Which inner plane?

[Galactygon]

This question is exactly the same as the other poll. I haven't posted these planes in the first place due to the fact that with the exception of a few of the planes, life is simply not possible on either one of them.

 

Feel free to stop in and die at one of the planes.

 

Because there is a limit I can put on the number of poll choices, I am not posting paraelemental planes such as the Plane of Radiance, the Plane of Smoke, Ash, etc. If you are voting for a Para-elemental plane, please state which one.

 

I'll post stats about the inner planes below (for the visual representation, refer to the one in the other thread on outer planes):

 

-Galactygon

 

Plane of Air:

Imagine being tens of thousands of feet up in the air so high up the ground's out of sight. That's what the plane of Air's like: nothing but air. It's a world of brilliant blue, like the sky viewed from the highest mountaintop. It's not featureless, though. Creatures fly through the great vault of endless sky, and other things - chunks of matter from other planes mostly - drift aimlessly about. Winds rise from gentle breezes to raging gales in mere seconds, and then die down as quickly as they came. Most fearsome of all are the storms blown in from other planes - fearsome lightning, giant hail, scorching heat, choking dust, and whirling maelstroms that are ringlike tornados, eating their own tails.

 

Beings on the plane of Air divide into two classes. There are the natives - djinn and air elementals of all types - who stay to the sky, seldom or never setting foot on the pockets of other stuff that drift by. Then, because the plane's not hostile (and is even beautiful to some), there's a fair number of extraplanar sods here, too, visiting or setting up outposts. Those who ain't natural flyers or elementals from other planes tend to cling to stony, floating islands in the endless sky. Djinn sometimes build palaces and cities on these, too. The greatest of these is the Citadel of Ice and Steel. Not far from it is a vortex called the Waterspout, which leads to the plane of Water. Other places of note include Borealis and Taifun, the Palace of Tempests.

 

Special Physical Conditions. North, south, east, and west are meaningless here, so Smoke, Void, Storm, and Ice are given as directions. Move in the direction of those planes and the air gradually changes to match, becoming warmer, thinner, windier, or colder. 'Course, without a local guide, a basher's got no chance of figuring just which way is which. Up and down are just as funny - the plane tends to orient itself to things within it. Groups agree that "down" is the same direction and things around them behave accordingly. Rain "falls" according to their down. A cutter standing on a rock knows that down is beneath his feet and a roc in the sky knows that down is beneath it. The only real problem is that believing there's a down means a berk can fall. If a poor sod tumbles out of his hippogriff's saddle, he's going to fall endlessly (unless, of course, he hits a passing rock). Natives of the plane don't have this problem - up and down are disposable ideas to them. Those beings move through the plane either by flying or by riding something that can. There are also flying ships, ponderous gas-bags built by non-natives to sail between the different settlements of the plane.

 

On the side, even an addle-cove should realize that inanimate things don't think about up and down, so they aren't affected by it. Arrows never fall, but travel in a straight line, going slower and slower till they stop in midair. Pockets on the plane tend to form into spheres - jewel-like orbs of water, cooling lumps of magma, giant balls of ice, even crystalline masses of salt that drift like seeds on the wind.

 

Special Magic Conditions. Conjuration/summoning spells can only draw creatures from the planes of Air, Smoke, Ice, Lightning, and Vacuum. In addition to the standard air elementals, this generally includes sylphs, aerial servants, mephits, shockers, and tempests. Note that beings native to the plane of Air aren't automatically bound by the summoning. The caster has to use another way to force them to his or her will, like employing a ring of elemental control.

 

Natives and Hazards. Aerial servant, air elemental, air mephit, djinni, ildriss, invisible stalker, skriaxit, sylph, tempest, and wind walker are all present on this plane. The plane is also home to a number of powers, including Akadi (the elemental queen) and Caliph Husam al-Balil ben Hafhat al-Yugayyim (the Master of the Clouds and Son of the Breezes, Commander of the Four Winds, Ruler of All Djinn, Defender of the Heavens, Prince of Birds, Storm of the Righteous, and so on). The greatest natural hazards are the maelstroms. All within 100 yards of one of these must successfully save vs. paralyzation or be caught, thereupon suffering 1d10 points of damage per round. Escape is possible only with a successful bend bars/lift gates roll or through outside aid. Spellcasting is impossible while trapped in a maelstrom.

 

Plane of Earth:

Press against a solid stone wall - that's what the plane of Earth is like. Solid and unyielding, this plane is one of the Inner Planes that's least open to travelers. A cutter can't fly through it like the plane of Air, swim through it like the plane of Water, or sail on it like the plane of Fire. It's a universe of unbreached rock.

 

Still, there's reasons for going there. Armorers and swordsmiths will pay a fine price for iron dredged from the heart of the plane, and jewelers cherish the stones pried from it. But there's a lot of danger on it, too. A being can get lost without even trying, as there's no landmarks or clear expanses to guide him on his way. Plus, wander away from the heart of the plane and Earth becomes Dust, Magma, or Ooze - all almost as difficult and just as deadly.

 

There are a few places to go in this plane. The Great Dismal Delve is an immense series of caverns where the khan of the dao resides in the Sevenfold Mazework. Visiting that place isn't recommended, though, since the dao are notorious slavers. Travelers here can find the Pale River and the Iron Crucible, vortices to the planes of Water and Fire. There are also the hidden fortresses of wizards and trading outposts, magically tucked into pockets deep in the core of the plane. The plane of Earth's a popular place for emperors to banish their enemies, wizards to store their treasures, and even for paladins to hide evil artifacts.

