TEXT: Codex of the 
  Infinite Planes
  The Essential Guide to the Planes of Existence
  Volume XIX:
  Tarterian Depths of 
  Carceri
  
  The Essential Guide to the Planes of Existence
  Volume XIX:
  Tarterian Depths of
  Carceri
  Written & Designed by  “Weird Dave” Coulson
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  Codex of the 
  Infinite Planes
  
  Volume XIX  |  Tarterian Depths of Carceri
  3
  Volume XIX: Tarterian 
  Depths of Carceri
  “Carceri is known as the prison plane, and for good 
  reason. It’s uniquely suited to that purpose and not just in 
  the difficult means of exiting. The way each layer stretches 
  out in an infinite space like pearls on a necklace means 
  that imprisoned beings can be cut off from all contact and 
  confined to their own space. For most, this is the truly 
  insidious power of Carceri – the isolation. On an infinite 
  plane in an infinite multiverse, the Tarterian Depths exist 
  to remind us all that the harshest punishment may be 
  exile, a prison of the mind reinforced by the very real 
  attributes of Carceri itself. For some, there is no greater 
  threat.”
  Malakara the Warden
  Castoffs, prisoners, rejects, along with the lost and 
  forgotten, all adrift in the multiverse, have a tendency of 
  finding a way to the Tarterian Depths of Carceri. Like a 
  magnet, this inhospitable plane draws these discarded 
  elements towards its torturous depths and keeps them 
  there. A subtlety powerful force keeps Carceri’s planar 
  gates and portals shut, with a few notable exceptions, 
  and travelers are warned that finding a way into one of its 
  layers is far easier than finding a way out.
  Carceri’s reputation as the prison of the planes is well 
  deserved. Long ago, a race of powerful titans were exiled 
  from the fabled realm of Mount Olympus on Arborea by 
  stronger beings. Some say it was a union of gods from 
  across the multiverse that brought down the titans, while 
  other scholars postulate the titans had been struck down 
  by the very nature of the planes when their ambition 
  became (much) greater than their station.
  The truth is hard to guess as part of the imprisonment 
  clause of the titans forced their silence on the matter. 
  Their leader, a supremely powerful being named Kronus, 
  lives on Mount Othrys now, alone and brooding, while the 
  rest of the titans lay scattered in the remaining layers and 
  realms. A great storm surrounds Mount Othrys, a physical 
  manifestation of Kronus’ despair and rage some say, and 
  the ancient titan has not left the mountain for eons untold.
  Carceri is a plane of subtle evil that saps the strength 
  away from those that visit. A slumbering malevolence 
  pervades its infinite string of six layers as manifested by a 
  red glow inherent in the ground and air. Whether it’s the 
  swamps of Othrys, the jungles of Cathrys, the deserts of 
  Minethys, the mountains of Colothys, the shallow seas of 
  Porphatys, or the icy sphere of Agathys, a crimson glow 
  suffuses the natural presence of Carceri.
  The Tarterian Depths are also laid out unlike any other 
  plane. Each of its layers sit as strings of huge spheres in 
  an air-filled void that most planar scholars link eventually 
  to the Negative Energy Plane. The layers are nestled 
  within one another, spheres within spheres, with the space 
  between each successive sphere in its line growing farther 
  and farther apart the smaller the interior layers become. 
  Othrys is the largest, with enormous orbs that nearly touch 
  (and do in the case of Mount Othrys), while the spheres 
  of Porphatys are much smaller. The exception is Agathys, 
  which exists as a sole orb in the dead center of Carceri.
  And the layers are not uninhabited. A race of fiends 
  called demodands, also known as gehreleths, operate as 
  the wardens of Carceri, and always assume anyone they 
  come across has good reason to be locked away forever. 
  They are cruel embodiments of Carceri’s truest idiom 
  – betrayal is the only path to freedom. Demodands stay 
  out of the Blood War between the demons of the Abyss 
  and the devils of the Nine Hells but have been known to 
  offer particularly savage prisons for fiends and angels to 
  enterprising devil princes and demon lords.
  While Carceri exudes a scarlet evil like a cancer, its 
  existence as the prison of the planes serves everyone, from 
  the fiends to the angels and everyone in between. Gods 
  have birthed horrors beyond count that defy extermination, 
  and Carceri provides the perfect dumping ground for the 
  things that cannot simply be destroyed. There are dark and 
  terrible things festering within the multitude of orbs that 
  make up Carceri, and many of them have birthplaces in the 
  most revered places in the multiverse.
  Lay of the Land
  Carceri is unique among the planes for many reasons. 
  The most obvious of which is its landscape. The plane is 
  divided into six layers each consisting of strings of orbs in 
  an air-filled darkness. The layers are nestled within one 
  another, with each lower layer filled with smaller sized 
  orbs but all contained in the infinite blackness.
  As far as anyone has been able to surmise, the number 
  of orbs in each layer is infinite, with the exception of the 
  lowest, Agathys. There is only a singular Agathys orb, and 
  accessing it is a feat of incredibly dedicated proportions. 
  While it is true that each layer is smaller in size than the 
  one before it, the size in actual diameter seems to defy 
  easy calculation. The space between each orb is much 
  more measured, however.
  Othrys
  The first and largest layer of Carceri is Othrys. Each orb in 
  this infinite string is dominated by a dismal, scarlet swamp 
  dotted by fetid bogs, stagnant lakes, and great swaths of 
  dangerous quicksand. Desolate lifeless trees stand like 
  silent watchers in the gloomy twilight that pervades all of 
  Carceri, their branches twisting together to form massive 
  web-like growths that stretch out over many miles in some 
  cases.
  The orbs in the Othrys string are close enough apart 
  to be separated only by 500 feet of darkness, though the 
  lightless nature of Carceri makes even the nearest sphere 
  nearly invisible from one to the next. There are several 
  known exceptions, most notably Mount Othrys, a single 
  solitary mountain peak rising from the fetid bog that 
  connects two orbs together. Here is where the fallen titan 
  lord Cronus makes his home amidst a complex swarm of 
  lightning storms and driving wind.
  The River Styx winds through all of the Othrys orbs, 
  somehow, its flow continuing to defy conventional laws.
  
  Volume XIX  |  Tarterian Depths of Carceri
  4
  Cathrys
  Carceri’s second layer is Cathrys, home to vast swaths of 
  dense crimson jungles and fields of scarlet grass. An acidic 
  rot fills Cathrys’ air, eating away at organic matter slowly 
  (or quickly in the case of the deepest jungles). The scarlet 
  grasslands move without breeze or wind, and most contain 
  razor-sharp grasses that hunger for nourishing blood.
  Smaller than Othrys, the distance between the Cathrys 
  orbs in its infinite string is about 1,000 feet. Most of the 
  fetid jungles of the layer seek out any that try to escape its 
  grasp, pulling them down with a savage fury, as if Carceri 
  itself sought to prevent travel from one sphere to the next.
  Minethys
  A great scarlet desert fills the orbs of Minethys, Carceri’s 
  third layer. Like the other layers, no wind blows that can 
  be felt, but the sands of Minethys shift and move just the 
  same. A parching heat holds dominance over the red 
  sands, which hide more than one ruined castle or treasure 
  vault. Some planar scholars say the great edifices and 
  palaces of the titans banished to Carceri so long ago 
  were cast into Minethys, though there are certainly some 
  smaller sized sites that have been discovered that suggest 
  it’s not just titan architecture buried in the scarlet sands.
  The orbs of Minethys are separated by half a mile of 
  darkness. The scorching desert heat exuding from the 
  very core of each orb grows more intense as a traveler 
  leaves the surface, draining life and energy away, until 
  after about 500 feet when the heat barrier breaks and the 
  encompassing darkness washes over.
  Colothys
  Jagged red mountain peaks scour the landscape of 
  Colothys, the fourth layer of Carceri. Deep ravines, 
  shadow-filled crevasses, and scarlet-mist enshrouded 
  valleys fill the endless orbs. Travel is nearly impossible 
  outside of little-used trails that move along rickety bridges 
  and crumbling stone stairs. Noises and sounds are 
  amplified a hundred fold in the haunted mountains of 
  Colothys, with some screams bridging the gap between the 
  orbs to echo weirdly against the scarlet stones.
  Colothys’ orbs are separated by mile-long stretches of 
  darkness that are filled with screams, cries, wails, and 
  other tortured sounds. It is rumored the darkness holds 
  the Sepulcher of Screams, the resting place of a banshee 
  queen cursed to wail forever in the emptiness of Colothys’ 
  space.
  Porphatys
  The orbs of Porphatys are covered in an icy shallow sea, 
  less than 100 feet deep in most places, while crimson 
  snow fills the darkened skies. Prison ships filled with 
  pirates and thieves cursed to sail eternally bob amidst 
  the icy black waters, sometimes running aground on 
  one of the countless sandbars. The water is mildly acidic 
  but eats away at inorganic matter quicker than organic 
  matter. Eventually, every ship on Prophatys’ sea collapses, 
  stranding prisoners on shrinking islands, crumbling 
  towers, and other unstable regions, promising treasure 
  to any willing to pick them up but rewarding only such 
  kindness with eventual betrayal.
  The orbs of Porphatys are separated by three miles of 
  darkness. The red snow that fills the dark skies of each 
  sphere stretches out into the space between them as well, 
  though none know its source for sure.
  Agathys
  The lowest and smallest layer of Carceri is Agathys, 
  and unlike the other five a single orb serves as the only 
  destination within the confines of its limitless darkness. 
  Agathys is frozen solid, an icy sphere of black cut through 
  with streaks of crimson like blood vessels. Anyone doomed 
  to Agathys is frozen forever in its depths, and in many 
  places on the surface of the orb, faces and bodies can be 
  seen in the ice.
  Little is known about Agathys. Some planar scholars say 
  it is the actual frozen heart of Carceri, which does operate 
  much like a living creature on a massive scale. Others say 
  the ice is the result of some ancient power of death known 
  as the Reaper, and certainly there is some evidence to 
  suggest this is at least partially true. One of the few known 
  sites on Agathys is the Citadel of the Reaper, a long tower 
  with cavernous tendrils cut into the frozen ground, where 
  death stalks the halls.
  Cycle of Time
  Time passes on Carceri but there is no indication of it. No 
  sun or moon fills the black starless skies, and the orbs of 
  each layer do not rotate or move of any kind.
  Surviving
  Each of Carceri’s layers holds threats for the unwary, 
  including patches of aggressive Othrys quicksand, the 
  acidic rot of Cathrys’ air, and the life-leeching scarlet snow 
  of Porphatys. These threats and more are described under 
  Hazards & Phenomena.
  Getting There
  There are many gates and portals leading into the layers of 
  Carceri. The most numerous lead to the top layer, Othrys, 
  but external portals from across the multiverse can lead 
  to any of the first five layers of the Tarterian Depths. The 
  exception is Agathys, which is accessible by no known gate 
  within or outside of Carceri.
  Most gates into Carceri are known and well-documented 
  by nearby inhabitants, and they can be found across all 
  of the Outer Planes (upper, lower, and conflict) as well 
  as the Inner Planes and the Astral and Ethereal Planes. 
  Angels and devas keep a watch over just as many Carceri 
  portals as demons and devils for much the same purpose 
  – the Tarterian Depths are imprisoning for all creatures 
  regardless of worldview.
  The unfortunate truth is that while there exist so many 
  planes leading into Carceri, the opposite is not true. 
  Leaving Carceri is another matter entirely and almost all 
  known portals are one-way access points. Finding a way 
  out of the prison plane is difficult, and for some like Cronus 
  and the fallen titans, escape is divinely forbidden. Some 
  
