The Formless Wastes and The Palace of Slaanesh

The Formless Wastes
    The Warp has no physical dimensions, and the Realm of Chaos is without limits or true geography. The areas of influence controlled by the Chaos Gods form their realms, and the rest of this roiling landscape is often referred to as the Formless Wastes, the Land of Lost Souls or the Chaos Abyss.

     Much of the Formless Wastes is random chaos, constantly churning and reforming depending upon the whims of mortals and currents in the Warp. Here rivers of tar flow through petrified woodlands under crimson skies; great stairways lead into the heavens and join themselves from below in an ever-lasting loop; castles made of bones and fortresses of ichor stand amidst copses of limbs, and Pillars of fluorescent fire burn on the horizon. Every dream and nightmare, every lunatic vision and deranged fancy finds its home in the Formless Wastes.

     The Formless Wastes are home to the Furies - Daemons created by indecision and random chance, fed by baseless fear and dread. In great flocks they circle through the actinic sky, searching for vulnerable,easy prey - the fluttering souls of mortals that have not yet been absorbed by the Warp. These weak apparitions appear as flickering spirits and disembodied voices, lacking anything but the most rudimentary awareness and instinct. The Furies sweep down upon these hapless beings nad devour them, before scattering in fear at the approach of more powerful Daemons seeking the energy of the soul swarms.

     It is also in the Formless Wastes that other powers create  their abodes - the  provinces of Greater Daemons and Daemon Princes grown powerful enough to instil a small measure of control over their surroundings. Small islands of structure sprout from the haphazard wilderness, some appearing for only an instant, others almost as old as the Great Powers. Each is a petty domain in comparison to the vast realms of the Chaos Gods, but each embodies the whimsy of its creator, a small shrine or temple to a niche of belief. These might even be populated by their own short-lived Daemons, though most fall prety to the Furies.

The Immaterium
The Immaterium has the following traits:
• Subjective Directional Gravity: The strength of gravity in the Immaterium is the same as in reality, but each individual chooses the direction of gravity’s pull. Such a plane has no gravity for unattended objects and non-sentient creatures. The Immaterium can be very disorienting to the newcomer, and the plane appears weightless. Creatures in the Immaterium can move normally along a solid surface by imagining “down” near their feet. If suspended in midair, a character “flies” by merely choosing a “down” direction and “falling” that way. Under such a procedure, an individual “falls” 150 feet in the first round and 300 feet in each succeeding round. Movement is straight-line only. In order to stop, one has to slow one’s movement by changing the designated “down” direction. It takes a DC 16 Wisdom check to set a new direction of gravity as a free action; a character can make this check once per round. A character who fails this Wisdom check in successive rounds receives a +6 bonus on subsequent checks until he succeeds.
In addition, a creature in the Immaterium can simply appear wherever she wants within it. This is known as point-to-point movement. Merely existing within the Immaterium strains the mind of non-native creatures, though, and ignoring traditional physical law is even more painful. Attempting point-to-point movement requires a DC 35 Will save. On a failure, the non-native character remains where she is and takes 1d6+3 points of temporary Wisdom damage. Creatures native to the Immaterium, such as daemons, may move point-to-point at will. Moving point to-point is a move action.
• Infinite Size: The Immaterium has no known borders.
• Highly Morphic: The Immaterium is a place of ever-changing reality. Chaos reigns. Travelers’ fears and worries are made manifest, and daemons and undead are born from the Nether’s winds. It is a plane of nightmares,  and it constantly erodes sanity.
The Immaterium's appearance is highly unstable. Lights flash, colors blend, and arcane currents carry creatures, spells and thoughts through the plane. The Immaterium changes for no reason, but also reacts to sentient minds within it.
A non-native creature in the Immaterium must attempt a DC 15 Will save upon arrival and each hour thereafter. Failure means the creature is assaulted by nightmarish images from his own mind. The victim is stunned for 1 round as he reels from the illusions and takes 1 point of temporary Wisdom damage. After 24 hours in the Immaterium, the creature’s mind begins to acclimatize and he must make a Will save only once every day. This facet of the Immaterium is a mind-affecting fear effect.
A creature that rolls a natural 1 on this save faces a truly hideous image born of her darkest thoughts. She must succeed on a DC 15 Fortitude save or die. Even if the Fortitude save is successful, she takes 3d6 points of damage and 1d4 points of temporary Wisdom damage.
Creatures of exceptionally strong will can bend the Immaterium and force it to conform to their demands. Influencing the Immaterium in this way is a full round action that provokes attacks of opportunity. On a successful DC 25 Charisma check, a creature can create an effect identical to a major image spell. The creature’s caster level is equal to his character level or Hit Dice. If the creature succeeds on this check by 10 or more, it may instead produce a limited wish effect. Creatures native to the Immaterium receive a +4 racial bonus on this check. Effects created in this way remain for their given durations or until the creator leaves the plane.
• Timeless: Age, hunger, thirst, poison and natural healing do not occur in the Immaterium.
• Strongly Chaos-Aligned: Lawful creatures in the Immaterium suffer a –2 circumstance penalty on all Intellect-, Spirit- and Charisma-based checks.
• Enhanced Magic: All spells cast (and effects created by force of will) in the Immaterium are extended. They are treated as if cast with the Extend Spell metamagic feat, though they do not use higher spell slots and require no additional casting time. Illusion spells are treated as if cast with the Extend Spell, Quicken Spell, Silent Spell and Still Spell feats.

