The Material Plane
The Material Plane is the center of most cosmologies and defines what is considered normal. It has the following traits:
- Normal gravity.
- Normal Time
- Alterable morphic.
- No Elemental or Energy Traits (specific locations may have these traits, however)
- Mildly neutral-aligned.
- Normal magic.
The Ethereal Plane is coexistent with the Material Plane and often other planes as well. The Material itself is visible from the Ethereal, but it appears muted and indistinct, its colors blurring into each other and its edges turning fuzzy.
While it is possible to see into the Material Plane from the Ethereal, the Ethereal is usually invisible to those on the Material. Normally, creatures on the Ethereal cannot attack creatures on the Material and vice versa. A traveler on the Ethereal is invisible, incorporeal, and utterly silent to someone on the Material.
The Ethereal Plane is mostly empty of structures and impediments. However, it has its own inhabitants. Some of these are other ethereal travelers, but the ghosts found here pose a particular peril to those who walk the fog.
It has the following traits.
- No gravity.
- Alterable morphic. The plane contains little to alter, however.
- Mildly neutral-aligned.
- Normal magic. Spells function normally on the Ethereal Plane, though they do not cross into the Material Plane.
The only exceptions are spells and spell-like abilities that have the force descriptor and abjuration spells that affect ethereal beings. Spellcasters on the Material Plane must have some way to detect foes on the Ethereal Plane before targeting them with force-based spells, of course. While it's possible to hit ethereal enemies with a force spell cast on the Material Plane, the reverse isn't possible. No magical attacks cross from the Ethereal Plane to the Material Plane, including force attacks.
The Astral Plane is the space between the planes. When a character moves through an interplanar portal or projects her spirit to a different plane of existence, she travels through the Astral Plane. Even spells that allow instantaneous movement across a plane briefly touch the Astral Plane.
The Astral Plane is a great, endless sphere of clear silvery sky, both above and below. Occasional bits of solid matter can be found here, but most of the Astral Plane is an endless, open domain.
Both planar travelers and refugees from other planes call the Astral Plane home. It has the following traits.
- Subjective directional gravity.
- Timeless. Age, hunger, thirst, poison, and natural healing don't function in the Astral Plane, though they resume functioning when the traveler leaves the Astral Plane.
- Mildly neutral-aligned.
- Enhanced magic. All spells and spell-like abilities used within the Astral Plane can be employed as if they were improved by the Quicken Spell feat. Already quickened spells and spell-like abilities are unaffected, as are spells from magic items. Spells so quickened are still prepared and cast at their unmodified level. As with the Quicken Spell feat, only one quickened spell can be cast per round.
The Elemental Plane of Air is an empty plane, consisting of sky above and sky below. It is the most comfortable and survivable of the Inner Planes, and is the home of all manner of airborne creatures. Indeed, flying creatures find themselves at a great advantage here. While travelers without flight can survive easily here, they are at a disadvantage.
The Elemental Plane of Air has the following traits.
- Subjective directional gravity. Inhabitants of the plane determine their own “down” direction. Objects not under the motive force of others do not move.
- Air-dominant.
- Enhanced magic. Spells and spell-like abilities that use, manipulate, or create air (including spells of the Air domain) are both empowered and enlarged (as if the Empower Spell and Enlarge Spell metamagic feats had been used on them, but the spells don't require higher-level slots).
- Impeded magic. Spells and spell-like abilities that use or create earth (including spells of the Earth domain and spells that summon earth elementals or outsiders with the earth subtype) are impeded.
The Elemental Plane of Earth is a solid place made of rock, soil, and stone. An unwary and unprepared traveler may find himself entombed within this vast solidity of material and have his life crushed into nothingness, his powdered remains a warning to any foolish enough to follow.
Despite its solid, unyielding nature, the Elemental Plane of Earth is varied in its consistency, ranging from relatively soft soil to veins of heavier and more valuable metal. It has the following traits.
- Earth-dominant.
- Enhanced magic. Spells and spell-like abilities that use, manipulate, or create earth or stone (including those of the Earth domain) are both empowered and extended (as if the Empower Spell and Extend Spell metamagic feats had been used on them, but the spells don't require higher-level slots). Spells and spell-like abilities that are already empowered or extended are unaffected by this benefit.
- Impeded magic. Spells and spell-like abilities that use or create air (including spells of the Air domain and spells that summon air elementals or outsiders with the air subtype) are impeded.
