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Introduction. It should come as no surprise that the greatest black market in the multiverse, the

Teardrop Palace of Sung Chiang, has attracted settlers who want to live nearby. While other thief

gods, like urell of !erth, "ask of Toril, #oki of the $orse, and %haeraun of the drow, tend to

maintain realms that are little more than hideouts, places for them to escape the company of other

gods when things get too hot, Sung Chiang en&oys civili'ed company, and is pleased to invite

visitors to his market to buy and sell stolen things. While other thief gods are outcasts or rebels,

Sung Chiang is a member in good standing of the Celestial (ureaucracy, given his position because

the Celestial )mperor sees thievery as a part of e*istence as deserving of representation as any

other.

While pro*imity to Sung Chiang+s realm is an e*cellent reason to build a city, the fact of the matter

is that the city was there long before Sung Chiang built a palace in it. Positioned as it is on the iver Sty*, ne*t to portals to the !utlands and (aator, the same accessibility that attracted Sung Chiang

has attracted many others in the long millennia of the city+s e*istence. It+s the center of the trade in

nupperibos, the site of an ancient barghest fortress, and one of the easiest places to find tso. It+s the

city of %oid+s )dge, and it+s one of the most cosmopolitan places in the #ower Planes.

Character. %oid+s )dge, also called -u "i, /urnace+s )dge, the City of avens, City of Thieves,

City on the )dge of $ever, $everland, the City of #ost Children, City on the )dge, and simply the

)dge, is, despite all its many faults, the most benign spot in all of 0ehenna, the closest point on the

plane to the !utlands. 1ust neutral enough to retain its position on the edge of the void, near the

glaring red orb that leads to Torch, but more than evil enough to remain within the plane, the City

on the )dge has remained remarkably stable. It has endured in this tenuous position for as long as

any but the vaporighu remember. It is an old city, seemingly immune to the philosophical changes

that tip so many other planar burgs into other planes.

The town is +loths+ eyes and crows+ tongues, deception and cruel e*ploitation and hidden darks. It is

a city on the edge of the greatest black market in the multiverse, on the edge of the most appalling

sins, on the edge of the iver Sty*, on the edge of 0ehenna and the edge of 2ell.

Inhabitants. The people of %oid+s )dge are primarily human and tiefling, characteri'ed by their

pale skins, often stained with soot. While many of them resemble humans from lands where Sung

Chiang is worshiped, this is by no means true of all of them, as the city draws citi'ens from across

the planes looking for wealth and secrets. There is a substantial minority of oni, many of them

associated with the Planar Trade Consortium. !f course, plenty of 0ehennan natives and beings

from all over the planes have reasons to enter the city, including mercanes, barghests, kytons,

phiuhls, diakka, night hags, and more.

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Thousands of lin3ua dwell within the Teardrop Palace, and thousands more, e*iled by the whimsical

Sung Chiang, dwell in the city outside the palace gates, stealing, begging, or hiring themselves out.

Their innate ability to discern truth from lies makes them as valuable as thief4catchers as thieves.

The city+s population of ravens is particularly large, ranging from the gray4feathered ravens of Sigil

to simpathetics to enormous fiendish creatures the si'e of horses. "ost of the population ignore

them, considering their death to be an ill omen.

"ephits are common vermin in the city, particularly steam and magma mephits, who steal food and

work as messengers while 3uarreling among themselves.

5ugoloths encountered here include mostly hydroloths, piscoloths, skeroloths, and me''oloths

under the command of a nycoloth known as the )yes of 0og Sheklah, a nycoloth with eyes on the

palms of his hands, who serves the blind ultroloth lord 0og Sheklah, the ruler of most of the +loths

on the layer of halas. 6rcanaloths teach at the 6cademy of Perdition in the Scholars 7uarter8 these

greater yugoloths are their own masters, responsible to no one but the eeper of the Tower 6rcane

in Chamada. The baate'u soldiers stationed in the burg are under the ultimate command of 9agos of

the 9ark )ight, and locally commanded by a cornugon sorcerer named Sourmanymous, or Sourm

for short, who runs the city+s !ffice of Infernal ecruitment. There is some tension with the large

community of baate'u who have fled or been e*iled from (aator, but the soldiers are under orders

not to cause unnecessary trouble. Tanar+ri can occasionally be seen as well8 the city is officially

:neutral ground: in the eternal (lood War, though fights between baate'u and tanar+ri occasionally

break out. The tanar+ri generally keep to their own bars and contacts8 they are most common on the

Street of Shadows and its vicinity.

%aporighu are an uncommon sight on the city+s surface, often hiding themselves away in their

rooms and operating businesses through pro*ies, though night hags have some unknown connection

with them and are known to deal with them directly. Some believe the night hags played a role in

the race+s creation, helping warp them into their present forms at the rilmani+s behest, or perhaps the

opposite is true and the vaporighu hope the night hags can turn them back. 9eep in the tunnels

beneath the streets are said to be a cabal of ancient vaporighu who founded the city in times

forgotten. They dwell in a secret underground chamber and send instructions to their minions in the

land above. Some claim the ravens and crows are their messengers, but this is untrue. 6ny

instructions the mayor may get from the city+s ravens come from them alone.