 

Then there are the denizens of the plane. Perhaps they've absorbed too much of their surroundings, because their natures are slow, dour, and stubborn. More bizarre than most planars, the elementals of Earth share little in appearance or sympathies with any save perhaps the most obsessed dwarves. Earth and digging are all these denizens seem to care for.

 

Special Physical Conditions. Getting around is the biggest problem facing any traveler to this plane, the whole of it being solid earth, broken only occasionally by pockets and tunnels. Travelers need a means to penetrate the rock, such as passwall and stone shape spells or a wand of corridors. A particularly determined fellow could try mining his way through the plane, but only at a rate of about 1 foot per turn. Doing so requires constant detours around impenetrable seams of pure elemental stone. Any kind of tunnel eventually "heals" in 1d6 days, as the ground closes the wound, so mining out a passageway seems twice as futile.

 

Even with a means to get around, a traveler must have a guide or an elemental compass. Even the latter is useless without some understanding of where the goal lies. Unlike some other Elemental Planes, there are no landmarks a body can sight on. There are no directions, and up and down are determined by the traveler - feet point down, heads look up. It's perfectly possible for two travelers to meet and each be standing on a different wall. This usually lasts only for a moment, though, since one or the other will fall to match the other's "down" (higher Wisdom prevails, with Intelligence settling any ties). 'Course, things that make their home on this plane have no such difficulty with the matter at all.

 

Besides getting around, breathing, drinking, and eating are all problems. The interior of the plane has no natural air supply, so a sod's either got to bring one or find a way to make one. The same holds true of food and water. Pockets of elemental Air and Water can be found, along with a few mushroom-filled caverns, but only a leatherhead relies on these to survive. Airy earth makes the soil breathable and create food and water can fulfill other needs.

 

Special Magic Conditions. Conjuration/summoning spells can only draw upon creatures found on the planes of Earth, Ooze, Mineral, Magma, and Dust.

 

Natives and Hazards. Chaggrin, dao, earth elemental, earth mephit, galeb duhr, khargha, lava mephit, pech, sandling, xaren, and xorn are all native. Very few powers make their homes here - the most notable are Kabril Ali al-Sara al Zalazil (Great Khan of the Dao, the Fountain of Wealth, the Perfect Compass, Atamen of the Mountain's Roots, and so on) and Grumbar (an elemental lord). Earthquakes are always a risk, lasting 1d10 rounds and inflicting 6d6 points of damage each round (no saving throw). Another risk is in all the pockets of other elements hidden here. Miners have fried in gushing flows of lava, drowned in floods of water, and choked to death on clouds of ash, all in their eager search for gems.

 

Plane of Fire

Of all the Inner Planes, it's the plane of Fire that inspires true fear in all the but the most addle-coved traveler. Sure, there are other planes that're worse, like life-sucking Negative Energy Plane or the impassable plane of Earth, but these just don't have the sheer theatrical horror and evil feel of the plane of Fire. With its leaping flames, scorching heat, and choking brimstone smoke, it's no surprise that gullible primes often mistake this plane for one of the layers of Baator or Carceri. Still, few doubt the plane of Fire is the most evil of all the Elemental Planes, though that's purely a judgment call. Fire's probably the most powerful of the Elemental Planes, for it attacks and consumes its enemies, just because they're there.

 

The efreet are lords of this domain, ruling from the City of Brass, which floats in a sea of fire. Here one finds realms called the Charcoal Palace, the Obsidian Fields, the Furnace, and Slag. Like the dao, the efreet keep many slaves. Revolt and escape are impossible, since only the magic of the efreet protects slaves from the fiery element (who'd want to flee into the Fire?). Eighty miles from the City of Brass is Jabal Turab, the Mount of Dust. From its top rises a plume of smoke, a vortex to the plane of Air. Elsewhere throughout the plane are other efreet outposts, smaller palaces that float on the fiery seas.

 

Special Physical Conditions. The plane of Fire looks like a normal landscape with one major difference: Everything is cloaked in flame. The majority of the plane is a flaming ocean, but occasionally pockets of solid "land" float upon this. All things burn and scorch mercilessly. The air, too, will scorch and kill those without protection. Efreet are able to grant anyone they desire - mostly their slaves - temporary immunity to the land; otherwise, a traveler must use spells or magical devices to protect himself. Without such aid, a being must successfully save vs. breath weapon or die immediately. Those who do save still suffer 5d10 points of damage each round.

 

This plane has a definite "up" and "down," logically because flames leap upward, so movement on this plane is relatively normal. Food and water must both be imported and protected - the heat is so intense that it destroys these in mere moments. A create food and water cast without preparations does nothing more than conjure up a flash of steam and an inedible lump of charcoal and ash. Potions will boil in their vials and burst. A traveler's got to plan carefully before venturing about in this element.

 

Pockets of most other elements are rare, since the intensity of the plane destroys them almost as quickly as they're formed. Most common are pools of Magma, once pockets of Earth. Ash and Smoke pockets swirl though the air. When Water pockets appear, almost immediately disappear in an explosion of steam. True Water pockets are rare beyond imagining, and Ice pockets have the proverbial "snowball's chance in hell" of existing.

