Outer Planes
If the Inner Planes are the raw matter and energy that makes up the multiverse, The Outer Planes are the direction, thought and Purpose for such construction. Accordingly, many sages refer to The Outer Planes as divine planes, spiritual planes, or godly planes.
The Outer Planes are realms of thought and spirit. As with the Elemental Planes, one can imagine the perceptible part of The Outer Planes as a sort of border region, while extensive spiritual regions lie beyond ordinary sensory experience.
Even in those perceptible regions, appearances can be deceptive. Initially, many of The Outer Planes appear hospitable and familiar to natives of the Material Plane. But the landscape can change at the whims of the powerful forces that live on The Outer Planes. The desires of the mighty forces that dwell on these planes can remake them completely, effectively erasing and rebuilding existence itself to better fulfill their own needs.
Distance is a virtually meaningless concept on The Outer Planes. The perceptible regions of The Planes often seem quite small, but they can also stretch on to what seems like infinity. It might be possible to take a guided tour of The Nine Hells, from the first layer to the ninth, in a single day—if the powers of the Hells desire it. Or it could take weeks for travelers to make a grueling trek across a single layer.
The Planes with some element of good in their Nature are called the Planes of Light. Celestial creatures such as angels and Pegasi dwell in the Planes of Light. Planes with some element of evil are the Planes of Darkness. Fiends such as Demons and devils dwell in the Planes of Darkness. A plane’s Alignment is its essence, and a character whose Alignment doesn’t match the plane’s experiences a profound sense of dissonance there.
The agreed upon Outer Planes are a group of eight planes that correspond to the eight alignments and the shades of distinction between them. They are: The Great Arboretum, The Infinite Layers of the Abyss, Seven Heavens of Mount Celestia, the Wilderness of the Beastlands, The Concordant Domain of the Outlands, the Nine Hells of Baator, the Barrens of Doom and Despair, and the Windswept Depths fo Pandemonium. Each is explained in more detail in the next section.
The Outer Planes are realms of thought and spirit. As with the Elemental Planes, one can imagine the perceptible part of The Outer Planes as a sort of border region, while extensive spiritual regions lie beyond ordinary sensory experience.
Even in those perceptible regions, appearances can be deceptive. Initially, many of The Outer Planes appear hospitable and familiar to natives of the Material Plane. But the landscape can change at the whims of the powerful forces that live on The Outer Planes. The desires of the mighty forces that dwell on these planes can remake them completely, effectively erasing and rebuilding existence itself to better fulfill their own needs.
Distance is a virtually meaningless concept on The Outer Planes. The perceptible regions of The Planes often seem quite small, but they can also stretch on to what seems like infinity. It might be possible to take a guided tour of The Nine Hells, from the first layer to the ninth, in a single day—if the powers of the Hells desire it. Or it could take weeks for travelers to make a grueling trek across a single layer.
The Planes with some element of good in their Nature are called the Planes of Light. Celestial creatures such as angels and Pegasi dwell in the Planes of Light. Planes with some element of evil are the Planes of Darkness. Fiends such as Demons and devils dwell in the Planes of Darkness. A plane’s Alignment is its essence, and a character whose Alignment doesn’t match the plane’s experiences a profound sense of dissonance there.
The agreed upon Outer Planes are a group of eight planes that correspond to the eight alignments and the shades of distinction between them. They are: The Great Arboretum, The Infinite Layers of the Abyss, Seven Heavens of Mount Celestia, the Wilderness of the Beastlands, The Concordant Domain of the Outlands, the Nine Hells of Baator, the Barrens of Doom and Despair, and the Windswept Depths fo Pandemonium. Each is explained in more detail in the next section.
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