The spidery tso are a nomadic people, but they are in %oid+s )dge, docking their aracheon airships atthe city+s edge, as often as they are anywhere else, coming to the Teardrop Palace to trade their ill4

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gotten goods, buying shipbuilding supplies from the mercane, or taking on &obs in the 9ock

7uarter. Tso do not reproduce as mammals do, but create young by in&ecting their elders with

strange venoms. 6ccordingly, instead of going to brothels while on :shore leave,: they go to

poisoning parlors where they sublimate their racial urges by poisoning victims for a fee. The gate to

Torch is the only lower planar !utlands gateway really built to allow entire flying ships to pass

through, so this is one of the most important sites for aracheon traffic. )lsewhere, they typically

move across planes using 6cheron+s portals and the iver Sty*.

akshasas are uncommon in the city, as they have strong ties to their ra&a in (aator+s city

of 6battoir , and they tend not to get along with the native oni of %oid+s )dge. When they arrive, it is

usually to buy or sell slaves, or to vacation amid the opulance of the Crystal 7uarter.

/eral orphans run through the streets, fleeing the child catchers and their hounds. Pirates from the

iver Sty* or the empty void dock to resupply or buy clockwork grafts for their missing limbs.

$ight hags stand on street corners, hawking dreams.

Wealthy families in %oid+s )dge include the avencrofts, a family of wereravens from !erth who

have been corrupted into evil, or at least neutrality. The current mayor is a avencroft, though he

has familial ties to the ;annifers, since his mother was one.

;annifer is a tiefling house, a remnant of the empire of (ael Turath, which in its heyday dominatedmost of the lower planar gate4towns. The ;annifers of the City on the )dge are substantially less

human than prime tieflings, having interbred with yugoloths and worse things, and they have an

insectoid cast to their features.

The <nterbrinks are a family of fire mages, descended from an ancient race of planar wanderers

who have mostly disappeared from the planes in recent centuries. "ost of the <nterbrinks are wu

&en.

Description. The city s3uats at the precipice between the bulk of halas and the void beyond. The

blood4red orb that is the portal to Torch is visible in the darkness a 3uarter4mile or so away, looking

like a disembodied eye staring at those who peer over the brink =and the e*istence of the big glaring

eye looking over the city may be part of the reason people think the sliver of land Sung Chiang+s

realm is built on looks like a teardrop>. 6 berk with careful aim can land on the docks set up by the

town+s inhabitants, but the best way there and back is to fly. 6 tiefling named Tai 1i4li, a gray4

skinned basher with an oddly elongated head, runs a foulwing ta*i service from one plane to

another. )scapees from Carceri have attempted to use skin balloons and spinnarets, with uniformly

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disastrous results. 6racheon and other airships regularly make the &ourney, docking at 0ehenna+s

edge or Torch+s spires.

While many in %oid+s )dge are human, the city was obviously not constructed with human comfort

in mind. The air chokes and burns8 a drop of water from the iver Sty* can destroy minds.

ow after row of ancient tenements make up the ma&ority of the town. In the center of the iver

Sty* is the Island of Spires, an isle covered with tall, elderly mansions, connected to the rest of the

city by a bridge made with the living, flapping bodies of baate'u. The cold river Sty* underneath

washes waves of hate against the dikes and shore that disperse amongst the populace like petulant

mist before flowing into (aator.

The Sty* flows down from the peak of halas down to the base of the city where it spreads out like

a tilted delta, side4channels disappearing into pits underground to unknown planes. The mainstem

flows into (aator near the city of 6battoir8 another channel flows into Wreychtmirk in 6cheron, and

still another flows into the 0ray Waste. !thers have channels whose destinations vary wildly8 only

the marraenaloths can predict them. Some are thought to occasionally flow through Sigil or the

"aterial Plane, or even 9urao in the 6byss.

!ther subterranean pits lead to other parts of (aator and the Waste, and to lower layers of 0ehenna,

though some are incorrectly marked, and some are &ust bottomless pits. 9eep beneath the city arestill ruins of the long4ago occupations of the sarrukh and insectoid #ost !nes. The portal to

Chamada leads near the orb of $imicri.

The lower half of the city is relatively =but not entirely> flat, because it was once part of the

!utlands. There the iver Sty* splits into si* different branches like a river delta8 many arched

bridges knit together the different sections of the city, though no bridge connects the city to the

steep and inhospitable left =Wasteward> bank of the river+s mainstem8 to cross the mainstem of the

Sty*, one must travel up a steep path for appro*imately a day+s &ourney to the (ridge of halas, one

of the most savagely contested battlefields of the (lood War. The upper half of the city is built on a

?@ degree angle and knit together by stairs. This half is newer, constructed as the lower city ran out

of space. The most prominent part of the upper city is Teardrop Island, a flat ledge separated from

the rest of the city by two channels of molten lava. The lava curves around a sheltering cliff face

and &oins into a single channel some distance downslope, forming the impression of a teardrop.