 

Special Magic Conditions. The plane of Fire has more effects on magic than most, and many that can't be overcome by keys. Many magical effects can't withstand the plane's scorching heat. Water and ice instantly boil away, metal melts, even earth shudders and eventually falls into magma. Conjuration/summonings can only reach the planes of Fire, Magma, Smoke, Radiance, and Ash, and even then some beings summoned won't be able to survive this furnace. Natives and Hazards. Azer, efreeti, fire elemental, fire mephit, fire minion, fire snake, firetail, flame spirit, harginn, hell hound, phantom stalker, salamander, and tshala all call this plane home. The plane of Fire has more dangerous creatures than any of the other Elemental Planes. Perhaps it's because there are fewer high-up men to interfere. Only two powers live here: Kossuth (the tyrant-king of all elementals) and Sultan Marrake al-Sidan al-Hariq ben Lazan (the Lord of the Flame, the Potentate Incandescent, the Tempering and Eternal Flame of Truth, the Smoldering Dictator, and so on). Both are greater powers. The elemental king has his palace at the hottest point of the plane - so hot that even fire creatures suffer 1d2 points of damage each turn while there. The efreet lord lives in the Charcoal Palace. Nonliving dangers include sudden fountains of flame (3d10 points of damage, save vs. breath weapon for half), cinder rain (2d6 points of damage per round to all exposed), and volcanic eruptions that can suddenly block the path.

 

Plane of Water

Sea-green and soothing, the plane of Water would be heaven if a basher'd just find a way to breathe there. After the infernal violence of Fire, the crushing closeness of Earth, and the endless chasms of Air, this plane gently embraces a body and drifts him safely through all perils. Sure - unless a sod is suddenly washed into a current of bubbling steam, sucked into a whirlpool, shocked by a lightning pocket, captured by tritons, or attacked by water weirds. The endless blue-green, the water's soft embrace - it's all deceptive. Fact is, the plane of Water is no safer for a leatherheaded wanderer than any of the other Elemental Planes.

 

The plane of Water is just that: water as far as the eye can see. There's no surface and no bottom. Occasionally, coral reefs stretch up from the depths, supported by slender branches that extend endlessly into the immeasurable depths. In these immense caverns are the palaces of noble marids. The greatest of these is the Citadel of Ten Thousand Pearls, naturally shaped from a gleaming coral reef. It's a place of brilliant fish, flawless pearls, swaying coral fans, and exotic flavors borne here by distant currents. Not far from this is a vortex to the plane of Air, known as the Bubble Net.

 

Elsewhere the plane changes, gradually becoming cold and icy in one direction (Ice), boiling and steaming in another (Steam), thick and slimy in a third (Ooze), and bitter in the last (Salt). Little else is found here, because the denizens of this plane have scant interest in the doings or offerings of outsiders.

 

Special Physical Conditions. This plane is truly without form, for there's no up, down, top, or bottom. A being can drift in any direction, at any angle, without feeling any disorientation. While nothing demands it, the polite custom is that creatures face each other squarely. For example, the halls of the marid court are built with an obvious top and bottom so that no one accidentally embarrasses themselves. Navigation by extraplanars is impossible, and to get anywhere a guide is absolutely necessary.

 

There's more than just water out here, too. There's elemental pockets, though few hold their form long. Chunks of Earth hover in the stream, bubbles of Air drift aimlessly, Ooze worms through the endless ocean, Magma hardens to stone, and bitter brine marks a pocket of Salt. Only pockets of Fire are truly rare, most of them suffocating the instant they appear.

 

To survive here, a cutter's got to breathe. Airy water and water breathing are effective. Marids also can bestow the ability to breathe water for periods of a day or more. Most useful of all is a ring of water breathing, since its power will never expire.

 

Unless a basher's got a ring of free action or something like it, fighting on this plane has all the limitations of fighting underwater.

 

Special Magic Conditions. Conjuration/summoning spells only reach the planes of Water, Ooze, Steam, Ice, and Salt. Water is second only to Fire in the difficulty of using spells, and like Fire many of the problems are related to the nature of the element. These cannot be overcome by keys. A fireball cast here is useless unless it's released inside a bubble. An ice storm will simply drift in the ocean, neither rising nor falling, inflicting no damage. A lightning bolt makes an electrical globe, an underwater fireball as it were, that inflicts damage but grounds out after touching any object.

 

Natives and Hazards. Ice mephit, marid, nereid, triton, varrdig, water elemental, water mephit, and water weird all reside here. There are two greater powers here as well. The first is Istishia, the queen of the water elementals. She is immense, spanning a sea or more, and has no court. The second is Kalbari al-Durrat al-Amwaj ibn Jari (Padishah of the Marids, the Pearl of the Sea, the Mother of Foam, Mistress of the Rivers, Savior of Fish, Patron of Waterspouts, and so on). Nonliving threats include unexpected steam currents (4d6 points of damage) and tidal bores that can suck a swimmer to vastly different regions of the plane.

 

Paraelemental Plane of Smoke

Little traveled and less known, the paraplane of Smoke lies between the planes of Air and Fire. It is groundless like Air and hot like Fire, though it doesn't scorch. The air is filled with roiling clouds of choking smoke, foul with brimstone and gases, so it's impossible to breath safely without aid. Toward the plane of Air the poisons clear a little (a successful saving throw vs. poison every round results in only 1d10 points of damage; failure indicates immediate suffocation).

