The Planes

The Great Wheel Cosmology

The Planarverse as the world of Astoria knows it consists of a series of somewhat concentric spheres. In the center is The Prime Material Plane, The Feywild, and The Shadowfell, surrounded by The Ethereal Plane. Outside of the Prime and Ethereal are The Inner Planes, also called the elemental planes, which have their own structure based on a sphere. Then comes The Astral Plane which connects the worlds in The Prime Material Plane to each other and also to the last sphere, The Outer Planes. The Prime Material Plane touches both The Astral Plane and its Ethereal Plane, though these planes do not touch one another. The Outer Planes, also called the Planes of Power, are 16 planes arranged in a circle (known as The Great Wheel) defined mainly by alignment.

The Prime Material Plane

The Prime Material Plane is the plane in which Astoria and its surrounding cosmos exists. At first, it was believed that there was an infinite number of material planes, with The Prime Material Plane being the first and, essentially, the archetypal plane. However, recent research and study has lead to the widespread belief that The Prime Material Plane is the only of its kind, and in it are contained many different worlds, all floating throughout the cosmos.

The Feywild

The Feywild, also known as the plane of Faerie, exists as an "echo" of The Prime Material Plane. It was from here that the fey originated, giving The Feywild its name, and it was also a place of unusually potent magic.

The Shadowfell

The Shadowfell, also known as the plane of shadow, exists as sort of a counterpart to The Feywild. It, like The Feywild, is a reflection, or "echo, of The Prime Material Plane. Unlike The Feywild, however, The Shadowfell is a bleak, desolate place full of decay and death.

The Ethereal Plane

The Ethereal Plane is an exact copy of The Prime Material Plane, with the main difference being nothing on the plane is solid, including all living creature, their possessions, weapons, and armor. On The Ethereal Plane, all metal becomes ethereal metal, flesh becomes ethereal flesh, stone to ethereal stone, and so on. The Ethereal touches its Prime at all points and binds it to The Inner Planes, but the connections are not abrupt transitions like moving to and from The Astral Plane. Rather, it is a gradual process in what was called the Border Ethereal. If you consider the Ethereal to be an ocean, a person in the Border Ethereal would be standing in the surf near the shore, invisible to those on land, but able to see them and their surrounding dimly. One could travel along the shore, staying in the surf, and step back onto land at some other point, or move away from the shore toward the Deep Ethereal. A curtain of vaporous color marks the transition between the Border Ethereal and the Deep Ethereal, and each plane had its own color. After traversing the Deep Ethereal and reaching the curtain of the correct color, travelers can pass through to the Border Ethereal of their destination plane. By use of magic (or the natural ability that some creatures were thought to have, like phase spiders) one could fade into the Ethereal and travel at will. Gravity gives a sense of up and down, but movement in any direction is equally easy and objects released hover in place.

The Inner Planes

The elemental planes -- one each for Air, Fire, Earth, and Water -- make up the four major Inner Planes. Each plane is made up of primarily one type of matter, but pieces of other Inner Planes may occasionally find their way in (or be brought in by powerful forces). One thing all Inner Planes have in common is that their environments are all hostile to lifeforms from outside, particularly from The Prime Material Plane.

The Elemental Plane of Air

This plane is the most hospitable to beings from the Prime because the substance of the plane is breathable and travel is fairly easy. The whole plane looks like the bluest sky on a summer day with only the occasional cloud or storm indicating the intrusion of some other element into the constant wind that is the Plane of Air. Pieces of solid matter float in this realm and have become home to other-planar creatures. The open space belongs to the air elementals. Akadi, the queen of free-willed elementals was said to dwell in The Great Funnel, within a huge maelstrom, the size of which rendered it capable to swallow the known world.

The Elemental Plane of Fire

The Plane of Elemental Fire is a hellish place, filled with all manner and color of flame, from the candle to the white-hot glow of heated steel, all burning without fuel and radiating light and heat at maximum levels. Most unprotected matter is quickly consumed by the flames, but pockets of other elements can survive in "cold spots" where the temperature is near that of a hot Prime desert. The evil efreet and their fabled City of Brass reside here. Also the dwarf-like azer mine the basalt rocks that survived the heat for metals for their craft. Kossuth, the tyrant-king of the fire elementals dwells in his palace at the center of his realm called The Crimson Pillar.