6gainst the cliff face is the tallest building in the city, the Teardrop Palace, home of the deity Sung

Chiang. !utside Sung Chiang+s fifty4foot high gates, but still on Teardrop Island, is the city+s

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religious 3uarter, where temples of many different deities are clustered closely together under the

protection of the god of archers, Chih4Chiang /yu45a.

The (aatorient )*press runs beneath the Crystal 9istrict, Teardrop Island, Cattle "arket, and 9ock

7uarter in %oid+s )dge and across the planar boundary to the city of 6battoir in (aator. It is not very

old, having been built only a few years ago using )berron+s lightning rail technology. The plan is to

eventually e*pand it to stretch all the way to (el+s citadel, though the badlands of 6vernus are

dangerous and this ambition may not be reali'ed for a long time.

Districts.

The Dock Quarter comprises the region between the iver Sty* and the edge of halas. There are

actually two sets of docks, one set servicing Sty* traffic and the other servicing traffic from the

void, most of which comes from the portal to Torch, though not e*clusively so. Some races,

particularly the tso, have flying ships they use to travel the edge of halas and the void beyond.

The 9ock 7uarter is filled with shops, stalls, warehouses, and shipbuilding facilities. The largest

area in the 9ock 7uarter, along the Sty* side, is the Cattle "arket, where nupperibos from (aator

are brought to be sold to the yugoloths. !ther slaves and food animals =they are treated

interchangeably here> are sold in the same markets. 5ugoloths and barghests capture 0ehennan

petitioners for sale in these markets, spidery tso sell slaves here from throughout the lawful planes,and various forms of lower planar cattle are brought here to be slaughtered.=gathras, larvae,

slasraths, stench kine, thunderbeasts, abrians, fhorges, re&kars, and so on>. The Street of Shadows

winds through the heart of the 9ock 7uarter8 for thousands of years it has been the home of the

city+s shadow fiends, who create buildings and works of art out of sculpted darkness, and wait in the

shadows to trade stolen souls. aw and finished materials from the mining towns upstream on the

Sty*, places like the duergar town of "aelgrim and the grimlock town of "orgrim, are brought to

the docks here and into the industrial (oiler district.

)n'og+s is a store stocked with evil dolls =carrionettes> who prey on children who come too near.

)n'og himself is a craftsman who is said to hail from a city of witches somewhere in the 0ray

Waste. Pan /a4liang, a renegade ghost from /o #ing Po, creates tattooed memories on commission.

6 night hag or tiefling called 1enny 2enna will make similar henna tattoos8 the ghost considers her

a thief and a rival. (rothels sport names like 2ouse of (liss, 2ouse of Charm, and 2ouse of

Suffering.

The Planar Trade Consortium has one of its ma&or head3uarters here, in a massive, many4columned

building known locally simply as the Planar Trade Consortium or the Consortium (uilding. There

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are others, of course, in places as diverse as Tradegate, 5eoman, and Sigil, but here it is at its most

ruthless, with oni, tso, duergar, and 4 perhaps worst of all 4 humans teaming about, using the city+s

position astride the layer+s most fre3uently traveled portals to make a killing.

The Church of !ne Thousand 6gonies is in the trade district on the mainland, near a lava fountain.

This is where the n+gathau =Tome of Horrors II > are based. The n+gathau are a race of horribly

mutilated, stitched4together humanoids based in "ungoth, although chant has it that they originated

in !canthus, where they are gearing up for war with the bladelings. They trade li3uid agony in

e*change for living flesh, and eagerly accept limbs, organs, or entire people from the poor, the

desperate, and the murderously greedy, using what they gain to create more of their kind. The

ancient shadow fiend district is nearby.

The %ault of the "isers is an impregnable fortress in the 9ock 7uarter. Chant has it that the

"erkhants within have taken to worshiping their bank as a god, and that somewhere within its heart

is a huge, hungry maw, the mouth of the living building itself, that the "erkhants feed with the

bodies of those who default on loans.

The markets of %oid+s )dge are actually among the most reputable in the planes. %isitors can be

sure the things they purchase there were not stolen, because ubi3uitous little lin3uas dispatched by

Sung Chiang use their ability to detect lies to ensure that this is the case. Sung Chiang is a &ealous

enough god that he wishes the markets in his palace to be the only place in the city where stolen

goods can be bought or sold.

