Plane of Air
Plane of Air
The Plane of Air is the most hospitable of all the Inner Planes, and because of that sees the most traveler traffic from across the multiverse. All manner of creatures visit, sometimes without even realizing it – perhaps as a result of the increased traffic, more natural portals and vortexes exist to the Plane of Air than almost any other plane. Flying creatures of all variety seek out the endless azure skies of this realm, but that doesn’t mean it’s without its dangers.
Navigating the plane requires the power of flight, but contrary to most rumors falling is not really a problem. Where is there to fall to? If a creature or object in flight loses its ability to fly while in the air, it simply hovers or is picked up by one of the strong wind gusts that permeate the never-ending sky. Larger objects, such as the various earth motes that dot the azure landscape or even a sailing ship, generate their own gravity, but escaping those bounds can be deceptively easy. Being stranded and caught in one of the dangerous storms that pepper the plane in regular intervals is the real danger. Because of its relative safeness, the Plane of Air is home to a large variety of creatures. Many Material Plane natives with the ability to fly can be found around.
Navigating the Labyrinth Winds without a guide can be frustrating for travelers, but only by doing so can such wondrous sites be visited, such as the cloud city of Calypso, the massive Storm of Chaos, or the mysterious Borealis Radiance.
Navigating the plane requires the power of flight, but contrary to most rumors falling is not really a problem. Where is there to fall to? If a creature or object in flight loses its ability to fly while in the air, it simply hovers or is picked up by one of the strong wind gusts that permeate the never-ending sky. Larger objects, such as the various earth motes that dot the azure landscape or even a sailing ship, generate their own gravity, but escaping those bounds can be deceptively easy. Being stranded and caught in one of the dangerous storms that pepper the plane in regular intervals is the real danger. Because of its relative safeness, the Plane of Air is home to a large variety of creatures. Many Material Plane natives with the ability to fly can be found around.
Navigating the Labyrinth Winds without a guide can be frustrating for travelers, but only by doing so can such wondrous sites be visited, such as the cloud city of Calypso, the massive Storm of Chaos, or the mysterious Borealis Radiance.
Geography
LAY OF THE LAND
The vast majority of the Plane of Air is comprised of a complex maze of wind gusts and air streams known as the Labyrinth Winds. This creates invisible paths that push and pull travelers and natives alike along certain courses, and the canny flyer knows to use the currents as a propellant rather than trying to move against them. Finding the right channel and then following its gale is a difficult skill for non-native creatures to master, but with a combination of magic, training, and luck, the Labyrinth Winds can be navigated.
The Labyrinth Winds holds few independent realms, such as the Confederation of Calypso. Many of these realms are hidden away from view by magic and the natural properties of the plane, requiring specific actions or magic to reach. Great clouds of all color, from blue to purple to red and orange, dot the never-ending landscape of boundless blue, and behind some lurk treasures and dangers of all sorts.
Where the Plane of Air nears the Plane of Water, the azure sky grows colder and the earth motes are joined by large ice chunks. This region is known as the Mistral Reach and is infrequently traveled – the snowstorms and blizzards that occur with only a moment’s notice are dangerous for flying creatures and vessels to handle. Beyond the Mistral Reach a traveler can eventually arrive at the border between the planes of Air and Water known as the Place of Ice.
At the opposite end of the endless plane, the Plane of Fire heats up the air and creates an area known as the Sirocco Straits. Hot gusts whip sand and grit around, polishing the earth motes that dot the region, but it is a favorite staging ground for gargoyles and the Elemental Lords of Earth to mount attacks on their sworn flying enemies. The Plane of Ash, with its continual lightning storms and ash-choked sky, rests beyond the Sirocco Straits, and native creatures avoid getting to close to it.
Ecosystem
Highlights & Impressions
The below listings include notes on highlighting the nature
of the Plane of Air as characters explore and travel through
it. These are suggestions of elements that can be used
in descriptions of the landscape and denizens with the
goal of actualizing the “outside” nature of the multiverse
beyond the Material Plane. Use them to incorporate into
encounters and adventures on the Plane of Air.
Never-Ending Sky. The most obvious and pertinent feature of the Plane of Air is its lack of ground and sun. The brilliant azure sky is everywhere at all times, and unimpeded a visitor could see for miles and miles. Multicolored clouds drift through the space, creating a brilliant prismatic panoramic view in some views, but the absence of a ground or ceiling is disorientating for non-natives.