Everything is alight on the Elemental Plane of Fire. The ground is nothing more than great, evershifting plates of compressed flame. The air ripples with the heat of continual firestorms, and the most common liquid is magma, not water. The oceans are made of liquid flame, and the mountains ooze with molten lava. Fire survives here without need for fuel or air, but flammables brought onto the plane are consumed readily.
The Elemental Plane of Fire has the following traits.
- Fire-dominant.
- Enhanced magic. Spells and spell-like abilities with the fire descriptor are both maximized and enlarged (as if the Maximize Spell and Enlarge Spell had been used on them, but the spells don't require higher-level slots). Spells and spell-like abilities that are already maximized or enlarged are unaffected by this benefit.
- Impeded magic. Spells and spell-like abilities that use or create water (including spells of the Water domain and spells that summon water elementals or outsiders with the water subtype) are impeded.
The Elemental Plane of Water is a sea without a floor or a surface, an entirely fluid environment lit by a diffuse glow. It is one of the more hospitable of the Inner Planes once a traveler gets past the problem of breathing the local medium.
The eternal oceans of this plane vary between ice cold and boiling hot, between saline and fresh. They are perpetually in motion, wracked by currents and tides. The plane's permanent settlements form around bits of flotsam and jetsam suspended within this endless liquid. These settlements drift on the tides.
The Elemental Plane of Water has the following traits.
- Subjective directional gravity. The gravity here works similar to that of the Elemental Plane of Air, but sinking or rising on the Elemental Plane of Water is slower (and less dangerous) than on the Elemental Plane of Air.
- Water-dominant.
- Enhanced magic. Spells and spell-like abilities that use or create water are both extended and enlarged (as if the Extend Spell and Enlarge Spell metamagic feats had been used on them, but the spells don't require higher-level slots). Spells and spell-like abilities that are already extended or enlarged are unaffected by this benefit.
- Impeded magic. Spells and spell-like abilities with the fire descriptor (including spells of the Fire domain) are impeded.
To an observer, there's little to see on the Negative Energy Plane. It is a dark, empty place, an eternal pit where a traveler can fall until the plane itself steals away all light and life. The Negative Energy Plane is the most hostile of the Inner Planes, and the most uncaring and intolerant of life. Only creatures immune to its life-draining energies can survive there.
The Negative Energy Plane has the following traits.
- Subjective directional gravity.
- Major negative-dominant. Some areas within the plane have only the minor negative-dominant trait, and these islands tend to be inhabited.
- Enhanced magic. Spells and spell-like abilities that use negative energy are maximized (as if the Maximize Spell metamagic feat had been used on them, but the spells don't require higher-level slots). Spells and spell-like abilities that are already maximized are unaffected by this benefit. Class abilities that use negative energy, such as rebuking and controlling undead, gain a +10 bonus on the roll to determine Hit Dice affected.
- Impeded magic. Spells and spell-like abilities that use positive energy, including cure spells, are impeded.
Characters on this plane take a -10 penalty on Fortitude saves made to recover Hit Dice drained by an energy drain attack.
Random Encounters: Because the Negative Energy Plane is virtually devoid of creatures, random encounters on the plane are exceedingly rare.
The Positive Energy Plane has no surface and is akin to the Elemental Plane of Air with its wide-open nature. However, every bit of this plane glows brightly with innate power. This power is dangerous to mortal forms, which are not made to handle it. Despite the beneficial effects of the plane, it is one of the most hostile of the Inner Planes. An unprotected character on this plane swells with power as positive energy is force-fed into her. Then, her mortal frame unable to contain that power, she immolates as if she were a small planet caught at the edge of a supernova. Visits to the Positive Energy Plane are brief, and even then travelers must be heavily protected.
The Positive Energy Plane has the following traits.
- Subjective directional gravity.
- Major positive-dominant. Some regions of the plane have the minor positive-dominant trait instead, and those islands tend to be inhabited.
- Enhanced magic. Spells and spell-like abilities that use positive energy, including cure spells, are maximized (as if the Maximize Spell metamagic feat had been used on them, but the spells don't require higher-level slots). Spells and spell-like abilities that are already maximized are unaffected by this benefit. Class abilities that use positive energy, such as turning and destroying undead, gain a +10 bonus on the roll. (Undead are almost impossible to find on this plane, however.)
- Impeded magic. Spells and spell-like abilities that use negative energy (including inflict spells) are impeded.
Random Encounters: Because the Positive Energy Plane is virtually devoid of creatures, random encounters on the plane are exceedingly rare.
The Plane of Shadow is a dimly-lit dimension that is both coterminous to and coexistent with the Material Plane. It overlaps the Material Plane much as the Ethereal Plane does, so a planar traveler can use the Plane of Shadow to cover great distances quickly.
