(use some storylines from Kalandurren) (use clockwork horrors)
Acheron is a realm of rocky wastelands and a mountainous plateau that forms the center of might for Anshar, god of darkness. This world is the site of an endless battle between the forces of Anshar, and Erythnul, demon lord of slaughter and battle. Ruins of an unknown race dot the landscape, source of long abandoned ancient warmachines and other implements of destruction.
Acheron is also home to other dark powers common to the Pantheon known as Asuras.
Endless warfare surges across the ashen plains and vast darkened ramparts of Acheron. Here the two feuding deities vie against each other with armies of warrior souls. At the end of each day the dead number in the thousands, but the next morning, they return to life to strive and die again, locked into an eternity of unending violence.
Acheron is a vast plateau of black, jagged rock. Travelers who breach its red-gray veil find themselves stranded on a plain of dried, cracked soil that is littered with the ruins of fortresses and battle towers. A few miles from the veil, mighty cliffs of black stone climb up several thousand feet in beetling ramparts to the ancient battlefield, a wasteland of barren rock and deep crevasses. Great battlements of iron wall off the passes and crown the clifftops.
Acheron has no sun, moon, or stars. Its sky is a sullen black-red color that waxes and wanes in brightness in a 24-hour cycle. At its brightest, it’s equal to an overcast day in the natural world, and at its dimmest, it’s about as bright as weak moonlight. The plane displays seasons of a sort. Over the course of a year, it warms to a furnacelike summer and then diminishes to a bitterly chill winter. Dust storms, wildfires, earthquakes, and thunderstorms are common, especially in parts of the plane where Erythnul holds sway.
Acheron is a dangerous plane for astral travelers to visit. Erythnul’s minions are likely to slaughter anything they meet. Anshar’s servants seek to capture strangers, subjecting them to fearsome inquisitions before sentencing them to conscription, torture, or imprisonment.
Powers of Acheron. Anshar, the god of darkness, combat, and tyranny, conquered the dominion of Acheron in ages long past. Anshar raised a mighty fortress of iron over the throne of ancient and unknown power, and began to plan his next conquest. However, the demon Erythnul, lord of terror, hate, and slaughter, also sought possession of the throne. Erythnul brought his own domain Ishrek into conjunction with Acheron, fusing the two dominions together and launched a furious invasion of Anshar’s newly won plane.
The powers of tyranny and destruction have fought to become the sole, uncontested owner of the realm ever since. Erythnul is unable to overthrow Anshar in the seat f Anshar’s power, and Anshar can’t drive Erythnul out of the caves and mountains at the other side of Acheron. Both Anshar and Erythnul field vast armies of monsters, war machines, and deathless warrior souls known as battlesworn. Battlesworn who die in Acheron rise from death at the next dawn.
Sites in Acheron. Most of Acheron is a rugged wasteland of ashen plains, bare rock, dry dead steppes, and vast belts of thorny brush. Ruined castles and the rusting wrecks of ancient war machines dot this bleak landscape. Crevasses that are many hundreds of feet deep wind through the plane. They pose a formidable obstacle to travelers on foot. Large stretches of the plane are virtually deserted. Though somewhere a great battle takes place constantly on the plane, Acheron is big, and out of the way spots might not see fighting for years at a time. However, travelers might run into patrols, small bands of marauders, or hunting parties from either side anywhere on the plane.
Vast portions of the dominion are completely abandoned. The denizens of these outlying areas are stranded demons, handfuls of ancient guardians still protecting treasure vaults and places of power, isolated citadels of asuras, and the border bastions of the forces of Mt Celestia. The demons present the most serious threat to visitors. Some of the old portals used in the initial long-ago demonic assault still function intermittently. These portals allow more abyssal denizens to trickle into the dominion. Demons prowl many of the ruins, squabbling over territory. The Asuras, on the other hand, jealously guard a handful of strong citadels near points of particular interest.