Planes of Existence

The planes surrounding the world of Avo are analogous to the planes of Faerun/the Great Wheel cosmology. All planes have a “boundary,” including the Prism; the terrestrial boundaries loosely separate the Inner Planes from each other, while the celestial boundaries solidly separate the Outer Planes from each other and the Inner Planes.

The Outer Plane boundaries are absolute; one cannot walk from one Outer Plane to another. The Inner Planes, however, are relative, as the elements can cross boundaries, creating Para- and Quasi-Elemental Planes. That said, Inner Planes are also impossible to traverse between without the use of plane shifting magics or portals.

All Inner Plane boundaries aside from the Prism are outside the laws of the gods, being boundaries created by the primordials to prevent all of the planes from becoming an elemental chaos. Likewise, all celestial boundaries are outside the laws of the primordials, though gods are also powerful enough to prevent other gods from entering their planes as well.

The Inner Planes in general consist of the Material Plane, Planes of Time, The Dream Plane, Echo Planes, Elemental Planes, and whatever demiplanes have been created by powerful mortals. These are considered “primordial” or “terrestrial” planes; the gods by and large cannot directly affect this part of the multiverse, unless through less powerful avatars, or mortals. Primordials, likewise, cannot cross the Prism into the Outer Planes. Entropy, especially, is outlawed, due to his effect on the gods. However, mortals and most supernatural beings can cross the boundaries as they are exempt from the divine/primordial codes.

The Outer Planes consist of the named planes and the Astral Sea. These are the realms of the gods, created by them using the Arbiters’ extreme powers and the essence of Divinity. Outer Planes are outside the laws of physics and time, though most of them still rely on them.

For more on how the cosmology of the multiverse was created, see the Creation of the Multiverse.

What about Gods Who Roam the Worlds?

There are no original gods/Arbiters in the Inner Planes. For a god to cross the Prism is to both subject that god to essential mortality (Entropy) and sever that particular divine connection to the Outer Planes. Any time you see a god or a god’s “presence” in the Inner Planes, it is only as an avatar. Occasionally, mortals may ascend to the level of gods or demigods, but their final ascension must occur beyond the Prism. (Hence why it’s called an “ascension.”) Even gods who are known to have existed in the Material Plane for thousands of years, such as the dragon gods, were merely avatars of a large divine essence located in the Outer Planes.

Avatars & Divinity in the Inner Planes

While the gods do not exist beyond the Prism, divinity does. Divinity is the essence of the three different types of titans (creators, shapers, and destroyers), and thus exists throughout the Material Plane, particularly in the Weave. Gods in the Outer Planes use this to coalesce avatars into the Inner Planes. This is a taxing process mainly due to the avatars perpetually decaying due to entropy, which requires the god to keep rejuvenating their apparition.

The Material Plane

The material plane, also known as the World of Worlds, is the realm of mortals. Originally, elements from the Inner Planes were created from nothing by the creator titans to build the worlds within, but over the ages elements began to seep through the planar boundaries to be freely manipulated by titan and mortal alike.

The makeup of the Material Plane consists of several parts: Worlds, Wildspace, Celestial Spheres, and the Space Between Worlds.

Celestial Spheres

Each world in the Material Plane consists of a realm, called a terrestrial sphere or planet, encased in several crystal spheres, in which are embedded celestial objects such as suns, moons, as well as the Backdrop, or the last encasing sphere. A realm is most often land with seas, mountains, and oceans, but need not be; worlds of entirely air, vast oceans, and deep underground tunnels with seemingly no surface, have all been discovered.

Crystal spheres are nearly perfect structures, hundreds of miles thick, and seemingly transparent until one gets close enough to see the slight imperfections glittering across the surface. They are impenetrable unless using special magics or via a spelljammer ship. Spelljammers in particular are capable of warping the density of the spheres, allowing the ship to push through the crystal itself without damaging it.

Realmspace

The space within celestial spheres is known as Realmspace. Realmspace encompasses the sky above a planet all the way to the Backdrop. Within Realmspace are a variety of spheres of differing types, depending on the realm.

Planet

A planet, or realm, is the central figure of a celestial sphere, being the place where beings live. Avo is a planet and the central point of the Avonian Sphere. The edge of a planet is the point where the sky meets the Moon Sphere, or the Realm Sphere if there is no moon.

Moon

The first crystal sphere often contains a moon. It may contain a single moon, or there may be several spheres which contain numerous moons. Some worlds have no moon, but are still bound by an exterior sphere, which is called a Realm Sphere.

Sun

The second to last crystal sphere is known as the Sun Sphere and contains the sun, or multiple suns.

Backdrop

The final, and thinnest, crystal sphere is known as the Backdrop. It is an iridescently-colored sphere dotted with the stars we see in the night sky, which are actually enormous holes in the sphere that allow light in from from the Astral Sea. At night, the Backdrop is an opaque black color, but when the sun rises, it affects the Backdrop, causing it to become transparent. The titans created the Backdrop as a reaction from their early mortal creations, who expressed annoyance at their world being continually lit, even when the sun disappeared.

Sphereology

Sphereology is a particular philosophy in Valwyr, centered around the concept of the celestial spheres and trying to ascertain the “perfect” sphere. From it has arisen the Theory of Perfect Spheres, which states that “a celestial sphere attains near perfection when it meets the following three criteria: it has the following spheres in this order, from inner to outer: Planet, Sky, Moon(s) (from largest to smallest), Sun, Backdrop; the Planet sphere is habitable and/or contains breathable air; and the eccentricity of these spheres’ orbits is close to 0.”

