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Ley Lines function much the same as laid out in Occult Adventures. The following are additional benefits and limitations to be implemented in addition to the standard rules.

Though the thought of spellcasters utilizing hidden pockets of deep magical power to enhance their spells is all too easy to imagine, it’s also true that non-casters use magic to enhance their martial prowess through the use of magic weapons and other items. Ley Lines shouldn’t exclusively benefit casters. That’s why attuning to a Ley Line is no longer accomplished with a Spellcraft check. It is instead an Occult Ritual that can be learned and used by casters and martials alike.

Occult Ritual: Ley Line Attunement
School: Universal; Level: Varies (½ Ley Line’s CL; min 4, max 9)
Casting Time: 1 hour/Spell Level
Components: V, S, F (Tuning Fork attuned to a plane the Ley Line occupies), SC (up to 10)
Skill Checks: Perception DC 27 plus spell level (1 success), Knowledge (Planes) DC 27 plus spell level, 1 success, Knowledge (Arcana) DC 27 plus spell level, 1 success, Knowledge (Nature) DC 27 plus spell level, 1 success; add 1 additional required success for each spell level above 4th, starting with an extra Perception at 5th level, then Knowledge (Planes) at 6th level, and so on, following the listed order.
Target: Primary and Secondary casters
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: None; SR: No
Backlash: Primary and Secondary casters are Exhausted (Fort negates for secondary casters; DC 10 plus 1.5 x spell level)
Failure: The Ley Line defends itself from a perceived threat, fabricating one or more hostile creatures that attack the casters. Roll on the Random Encounters table for the local Plane, rolling 1d10 plus [10 x spell level] to determine the encounter.

With each passing hour, the primary caster must further entwine their tuning fork around and within the metaphysical threads of power permeating from the exposed node of the Ley Line - a delicate process requiring their powers of perception, and knowledge of the laws of magic, its place in the multiverse, and primal connection to nature. At the ritual’s completion, all secondary casters must be physically connected to the primary caster, or else linked together with the primary caster, who stabs the tuning fork into the ground or some other stable surface either preexisting, or set up and established at the start of the ritual, which releases the collected energy into all casters, thereafter allowing the Ley Line to flow freely through them as an extension of the Ley Line.

Upon attuning to a Ley Line, a creature chooses one of two benefits: they gain a +1 Enhancement bonus to either CL, or to attack and weapon damage rolls. This bonus increases by +1 at CL5, and every 5 CLs thereafter, to a max bonus of +5. Some Ley Lines are conduits of specific branches of magic, or otherwise representative of particular elements or themes. Such Ley Lines may only apply their full bonus to CL on certain spells, or their full bonus on attack/damage rolls against certain enemies. Some Ley Lines may also apply the Enhancement bonus to a creature’s AC instead of attack/damage rolls.

In addition, some Ley Lines may provide additional benefits that can be applied in place of some or all of the bonus to CL or attack/damage rolls. Some benefits may apply automatically and replace some or all of the bonus, and some others may apply automatically for free. For example, attuning to a Ley Line atop a volcano with a CL of 15 will grant a +4 Enhancement bonus, but only for casting spells with the Fire Descriptor, or for attacking creatures with the Cold Subtype. For all other spells or enemies, the bonus is 2 less. In addition, attuned creatures gain Fire Resistance 10. Finally, the Ley Line offers attuned creatures to choose to gain the Flaming property in exchange for +1 of the +4 bonus, Flaming Burst for +2 of the +4 bonus, or Fire Resistance 20 (replacing the free Resist 10) for +4 of the +4 bonus. The Flaming and Flaming Burst properties apply to all weapon damage rolls. Any choices to exchange alternate benefits must be chosen at the time of attunement, and you retain them for as long as you remain attuned to the Ley Line, and within 100’ of the node. You may change these choices once per day with 1 hour of quiet meditation while within 100’ of the node.

Class archetypes that deal specifically with Ley Lines - such as Menhir Druids or Ley Line Guardian Witches - gain a bonus on skill checks used in the Ley Line Attunement ritual equal to ½ their class level, but only if they are the primary caster. The special abilities they use to increase their CL work as written, and stack with the bonus provided by the Ley Line.