Constant Wind. Wind constantly blows in all directions across the Plane of Air, creating updrafts and downdrafts within the blink of an eye. It is omnipresent, and sometimes its howling can make conversations difficult. Skyship sailors have learned to “feel” different breezes differently, so that a particularly experienced sailor can tell when the wind is going to shift directions before it does. Or so they claim, at least.
Everything Flies. In order to survive on the Plane of Air, a creature has to possess the ability to fly. The native species of the plane include numerous birds of all kinds, along with insects and winged beasts, but flying through the region are other unusual creatures. Schools of winged fish maneuver through the Labyrinth Winds, and some cloudstone islands hold tribes of winged apes
Ecosystem Cycles
CYCLE OF TIME
The Plane of Air has no cycles of day and night, which can be unnerving for travelers that are used to the regular setting and rising of a sun. Some natural aspect of the plane keeps the skies deep blue at all times and all around as well – up, down, left, right, in all directions an endless azure sky. Clouds billow up and blow around at random, and some can reach hundreds of miles in size. These clouds can drift into an earth mote or hardened cloudstone and darken the view of the azure sky for a period, but they’re not an accurate form of time measurement.
The Confederation of Calypso is less interested in the telling of time, living in the moment and taking things as they come, so the need has not come up for them to accurately tell if it’s been 12 hours since they last slept or only 11. If they are sleepy, they sleep. If they are hungry, they eat.
Localized Phenomena
HAZARDS & PHEONOM
While falling isn’t as big of a threat as many think, the Plane of Air still holds its share of dangers and threats. And sometimes, in a plane where vision can extend for miles, these dangers can appear suddenly and without warning.
Clouds Most travelers don’t think of clouds as dangerous, and most of them are not, but a cloud on the Plane of Air is defined as a collection of gases separate from the rest of the plane. Most of the time, these gases are simply water vapors, harmless and easily breathed, but other times they can be distracting or lethal. Clouds are ubiquitous on the Plane of Air and they can be added to any other encounter as background or distraction.
Three random tables help define the mighty clouds of the plane. The first is the cloud’s size, ranging from under 100 feet in diameter to several miles long. Each cloud is roughly ovoid, though the size chart references diameter – use it as a general guide. The second table determines the cloud’s color, which can be fluffy white to steely gray to dull red. The third table determines what kind of cloud it is – water vapor cloud, posing no threat, or other type, which can pose some threat to creatures and travelers passing through it.
1d20 Cloud Size 1-5 Small (50-foot diameter) 6-12 Medium (500-foot diameter) 13-18 Large (1-mile diameter) 19-20 Colossal (5-mile or larger diameter) 1d20 Cloud Color 1-10 White 11-12 Gray 13-14 Yellow 15-16 Red 17-18 Green 19-20 Black Chapter 7: Plane of Air 1d20 Cloud Type 1-16 Water Vapor Cloud. No threat or danger 17 Dream Mist. The first round a creature starts their turn in the cloud they must make a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or fall asleep for 1d6 hours. 18 Poisonous Cloud. Creatures that start their turn in the cloud must make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw, suffering 18 (4d8) poison damage on a failure, or half as much on a successful save. 19 Noxious Cloud. Creatures that start their turn in the cloud must make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw. On a failure they gain one level of exhaustion. 20 Cloudmite Cloud. Creatures that start their turn in the cloud must make a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw, suffering 21 (6d6) piercing damage on a failure, or half as much on a successful save, as the ravenous cloudmites strip flesh from bones. Cloudstones and Earth Motes Sometimes, clouds that float through the Plane of Air become supercharged with enough elemental energy that they actually stiffen and become hard surfaces. They continue to float and be pushed around by the winds of the plane, but they cease becoming storm-riddled clouds and instead become solid masses. They still look like clouds but they support buildings and infrastructure as if they were regular earth. Many creatures build homes and settlements on these objects, the largest of which is the cloud city of Calypso.
Similarly, earth motes are simply chunks of earth and dirt that have collected together over time, generally as a result from multiple elemental storms. They can also appear from planar portals and vortexes, especially in the Mistral Reach and Sirocco Straits regions, where earth motes become more common. They are solid ground upon which creatures can rest and build homes as if it were Material Plane earth.