The Elemental Plane of Earth

More inhospitable than even the Plane of Fire, the Plane of Elemental Earth is so solid that movement is nearly impossible unless a traveler can find a pocket of some less dense element or use magic to force an opening or permit them to walk through solid material. Without some protection, a non-native being is caught like a fly in amber under tremendous pressure from the surrounding rock, without air to breathe or light to see. Inhabitants of this plane include xorn, crysmal, and the dao. Grumbar, the largest and most powerful Earth elemental resides in The Great Mountain. Ogremoch, the prince of evil earth creatures has his own flat-topped mountain inside the largest pocket of vacuum known to exist in the plane.

The Elemental Plane of Water

A vast and endless ocean, the Plane of Elemental Water has uniform pressure in all directions and feels like being several feet below the surface of a typical body of water in the Prime Material Plane, and indeed is illuminated with the same soft light of that depth. The salinity of the water varies depending on proximity to the adjacent Inner Planes — pure salt at the boundary with the Plane of Earth, briny as you moved away, becoming pure and fresh in the middle, then getting colder and even frozen in some places as you approached the Plane of Air. Pockets of the other elements can be found here, but travelers that require air to breathe need to make other arrangements. Inhabitants of this plane include water weirds, nereids, tritons, and the marid. Istishia, King of Water Elementals makes his home here in a realm called the Sea of Timelessness.The Murky Depths is the realm of Blibdoolpoolp.

The Astral Plane

The Astral Plane is described as an infinite nothingness interrupted only by small islands of material that at one point broke off from their native planes and occasional spinning columns of astral conduits (called wormholes or gates and resembling water spouts from a storm at sea). The Astral Plane connects the Prime Material Plane to each of the first layers of all The Outer Planes. Travel in the Astral is usually accomplished by spell, psionics or device, and involves leaving your physical body behind while your astral self travels to your destination. During this transit, a nearly unbreakable silver cord connects your astral self back to your physical body. When you arrive at another plane, a new physical body manifests itself out of local materials. Wormholes link specific places in The Outer Planes to each other and to fixed locations in the Prime -- quicker but likely more dangerous because your physical body is transported directly to a terminus that might be inhospitable or guarded.

The Outer Planes

The Outer planes are organized according to alignment, which is most easily visualized as a wheel with spokes radiating from the center. In the diagram below, planes associated with Good (sometimes called the Upper planes) are found above the line running from Nirvana to Limbo, and Evil-associated planes (sometimes called the Lower planes) are below. Planes associated with Law are found to the left of the line running from Elysium to Hades, and Chaos-associated planes to the right. Many of the Outer planes were divided into layers—infinite sub-regions that metaphysically overlapped the other layers of the same plane.

Elysium

Elysium is the plane of neutral good. The wide, slow-moving, and mostly navigable river Oceanus flows through all four layers (from Thalasia to Belierin to Eronia to Amoria) and then on to The Beastlands. Most habitation is located along the fertile banks of the river, diminishing farther away. Pelor makes his home here, in his Palace of Dawn, on the first layer of Amoria.

The Beastlands

This plane represents the ideals of neutral good but tends toward chaotic good. Each of the three layers (Krigala, Brux, and Karasuthra) is vast and densely forested, but included habitats for all manner of natural creatures: mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians, insects, invertebrates, and their giant varieties.

Arborea

Arborea is the plane of chaotic good. The main feature is Mount Olympus, a huge mountain that links the plane with the Prime Material Plane where it is strongest. This astral landmark also extends to at least one layer each of Gehenna, Hades, and Tarterus. This plane's three layers are Arvandor, Aquallor Mithardir.

Ysgard

Ysgard is between chaotic good and chaotic neutral in alignment. The first layer is Asgard, followed by Muspelheim and Nidavellir. Like Mount Olympus in Arborea, the main feature of this plane is Yggdrasis, the World Ash, a tree that has roots and branches in The Prime Material Plane.

Limbo

Limbo is the plane of chaotic neutral, home of the Githzerai and the Slaad. This plane is supreme chaos: a twisting, quicksilver place filled with bits and pieces of rocks, trees, the four elements, entire landscapes, strong winds, and random pockets of liquid, solid, or gas. Intelligent beings can subjugate the environment around them, causing the chaos to settle into forms of his or her desire. It is believed Limbo has five layers, but they are all generally the same.

Pandemonium

Pandemonium is the plane between chaotic neutral and chaotic evil in alignment and has no native inhabitants, but many that are either immigrants, exiles, marooned, or prisoners. The entire plane is made of passages and caverns seemingly carved from solid rock by the constant howling wind and wind-driven rivers. Demons and quasits live or hide here and shadow demons are plentiful. The four layers of Pandemonium are Pandnesmos, Cocytus, Phlegethon, and Agathion.

