Das grosse Rad der Welten
In the center were the Prime Material Planes (Earth-like alternative worlds) each surrounded by an Ethereal plane (misty realms of proto-matter). Outside of the Primes and Ethereals were the Inner planes, also called the Elemental planes, which had their own structure based on a sphere. Then came the Astral plane which connected the Prime Material planes to each other (bypassing the Ethereal planes) and also to the last sphere, the Outer planes. The Outer planes, also called the Planes of Power, were 16 planes arranged in a circle (the Great Wheel) defined mainly by alignment and surrounding a 17th neutral plane known as Concordant Opposition.
The Inner planes were the six major elemental planes (Fire, Earth, Water, Air, Positive Energy, Negative Energy), the four para-elemental planes (Smoke, Ice, Ooze, Magma), and the eight quasi-elemental planes (Lightning, Steam, Radiance, Minerals, Vacuum, Salt, Ash, Dust). They can be thought of as being on the surface of a sphere with Positive Energy at the north pole, Negative Energy at the south pole and Fire, Earth, Water, and Air on the equator, equidistant from each other. The para-elemental planes were found on the equator between the boundaries of Fire, Earth, Water and Air (Magma was between Fire and Earth, for example). Four of the quasi-elemental planes were found between the boundaries of Positive Energy and the four elements (Steam was between Positive Energy and Water, for example). And the other four quasi-elemental planes were between Negative Energy and the four elements (Vacuum was between Negative Energy and Air, for example). The Inner planes were surrounded by the Ethereal planes, which connected them to the Prime Material planes.
Demi-planes, in second edition, were planes of finite extent found within an Ethereal plane. They may have been the creations of extremely powerful wizards, technologists, or demigods or they may have been created when a large glob of proto-matter began to pull away from its Ethereal plane and achieved separation. Demi-planes might eventually collapse in on themselves, re-merge with its parent Ethereal, or merge with an Inner plane or Prime Material plane. Each demi-plane had its own rules regarding gravity, vision, magic, and material make-up.
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