Labyrinth Winds The bulk of the Plane of Air is made up of a series of air channels known as the Labyrinth Winds. Navigating these invisible pathways is chaotic and confusing, and there is no straight path to any single destination. Some planar scholars and certain shops in Calypso have maps detailing various sections of the Labyrinth Winds, but these can change with little notice.
Navigating the Labyrinth Winds requires two things – a starting point and a destination, and on the Plane of Air a destination can include a length of time (1 day, 1 week, 1 month, etc.). The wind gusts and breeze ways are strong enough to pull objects and creatures along the way without the need for special equipment, though the ability to fly or harness the winds effectively (such as a sky ship) can greatly decrease travel times.
Perception is key in the Labyrinth Winds, and traveling it requires keen senses and a sharp lookout. At least one creature in a group must be devoted to navigating, who must make one or more Wisdom (Perception) checks throughout their journey in reach their destination. Like all of the elemental planes, the Plane of Air is vast, and travel time in the Labyrinth Winds is divided into legs. Each leg lasts a variable length of time as determined by the below table, after which the person on lookout must make a Wisdom (Perception) check against a variable DC based on the strength of the air currents.
1d12 Leg Duration 1 2 hours 2-4 6 hours 5-8 12 hours 9-11 1 day 12 2 days 1d20 Air Current Strength 1-7 Breeze – DC 12 8-13 Gale – DC 15 14-17 Storm – DC 18 18-19 Cyclone – DC 21 20 Tornado – DC 21 at disadvantage Total travel time is measured as a number of successful legs. For example, a sky ship leaving Calypso bound for the Cyclone Palace of Yanakos might need to complete 5 legs to reach their destination. The DM sets the number of successful legs needed and keeps that information secret unless the party has some advanced knowledge of the route.
The individual making the Wisdom (Perception) check at the end of each leg must be awake and conscious for the entire length of the leg. Passing off duties to someone who has not been monitoring the travel causes the check to be made with disadvantage, though doubling up on the duty and taking shifts can negate the penalty.
Elemental Storm It is not uncommon for even normal clouds to unleash an elemental storm on the Plane of Air with barely a moment’s notice. These storms are churned up by powerful forces contained within the Elemental Chaos, and they manifest with bolts and rains of energy just as often as water. Elemental storms always manifest from clouds; randomly determine the type using the cloud tables earlier. Use the table below to determine the nature of the elemental storm as well as the storm’s duration.
1d20 Elemental Storm 1-8 Light Rain Storm. Visibility within the storm is reduced to half distance. 9-12 Heavy Rain Storm. The area within the storm is considered lightly obscured. 13-14 Lightning Storm. A bolt of lightning strikes a random target each round, who must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw, suffering 28 (8d6) lightning damage on a failure, or half as much on a successful save. 15-16 Fire Storm. Fiery globs rain down from the cloud. Every creature that starts their turn in the storm must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw, suffering 14 (4d6) fire damage on a failure, or half as much on a successful save. 17-18 Ice Storm. Razor-sharp icicles fill the area. Every creature that starts their turn in the storm must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw, suffering 9 (2d8) slashing damage and 9 (2d8) cold damage on a failure, or half as much on a successful save. 19 Grit Storm. Particles from the Plane of Earth are flung in the radius of the storm. The area within the storm is considered heavily obscured. 20 Double Threat. Roll twice on this table, rerolling duplicate results and this result. 1d20 Elemental Storm Duration 1-4 2d6 rounds 5-10 2d6 minutes 11-14 2d6 hours 15-17 2d6 days 18-19 2d6 years 20 2d6 decades Void Maelstrom Of all the environmental effects on the Plane of Air, void maelstroms are the most dangerous and least understood. Most planar scholars agree that a void maelstrom is the result of a spontaneous vortex to the Negative Energy Plane, drawing energy and light into it and creating a swirling maelstrom that sucks in debris, earth motes, and creatures. Why do void maelstroms only occur on the Plane of Air? There are some that theorize that since air is so ubiquitous across the multiverse, it touches more of the cosmic forces that hold everything together. Others say it has to do with meddling by ancient powers, such as the ones that built the original Sky Temples. Whatever their cause, void maelstroms are dangerous and rare. When encountered, they appear as