The Abyss

The Abyss is the plane of chaotic evil, created by the god of madness, Tharizdun, and home of the demons and a seemingly limitless number of other foul monstrosities. Here, the strong seek to dominate the weak and the weak conspire to overthrow the strong. It is estimated the Abyss has 666 layers, but it could well be an infinite number. Its first layer is called Pazunia, or the Plane of Infinite Portals. It is a barren land of dusty deserts scorch by a red sun.

Carceri

The plane of Tarterus is located midway between chaotic evil and neutral evil in alignment. Each known layer of Tarterus is described as a chain of glowing scarlet orbs stretching into infinity. Each orb of the top layer is the size of a Prime Material world and the orbs get smaller with each successive layer. The orbs of the "inner" layers can be imagined as nesting within the orbs of the "outer" layers like Matryoshka dolls.

The Grey Waste

The Grey Waste, sometimes called Hades, is the plane of neutral evil, home of the daemons. The three layers of Hades are Oinos, Niflheim, and Pluton. The latter is the former home of the once-god of death, Nerull, before he was obliterated by the sheer power of The Raven Queen's ascension. The layers of Hades are called glooms, and for good reason; they are realms devoid of emotion, hope, and peace -- grey land and grey sky throughout, with no sun, moon, or seasons to break the monotony.

Gehenna

This plane is midway between neutral evil and lawful evil in alignment. Each of the four layers (Khalas, Chamada, Mungoth, and Krangath) are composed of mountains and smoky, burning volcanoes with no bases or peaks — everything is built onto or carved into the sides of these mountains and gravity is at a 45° angle with the ground. Deeper layers have less heat and volcanic activity until you got to Krangath, which has no natural light or heat.

The Nine Hells

The Nine Hells, also known as Baator is the plane of lawful evil, home of the devils. The nine layers are: Avernus, Dis, Minauros, Phlegethos, Stygia, Malbolge, Maladomini, Cania, and Nessus, and each extends infinitely in all directions and had its own physical laws and properties of matter. The barriers between layers connect the lowest points of the upper layer with points very high above the surface of the next lower layer, regardless if there is a structure (like a mountain or tall tower) there or not. Some infamous and powerful beings made their home in Baator, such as Asmodeus and Tiamat.

Acheron

Acheron is located between lawful evil and lawful neutral in alignment and is a place where armies of the Outer Planes come to do battle in the afterlife. The four layers (Avalas, Thuldanin, Tintibulus, and Ocanthus) each consist of huge blocks of hard black iron-like material the size of countries that floated through air, joining for a time and then parting again. While blocks are touching, a being could move from one block to the next. Gravity pulled toward the center of each block. Bane, evil god of war and conquest, rules here, fighting constantly with Gruumsh, orc god of tempest and war, for domination of the realm.

Mechanus

Mechanus is the plane of lawful neutral. It consists of only one layer where everything is in perfect order: equal parts light and dark, heat and cold, and equal measures of the four elements. The entire plane is filled with interlocking wheels 1,000 miles or more in diameter, slowly turning in synchronicity. Each disk has its own gravity extending in a sphere around it, enabling the surface(s) of the wheel to be inhabited.

Arcadia

Arcadia is between lawful neutral and lawful good in alignment, known for its trees. The trees of Arcadia grow in neat forests and regimented orchards. The bark is either copper, gold, silver, or iron and the never-falling leaves range from dark green to fire red. The fruit from these trees has magical properties like potions when consumed. Arcadia has three layers, Abellio, Buxenus, and a third layer of which very little is known, including its name.

Mount Celestia

Mount Celestia is the plane of lawful good alignment, home of the archons. Its seven layers (Lunia, Mecuria, Venya, Solania, Mertion, Jovar, and Chronias) are joined in such a manner that traveling deeper into the plane becomes an ascending journey, up mountain after mountain. Each layer glows with its own color of soft light and each is unique in terrain. Mount Celestia is the home of Bahamut and Moradin.

Bytopia

Bytopia, also known as The Twin Paradises, lies between lawful good and neutral good in alignment. The two layers (Shurrock and Dothion) are described as hanging upside down from each other about 20 miles apart (from sea level to sea level), sharing the same sky. Gravity is normal for each layer, but moves in opposite directions.