Leng, The Plateau of Unfathomable Nightmares (Demiplane)

(Formerly known as The Cold Waste Beyond All Dreaming)

The dreaded Plateau of Leng lurks at the edge of all nightmares, a realm inhabited by eldritch horrors and ruled by their ancient gods.

Leng is a chaotic, mildly evil plane that embodies the collapse of reason and the unrelenting terror of cosmic insignificance, where the very fabric of reality unravels into a surreal, oppressive horror. The land itself is an extension of the alien will of its inhabitants, twisting into craggy wastelands, frozen tundras, and vast desolate plains, all under an eternally bleak, starless sky. This realm pulses with a suffocating aura of dread and insanity, and those who dwell here are inescapably caught in its eternal cycles of paranoia, despair, and disquieting revelations that gnaw at the edges of sanity.

TRAITS

Leng exhibits the following planar traits:

• Morphic: The plane is divinely morphic, constantly reshaped by the alien intelligences of the Elder Gods, and more terrifyingly, by the very fears and obsessions of those who enter. Landscapes dissolve and reform in grotesque parodies of reality.
• Gravity: Normal, but with regions where the very pull of existence seems strangely askew, causing disorientation and a sensation of being crushed by the weight of unseen dimensions.
• Time: Time in Leng flows unevenly, stretching into vast, empty moments of agonizing slowness or contracting into fleeting, dreamlike fragments. Sleep itself becomes impossible, plagued by endless waking nightmares.
• Size: Though finite, the twisted geography of Leng feels unbounded. Distant mountain peaks and haunting ruins remain forever out of reach, as if the plane itself refuses to yield its secrets.
• Structure: The plane is lasting, but its landscape shifts unpredictably, giving way to warped, cyclopean cities and unimaginable alien vistas that appear and disappear like fading dreams.
• Essence: Leng’s essence is deeply tainted, infused with eldritch energies that warp everything they touch—both physically and mentally.
• Alignment: Strongly chaotic-aligned, mildly evil-aligned, Leng infects the thoughts of its inhabitants, driving them toward madness, betrayal, and occultism.
• Magic: Magic on Leng is dangerously erratic, amplifying spells that summon, manipulate fear, or distort reality while other schools of magic may suffer, unraveling disastrously or producing unintended results.

DIVINITIES

Leng is the playground of the Elder Gods and their myriad lesser entities, chief among them being Nyarlathotep, the Crawling Chaos, who exerts his enigmatic influence in the darkest recesses of the plateau. These beings are alien, incomprehensible, and indifferent to mortal understanding, thriving on madness and suffering. They manifest in subtle, nightmarish forms, bending the dreams of those who dare traverse Leng into twisted parodies of existence. They do not rule through direct dominion but instead weave their malice into the very landscape, offering cryptic whispers that corrupt minds, erode sanity, and drive mortals toward abominable rituals.

OUTSIDERS

The denizens of Leng reflect its fractured reality, each a living manifestation of the plane’s eldritch chaos and unfathomable horror:

• Denizens of Leng: Pale, fanged humanoids draped in tattered robes, these creatures are ancient traders and slavers, moving between dimensions. They serve the Elder Gods and ply the Dreaming Shore for captives, drawn from both the waking world and the Dreamlands, to sacrifice to their alien gods.
• Scarlet Walkers: Terrifying, arachnid-like beings that traverse the dark valleys, seeking to drain the life essence from their victims. Their scarlet bodies shimmer with a hungry malice, and they revel in the suffering of their prey.
• Nightgaunts: Faceless, bat-winged creatures that patrol the skies of Leng, descending silently to carry off the unwary to grotesque fates. Their touch induces a creeping numbness, leaving their victims paralyzed in mind and body.

PETITIONERS

Souls that come to Leng are those who lost themselves to insanity, occultism, or forbidden knowledge in life. These petitioners appear as shattered, broken remnants of their former selves—endlessly wandering, muttering incoherently, or trapped in perpetual terror. They are immune to the biting cold and thin air, but their minds are continually ravaged by the horrors that lurk just beyond perception. They become obsessed with arcane symbols, whispers from the beyond, and shadowy movements in the distance, unable to break free from their madness.

INFUSIONS

Leng’s dark energies suffuse those who attune to it, granting them strange, otherworldly boons:

• Basic Infusion: You exude the menace of Leng, gaining a +2 bonus on Intimidate checks to demoralize foes, and the save DC of any fear-based effects you create is increased by 1.
• Improved Infusion: You gain the ability to cast Confusion once per day as a spell-like ability, allowing you to warp the minds of those who oppose you, tapping into the chaotic energies of Leng.
• Greater Infusion: You may cast Contact Entity IV once per day as a spell-like ability, enabling you to reach out to the unfathomable horrors that govern Leng, though you must supply the material components. However, such contact comes at a cost, as the minds of mortals are not built to endure prolonged communion with such alien forces.

DENIZENS

Leng is populated by creatures whose very existence is an affront to reason. Among them are:

• Shantaks: Massive, loathsome, birdlike creatures with scales and a grotesque visage, they soar above Leng’s frigid wastes, serving as mounts for the denizens of Leng or the High Priest of the Prehistoric Monastery.
• Leng Hounds: Relentless and cunning, these demonic, wolf-like beasts hunt through the Cold Waste, driving their prey toward sacrificial altars or ancient monoliths where they are offered to the Elder Gods.
• The High Priest Not to Be Described: A being cloaked in ancient and tattered robes, this indescribable entity rules over the Prehistoric Monastery, overseeing rituals that twist reality and draw power from the screams of sacrificial victims.

SPECIFIC LOCATIONS

1. The Cold Waste: A barren expanse of frozen desert, dotted with ancient, forbidden ruins where nightgaunts and other abominations lurk. Here, eldritch statues mark the boundary to realms of greater horror, and sacrifices are made to unseen deities in the eternal night.
2. The Dreaming Shore: An ominous stretch of dark, oily ocean, where ships manned by the Denizens of Leng capture and ferry slaves to their moon-beast masters. This shore borders both the Dreamlands and the waking world, its waters an unnatural black that reflects the nightmares of those who gaze into it.
3. Nameless Rock: A solitary, cursed island where moon-beasts hold court and construct alien temples dedicated to the most unspeakable gods. No mortal who sets foot here leaves unscarred, if they leave at all.
4. Unknown Kadath: A towering, labyrinthine city built atop Leng’s highest peak. Its alien architecture looms over the plateau, casting unnatural shadows. This is the lair of Nyarlathotep, the Crawling Chaos, where gods from other worlds dwell in secret chambers, lost in contemplation of cosmic truths beyond mortal understanding.

FINAL OVERVIEW

Leng is a place where nightmares are made manifest, a realm where madness reigns and the laws of reality bend to the will of ancient, unspeakable forces. Those who venture here find themselves changed forever—their minds fractured by visions of cosmic horror or empowered by the forbidden knowledge they uncover. Leng’s unique traits warp the souls of all who tread its desolate plains, leaving them marked by its eldritch energies—a place where one may gain unspeakable power, but only at the cost of their humanity or sanity.