  Volume XIX  |  Tarterian Depths of Carceri
  5
  residents have such divine marks on them, preventing 
  them bodily from leaving, but even for those that have no 
  such restriction finding a portal leading out is a difficult 
  and painstaking process.
  One of the few exceptions to this is the River Styx, which 
  winds through most of the swamp-filled orbs of Othrys. 
  Its oily black waters slither like a massive snake through 
  the red-tinged darkness of Othrys, but here it is closely 
  monitored by the merrenoloths. The natural mind-altering 
  properties of the River Styx prevent most creatures from 
  even attempting to use it as a means of escape, and the 
  watchful eyes of the merrenoloths aboard their secretive 
  boats are well-protected from those trying to hijack a ride.
  Traveling Around
  Each layer of Carceri consists of strings of orbs in an 
  endless chain, with the exception of Agathys, the lowest 
  layer. While each layer possesses a dominant terrain 
  feature – the swamps of Othrys, the jungles of Cathrys, the 
  sands of Minethys, the mountains of Colothys, and the seas 
  of Porphatys – they share the same structure of endless 
  spheres in a gulf of darkness.
  Traveling between the orbs requires flight capabilities, 
  but the endless darkness beyond is not a void and 
  creatures can breathe in it without difficulty. There is no 
  gravity beyond about 500 feet from the surface of each 
  orb, which means there is very little blackness separating 
  the orbs of Othrys. The swamp-filled top layer has its orbs 
  closest in proximity, and from one a creature can view 
  the next two in line from the right vantage point. The 
  lower layers have larger gulfs separating them, requiring 
  longer travel time in the darkness. Monsters do lurk in the 
  darkness, most notably the strength-hunting sky shadows.
  Accessing each layer from within Carceri can be tricky. 
  Very few known gates exist that allow access to an upper 
  layer (from Cathrys to Othrys, for example) – the nature of 
  the plane seems to prevent easy movement “up” the layers. 
  Moving to a lower layer is much more straightforward and 
  numerous swirling portals of darkness exist on the orbs to 
  the next lowest layer. Each is located on the lowest point 
  on a given orb, with most dumping travelers to a random 
  location on the next lower layer’s corresponding orb. 
  Theoretically, each layer’s orbs are smaller, but some 
  planar scholars believe this is a trick of the mortal mind 
  trying to capture the idea of how Carceri is laid out.
  There are many monstrous threats on each of Carceri’s 
  layers, but threading through them all are the malevolent 
  demodands. Cruel, merciless, and wicked, these 
  creatures were banished to Carceri long ago and now 
  consider themselves the jailers of the whole prison plane. 
  Truthfully they hold little power over Carceri, and their 
  natural untrustworthy nature prevents demodands from 
  organizing in any large number.
  The Powerful and Mighty
  Carceri imprisons some of the most powerful creatures 
  in the multiverse, spread across its subtly dangerous 
  layers and separated from each other by countless orbs. 
  Unwanted spawn of deities, power-hungry undead, fallen 
  gods, exiled angels and fiends, and so many more populate 
  Carceri. The below list highlights the ones that have had 
  the greatest impact on the Tarterian Depths from an 
  outsider standpoint, but travelers should be wary from 
  anyone they meet – treachery is rampant and the ones that 
  exiled to Carceri have usually done something horrendous 
  to deserve it.
  Apomps the Three-Sided One
  The progenitor of the demodand fiends that wander 
  throughout Carceri is an enigmatic being referred to as 
  Apomps the Three-Sided One. It was once a powerful 
  yugoloth on the plane of Gehenna, and Apomps was 
  obsessed with the creation of life itself. It tampered with 
  the forces of creation, pulling in the primordial power of 
  the multiverse and binding it with cold sorcery born of 
  logic and reason. The result was the demodands, three of 
  them with each representing a facet of truth Apomps came 
  to believe in, but through this act the powers of Gehenna 
  cast Apomps into Carceri.
  Apomps’ imprisonment allowed the fallen fiend to spawn 
  more demodands, and soon the plane was populated with 
  the farastu, kelubar, and shator beings borne of Apomps 
  experimentations. Each demodand is given a token of 
  Apomps power – a small black pyramid – that filled each 
  with the eternal memories of the demodands and Apomps 
  itself. And by decree from the Three-Sided One, the 
  demodands do not attack one another but instead work to 
  tear down the prison walls of Carceri and all within it.
  Apomps is an asexual fiend that has transcended 
  its previous form. It exists now as a fiendish spirit 
  linked intrinsically to Carceri. The ultimate goal of the 
  demodands – Carceri’s destruction – is likely linked to the 
  conditions of Apomps’ freedom, but it isn’t known exactly 
  sure if this is the case. The will of Apomps moves across 
  the endless orbs of the plane, driving the demodands to 
  greater acts of terror and violence, reminding them of the 
  terrible atrocities performed against their kind by the ilk of 
  the planes.
  Chaydarren, Lord of the Pillars
  The red sands of Minethys hold countless secrets beneath 
  its scarlet dunes, though most are revealed and buried 
  without anyone noticing. On one of the orbs, the great 
  wyrm blue dragon Chaydarren did notice one such reveal 
  as the dunes parted to show a series of ancient, symbol-
  inscribed pillars rising from the crimson sands. This was 
  the ruins of Illmoor, the City of Pillars, a place of great 
  arcane mystery and magical might that was banished to 
  Minethys ages ago, and Chaydarren set immediately to 
  plumbs its wonders and plunder its treasures.
  The exact reasons why Chaydarren was in Carceri in 
  the first place isn’t known, and the blue dragon carefully 
  avoids any such topics. He is cruel, merciless, and utterly 
  
  Volume XIX  |  Tarterian Depths of Carceri
  6
  obsessed with unlocking the magical secrets of Illmoor 
  contained within the hundreds of stone pillars buried 
  beneath the Minethys sands. It’s likely that Chaydarren 
  was banished to Carceri from some other plane, for he 
  works largely now through proxies and agents. He spends 
  his days slithering around the pillars of Illmoor, checking 
  symbols and marks, and finding new areas unearthed by 
  the shifting sands.
  What secrets does Illmoor’s pillars contain? Chaydarren 
  believes it to contain some deep arcane truth about the 
  multiverse, and that the residents of Illmoor tampered 
  with forces beyond their control that ultimately led to the 
  city’s eternal sentence on Carceri. Mummies of all sorts, 
  dried out and desiccated by the harsh Minethys heat, have 
  risen to stop Chaydarren and his minions from uncovering 
  more about the pillars, but these are nothing more than a 
  nuisance – most of the time. The great blue dragon fancies 
  himself the Lord of the Pillars now but he knows there’s 
  a large section of the city at the base of the greatest pillar 
  that he has yet to open for fear of what it might contain.
  Cronus and the Fallen Titans
  No beings on Carceri more embody the prisoner mentality 
  than perhaps the plane’s most famous inhabitants, Cronus 
  and the fallen titans. It is widely accepted that these 
  powerful beings hail originally from the storm-enshrouded 
  peak of Mount Olympus in the Olympian Glades of 
  Arborea, a fact the titans do not dispute. However, planar 
  sages debate wildly the nature of the treachery that sent 
  Cronus and his fellow titans on a one-way trip to Carceri’s 
  depths. Did it have something to do with the event that 
  drove the gods from Mount Olympus in the first place? Or 
  was it simpler than that?
  Regardless of the origin of their crimes, the fallen 
  titans have not been able to escape Carceri’s grasp in 
  any meaningful way. Over the centuries, many have tried, 
  putting elaborate plans and plots into motion meant to 
  release them from their planar prison, but to date none 
  have succeeded permanently. Cronus himself, the once 
  powerful leader of the titans, now sits alone on Mount 
  Othrys, the tallest peak on the orbs of Carceri’s first layer, 
  and constantly schemes for release. His moods are foul, 
  his anger earth shaking, and his paranoia rampant – 
  Cronus blames every other being in the multiverse except 
  himself for his lonely fate.
  The other fallen titans are spread across the layers 
  of Carceri, living in isolation or small groups, never full 
  trusting one another or any other creature they come 
  across. One fallen titan dwells in a crumbling castle in 
  the scarlet jungles of Cathrys, while another pair crew 
  a literal skeleton crew on the icy shallows of Porphatys. 
  They are each powerful beings with great command over 
  their abilities, all of which they bend towards the ultimate 
  goal of freedom from Carceri’s bonds. They are distrustful 
  but few in the Tarterian Depths known more about what’s 
  going on across the orbs than the titans, who have seen 
  centuries pass. Even the demodands avoid tangling with 
  Cronus and his fallen kin, preferring instead the easier 
  pickings of lost travelers and lone prisoners.
  The fallen titans of Carceri use the statistics for 
  empyreans, except they are any evil alignment and do not 
  possess the ability to use plane shift.
  The Reaper
  Agathys, the frozen orb at the center of Carceri, is an 
  impenetrable sphere of icy black cut with streaks of red. 
  Few beings in the multiverse know what’s hidden in its 
  center, and its surface is as smooth as glass with only a few 
  notable exceptions. The Citadel of the Reaper is one such 
  exception. Sitting in the center of a bowl-like depression 
  is a massive black ice tower. Its black walls hold countless 
  souls frozen forever to feed the master of the citadel.
  Servants of the master, known only as the Reaper, 
  wander the citadel and keep intruders out. They are black-
  robed red-boned skeletons bearing scythes writhing with 
  negative energy. They do not speak and make no noise, 
  and in fact the entire citadel has a death-like quiet about 
  the entire structure. Thoughts become whispers, whispers 
  become shouts, and it is said that the master of the citadel 
  hears all that happens within the halls.
  What is the Reaper? Some say it is a deity of death and 
  ice who has chosen to dwell upon Agathys, while others 
  say it is a being beyond the gods that commands a legion 
  of undead monsters to do its bidding. The Reaper rarely 
  sends out minions beyond the halls of the citadel though 
  some planar sages have pointed out eerie connections 
  between the Reaper and the force of Death from the deck 
  of many things. Are they related? Does the Reaper carry 
  some connection to each Death spawned from that chaos-
  infused artifact?
  Sinmaker
  Few refuges are found in Carceri, a plane of prisoners, 
  betrayers, and malcontents. Any castle, tower, or building 
  could be the home of a foul being trapped for performing 
  some great evil, and even the angels and devas cast 
  into Carceri eventually become twisted by the plane’s 
  treacherous nature. However, that doesn’t mean there 
  aren’t any solaces. On one of the orbs of Cathrys, in a 
  scarlet jungle similar to the others on the layer, sits the 
  Apothecary of Sin and its master, the glabrezu demon 
  Sinmaker.
  Sinmaker is a master of poisons, perhaps none greater 
  in all the multiverse, and the Apothecary of Sin receives 
  a surprisingly large number of visitors from all across 
  the planes. Sinmaker has special poisons and acids that 
  can lay low demons and devils in the right dosage, or, if 
  the rumors are to be believed, even a god. The glabrezu 
  is surprisingly charming, and is usually seen wearing a 
  specialized robe of flexible obsidian cut to allow the use of 
  his extra set of hands.
  Sinmaker employs a small cadre of demons that travel 
  throughout the multiverse to procure rare ingredients for 
  his various poisons, but he is always on the lookout for 
  especially unique specimens. He can create large or small 
  batches of almost any poison he supplies, and Sinmaker 
  famously does not care who the buyer is – as long as 
  they can pay. The glabrezu poisoner only accepts magical 
  items and trinkets as payment for his valuable services, 
  