monstrous tornadoes, with a planar vortex to the Negative Energy Plane at its peak, drawing everything in. Void maelstroms are usually the same size, encompassing a rough cone about 1 mile long and 1 mile in diameter at its mouth, narrowing down to about 100 feet in diameter at the vortex. Creatures and objects caught in the maelstrom are sucked towards its center at an astonishing rate of 1/5 of a mile per round. Creatures can try to escape a void maelstrom by making three successful DC 20 Strength checks before reaching the maelstrom’s vortex. The check is made at disadvantage if the creature is more than halfway as the force gets stronger the closer targets are to the end. Unless acted up by some powerful force, sky ships have no chance of escaping the void maelstrom, and are usually demolished in the few rounds leading up to the vortex. Creatures and objects that do not escape are sucked into the Negative Energy Plane. This realm is the antithesis of life and existence, and all creatures and objects suffer 55 (10d10) necrotic damage at the beginning of each round they stay in the Negative Energy Plane. Undead creatures are unaffected. Mercifully, void maelstroms are volatile and ultimately collapse upon themselves in 1d6 minutes. Random Encounter Tables The below tables can be used by the Dungeon Master as a source of inspiration when a party of characters is traveling around the Plane of Air. 1d100 Plane of Air Encounter 01-05 Hostile air elementals 06-10 A prismatic cloud 11-15 A flock of arrowhawks 16-20 A peryton hunting party 21-25 A flock of griffons 26-30 Cloudstone island 31-35 An invisible stalker 36-40 Some swarms of stormworms 41-45 A group of keledone 46-50 A sky ship from Calypso 51-55 A child of Sydon riding a roc 56-60 A mated pair of chimeras 61-65 A golden ram 66-70 A pegasus 71-75 An attacking force from the Plane of Earth 76-80 A dangerous cloud 81-85 Earth mote 86-99 Elemental storm 00 Void maelstrom
Tourism
GETTING THERE
More portals exist to the Plane of Air than any of the other Inner Planes, and this is likely due to the abundance of air and sky in the Material Plane and nearly every other plane in the multiverse. Natural portals on the Material Plane are known to spontaneously appear near the tops of tall mountain, but sudden and intense storms can also contain a vortex to the Plane of Air. Some vortices are permanent and travel around the Material Plane in the center of normal-seeming clouds.
The cloud city of Calypso boasts a guild of wizards that specialize in creating and controlling portals, a skill that they use to keep intruders from invading the city whenever they want. As the cloud captains have a tendency to raid and pillage from all they can the Guild of Portals is kept very busy maintaining the city’s defenses by preventing unwanted portals from opening.
SURVIVING
While the Plane of Fire can burn, and the Plane of Water can drown, and the Plane of Earth can suffocate, the Plane of Air simply allows creatures to breathe and live without too much interference. There are still the dangers of the elemental storms, angry natives, and powerful winds, so it’s not quite all safe, but the basic properties of the plane are not directly harmful to travelers.
TRAVELING AROUND
For creatures with a flying speed, movement in the Plane of Air is as simple as taking off and flying in a direction, navigating the winds in a similar manner as the Material Plane. Creatures without a flying speed are usually stuck on an earth mote or cloudstone island, but it should be noted that gravity does not behave normally on the Plane of Air. Outside the gravitational bounds of a large object (generally about 50 feet), an object or creature simply hovers to be picked up by the winds that push and pull everything.
The sailing ships of the Calypsian cloud captains are large enough to hold gravity, and most earth motes and cloudstone islands are as well. The winds of the plane push these objects around as well, but since there’s no permanent reference point on the Plane of Air few creatures notice or care when this happens. For the cloud captains, sometimes it takes longer to reach an earth mote than it did before, and sometimes you never find the same one again. Such are the mysteries of the Plane of Air.
Clouds are a regular feature of the plane and they come in all shapes and colors. Many produce storms, some incredibly violent, and there are some storms that have been raging for decades – others last only a few minutes before they exhaust themselves of their energy. Passing through or hiding in a cloud can be an effective strategy, but it can also be the home of any number of native creatures, such as hostile air elementals, great swarms of cloudworms or skymites, or even a sky ship from Calypso looking to ambush an unsuspecting target.
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