The Netherworld

A murky, distorted and imperfect mirror of the Universe, the Netherworld overlaps it and serves as a buffer or conduit between it and the Void. The plane exists in perpetual dim half-light, its landscape carrying features similar to the Universe it overlays but warped or twisted: a city in the Universe might stand here in ruins, or as a frightening replica. The darkness also holds points of beauty and relative safety, including a great trade city that hosts cross-planar commerce through a permanent one-way portal out of the gloom.

It is populated by dark, altered versions of creatures from the Universe, many of them immigrants who adapted to the shadow after generations trapped in the realm. Its kayals, also called fetchlings, were originally human before thousands of years of exposure and intermarriage changed them for good. Velstracs, who long ago fled from Hell, have adopted the plane as their home and spread their message of perfection through mutilation. D'ziriaks and the fearsome umbral dragons that rule self-crafted fiefdoms in the shadows both originated here.