  Volume XIX  |  Tarterian Depths of Carceri
  7
  Assassin Crow
  Large fiend, chaotic evil
  Armor Class 17 (natural armor)
  Hit Points 85 (10d10+30)
  Speed 30 ft., fly 50 ft.
  STR
  DEX
  CON
  INT
  WIS
  CHA
  11 (+0)
  22 (+6)
  16 (+3)
  3 (-4)
  10 (+0)
  10 (+0)
  Saving Throws Dex +9
  Skills Perception +6, Stealth +12
  Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from 
  nonmagical weapons
  Damage Immunities acid, cold, fire, poison
  Condition Immunities poisoned
  Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 16
  Languages can’t speak but understands Abyssal and Infernal
  Challenge 8 (3,900 XP)
  Disappear. The assassin crow can use a bonus action to cast the 
  invisibility spell without requiring components.
  Evasion. If the assassin crow is subjected to an effect that 
  allows it to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half 
  damage, the assassin crow instead takes no damage if it 
  succeeds on the saving throw, and only half damage if it fails.
  Flyby. The assassin crow doesn’t provoke an opportunity attack 
  when it flies out of an enemy’s reach.
  Actions
  Multiattack. The assassin crow makes two attacks: one with its 
  beak and one with its claws.
  Beak. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. 
  Hit: 10 (1d8+6) piercing damage, and the target must make a 
  DC 14 Constitution saving throw against the assassin crow’s 
  poison. The poison is highly variable and could affect mental or 
  physical abilities. Roll 1d8 on the below table. 
  1d8 
  Poison Effect
  1 
  Strength score is reduced by 1d4+2
  2 
  Dexterity score is reduced by 1d4+2
  3 
  Constitution score is reduced by 1d4+2
  4 
  Intelligence score is reduced by 1d4+2
  5 
  Wisdom score is reduced by 1d4+2
  6 
  Charisma score is reduced by 1d4+2
  7 
  Strength and Dexterity scores are reduced by 1d4
  8 
  Intelligence and Wisdom scores are reduced by 1d4
  Creatures die if an affected ability score is reduced to 0 by this 
  poison; otherwise the reduction lasts until the target finishes a 
  short or long rest. A successful save reduces any ability score 
  reduction by half.
  Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one 
  creature. Hit: 17 (2d10+6) slashing damage.
  the rarer and more powerful the better, which means the 
  Apothecary of Sin also contains a large number of potent 
  magical items at any given time. What Sinmaker does with 
  these items isn’t known but most do get transported out of 
  Carceri.
  Creatures & Denizens
  Carceri is the home to a multitude of dangerous creatures 
  along with the countless prisoners sent there from across 
  the multiverse. Characters traveling through the prison 
  plane should expect to run into foul monsters of all types, 
  many of which prove the old planar saying true – “there is 
  no innocence in Carceri.”
  Assassin Crow
  Dangerous, silent, and predatory, assassin crows are 
  lethal aerial monsters that lurk in the skies above Othrys, 
  Calathys, and Colothys on the prison plane of Carceri. 
  They appear as enormous black birds, their skin stretched 
  thin and gaunt over their bones, with great outstretched 
  wings filled with uneven misshapen black feathers. The 
  assassin crow’s eyes are large like an owl, saucer-like and 
  yellow, while its beak is coated in a thick ebony ichor it 
  uses to poison victims.
  Silent Stalkers. Assassin crows prefer their meat fresh 
  and living, and their fiendish nature means they’re always 
  hungry regardless of the last time they ate. They often 
  travel in small groups, winging over the bleak landscape 
  of Carceri in search of easy pickings, using their natural 
  invisibility and impressive stealth to catch victims unaware. 
  While most common crows feast on dead carcasses and 
  scavenge from the kills of others, assassin crows move 
  instead to attack lively targets, savoring the screams as 
  part of the meal.
  Prized Poison. The tarry substance on an assassin 
  crow’s beak contains a highly toxic poison that attacks not 
  just the body but the mind as well of living targets. Thieves 
  and assassins across the planes prize such a debilitating 
  poison though distilling it down to use on a weapon 
  requires great alchemical skill. The demonic poisoner 
  Sinmaker in the scarlet jungle of Cathrys is one of only a 
  handful known to harness such poisons, and it pays very 
  well for the delivery of assassin crow tar to its strange 
  apothecary.
  
  Volume XIX  |  Tarterian Depths of Carceri
  8
  Farastu Demodand
  Medium fiend (demodand), neutral evil
  Armor Class 17 (natural armor)
  Hit Points 90 (12d8+36)
  Speed 30 ft., fly 50 ft.
  STR
  DEX
  CON
  INT
  WIS
  CHA
  20 (+5)
  16 (+3)
  17 (+3)
  11 (+0)
  10 (+0)
  16 (+3)
  Skills Stealth +6
  Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from 
  nonmagical weapons
  Damage Immunities acid, cold, fire, poison
  Condition Immunities charmed, frightened, poisoned
  Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10
  Languages Abyssal, Demodandish, Infernal
  Challenge 7 (2,900 XP)
  Adhesive Tar. A creature succeeding on a melee weapon attack 
  against the farastu must make a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw. 
  On a failure, the melee weapon becomes stuck to the farastu’s 
  tarry hide, disarming the attacker. Removing a stuck weapon 
  requires an action by the farastu or an adjacent creature.
  Innate Spellcasting. The farastu’s spellcasting ability is Charisma 
  (spell save DC 14). The farastu can innately cast the following 
  spells, requiring no material components:
  At will: detect magic, invisibility, tongues
  3/day each: bestow curse, fear, dispel magic
  Magic Resistance. The farastu has advantage on saving throws 
  against spells and other magical effects.
  Actions
  Multiattack. The farastu makes three attacks: two with its claws 
  and one with its bite.
  Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. 
  Hit: 12 (2d6+5) piercing damage plus 10 (3d6) acid damage.
  Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. 
  Hit: 9 (1d8+5) slashing damage plus 10 (3d6) acid damage.
  Demodand
  The demodands are the closest Carceri has to native 
  fiendish inhabitants. They are a constant threat across 
  most of the orbs of the Tarterian Depths, moving in small 
  packs in the swamps of Othrys, the scarlet jungles of 
  Cathrys, the sands of Minethys, and the crags of Colothys. 
  They are only rarely encountered in the shallow seas of 
  Porphatys, and then aboard makeshift vessels to stay 
  afloat, and they avoid Agathys (along with most other 
  sane creatures). The demodands consider themselves the 
  keepers of Carceri and they take their jobs very seriously, 
  scheming and developing fiendish plots to ensnare and 
  capture travelers that stumble into the prison plane.
  Demodands are divided into three castes of increasing 
  power and responsibility. Lowest are the farastu, 
  also known as tarry demodands, who are also the 
  most numerous. Above them are the kelubar, or slimy 
  demodands, and the most powerful are the shator, or 
  shaggy demodands. All demodands are conniving fiends 
  filled with hatred and loathing for all other creatures, but 
  they have never been known to squabble or fight among 
  their own kind.
  Three Revenges. In their native guttural language of 
  Demodandish the demodands refer to themselves as 
  gehreleths, which roughly translates to “product of the 
  three revenges.” The idea of revenge is paramount to the 
  demodands, stretching back to the original betrayal that 
  sent Apomps into Carceri originally, but it is intrinsically 
  tied to the number three. Apomps is referred to as the 
  Three-Sided One which the demodands identify as the 
  original three revenges. Some planar scholars believe 
  that these three revenges are embodiments of great 
  injustices done to Apomps in the time before the birth of 
  the demodands, but the fiends themselves do not speak to 
  outsiders about the specific details.
  Born of Spite. Demodands are spawned when a 
  creature dies in the Lower Planes with hate and spite in 
  their hearts. Apomps witnesses these deaths and breathes 
  fiendish life into the shell, animating it with divine power 
  as a farastu, where it is drawn to Carceri like a fly to honey 
  to collect its black pyramid. Rarely, a farastu defies the 
  divine call and wanders the multiverse without the link to 
  the demodand memories, though these lost fiends are no 
  less vicious and cruel than their brethren in the Tarterian 
  Depths.
  Black Pyramids of Apomps. Each demodand carries 
  a small black pyramid of dull stone. This item contains 
  a powerful link to Apomps, the supreme deity of the 
  demodands, and allows each fiend to access the collective 
  memories of their kind. In this way, all treacheries, 
  betrayals, and imprisonments are remembered by all 
  demodands, and they harbor grudges like few in the 
  multiverse. A demodand that loses their black pyramid 
  stops at nothing to retrieve it, marshaling as many other 
  forces as possible to reclaim the lost treasure. The few 
  planar sages that have come into possession of these rare 
  items have not been able to puzzle through their secrets 
  before the fiendish hosts of Carceri descend and take them 
  back. Do they allow direct communication with Apomps? 
  Are non-demodands able to tap into the memories of the 
  demodands?
  Farastu
  Tall and lanky, the farastu are the most common type of 
  demodand. Their lean sinewy bodies are covered in sticky 
  black tar that continually oozes from every inch of their 
  skin, though they possess some measure of control over 
  the tar that allows them to dictate when they leave tracks 
  and when they don’t. Their thin wings allow them some 
  measure of flight, and they descend upon any creature with 
  little thought of their own safety. Farastu fight viciously 
  with every tool at their disposal, rarely backing down from 
  a confrontation, and tend to be the most belligerent of 
  all demodands. They are cruel, vicious brutes who enjoy 
  pushing around lesser beings and ruling over them as 
  kings and lords.
  