Space Between Worlds

Each world (collection of celestial spheres) is suspended in a permeable and breathable gas known as the Space Between Worlds, or the White Fog. This fog is the remnant of the Astral Sea, which once permeated the entirety of the multiverse, but is now solely a part of the Outer Planes, due to the Prism.

The Space Between Worlds is a vast fog ranging from bright white to a light gray, with a density much like fluffy clouds and a swirl of various colors winding through it. This swirl is the Weave. Since it is so bright, the titans created the Backdrop as the last layer of the celestial sphere to allow nightfall for the mortals to sleep. The Backdrop was also created as a map so the titans could easily travel between worlds without getting lost. Some later Backdrops were created with “artistic” intent, with some even being generated by the Arbiters themselves.

It is customary to poke holes in the Backdrop to allow some light to filter in, as complete blackness is known to drive mortal creatures insane. (“Pitch black is no different than the Far Realm, and brings madness to all who die.”) These holes also allow the sphere to be suffused with magic from the Weave, which helps power the other spheres, mainly the sun.

Beyond the Material Plane are three planes known as Echoes: the Ethereal Plane, the Feywild, and the Shadowfell. Surrounding the Material Plane are the Planes of Time: the Past and the Future.

Most creatures of their world will never know that other worlds exist. Others are capable of creating devices, or harnessing magic, that allow them to traverse between worlds.

Known worlds include Avo, Khalin, Norvair, Toril, Eberron, Tirea, and Exandria.

Temporal Planes

There are two echo planes called the Temporal Planes which are normally not meant to be accessible by mortals, and even most gods. These are the planes of That Which Has Happened, or the Past, and That Which Has Not Happened Yet, or the Future. These planes were created by particular divine essences of time, effectively generating the fourth dimensional movement of time.

The two Planes of Time exist statically, meaning that you enter a specific instance and time does not exist. Both the Past and the Future can be entered up to a maximum of 10 years. The farther forward or back a creature goes, the more incomplete and unstable the structure of the multiverse.

Creatures with the ability to move through time, such as sphinxes, simply plane shift to these different instances of time.

That Which Has Happened (the Past)

The Past is a plane of archiving the things that happened in the Material Plane. This is done by the modrons, a race of clockwork beings that are created on the Outer Plane of Mechanus. The modrons break down the time for the past on the Material Plane, archiving it in Mechanus. This archiving takes an incredible amount of time, and thus traveling to the past is only possible for up to 10 or so years. However, the farther back you travel, the more “packed up” the world appears. The Past is also analyzed by the modrons to provide crucial information to the Future to set up continuing projections of events.

That Which Has Not Happened Yet (the Future)

The Future is the creation of things to come. Modrons on this plane calculate the probability of things occuring, and then position the Material Plane accordingly. This is done on a macro and micro scale; even things like raindrops and blades of grass are adjusted. If someone adjusts something in the Future, the modrons will come to return it to its “neutral” state. Travel into the Future only happens from your current moment onward; in other words, there is no true time travel into a future point in time. Rather, you will plane shift into the moment directly after the Present, as the Future is being built by the modrons.

Zakhren

Githzerai who lives in That Which Has Not Happened Yet. Is a kensei monk of the Order of the Unbroken Steel, a gith monastery in the Astral Sea. Zakhren was inadvertently transported to Avo when a rift opened up, sundering the monastery in two and sending many gith into Avo decades ago.  The rift is located near Brannenburg (formerly Desek), a human city in Anor, Valwyr. The gith opted to travel forward in time to escape persecution, as many people in Brannenburg were hostile to them. They have since scattered throughout the world. Zakhren lives in Wodesville.

Time Travel

There are beings who are capable of traveling backward and forward in time. The most notable of these are the sphinxes. How they do this is not well known, but it is believed that they utilize magic that allows them to bypass the Temporal Planes entirely.

The Echo Planes

Four planes exist as echoes, or shadows, of the Material Plane. These planes are called the Echo Planes, or the “Looking Glass Planes” as they are the only planes that can be seen via special spells or incantations, because they exist adjacent to the Material Plane. As such, exoplanar philosophers describe them as planes that can only be seen through special lenses, and they are usually depicted on cosmological maps as four lenses to be passed in front of the Material Plane.

The Ethereal Plane

Also known as the Plane of the Dead, the Ethereal Plane is a realm of transitory spirits and powerful magic users who use the obscuring spells to hide great mansions and towers where they do their work. The plane is the most direct “echo” of the Material Plane, consisting of a greenish-gray rolling fog that extends indefinitely in all directions. Beings in the Ethereal Plane can float and have a general sense of up and down, but only relative to the echo they can see of the Material Plane.

There are two general areas of the Ethereal: the Border and the Deep. The Border Ethereal, or the Shore, is seen as a more direct echo of the Material Plane. All objects in the Material Plane can be seen in the Border, though they are not tangible and can be passed through. Prolonged exposure within the Border will inevitably force a being or spirit into the Deep, which is an infinite rolling fog where all directions lead to the Grand Judgment.

Spirits of the recently departed are deposited here, to await their fate in the labyrinthine catacombs known as the Grand Judgment, overseen by a godlike being known by many names. Those spirits who attempt to cling to the Material Plane become ghosts, wraiths, shadows, etc. Other spirits are “anchored” to the Material Plane, usually due to some grievance or by the will of a powerful being. Ghosts with “unfinished business” are a classic example of anchored spirits.