Inter-Planar Ley Lines:
A Ley Line that touches multiple Planes can be used as a focus to make an impeccably precise Plane Shift spell. If Plane Shift is cast at a node to travel to another Plane that same Ley Line touches, the caster can choose to appear within 5d% feet of a node of that Ley Line on the new Plane. Likewise, any spell designed to view or communicate over long distances at a node treats a recipient on another plane within 100’ (still limited by the spell’s actual range) of a node of the same Ley Line as being on the same Plane.

These spell benefits are only available if the Ley Line’s CL is high enough to cast the spell itself, but on an inverted scale - a CL20 or 19 Ley Line imparts this benefit to all applicable spells of all levels, including 0 (allowing even a Message spell to be used for Extraplanar communication). A CL18 or 17 Ley Line imparts this benefit to all applicable spells of 2nd and higher. And so on. A Cleric casting Plane Shift (a 5th-level Cleric spell) must find a Ley Line of CL12 or higher to benefit from a precise Plane Shift. Ley Lines of CL 1-4 can only impart these benefits for 9th-level spells.

Metamagic Feats:
Once a creature is attuned to a Ley Line and receive a bonus to their CL, they can use Metamagic feats much easier. By channeling extra power through their body, a caster can use the Ley Line’s own power to fuel the effects of Metamagic feats they have without using a higher spell slot. Once per round, a Ley Line can fuel one or more Metamagic feats whose spell level adjustment is equal to or lower than the bonus they provide to their CL. So, a Ley Line providing a +3 bonus can allow a caster to apply any Metamagic feat they know with a +1, +2, or +3 adjustment to the spell level, or any combination of feats that add up to a total of +3 without increasing the spell’s level. The Ley Line’s effective CL bonus uses the bonus it applies to specific spells, so if the above Ley Line atop a volcano lets a caster take full advantage of this exploit with spells with the Fire descriptor, but will only apply a Metamagic feat with a +1 adjustment on all other spells. Even without adjusting the spell’s level, you cannot use this exploit to apply Metamagic feats to a spell whose adjusted level without the exploit would increase the spell’s level higher than what you can cast. Kineticists can use this exploit with Metakinesis to ignore 1 Burn for every +2 bonus the Ley Line provides.

Doing this always increases the spell’s casting time, even for prepared casters, or if the caster has an ability that normally negates an extra casting time. This also increases the casting time of a Kinetic Blast. Upon casting the spell or blast, the caster must make a Fort save (DC 10 plus the Ley Line’s CL) or be Fatigued for a number of rounds equal to the Ley Line’s bonus to CL. Casters cannot benefit from Ley Lines in this way while Exhausted or Fatigued.

Arcane Strike:
Creatures attuned to a Ley Line who choose to gain a bonus on attack/damage rolls can use the Arcane Strike feat, using the Ley Line’s CL. Creatures who already have the Arcane Strike feat can use the Ley Line’s CL in place of their own, or they can add half the Ley Line’s CL to theirs to calculate their total bonus on damage rolls.

Character Creation

Level: 9th
Point Buy: 20
Starting Wealth: 46,000gp (cannot spend more than 23,000gp on a single item)
Traits: 2
Background Skills: 2/level
Races/Classes: All
Legal Sources: CRB, Pathfinder Unchained, Advanced Class Guide, Advanced Player’s Guide, Advanced Race Guide (limited to your race), Horror Adventures, Occult Adventures, Planar Adventures, Ultimate Combat, Ultimate Equipment, Ultimate Intrigue, Ultimate Magic, Ultimate Wilderness, Inner Sea Combat, Inner Sea Gods, Inner Sea Magic, Inner Sea Races (limited to your race), Inner Sea World Guide, Armor Master’s Handbook, Weapon Master’s Handbook

The Great Beyond: In the Pathfinder setting, the world of Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Dragons, and more, where almost every adventuring setting is assumed to take place is called Golarion. This single world is but one within the universe it occupies, much like our world within our own universe. In the Pathfinder setting, though, there exist many universes (referred to as Planes) beyond this one, though they are not parallel universes, with subtle differences based on random chance, or the choices made by individuals, like those seen in Marvel or DC comics. Each plane is unique in its themes, its denizens, and even its laws of physics. Additionally, these planes all brush up against and influence other planes in subtle or overt ways, and create a vast, complex system that holds up the whole. This multiverse is referred to as The Great Beyond.