  Volume XIX  |  Tarterian Depths of Carceri
  9
  Kelubar Demodand
  Medium fiend (demodand), neutral evil
  Armor Class 19 (natural armor)
  Hit Points 135 (18d8+54)
  Speed 40 ft., climb 30 ft.
  STR
  DEX
  CON
  INT
  WIS
  CHA
  22 (+6)
  14 (+2)
  17 (+3)
  16 (+3)
  10 (+0)
  19 (+4)
  Skills Perception +4
  Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from 
  nonmagical weapons
  Damage Immunities acid, cold, fire, poison
  Condition Immunities charmed, frightened, poisoned
  Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 14
  Languages Abyssal, Demodandish, Infernal
  Challenge 11 (7,200 XP)
  Hideous Stench. Any non-demodand that starts its turn within 
  30 feet of the kelubar must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution 
  saving throw or be poisoned for 1 hour. Creatures that succeed 
  on this saving throw are immune to the Hideous Stench of a 
  kelubar for 1 hour.
  Innate Spellcasting. The kelubar’s spellcasting ability is Charisma 
  (spell save DC 16). The kelubar can innately cast the following 
  spells, requiring no material components:
  At will: detect magic, invisibility, spider climb, tongues
  3/day each: bestow curse, dispel magic, fear
  Magic Resistance. The kelubar has advantage on saving throws 
  against spells and other magical effects.
  Actions
  Multiattack. The kelubar makes three attacks: two with its claws 
  and one with its bite.
  Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. 
  Hit: 19 (2d12+6) piercing damage plus 18 (4d8) acid damage 
  and the target must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution saving 
  throw against the kelubar’s poison. On a failure, the target deals 
  only half damage with weapon attacks that use Strength for 1 
  minute.
  Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. 
  Hit: 11 (1d10+6) slashing damage plus 18 (4d8) acid damage.
  Kelubar
  Kelubar are black-slime coated fiends with broad heads, 
  spindly legs, and enormous mouths filled with jagged 
  teeth. The slime that exudes from their skin is acidic to 
  the touch, and their mouths drip with a poison that saps 
  the strength away from victims. More than any other 
  demodand, kelubars hoard trinkets, especially wands and 
  rods, in hopes of impressing Apomps and be transformed 
  into shator. The beady eyes of a kelubar are shrewd and 
  calculating but the fiends possess a destructive appetite to 
  rival that of most demonic hordes.
  Shator
  The shator are the greatest of the demodands, though also 
  the most physically loathsome and hideous. Their squat 
  bodies are folded over with mounds of saggy flesh, giving 
  them the nickname shaggy demodand, and their face and 
  features sag beneath flabby putrescent flesh. At the top of 
  the demodand chain, shator are the most cunning of the 
  Carceri fiends, but also the most likely to be found outside 
  the prison plane. Shator have a great love of learning, and 
  many travel the multiverse in search of scrolls, tomes, and 
  libraries to plunder and dominate.
  Shator Demodand
  Medium fiend (demodand), neutral evil
  Armor Class 19 (natural armor)
  Hit Points 204 (24d8+96)
  Speed 30 ft., fly 60 ft.
  STR
  DEX
  CON
  INT
  WIS
  CHA
  26 (+8)
  14 (+2)
  20 (+5)
  18 (+4)
  10 (+0)
  21 (+5)
  Skills Deception +10, Perception +5, Persuasion +10
  Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from 
  nonmagical weapons
  Damage Immunities acid, cold, fire, poison
  Condition Immunities charmed, frightened, poisoned
  Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 15
  Languages Abyssal, Demodandish, Infernal
  Challenge 16 (15,000 XP)
  Innate Spellcasting. The shator’s spellcasting ability is Charisma 
  (spell save DC 18). The shator can innately cast the following 
  spells, requiring no material components:
  At will: detect magic, invisibility, spider climb, tongues
  3/day each: bestow curse, dispel magic, fear, stinking cloud
  1/day each: cloudkill, enervation, legend lore
  Magic Resistance. The shator has advantage on saving throws 
  against spells and other magical effects.
  Actions
  Multiattack. The shator makes three attacks: two with its claws 
  and one with its bite. It can use a melee weapon in place of a 
  claw attack.
  Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +13 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. 
  Hit: 19 (2d12+8) piercing damage plus 27 (6d8) acid damage 
  and the target must succeed on a DC 18 Constitution saving 
  throw against the shator’s poison. On a failure, the target deals 
  only half damage with weapon attacks that use Strength for 1 
  minute.
  Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +13 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. 
  Hit: 13 (1d10+8) slashing damage plus 27 (6d8) acid damage.
  
  Volume XIX  |  Tarterian Depths of Carceri
  10
  Hatemonger Vulture
  Large beast, neutral evil
  Armor Class 16 (leather armor)
  Hit Points 60 (8d10+16)
  Speed 20 ft., fly 60 ft.
  STR
  DEX
  CON
  INT
  WIS
  CHA
  13 (+1)
  19 (+4)
  15 (+2)
  6 (-2)
  12 (+1)
  7 (-2)
  Damage Immunities acid, cold, fire, poison, psychic
  Condition Immunities charmed, frightened, poisoned
  Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 11
  Languages understands Abyssal and Infernal but can’t speak
  Challenge 4 (1,100 XP)
  Aura of Hate. Living creatures that start their turn within 30 
  feet of the vulture must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom saving 
  throw or be overwhelmed by a powerful wave of hate for life 
  and all things, losing the ability to take bonus actions until the 
  start of their next turn. Creatures immune to being charmed 
  automatically succeed on this saving throw.
  Keen Sight and Smell. The vulture has advantage on Wisdom 
  (Perception) checks that rely on sight or smell.
  Pack Tactics. The vulture has advantage on an attack roll against 
  a creature if at least one of the vulture’s allies is within 5 feet of 
  the creature and the ally isn’t incapacitated.
  Actions
  Multiattack. The vulture makes tow attacks: one with its beak 
  and one with its talons.
  Beak. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. 
  Hit: 9 (2d4+4) piercing damage plus 9 (2d8) psychic damage.
  Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. 
  Hit: 11 (2d6+4) slashing damage plus 9 (2d8) psychic damage.
  Hatemong (Recharge 5-6). The vulture emits a piercing screech 
  in a 60-foot cone, forcing living creatures within the area to 
  make DC 13 Wisdom saving throws. On a failure, creatures 
  must use their reaction to make a melee weapon attack against 
  the nearest target in range. Roll randomly if multiple targets 
  are within melee range. Creatures immune to being charmed 
  automatically succeed on this saving throw.
  Hatemonger Vulture
  The skies of Carceri are occupied by more than just 
  buzzards and other scavenger birds. One of the most 
  insidious creatures to soar Carceri’s skies is the 
  hatemonger vulture, a large scrawny black-feathered bird 
  with enormous blood-red eyes and an unnaturally hooked 
  white beak. These monsters fly in small packs above all of 
  the orbs of Carceri except for Agathys, always seeking out 
  groups of people to incite fits of rage and hate. They fly on 
  silent wings in the dark skies, as much a prisoner of the 
  plane as anyone else, but well-suited to causing mayhem 
  and havoc wherever their emaciated wings take them.
  The Hate is Strong. Hatemonger vultures play upon the 
  discordant strings of hate that lurk within all hearts, and 
  many planar scholars believe the monsters feed upon this 
  energy as much as they do the flesh of their victims. The 
  screech of the vulture inspires violent acts of random rage, 
  and even being close to one can cause the strongest hero 
  to lose their nerve in the face of blood-boiling hate.
  Winged Servants of the Carrion King. The rocky 
  crags and mountains of Colothys hold a deep canyon that 
  serves as the prison for a powerful being known only as 
  the Carrion King. This monstrous fiend may have once 
  been a vrock, cast out of the Abyss or some other Lower 
  Plane, but it has grown enormous in the years since it was 
  cast into Carceri. The Carrion King holds a special affinity 
  for the hatemonger vultures of Colothys, and most of the 
  beasts encountered on the orbs of that layer are spies and 
  servants of the great imprisoned demon. The presence of 
  the hatemonger vultures predates the arrival of the Carrion 
  King in Carceri but some believe it is only a matter of 
  time before all of the vulturous monsters on the plane pay 
  homage to the fiend in the Colothys canyon.
  