 

Special Physical Conditions. Directions and movement on the paraplane of Smoke have the same limitations as those for the plane of Air. Up orients itself to groups of people, and beings must fly to get from place to place. The elemental pockets found here are bubbles of pure air or slithering rivers of elemental Fire. Earth pockets are extremely rare, so there's little to build on save an occasional oversize cinder from the Paraelemental Plane of Ash. Without landmarks, a lone traveler finds himself lost.

 

Unlike being on the plane of Air, where a cutter can breath without trouble, a fellow on this paraplane will quickly choke. It's best to have a modified smoke breathing if a berk wants to live; without a proper breathing apparatus, the length of time a basher will live depends on how long he can hold his breath smoke inhalation is immediately deadly. At the closest edges to the plane of Fire, temperatures become more than a body can stand. Without actually crossing the boundary between the two planes, a being still suffers 1d10 points of damage each turn (no saving throw).

 

Special Magic Conditions. Conjuration/summonings are limited to the planes of Smoke, Air, Fire, Radiance, Lightning, Vacuum, and Ash.

 

Natives and Hazards. Little lives on this inhospitable plane, save a few beings of smoke and fumes (primarily the smoke mephit). The most notable feature is the Choking Palace, which is the court of Ehkahk, the Smoldering Duke. He's a paraelemental lord and the self-proclaimed ruler of the smoke mephits of his land. The other creatures most likely to be found are djinn and efreet, who use this plane as a battlefield.

 

Paraelemental Plane of Magma

Bordering the two inhospitable planes of Earth and Fire, it shouldn't be a surprise to any traveler that Magma's an unpleasant place. It's easiest to imagine it as spewing out from the plane of Fire, whose leaping flames die down to a hellish glow and then spread in an evercooling mass to the plane of Earth. The surface constantly churns and shifts as the scabrous, hardening chunks are churned back into the molten flow. Near the plane of Fire, this churning landscape bursts with occasional geysers of cryoplastic flow, lava that splatters nearby. Closer to the plane of Earth float pillars of solid rock, borne away by the searing tide.

 

Few extraplanars can survive this hostile land, so there are few places of note to visit. The most significant of these is Caldera, the stronghold of Chilimba, First General of the Cauldron and Master of All Mephits. This elemental lord claims dominance over the entire paraplane, and there are few to challenge his rule. The only visitors are the fiery efreet and the stolid dao, who meet on this neutral ground to trade.

 

Special Physical Conditions. To survive on this plane, a blood's got to have the same protections as on the planes of Fire and Smoke. The intense heat will toast anyone and anything to a cinder, if foul gases released by the lava don't choke them first. Like the plane of Fire, Magma has a definite surface with an up and down. A protected being can walk on this, though it constantly roils and shifts under his feet.

 

Special Magic Conditions. The limitations on spells here are the same as those on the plane of Fire. Magical effects must be able to withstand the intense heat. The planes of Fire, Earth, Mineral, Radiance, Dust, and Ash can be reached from this plane.

 

Natives and Hazards. Dao, efreet, fire mephit, and magma mephit reside here. Sudden bursts of lava scatter molten stone in a 10-foot radius (successfully save vs. breath weapon or suffer 3d10 points of damage). Footing is treacherous on this plane, and crust often splits to swallow the unwary. If a save vs. paralyzation is failed, the unfortunate plunges in and dies instantly.

 

Paraelemental Plane of Ooze

It's all mud and slime, a quivering ocher ocean of muck - hardly the place a cutter cares to go. It's a place of torturous death and exile, too. With a wave of the hand, evil wizard-tyrants send their enemies here to drown, choking on lungfuls of stagnant silt. Kinder souls merely imprison their foes here, sealing them inside bubbles of pure air. Oh, sometimes they forget the other niceties of food and water, leaving their prisoners to slow starvation, but at least they kept them from immediate death. Even those fully provided for face unhappy fates, for there's little or nothing to stave off the madness that boredom brings. Small wonder the plane is also known as the House of Chambered Madness.

 

Little relieves the unending ocean of muck. Toward the plane of Earth, the mud grows drier, filled with abrasive grit, and toward Water it thins into rippling silt that a cutter can easily swim through. Drifting through it all are blocks of stone and puddles of clear water. All in all, it ain't a popular rest stop.

 

Special Physical Conditions. Movement on this plane is like that on the plane of Water. There's no clear up or down, and creatures must be able to swim to get around. Breathing can be accomplished by any device that allows breathing on the plane of Water (but spells must be researched and modified). Combat on the plane suffers from all the restrictions of underwater combat, and visibility is reduced to mere feet.

 

Special Magic Conditions. The moist closeness of Ooze affects spellcasting almost as severely as it does on the plane of Water. The restrictions of that plane aply here generally. However, because water is less freeflowing on this plane, fire-base spells have limited function, causing half or no damage instead of not functioning at all.

 

Natives and Hazards. Ooze is virtually uninhabited by intelligent creatures, except for ooze mephits. Hunting marids sometimes mistake travelers here for game, and dao come here to bathe. It is said there is a baron of the plane, Bwimb, but what it is baron of is a mystery.