The Grand Judgment

Every mortal being who dies becomes a spirit and must await judgment by the Many-Named One. Spirits who wander the Ethereal Plane eventually come to an infinitely long tower with a large entrance leading to a winding stone passage that opens into the Hall of Judgment, a ballroom-sized stone chamber in which sits the Many-Named-One. This being resembles whatever the spirit looked like in life. It has a book, the Book of Names, which contains the spirit’s entire life, recorded, using the spirit’s True Name. The Many-Named-One reads the record of the spirit’s life and determines where the spirit is to go. The spirit’s destination is almost always one of the many Outer Planes.

The Many-Named-One

The god and overseer of the Ethereal Plane. When you die the MNO looks like something you would recognize, and thus has many names in many different cultures. The MNO is a god who made a pact with Entropy to rule the Ethereal and direct the divinity (spirit) of departed souls to their final destination. As such, the MNO is completely suffused with entropy and may likely be undead— but moreover, since every spirit passes by him prior to moving on, he has a steady and consistent supply of worshipers.

The Many-Named One has four chief deva who aid him:

Atelian, the gatekeeper

Fenelal and Torperian, the guardians

Istethoth, the assistant

The fog of the Ethereal Plane is the Many-Named One, as it seeps continually from his body (his true form, supposedly). This fog is incredibly deadly, particularly in the Deep Ethereal, where any creature with a soul will have their bodies stripped from them if they venture too deep. Because of this, the deva in the Endless Spire wear sophisticated masks and armor that prevent them from coming into contact with the fog.

Death, Resurrection Spells, and Moving On

When a mortal dies in the Material Plane, its soul is automatically ejected into the Ethereal Plane, unless the death was caused by extreme means that cause it to be anchored to the Material somehow. Generally speaking, the more vicious, jarring, or abnormal the means of death, the more the spirit is anchored. This is why mortals who die of old age cannot be resurrected—they usually pass quietly and naturally.

In a general sense, a morally opposing death creates the biggest anchor for a spirit. For example: a good-hearted creature stabbed in a mugging may linger as an ambivalent ghost, while a person tortured and slowly killed with acid may come back as a malevolent ghost hellbent on revenge, or even something worse like a revenant or wraith.

Certain spells like Spare the Dying and Gentle Repose are capable of anchoring souls to the Material as well. If not anchored, the spirit begins to travel. The farther it travels from its corporeal form, the harder it is to resurrect.

In exchange for their pseudo-immortality, elves cannot be resurrected, as their ancestors, the eladrin, were not touched by Entropy. When they are killed or die from one of the few elf-specific diseases, they are dead forever.

Spare the Dying

Spare the Dying can be cast when a mortal is actively dying, but not yet dead. It stabilizes the creature. Spare the Dying also works on elves.

Gentle Repose

Gentle Repose is cast to prevent a spirit from departing. It essentially causes the spirit to enter a torpor state for 10 days.

Revivify

It takes one minute for the soul to fully separate from the body. Within this window, Revivify and all higher resurrection spells can be cast successfully. Please note that this time is relevant to the Ethereal Plane, not the plane the creature has died on. Even planes without static concepts of time such as a Feywild will have a static one minute time frame from death. Revivify is automatically successful.

Raise Dead

After a minute has passed, the spirit transfers into the Ethereal Plane and begins its long pilgrimage to the Grand Judgment. This pilgrimage takes 10 days. Within this time, only Raise Dead and higher resurrection spells may be cast. Whomever is casting the spell must roll a Wisdom check. The DC to resurrect a willing creature is at this stage is 5 + # of days the creature has been dead. Higher spells like Resurrection and True Resurrection succeed automatically. Gentle Repose can be used to prevent the spirit from leaving its body, effectively causing the spirit to “sleep.”

Resurrection

Once the spirit has reached the Grand Judgment, they then begin the process of having their soul judged (or weighed). This takes 100 years of time in the mortal planes, but is nearly instantaneous to the spirit. During this time, only Resurrection or True Resurrection may be cast. Since the spirit is actively in judgment, the DC to resurrect is 8 + 1 for every 10 years the spirit has been dead - any gifts offered. The Many-Named-One is aware of resurrection and will freely offer back spirits if a suitable gift is given. The Many-Named-One appreciates gifts of service, not goods, unless the good has sentimental value to the dead one. True Resurrection succeeds automatically.

True Resurrection

After being judged, the spirit departs to its last home, or is dissolved back into the Spirit Pool to be reincarnated. At this point, only True Resurrection may be cast. True Resurrection works in two ways: if the spirit has been transferred to an Outer Plane or last realm, the spell directly connects with the deity or whatever is overseeing them and requests they return to the Material Plane. Depending on the deity, this can be a tricky proposition. In general, the DC to cast this is 10 + 1 for every 100 years the creature has been dead +/- whatever affinity the deity has for the caster. Gods, like the Many-Named-One, enjoy receiving gifts and may ask the caster to perform a task before the creature is resurrected.

If, however, the spirit has been returned to the Pool, it’s usually because they were a terrible person or made a deal with an entity for reincarnation or in exchange for something. It is not possible to resurrect a person this way, as being reincarnated is akin to being “unwilling.”

Multiple Resurrections

If you have been resurrected by a spell beyond Revivify, the DC to raise you again increases by 2 for every time you’ve died.

Failing a Resurrection

Failing Resurrections only maintains the status quo; a person can attempt more than one resurrection if the first one fails.

The Feywild

The Feywild is a realm of intense emotion, ruled by the faeries Titania and Oberon and populated mainly by the eladrin, a race of elves native to this land. As an Echo of the Material Plane, it resembles a typical world there, but much brighter and fantastical. It is a limitless plane of rolling hills, dense forests, impossibly tall mountains, and deep blue oceans. It has no natural atmosphere, instead relying on congregations of eladrin—whose bodies exhibit “seasons”—to create a seasonal effect, which can change wildly depending on the types of eladrin present.