  Volume XIX  |  Tarterian Depths of Carceri
  11
  Kebro
  Deadly scavengers that hunt sources of pure energy across 
  the wastes of Carceri, kebro are thankfully solitary undead 
  monstrosities driven from an insatiable need to feed. A 
  kebro looks like an enormous beetle, with an incredibly 
  hard multicolored carapace absorbing light in a swirling 
  pattern. A massive bleached white horn protrudes from 
  its relatively tiny head, and its long scythe-like legs are 
  similarly colored. Operating on pure animal instinct, kebro 
  serve no master and exist only to feed on the energy of the 
  living.
  Burrowers Beneath Carceri. Kebro instinctively 
  understand their unnaturally colored carapace is a liability 
  when it comes to ambushing prey, so they burrow beneath 
  the ground for most of their undead existence. They 
  seem most common beneath the red sands of Minethys, 
  the third layer of Carceri, but the undead monsters have 
  been encountered everywhere but the coldest reaches of 
  Agathys. A few have been seen laying in wait beneath the 
  shallow waters of Porphatys, for while the kebro do not 
  seem adept at swimming their undead nature means they 
  don’t have to breathe.
  Coveted Carapace. The shell of a kebro is said to be 
  a key ingredient in the creation of magical items that 
  are used to reflect magic back, specifically a ring of spell 
  turning. The undead monster’s appetite for elemental 
  energy and deadly combative abilities make them difficult 
  opponents to take down, but more than one wizard has 
  sent an enterprising party of adventurers into Carceri to 
  seek out the carapace of a kebro. 
  Kebro
  Huge undead, neutral evil
  Armor Class 20 (natural armor)
  Hit Points 168 (16d12+64)
  Speed 40 ft., burrow 40 ft.
  STR
  DEX
  CON
  INT
  WIS
  CHA
  22 (+6)
  11 (+0)
  19 (+4)
  3 (-4)
  11 (+0)
  5 (-3)
  Damage Resistances acid, cold, fire, lightning, thunder
  Damage Immunities necrotic
  Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, 
  poisoned
  Senses blindsight 60 ft. (blind beyond this radius), passive 
  Perception 10
  Languages --
  Challenge 10 (5,900 XP)
  Reflective Carapace. If the kebro suffers damage that is reduced 
  by its natural damage resistances, the damage is reflected out 
  in a wave to all creatures in a 30-foot radius. Creatures in this 
  radius are allowed a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw, suffering 
  the same amount of damage inflicted upon the kebro after 
  its resistance is applied on a failed save, or half as much on a 
  success.
  Actions
  Multiattack. The kebro makes two attacks: one with its horn and 
  one with its claws.
  Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. 
  Hit: 27 (4d10+6) slashing damage.
  Horn. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. 
  Hit: 32 (4d12+6) piercing damage.
  Spray Acid (Recharge 5-6). The kebro releases a spray of 
  digestive acid in a 30-foot cone. Creatures caught in the spray 
  must make a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw, suffering 35 (10d6) 
  acid damage on a failure, or half as much on a success.
  
  Volume XIX  |  Tarterian Depths of Carceri
  12
  Torment
  Humanoid creatures that die in Carceri have their souls 
  barred from leaving to their eternal rest in the multiverse. 
  The Ethereal Plane does not touch in this place and no 
  astral conduits are known to exist that allow the souls 
  of the dead to escape. Instead, these poor unfortunates 
  become undead monsters called torments, trapped on 
  Carceri forever.
  Escape By Any Means. Torments are driven by the 
  singular desire to escape Carceri by any means necessary. 
  Unfortunately, they are forbidden from doing so, chained 
  by their undead existence to the prison plane forever, 
  but the torments continue to try. Most try to accompany 
  a group of visitors, appearing as wayward travelers 
  themselves, eventually turning on them in a mad fit of 
  jealously and vengeance when their attempts to flee 
  Carceri are thwarted.
  Mob of Torments. Torments tend to cluster together to 
  form mobs or even small communities in Carceri. They 
  are bound by the same desire and can find ways to work 
  together to try and break free from the prison plane, 
  believing that if they have superior numbers on their side 
  some of them may eventually escape.
  Torment
  Medium undead, any evil alignment
  Armor Class 11
  Hit Points 13 (3d8)
  Speed 0 ft., fly 40 ft. (hover)
  STR
  DEX
  CON
  INT
  WIS
  CHA
  7 (-2)
  13 (+1)
  10 (+0)
  10 (+0)
  12 (+1)
  11 (+0)
  Damage Resistances fire, lightning, thunder; bludgeoning, 
  piercing, and slashing from nonmagical weapons
  Damage Immunities acid, cold, necrotic, poison
  Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, 
  grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained, 
  unconscious
  Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 11
  Languages Common
  Challenge 1 (200 XP)
  Incorporeal Movement. The torment can move through other 
  creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. It takes 5 
  (1d10) force damage if it ends its turn inside an object.
  Mask. A torment appears and acts exactly as it did in life. It’s 
  undead nature cannot be detected by spells or effects (such as 
  a paladin’s Divine Sense).
  Actions
  Withering Touch. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., 
  one target. Hit: 10 (3d6) necrotic damage.
  
  Volume XIX  |  Tarterian Depths of Carceri
  13
  Hazards & Phenomena
  The monsters and prisoners that lurk in the recesses 
  of Carceri’s orbs are only part of the threat. Each of the 
  plane’s layers offers its own way to harm inhabitants, from 
  the sucking quicksand of Othrys to the deadly chill of 
  Agathys. Through all of the layers and orbs, Carceri earns 
  its reputation as the prison of the multiverse by preventing 
  the escape of any who come into its borders.
  Agathys Cold
  The deathly chill of Agathys rivals and exceeds that of the 
  coldest reaches of the Nine Hells and the Abyss. After 
  each 10 minutes spent on Agathys, creatures without cold 
  immunity must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw. 
  On a failure, the creature gains a level of exhaustion. After 
  every hour in Agathys’ deathly cold, creatures without cold 
  immunity gain a level of exhaustion (no saving throw). 
  Long rests on Agathys do not provide any benefit for 
  creatures without cold immunity and usually end in frozen 
  death.
  Cathrys Acidic Rot
  An acidic rot pervades the scarlet jungles and grasslands 
  of Cathrys. At the start of every hour on the layer, creatures 
  suffer 5 (1d10) acid damage. This acid damage cannot 
  be healed by natural or magical means while on Cathrys. 
  Nonmagical items break down from the insidious acidic 
  rot eventually; using such an item on Cathrys carries a 
  50% chance of the item being rendered useless.
  Colothys Echoes
  The mountainous terrain of Colothys has been known 
  to suddenly create rockfalls, stone avalanches, and 
  earthquakes, but the layer holds a more subtle threat 
  for those that travel its rocky paths. The unusual stones 
  of Colothys combined with an amplifying configuration 
  means sounds carry far farther than they do on the 
  Material Plane. Whispers can be heard from up to a mile 
  away, and normally conversations carry for 25 miles or 
  more. These echoes can be traced with a DC 15 Wisdom 
  (Survival) check.
  Minethys Sandwave
  The red sands of Minethys stand as titanic silent dunes 
  beneath the gray twilight of the ever-present dark sky. 
  No natural wind blows, but occasionally the sands 
  lurch forward from unseen forces, creating a dangerous 
  sandwave to bury and choke the unwary. A Minethys 
  sandwave covers an area up to several miles long and 
  stretches up to 100 feet in the air. Creatures caught in the 
  crash of the sandwave must make DC 15 Constitution 
  saving throws. On a failure, they are buried beneath the 
  sand and crushed for 35 (10d6) bludgeoning damage; 
  suffocation begins immediately. A successful save reduces 
  the damage in half and only renders the target prone. 
  Monsters, such as hatemonger vultures and demodands, 
  learn to watch for sandwaves and dig through the dunes 
  for stranded travelers to devour.
  Othrys Quicksand
  Traveling through the swampy orbs of Othrys is a difficult 
  business. Dry land is sparse, and the swirling eddies of 
  crimson water hide treacherous patches of quicksand 
  from the untrained eye. Stepping into an Othrys quicksand 
  patch sinks the victim 1d4+1 feet and restrains them. 
  At the start of each of the creature’s turns, it sinks 
  another 1d4 feet. As long as the creature isn’t completely 
  submerged in quicksand, it can escape by using its action 
  and succeeding on a Strength check. The DC is 10 
  plus twice the number of feet the creature sunk into the 
  quicksand. A creature that is completely submerged in 
  quicksand can’t breathe.
  A creature can pull another creature within its reach out 
  of the quicksand by using its action and succeeding on a 
  Strength check. The DC is the same to pull a creature out 
  as it is for the creature to escape on their own.
  A patch of Othrys quicksand usually hides just beneath 
  the water, out of sight except for a DC 15 Wisdom 
  (Perception) check. It can cover an area as large as half a 
  mile in radius on some orbs.
  Porphatys Scarlet Snowstorm
  A deadly scarlet snow falls on Porphatys on a regular 
  basis. Scarlet snowstorms last for 1d6 x 10 minutes, and 
  creatures within the storm’s radius suffer 4 (1d8) acid 
  damage and 4 (1d8) cold damage at the start of every 
  turn. The clinging dangerous snow is particularly effective 
  against buildings and items, dealing double damage to 
  objects and structures in the area.
  Prison Plane
  The inherent nature of Carceri prevents creatures from 
  leaving easily. Magical efforts to leave the plane by any 
  spell other than a wish simply fail. Spontaneous portals 
  and gates that open onto the plane become one-way only. 
  There are secret ways out, including some fixed portals, 
  but these are typically well guarded by demodands and 
  other creatures.
  
