]] ### **The Prison of the Multiverse** Carceri, also known as the **Red Prison**, is a plane of despair and confinement. It is a place where hope is a lie, freedom is an illusion, and betrayal festers in every shadow. This realm is a cosmic oubliette, holding the treacherous, the deceitful, and the forsaken in endless torment. It is both a physical and spiritual prison, where even the strongest wills are eroded over time. --- ### **The Chain of Spheres** Carceri is a plane composed of six layers, each made up of massive orbs floating in a seemingly infinite void. These orbs vary in size, from small islands to vast worlds, connected only by treacherous pathways or magical means. Gravity pulls toward the surface of each orb, creating isolated environments with no clear up or down. The layers of Carceri grow darker and more oppressive the deeper one descends: 1. **Othrys**: The topmost layer, filled with swamps, fetid rivers, and crumbling ruins. This is where many exiled gods and powerful entities reside. 2. **Cathrys**: A realm of dense jungles and blood-red vegetation, where predators stalk every shadow. 3. **Minethys**: A windswept wasteland of endless dunes, with powerful gales of stinging sand that strip flesh from bone. 4. **Colothys**: A jagged realm of cliffs and peaks, where the only paths are narrow, crumbling ledges. 5. **Porphatys**: A freezing ocean of shallow waters and endless fog, where acid rain falls relentlessly. 6. **Agathys**: The lowest and most hostile layer, a frozen wasteland where black ice traps both body and soul. --- ### **Denizens of Carceri** Carceri is populated by beings who thrive on despair, treachery, and suffering: 1. **Tanar’ri**: Demons, particularly the more treacherous or failed ones, find themselves trapped here, often scheming to escape or further their agendas. 2. **Nightmares and Shadow Beasts**: Manifestations of the prisoners' torment, these creatures stalk the layers, preying on the weak. 3. **Prisoners**: Mortals and immortals alike, exiled for crimes or bound by betrayal, are scattered across the plane. Many form fractured, paranoid communities. 4. **Hags**: Covens of hags thrive here, weaving plots and trading in curses and misery. 5. **Titans**: On Othrys, ancient, fallen titans lurk in crumbling palaces, their power diminished but their hatred undying. 6. **Spirits of Betrayal**: Ethereal remnants of those consumed by their treachery, forever haunting the plane. 7. **Gehreleths (Demodands)**: Native to Carceri, these slimy, grotesque fiends enforce the plane's oppressive nature and revel in tormenting the inhabitants. --- ### **Features and Landmarks** Carceri's layers are rich with despair and dark secrets, each offering unique challenges: - **The Black Pits of Othrys**: Deep sinkholes that lead to forgotten ruins, rumored to hold forbidden knowledge or ancient treasures. - **The Crimson Canopy**: A vast jungle in Cathrys where the trees bleed sap that can heal or poison, depending on the user’s intent. - **The Screaming Dunes**: Minethys’ sands emit haunting cries as the wind howls through them, said to be the voices of those who betrayed their kin. - **The Pinnacle of Regret**: A towering spire in Colothys where prisoners endlessly climb, believing freedom lies at its peak, only to find themselves back where they began. - **The Frozen Mirrors**: In Agathys, sheets of black ice reflect not faces but memories of betrayal, forcing onlookers to relive their worst acts. --- ### **Hazards of Carceri** The plane itself is an active tormentor, ensuring that escape is nearly impossible: - **Isolation**: The vast distances and lack of reliable connections between orbs make travel perilous and slow. - **Binding Magic**: The plane’s nature makes it exceedingly difficult to leave. Teleportation and planar travel spells are unreliable, often redirecting travelers back to Carceri. - **Predatory Terrain**: Each layer’s environment is hostile, whether it’s the choking jungles of Cathrys, the acidic waters of Porphatys, or the freezing void of Agathys. - **Corruption of Trust**: Carceri’s very essence encourages betrayal, sowing paranoia and discord among those who work together. - **Doomed Hope**: Escape attempts often seem promising, only to end in failure, feeding the plane’s oppressive despair. --- ### **Magic in Carceri** Magic functions in Carceri but is heavily influenced by the plane’s oppressive nature: - **Impeded Teleportation**: Spells like _plane shift_ and _teleport_ often fail or misfire, keeping creatures bound to the plane. - **Corruption of Divination**: Attempts to seek guidance or answers are often clouded by lies or half-truths, reflecting the plane’s essence of treachery. - **Enhanced Necromancy**: Spells that manipulate the dead or feed on despair are more potent in Carceri. --- ### **Powers and Influence** Carceri is a plane tied to betrayal, exile, and punishment, and its inhabitants include gods and entities who embody these themes: - **The Titans**: Once mighty primordial beings, the titans are imprisoned on Othrys, plotting revenge against their captors and the gods who replaced them. - **The Gehreleths**: These native fiends serve as the plane's jailers, delighting in tormenting its prisoners and maintaining the plane’s oppressive balance. - **Tharizdun**: The Chained God, imprisoned for his madness and ambition, is believed to have a presence or influence in Carceri, drawing the mad and desperate to his cause. - **Gods of Betrayal**: Deities tied to treachery or punishment, such as **Cyric**, often have a foothold here, using Carceri as a prison or a place of exile for their enemies. --- ### **Legends of Carceri** - **The Chains of Eternity**: Hidden deep within Carceri, these massive chains are said to bind a primordial force of unimaginable power. Those who find and release it could reshape the multiverse—or destroy it. - **The Orb of Redemption**: A mythical sphere said to grant freedom to any who hold it. However, its location is unknown, and many believe it to be a cruel trick of the plane itself. - **The First Betrayer**: An ancient, nameless being said to have created Carceri with their treachery, now entombed deep within Agathys, their whispers still shaping the plane’s essence. - **The Maze of Lies**: A shifting labyrinth in Othrys, filled with illusions and traps. It is rumored to contain an artifact that grants immunity to betrayal. --- ### **Adventurers in Carceri** Adventurers may find themselves drawn to Carceri for many reasons: to rescue a prisoner of importance, retrieve a lost artifact, or confront a deity or fiend bound to the plane. However, the challenges are immense. The very nature of Carceri seeks to corrupt and destroy, making survival as much about resisting despair as overcoming physical threats. Escape from Carceri is a rare feat, requiring immense cunning, strength, and magical power. For those who succeed, the plane leaves its mark, a lingering shadow of paranoia and distrust. --- Carceri is a realm of sorrow and deceit, a cosmic prison where justice and cruelty intertwine. It is a place that tests the very essence of a soul, offering fleeting glimpses of hope only to snatch them away, leaving behind a void of despair and betrayal.