 

Paraelemental Plane of Ice

Some think hell is fire, but others are convinced it's ice. If the latter's true, then this plane is their hell. Glistening white ice, cracked and scored, lies in a sheet as far as the eyes can see. It's an endless arctic plane, where only frozen crags of ice-locked mounts shatter the smooth sheet and give features to the terrain. Closer to the plane of Water, small patches of open water appear, and the ice eventually breaks into enormous floes and bergs. At the plane of Air, the sheet tapers into fingered bridges and icicles that fade into nothingness.

 

Dig and there's no limit to how deep the ice extends. And during that dig a basher might get lucky and find caverns filled with the purest air, or unlucky and hit a boulder bigger than a mountain. If he's real unlucky, a berk might open a crack in the ice and find something extremely unpleasant slithering in it....

 

The paraplane of Ice is empty, but it's not deserted. At its coldest heart is the Chiseled Estate of Lord Cyronax, the most powerful of the ice elementals. Most ambitious of all the paraelementals, he hopes to supplant all other Elemental Planes and become the major force of the Inner Planes.

 

Special Physical Conditions. Travelers can move about the surface normally and the atmosphere here is breathable. However, it's bitterly cold, and unless the air is heated (by spell or device), a traveler suffers 1d6 points of frostbite damage each round. Those not dressed for the cold suffer an additional 1d6 points of damage. A basher can also burrow through the ice as if moving through the plane of Earth.

 

Special Magic Conditions. Cold-based spells are completely useless on this plane, and fire-based ones inflict only half damage due to the intense cold. Conjuration/summoning spells only reach the planes of Air, Water, Negative, Lightning, Steam, Salt, and Vacuum. Other limitations are the same as those on the plane of Air.

 

Natives and Hazards. Only the ice mephit inhabits this plane. Marids, however, often scour the plane in their great hunts. Raging blizzards, which inhibit movement for 1d10 turns or more, are the greatest of the nonliving hazards the plane has to offer.

 

Paraelemental Plane of Lightning

This is called the plane of Storms, the Vengeful Land, or the Great Illumination - it all depends on who gets asked. A traveler knows when he's entered the plane, though, because the sky is filled with black clouds that flash with internal fires, the air tingles with ozone, and the touch of electricity prickles his hairs. Bolts leap from cloud to cloud and the sky rings with the laughter of lightning elementals. It's a scary place to fly through - a cutter can dodge a jagged bolt only to steer himself into the path of a tumbling ball of lightning. Then there's the glow, St. Elmo's fire, that dances over everybody that comes into the plane. People and things glow with an unnerving, electrical brilliance.

 

The storms are lighter close to the plane of Air. Near the Positive Energy Plane, clouds and storms give way to a solid sheet of rippling energy. At the very gateway to the Positive Energy Plane stands the Tower of Storms, a mysterious bridge into the Positive.

 

Special Physical Conditions. Moving through this plane is no different than doing so on the plane of Air, and the atmosphere is quite breathable. Lightning is the most dangerous of all the quasiplanes, however. Any metal that's dagger-sized or larger automatically attracts electrical bolts each turn; otherwise, there's a 10% chance per turn of being randomly struck by lightning. Bolts inflict 1d8 x 10 points of damage (save vs. rod for half), but a protection from lightning spell negates their effect. With each bolt, a second successful save vs. rod must be made to avoid deafness (2d4 hour duration).

 

Special Magic Conditions. Conjuration/summonings reach the planes of Lightning, Air, Ice, Smoke, Steam, Radiance, and the Positive Energy. Invisibility is useless, since St. Elmo's fire outlines all things.

 

Natives and Hazards. Lightning mephit and shocker only are found here, though djinn sometimes hunt on this plane.

 

Paraelemental Plane of Radiance

Burning and featureless, this is the most barren of all planes - that's likely to be most folks' impression of Radiance. It ain't necessarily true though. Travelers who've been there will tell a body it's a place of aching beauty. Every color ever imagined glows and burns with painful splendor. They'll tell a soul about the curtains of color crashing over each other like waves on a beach, and as they talk, tears'll form in their dead, blind eyes.

 

That's the way it is. It's a joy and beauty that'll burn a berk right out, that'll show him the most beautiful glories he'll ever see and the last he's likely to ever see. What's the point of seeing more, after a body's seen the greatest lights of all?

 

A few bloods, though, have the skill to go there and come back with their eyes. There are reasons to go, too. Steel forged in the light of Radiance takes on properties that can't be created anywhere else. Blades burn with the light of the sun, mirrors reflect more than is seen, and other wonders a berk can't imagine are made. Then there's the Heart of Light, a tower of blue light that stands at the border of the Positive Energy Plane. Great healings are supposed to be possible there.

 

Special Physical Conditions. Movement on the plane of Radiance is similar to that on Air. However, Radiance is as fiery hot as the plane of Fire, and travelers will suffer the same damage unless protected from the heat. Furthermore, travelers must shield themselves either with continual darkness (which only creates weak shade here) or thick lenses of smoked glass. Otherwise, immediate blindness occurs.

 

Special Magic Conditions. Conjuration/summonings reach the planes of Radiance, Fire, Smoke, Magma, Lightning, Mineral, and the Positive Energy. No other special conditions apply.

 

Natives and Hazards. There are no records of creatures on this plane, except radiant mephits.