The Crystal District is as unlike the rest of the city as is imaginable, full of brilliantly shining

crystalline buildings like something from the Seven 2eavens. It+s a place of pleasure palaces,

casinos, and gardens, with the aim of attracting wealthy tourists to the city from other planes of

e*istence. The "illion Ways is a restaurant built at the very end of the city8 circular in shape and

made of perfectly clear crystal, it e*tends over the void so that diners can look down into the face of

oblivion as they eat. The vaporighu4run casino is called the attling Skull. The price of defaulting

on gambling debts is slavery, usually involving being sold to a brothel or the n+gathau.

The !ffice of Infernal ecruitment, located in the Crystal 9istrict, is part brothel, part embassy, and

part college of magic run by (aator+s "inistry of "ortal elations. Its standards are very la*8 they

will accept nearly anyone, and the focus is on creating an entertaining, appealing college e*perience

to bring in as many students as possible. 9espite this, rigorous testing ensures that the most talented

students are given special training to become (aator+s agents in the city and throughout the planes.

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/or those who fall short, the tutors =mostly imps> focus on ensuring their souls are ade3uately

corrupted, at which point they are 3uietly killed so that those souls will pass into (aator.

The Boiler is the city+s industrial district, full of forges, refineries, te*tile mills, and so on. #ower4

class bars are fairly common in this district as well, such as the Cuckoo+s $est, which serves

barghests and goblins, primarily, and Perdition+s #oss, which serves a primarily human and tiefling

worker clientele. The (oiler is one of the hottest parts of town, very close to the rivers of lava.

The subtly4named Slopes of Agony is the home of the poorest of the poor, the dregs of the dregs.

These are shacks and hovels clustered around the city+s perimeter, vulnerable to 0ehennan horrors

and spraying lava but with none of the amenities of the town proper like paved roads or gutters

designed to channel filth into the river.

The Scholars Quarter is the home of most of the city+s centers of higher learning. <niversitities in

the Scholars 7uarter include the Institute of the 6pplied )volution, a place of vile e*periments run

by a brain in a &ar called ;hu (in4rui. 2uman4animal hybrids, sold as slaves, are common results of

the institute+s e*periments. )*perimental stock is purchased from local slavers and the city 'oos.

This university is primarily known as a college of medicine, and most of the city+s doctors are

trained here. )*periments are done involving dreams, taking apart sleeping test sub&ects+ brains

from within and vivisecting night hags. There are e*periments on aging, adding decades to the age

of children and taking it away from the old. $o magic is practiced here, but much is done to figure

out how to activate psionic talent through surgical means or through drugs, and the college is the

closest thing the city offers to a training facility for psions. 6 group of illithids, refugees from

"aan'ecorian+s realm, have recently &oined the faculty. It is rumored that if ;hu (in4rui could ever

learn to dream again himself, his e*periments would end.

The 6cademy of Perdition is the Scholars 7uarter+s other ma&or university. /ounded long ago by the

/layed #ord, its professors are primarily arcanaloths and baate'u e*iles, training wi'ards and

warlocks in the dark arts. The <nterbrink family has been associated with this university since they

arrived in the city8 they are its primary contributors, and every member of the family is e*pected to

be educated within its confines. /or those not related to graduates of the academy, standards are

rigorous and the school is very difficult to get into.

There are no public schools in %oid+s )dge. )ducations must be paid for, and the city isn+t going to

do it. "any go to religious schools, especially the one sponsored by the god of truth and testing,

Chung uel.

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The Island of Spires is the city+s wealthiest district, an island in the iver Sty* connected to the

mainland by the (ridge of 9evils. !n the Island of Spires is the manors of the city+s elite families

and fiends, the mayor+s mansion, and an e*iled vampire 3ueen in a palace of mirrors, with mirror

mephit servants. She was cast from a parallel universe by the nerra, who will do anything to keep

her out.

Teardrop Island , between the two lava flows known as Weeping 6gony and the iver of (oiling

Tears, is the section of town where the Teardrop Palace is. (eyond the palace+s fifty4foot gates is the

city+s temple 3uarter, including temples to every god in the Chinese pantheon as well as many

prominent 0ehennan deities such as "ellifleur, Sargonnas, and "ath "athonwy. Sung Chiang does

not consider other deities to be a threat as long as they+re not gods of thieves8 followers of other

thief4gods tend to keep their faith a secret within town.

MenageriesA The private menagerie of the ;annifer family consists of cobbled paths among small

adamantium cages containing baku, slasraths, horses, alligators, bar4lgura, thunderbeasts, 3uasits,

abrians, a darklore, a troll, a 0iant Space 2amster of Ill !men, bugbears, hollyphants, humans,

bonespears, terlens, fhorges, and even a small white dragon, all cared for by screaming devilkin in

the family+s employ. The public is not permitted to view this menagerie, though guests of the family

may be invited to see the displays. The family mostly stocks its menagerie with gifts given to them

by guests hoping to impress them, so its collection is fairly random.