  Volume XIX  |  Tarterian Depths of Carceri
  14
  Mysterious Sites & Treasures
  As the dumping grounds for all of the multiverse’s 
  unwanted denizens, Carceri has more than its fair share of 
  mysterious places with imprisoned residents. Only the very 
  foolish are on Carceri by choice, and those that have been 
  sentenced to the Tarterian Depths by greater powers have 
  little to do with their time other than plot their revenge 
  against a multiverse that wronged them in some way.
  Apothecary of Sin
  The Apothecary of Sin sits in the swollen branches of 
  a massive black-barked tree in the densest part of a 
  Cathrys jungle. It is equal parts alchemical laboratory 
  and storefront catering to the most wicked and vile of 
  concoctions – poisons. Beneath a shielded canopy of acid-
  dripping leaves, the alchemists within the Apothecary of 
  Sin work tirelessly to create, extract, and distill the most 
  lethal poisons in the multiverse, with specialty doses 
  created to deal with fiends, angels, and everything in 
  between.
  The Apothecary is run by a glabrezu demon named 
  Sinmaker, who by all accounts is a prisoner of Cathrys like 
  most of the other inhabitants of Carceri. He developed a 
  fondness for poison and venom creation, and found the 
  distinct properties of the scarlet jungle uniquely suited to 
  this purpose. Sinmaker has a small team of alchemists at 
  his disposal, blind servants who have agreed to serve the 
  master poisoner for a period of time, but the glabrezu is 
  always on the lookout for new and exotic ingredients from 
  across the multiverse.
  Sinmaker’s reputation as a poisoner is without equal, 
  and he charges customers the only thing he considers 
  valuable – magical items. The canny demonic merchant 
  of death runs a brisk trade in these items as well through 
  a network of black magic marketeers, but Sinmaker’s 
  true passion is for poison. He meets personally with 
  every potential client of the Apothecary of Sin, which 
  provides the first real challenge for visitors. Up in the black 
  branches of the tree, the acidic nature of Cathrys here is 
  stronger than other places, and the use of magic is the only 
  way to guarantee access.
  Bastion of Last Hope
  Anyone who says there’s a safe place on Carceri is lying 
  and shouldn’t be trusted. Nonetheless, there are less 
  dangerous areas, and one of them is the obsidian fortress 
  known as the Bastion of Last Hope. Located on a small 
  rocky plateau in the middle of a vast swamp on an orb of 
  Othrys, the Bastion of Last Hope is regarded by most as 
  a neutral ground. No one runs the place and no one lives 
  there permanently.
  The refuge attracts anarchists and troublemakers from 
  all across Othrys, and there are numerous tunnels and 
  smaller antechambers in the twisting regions below the 
  fortress. It has stood for centuries, predating even the 
  arrival of the titans, but whomever built it originally doesn’t 
  seem to mind its new status as a waypoint for the lost and 
  angry. Merchants do stop in at the Bastion of Last Hope 
  occasionally, many of them traveling along the River Styx 
  via their own conveyances, but treachery is always afoot 
  within the obsidian walls.
  The Bastion of Last Hope is also a waypoint for 
  information. Creatures stop by the fortress to swap stories, 
  trade rumors, and chase down leads on possible escape 
  routes from Carceri. For their own reasons, demodands 
  avoid the place but occasionally a pack of them can be 
  seen lurking around the edges of the swamp, hoping to 
  pick off a stray visitor.
  Baleful Bog
  The orbs of Othrys are filled with treacherous swamps, 
  but few are so dangerous as the Baleful Bog. This massive 
  stretch of muck and mire encompasses an entire orb, 
  with thick mud, oil pools, and vast expanses of quicksand. 
  Deeper than most on the layer, the Baleful Bog contains a 
  tremendous number of titanic frog-like monsters, including 
  hydroloths, giant demonic toads, and a cruel entity called 
  the Warted One.
  The Warted One is truly massive, a croaking fiend from 
  the depths of the Abyss, that keeps an eye out over the 
  entire Baleful Bog. It uses swarms of banderhobbs birthed 
  in the deepest recesses of Othrys to do its bidding, but 
  all the monsters of the orb pay homage to the powerful 
  demon. The Warted One seems interested in learning 
  more about the fallen titans, especially Cronus on far 
  Mount Othrys, and it has been known to bargain with 
  those caught in the Baleful Bog. In exchange for stealing 
  something from Cronus or another titan the Warted One 
  offers freedom and some bit of treasure dredged up from 
  the bottom of its swampy lair.
  Even without the ever-present threat of the demonic toad 
  lurking in the depths, the Baleful Bog is a dangerous place. 
  The quicksand stretches are enormous, and great clouds 
  of fiendish insects buzz about in massive clouds. Slick 
  patches of black oil are actually liquid shadows that drain 
  the strength away from trapped victims.
  Blackrazor’s Rest
  The endless icy sea of Prophatys’ orbs are dotted with a 
  low islands and sandbars, but the scarlet snow of acid and 
  ice eventually wears down every structure. On one orb, 
  however, the cold waters swirl in a continual whirlpool, 
  churned by a raging snowstorm that never abates. This 
  is Blackrazor’s Rest, encompassing half of a Porphatys 
  orb, and its center supposedly holds a key to the infamous 
  artifact that bears its name.
  Blackrazor is a sentient sword that devours souls. It’s 
  night-black blade is studded with stars representing the 
  countless multitudes it has consumed on its blood-soaked 
  path of conquest. Famously, it landed in the Material Plane 
  and in the hands of a collector before it was stolen by a 
  deranged wizard named Keraptis and entombed within 
  the dungeons of White Plume Mountain. The sword is far 
  older than most realize, however, and planar scholars have 
  traced its origin to the swirling whirlpool on Porphatys.
  Was it forged in the whirlpool’s heart? Most that lend 
  credence to the stories believe the molten blade was 
  quenched on Porphatys, and the suffusion of such power 
  created the whirlpool that now moves endlessly towards 
  
  Volume XIX  |  Tarterian Depths of Carceri
  15
  an inky black center. Escaping Blackrazor’s Rest is a 
  challenge for any, especially with the scarlet snowstorm 
  that rages all around it, but its center is a bit of a mystery. 
  Some say that a powerful pulse of negative energy sits at 
  the center, churning the waters, which would explain the 
  slow drain of life essence for any living creature that finds 
  itself caught in the waves.
  Many planar scholars believe Blackrazor can only be 
  destroyed in this dark disturbance on Porphatys, but so 
  far none have captured the willful sword and trekked 
  to Carceri to find out. Adventurers and swordmasters 
  who have wielded the powerful artifact and questioned 
  the intelligence within have gained no insight beyond 
  an extreme desire by Blackrazor to not get dragged into 
  Carceri.
  Blood Orchid Vale
  The jungles of Cathrys are dangerous to say the least, but 
  truly some wonderous sight lay hidden behind the acid rot 
  of the scarlet domain. Blood Orchid Vale is one such place, 
  nestled in a low mountain range and filled with enormous 
  flowers that give the area its name. It is also home to the 
  dryad queen Thymea who tends the valley with a host of 
  servants.
  Thymea is a prisoner of Cathrys but was once a 
  powerful guardian of Arborea. She pushed against the 
  advances of Olympus long ago, believing the trees and 
  woodlands of the plane deserved more respect than the 
  gods granted, and for her transgression Thymea was 
  cast into Carceri. She ended up on Cathrys and through 
  careful administration built a new home for herself and her 
  minions, but the insidious treacherous nature of the plane 
  wormed its way into her mind. What was once a noble 
  defender of the forested realms has become an isolated 
  bitter creature determined to punish any who step foot into 
  her sacred valley.
  Which has been many since rumors of the fabled blood 
  orchids that grow there have spread. Some say they have 
  mystical healing properties, and that they can even restore 
  life to the dead, while others claim the sweet nectar can 
  be distilled into a particularly potent poison. Sinmaker, 
  the glabrezu demon that runs the Apothecary of Sin, has 
  a standing bounty for anyone who can return a blood 
  orchid flower to him, but to date none have succeeded. 
  Thymea is jealous and has twisted the natural vegetation 
  of the valley to her isolated whims. Trespassers have faced 
  black-barked treants, twisted blights, and blood-hungry 
  shambling mounds.
  Canyon of the Carrion King
  In a particularly deep crevasse on Colothys, Carceri’s 
  mountains orb layer, the screeches of vultures and crows 
  echo for hundreds of miles. Here, in the Canyon of the 
  Carrion King, the scavengers pick flesh from bones and 
  hunt for fresh meat to satiate the inestimable appetite of 
  their master. The Carrion King is an enormous, grossly 
  obese vrock that hides in the shadows of its canyon, 
  sending out minions to do its bidding and searching for a 
  way out of Carceri.
  The Carrion King was an agent of Demogorgon on the 
  Abyss, serving faithfully in the Blood War, when a chance 
  opportunity arose for the ambitious vrock to usurp a more 
  powerful rival. The plan went awry, however, and the 
  favored rival pleaded with Demogorgon to treat the vrock 
  as harshly as possible. Death was too quick an escape 
  so the demon lord cast it into Carceri to live until it grew 
  strong enough to fly out of the prison plane. Now calling 
  itself the Carrion King, the vrock decided the only way to 
  grow strong enough was to grow as large as possible.
  It cajoled and magically enchanted the monsters of 
  Colothys to do its bidding, and eventually it attracted the 
  attention of the hatemonger vultures that wing through 
  Carceri’s darkened skies. The monsters fell under the 
  Carrion King’s sway almost instantly, and soon the vrock 
  began to gorge itself on the offered feast. Its wings grew 
  strong and large and it tried to fly out several times, but 
  the pull of the prison plane kept it from escaping. So 
  the Carrion King dug down deep into its canyon and 
  commanded its minions to keep bringing it food.
  Now, the Carrion King is likely too large to even fly or 
  even escape its canyon without great difficulty. The prize 
  of escape remains the light that keeps the engorged vrock 
  going on its path of gluttonous glory, however.
  Chains of the Worldscourge
  Many ancient and powerful creatures have been cast into 
  Carceri to keep them from causing greater harm to the 
  multiverse. One of these monsters is the Worldscourge, but 
  most would be surprised to learn that it was the angelic 
  warmasters of Mount Celestia that birthed the worm-like 
  horror originally. It was supposed to be a super weapon 
  meant to end the Blood War, or at least curtail it, and the 
  Worldscourge was created as a hollow worm capable of 
  eating pure evil.
  Unfortunately, while their intentions were good, the 
  end result was a horror borne of hate, fear, and pure 
  malevolence. The Worldscourge proved too much for the 
  celestials to handle, and thus it was decided to banish the 
  living weapon to Carceri forever. The mindless engine of 
  destruction proved too much for even Carceri’s wards, 
  however, and the angelic smiths of Mount Celestia forged 
  gold and silver chains to bind the Worldscourge to the 
  Tarterian Depths.
  The chains were deployed, but the Worldscourge 
  had already sunk deep tendrils into Carceri’s depths. 
  The chains wrapped around it and kept it bound to the 
  plane, but its form defies logic and reason, stretching 
  across Othrys, Cathrys, and Minethys in a twisting 
  river-like stretch. Occasionally, a link in the chains of the 
  Worldscourge emerges from the swamp, jungle, or red 
  sands, and some foolish demodands and other creatures 
  have chipped away at sections hoping to break free the 
  terrible weapon. Few realize what such an action would 
  unleash, however, and the chains have thus far held up to 
  tampering.
  
