Just a quick thought for tonight:
What about using "Realms" instead of "Planes" with a more looser naming convention instead of "The Elemental Plane of..."
So:
The Water Realm
The Air Realm
?The Life Realm? (For Positive Energy)
etc.
It sounds a little less "scientific" then the default names used in later D&D editions and I think fits the theme of our setting better.
Just a thought...
Showing posts with label Planes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Planes. Show all posts
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Musing: The Planes, Part IV: The Ethereal Plane
The Ethereal Plane is a bit of a mystery among those who study planar lore. From the most curious scholar on Deminar to the god's themselves, no one is quite sure what to make of it.
The Ethereal Plane exists in the same planar location as the Prime Material, just on a different level. It even looks much like Deminar, only everything is muted in color with more grays and browns prominent then any other. Where there is a floating island in Demiar, there's probably one on the Ethereal Plane, where there's a twisted canyon on the broken earth below, a copy exists in the same spot on the Ethereal. It's not an exact "echo," there are some places that don't exist on the Ethereal that have a place in Deminar and, more strangely, there are parts in the Ethereal that look how places in Deminar did millennium before, rather then how they do now.
However, there are "echoes" of living things in the Ethereal, every deer doesn't have a copy waiting for it, and you won't run into your twin if you pop over for a visit. Even trees and plants don't echo themselves on the plane, though they still exist there, a sickly rubbery version that barely soaks up nutrients form a muted dull sun.
There are creatures that exist, or, due to the shared location nature between it and the Prime Material, partially exist on the Ethereal Plane. Mostly these are unintelligent creatures, though the Phase Tiger exists partially on that plane. The biggest "population" that interacts with the Prime Material plane however are the incorporeal undead. Ghosts and Wraiths exist there and, on occasion and through a strong sense of will, can project themselves into Deminar.
The moniker of echo also applies to some of the structures that appear in the Ethereal. It seems anything with a strong emotional resonance with a large group of people will appear as a slightly twisted reflection in the Ethereal. Towns that were brutally razed and burned down may appear as ever burning buildings, a castle that is home to a benevolent and much loved noble may appear, taller and more opulent, upon the Plane. Even natural places, like an elven wood, may appear, though often the "trees" that show up on the Ethereal aren't real trees, just unliving reflections of them. These places can stand long after their originals are gone in Deminar, depending how strongly they meant to people and how many people were affected by them. As time wears on, however, and people forget about such places, they will simply disappear off the Ethereal.
Mortals from Deminar can enter the Ethereal if they choose to, through planar portals and gates. Also, due to the Planes sharing space, there are places where the thin gossamer veil that separates the two grows weak and one can invertible stumble into the Ethereal without meaning to. And, unfortunately, it is not always a two way street. Many have become trapped in the Ethereal, prey to the beings that inhabit it or constantly looking for a way back to Deminar. Those who visit would find the Plane slightly cold, but holding a consistent temperature no matter where they go, even in the presence of fire or lava (though those things would still burn flesh). The dull gray sky and surroundings often bring a sense of melancholy and depression to those that walk among it, but these are not supernatural factors, just a general morose that all beings get when deprived of color and sunlight.
The Plane is confounding and aggravating to the Gods for it is the one plane they cannot interact with. No God may visit the plane, not emissaries from the god of Death may retrieve the souls that exist there as ghosts, no Outsider of any kind, formed of soulstuff can enter the Ethereal and the Gods haven't a clue why and the fact that mortals can do it, angers them to no end.
The Ethereal Plane exists in the same planar location as the Prime Material, just on a different level. It even looks much like Deminar, only everything is muted in color with more grays and browns prominent then any other. Where there is a floating island in Demiar, there's probably one on the Ethereal Plane, where there's a twisted canyon on the broken earth below, a copy exists in the same spot on the Ethereal. It's not an exact "echo," there are some places that don't exist on the Ethereal that have a place in Deminar and, more strangely, there are parts in the Ethereal that look how places in Deminar did millennium before, rather then how they do now.
However, there are "echoes" of living things in the Ethereal, every deer doesn't have a copy waiting for it, and you won't run into your twin if you pop over for a visit. Even trees and plants don't echo themselves on the plane, though they still exist there, a sickly rubbery version that barely soaks up nutrients form a muted dull sun.
There are creatures that exist, or, due to the shared location nature between it and the Prime Material, partially exist on the Ethereal Plane. Mostly these are unintelligent creatures, though the Phase Tiger exists partially on that plane. The biggest "population" that interacts with the Prime Material plane however are the incorporeal undead. Ghosts and Wraiths exist there and, on occasion and through a strong sense of will, can project themselves into Deminar.