A Treatise on Exoplanar Philosophies describes the Feywild as “a realm of extremes.” Emotions, nature, magic—everything in the Feywild is colorful, bright, vibrant, and pushed to the edge. Time is nonlinear in the Feywild, compared to the Material Plane, and is most frequently experienced as “nonmoving,” due to Lolth’s disabling of the Clock. The Feywild has no real day or night; rather, the light waxes and wanes depending on where you are. In addition, seasons in the Feywild are dictated by the clustering of eladrin of specific seasons. A cluster of summer eladrin, for example, will create a hotter climate around them.

The Feywild was once intricately connected with the Material Plane, and is why the two planes share much of the same aspects of flora and fauna. As time went by, however, the plane began to drift away, likely due to the Seelie Court’s influence and desire to distance themselves from the “ennui” of the Material Plane.

For more on the Titania, the creation of the elves, and the Feywild/Shadowfell connection, see the Schism of the Seelie Court.

The Seelie Court

Deep within the Forest of the Disciples lies an enormous tree, the Fairy Tree, in which resides the Seelie Court, where Titania and Oberon reign with their fey brethren.

Titania, Queen of the Fairies

Titania was Magnanimity’s patron, and thus gets her own spot. She is the queen of the fairies, with Oberon as king. She is the calmest being in the Feywild. She has four messengers, listed below. Titania was trapped in the Seelie Court until the winter eladrin Gear left the Clock to confront her. Doing so started time again and flung the Feywild ahead, turning it into the Shadowfell.

The Dream Ceremony

Magnanimity and other patrons of Titania will usually receive orders or visions via a “dream ceremony,” which is basically a fancy tea ceremony with one of Titania’s messengers.

Peaseblossom. Titania’s lead messenger. She is feisty and rambunctious. Mags’ dreams with her usually consist of Peaseblossom complaining that they aren’t moving and running around.

Cobweb. The oldest and most addlebrained messenger. Cobweb always forgets why he is in a dream with Mags and sometimes nods off.

Mustardseed. The angry one. Mustardseed’s dreams are accompanied by rants and ravings and he usually ends up throwing the teacup in a rage.

Moth. The quiet and reserved one. Dreams with Moth are often long and quiet as she gathers up the nerve to speak.

Forest of Disciples

An infinitely sprawling forest in the Feywild.

Gyreweld/Gearwell

Formerly (and now) Gearwell, the Gyreweld was a dungeon/prison created accidentally by Istemmor, an eladrin who simply wanted to create a mansion out of his house by using the Crank. It failed and he trapped himself in this dungeon, like a dummy.

Istemmor

Eladrin who created the Gyreweld because he wanted a better house. (Actually, was a warlock patron of Titania who sealed the Crank—and himself—in Gyreweld to prevent Titania from getting it.)

The Clock

The Clock is a giant grandfather clock which resides in the Stormy Vale, a midpoint between the Forest of Disciples and Golden Valley. Its sole purpose in the Feywild is to tell, and thus create, time within the plane. The Spider Queen, Lolth, broke the Clock during the Schism of the Seelie Court, to stop time and thus prevent the decay of the Fairy Tree, in which Titania was imprisoned.

The Clock Protectors

Four eladrin, Gear (winter), Cog (summer), Spring (spring), and Coil (autumn), tasked with protecting the broken Clock.

The Shadowfell

Like a polar opposite of the Feywild, the Shadowfell is a drab, Victorian-style realm of endless gray skies, dense fog, and cold, thick rain. Objects in the Material Plane have “gray” approximations in the Shadowfell; a castle in the Material may be the same castle, but ruined, in the Shadowfell. Creatures in the Shadowfell have little emotion other than vengeance and meddling. The world is ruled by the shadar-kai, shadow elves who are the descendants of the eladrin.

The Shadowfell is the most remote of the four echo planes. As the future of the Feywild, the Shadowfell continues the distancing that the Seelie Court wanted; only faint wisps of shadow and smoke connect the Shadowfell to the Material Plane, making the Shadowfell an incredibly difficult plane to escape from. (If you don’t have a plane shift spell.)

Shadowfell is the Future

Following the Schism of the Seelie Court, Lolth had time frozen in the Feywild to prevent the Tree of Faeries from decaying, releasing Titania from her imprisonment within the Court. Once time was reinstated, it began to move at a lightning fast pace, to align itself with the current time. The speed allowed the Tree to decay quickly, releasing Titania, who found herself brooding over millions of years, plotting her revenge against the Spider Queen. Without Titania’s influence, the Feywild became corrupted, eventually ruled by Corvus, the King of Ravens. Titania seduced Corvus and married him, becoming the Queen of Ravens. She then killed Corvus in his sleep, stealing his power and dominion over dark birds. Her first act as Raven Queen was to curse the kenku, raven creatures created by Corvus and used against Titania during the war against Lolth. Anyhoo, the Shadowfell is just the future, or the present and the Feywild is the past. It’s weird.

Underdark

The Underdark is a labyrinth of underground tunnels that purportedly reach any plane in the multiverse. However, it is impossible to discern location when within them, even by magical means. The Underdark is also the name of the subterranean caverns beneath the world. The worldly Underdark links with these tunnels, as the tunnels provide the elements from the Inner Planes to the Material worlds.

Of the four echo planes, the Underdark is the most intricately connected to the Material Plane, effectively being the “pipes” that pump the elements into worlds.