 

Paraelemental Plane of Minerals

This is it, cutter. This is the treasure trove of the multiverse, the goal of every dwarf who ever learned how to cross the planes. It's the plane of Mineral. There's iron, diamonds, rubies, sapphires, silver, gold, and more, all pressed up in veins that wrap around each other. All a blood's got to do is go get it.

 

Don't be a leatherheaded berk! If it was that easy, the plane would've been mined out long ago. Getting there's only the start of the problem. Then a sod's got to find a way to move through this crystal world, a world filled with razor edges sharper than a vorpal blade. Even after that, there's things out there that don't want a cross-trading rogue to make off with their kip.

 

There's more on the plane than just riches, too. At the very edge of the Positive Energy Plane stands the Tower of Lead. Here, it's said, is the greatest forge in all the multiverse. Mostly the place is empty, but sometimes a master craftsman risks all to do his work here.

 

Special Physical Conditions. This plane uses the same rules for movement, direction, and survival as the plane of Earth. However, it's even more dangerous because all the passages are lined by sharp crystals. These inflict 1d4 points of damage in every round spent moving. Each point of magical AC protection reduces the damage per round by 1 (1d3, 1d2, and 1 [minimum]).

 

Conjuration/summoning spells reach the planes of Earth, Ooze, Magma, Radiance, Steam, and the Positive Energy. Otherwise, magic is affected as on the plane of Earth.

 

Natives and Hazards. Dao, mineral mephit, pech, xaren, and xorn call this plane home. These creatures all consider themselves guardians of the treasures here. Fossilization is the greatest risk - once per day travelers must successfully save vs. petrifaction or be turned to stone (or possibly precious gems).

 

Paraelemental Plane of Steam

Some folks like a sauna, a place to go and sweat off the day's troubles. Well, they'd be disappointed by the plane of Steam. It's not quite like its name says. The plane of Steam is surprisingly cool. Mist is a better name - clammy, thick, cloying mist that seeps into everything. The danger here isn't boiling, but drowning in lungfuls of water.

 

Near the edge of the plane of Water, the mist is more like an ocean filled with bubbles. As a swimmer from Water's great ocean slowly finds the world spreading on him, the bubbles join and the water forms freefloating droplets. These gradually become finer and finer, and they glow with energy stolen from the Positive Energy Plane.

 

Just at the border to the Positive Energy Plane stands the glowing Tower of Ice, a glittering spire that lances upward almost as far as can be seen. Who or what built this tower is unknown, but alchemists sometimes come here to complete essential steps in potion brewing.

 

Special Physical Conditions. Movement on the plane of Steam is like that on the plane of Air, although closer to the plane of Water this is more akin to swimming. Breathing is possible, but all movement is slowed (as the spell) by the suffocating mist. A water breathing spell removes this difficulty. Visibility is limited to 1d10 yards at any given time.

 

Special Magic Conditions. Conjuration/summoning spells reach the planes of Water, Ice, Ooze, Mineral, Lightning, and the Positive Energy. Due to the high moisture of the plane, spells function as on the plane of Water. However, firebased spells effectively cause half or no damage here, rather than not function at all.

 

Natives and Hazards. Marid, mist mephit, and steam mephit inhabit this plane. No powers are known to reside here.

 

Paraelemental Plane of Vacuum

This plane is the prelude to ultimate death, a glimpse at the fate of the failed petitioner, because this is the plane of Nothing. Leaving the banks of Air, the atmosphere here becomes less and less until there's nothing - no breath, no light, no sound, no warmth.

 

For certain mystics - the ascetics of the Doomguard and the dancers of the Dustmen - the plane of Vacuum is the ultimate goal. It's the last door of the mystery, the kiss awaited by all. Such sages spend their lives mapping the doors of Sigil until they find the path to Vacuum and then they pass through, never noting for others what they've found. It is Vacuum, it is right.

 

Who can find the border between nothing and death? Well, the Doomguard has, and there between Vacuum and the Negative Energy they built Citadel Exhalus, Portal of the Last Breath. It drifts by a thread in the void of the Negative Plane, barely anchored to the reality of nothing.

 

Special Physical Conditions. Movement through this plane is done through sheer will, for there's nothing to swim, fly, or walk through. A cutter thinks his goal, and if his mind's clear enough, he gets there. Breathing's harder, since spells that transform, like water breathing, won't work here. There's nothing to transform. Air and warmth must both be provided.

 

Special Magic Conditions. Conjuration/summoning spells reach the planes of Air, Ice, Salt, Ash, Smoke, and the Negative Energy. Most creatures summoned will quickly die here. Gases, fogs, and the like instantly fail, dissipating too quickly to be useful. Fire-based spells last only a fraction of a moment. A fireball is still effective, but a wall of fire doesn't last. In short, any magic that requires a space in which to work is diminished or negated.

 

Natives and Hazards. Sages say creatures might live here, but without bodies, form, or even cohesive energy. Perhaps they're beings of pure thought. Perhaps they've returned to Sigil, their thoughts becoming the thoughts of a traveler to this plane. Who knows?

 

Paraelemental Plane of Ash

Ash. Miles upon miles of choking ash - that's what a berk's going to find here. It starts at the edge of the plane of Fire; the flames flicker and die, and from them cooling ashes rise. A little farther on and the air grows thicker, and farther still the burnt earth beneath gives way. At first, the ash swirls in tendrils 'round a being. Then, before he knows it, a berk's swimming in an ocean of ash. The red glow of distant fire fades, warmth turns to chill, and the air is choked with charcoal soot.