The moniker of echo also applies to some of the structures that appear in the Ethereal. It seems anything with a strong emotional resonance with a large group of people will appear as a slightly twisted reflection in the Ethereal. Towns that were brutally razed and burned down may appear as ever burning buildings, a castle that is home to a benevolent and much loved noble may appear, taller and more opulent, upon the Plane. Even natural places, like an elven wood, may appear, though often the "trees" that show up on the Ethereal aren't real trees, just unliving reflections of them. These places can stand long after their originals are gone in Deminar, depending how strongly they meant to people and how many people were affected by them. As time wears on, however, and people forget about such places, they will simply disappear off the Ethereal.
Mortals from Deminar can enter the Ethereal if they choose to, through planar portals and gates. Also, due to the Planes sharing space, there are places where the thin gossamer veil that separates the two grows weak and one can invertible stumble into the Ethereal without meaning to. And, unfortunately, it is not always a two way street. Many have become trapped in the Ethereal, prey to the beings that inhabit it or constantly looking for a way back to Deminar. Those who visit would find the Plane slightly cold, but holding a consistent temperature no matter where they go, even in the presence of fire or lava (though those things would still burn flesh). The dull gray sky and surroundings often bring a sense of melancholy and depression to those that walk among it, but these are not supernatural factors, just a general morose that all beings get when deprived of color and sunlight.
The Plane is confounding and aggravating to the Gods for it is the one plane they cannot interact with. No God may visit the plane, not emissaries from the god of Death may retrieve the souls that exist there as ghosts, no Outsider of any kind, formed of soulstuff can enter the Ethereal and the Gods haven't a clue why and the fact that mortals can do it, angers them to no end.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Musing: The Planes, Part III: Questions and Answers
My talk about the planes brought up a few questions by one of my faithful readers who wanted more information about how I perceive that the planes work, so, I figured, for a fun post, let's do a Q&A:
Q. Given the needed propulsion, would it be possible to, say, write my name on the sky?
I'm assuming he means on the planar edge of the prime material, or, for that matter, any planar border and the answer is no.
The Domains of the gods in the Astral Plane have little to no border between them and the Astral Sea they float in, as one floats through the Astral and comes up a Domain, it begins to dominant their relative horizon until eventually you fall into that Domain and are no longer in the Astral. It's a smooth transition, there is no "pop" or cue that signifies you're in a Domain, it's much like leaving Earth's atmosphere and entering space. Scientists settled on a "line" that separates the two, but it's not a physical separation you feel, it's just an imaginary line they all agreed upon. The same is true for the separation of Domains and the Astral, so there is no physical line to write on, anymore then you could do so on the Kármán line.
The Prime Material Plane is separated from the Astral by the Elemental Planes, these planes form a sort of shell around it, one part to have all the building blocks of Deminar readily available and one part to make it difficult for something from the Astral to wander into the Prime Material. Whatever constructed the Prime Materiel as a source of mortal life wanted to make sure it wasn't easily destroyed by beings from Beyond, and thus the Elemental Planes serve as a good barrier. And while you enter an Elemental Plane the same as you would a Domain from the Astral, you have to travel through a lot of Elemental to get to the Prime Material, and many planes are almost impossibly large, near infinite, so strolling across them from one "end" to the other is no simple journey.
The barrier between the Elemental and Prime is an actual barrier however, to stop all the Elemental stuff from constantly seeping in, but this is a Planar Barrier and is more metaphysical then physical. It exists, there is "something" there, but it's not like a hard shell or crystal sphere, it's just something stopping you from entering the Elemental Planes and stop them from entering the Prime Material.
There are holes in this Barrier, one into each of the six Elementals that allowed all that building material into the Prime to build Deminar in the first place. Some of these breaches are visible, the one into the Elemental Plane of Fire is the "Sun" which all of Deminar sees, the two "moons" are simply light reflected off the Elemental Planes of Earth and Water. There are breaches into Air, Positive, and Negative too, but those are not visible from Deminar's surfaces (thought there are claim that islands floating around the north pole of Deminar can see a radiant light show brilliance at night sometimes, possible a window in the the Elemental Plane of Positive Energy. These breaches are like that which separates the Astral from Domains, in that someone from Deminar could, in theory, fly into them and enter an Elemental Plane. However, much like earth's magnetic field, the Planar Barrier that separates the Prime from the Elementals gives off an energy that, even at its breaches still holds back stuff from tumbling into the Prime, though I wouldn't recommend getting close to the breach of the Elemental Plane of Fire without some sunscreen, cause the heat given off from it can still be felt (and indeed is felt all the way to the surfaces of Deminar)
The separation between the Prime and Ethereal is gossamer thin, which is why ghosts and such can still be seen if you know how to look, but, you can't simply pass through it, as the two planes exist in the exact same spot. Though, given the right circumstances, the veil could be thin enough that people from the Prime Material could suddenly find themselves in the Ethereal, it would make for a good adventure start at the very least.