Two Levels

Locally, the Underdark refers to caverns beneath a world. But the farther you travel beneath a world, the more likely you are to encounter the Underdark Plane, which are the tunnels. Many of these tunnels are composed of composite parts of the Elemental Planes: in other words, one tunnel may be full of magma, while another is water, etc.

Elemental Planes

The Elemental Planes contain the planes of the four prime elements— Air, Fire, Earth, and Water— as well as commingling planes between them. Each Elemental Plane extends indefinitely, but eventually warps the farther away from the Material Plane it goes, eventually merging into the raw Elemental Chaos. At the darkest bottom of the Elemental Chaos is where the ancient primordials lay, writhing in chains for all eternity.

The Inner Planes are depicted as a torus which surrounds and continually swirls around the Material Plane. The top of the torus contains the most “pure” elements, while further below contains the Elemental Chaos. The outside of the torus reaches the edge of the Prism, blocking the mingling of the Positive Energy and Negative Energy Planes.

Between the prime elements are the para-elemental planes, where two prime elements meet, creating offshoot elements. The Elemental Planes also touch the Positive and Negative Energy Planes, which create the quasi-elemental planes.

All Elemental Planes connect to the Material Plane via the Underdark’s massive network of tunnels, which “feed” the elements to the Material. The Underdark’s network is thought to begin (or end?) in the Plane of Earth.

The Elemental Planes are incredibly dangerous for most mortals, as they do not contain the temperance of the Material Plane. Most planes are impossible for mortals to live on as they do not have air or, in the case of the Plane of Earth, are solid rock. Traveling to one of the Elemental Planes requires intense planning beforehand.

Each plane has a primordial that congealed out of the element and once was the protector of the plane before the gods chained them all. As you might expect, the prime elemental primordials are the most powerful, though each primordial is incredibly powerful in their own right.

The Elemental Swirl

The Elemental Planes are constantly swirling in a direction toward the Material Plane. Although they “circle” in this way, this effect is not noticeable while on a particular plane, other than an obvious day/night cycle. Elemental planes have a four-part orbit cycle, as described below.

Day

Day is when a particular plane faces the Positive Energy Plane. Planes are rejuvenated during this part of the cycle, while Quasi-elemental planes formed via the Negative Energy Plane are kept from dissolving back into entropy.

Sunset, or Osmosis

Toward the end of the Day cycle, Elemental planes touch the barrier of the Material Plane. During this time, elements from the various Elemental planes are siphoned via osmosis into the network of tunnels of the Underdark, to be deposited within each Material World. This process is depicted as a swirling of the elements of the plane as they are hoisted into the air.

Night

Then, the plane faces the Negative Energy Plane, where it is dark and Entropy attempts to bring decay and disorder into the plane itself. For this reason, night is particularly dangerous in the Elemental planes.

Sunrise, or Prismrise

As the plane  begins to face the Prism, the sunrise is represented by swirling colors in the distance, with the Elemental Chaos in the distance as well.

The Planes & The Primordials

Each plane has a primordial who rules it. These primordials are essentially titans who fused with the element of the plane and came to embody it.

Plane of Air

A blue sky of limitless air. Those without wings or the ability to fly or levitate will feel as though they are constantly falling at terminal velocity—because they are. Djinn and other creatures create cities and homes floating on clouds, and the winged aarakocra, as well as the Sky Elves, call this plane home.

Parvata Sultanate

A large country in the Plane of Air.

Primordial: Aeras, the Four Winds

Aeras is the weakest of the greater primordials, though her fury is only beaten by Nero. She was chained to the Unbreakable Rock using Gi’s severed hands.

Plane of Lightning

Where Air and Positive Energy meet. A plane of constant crackling static energy that coalesces into enormous arcing lightning bolts of blue and purple that vaporize creatures within the planes.

Primordial: Astrapi, the Charged One

Astrapi is a raucous primordial whose constant electric charge destroys anything in its path. She was chained to an impossibly long metal pole which was hurled into the Chaos by the gods, sticking deep into the Swirling Gemstone.

Plane of Vacuum

Where Air and Negative Energy meet. Vacuum is a plane of literally nothing. One step above the Negative Energy Plane, it doesn’t actively sap your life force, but it doesn’t have any air, either. It is a plane of void, a remnant of the original pre-world world.

Primordial: Keno, the Void

Keno is considered the daughter of Arnitikos, and, like her father, is depicted as being the plane itself, rather than an aspect of the plane made physical. It is said that she once ruled the Space Between Worlds before the gods created the Weave. Keno was imprisoned in the Maelstrom, a never ending storm of raw elemental matter which continually fills her void.

Plane of Ice

Between the plane of air and water is the plane of ice, a massive ice plain that stretches on for eternity. The plain is buffeted by intense winds on one side and tsunami-size waves on the other. Underneath, the ice stretches on for eternity, with enormous ice caverns carved out by creatures.

Primordial: Pagos, the Frozen One

Pagos wandered the ice plain in search of creatures who sought to melt his home. He was imprisoned in the Halls of Fire, a labyrinth deep in the Chaos, forced to constantly move or be melted forever.

Plane of Water

An endless sea with no seeming surface, teeming with strange aquatic creatures. The amphibious Sea Elves are from here as well.

Primordial: Nero, the Squall

Nero is often depicted as a gargantuan aquatic creature, usually a whale or a squid. They were imprisoned in the Well of Salt, which sucked all of the water out of them, leaving them dessicated. Nero is the second most powerful of the greater primordials.

Plane of Steam

Where Water and Positive Energy meet. A hot, stuffy plane of endless, impenetrable steam with no sense of gravity. Like floating in a steam room forever.