The <nterbrink family maintains the "enagerie of /lames, displaying, in cages set above and

within a pool of magma, fire4related creatures from the )lemental Plane of /ire, 0ehenna, (aator,

the 6byss, the 7uasielemental Planes of Steam and 6sh, and the Paraelemental Planes of "agma

and Smoke. The beasts are fed by mephits, mainly steam and lava. The <nterbrinks will pay a flat

rate of B gp for e*otic creatures of fire. The public is permitted to view it for D sp a visit, but the

environment is swelteringly hot.

The avencroft family maintains an aviary with thousands of different bird species in a high tower

on their family estate. It is not available for public viewing, but the avencrofts are always

interested in purchasing e*otic birds.

"ost of the )dge+s prominent families have their own private menageries, and it is believed that

Sung Chiang keeps a menagerie of stolen beasts in one of the private wings of his palace. The

public 'oo, the "enagerie of the Celestial ealms, is owned by 2erab Serap and is the largest and

most elaborate menagerie in the city, located in the Crystal 9istrict and consisting of seven distinctenvironments, made to imitate the native environments of the creatures contained withinA Wildspace

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=the void between worlds on the "aterial Plane>, "ount Celestia, 6rborea, 6rcadia, )lysium, the

(eastlands, and 5sgard.

HistoryA #ong, long ago, before the age of mammals, the city now known as %oid+s )dge was called

"irklight, and it was the gate4town to 0ehenna in the !utlands, built on the edge of Semuanya+s

swamp by nameless, s3uamous things and inhabited subse3uently by aboleths, batrachi, sarrukh,

aeree, spell weavers, thri4kreen, and the vaguely insectoid race remembered only as the #ost !nes.

6n army of yugoloths used the town as a staging point to attempt to con3uer much of the #and, but

4 prompted by the rilmani 4 the swamp and the strange, old powers that dwelled with in it turned

against them, warping the entire army into the corrupt, bestial species now known as vaporighu, and

0ehenna reclaimed its children, stranding them on the far side of the portal, while the portions of

the swamp now in the plane of the /ourfold /urnaces boiled between a river of magma and theiver Sty*.

In its new home, the city and the great tower the yugoloths had built fell to ruin inhabited solely by

the vaporighu and the occasional visitor from the new gate4town of Torch, but eventually the +loths

reclaimed it, using it a place to purchase nupperibos shipped from (aator. The first great e*pansion

of the barghests put a temporary halt to that as the barghest general etrolesh used the city as a

staging area for his con3uest of the plane. The fortress of etrolesh was constructed in the central

island over the ruins of the yugoloth war4tower, and for another millennia, the barghests used Castle

etrolesh as their chiefmost stronghold, until the barghest race tore itself apart in the event

remembered as the (itter /east. 6fter the (itter /east ended barghest dominance, the nupperibo

trade resumed, the child slaves the barghests had brought to the citadel largely took over the town,

and they and their descendants have dominated it ever since, although they suffered periodic

con3uests by both the tanar+ri and baate'u, the town getting fre3uently ra'ed and &ust as fre3uently

rebuilt again after the slaughter was over..

It was to this relatively civili'ed but put4upon trade city that Sung Chiang came, seeing the iver

Sty*, the portal to Torch, and a great polyglot settlement perfect for his needs. Sung Chiang+s

presence has largely ended the threat of fiendish con3uest and attracted even more trade thanks to

his booming market of stolen goods. 2is pro*ies also destroyed the lich4like master thieves who had

been running the local thieves guilds from deep underground, though it is thought that they may

have had phylacteries that enabled them to survive in some form. )ver since then the city has only

grown larger and more prosperous, though always at the e*pense of the poor, the weak, and the

enslaved.

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Rulers. Tian avencroft is the current #ord "ayor. Tian is a corpulent, conservative ruler, an able

hand at navigating the city+s by'antine politics, but he is getting weaker and his time may be almost

done. 2e is the voice of the city in matters of both internal and e*ternal diplomacy, ably dealing

with the city+s guilds and factions and with the governors of cities abroad. It is a narrow line that

Tian walks, but he walks it well. 2e has no known heirs and the successor he had been grooming, a

avencroft, has vanished, thought to have been kidnapped or assassinated. 2is chief rivals are his

cousins within 2ouse ;annifer, the <nterbrinks, and (ai Tobias, son of (ai 1ia4rong.

Behind the Throne. The chief advisor of the mayor is a tall, slender, fiendish4looking humanoid

who calls himself 2erab Serap. When he first came to the )dge, shortly after the (ridge of 9evils

was created, he was famed for his ready smile and his easy manner8 he shortly became one of the

most prominent members of the )dge+s baate'u e*ile community, and used his considerable funds inimprovements to the burg, such as the construction of the "enagerie of the %oid and much of the

Crystal 9istrict. !f late, though, he has become much more reclusive and paranoid, and even "ayor

avencroft rarely sees him emerge from his 3uarters.