As for what separates the Astral and the "Nothing" or Shadow Plane, well, no one, divine or otherwise, as been to the "edge" of the Astral Sea, so no one knows.
Q. Could I make an awesome shot and launch something into another plane through the sun, or a moon?
See the above discussion about the "length" of the Elemental Planes, something could eventually reach the edge and wind up in the Astral Plane, but that would have to be a helluva throw, and you have to hope nothing blocks it along the way (or it's not vaporized, crushed, dissipated, or any of the other dangerous things that can happen in those planes)
Q. Do jerk beings on other planes throw their trash into Deminar?
Well the Domains don't have trash, things on those planes (planar creatures included) are made from "soulstuff" and revert back to soulstuff upon being destroyed or "killed." This then gets recycled back into the Domain to be used again as needed. Though if the thing is destroyed in another Domain, say some Angels "killed" while attacking our version of Hell, the place they fall gets the "soulstuff" instead of the original owner, which is why gods are hesitant to send armies invading other Domains, it's just a good way to make a different Domain stronger. If they did have some other form of "trash" that was not soulstuff convertible, they'd have to get it through all the barriers talked about above to get to the Prime Material. One can circumvent that by opening up Planar Gates and Portals, but it's not worth the energy or effort to do so, so you probably won't find a lot of divine trash in Deminar.
Q. Given the needed propulsion, would it be possible to, say, write my name on the sky?
I'm assuming he means on the planar edge of the prime material, or, for that matter, any planar border and the answer is no.
The Domains of the gods in the Astral Plane have little to no border between them and the Astral Sea they float in, as one floats through the Astral and comes up a Domain, it begins to dominant their relative horizon until eventually you fall into that Domain and are no longer in the Astral. It's a smooth transition, there is no "pop" or cue that signifies you're in a Domain, it's much like leaving Earth's atmosphere and entering space. Scientists settled on a "line" that separates the two, but it's not a physical separation you feel, it's just an imaginary line they all agreed upon. The same is true for the separation of Domains and the Astral, so there is no physical line to write on, anymore then you could do so on the Kármán line.
The Prime Material Plane is separated from the Astral by the Elemental Planes, these planes form a sort of shell around it, one part to have all the building blocks of Deminar readily available and one part to make it difficult for something from the Astral to wander into the Prime Material. Whatever constructed the Prime Materiel as a source of mortal life wanted to make sure it wasn't easily destroyed by beings from Beyond, and thus the Elemental Planes serve as a good barrier. And while you enter an Elemental Plane the same as you would a Domain from the Astral, you have to travel through a lot of Elemental to get to the Prime Material, and many planes are almost impossibly large, near infinite, so strolling across them from one "end" to the other is no simple journey.
The barrier between the Elemental and Prime is an actual barrier however, to stop all the Elemental stuff from constantly seeping in, but this is a Planar Barrier and is more metaphysical then physical. It exists, there is "something" there, but it's not like a hard shell or crystal sphere, it's just something stopping you from entering the Elemental Planes and stop them from entering the Prime Material.
There are holes in this Barrier, one into each of the six Elementals that allowed all that building material into the Prime to build Deminar in the first place. Some of these breaches are visible, the one into the Elemental Plane of Fire is the "Sun" which all of Deminar sees, the two "moons" are simply light reflected off the Elemental Planes of Earth and Water. There are breaches into Air, Positive, and Negative too, but those are not visible from Deminar's surfaces (thought there are claim that islands floating around the north pole of Deminar can see a radiant light show brilliance at night sometimes, possible a window in the the Elemental Plane of Positive Energy. These breaches are like that which separates the Astral from Domains, in that someone from Deminar could, in theory, fly into them and enter an Elemental Plane. However, much like earth's magnetic field, the Planar Barrier that separates the Prime from the Elementals gives off an energy that, even at its breaches still holds back stuff from tumbling into the Prime, though I wouldn't recommend getting close to the breach of the Elemental Plane of Fire without some sunscreen, cause the heat given off from it can still be felt (and indeed is felt all the way to the surfaces of Deminar)
The separation between the Prime and Ethereal is gossamer thin, which is why ghosts and such can still be seen if you know how to look, but, you can't simply pass through it, as the two planes exist in the exact same spot. Though, given the right circumstances, the veil could be thin enough that people from the Prime Material could suddenly find themselves in the Ethereal, it would make for a good adventure start at the very least.