 

The plane isn't utterly empty, though. Here the Doomguard once had Citadel Cavitius, a massive skull fortress that sat on the edge of the Negative Energy Plane. Eons ago it was taken from them by the lich Vecna, and now it's that demigod's prison and stronghold. The Doomguard have since built anew, fashioning the Crumbling Citadel as their new home.

 

Special Physical Conditions. Movement on the plane of Ash varies between normal movement, closer to the plane of Fire, and swimming once the depth of Ash is too great. There's no air, so breathing must be maintained by spell, transforming the ash into something that can be inhaled. Furthermore, the cooling cinders steal all warmth from the body, so unless a basher's protected by spell or device, he'll suffer 2d6 points of cold damage per turn.

 

Special Magic Conditions. Similar to the plane of Vacuum, this plane sucks all heat from magical effects. The flash of a fireball still causes damage, but longterm spells such as wall of fire or heat metal are ineffective. Conjuration/summoning spells reach the planes of Fire, Magma, Dust, Vacuum, Smoke, and the Negative Energy. The utter cold of this plane causes fire- and magma-based creatures to suffer 1 HD of damage per round of exposure. Other limitations are the same as those on the plane of Earth.

 

Natives and Hazards. The ash mephit is the only known inhabitant of this plane. Citadel Cavitius holds prisoners of Lord Vecna, many of whom are now undead. Another danger lies in the pockets of the Negative Energy Plane, which inflict damage as does that plane (see page 39).

 

Paraelemental Plane of Dust

That's the goal of the universe, the clearest picture of entropy there is - so a Doomguard would say if he could show anyone the eternal sea that is Dust. It's the end as they figure it was meant to be. Perhaps it's their vision of paradise.

 

At the border of the plane of Earth, this plane starts as a dusty expanse, broken free of the endless caverns. A traveler's pretty happy to escape the closeness and step into the dark, open world. Farther on, the dust reaches up to his knees. It's thick and it pulls against him. Close to the Negative Energy it becomes an abrasive sea that chafes as a traveler swims through the grit.

 

But a cutter's not alone here. Things swim through the sand ocean, and at least one tower, Citadel Alluvius, lies in a ramshackle sprawl on the Negative Energy Plane's border. This is one of the four citadels of the Doomguard, and the most favored of them all.

 

Special Physical Conditions. Movement and breathing on this plane are handled the same as on the plane of Ash. The cold here isn't as intense, though, so there's no need for magical protection from it. Nevertheless, each day spent on this plane causes 2d6 points of damage, as the traveler's body begins to break up. This damage cannot be healed while on the plane. Should a traveler lose all hit points, his body dissipates into nothingness.

 

Special Magic Conditions. Conjuration/summoning spells reach to the planes of Earth, Magma, Ooze, Salt, Ash, and the Negative Energy. Solid objects created on this plane don't last, crumbling to dust in 1d4 turns unless protected by a wall of force spell, to bind the material in place (as is the case for Citadel Alluvius). Other limitations are the same as those on the plane of Earth.

 

Natives and Hazards. Dune stalker, dust mephit, sandling, and sandman all abide here. The plane of Dust is one of the most populated of the darker Quasielemental Planes. These creatures take no delight in their existence, however, and many hunger for solid forms. This hunger can make them especially deadly. As with all the darker quasiplanes, random pockets of Negative Energy are always a danger to any normal traveler.

 

Paraelemental Plane of Ooze

Of all the Quasielemental Planes, this one might be the worst, or at least that's so in the imaginations of travelers. What crueler fate is there than slowly having the very lifeblood within one's self parched away? The skin shrivels, the lips crack, the throat fills with dry choking, and the eyes - well, the eyes are the most horrible. Welcome to the plane of Salt.

 

At its safest edge, it still seems to be only water bitter and unpalatable, but still water. Travel deeper into the plane and the water grows more laden with minerals. Crystals form, solidifying on even the smallest mote of a seed. Travelers who venture farther are in peril of becoming completely encrusted, the salts leaching all moisture out of their cells. Finally, all water is gone and there is only a solid mass of crystalline salts, hard and deadly, to block all progress.

 

It's at this extreme that the Doomguard has carved the last of its fortresses from a hollow pocket in the plane. Citadel Sealt rests on the border to the Negative Energy Plane, carved from the very minerals them- selves.

 

Special Physical Conditions. Moving through this plane varies. It can be like the planes of Water, Ooze, or Earth, depending on how deeply the plane is entered. Breathing can be accomplished by spell, but a traveler must find ways to avoid dehydration or suffer 4d6 points of damage per day. This damage cannot be healed until the being leaves this plane.

 

Special Magic Conditions. Salt is linked to the planes of Water, Ooze, Dust, Vacuum, Ice, and the Negative Energy for the purposes of conjuration/summoning. Water and ice created here last only 1d3 rounds before evaporating. Water is immediately undrinkable upon contact with any material of the plane. Waterbased creatures lose 1 HD per round while on this plane.

 

Natives and Hazards. There are no known creatures on this plane except the salt mephits. Pockets of Negative Plane material and dehydration are the greatest risks to travelers.