The secret of 2erab Serap is that he was once a pit fiend known as ;apan. The third pit fiend to be

given that name and head (aator+s "inistry of Immortal 9iplomacy, he was made a scapegoat after

(aator temporarily lost control of the (ridge of halas to the tanar+ri. 2is spirit was rebranded with

a new name and he was forced to resign his position, but strangely he was left alive. /earing this

condition would be fleeting, he fled to 0ehenna and %oid+s )dge. !nce there, he did his best to

ingratiate himself with the yugoloths by selling as many of the 9ark )ight+s secrets as he knew to

"alphea', an ultroloth who styles himself "aster of rangath and #ord of the Seven 9arks.

"alphea' is a rival of 0og Sheklah, the most powerful ultroloth in halas, who is an ally of the

/layed #ord. Since he knows the 9ark )ight must be aware of his attempts to turn traitor, he grows

more paranoid by the day. 2e firmly believes both the /layed #ord and the 9ark )ight wish him

dead.

The /layed #ord, known as #iu /an4lie, is the eldest of the city+s baate'u e*iles. 2e was once a

vassal of Count (eherit, who ruled "albolge before the rise of "oloch, but he was banished at the

time his liege was e*ecuted for hiding a noble baate'u child from the eyes of 6smodeus. The /layed

#ord, who resembles a horned humanoid whose skin has been stripped bare to reveal naked muscles

and sinew, rules an estate called the Slope of /layed Children up4slope from the city, where his

castrated immature barghest servants bring him whatever he desires. 2e spends most of his time in

the city itself, with a lu*urious mansion on the Island of Spires, and works to reduce the influence

of the baate'u in what he considers to be :his: city. The only archdevil he trusts is his fellow e*ile

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0argauth, who e*iled himself at the time of (eherit+s destruction. When 0argauth comes to town,

the /layed #ord eagerly opens his estate to the #ord Who Watches, hiring a virtual army of guards

and servants to make sure nothing goes wrong during the esteemed god+s visit. The /layed #ord

despises anything to do with the present diabolic hierarchy or the 9ark )ight, and considers 2erab

Serap to be his greatest rival. When "oloch came to the city recently, recruiting mercenaries for an

attempt to take back his realm, he found that none of the other e*iled baate'u in the city would

speak to him for fear of the /layed #ord+s wrath. "oloch was forced to go to the yugoloths instead.

The /layed #ord is in many ways almost pure bitterness and hate, and this hatred has crept into the

bricks and cobblestones of his adopted city. 2is adopted city has, in its turn, crept into him. The

result of so many millennia among mortals is thisA he is not 3uite as much baate'u as he once was.

Something of the hopes and aspirations and dreams of the thousands of mortals that share his cityhas leaked into him, and while this is scarcely noticeable when the /layed !ne is peeling the skin

from his victims, the truth is that he has come to genuinely care for his adopted home, and he would

do anything to protect it.

"aughdha, the (aroness of 6battoir, is the most important entity in the city who does not actually

dwell within the city. "aughdha is the ruler of 6battoir, a shipping and trading city located on

(aator+s side of the portal &ust downstream on the iver Sty*. 9escrobed as a massive, thirteen4foot

tall amni'u with do'ens of mouths and tongues oo'ing slime all across her body, "aughdha wants

nothing more than to see %oid+s )dge pulled across the planar boundary to increase the si'e and

prestige of her own domain. She knows it is beyond her power to pull the Teardrop Palace into

another plane against Sung Chiang+s will, but she hopes if she steals enough of the town, Sung

Chiang will move voluntarily rather than be left alone with no city to e*plore. To this end,

"aughdha has been sending assassins to kill prominent citi'ens of %oid+s )dge, and encouraging

the spread of 6battoir+s baate'u gangs in the )dge. The natural reaction for many devils, confronted

with chaos, is to organi'e themselves. In 6battoir, they do this with frightening gusto, eager tosubordinate themselves to any charismatic leader in order to gain new purpose in their e*istences.

These leaders take a variety of forms, from militia leaders who run their gangs like the military to

priests of strange cults worshiping gods of blood and filth. These gangs even dominate the wealthy

parts of town, where they often manifest as secret societies and cabals. "aughdha is bitterly

opposed by both 2erab Serap and the /layed #ord.

(ai 1ia4rong is the patriarch of the city+s barghests, and therefore ruler of its gangs of goblins and

canomorphs as well. 2e is normally found at aristocratic balls and other social events in humanoid

form, dressed richly and wearing an ivory mask shaped like a wolf. 2e considers himself to be the

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city+s secret ruler, but his stepson (ai Tobias would like to secretly kill him, take control of the city+s

barghests in his father+s name, using this influence to rule %oid+s )dge openly as its mayor. (ut

Tobias is currently missing, transformed into human form and stripped of his memories, currently

living in Sigil. 1ia4rong+s other chief rival among the barghests is (ei Tiao4bo, who runs his own

independent gangs. The goblins and canomorphs spend more time battling with gangs of baate'u

and tieflings inspired by the baroness "aughdha of (aator than one another.