Primordial: Atmos, the Vapored One

Atmos is little more than the steam of his plane personified. He was chained with Kapnos, their bodies used to chain each other, and the two were thrown into the Great Conflagration to burn away into nothing.

Plane of Salt

Where Water and Negative Energy meet. A dry plane of rolling salt hills. There is no air, only rolling clouds of salt that will cut up your lungs. Mortals unaccustomed to the plane are constantly thirsty.

Primordial: Alas, the Dessicator

Alas is a towering creature composed entirely of salt. They were imprisoned in a bubble of water, which was hurled into the Chaos.

Plane of Ooze

Where Water and Earth meet, an unending swamp of roiling muck and mire. Without special footwear mortals within constantly sink. Enormous trees made out of ooze drip into the muck. The air is acrid and tough to breathe.

Primordial: Laspi, the Wandering Muck

Laspi basically looks like a muck monster. They were chained inside the Whirling Dervish, a constant tornado which slowly blows them apart.

Plane of Earth

Rock. Nothing but rock and earth, it is very dangerous to enter this plane unless you know exactly where you are going, or you have the ability to burrow. Caverns exist, usually made by creatures, but there is no natural air or water so it’s nearly impossible to live there.

Primordial: Gi, the Ever Stoic

Gi is the most powerful greater primordial and often referred to as the king of the primordials. He was thrown into the Maelstrom to be eroded into nothing, with his hands and feet bound and his mouth gagged.

Plane of Minerals

Where Earth and Positive Energy meet. This plane feels almost exactly like the Plane of Earth except that the rock is riddled with minerals, ores, and precious gems. Many of these veins are guarded by powerful creatures. There are larger caverns here, created long ago by greedy creatures looking to take minerals. Toward the end of the plane the minerals merge, creating enormous, miles-wide ores of gold, platinum, and chunks of precious gems.

Primordial: Orykto, the Resplendent

Orykto is a primordial composed entirely of gemstones and ores of precious metal. She is very vain and haughty. The gods imprisoned her in the Basin of Grime, a large bowl full of dust, smoke, and ash, which they submerged her in, forever tarnishing her shine.

Plane of Dust

Where Earth and Negative Energy meet. A plane of gritty sand and dust that gets everywhere and eventually chokes mortals. The air is impossible to breathe due to dust getting in the lungs, and creatures that arrive from the plane seem to be permanently covered by a thin layer of dust. (Like Pigpen!)

Primordial: Skoni, the Grimy One

Skoni is a being made out of dust and grime. They were chained to the Radiant Rock, forced to stare at the radiance for eternity.

Plane of Magma

Where Earth and Fire meet. This is another one of those insta-death planes unless you know of a civilization that exists there. It is nothing but liquid hot magma, with small, magically cooled spots encased in magma crusts. There is no surface or bottom. It’s all magma, baby.

Primordial: Kviku, the Boiling

Kviku is a terrifying primordial creature composed of rolling magma. He was easily imprisoned in a block from the Ice Plane and hurled deep into the Chaos.

Plane of Fire

A sweltering, fiery landscape. Best known for the City of Brass. The plane includes towering volcanoes, roaring fires, and extremely hot temperatures. The air is superheated and nonmagical materials tend to set themselves on fire for no reason.

Primordial: Fotia, the Ever Burning

Fotia is a radiant flame that scorches anything she touches. She is the third most powerful greater primordial and arguably the most capable of dealing tremendous amounts of damage to objects. She is known for being Gi’s partner due to him being able to withstand her fiery temper. She was chained underneath the Waterfall to be continually doused forever.

Plane of Radiance

Where Fire and Positive Energy meet. A brilliantly bright and colorful plane, it would blind any mortal who entered it within seconds. It is considered a “plane of beauty” as well. I like to think of it as a continual plane of Lisa Frank.

Primordial: Lampsi, The Beacon

Lampsi is Orykto’s lover and is just supremely gorgeous, to the point that she is impossible to look at without going blind. She was also placed in the Basin of Grime, which significantly dulled her appearance.

Plane of Ash

Where Fire and Negative Energy meet. A hot, dry plane of constantly raining ash, blustery winds, and wide plains of sinking ash. Like the Plane of Ooze, but without water.

Primordial: Stakti, the Fluttering

Stakti is a primordial made of ash, which continually flakes off of her. She was simply submerged in the Plane of Water, which caused her to dissolve into the water itself.

Plane of Smoke

The commingling of Fire and Air. A plane of continually roiling hot black and gray smoke. With no air, the Plane of Smoke would suffocate or burn the lungs almost immediately.

Primordial: Kapnos, the Hidden Heat

Kapnos was chained to Atmos and thrown into the Great Conflagration.

Positive Energy Plane

A plane of yellowish white energy. It is believed that all healing magics borrow from this plane, as traveling to it will instantly heal any ailment or injury you have. However, its healing power is so strong that it will imbue creatures with healing and benefits beyond what their mortal bodies can stand, which usually causes them to explode in a shower of golden sparks that are suffused back into the plane.

Primordial: Thetikos, or Syntropy

Thetikos, like her brother Arnitikos, are still alive and rulers of their realms; Thetikos’ energy was used by the gods to heal their wounds and create Divinity. She is not imprisoned, as she is the Positive Energy Plane. She has merged with it.

Negative Energy Plane

The opposite of that. A dark purple world which saps the energy from anything that enters it. Mortals that enter the Negative Energy Plane quickly find their very essence being sucked out into the plane, until their body and soul becomes part of the entropy itself.