The Great Beyond is an enormous, complicated system, but you the player are not expected to be an expert by any means. The following is merely a rough breakdown to help you better conceptualize it. The Great Beyond is split into two spheres, called the Inner and Outer Spheres. The Inner Planes contain the Planes of substance - the elemental planes of Fire, Earth, Water, and Air (all their own individual planes), as well as the Planes of Positive and Negative Energy. The Material Plane, where the world of Golarion and the universe it sits in, is also an Inner Plane. The Outer Planes are those of idealism, where many of the Pathfinder gods can be found - though some gods can be found in the Inner Planes, as well. The Planes of Heaven and Hell are Outer Planes, representing the Lawful Good and Lawful Evil alignments respectfully. Each of the nine Outer Planes represents a unique alignment.

The River of Souls is the life blood of the Great Beyond. It begins in the Inner Sphere with the Positive Energy Plane, which constantly emits Quintessence, fueling all sentient life. When sentient beings die, their souls enter the Ethereal Plane (also an Inner Plane), and travel to the Boneyard, the Neutral-aligned Outer Plane, where they are judged by Pharasma, the goddess of life, death, and fate, and are sent to one of the nine Outer Planes befitting their “final reward”. The souls then live out their new lives in their new homes as beings called Outsiders. When Outsiders die, they break down into Quinetessence once again and fuse with their plane, much in the same way a dead body breaks down and becomes soil and nutrients on the Material Plane. Over eons, the Outer Planes break down their oldest Quintessence, which eventually returns back to the Inner Sphere, and is pulled into the Negative Energy Plane, ending the cycle.

Planar Heroes: Fame and fortune abound for any heroes with the drive and guile to seek it. But, you are not playing an ordinary hero. Gold and glory can be found all over the Material Plane. Most campaigns can spend a large majority of their time within the borders of a single nation, feeding an overarching story and providing the PCs with no shortage of challenges and rewards appropriate to their ever-growing level. The dozens of nations in the Inner Sea Region alone represent a nearly unlimited amount of adventures. In short, there often is very little reason for a hero to stray from the Material Plane, except for a short time, usually for very specific reasons.

The question you’re tasked to answer, then, is why has your character decided to leave their Material address for the foreseeable future, and risk unknowable peril in the Great Beyond? Your character, by 9th-level, is allowed to have a relatively impressive resume at the start of this campaign; by 9th-level, many PCs could have already played through about half of - or even most of - an entire campaign’s worth of adventures, being well on their way to shaping the destiny of scores of people - even entire nations. What heroics has your character already experienced? Were they successful, or did they perhaps fail and doom others to terrible fates? Did the majority of their exploits involve life-or-death scenarios? Did they instead spend most of their time shut away, researching and developing their abilities? Or maybe they were busy playing the political arena or other challenges of social intrigue? Once you have a rough idea of what kind of hero you were, you must figure out if their call to the Great Beyond was a logical next step for them and their exploits, or if fate made them drop everything for a new purpose.

It’s also possible that your character has actually spent most of, or their entire life away from the Material Plane. There are many locations in other planes where settlements can include mortal races, who can start or raise a family like anywhere else. While these characters may feel right at home within their extra-planar address, this does not mean such a character should be an expert on the Great Beyond itself - indeed, each plane is infinite in size, and is often far more diverse in its biomes, cultures, and dangers than any one world on the Material Plane. Still, having such an upbringing could make for a uniquely interesting character concept. Please let me know if you have an interest in making a character from beyond the Material Plane so we can make sure you have a firm grasp of what your character does and doesn’t know, including the place they grew up, and the peoples, monsters, and any Deific beings known by the locals.