The Plane of Shadow is also coterminous to other planes. With the right spell, a character can use it to visit other realities.
The Plane of Shadow is a world of black and white; color itself has been bleached from the environment. It otherwise appears similar to the Material Plane. Despite the lack of light sources, various plants, animals, and humanoids call it home.
The Plane of Shadow is magically morphic, and parts continually flow onto other planes. As a result, creating a precise map of the plane is next to impossible, despite the presence of landmarks. It has the following traits.
- Magically morphic. Certain spells modify the base material of the Plane of Shadow. The utility and power of these spells within the Plane of Shadow make them particularly useful for explorers and natives alike.
- Mildly neutral-aligned.
- Enhanced magic. Spells with the shadow descriptor are enhanced on the Plane of Shadow. Such spells are cast as though they were prepared with the Maximize Spell feat, though they don't require the higher spell slots. Furthermore, specific spells become more powerful on the Plane of Shadow. Shadow conjuration and shadow evocation spells are 30% as powerful as the conjurations and evocations they mimic (as opposed to 20%). Greater shadow conjuration and greater shadow evocation are 50% as powerful (not 40%), and a shades spell conjures at 70% of the power of the original (not 60%).
- Impeded magic. Spells that use or generate light or fire may fizzle when cast on the Plane of Shadow. A spellcaster attempting a spell with the light or fire descriptor must succeed on a Spellcraft check (DC 20 + the level of the spell). Spells that produce light are less effective in general, because all light sources have their ranges halved on the Plane of Shadow.
Despite the dark nature of the Plane of Shadow, spells that produce, use, or manipulate darkness are unaffected by the plane.
Spirit Realm
The Spirit Realm is a grim, dreary place, not unlike the Ethereal Plane in appearance – a pale reflection of reality, filled with swirling mist and fog, occasional breezes bearing the moaning echoes of lost souls. The Spirit Realm can only be normally accessed by way of the Ethereal or a few places on the Plane of Shadow (though see below); beings on this plane cannot affect those on the Prime, with a few exceptions (like ghosts).
Places where large numbers of people have died (battlefields, for example), or large numbers of dead area buried (graveyards) can be seen in sharp contrast and vivid color. The veil is thinner here – the Spirit Realm and the Prime Material are directly connected. Thus, anyone with the proper spells or abilities can move back and forth more easily (see Piercing the Veil, below), spirits are more readily summoned, and spells that enable communication with spirits are more likely to get a response. Of course, this also means that spirits can also move back and forth across the veil; they are much more powerful (and much more dangerous) in such areas.
Living beings are only very rarely found in the realm of the spirits, and they do not remain long, as the spirits always know where they are and either seek to take them over (see Possession and Exorcism) kill them, or drive them out, according to their views and alignments. More often, travellers to this realm come here in spirit form themselves, the easier to blend in and find what they seek, be it information, the soul of a companion, or an item.
It has the following traits:
- Mildly neutral-aligned.
- Normal time. Living beings in the Spirit Realm do not suffer from hunger, thirst, or fatigue, however.
- Normal magic. Most spells function normally in in the Spirit Realm, but they cannot be used to affect beings on the Prime Material (even force spells are subject to this restriction).
Divination spells are heightened (as the feat) due to the vast number of spirits bearing information pertinent to the caster. Those casting spells like commune and speak with dead receive an additional question. Commune with nature, however, does not work at all, since there it no wilderness in the Spirit Realm.
Spells that create light or darkness work at half efficiency, and last only half as long. Likewise, spells or effects that employ positive or negative energy (energy drain, cure and inflict spells, etc.) deal half as much damage (or ability or level drain, as appropriate). Also, they cannot be affected by any metamagic feat that increases their effect – maximize, empower, widen, etc., though they can still be made still, silent, etc. This is due in part to the spirit realm's lack of a connection to the Positive and Negative Energy Planes – the spells will work normally, but without the link to draw upon, the caster cannot use as much energy to power the spell.
Spells that work with or affect spirits are maximized for free, and the save DC, where applicable, is increased by +2.
Summoning spells, except those that summon spirits, do not work.
Incorporeal undead with ties to the Negative Material Plane (shadows, wraiths, and specters) are never found in the Spirit Realm, and will never willingly go there. Spells designed to summon such creatures will work, as will items like spirit bottles and wraith beads; however, any such undead that enters the Spirit Realm is instantly destroyed as its link to the Negative Energy Plane is severed and it is turned into an ordinary (if evil) spirit. Such a spirit will most likely attack the one who summoned it, seeking to either kill or take over the body as revenge.
