Every mortal upon the prime material plane is imbued with two existences, one physical, manifesting itself under the physical laws of the material world, and one ethereal, their soul following them in the prime material plane. While it is possible for these two manifestations to be parted, or for one to enter the ethereal plane and temporarily leave ones physical body, the vast majority of mortals retain the link until death.
Upon their dying, their physical body is separated from their soul, which begins to drift in the ethereal plane. The soul then begins a journey to City of Judgement in the
Fugue Plane, a true neutral plane commanded by Kelemvor and Liera. In some beliefs, this process begins immediately after one's passing, but others believe this occurs once one's physical body has completely decayed. Cremation is a common practice amongst these religions, in order to offer the passing mortal's soul to their deity immediately.
Lost Souls
Some souls, for a variety of reasons, never made it to the Fugue Plane. Some became trapped in the Ethereal Plane or the Shadowfell as ghosts or other incorporeal undead.
A number of other extreme factors could also prevent a soul from travelling safely to the Fugue Plane, resulting in other forms of undead. For example, a very small percentage of individuals suffering an exceptionally violent murder might result in the creation of a revenant. A revenant's soul was unable to reach the Fugue Plane until it had obtained revenge for its death or until a certain time limit had passed.
It is also possible to trap a soul in various magical items. For example, a Lich's phylactery or a Ghost Lantern could hold the spirit of a passed mortal or a variety of weapons forged in the depths of
The Grey Wastes have been known to entrap the soul of the wielder or those slain by it. It is known that souls that have passed this way often make their way to an alternate demiplane which was ripped from the Fugue plane upon the death of Jergal, which contains the remains of Jergal's Crystal Spire
The Fugue Plane
Upon arriving on the Fugue Plane, a soul resides in waiting, wandering aimlessly, unaware that it even had died, until it is retrieved by a representative of one of the Prime powers. While they waited, Baatezu, winged devils of the nine hells, presented the soul with its situation and an offer to reject their patron in exchange for special benefits in the Nine Hells. They were forbidden to deceive or harm the soul, but some desperate or fearful souls would accept this offer and become servants of Asmodius. Some powerful souls would be granted promotions to higher beings within this plane.
The soul would always recognise the representative to whomever they worshipped while on the prime material plane, and would thus accompany the representative to their final plane of existence to live out the rest of eternity. At this point, they became
petitioners, adopting a form native to their gods plane, and were granted entry into their plane. Those who had committed extraordinary deeds for their patron deity often became higher conscious beings, and an extreme few were granted the status of Exarch to their deity.
If one's soul was never retrieved by a patron deity, they were either
Faithless or
False.
The faithless were those souls who never chose to follow a deity, or never believed in the gods at all. It is unknown what the exact fate of these souls are, and many extreme faiths believe they simply became part of the City of Judgement.
The False were those who failed to serve their chosen patrons, or who had betrayed the commitments to their prior faith. Such souls were judged too by Kelemvor and Liera, who assigned them a task in the City of Judgement until their debt had been paid. Those who had betrayed evil gods were often let into the higher planes for the rest of their existence, adopted into Elysium by Tamara, the goddess of Mercy, Those who had betrayed their oaths to commit evil deeds - the majority of false - often remained in the City of Judgement and were damned by Kelemvor for eternity. Once their debt had been paid, they were cast into the
The Grey Wastes. These souls were bargained out by Keepers of Death, who often traded them for favours with devils and demons in the nine hells and abyss, to become Lemures or Manes.
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