Players' Guide to Immortals: The Home Plane

An Initiate cannot select a Home Plane; one is assigned by the Hierarch of the character's Sphere.  Each of these planes is nearly identical, to give each Immortal a fair chance to compete on an equal basis with the other Immortals of the hierarchy.

It should be difficult for any Immortal to get into another's home plane.

And it should be impossible for mortals.

Essentially, to enter someone's home plane you need the owner's permission. Failing that, you need to (a) be superior to the owner in the same sphere, and (b) force the penetration via Power use. The latter procedure we'll pass on, for now...

Frank Mentzer, on Dragonsfoot (February 2, 2011)

Starting Details:

Most of the plane is vacuum, containing only occasional bits of extremely small elemental material.  Floating here and there within this vast empty space are 2-5 stars, with a total of 16-20 planets in orbit around them.  Any and all planets and stars may already support life forms of various sorts when the plane is first adopted by the Initiate character.

Development:

A gate to an Elemental Plane may be opened, if permission in advance is given by both the elemental ruler and the Elemaster involved.  Elemental material of any kind can thus be added to the plane.

A character who tires of Immortality may confer great bonuses to the Home Plane by Dispersion.  With this action, the Immortal bestows all of his or her Power to the plane, gaining greater effects than through normal permanent expenditure.  Upon Dispersing, the character's life essence may either retire to some point within the plane, immune to all outside effects (but unable to act in any way), or may choose to begin the great cycle of life once again as a mortal creature.

If the second option is chosen, the character is reborn on the Prime Plane as a normal mortal, with no memory of his or her previous life.  However, if that character ever regains Immortal status (following the long route of a complete and successful mortal life and thereafter meeting the standard requirements for Immortality), the character's memory of the previous life returns, and the character gains the old, already improved Home Plane instead of a new, undeveloped one.

Effects:

While on his or her Home Plane, an Immortal is immune to all attacks of mortal origin.  By expending Power Points, the Immortal may control certain characteristics of the entire plane.  Home Planes may be handled in as much or as little detail as Dominions of mortal characters. 

Illustration by Jeff Easley

Material Forms:

To assume a material form, an Immortal normally uses a three-step process of planning, creating, and then inhabiting the form.  All forms have their limits, but most have benefits as well.  Immortals usually design forms that have the widest range of available actions and responses as possible.  They usually prefer forms that can blend well into a local population, aiding subtle operations.

The Immortal's current totals of hit points, Power Points, and mental ability scores are not changed when a form is assumed.  The Immortal's innate A-M also applies to the form.  Only in physical form can an Immortal create and use spell-like effects.  The physical form acts as a focus for creating effects in the material world.

Creating a Form:

All Immortals can create two basic forms, called the Original and the Standard forms.  A third form, usually imitating that of one monster type (called the Creature form), is also common.  Other forms may also be designed and used.

Every Immortal is taught how to create a standard form while an Initiate.  This form appears very similar to the character's original mortal form, with the same number and type of general parts (head, torso, etc.) and of the same size, but with far greater durability.

The Plane of Existence in which an Immortal spent most of his or her mortal life is called the character's Native Plane.  Whenever an Immortal returns to his or her Native Plane, the character's material form instantly and automatically changes to the original mortal one.  In most cases (such as all humans and demihumans), the native plane is the Prime Plane.

Generally, immortals don't perish. Their forms may, and often do, but their essences return to their Home Planes, and all is well. Not great, and the beginning of a resource management period; recover what you lost and rebuild. Time is a factor but not a limit.

Alas, I didn't have the space to elaborate on Home Planes (aka Homes), their construction & design, and defense aspects -- the latter topic being integral to the core premise above.

The Power cost of entering an immortal's Home without heerits permission is a variable to be decided, and is of supreme importance. The amount is left to the DM in selecting a tone for the campaign.

If Homes are easy to break into, the resulting chaos will involve confrontations and extermination (echoing perhaps Odin & co?). As the level of Home security rises, the level of chaos ebbs. Entropy of course would favor chaos...

The other end of this scale, unbreakable Homes, shifts the attack to a more personal one, for if the immortal's favor can be obtained, one may enter heerits Home by invitation, to later attack from within. The importance of Loyalty and Family escalates rapidly.

I favor a level of 25-50 thousand PP. Penetration requires hordes of friends, or some very powerful ones in a cabal of a dozen or two. And once you're in, you still have to deal with the resident on the most unfavorable terms possible (still varying by Spheres). Be sure you have the right allies... and that they won't switch sides midfield hehe.

Frank Mentzer, on Dragonsfoot (November 17, 2014)

Avatars:

An Immortal may choose to inhabit a form with only part of his or her life force, instead of all of it.  The standard procedures and costs for planning, creating, and inhabiting the form must be applied.  Such a form, containing only part of the Immortal's life force, is called an avatar.  The form containing the bulk of the Immortal's life force is then called the primary.

When an avatar is slain, its life force does not become incorporeal.  It is not an actual independent life force.  Its power and hp return to the primary life force.  All avatars are constantly and fully aware of each other, even if on different planes of existence.

Artifacts:

Immortal PCs may create artifacts.  An Immortal may only create an Artifact while on his or her Home Plane.  The PP expenditure for creating an artifact is a permanent one.  Magical effects produced by Artifacts have Immortal power, and can affect all life forms.