Whatever experiences your character has been through to propel them to 9th level, they will begin the campaign as new recruits aboard a very special flying skiff, capable of traveling the Great Beyond. The flying skiff’s captain and crew undergo various missions funded by the highest bidder, ranging anywhere from retrieving/transporting exotic materials/creatures, finding missing people/treasure, transporting and protecting high profile individuals, and even bounty hunting. This career is likely not the reason why your character decided to leave the Material Plane, but instead makes for an ideal staging ground from which to gather resources, chase leads, and become stronger while they pursue a grand goal of their own. While working aboard the flying skiff, your characters will be expected to work as sailors aboard a ship, maintaining, operating, and protecting their home and mode of transportation as they travel to and from various missions.

So, what is it your character desires in the Great Beyond, and how did they become a crew member aboard such a unique vessel? Well, learning about and finding this flying skiff, as well as finding a way to Plane Shift to access it by 9th level, could very well have been its own adventure on its own. It could also have just been a complete cosmic accident, or maybe the captain/crew sought you out for their own reasons.

As far as your character’s grand goal within the Great Beyond, it should be something you desperately want, but is something you know can’t be rushed - you’re simply not strong, magical, or important enough to accomplish this task with sheer, single-minded determination. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t have to be urgent - perhaps someone important to you was taken as a slave to the Realm of Leng; you know that everyday that passes without being rescued is torment for them, but launching a rescue mission is simply not something that can be expedited. Your grand goal could be something far less urgent, but still very personal - maybe as a Tiefling, you’ve discovered the infernal sire of your fiendish bloodline is none other than the Archdevil Mephistopheles, and you aim to discover where his domain is and how to enter, maybe for closure, for revenge, or perhaps for prostration. Your grand goal might not be urgent or personal, but driven by ambition - maybe your planar and arcane research has lead you to believe you could actually reach the fabled Akashic Record, though not until you gather unimaginably rare components and perform an impossibly complicated ritual at an impeccably precise location/time, all only available away from the Material Plane.

Planar Races: The multitudinal vastness of the Great Beyond means a hero can come from just about any race. While any race can be part of a robust, interesting story and thrive in a Planar adventure, there are several races borne from or influenced by specific planes, and can therefore make for especially flavorful characters, or characters with particularly thematic ties to the campaign.
Aasimars - Humanoids with Celestial ancestry
Aphorites - Humanoids created by the Lawful Axiomites to better interact with mortals
Duskwalkers - When a fallen mortal is deemed worthy of a second life by Pharasma and the Boneyard, the mortal is reborn as a Duskwalker
Fetchlings - Humans who got stranded on the Plane of Shadow for many generations eventually became Fetchlings
Ganzi - Humanoids who become exposed to the chaotic energies of the Maelstrom (or sometimes Elysium or the Abyss) sometimes have children or grandchildren born as Ganzi.
Gathlains - Small winged creatures from the capricious First World
Ifrits - Humanoids with influence from the Plane of Fire in their ancestry
Oreads - Humanoids with influence from the Plane of Earth in their ancestry
Suli - Humanoids with Jaan (Genie) ancestry
Sylphs - Humanoids with influence from the Plane of Air in their ancestry
Tieflings - Humanoids with fiendish ancestry
Undines - Humanoids with influence from the Plane of Water in their ancestry
Wayangs - Small, light-averse humanoids from the Plane of Shadow

Adventuring Through the Planes: Your adventures will take you to many different planes. Sometimes, a single mission will necessitate visiting several planes before completion. It’s important to keep in mind that each Plane is not merely a different thematic aesthetic; they’re all their own universe, complete with unique rules. Some planes’ gravity or time function differently, some hinder or empower different kinds of magic, and some are physically or spiritually harmful to occupy, even for a single round. While you the players, and even your characters, are not expected to be experts on any plane’s unique qualities, you will have access to a crew of planar travelers who have been doing the job for various amounts of time and can be a helpful resource when it comes to preparing for an adventure; and your characters can themselves make their own Knowledge checks, or even commit time to additional research on a plane, if desired. Below are some common factors that are most likely to come up, to give you an idea of how different planes can affect you:

Alignment: Every plane has its own alignment. Depending on your own alignment, and how different it is from the plane you’re on, and how powerful that plane’s alignment is, you could potentially take a -2 penalty on all Cha-based checks, or even as much as a -4 penalty on all Int-, Wis-, and Cha-based checks.
Magic: Many planes favor and/or limit magic of certain schools or themes. If a spell is enhanced by a plane, it functions at CL +2. If a spell is impeded, you must succeed at a Concentration check (DC 20+spell level), or fail to cast and lose the spell to no effect. Some planes (and some isolated pockets within otherwise normally-functioning planes) have a trait called Wild Magic, which causes spells to go awry unless the caster succeeds at a Concentration check.

Transitive Planes: A transitive plane overlaps one or more planes. This proximity allows several noteworthy magical exploits that certain creatures and spells can take advantage of. These spells and special abilities are written with the assumption that they’re being used on the Material Plane. However, depending on which plane you’re on, some of these abilities may function differently, or fail to work altogether.

There are three transitive planes. The Astral Plane overlaps all planes in the Great Beyond, which is handy, as most teleportation spells utilize this plane to function. The Ethereal Plane overlaps all the Inner Planes (as well as the Astral plane). While on the Ethereal Plane, creatures can interact with the other Inner Planes as Ethereal creatures, being effectively invisible and incorporeal. Some spells use the Ethereal Plane as cover to avoid danger or to scout an area unseen, while other spells pull Ectoplasm from the plane, usually to combat incorporeal enemies. The Shadow Plane overlaps the Material Plane (as well as the Astral and Ethereal planes), and while it doesn’t overlap the Negative Energy Plane, it is in close proximity. Some spells use the Shadow Plane as a means of expedited travel, while others pull the mutable essence from the plane to create quasi-real effects, mimicking other spells. The exact function (or lack thereof) of certain spells that normally utilize these transitive planes while away from the Material Plane is not something the players (as well as their characters) necessarily know without research, knowledge checks, or old fashioned trial and error.

Kineticist: Everyday spent on your base element’s plane of origin (Ethereal Plane for Telekineticists and the First World for Photokineticists) automatically adds 1 Burn to your Internal Buffer. Kineticists who don’t have the Internal Buffer ability - either from trading it out with an Archetype, or from not being a high enough level - can hold 1 Burn gained in this way in a temporary Internal Buffer. Kineticists who do have an Internal Buffer can hold 1 Burn above their normal limit with this addition. The additional Burn gained from this remains until used, even after you leave the Plane, and even if it leaves your Buffer with more Burn than it could normally hold.

Many of the Kineticist’s special abilities are considered Spell-like Abilities, which are specifically called out as abilities that can be affected by magic traits possessed by certain planes, including their Kinetic Blast. For example, a Hydrokineticist in the Plane of Water has all of his water-based SLA’s enhanced (+2 CL). While this won’t increase the damage of their blast (that’s based on class level, not CL), it WILL affect any CL or Concentration checks they might need to make, such as to overcome SR or avoid losing control of power gathered, as well as level-dependent variables of certain Utility Wild Talents, such as the cubic volume of ice you can target with Ice Sculptor. If the same Hydrokineticist is on the Plane of Fire, though, all of their water-based SLA’s will be impeded, forcing them to make a Concentration check (DC 20 + effective spell level), or the SLA fails, as if cast to no effect.