As for what separates the Astral and the "Nothing" or Shadow Plane, well, no one, divine or otherwise, as been to the "edge" of the Astral Sea, so no one knows.
Q. Could I make an awesome shot and launch something into another plane through the sun, or a moon?
See the above discussion about the "length" of the Elemental Planes, something could eventually reach the edge and wind up in the Astral Plane, but that would have to be a helluva throw, and you have to hope nothing blocks it along the way (or it's not vaporized, crushed, dissipated, or any of the other dangerous things that can happen in those planes)
Q. Do jerk beings on other planes throw their trash into Deminar?
Well the Domains don't have trash, things on those planes (planar creatures included) are made from "soulstuff" and revert back to soulstuff upon being destroyed or "killed." This then gets recycled back into the Domain to be used again as needed. Though if the thing is destroyed in another Domain, say some Angels "killed" while attacking our version of Hell, the place they fall gets the "soulstuff" instead of the original owner, which is why gods are hesitant to send armies invading other Domains, it's just a good way to make a different Domain stronger. If they did have some other form of "trash" that was not soulstuff convertible, they'd have to get it through all the barriers talked about above to get to the Prime Material. One can circumvent that by opening up Planar Gates and Portals, but it's not worth the energy or effort to do so, so you probably won't find a lot of divine trash in Deminar.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Musings: The Planes, Part II: The Other Planes
So, as I stated before, the Plane in which Deminar rests, usually called the Material or Prime Material Plane sits in the middle of an infinite Astral Sea (yes, that's physically and mathematically impossible, but the planes don't conform to Newtonian Physics now do they?), however, the Plane doesn't not sit there alone. The Prime Material was constructed out of the six Fundamental Elements, Fire, Earth, Water, Wind, Positive Energy, and Negative Energy. These six Planes surround the Plane in which Deminar sits, with the Positive and Negative Energy one being on the top and bottom of a metaphysical sphere and the other four surrounding and encasing it. The sun the people of Deminar see is nothing more then the planar tear to the Elemental Plane of Fire used to ferry material into the Material Plane, Deminar's two moons are the Elemental Plane of Fire's reflection off the planar tears into the Plane of Earth and Water, and a tear exists into the other three Elemental Planes (Air, Positive and Negative Energy) but those cannot be seen. In theory, if one could travel far enough off the surface of Deminar's islands, they could pass through these tears and into the Elemental Planes (and indeed, many elemental creatures have passed through them), though they are all pretty hostile to most life that came to be on the Material Plane, as they consist of one type of elemental instead of the mix of all that most Prime Material beings need to function. Even the Positive Energy Plane would fill a creature so full of life energy they'd explode into a ball of radiance, and the Negative Energy plane would quickly suck the life force out of anything that resided in it for too long.
The Prime Material is not alone, however, for existing in the same space, yet in another Plane is the Ethereal Plane, a sort of "planar echo" of the Prime Material. Here, the world looks much as it does on Deminar, however most things are muted and gray. Not everything that exists on Deminar exists here, there are no copies of living things, for instance, but anything that hold particularly strong emotional resonance appears in the Ethereal Plane, even after it may have disappeared on Deminar. An old building that touched a lot of lives may have a pale echo on this plane, or a nonliving semblance of a forest that was particularly important to a clan of Halflings may stand in the Ethereal whereas it was cut down long ago on Deminar. No living thing leaves a true living echo on the Ethereal however, no matter how important a King or Warrior was revered, he, nor an echo or nonliving semblance ever shows up on the Ethereal. However, some people, who felt that, even after death, still had a strong emotional attachment to something on Deminar will find their souls roaming the Ethereal as ghosts instead of passing to a Domain. These beings sometimes find a way to manifest partially back on the Material Plane, allowing for the ghosts many people see on Deminar. Rumors of other intangible creatures being from the Ethereal and manifesting on Deminar (such as the Phase Tiger), much like ghosts is also a theory some scholars have. The biggest feature about the Ethereal Plane is, however, the fact that the gods can in no way manipulate or even send envoys to it (which is why they don't simply puck up all the souls of spirits and ghosts and get them to their proper Domain.) This intrigues the gods to no end and they believe that the Ethereal Plane is a subconscious shared construct of all living things and they work tirelessly to figure out a way to turn that power to themselves and their own advantage.