0oblin gangs include the %oidhounds, the 2ellhounds, and the Sty*hounds. Canomorph packs

include !blivion+s Teeth and the Thorns of halas.

The Childcatcher+s <nion is mostly made up of immature barghests who make regular forays to the

"aterial Plane to steal immature humans to be sold in %oid+s )dge for labor or, occasionally, meat,

working in the city+s many factories and refineries until they die or prove themselves strong enough

to buy citi'enship in the city.

The 2eartless #odge is the head3uarters of the /ated faction in %oid+s )dge, and the largest

concentration of them in 0ehenna in general. In many ways 0ehenna e*emplifies the worst

stereotypes of the factionA the belief that the strong must dominate the weak, and deserve to do so

simply because they are strong. The /ated of 0ehenna find the natives of the plane so in accord

with their beliefs, in fact, that they find they have little to do there. What is the point of working to

advance a philosophy where everyone already agrees with youE 6s a result, the 2eartless #odge has

become little more than more of an adventurer+s club, where members of the faction meet to

purchase e3uipment 4 climbing gear, rings of fire resistance, elemental homunculi masks to filter

out the to*ic air, slaves to help carry supplies, and so on 4 and e*change stories and contacts. "any

members of the /ated faction view 0ehenna+s harshness as the perfect test of their fitness, so their

caravans and camps can be found throughout the plane, searching for things to take. 6nd the %oid+s

)dge is the center of this network. The most important Taker in town is ong 2eng4rong, the self4

proclaimed 2eartless 7ueen, who dwells in a palace on the Island of Spires.

The 2eartless 7ueen+s home is a well4fortified chateau adorned with black hearts and guarded by

private bodyguards whose hearts have been physically removed by the n+gathau. She does not care

to lead the day4to4day affairs of the 2eartless #odge =that+s left to someone appointed by the factol,

and might be a good &ob for a high4level player character> but she is the most influential among the

establishment both within her faction+s politics and the city+s politics as a whole.

The /ated consider the "erkhants, to run the city+s largest bank =the %ault of the "isers>, to berivals, and they hope to elevate a member of their faction to the position of mayor. Tian+s protege

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was a Taker, but has since vanished. 6 number of the senior members of the ;annifer family are

Takers as well.

Militia The )dge has a regular police force organi'ed into patrolmen, sergeants, and captains. They

are all fighters, mainly of low level, though a few are barba'u. Their uniform is gray and covered

with many straps for holding clubs, knives, and mancatchers8 their badge is the city+s coat of armsA a

red, weeping eye. "ost of the citi'enry regard them with ambivalence at best.

The garrisons of baate'u and yugoloths are the true source of the burg+s security. (oth fiendish races

have reasons to desire the town+s continued e*istence, and they station enough troops in this town to

discourage most potential invaders. There has not been a ma&or incursion for centuries, when

tanar+ri control of the (ridge of halas led to a year4long siege.

The 2atters 0uild is a peculiar local institution. /ounded B@ years ago shortly after the death of

Wrathlin 9yr, the -aositect founder, it was an attempt by that mad faction to e*pand from Sigil to

0ehenna. It was thoroughly corrupted soon after its arrival, and the locals+ obsession with chaos was

thoroughly suppressed and even reversed. Today the 2atters 0uild has a citywide monopoly over

the making of hats, although child laborers do the actual work. What the 2atters actually do is act as

mercenary guards and assassins8 they are known for their trustworthiness, their strict neutrality in

city politics, and the distinctive tall hats they wear, which are often e3uipped with hidden weapons

=for e*ample, the brims may turn out to be ra'or4sharp discs that can be thrown>. The founder of the

2atters 0uild, a green slaad, has been transformed into humanoid form, its mind locked away and

replaced with something perfectly orderly and mercenary. If it could be freed, it might destroy the

2atters 0uild in disgust over what it became.

Child4catchers are a common sight, herding loose children into stern, poorly funded orphanages

where they are sometimes bought by one of the businesses in need of cheap labor.

Services. 0oods and services available in %oid+s )dge include weapons and other iron products,

cheap labor, human prey, access to several large and portals, rare animals, Sty* water, and

mercenaries.

The screaming lotus is a plant native to "aladomini, but primarily grown only in the city of

6battoir in (aator. /rom there it is smuggled into %oid+s )dge, where it is in high demand among

the city+s fiends.

The screaming lotus is characteri'ed by its vivid red or purple blossom. To most fiends, including

tanar+ri, yugoloths, petitioners, rakshasas, and kytons, its effects are into*icating but not debilitating.