Medium: Depending on the plane, the Medium’s Influence, time needed for a Seance, Spirit Bonus, and Spirit Surge are all affected.
Astral and Ethereal Plane: This is the Spirit World, where spirits permeate the very air. Spirits here are plentiful and powerful - maybe too powerful. When channeling a Spirit, your Influence starts at 3, and cannot be lowered. You can complete a Seance in 1 minute. Your Spirit Bonus increases by +1. You have Advantage on your Spirit Surge.
The First World: The Positive Energy Plane provides almost all of the quintessence needed to feed the plane. Fey who die on the First World are reincarnated, so only the souls of visitors are available for use. Beggars can’t be choosers. When channeling a Spirit, your Influence cannot go higher than 4. Your Seance requires 2 hours to complete. Your Spirit Bonus is 1 lower than normal (minimum +1). Your Spirit Surge is one die lower than normal (minimum 1d4), and you have Disadvantage on your Spirit Surge rolls; however, you can continue to use Spirit Surge at 4 Influence without increasing to 5, though you must wait 1 minute before using Spirit Surge consecutively at 4 Influence.
Positive Energy Plane: Spirits are so sparse here that you cannot perform a Seance.
Negative Energy Plane: Spirits here are plentiful, but they are old, malignant, and desperate. You can complete a Seance in 10 minutes. Once channeled, a spirit refuses to leave at the end of the day, even though it’s supposed to. Make a Will save (20+½ level) with a penalty equal to your Influence to force the spirit to leave. Once per day while a spirit from this plane is channeled, taking an 8 hour rest reduces your Influence by 1d4-1 points. Until this spirit leaves, you retain your normal Spirit Bonus, Spirit Powers, and your Spirit Surge functions normally, but you cannot change which Legend you’re using and you can’t Channel a new Spirit, but your Seance Bonus (as well as that of your allies) still only lasts for 24 hours.
Material And Shadow Plane: All your class features function as written.
All Other Planes: The Quintessence and spiritual power infused into these planes leave a powerful spiritual resonance, which isn’t quite as potent as the Astral and Ethereal Planes, but is much more stable. You can complete your Seance in 30 minutes. Once per day, you can make a Spirit Surge with Advantage.

Spiritualist: On the Ethereal Plane, summoning your Phantom costs 1 Standard action. Summoning your Phantom functions as written on all other Inner Planes and the Astral Plane. On all Outer Planes, summoning your Phantom costs 2 minutes. While on the Ethereal Plane, spells like Banishment or Dismissal don’t affect your Phantom. While on the Ethereal Plane, the distance of your Etheric Tether doubles in distance.

Summoner: Your Eidolon is from a Plane outside of the Material. Determine which plane is its home plane. Many of the Eidolon Subtypes presented for the Unchained Summoner include specific outsider families the eidolon represents, and their plane of origin should reflect these subtypes. Otherwise, roll randomly with advantage to determine your eidolon’s plane of origin. While on your Eidolon’s plane of origin, spells like Banishment and Dismissal don’t affect it, and summoning it costs only 1 Standard action.

[u]Transitive Planes:[/u]
Blink/Ethereal Jaunt/etc.: Any spell that functions by bringing a creature or object to the Ethereal Plane functions only while on an Inner Plane (not including the Ethereal Plane) or the Astral Plane. On any other plane, the spell fails and is wasted as if cast to no effect.

Ectoplasm: Spells and effects that pull Ectoplasm from the Ethereal Plane function as written on all Inner Planes and the Astral Plane. On the Ethereal Plane, such spells function at +2 CL, and have any save DCs increased by +1. On all Outer Planes, such spells function as written, but have their casting time doubled (Standard action becomes a 1-round cast).

Shadow Conjuration/Evocation/etc: Spells that pull shadow stuff from the Shadow Plane to create quasi-real spell effects function at a higher or lower percent depending on how close the caster is to the Shadow Plane. If the percent value drops to 0 or lower, the spell fails and is wasted as if cast to no effect.
Shadow Plane: +10%
Astral, Ethereal, and Material Planes: As written
Negative Energy Plane: -10%
All other Inner Planes: -20%; 1-round casting time
All Outer Planes (except Astral): -30%; 1-round casting time

Shadow Step: This spell functions as written on the Material Plane. On the Astral and Ethereal Planes, it functions as written, but with a chance to send the caster to false destinations, similar to the Teleport spells (treat all known destinations as one category less familiar (minimum viewed once)). On the Shadow Plane, this spell functions as written, but the caster and any passengers are deposited onto the Material Plane at the spell’s conclusion. On any other plane, the spell fails and is wasted as if cast to no effect.

