It is the plane that faces itself.
It is two sides of the same coin.
Bytopia is unique among the Outer Planes because the surfaces of its two layers face each other like the covers of a closed book. By looking up from Dothion, the "top" layer of the plane, the traveler can see Shurrock, its other layer. In a similar fashion, one may stand on Shurrock, and see the towns and farms of Dothion overhead.
- Manual of the Planes
Gatecrasher's Guide[]
Now here's a place where a basher can feel safe and not be bothered by the petitioners at the same time, because Bytopia (called the Twin Paradises by primes who don't know any better) is a place where a being's left to himself until there's good need. That means folks here help each other when they need assistance and leave each other alone when they don't. All in all, it's a pretty sociable place.
Now, Bytopia is just that: a pair of layers filled with mountains, streams, forests, meadows, and all the other stuff of a wild and natural world. While it's a far cry from the perfect order of Arcadia, Bytopia isn't the untamed wilderness of the Beastlands either. Both layers are sprinkled with towns filled with hard-working souls and little city-states. Caravans and traders pass from community to community, linking the whole together.
What makes Bytopia particularly unusual is that a cutter can look up, past the sky, and see the other layer of the plane. That's because the layers are stacked on each other like a sandwich, sharing one sky between them. The tallest mountains of each layer actually touch so that they're more like columns (where stalactites and stalagmites meet). During the day, the plane is lit by radiance from the sky. When nighttime comes, the light fades and the sky becomes dark. What looks like stars overhead are actually the lights and fires of communities on the other layer.
The petitioners of Bytopia are industrious to a fault. Truth told, their lives are defined by work. Petitioners figure everybody's got to have an honest trade. Folks who don't, for whatever reason, are shiftless if not outright evil. Adventuring isn't really an honest trade here, and thieving is just intolerable. Petitioners here don't offer charity, although they're fair in all dealings. A basher looking for a handout is likely to be given an axe and pointed to the woodpile with instructions to work up a sweat before dinner.
- Guide to the Planes
Traits[]
- Normal Time
- Infinite Size
- Objective Directional Gravity: "Down" exists in two opposite directions on the plane's two facing layers. Gravity is normal until one crosses the invisible border between the two layers; then it reverses. Those who break through the border find themselves falling towards the other layer.
- Divinely Morphic
- No Elemental or Energy Traits
- Mildly Good-Aligned
- Normal Magic
Features[]
Bytopia is divided into two layers, each facing the other. The Astral Plane reaches both of these layers, though the more settled layer, Dothion, is considered the first layer. In general, outsiders and petitioners live on Dothion and go adventuring and exploring on Shurrock.
Dothion[]
Dothion is the more populated of the two facing planes and is the home of the gnomes. It is a realm of pastoral activity and individual industry. Its rolling hills cluster around spikes of volcanic rock that jut toward its more savage companion layer. The land is a combination of open settled manor farms and well-tamed woods and forests.
Dothion is a very domestic plane, its petitioners raising silver-wooled sheep and golden-flecked lambs. The open spaces are huge manor fields of wheat, barley, and corn. The residents have dammed many gentle streams, harnessing them to waterwheels that grind the grain into excellent flour and meal. Towns here lack protective walls, but paved roads link them in well-ordered lines. It is a land of barns and beekeeping, of wool and milk, and of small shops and smithing. Most of the workshops that huddle along the roadside are privately owned, and the owners swear no allegiance beyond "the common good."
Shurrock[]
Shurrock is Dothion's wild counterpart. While Dothion is well mannered, Shurrock is savage. The land of Shurrock is filled with raw materials. Seams of gold and gems are found just beneath the surface, the tangled woodlands are rich in timer, and all manner of wild game thrives throughout the layer.
In the Server[]
There are no Bytopian areas on the server yet.