The Palace of Slaanesh
    Few gods welcome intruders to their empire, but there is one who loves to tempt visitors to his unnatural domain. This is Slaanesh, the Dark Prince and Lord of Pleasure. Those that dare his realm risk becoming trapped in its warped delights for eternity. The Dark Prince's realm is divided into six domains, arranged in concentric rings about the Palace of Pleasure. Slaanesh's domain might be mistaken for a paradise, but nothing here is as it seems. Each region is not only a celebration of Slaanesh's desires, but also his chief defense. An intruder can only reach the the Palace of Pleasure in the very heart of Slaanesh's territory by passing through all six of the circles - an act of will beyond most souls, both mortal and daemonic.

     The circle of Avidity forms the outermost boundary of Slaanesh's domain. The temptations within its borders play upon an interloper's greed. Gold is found here in abundance, glittering ingots and coins beyond counting. Any who attempt to take this wealth are doomed to spend eternity counting and polishing their hoard. The circle of Avidity is divided by tall marble walls studded with gems of every color of the rainbow. These jewels are the lairs of daemonic spirits that invade any wanderer who touches them, devouring his soul and destroying his body from within. At every corner and crossroads stand gilded statues, some of beautiful Slaanesh, others of Daemons and mortals trapped in blissful ecstasy. A trespasser who lays even the slightest touch upon these golden statues will join them, turning to gold while his soul remains trapped within his immobilized form.

     Should greed not ensnare the unwary, the next circle is Gluttony. Here is a vast lake of wine, dotted with islands linked by criss-crossing bridges. On each island is a table creaking under a lavish banquet, each mroe delectable than the last. A single taste of the smallest morsel, a simple sip from the lake, entraps the soul, filling it with a hunger even the most sumptuous feast cannot sate. Eventually the intruder gorges himself so much that his bloated body simply expires from the strain, or expldes in a shower of gore and half-digested food.

     Beyond lies the circle of Carnality, a debauched place where all manner of fleshly pleasures may be sampled. Lissom maidens and beautiful youths glide across verdant fields, their faces and fertile forms moulded to the perfect desire of the heart. Yet to engage with such a creature is utter folly, for the pleasing appearances of these lovers are simply glamours cast by the vicious Daemonettes of Slaanesh, who will tear apart any who lay a hand upon them.

     Upon entering the next circle, the traveller is greeted by roars of adulation. This is the circle of Paramountcy, where intruders are tempted with power over others. For the visitor with martial ambition, an army so vast its number is beyond counting awaits upon an endless plain, in fevered anticipation of his commands for conquest. To the politically minded, this circle appears as a great chamber of debating and governance, from which he can rule entire worlds and command the respect of their populations. In this place of personal aggrandisement every whim is obeyed, every command fulfilled. Yet to linger within this circle is to eventually succumb to eternal, nagging paranoia; to see contempt beneath every smiling face and hear conspiracy in every obsequious response. Surrounded by the adoring throng, the visitor's own self-doubts become a tortuous prison from which there is no escape.

    The circle of Vainglory is a mesmerising garden, its maze of paths thick with beautiful flowers and heavy with thorns. The gentle, fragrant breeze whispers of past glories, reminders of achievements great and small. Still, morrored pools reflect the visitor as he sees himself, presenting him with the ideal self-image. Hubris is the snare in this domain, for each step an intruder takes whilst feeling boastful pride leads him further from the true path. As his pride swells, he is drawn into the depths of the wild garden and eventually becomes entangled in the choking undergrowth. The braggadocio swiftly falls prey to thorns whose pricks sting for all time, whilst around him the devil-dryads laugh scornfully, turning his glorious deeds into an ironic eulogy.

    The last circle is the most perilous, after all of the ordeals already faced. It is the serene domain of Indolency; a never-ending beach where heavenly choirs sing soothing lullabies and the perfumed sea dulls the mind. The warmth of a summer sun calms the soul and the gentle washing of hte lapping tide stills the heart. The white sands underfoot are the desiccated husks of those who have come before; to rest for even a moment is to fall into a coma, in which the traveller will die, content to waste away in idle bliss. If the visitor traverses this final and most insidious of circles he comes before almighty Slaanesh.

    Of all the Chaos Gods, Slaanesh alone is divinely glamorous: long-limbed and elegant, with a haunting androgynous beauty. Some say that Slaanesh can assume male, female or hermaphrodite form at will. He usually manifests himself as a young man - clean limbed and fresh with the vigor of youth. Indeed, Slaanesh is seductive as only an immortal can be, disarming in his innocence, uttery beguiling in his manner. Some say that it is impossible for mortals to look upon that divine face without losing their soul, for all who see it bcome willing slaves to every whim of the Dark Prince, embracing his ways with wild abandon.