Teleportation: Any spell or ability that utilizes the Astral Plane to instantaneously travel over any distance functions as written. On the Astral Plane, the spell or ability’s max distance is reduced to that of Dimension Door (max distances shorter than Dimension Door remain unchanged). In addition, the special envelope is far less stable. Spells and abilities that allow you to take additional creatures have that number doubled, but each creature the caster wishes to bring with them have only an 80% chance to be taken; in addition, each creature within 20’ of the caster at the departure point (not counting creatures you wish to take with you) and the destination point have a 40% chance to get tugged through space (Will negates). Creatures at the departure point arrive with you, and creatures at the arrival point appear where you departed, their new positioning relative to your departure/arrival points remaining the same, or as close as possible. Creatures native to the Astral Plane can control this spatial envelope better, and can increase or decrease these percent chances by 20% as they desire when casting teleportation spells.

Upon using Plane Shift, the Crying Rumination appears 5d% miles away from the intended destination. The Crying Rumination can travel up to 11mph at full speed (90 miles with a full day of traveling). While traveling, the crew of the Crying Rumination is expected to perform various tasks in order to keep the ship functioning and in order: (Order of operations: Determine Magical Utility first, Hospitality second, Lookout third, Quintessence Cleaning forth, Sail the Ship fifth, Ship Repairs last)
-Hospitality: To perform this task, you must have access to multiple uses of magic that either heals hp or ability damage/drain; removes harmful conditions like Curses, Diseases, or Negative Levels; or sustains living creatures, such as conjuring or purifying food. Keeping the crew healthy and fed is a constant concern for any mundane sailing expedition. Doing so in the Great Beyond with all its extra dangers and unknowns makes the task all the more difficult. Spend 2d4 spell slots, SLA’s, or uses of magic items (non-Staff magic items require two charges per one required use; spells and effects that affect 4 or more creatures count as two uses) that might satisfy the umbrella of hospitality (none of these effects can be Target: Personal). Any number of castings of Create Water only ever satisfies one use. Spells that create or purify food can satisfy up to two uses at most. At the start of the day, make a DC 22 Heal or DC 26 Spellcraft check; failing this check adds 1 to the number of magical effects demanded by this task, plus 1 for every 5 by which you fail. For every casting you are unable to supply, add +2 to the DC of all other daily tasks. For every 4 or more unfulfilled castings, this penalty carries over into additional days; the penalty decreases by 2 each day until it becomes zero. Hospitality workers can provide additional uses of Hospitality effects above their daily amount to reduce this penalty for the following day (possibly removing the penalty altogether).
-Lookout: As always important, the lookout must remain in the crow’s nest and be vigilant of distant landmarks, dangers, and other important planar features. At the beginning of the day, make a DC 25 Perception check (higher DC’s in planes with bad visibility or other penalizing factors). For every 5 by which you fail, increase the DC to avoid getting lost by 2, and increase the likelihood of a random encounter by 5%.
-Magical Utility: To perform this task, you must have access to multiple uses of utility magic, such as Fly, Darkvision, Daylight, Resist Energy, etc. (magic that heals hp or ability drain/damage or that removes harmful conditions is not considered utility magic). Benefitting from the Crying Rumination’s Planar Adaptation can only help so much - the Great Beyond offers no shortage of unexpected dangers and hazards, and traveling for a full day through them is no mean feat, especially in a large group. Spend 2d4 spell slots, SLA’s, or uses of magic items (non-Staff magic items require two charges per one required use; spells and effects that affect 4 or more creatures count as two uses) that might satisfy the umbrella of utility for the current plane (none of these effects can be Target: Personal). At the beginning of the day, make a DC 22 Spellcraft or DC 26 Knowledge (Planes) check; failing this check adds 1 to the number of magical effects demanded by this task, plus 1 for every 5 by which you fail. For every casting you are unable to supply, add +2 to the DC of all other daily tasks. For every 4 unfulfilled castings, add 1 to the number of spells demanded by the Hospitality task.
-Quintessence Cleaning: Quintessence, or other planar debris (such as Ectoplasm on the Ethereal Plane), can build up along the arcane veins on the bottom of the hull. Sailors must fly or climb along the hull and scrape the buildup off before it begins to weigh the skiff down. The worker must be able to Fly for 1d4+1 hours (or make a DC 20 Climb check for every hour they cannot or elect to not Fly (failing these Climb checks by 5 or more can have disastrous consequences)). At the end of the day, make a DC 15 Str or Con check or a DC 22 Knowledge (Planes) check; for every 5 by which this check fails, and for every hour the worker is unable to Fly and/or fails their Climb check, reduce the Skiff’s travel distance for that day by 1 hour (failures from multiple workers don’t stack - use the lowest check to determine penalties).
-Sail the Ship: Though the Crying Rumination can move on its own power, it still requires a competent crew to keep it on course and functioning properly. At the end of the day, make a DC 15 Str or Con check, or a DC 22 Profession (Sailor) check; for every 5 by which you fail your check, reduce the Skiff’s travel distance for that day by 1 hour (failures from multiple workers don’t stack - use the lowest check to determine penalties).
Ship Repairs: Equipment and structural damages are an expected part of sailing at the best of times. In the Great Beyond, repairs can include these mundane mishaps, as well as any number of unexpected planar pitfalls. At the end of the day, make a DC 22 Craft (Ships), DC 26 Profession (Sailor), or DC 30 Knowledge (Engineering) check. For every casting of Make Whole you can include, reduce the DC by 2; for every casting of Fabricate, reduce the DC by 6 (DC can’t be reduced to below 15 in either case). For every 5 by which you fail your check, subtract 1,000gp from a mission’s profits; subtract 100gp from profits for every casting of Fabricate (failures from multiple workers don’t stack - use the lowest check to determine penalties).

