The Infinite Layers of the
Abyss (pronounced: a-BIS) was the birth place of the demons, a chaotic evil universe unto itself with uncountable layers of infinite variety connected haphazardly. The Abyss's place in the cosmology of the Forgotten Realms shifted over time, but the nature of the plane remained fairly constant: a violent, malevolent place where the strong survived on the backs of the weak, the weak conspired to overthrow the strong, alliances only lasted while convenient, and the landscape itself tortured the mind and body of all who dared to pass.
The number of layers in the Abyss was unknown and perhaps unknowable, but this article attempts to list them regardless of which cosmology model was in favor at the time of discovery. Each layer had its own characteristics, which were as varied as the demons themselves. All types of terrain, atmosphere, weather, gravity, and material composition were represented in the myriad layers.
Some examples were:
Air-dominant—zero gravity, no matter except air
Ash—blowing dunes of ashes
Battleground—Blood War or other
City—warrens and slums to citadels and palaces, teeming with demons
Earth-dominant—solid rock tunneled by the inhabitants
Fire-dominant—everburning flames with salamanders, etc.
Delusion—appears to be Normal but the flowers are poisonous or the trees attack
Desert—endless tracts of black, white, or red sand with no water
Glacier—infinite black, white, or orange ice with few rocky peaks breaking the surface
Hellscape—a burning mix of magma, rock, and belching brimstone
Maelstrom—swirling, bubbling chaos like Limbo
Mountainous—rocky crags, precipitous cliffs, soaring peaks
Negative-dominant—major or minor
Normal—similar to a Prime plane with various flora and fauna
Ocean—a trackless ocean, with a surface
Salt—crystalline badlands or desert
Sea—of acid, blood, garbage, insects, oil, or worms, etc.
Swamp—noisome bog inhabited by predators
Undead—specters, spooks, and ghosts
Volcanic—lava flows, earthquakes, volcanoes, and smoke
Water-dominant—nightmarish creatures in the murk
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