Bytopia

The twin paradises of Bytopia is a plane of hard and honest work, of people who believe in organizations only when it is needed and providing good deeds to others - though the concept of charity is foreign to many who reside here. This plane is best known for its two layers, Dothion and Shurruck and their arrangement as they are stacked on top of one another and share the same sky. Many compare this to a sandwich with each layer being the bread and the sky the content in between the two layers. Walking on one layer, one could easily look up and see the other layer high above as if you were looking down on it from above.
With this unique view, one can easily spot roads, villages, rivers, and other geographical features from the other layer. Dotting all over each layer are tall mountains that meet in the center, connecting two reflected layers and allowing travelers to journey from one layer to the next by ascending and then descending these mountains. Of course, the change in gravity is tricky for first-time travelers and its not unheard of for newcomers to plummet to their death when they switch layers.

Ecosystem

An Outsider’s Perspective Most visitors are drawn to this plane for trading, rare gems, and even hunting the large beasts that roam either plane. Most people arrive on the ‘top’ layer, Dothion, where the weather and four seasons are always mild. The snows of winter are never deeper than a few inches, the heat of summer never hotter than a comfortable day.
Outsiders are treated with respect, though the inhabitants have little opinion of adventurers and even less for thieves. Adventurers are seen as not doing honest work, though it doesn’t mean that they aren’t ever hired to act as guards, who do provide what the residents see as honest work. Stumbling across this plane, it's easy to find people willing to help out travelers, though a traveler won’t find anyone providing charity. If someone wants a meal, they have to work for it.
A Native’s Perspective This plane is occupied by hard-working and industrious gnomes and humanoids, celestials like the archons, planars and solars, and a few of the elves and eladrin also call this their home. Dothion has the most residents, as many find the milder seasons to be easier to live their lives with, and they focus on agriculture and ranching. The golden fields are filled with wheat, barley, and corn, the pastoral rolling hills are home to silver-wooled sheep and gold-flecked lambs. The life of many who live on this layer is focused on individual industries, with homes spread out across this plane and many towns and villages selling the wares.
Shurruck is the opposite, where the industry of the community is held over the industry of a single creature. Here, communities pop up around mining quarries or large mills where the community produces raw materials or mine out precious gems and seams of gold and silver. The harshness of the weather and the savage wilderness keeps travel low with traders buying raw materials and selling the finished goods from Dothion.
The largest population of creatures on this plane are the beasts. These creatures are giant compared to their normal brethren on The Material Plane and, if you are on Shurruck, extremely dangerous. The beasts of Dothion are largely tame and mild-mannered, while those on Shurruck are as wild and savage as the layer. Occasionally a wild animal from Shurruck will find a portal to Dothion and will cause chaos and havoc, forcing the residents of Dothion to hunt it down or rely on adventurers to bring the beast down.
Atmosphere The layers of Bytopia are paradises in their own, opposite ways. Dothion is known for its tamed and pastoral lands and forests, with mild seasons and pleasant days. Shurruck is the opposite with its wild, rocky lands and harsh weather for every season. Both layers have the same night and day structure as a soft, golden light radiates from the ‘center’ of this plane where the two layers meet. At night, many have mistakenly claimed to be able to see stars though it is just campfires, lanterns, and other forms of light from the opposite layer, with Shurruck having more ‘stars’ visible than its counterpart.

Tourism

Travel to the Plane Traveling to Bytopia is easily accomplished by finding portals in the Astral Plane or by taking a portal from Sigil or the Outlands, or finding a portal from its two adjacent planes, Mount Celestia and Elysium. Portals, while sparse, can be found in caverns with glowing patterns in the walls. Caverns with patterns of concentric rings lead to Mount Celestia while caverns with simple lines lead to Elysium, and caverns with spiderwebbed patterns will take a traveler to the Outlands. To find a portal to Bytopia in the Astral Plane requires finding an amber color pool, most color pools and portals deposit travelers on the top layer, Dothion.
Traversing the Plane Walking across the plane is no different than journeying across The Material Plane, though depending on which layer you are on, the weather may make movement difficult. Dothion is always mild, it’s winters are never harsh, its summer is never too hot and the layer is seen as incredibly pleasant at every season. Dothion is a layer of pastoral greens, personal industries, rolling hills, and tamed forests.
Shurruck on the other hand is a layer of extremes and the harsh wilderness. From the winter’s deep snow to the summer’s parched heat, every season is amplified by the savage nature of this layer. This layer is also the least occupied of the two with small settlements of people around a central quarry or mill, very few people live outside of these communities.
Crossing the Boundary Planes of Conflict, 1995 TSR Inc. Planes of Conflict, 1995 TSR Inc.
In between these two layers, where they meet, is the tricky business of flipping between the two different gravities. Flying creatures have little issue crossing this boundary between the two layers as they can easily flip around before falling. In 1st and 2nd edition, the distance between these two layers was roughly 20 miles, though in the 3rd edition this distance is reduced to just a mile. There are very few portals between the two layers, and the ones that are known are heavily guarded by communities who charge a hefty fee in order to use the portals.
Some of the columns that connect these two layers actually have a carved staircase that spirals around them, making it easy to determine where the gravity flips on the path and helping travelers cross over without too much incident. Of course, it isn't unheard of for travelers to be overconfident, or not to be paying attention, and find themselves tumbling down the opposite layer when the gravity switched. Some also blame this misfortune on the ni’iath, a strange flying fish-like creature that seems to be able to ignore gravity. These vicious creatures hunt along the gravitational border of this plane, attacking as travelers concentrate on crossing the boundary and aren't paying attention to dangers outside of gravity.

Type

Plane of Existence

Location under

Upper Planes