Random Encounters:
Roll for a random encounter while traveling through a Plane every 1d4 hours. Stop rolling for the day after two encounters. Consult the following table to determine the chance of generating a random encounter based on the alignment of the Plane you’re on (modify this further by failures from Lookout duty, and other factors).

LG - 5%
NG - 10%
CG/LN - 15%
N - 20%
CN/LE - 25%
NE - 30%
CE - 35%

Navigation:
The DC to avoid getting lost (as well as other Survival skill actions such as realizing you’re lost, getting along in the wild, etc.) is 5 higher than normal, but a creature gets a +2 or +4 bonus on these checks if he has 5 or 10 ranks in Knowledge (Planes).

Seeking a Job: (This function will initially be covered by the senior crew of the Crying Rumination, but the PCs may eventually be tasked with this) Having a large crew and the Crying Rumination allows for much harder jobs to be tackled than normal, but with the downside that it’s just not financially feasible to take lower-paying jobs. Sometimes, a job that pays well enough is as fruitful as it is because it’s not strictly speaking legal, or because it’s concerning an extremely niche market or clientele. This makes for finding a job that can support such an enterprise a tricky matter, though very lucrative when done properly.

While in a settlement, make a Diplomacy check to Gather Information (DC is 15 plus APL), or a Knowledge (Planes) check at the same DC +5. Add +2 to these DCs for every size the settlement in which you’re job hunting is smaller than a Metropolis, and then another +2 for every step removed from CE the settlement is. Success means they find a mission that pays well enough to be worth their time, and for every 5 by which they exceed the DC, the job pays an additional 10,000gp (see Payment). The PCs can spend 1 month inside a settlement establishing contacts and spreading their brand. At the end of the month, they can make a DC 20 Diplomacy or DC 25 Knowledge (Planes) check to establish that settlement as their port of call, granting them a +5 bonus on Job Seeking checks.

Payment: A typical mission pays 150,000gp. Ship repairs, maintenance, and other expenses (like docking fees, bribes, etc.) decrease this payment upon mission success by 10,000gp (this cost can increase from failed Ship Repairs tasks or other circumstances). This cost increases by 5,000gp for every two steps more Lawful and more Good the port that generated the job is than CE. Crew members receive 5% of the remaining profits. Officers receive 15%.

Proteans: As the crew’s starting port of call is in the Maelstrom, Proteans will be a common sight, and may help or hinder (or both) many combats, social encounters, or other hurdles. Proteans like to form groups of cabals called Choruses, lead by powerful Keketars or Izfiitars. Most chorus’ are fundamentally split by the idea of embodying change through either creation or destruction, and can be individualized from there.