The Prime Material is not alone, however, for existing in the same space, yet in another Plane is the Ethereal Plane, a sort of "planar echo" of the Prime Material. Here, the world looks much as it does on Deminar, however most things are muted and gray. Not everything that exists on Deminar exists here, there are no copies of living things, for instance, but anything that hold particularly strong emotional resonance appears in the Ethereal Plane, even after it may have disappeared on Deminar. An old building that touched a lot of lives may have a pale echo on this plane, or a nonliving semblance of a forest that was particularly important to a clan of Halflings may stand in the Ethereal whereas it was cut down long ago on Deminar. No living thing leaves a true living echo on the Ethereal however, no matter how important a King or Warrior was revered, he, nor an echo or nonliving semblance ever shows up on the Ethereal. However, some people, who felt that, even after death, still had a strong emotional attachment to something on Deminar will find their souls roaming the Ethereal as ghosts instead of passing to a Domain. These beings sometimes find a way to manifest partially back on the Material Plane, allowing for the ghosts many people see on Deminar. Rumors of other intangible creatures being from the Ethereal and manifesting on Deminar (such as the Phase Tiger), much like ghosts is also a theory some scholars have. The biggest feature about the Ethereal Plane is, however, the fact that the gods can in no way manipulate or even send envoys to it (which is why they don't simply puck up all the souls of spirits and ghosts and get them to their proper Domain.) This intrigues the gods to no end and they believe that the Ethereal Plane is a subconscious shared construct of all living things and they work tirelessly to figure out a way to turn that power to themselves and their own advantage.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Musing: The Planes, Part 1: The Outer Planes
All this talk about gods and afterlife has the planes on my mind, so I might as well put some of it down to text, it's always nice to share after all.
The entire cosmology of everything exists within a vast darkness, this place, sometimes called The Plane of Shadow, due to the rare occurrence of when this dimension connects to Deminar via shadows, is actually a vast plane beyond all planes. It has always been there, long before Deminar or the domains of gods existed. The few people on Deminar who actually know about the planes, consider this vast plane a dimension of dark emptiness, there are others that claim this plane does indeed contain something that exists. The creatures known as Shadows are believed to come from there and many of the other creatures that do not seem to belong in nature are rumored to be sent by vast intelligent beings that dwell in the Plane of Shadow. Whether this is true or not, it is indeed a fact that all the planes, including the one in which Deminar exists floats amongst this inky blackness.
Many planes exist around Deminar, and all of them are suspended in the Astral Plane. Much like the island floats among the sky in Deminar, the planes float among the Astral Sea. It is a vast silvery mist in which nothing is tied down. Everything floats free, and it is easy to get lost as there are no permanent features. The openness allows for no constrains for growth and things that dwell within the Astral Plane can get quite big indeed.
Floating in the Astral Plane are the various Domains of the gods. Each major god has his own Domain and many lesser gods dwell alongside them. The Domains wax and wane in size as they collect more souls or are the subject of attacks from rivals. They are not permanently located in any one place and the only way to find them is to want to find them, such is the way of the Planes.
And, in the center of a place that has no center sits the Plane of Deminar, but it does not exist alone. Both encasing it, and existing along side it are several more planes. But such things are to be discussed at another time.
The entire cosmology of everything exists within a vast darkness, this place, sometimes called The Plane of Shadow, due to the rare occurrence of when this dimension connects to Deminar via shadows, is actually a vast plane beyond all planes. It has always been there, long before Deminar or the domains of gods existed. The few people on Deminar who actually know about the planes, consider this vast plane a dimension of dark emptiness, there are others that claim this plane does indeed contain something that exists. The creatures known as Shadows are believed to come from there and many of the other creatures that do not seem to belong in nature are rumored to be sent by vast intelligent beings that dwell in the Plane of Shadow. Whether this is true or not, it is indeed a fact that all the planes, including the one in which Deminar exists floats amongst this inky blackness.
Many planes exist around Deminar, and all of them are suspended in the Astral Plane. Much like the island floats among the sky in Deminar, the planes float among the Astral Sea. It is a vast silvery mist in which nothing is tied down. Everything floats free, and it is easy to get lost as there are no permanent features. The openness allows for no constrains for growth and things that dwell within the Astral Plane can get quite big indeed.
Floating in the Astral Plane are the various Domains of the gods. Each major god has his own Domain and many lesser gods dwell alongside them. The Domains wax and wane in size as they collect more souls or are the subject of attacks from rivals. They are not permanently located in any one place and the only way to find them is to want to find them, such is the way of the Planes.
And, in the center of a place that has no center sits the Plane of Deminar, but it does not exist alone. Both encasing it, and existing along side it are several more planes. But such things are to be discussed at another time.
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