Abadar

image

Confession time: planer cities are one of my favourite things in fantasy literature. I love them for their complexity, their larger than life nature, and the sheer bizarreness that they bring to the table top. I’m fairly certain that for the exact same reasons, Abadar would have a very strong love-hate relationship with planer cities. Simply put, each one of them is unique. Some of Abadar’s rules for creating and running a city would apply to those on the planes, but never all of them. Each has its own exceptions and quirks which are much larger than those on the material plane. 

Now this doesn’t mean that Abadar and his followers wouldn’t enjoy the challenge. Uniqueness requires creativity to solve, and if there is a way to make a city work, you can bet that the Warden of the First Vault will find it. For all the frustrations, exceptions and delays that the singular nature of the planer cities cause, they are like living Rubick’s Cubes, a puzzle to be solved. All you have to do is find the right pattern. Predictibly, you can find temples to the Abadar in Sigil, Centre and the City of Brass, although he would have a presence in any planer city that is not chaotically aligned. 

Abadar himself though, where would I put him on the Great Wheel? In the Great Beyond, his domain is found within the City of Axis, which is roughly equivalent to Mechanus, but that’s actually a good enough reason for me not to base Abadar out of the Clockwork Nirvana. Mechanus already has a number of interesting features for planer adventurers, including planer cities, so it doesn’t need another. Rather, I’d place Abadar’s domain on Arcadia. Arcadia fits well with Abadar’s ethos, since he is a fairly benevolent Lawful Neutral. It also adds a bit of conflict to Arcadia, since the souls of Abadar’s Lawful Evil followers would be drawn there too. That bit of diversity could lead to some fairly interesting plot seeds. 

image
  • A newly ordained Taxmaster of Abadar has been given the posting of a lifetime - she has been made the personal aid to the Efreeti vizier’s young son. When she notices both the young genie and his father backing unwise projects and misspending their money, she is left in a bind. She can try and push them into making better decisions, but they are still her liege, and if she pushes them too hard, it is within their rights to have her executed, and being immortals, they take none too kindly to mortals telling them what to do. 
  • One of the very, very few outposts of Abadar’s faith in the Abyss is Alushinyrra, Notricula's Porphyry City. Their presence is tolerated within the city as a concession to the trade that they bring in. Many of these priests also members of the Fraternity of Order, and use the metropolis as a launching point for expeditions deeper into the Abyss, both to observe the Infinite Layers and to document the variety of cities found within.  
  • A near-permanent fixture on the Sigil Advisory Council, the eldarly priest Sol Angeleyes has been found murdered. He was never a powerful spellcaster, but he an expert city planner and very friendly with the Dabus. Why would someone want the kindly old man murdered?

Notes: I’ve put this one off much longer than I had planned, since duty has been calling in reality, but I’m glad to finally got it out. I was goaded back into action when I found out that wesschneider was following my blog. Sweet!!!

image