Primordial: Arnitikos, or Entropy

Arnitikos is the great villain to the gods, and the whole reason why the primordials were chained or imprisoned within the Elemental Chaos. No matter what, the Arbiters could not get close enough to Entropy to stop or imprison him, as the closer they came, the more they dissolved into nothing. Thus, Entropy is the only primordial who was not captured by the gods and freely reigns in his realm.

Elemental Chaos

Generally speaking, the closer the Elemental Plane is to the Material Plane, the more “pure” the plane is. The Plane of Fire, for example, is entirely fire the closer to the Material you get, and more diverse the farther away. The farther away you get from the Material Plane, the more the Elemental Planes begin to break down and commingle with each other, creating at the edge the Elemental Chaos, a strange and formless plane where all of the elements coexist in chaos. In the deepest recesses of the Chaos lie various primordials who were cast away long ago.

The Prism

The Prism is not a plane, but a divine shell that surrounds the Inner Planes and separates them from the Astral Sea and the Outer Planes. It was constructed by a concordance of gods for two reasons: one, to prevent divine influence in the Plane of Things and vice versa, and two, to imprison the primordials, preventing them from reaching the homes of the gods.

The Prism can be passed through by mortals (though it’s very difficult to do so), but many divine beings are not allowed to bring their full essence through it, lest they warp the inner planes or accidentally release one of the primordials. Gods are allowed to project an avatar of themselves into the Inner Planes, however, but they are not allowed to interfere directly with the designs of mortals.

The Astral Sea

Between the Inner Planes and the Outer Planes lies the Astral Sea, a formless gray waste and border between the more material areas and the more celestial. The only real inhabitable places in the Astral Sea are the gigantic petrified corpses of dead gods. Thin strands of silver thread stretch across wide distances, connecting various travelers and those who astrally project through the planes. The gray of the Astral Sea is technically Divinity, the essence of gods, though this essence does not permeate into the mortals who live or travel through there.

Outer Planes

The Outer Planes are the “Planes of Concept” and homes of the gods and other supernatural or divine beings. There are many Outer Planes, though we know only a few. It is believed that all gods live in these various planes, which are called numerous other things in the various cultures of the Material Plane. Each Outer Plane “hums” with a concordant energy created by their divine inhabitants, which creates its general sense of alignment.

Since Outer Planes are the manifestations of the gods, rather than the material creation of the primordials, they are shaped to the gods’ will. The gods also deem who lives on which plane based on their portfolio and general alignment. This is done outside of the gods, as a higher form of order, perhaps the creation of a greater, all-encompassing god.

Mechanus

Lawful Neutral. Created by a god of time as a home for the modrons, his constructs created to regulate probability and time. A Treatise has very little info on the Outer Planes, but does mention a possible realm where constructs reign.

The Rusty Cog

A tavern of planes hopping adventurers and tourists and such. Is inside a fake city built to appease outsiders.

Arcadia

LN/LG.

Mount Celestia

LG. Home of Bahamut and Wete.

Bytopia

LG/NG.

Elysium

NG. home of ota.

Beastlands

NG/CG.

Arborea

CG.

Ysgard

CG/CN.

Limbo

CN.

Pandemonium

CN/CE. home of eto

The Abyss

CE.

Carceri

CE/NE. Carceri is an Outer Plane consisting of several layers. Each layer is a string of worlds, with each subsequent layer having smaller worlds spaced farther apart.

Cathrys

Cathrys is the second layer of Carceri, marked with dangerous plant life. It was the base of operations for Ibik, the Master Thief.

Hades

NE.

Gehenna

NE/LE.

Nine Hells

LE.

Acheron

LE/LN.

The Outlands

N.

Sigil, the City of Doors

A torus-shaped city at the top of an infinite spire of rock in the Outlands, Sigil is a city of portals. There is no way to enter it from the outside; it must be entered via a portal. Sigil is ruled by the mysterious and powerful Lady of Pain, and many wonder if this is her prison, her home, or a city she created herself. Some even wonder if the Lady created the multiverse and its laws, and imprisoned herself within Sigil so that she would not interfere with the order she created.

The Wardens' HQ, Warden's Door, is also in Sigil.

The Far Realm

The Far Realm is a plane beyond the power of the gods and the primordials. It is a plane where conventional thought and physics does not exist. Where thought breaks down. Mortals who enter the plane almost immediately go mad as their minds cannot handle the concepts shown to them there. Even the gods are often imprisoned there, as the realm drives them mad as well, and mad gods are dangerous gods.

Travel to the Far Realm is beyond even the power of the gods and the primordials. Portals are nearly impossible to create, usually only possible by aberrations and denizens of the Far Realm. Rifts are incredibly rare and often world-ending. Only the Wardens of the Dungeon are allowed to freely travel between realms using special amulets.

In A Treatise on Exoplanar Philosophies, the Far Realm is described as “a prison for exiled beings,” though it later goes on to state that “no one knows what lies in the Far Realm.” It is assumed that Dovar the Lightbringer is from there. Korth later explained that the Far Realm is a prison for powerful beings, including gods, that have created an imbalance in the multiverse. (To be fair, the Far Realm is likely more than just a prison, but for Korth it is a prison.)

Dripping Squalor

A location in the Far Realm. Home to Annet, the rat.

The Dungeon

Where the Wardens keep all their imprisoned entities. Wardens Baratani and Hule (G6-0401E) work there.