  Volume XIX  |  Tarterian Depths of Carceri
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  Citadel of the Reaper
  The Citadel of the Reaper is the only structure known to 
  exist on the surface of Agathys, the deep dark heart of 
  Carceri. It is a black stone tower rising from a bowl-like 
  depression on the frozen orb, and its walls are filled with 
  the frozen faces of the dead. Those few brave explorers 
  who have tread the darkened halls have heard the 
  muttering of those frozen dead and experienced the cold 
  shiver of wraith-like monsters that move silently in the 
  shadows.
  Most agree that this mysterious citadel was or is the 
  home to a powerful deity of death and cold, but whatever 
  master built it seems to pay little heed to it now. The deck 
  of many things, known throughout the multiverse for its 
  capricious nature, is the only known tie to the citadel. One 
  of the cards summons a vestige of Death, and those killed 
  by this specter are imprisoned forever in the walls of the 
  Citadel of the Reaper. Is the master of the citadel linked to 
  the existence of the deck of magical cards?
  Several black-hearted necromancers and other masters 
  of the undead have sought out the Citadel of the Reaper 
  in an effort to glean sorcerous secrets from its shadow-
  haunted halls. Rumors persist of a library within the 
  citadel wherein hide necromantic arcane formulae lost 
  to the multiverse. Sharrla of the Shroud, a necromancer 
  from the planar city of Ravnica, is one of the few known 
  to have stepped foot in the citadel and returned. She was 
  changed from the experience but Sharrla maintains that 
  the treasures she gained from her experience were worth 
  the price she had to pay.
  Eyes of Shadow
  The darkness between the orbs of Carceri is not an 
  empty void, though it certainly appears so at first blush. 
  Monstrous predatory leviathans known as skyswimmers, 
  blacker than night, skim through the inky regions seeking 
  out fresh prey to hunt and devour, and a great number of 
  shadow monsters lurk in the space between the orbs as 
  well. These particular denizens are always found near 
  pools of midnight in the sky known as Eyes of Shadow.
  It has been theorized these large expanses of life-
  draining darkness are planar “leaks” from the Plane of 
  Shadow, though none have thus far been able to use them 
  to travel to that realm from Carceri. Nonetheless, the Eyes 
  of Shadow are surrounded by shadows and wraiths that 
  hunger for the sweet life of the living. The skyswimmers 
  avoid the pools floating in the darkness though the undead 
  horrors birthed from these locations seem to pay the huge 
  leviathans little mind.
  A few prisoners of Carceri that make a habit of traveling 
  between the orbs claim a voice can be heard from within 
  an Eye of Shadow, a soft seductive voice promising 
  escape and freedom from the utter misery that is life in 
  the Tarterian Depths. Those that follow the voice become 
  lost in the shadow, consumed by the darkness utterly, 
  losing their soul in the process to the great hunger that 
  dwells mysteriously inside each Eye of Shadow. Are they 
  all vestiges of one entity, perhaps an imprisoned deity 
  of shadow and twilight? Or are they each individuals, 
  manifestations of some distant or older realm?
  Garden of Malice
  Most of Cathrys is wild, overgrown scarlet jungle and 
  vast plains of red-tinged grass. Like much of Carceri it 
  gives the impression of an untended wilderness, but for 
  travelers that stumble upon the Garden of Malice, that 
  wildness is replaced by order and well-maintained flora 
  amidst blooming flowers of all kinds. It is not a peaceful 
  region, however, as great tigers dripping acid from their 
  fangs stalk the paths and manicured bushes, all under the 
  guidance of the garden’s master, the imprisoned rakshasa 
  Rameyos.
  Rameyos is as cruel and manipulative as all of his kind, 
  and he angered the wrong devil lord in a risky gambit 
  in the past. That misstep sentenced him to a lifetime in 
  Carceri where Rameyos has decided to make the most 
  out of his situation. The rakshasa always possessed a 
  surprising affinity for plants so he took an instant liking 
  to Cathrys. Over the years, he carved out the Garden of 
  Malice from the surrounding wilderness, bending the 
  very land to his whim, and he learned to speak with the 
  savage tiger-like monsters that stalked the scarlet jungle. 
  Eventually, Rameyos’ sanctuary flourished under his 
  patient guidance and pruning, and in that time he learned 
  much about the special plants that grow only on Cathrys.
  Rameyos still has a keen interest in escaping Carceri, 
  but for now he has contented himself with growing 
  specialty plants for the poisoner Sinmaker in the 
  Apothecary of Sin. The two exiled fiends have formed a 
  partnership, with Rameyos supplying the raw ingredients 
  for many potent poisons, and Sinmaker giving the 
  rakshasa first refusal rights on the magical items given in 
  trade for the demon’s lethal concoctions.
  Illmoor, City of Pillars
  The red sands of Minethys move and shift with an almost 
  primordial intelligence, all to the whims of no discernible 
  weather or effect. They create sandwaves out of nothing, 
  burying and revealing secrets on the countless orbs that 
  span the layer, and thus it was when the great blue dragon 
  Chaydarren stumbled upon a series of buried pillars rising 
  from the newly uncovered scarlet sand pit. Curious, and 
  with nothing else pressing considering his imprisonment 
  in Carceri, Chaydarren investigated, finding the lost 
  remains of Illmoor, City of Pillars.
  Since then, the blue dragon has become obsessed 
  with unlocking the secrets of Illmoor. The city itself 
  boasted hundreds upon hundreds of magnificent pillars, 
  each carved with intricate sigils and runes of arcane 
  mystery. Some of them Chaydarren has been able to 
  translate, and in the process he has learned that the city 
  boasted a magical academy that lifted up the citizens to 
  profound heights of opulence and wonder. What Illmoor 
  did to become cast into the red sands of Minethys is still 
  unknown, but Chaydarren has already learned a great 
  number of new and powerful magical secrets to make him 
  a force to be reckoned with.
  The blue dragon is not the only one interested in the 
  ruins of Illmoor. All around the site, black-bandaged 
  mummies rise up from the scarlet sands to fight against 
  any who tread the city’s ancient pavilions and causeways. 
  
  Volume XIX  |  Tarterian Depths of Carceri
  17
  Chaydarren believes these to be Illmoor’s original 
  inhabitants, cursed to protect the city against all invaders 
  by the same power that banished them all to Carceri, and 
  the undead have proved to be quite a nuisance. Chaydarren 
  has come to believe these dark guardians are under the 
  guidance of some larger intelligence as they move with 
  surprising tactics and always seem to know where the blue 
  dragon is going to working next.
  Word of Illmoor’s discovery is beginning to leak 
  out across the multiverse, and several expeditions 
  of adventurers and arcanists have been spotted by 
  Chaydarren in recent years. Most of those fall prey to the 
  black-robed mummies but the blue dragon has had to 
  personally deal with a few himself. Illmoor’s secrets are 
  Chaydarren’s to unlock and hold, and he jealously guards 
  the site against any he views as invaders.
  Mount Othrys
  The first slop of Mount Othrys rises up from a jumble of 
  boulders within a dismal swamp on an orb in Carceri’s 
  first layer. It stretches up into the black gulf to touch a 
  neighboring peak on the adjacent orb, and the two miles-
  high tall mountains form the whole of Mount Othrys, the 
  mountain with two peaks. This is the home of Cronus, the 
  greatest of the fallen titans, and his foul mood creates a 
  perpetual storm of gloom and fierce red lightning around 
  the entire region.
  The few beings that have come to Mount Othrys have 
  been invited by Cronus for various reasons. The mountain 
  slope is treacherous and steep, but inside is a honeycomb 
  of tunnels and rough stairs that serve as Cronus’ personal 
  lair. The point where the two mountains rise up and touch 
  is the throne room of the fallen titan, a grand if gloomy 
  chamber where Cronus sits and broods for most of his 
  days. There are no other fallen titans that dwell within 
  Mount Othrys, but Cronus is attended to by various ogres, 
  trolls, and other foul-minded creatures that serve the great 
  titan with a zealous fervor.
  There are rumors of treasure vaults inside of Mount 
  Othrys where Cronus has hidden away the great magical 
  artifacts of his previous days on Arborea. The banishment 
  curse that keeps him and his fellow titans on Carceri 
  prevents Cronus from using these items so he and his 
  home have become unwilling guardians of these great 
  treasures. However, Cronus has been known to bargain 
  with outsiders from time to time, always seeking a means 
  of permanent escape, and has used several of these 
  powerful items as potential rewards. Most planar scholars 
  believe that none of the treasured items have been 
  released from Mount Othrys to date, especially considering 
  Cronus still remains imprisoned on Carceri.
  Sand Tombs of Payratheon
  One of the better known secrets of Minethys are the 
  remnants of Payratheon, a site filled with tombs and 
  sarcophagi buried beneath the scarlet sands. Treasure 
  hunters and adventure seekers have found that the shifting 
  sands of Minethys only reveal Payratheon for about an 
  hour at a time, but in that time great relics have been found 
  interred with the dead.
  Unfortunately, treasure is not the only thing to be found 
  in the sand tombs of Payratheon. Monstrously powerful 
  creatures that resemble gorgons swimming through the 
  red sands perpetually stalk the dunes around the site. 
  No one knows if these are intentional guardians or just 
  opportunistic predators, but the result is the same. They 
  chase down visitors to the area and seem to especially 
  enjoy surprising foes that have burrowed into the sandy 
  waste in search of Payratheon’s secrets before the shifting 
  sands reveal them naturally.
  Some of the items found in the sand tombs suggest the 
  area is the final resting place of a great religion dedicated 
  to a long-lost god. Magical scarabs and unusually curved 
  blades have all been pulled from Payratheon, but more 
  than a few of these seem to bear an unusual curse on their 
  bearers. At least one adventurer had their body liquified 
  from the inside by a boiling black ooze after claiming a 
  gem-encrusted scarab ornament as their own, and several 
  others have been haunted by visions of jackal-headed 
  demons in the night before relinquishing their claim on 
  uncovered treasure.
  Sepulcher of Screams
  On one of the more forlorn orbs of Colothys, the endless 
  echoes carry a chilling but mournful scream that can 
  be heard everywhere and continually. This is the cry of 
  Clothra, a banshee queen interred within a deep valley, in 
  a forbidding place known as the Sepulcher of Screams. 
  Clothra’s scream is lethal at a larger range than normal 
  due to Colothys’ unique echoing nature, and she never lets 
  up the cry to keep outsiders away from her final resting 
  place.
  Clothra’s story is not well understood. References in 
  ancient libraries say she was a banshee queen on the 
  Material Plane, cursing the living after her life as an elven 
  princess had been stolen away by the fiendish drow elves. 
  She clung to unlife, haunting the once beautiful palace 
  that was her home, before being offered a chance at 
  redemption by a kind group of priests. Clothra’s rage could 
  not be stilled, however, and she betrayed the priests, and in 
  that moment a divine eye saw the betrayal and hurled the 
  banshee queen into Colothys forever.
  The Sepulcher of Screams that serves as her forever 
  home is littered with reminders of her days as a living 
  elven princess, and the nature of her curse forbids her 
  from removing any of it. It is simply there to remind 
  Clothra of her betrayal of the only people who gave chance 
  to help her overcome the original rage that brought upon 
  her unlife. She is unreasonable, hateful, and furious at 
  being imprisoned on Colothys, and so she wails constantly 
  from the Sepulcher’s deep mountains location.
  