Random Encounters: Except for the rare living being, the sole denizens of the Spirit Realm are, of course, spirits. Depending on the cosmology, these can be the spirits of all the dead, those who do not worship any god (and thus have no plane for their soul to go after death), or those who have been cut off from the sight of the gods. There are even rumors that there is a spell that can sever a creature's soul from its body and cast it adrift into the Spirit Realm, but these are unsubstantiated. In any case, these spirits remain here for all eternity, unless summoned by the gods (some gods, when creating new lives, use souls that have been wiped clean of memories of their previous life), sought out by former companions, or they somehow find a way back onto the Prime Material. While they are here, their essence is slowly leeched away until they become nothing more than pale shadows of the beings they once were.
A spirit, when it is first formed, has a Personality score equal to the average of its Intelligence and Wisdom modifiers (round down; if this is a negative number, it becomes 0), plus its Charisma modifier (again, if this number is negative, it becomes 0), plus its levels/HD. There are also other factors that add in, like extreme alignment (good or evil; adds +2), leaving an important task unfished in life (adds +1 to +4, depending), and method of death (peaceful death adds +0, while violent murder adds up to +6). So, for example, a warrior who died defending his comrades from attack could have a bonus of +2, while an extremely evil cleric of the god of death who was hacked down by the forces of good who raided his temple would have around +10 (+2 for alignment, +2 for defending his temple, and +6 for method of death).
The Personality score determines how much power a spirit has, and is used to detemrine the spirit's power level for purposes of possession and exorcism, as well as how long it maintains its identity in the Spirit Realm (see below). For example, Erebus, the cleric mentioned above, has Int 15, Wis 19, and Cha 15. His Personality would be 16 after the additions. He was 12th level when he died, so another +12 equals 28.
Each year, a spirit in the Spirit Realm must make a Will save (DC 17) using the score it had in life, but modified by Charisma instead of Wisdom. The DC increases by +1 each year after the first. A successful save means the spirit has staved off the inevitable dissolution of its essence; a failed save means that it weakens, losing 1 point of Personality. The first Personality points lost equal lost levels, until the spirit is reduced to 1st level, then (if it has any points left), HD, Int, Wis, and Cha scores are reduced (in that order). Int and Wis bonuses are reduced simultaneously until they reach 0; if one is higher than the other, it alone is reduced. The Charisma bonus is reserved for last, as it is a measure of the spirit's core personality; when it is gone, all memories of the the spirit's former life are erased - it is, in effect, a blank slate that can be reused to form a new life.
Piercing the Veil: In most cases, the realm of spirits and the realm of the living seldom coincide. Sometimes, though, a restless spirit – a ghost, haunt, or spirit – can pierce the veil between the planes and come back to the world of the living.
Travel in the other direction, however, is more difficult. Unless the person is using magic or is a Spiritblade, he must undergo a lengthy ritual of purification and fasting that usually lasts a a day, then he must spend time in a quiet place, either alone or with others who will make the journey with him (the place varies; in some cultures, he must sit in a sweat lodge, while in others, simple meditation in a quite place is sufficient). Unlike spellcasting and magic item creation, the traveller cannot rest – he must stay there for the entire time, or the effort is wasted. Each eight consecutive hours, he must make a Wisdom check (DC 20); he gains a +1 circumstance bonus per eight hours after the first. If the save is successful, he has managed to pierce the veil between the world of the living and the Spirit Realm. He may travel around on the spirit plane for up to one hour per point of his Wisdom bonus (minimum one hour); this is often more than enough time to accomplish his mission, as people seldom undertake a spirit journey frivolously.
In some few cases, a traveller can enter the Spirit Realm in physical form. This is dangerous in the extreme, and very rarely done (and then only by the truly insane, or those secure in their power). The presence of life on the Spirit Realm is like a shining beacon, drawing all spirits within five miles to it. Some are merely curious, others wish to be reminded of what they have left behind, while still others (the spirits of those who were evil in life) will seek to take over the living bodies somehow, in order to return to the land of the living and wreak havoc once more. Most spirits are neutral to any beings they encounter, whether living or spiritual; they answer simple questions that require little thought and do not go out of their way to help a traveller. Some few (usually those new to the Realm, who have not yet lost their alignment tendencies) are more helpful and knowledgeable, and will answer questions, while those with an evil bent will actively seek to mislead the questioner (if he is spirit form) or waylay him and take over his body (if he is in physical form).