Dungeon of the Exiled

The only part of the Far Realm known to inhabitants of the Material is the Dungeon of the Exiled, where extremely dangerous and powerful creatures are exiled by the gods. These creatures are often too powerful to be killed outright, and since the gods are no longer able to exert their power beyond the Prism, they must keep their dangerous beings in, ostensibly, the opposite direction. In this way, the gods act as the guardians (or destroyers) of the multiverse. The exiled beings are often called the Tainted or the Exiled, and the Far Realm is usually considered a prison of sorts, though there are no cells. If anything, the Far Realm is a lawless prison realm where beings can fight each other, but cannot (generally) pass beyond its borders.

There are few if any portals from the Far Realm to the other planes, and many worlds in the material plane don’t even know of the existence of the Far Realm. Usually, knowledge about it comes from something from there gaining access to a world in the Material Plane. There is one access point from the Material Plane to the Far Realm however—a supermassive black hole in the center of the Material Plane known as the Funnel or the Bee Trap, which Exiled beings can be thrown into, but not escape from.

It is possible to “puncture” a rift into the material plane, but doing so has grave consequences to that world and possibly the material plane entirely, as the magic of each realm does not collide well. As of this writing, no being from the Far Realm has been able to create rifts to realms outside the Material Plane. Thus, in a way, the Material Plane acts to these beings like the Astral Sea acts for us—a conduit from which you can get from Point B to Point C-Z.

The biggest problem with this is that it is difficult for beings to travel between Backdrops, and usually the easiest way for Exiled beings (or gods or superhuman beings) to break through a celestial sphere is to literally break it, destroying the world in the process.

Eons ago, in Avo, three Titans—Covoran, Gamaver, and Atren—were exiled to the Far Realm after they chose to remain in Avo’s celestial sphere, rather than moving on to make new spheres, as is the custom with titans. Many titans are exiled as they often fall in love with their creations.

Somehow, during their time in the Far Realm, at least one of these titans managed to open a rift back to Avo, sending Gamaver the Destroyer crashing into the Teeth in Iro roughly 50 years ago. It was clear that the time spent in the Far Realm had corrupted Gamaver, turning him into a mountain-sized Cthulhu-esque being.

The Rift in the Sky was small, and magical rifts often are able to seal themselves due to incongruence with the material plane. However, the rift was wrenched open again as Covoran careened back to Avo, eventually finding himself in Leophynsia. The elves were Covoran’s creation, but in his corrupt state he saw them as flawed and vowed to eradicate them and begin anew. In doing so, he sunk Leophyns into a black abyss, before he was defeated.

Again, the rift may have closed on its own except that a man in Phynsia, Edwin Alcaster, managed to not only open the rift using strange blood magics, but also sent a message requesting Atren the Shaper’s presence in Avo. Atren eventually appeared, though what exactly occurred after she arrived is uncertain.

What is clear is this: Edwin’s message was heard by several other beings in the Far Realm, who have now traveled to Avo to escape their prison.

Here are the ones we know about.

The Celestial Kingdom

It isn’t entirely certain if the Celestial Kingdom arrived from the Far Realm, as they haven’t said directly where they originated. But what we do know is they arrived shortly after the gods in Valwyr were revealed to be false, leading people to wonder how they knew about that in the first place.

The Kingdom were revealed to be interim gods appointed to look over Avo until new gods could be established in the world. However, the Valwyrans have become very agnostic as of late, leading the Kingdom unable to manifest their replacements. In addition, other gods are already worshipped in other parts of Avo, making the Valwyrans suspicious of their so-called “gods.”

Dovar the Lightbringer

Dovar is a being whose sole purpose is to assimilate and consume worlds. More directly, he travels to worlds with his emissaries, claiming a desire to “bring peace” to that world. His idea of peace is to suck the life from the planet and eventually consume it whole.

Due to similarities to Alrenn the lich, many in Dorian assume Dovar to be Alrenn reborn. But it’s actually the opposite: Alrenn learned about Dovar and created magic that was similar to Dovar’s style. This connection is likely how Dovar learned about Avo, however.

EOD

EOD is some type of aberration, a cthulhuian being of incomparable size and power. It is said that EOD is bound to the Far Realm only by ritual, and was exiled long before time. Despite being exiled, he has still taken over hundreds of worlds in the Material Plane by enlisting a series of followers to do his bidding, granting them great power in the process.

It is said that the “corruption” of entities in the Far Realm stems from EOD’s maniacal manipulation. Others suggest that the Far Realm is actually EOD himself.

Eternus the Godcrusher

Eternus is a great war beast, resembling a grotesque insectoid bull hybrid. Eternus’ sole purpose in life is to destroy and consume gods. His origin is unknown, though the best guess is that he was a beast (possibly a beast of burden) for a god now dead, or eaten by Eternus. The War Beast then drifted in the Space Between Worlds, doing battle with and eventually consuming the gods protecting various celestial spheres, before being captured and thrown into the Funnel. His offspring are called the star spawn, humanoid beings comprised of wriggling worms.

Other Far Realm Entities

The Wardens

The Wardens are beings within the Far Realm that try to ensure that the Exiled don’t cross into the other planes. Due to the inability of the gods and primordials to directly affect the Far Realm, all Wardens are powerful beings from the Material Plane granted the gift of the Deep Mind, which allows them to shut off the part of their mind that processes conventionality. Deep Mind is a powerful mental focus that takes decades of dedicated practice to master, and even then it is known as something that can only slow the mental decay of living in the Far Realm. Thus, most Wardens eventually go mad and must be imprisoned themselves, or sent to, say, fight in the Abyss. Fortunately, this corruption takes thousands of years, and there are very few Wardens in general.

Beyond the Far Realm

Is there something beyond the Far Realm? No one knows. Not the gods, not the primordials, no one. If there is something beyond, it is so outside of our knowledge of the multiverse that it likely isn’t even viewable.