  Volume XIX  |  Tarterian Depths of Carceri
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  Ship of One Hundred
  The shallow seas of Porphatys, like the other layers of 
  Carceri, hold secrets aplenty, many dangerous or lethal to 
  the foolhardy. The mysterious vessel known as the Ship 
  of One Hundred is one such secret. It is a massive bone-
  white ship without crew or sailors, yet it winds through the 
  snow-laden seas of Porpathys with expert skill, avoiding 
  sandbars, rocky islands, and other obstacles that may sink 
  it or cause it to run aground.
  The only cargo aboard this mysterious ship are one 
  hundred stone sarcophagi in the lowest hold. They are 
  unmarked, bearing no writings or sigils of any kind, but all 
  who have opened one have met with a grisly fate by some 
  unseen force aboard the vessel within an hour. Is the ship 
  powered by the imprisoned souls within the sarcophagi? 
  Or is it their prison as others have surmised? Like much 
  of Carceri, divine guidance offers no insight into the truth 
  behind the Ship of One Hundred.
  However, that doesn’t mean the ship is uninhabited. The 
  lost and forgotten that populate Porphatys have found that, 
  as long as they leave the sarcophagi alone, they can move 
  about the ship unmolested by spirits or evil forces. The 
  ship never stops for long in any one location, and it can 
  transport itself between the orbs through the summoning 
  of a thick fog. Some residents of Porphatys have taken to 
  living on the darkly mysterious ship, which seems to hold 
  more room than a normal ship of its size would suggest, 
  but just as many passengers are along for only a short 
  ride, knowing ultimately that there is no safety among 
  the scarlet snows of Porphatys – or indeed anywhere on 
  Carceri.
  Adventure Hooks
  Carceri is the final home for some of the multiverse’s 
  greatest and most insidious threats. It can serve as the 
  capstone to any number of campaigns, or as a stopping 
  point to uncover some mystery or truth about a monstrous 
  force threatening the characters’ home. The plane’s 
  reputation for imprisonment is well-earned so any trip into 
  Carceri should include a viable means of escape for the 
  party.
  Tier 1 (levels 1-4)
  Low level characters are more likely to be sucked into 
  Carceri by accident than to travel to it willingly! Hosts of 
  monstrous foes lurk across all layers, and most of the orbs 
  have lethal ways of dealing with intruders that can quickly 
  end the career of characters at this tier.
  … People in the surrounding region are being driven to 
  acts of hate-filled rage, and the characters find themselves 
  the unwitting victims of a hatemonger vulture. Nearby, a 
  few of the monsters have made a nest. Did they escape 
  Carceri by some chance? Or were they sent by a greater 
  power, such as the Carrion King, to sow the seeds of 
  discord and chaos? What treasures lay in the vulture’s nest 
  and where does the mysterious portal at the back lead to?
  … A foolish wizard summoned a farastu demodand but 
  couldn’t keep the monster contained so it escaped. Now, 
  the bullyish fiend has taken over a band of bugbears 
  and leads them on daring raids along a major trading 
  route. The farastu is happy to cause mayhem outside of 
  Carceri, but does it have larger goals? Apomps the Three-
  Sided One is always seeking to expand its reach and 
  vision beyond the limited scope of Carceri, which is why 
  demodands are easy to summon but difficult to control. 
  What greater calamity could the farastu be planning on the 
  Material Plane?
  … The nearby swamp has always held a reputation for 
  foulness, but it also serves as the perfect focal point for a 
  warlock dedicated to freeing the fallen titan Cronus from 
  his eternal prison on Carceri. The warlock uses magic 
  beyond his control to flood the swamp with Othrys-like 
  quicksand, at the heart of which rests a one-way portal to 
  the prison plane’s first layer, pumping black sludge and 
  quicksand into the Material Plane. The characters are 
  called upon to close the portal but the warlock has already 
  gone through on his mad quest to free Cronus. What 
  terrible acts can the insane warlock cause?
  
  Volume XIX  |  Tarterian Depths of Carceri
  19
  Tier 2 (levels 5-10)
  Once the layers themselves stop becoming a dire threat, 
  characters can start traveling to and exploring Carceri’s 
  dangers directly. A viable means of escape should still be 
  seriously considered, however.
  … The characters find themselves investigating a magical 
  mystery, and through careful divination they find that a 
  key hides in Illmoor, City of Pillars, in the red sands of 
  Minethys. The characters can find a portal to Carceri 
  without difficulty but upon arriving they must deal 
  with strange black-bandaged mummies and confront 
  Chaydarren, the blue dragon who claims Illmoor as his 
  own. Perhaps the characters are just the right pawns 
  for the blue dragon to use on a particularly dangerous 
  investigating into Illmoor’s unexplored depths.
  … A local ruler dies under very mysterious circumstances 
  and everyone assumes it was poison. It was, but it was a 
  special poison concocted only at the Apothecary of Sin on 
  Cathrys. To find the assassin the characters must meet 
  Sinmaker in the scarlet jungle and perform a task for the 
  master demonic poisoner. Perhaps a magical item was 
  lost in the jungle by an associate and the glabrezu needs it 
  found and returned. Of course, Sinmaker doesn’t mention 
  the current owner of the magical item.
  Tiers 3 and 4 (levels 11+)
  The final confrontation of a monstrous foe in Carceri can 
  function as the satisfying conclusion to a great campaign. 
  Of course, stopping the imprisoned foe leaves the 
  characters stuck in the Tarterian Depths, which can lead to 
  no end of adventures.
  … By hook or by crook the characters find themselves 
  on Carceri and in need of an exit. The merrenoloths that 
  pilot skiffs down the River Styx are one of the only reliable 
  means of escape from Carceri, and the characters must 
  track one down in the swamps of Othrys while avoiding 
  the dangerous effects of the River Styx. Once found, the 
  merrenoloth only agrees to take the party if they defend 
  the boat with their lives while they sail out of the plane. Of 
  course, the crafty yugoloth doesn’t mention the monstrous 
  foe that currently seeks the destruction of the boat.
  … In a crumbling castle rising above the icy seas of 
  Porphatys, a shator demodand’s personal library is 
  threatened by the eroding scarlet snow that plagues 
  the layer. It needs help to transport the books to a safer 
  location, and it find the characters through magical means 
  to persuade them to help. The shator has alienated most 
  of its demodand kin but it remains an untrustworthy, 
  treacherous fiend, and it has no intention of honoring any 
  bargain it makes after the books are safely transported out 
  of Porphatys to a higher layer.
  Random Encounter Tables
  The below tables can be used by the Dungeon Master 
  as a source of inspiration when a party of characters are 
  traveling through Carceri. Though each layer has its own 
  unique flora and fauna, the table below can be used on 
  almost any of the layers to throw challenges at a band of 
  characters. Look at each one as a springboard for new 
  adventure ideas, or as a means of highlighting the nature 
  of the plane for the players.
  Tarterian Depths of Carceri
   
  1d100
  TarTerian depThs of CarCeri
  01-05
  An assassin crow winging through the quiet 
  air
  06-10
  A band of three farastu demodands looking 
  for trouble
  11-15
  A roving pack of zombies
  16-20
  An imprisoned demon seeking a way out of 
  Carceri
  21-25
  A kelubar demodand picking through the 
  remnants of a battle
  26-30
  The agents of a fallen titan on a secret quest
  31-35
  A pair of hatemonger vultures seeking 
  fresh meat
  36-40
  An insane devil lord attended by a host of 
  devilish infantry
  41-45
  A night hag selling sweet treats
  46-50
  A fire giant on a mad rampage
  51-55
  The mournful wail of a banshee
  56-60
  A shator demodand accompanied by 
  skeleton servants
  61-65
  Surprise! A kebro bursts up from the 
  ground
  66-70
  A transformed metallic dragon looking for 
  a relic
  71-75
  A unit of yugoloth mercenaries
  76-80
  A swarm of shadows
  81-85
  A lost traveler who is what they appear to be
  86-90
  A lost traveler who is really a torment
  91-00
  Layer-appropriate hazard
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/5th Edition (5e)/3rd Party/Dave Coulson/Codex of the Infinite Planes - Vol 19 - Carceri.pdf