Ysgard

The Heroic Domains of Ysgard, also known as the Battlefields of Ysgard or Gladsheim, is a plane of eternal war and valor. The warriors and soldiers, who in life sought out glory and heroic deeds, reside in this plane where they wage constant war to seek greater honors in death. Ysgard is located between Limbo and Arborea, it lacks the true chaos found on Limbo and the plane is a bridge between the good planes of Arborea and above and the neutral planes of Limbo and below.
Three layers make up Ysgard, with the first layer also being known as Ysgard followed by Muspelheim and Nidavellir. Each layer is composed of massive rivers of earth flowing across the infinite sky of this plane. These rivers consist of earthbergs that size of small boulders to the size of continents, the lower you climb down the plane the more often these motes of earth strike upon and grind into each other. The underside of these earthbergs are wreathed in flames that light up the rivers from underneath in a reddish glow. Due to their quantity, there is always at least one collision happening in the distance, creating new mountains or caverns.

Ecosystem

An Outsider’s Perspective Most visitors to this plane are drawn to this plane due to the eternal wars and battles that can be found here, and more importantly the valor and glory. Arriving on this plane a person must be ready to be challenged by any and everyone who might seek glory through combat, and while the towns and cities that exist across this plane can be a safe haven from the eternal warriors, the people are not always excepting of outsiders.
The petitioners of this plane, those who have died and their souls have journeyed to this plane for their eternal rest, go to battle every day, challenging anyone strong or boisterous of their deeds. If a petitioner is killed in battle, they return the come back to life the following morning ready to do it all again. Unfortunately for outsiders, the petitioners often forget that not everyone is willing to die in glorious combat and many outsiders dislike the idea of spending their eternal rest on Ysgard in war.
A Native’s Perspective Planes of Chaos, 1994 TSR Inc. Planes of Chaos, 1994 TSR Inc.
This is the home of soldiers and warriors who seek glory in combat and who lust for hearing their great deeds and accomplishment in song. While they are the most likely to be encounter in Ysgard, they aren’t the only ones who reside here. The top layer of Ysgard, also called Ysgard, is home to humanoids of all kinds living in cities and towns, dealing with the threats of giants and great hunting beasts. The second layer, Muspeheim, is the home of fire giants, hell hounds, and other creatures of fire. Below that layer are the dark caverns of Nidavellier, the home of dwarves and drow.
Hollyphants, eladrin, elves, and others can be found spread out throughout this plane, making their homes where they can. There are very few devas and other celestials that serve the Gods directly as most Gods of good alignment make their home in the other Upper Planes. This plane is largely home to the Norse Gods who value glory and bravery in battle, who encourage the praising and singing of epic deeds, though they are not the only Gods who make their home here. A great cat-like deity known as Bast, from the Egyptian pantheon, can be found here as well as the goddess Eilistraee the Dark Maiden, whose worshippers are the good-aligned drow.
The top layer, Ysgard, is about valor and glory, their songs announce the epic deeds of battle and the people are quick to help out others. The second layer, Muspelheim, is dominated by great sheets of fire and very few ever get a chance to journey across it without succumbing to the flames. The last layer, Nidavellir, hides secrets in their dark caverns and don’t particularly care for visitors or guests. As you journey deeper into this plane, stories of great deeds become more secretive, the inhabitants less likely to share their stories or their material possessions.
Atmosphere The top layer of Ysgard has a similar atmosphere as The Material Plane, though the Gods can control the weather and morph it to better find their domains. A god of the north may make their realm gloomy and covered in deep snowdrifts, while another may have the continual warmth of summer. If a god has no control over a piece of land, the weather and atmosphere go to the extremes of whatever the current season is. Blistering winters filled with heavy snowfalls and cold winds that pierce through the thickest coats followed by springs filled with blossoming flowers and pollen. Summer is filled with long hot days of sun with cool nights, while the fall is filled with trees in a dazzling array of colors.
The second layer, Muspelheim, is a land of earthbergs that are smoking and burning. In the early editions, it is treated as if the earthbergs were flipped from the 1st layer and that the burning sheets of flames that illuminated the bottom of the earthberg river were on top of the earthbergs in this layer. In later editions, the ground is simply made of volcanic rock spewed forth and still smoking and burning. While this makes this layer somewhat habitable by a group passing through, it is still a dangerous place filled with fire giants and burning sheets of fire.
The last layer, Nidavellir, is an ‘under-ground’ realm that is made up of warm tunnels heated by geysers and hot springs. There is little natural light to be found on this layer though forests of unusual wood are still able to grow in massive caverns as they need no light to grow, just heat.

