The Underdark

X Worldbuilders:

GM James R

The Underdark is an Quelmar-adjacent plane of innumerable caverns, tunnels, and caves. The plane is identical in size to Quelmar, and resides between 3 to 5 miles below Quelmar's surface.

About

Quelmar's Shield

The sole purpose of the Underdark is to confuse and complicate any attempts at directly plane jumping between the evil, outer planes and the Prime Material Plane. The punishing energies of the Underdark cause any and all plane jumping teleportation to get struck by a surge of Wild Magic, distorting the destination of the target in both space and time. A powerful protection, it keeps any demon lords, archdevils, or lower fiends from just directly popping into the Quelmar Realm.

Conversely, those seeking to summon devils or demons require incredible dark magic, as it can be nearly impossible to directly pull demons through the protective shield of the Underdark. Even then, most summoners can only pull small and powerless fiends.

Trapped Souls: The Darkfates

Souls who get trapped in the Underdark when trying to plane jump are bound to suffer from one of several fates. Those of particularly strong body, soul, and beliefs can survive the adventure, living normally in the Underdark. These type of survivors are typically Lawful Good, and are deemed incorruptible. But most of the time, those banished to the Underdark suffer from one of three ultimate fates: becoming an Allip, a Bodak, or a Soul Reaver. These abominations are known as the DarkFates.

Escaping the Underdark

When trapped in the Underdark due to a plane jump or teleportation gone wrong, the easiest solution is to Dispel the magic that cast you into the Underdark to begin with. Being subjected to the energies of Dispel Magic has a non-zero chance of reversing the jump, flinging the creature back to its original location, though the time and place may not be exactly when and where they departed from.

History

Creation

The plane of the Underdark was created by the Lost God known as Torog. A god of punishment and pain, Torog shaped the plane out of dangerous energies, imbuing the life and terrain to exist solely as a lethal test to those enduring here. In a way, the Underdark is one massive cavernous prison.

Torog was tasked by the creator gods to create a "buffer" between Quelmar and the The Ten Hells that lie beneath it. As Asmodeus was prone to trying to take over the realm, the Underdark was the first line of defense against all fiendish energies.

Habitation

Though created solely to trap and confuse those plane jumping forces, the Underdark was directly tied to the Quelmar Realm, and could even be reached if one managed to go underground far enough. Very few natural cavern systems existed that reached the Underdark, but in Quelmar's ancient history, those caves were used to send banished groups deep underground, including the original Drow, Duergar, and Svirfneblin.

Geology

The Underdark is home to countless rare gemstones and ores. A brief list of Underdark treasures is listed below:

• Agate
• Azurite
• Adventurine
• Amethyst
• Alexandrite
• Ioun Stone
• Lapis Lazuli
• Light Gem
• Malachite
• Phenalope
• Ruby
• Sapphire
• Spell Gems - A Svirfneblin gem craft that imbues any of the other gems listed here with a one-time spell.
• Tiger Eye
• Topaz

See Also

• The Underdungeon, a campaign set entirely in the dangers of the Underdark.