To mortals, it is a deadly poison, and it is this effect that gives the lotus its name. Those who ingest

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it and fail their /ort saves =9C B@> are wracked with incapacitating pain, allowing them to do

nothing but shriek and writhe as the lotus blossoms erupt from their flesh. They would 3uickly die if

not for the fact that the plant keeps its victims horrifyingly alive as long as the plant itself survives,

so gardens of screaming lotus plants are filled with the choruses of their tortured hosts. The plant

can typically live a year on one victim, though if watered regularly with blood it can survive

indefinitely. 2arvesting it, however, kills the plant and the victim that now depends on it to survive.

The screaming lotus would surely be found throughout (aator e*cept for one final wrinkleA to

baate'u =and tieflings with baate'u blood> it is a powerful narcotic, so potent that those who smoke

it, eat it, or drink it brewed in tea must save = /ortitude, 9C D> or be left comatose in a rapturous,

hallucinogenic state for DdF hours. Worse still, each subse3uent time it is tried the effect only

increases =by an additional DdF hours if another /ort save is failed>. #ong4term screaming lotusaddicts have sometimes gone into permanent comas, trapped in eternal delight for the length of their

immortal lives. /or this reason, screaming lotus is strictly forbidden throughout the $ine 2ells.

There are some to say that the plains of "aladomini were once covered with the blossoms, and it is

for this reason that the layer was turned into a ruined waste. Whenever a patch is found, it is

destroyed by baate'u patrols by the decree of the 9ark #ord of $essus. !utside "aladomini, living

mortals are needed to incubate it, but in "aladomini it grows wild. Since the ascent of 0lasya in

"albolge, the plant has spread to that layer as well, feeding off of the tortured flesh of the 2ag

Countess. What this might say about "aladomini+s own past is intriguing.

Current chant. #araby is a 0uvner mage doing research on the society of (aator. /rom his

apartment in the )dge+s scholar+s 3uarter, he has been studiously writing. 2e would appreciate it if

someone could find him a rare book called the Code* of (etrayal, a te*t chronicling the history of

(aator8 he has 3uite a substantial grant from his faction. The /layed #ord is thought to have a copy8

2erab Serap is thought to have another, written during a much later era of (aator and incorporating

numerous revisions as the :official: history of the plane changed. #araby, and the 0uvners, want both so they can compare and contrast them. 6lso, a beholder mage has been making trouble for a

certain powerful tanar+ri, learning his truename and escaping to the (oiler district in the )dge,

where it has assembled a gang of minor baate'u to serve it. (oth the tanar+ri and his enemies would

be very glad if the beholder could be found.

!nce a =prime> year the tides of night swell into the city from the void beyond the layer. !n that

day, all of the lights in the city are snuffed and all manner of debaucheries take place. Tourists from

Sigil are especially common during this 9ay of $ighttides.

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6nother popular festival is the Perfumed 9ays, when the last of the nupperibo shipment are

slaughtered or sold, and the citi'enry =especially in the (oiler 7uarter> celebrate the death of their

stench with incense and musk. The festival is presided over by the local phiuhls. 6 few weeks later,

the ne*t shipment usually comes in, and the festival ends.

Endgame. %oid+s )dge is a hive of sin and terrible e*ploitation, and player characters may be

inclined to 9o Something 6bout It. While this sort of ambition might be futile in most lower planar

cities, short of ra'ing them to the ground, %oid+s )dge is... on the edge. <nlike most places on the

lower planes, %oid+s )dge can, in theory, be redeemed. To say this would be tricky would be a

considerable understatement, naturally, but causing the City on the )dge to slide into the !utlands

is at least a conceivable campaign goal. The most important step would be to end or at least curtail

the fiendish influence over the city. /iends who have lived in %oid+s )dge for centuries or millennia,like 2erab Serap or the /layed #ord, have absorbed something of humanity with long contact, and

&ust as celestials can fall, fiends can rise. "anaging to redeem one of the city+s leading fiends might

do a lot to push the city toward neutrality. /ailing that, simply killing them might help, to a lesser

e*tent. /inding a way to end the slave trade, or at least put the primary slave traders out of

commission, could also tilt the city sufficiently toward neutrality. )nding the nupperibo trade by

e*posing the true nature of nupperibos =see Tales From the Infinite Staircase> could cause the

baate'u and yugoloth hierarchies to lose interest in the city, leaving mortals a bigger role in

determining the town+s destiny for themselves. While mortals aren+t going to be able to force Sung

Chiang to move if he doesn+t want to go, he might decide to follow a city that seems determined to

slip across the planar boundary without him. 6lternatively, he might remain, and a new city might

form around his realm where %oid+s )dge once stood.

The loss of %oid+s )dge would be a considerable blow to the yugoloths and the plane of 0ehenna,

leaving the plane with much less traffic and souls, and leaving the lower layers much less accessible

until something new could be created that would entice a comparative amount of interest. Withoutthe regular influ* of power that %oid+s )dge provides, many yugoloth =and baate'u> schemes might

have to be shelved for the time being. While calling the event a triumph for 0ood might be a stretch

it would, at the least, be a defeat for )vil and it would cause a real improvement in the lives of

many suffering inhabitants.

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