Tourism

Travel to the Plane Getting to this plane is much like any other plane and simply requires finding an appropriate portal to get you here or be glorified warrior and in death, you will travel here as a petitioner. Portals link this plane to Sigil, the Astral Plane, Arborea, and Limbo; they take on the form of a well and require someone to climb in and out of them to use them. Many of the wells are marked with runes to signify where they will take you, though a few of them will deposit you into a random spot in Arborea or Limbo.
Yggdrasil, the World Ash The other way of arriving on this plane is by climbing the great tree known as Yggdrasil. This tree rises on the first layer of Ysgard and it’s branches and roots touch many of the other Outer Planes as well as touching the Material Planes that worship the Norse pantheon. These twisting branches and roots can be climbed from one plane to the next, taking you from the roots, which are touching the Grey Wastes and Pandemonium, and rising up to the Upper Planes where the branches stretch out into Elysium, The Beastlands, Limbo, and Ysgard.
At each branching path on the tree, a climber can see a shimmering portal of light that will take them to another plane, the only way to know which plane is by stepping into it. Most of these portals are two-way and to return to climbing Yggrasil from whatever plane you stepped on to, you simply need to climb back up the tree you entered the plane on. Climbing up Yggdrasil is exhausting and if you were to climb from the very bottom of the roots to the top of its branches, most say it will take 100 days. No one has been able to accomplish that as great birds, dragons, and other creatures make their home on the World Ash. And if the inhabitants don’t eat you, you’ll likely fall off the tree while climbing up and pass through a random portal to one of the Lower Planes.
Traversing the Plane Walking across the plane is just as easy as walking across The Material Plane, though certain levels are more dangerous to do so. The first layer, Ysgard, is the most hospitable and welcoming of the layers, and a traveler can easily walk through the thick forests. Smoking battlefields and great fortified cities inhabitant much of the first layer, along with soaring mountains and deep fjords. The second layer is on fire and made up of twisting and sharp volcanic rock, any who arrive on this plane must contend with catching on fire and finding water and food. The third layer is made up of dark tunnels with plenty of food and water available, though the inhabitants dislike visitors.
To travel from one layer to the next can be as simple as falling from one floating earthberg. Muspelheim exists far below the top layer, and many who are shaken off of an earthberg plummet to their death down. If you fall off of Muspelheim into the endless caverns, you can easily end up Nidavellir. Another option is to climb the Infinite Staircase as it has landings at each layer of the plane or find a well-portal, similar to the ones that take you in and out of this plane, that will take you to the other layers.
Rivers of Earthbergs Every layer is made up of massive rivers of floating earthbergs. These earthbergs range in size from small boulders to massive continent-sized masses. The top two layers rarely have very many collisions, and when they do mountains soar into the sky where they impact each other, fjords are carved across the land and the waterways experience tidal waves from the shockwave. Any creature on either earthberg can feel this impact and are thrown off their feet, luckily the wooden structures are built to withstand such impacts and very few people die during these impacts.
The bottom layer is made up almost entirely of earthbergs crashing and grinding into each other, which is where all the tunnels are formed and why the layer feels and looks as if it is underground. In reality, it is so densely packed with floating earthbergs, that is blocks all light and there is no view of the sky. The rining of the constant collisions on this layer echo across the entire plane, allowing the creatures on the first layer to hear just as well as those on the third layer.

Type

Plane of Existence

Location under

Upper Planes