 

Positive Energy Plane

Being the plane of all life, a body'd figure this to be the gentlest of planes, that it would bathe a sod in soothing and revitalizing energy, but it doesn't. The Positive Energy Plane is deadly because too much energy is just as dangerous as too little.

 

There's nothing to see here beyond an endless burn of brilliant white, even more intense than that of the plane of Radiance, and a cutter needs to cover his eyes with a solid blindfold if he ever plans to use them again. That doesn't matter much, since there's nothing to see here anyway. Besides, it's not the glare that's the problem. It's the sheer intensity of the plane's energy that makes it dangerous. Any leatherhead who comes here without protection is going to quickly flame out like a Roman candle from the sheer abundance of power. Traveling the Positive Energy Plane is a bit like swimming in an ocean of pure electricity.

 

Special Physical Conditions. Movement on the plane of life is accomplished by the power of thought. There's not much point to it, though, since every place on the plane is the same. Furthermore, just being on the plane fills a being with life-energy. Each round a traveler gains 2d6 hit points, first healing wounds and then adding to his total. If the total reaches twice the traveler's original, he bursts into incandescent flames as the overabundance destroys him from within. If the traveler leaves the plane before reaching the combustion point, the extra hit points remain for 2d10 turns. A positive plane protection shields the traveler from this effect. Finally, spells that transform the elements into breathable material don't work here, since the plane contains only energy - air must be provided by device.

 

Special Magic Conditions. Conjuration/summoning spells reach the planes of Radiance, Steam, Lightning, and Mineral. Matter created here is destroyed in a round, exploding in a burst of harmless light. Spells that inflict damage cause the minimum amount possible while on this plane.

 

Natives and Hazards. The xag-ya is the only known being on this plane. By far, the greatest hazard is simply surviving the forces of this plane.

 

Negative Energy Plane

The plane of Death, the Black Barrier, the Great Void, the Cold Land - none of these names do justice to the utter desolation that is the Negative Energy Plane. Unlike the plane of Vacuum, this isn't a barren nothingness. There's something here, something that sucks the life out of the marrow and drains the spirit from a being. It devours the very soul.

 

Where the Positive Energy Plane is all burning light, the Negative Energy is blackness greater than can be imagined or conjured. There's at least one citadel here, the Fortress of the Soul, maintained with great effort by the Dustmen. If there are other towers and features here, who can see them in the darkness that consumes all? There are creatures here, too, more so than on the plane of Positive Energy. Undead lurk here, eagerly awaiting the opportunity to escape to more fertile planes, where they can spread the darkness that fills them.

 

Special Physical Conditions. Movement on this plane is accomplished by thought, as it is on the Positive Energy Plane. Again the question is, "Where would one go in this void, especially since survival is so difficult?" Breathing suffers as on the Positive Energy. The absence of energy on this plane sucks all life from creatures, inflicting 2d6 points of damage each round. When a being's hit points reach 0, he withers and dies. His spirit is lost forever to resurrection by any means, and what little remains of his husk becomes an undead creature, eager to feed on the living world. A negative plane protection spell prevents this loss of hit points.

 

Special Magic Conditions. Conjuration/summonings reach the planes of Ash, Dust, Vacuum, and Salt. Spells that cause damage inflict the maximum possible amount, while healing spells do the absolute minimum. Matter created here crumbles to nothingness in a single round.

 

Natives and Hazards. Slow shadow, spectre, wight, wraith, and xeg-yi hover on this plane. There may be other forms of undead lurking on this plane, including even liches.

[Andyr]

The Negative Energy plane would make a cool place for a quest.

 

Elemental planes could be cool but tricky to implement well.

[Domi]

I voted for Mineral one

[Galactygon]

My vote went to the plane of air.

 

-Galactygon

[MrEnnigma]

I've always enjoyed being under water so my vote went to water.

[Sillara of the Tamari]

The paraelemental plane of Radiance, of course!

 

Sillara

[BobTokyo]

The Dismal Delve! True endless dungeon crawling!

[BigRob]

From a map-making perspecitive, I think earth or one of its para- or quasi- planes would be the easiest. Imagine trying to make a good looking map for elemental air!

[Galactygon]

I thought the plane of earth had a shifting labyrinth of tunnels that frequently cave in. Teleporting into the plane of earth doesn't necessarily lead to the Great Dismal Delve. In fact, you would be crushed 99% of the time since you shift into solid earth.

 

That's what the more detailed sources say IIRC.

 

-Galactygon

[BobTokyo]

I thought the plane of earth had a shifting labyrinth of tunnels that frequently cave in. Teleporting into the plane of earth doesn't necessarily lead to the Great Dismal Delve. In fact, you would be crushed 99% of the time since you shift into solid earth.

 

That's what the more detailed sources say IIRC.

 

-Galactygon

The Mod Maker is the DM; he can drop you where he likes. Maybe a group of Dao merchants has a mobile portal they carry in a wagon as they go through the Delve; thye set it up in their tents when they rest. The other side of the portal is in an identical wagon manned by disguised Dao in trademeet (the Gypsies). You enter the tent, step through the "strange mirror" into an identical tent, and find yourself in a camp filled with angry minor Dao. The fun goes from there, with your goal (once you know where you are) being to find a portal back.

 

Everything else is pure dungeon crawl.