The Outer Planes

The planes are divided into three broad planescapes; the Astral is connected via the Ethereal Plane to Earth, and contains all the planes which are constructs of the mind; these planes may share some properties in common with ‘lower’ planes, but here, alignments are manifest in the plane itself and alignment shapes the planes more than anything else. The middle planescape is the Primordial, accessed through the Feywild, and mixes life with chaos and the building blocks of the universe. Here the elemental planes manifest, as well as some of the spiritual homes of different beings. Lastly, the lower planescape is the Shadowfell, associated with death and endings. Though feared by many, many of the planes are benign or indifferent. There is some evil that lurks here, however.
Astral - The High Planescape The Astral Plane is as discussed in the DMG. Githyanki still ply the space lanes, and the Astral is one of the most commonly travelled planescapes by traders and adventurers. Most airships travel the Astral Plane. The nine primary planes in the Astral are listed below.
Heaven Alignment: LG Planet: Jupiter Description: Though followers of the Light paint an image of Heaven as an idyllic place free from strife or conflict, that is the second ‘floor’, which is inhabited by angels. The first level is the home of most gods in most pantheons; Amaterasu of the east shares this impossibly vast world with Quetzalcoatl and Thor, Hera and Isis. Each domain is specific to the gods and pantheon from which they originate, and the areas under the gods will vary considerably from the plane of angels. Ares the god of war resides here, and his domain is warlike indeed, while Hecate has a shadowy and mysterious domain. The second floor is difficult to access from outside of Heaven, and here reside the angels and archangels who serve the cause of order and goodness, working to bring the universe into alignment with these ideals. This level of Heaven burns those who aren’t good with radiant light, and disorients those who aren’t lawful. The halls and gardens both are meticulously cared for in order to promote tranquility and peace; the rare pilgrims who arrive here have spent hours contemplating the patterns in a handful of bushes. The third level is barred to all who are not angels or gods, and of those who return, none discuss it. Speculation rages, and most scholars agree that this is the home of Ahura Mazda’s spirit (his body is the universe, her soul is consciousness itself), or some other manifestation of wisdom or consciousness. Whatever dwells within answers no prayers, and no mortal has ever laid eyes on it.
Elysium Alignment: NG Planet: Uranus Description: Home to those gods who are closer to nature, Elysium has no levels and instead is one vast expanse of a world with scattered settlements and isolated domains. Nature deities typically reside here, and the landscape accommodates all of them, changing from tundra to desert to floodplains and everything else. A sense of calm and happiness pervades those who visit, and some never wish to leave; those who fail Wisdom saves too often while here may have to be dragged away by force. Those few cities which do exist are populated mostly by mortals who fell under this spell, though favored servants of the gods occasionally find their way here instead of other halls of the dead. The gods almost never have settlements populated by themselves and their servants, usually preferring a hall or dwelling with some space from their neighbors.
Alfheim Alignment: CG Planet: Neptune Description: The sages who study such things know that souls move through higher and higher cycles of refinement as they’re reincarnated. Elves are at the pinnacle of mortal development, and the most honored ancestors of humans, orcs, and goblins become elves, often ascending here first. Alfheim is the home of the elves and their origin; though millions live on the Prime Material, they arrived because of a massive exodus to assist the people on that plane with a dire issue of cosmic importance. Though many elves have forgotten this, the wise among them and other races know. A small handful of gods reside here and help protect the plane, which has two layers; there is the ‘surface’, composed mostly of forests, seas, and magical cities, and ‘underground’, home of drow cities. The drow here are cunning and deceitful, though not as nakedly evil or murderous as their prime material counterparts.
Forge Alignment: LN Planet: Mercury Description: Though some know of their position in spiritual advancement, most dwarves shrug and accept it, acknowledging a deep connection with the elements. Forge may not be the origin of the dwarven people, but it has been settled by them in great numbers, along with gnomes and Void Marines, potent beings who enforce the laws of the universe. The plane is entirely constructed in an orderly fashion, with cities operating in a sensible fashion and located a reasonable distance from each other. Forge has strong ties to the plane of earth, and savages chaotic beings who enter with psychic damage. Some trade cities have zones which mute this effect, giving the governors the smug satisfaction that chaos is being contained.
Concordia Alignment: N Planet: Earth Description: The crossroads of the multiverse is here, in a place where all roads eventually meet, and all layers of every plane are accessible. The enigmatic city of Sigil floats in the center, suspended above a spire in the center of the plane; Concordia is comparatively small, since travel in any direction eventually brings one to the Border Cities, which in turn lead to the planes which link to them. Counterintuitively, Concordia is not heavily travelled; travel magic doesn’t work well here, and airships have trouble staying in the sky. The border cities are caricatures of the planes they represent, and for these reasons trade in general doesn’t occur much here. As for Sigil, the enigmatic Lady of Pain rules over the godless city, and anyone who isn’t a resident is typically looking for a door.
Pangea Alignment: CN Planet: Mars Description: Civilizations crumble, and over time even entire races may die out. Pangea collects all these lost children of the universe and maintains their spiritual echoes here; though those who were once mortal are now planar beings, and often incapable of the high magics they once possessed (though cities in the style they remember are built by the plane), they are still vast repositories of knowledge. The plane also collects extinct creatures to populate the lands between these realms, making for exotic- if dangerous- hunting.
Inferno Alignment: LE Planet: Venus Description: This plane is strongly linked to fire, and governed by powerful devils who work to oppose the angels by spreading evil and reveling in pride, cruelty, and other abominable qualities which they view as the pinnacle of life. Unlike their demonic enemies from the planes below, devils are highly organized in well structured armies and cities. They are also supreme legal experts, able to twist and contort their laws to best suit them always, ensnaring many foolish mortals. The Seven Evils oversee the different layers of Inferno, though each of these layers is smaller than most of those in the Astral, and plot to overthrow other worlds constantly. Wars are waged across the planes from time to time, though Inferno has never been able to hold onto any territory for very long.
Malbolge Alignment: NE Planet: Saturn Description: This world is the prison of deposed entities, a plane where great eldritch powers lie defeated after wars with the gods. The plane itself is made from an ancient emperor of the cosmos, inverted and held in place by the structure of the cosmos itself; within are a number of beings who would shred the sanity of most mortals, along with their horrific servants. Malfeas produces many aberrations, though the beings themselves are not able to leave. Any given entity imprisoned here can alter the environment around them to a great degree, but no being so imprisoned can ever move between the planes.
Armageddon Alignment: CE Planet: Pluto Description: Conflict in the Astral Plane is typically limited to small skirmishes, but on occasion, the armies of Heaven and Inferno move against each other, or demonic hordes try to break into the Astral Plane. Armageddon is the eternal battleground; slaughter and death await all who venture here, and any mortal who is slain here rises again to battle for eternity, dying and being reborn again and again with no ability to leave. (Only a True Resurrection or Wish spell can restore a mortal killed on this plane.) Some warrior cults believe that enough of their followers so bound to the plane will allow their people to conquer it forever, so some small bands actually make pilgrimages here to join the fray.
Primordial - The Middle Planescape The ‘middle’ planescape is the one on which the Prime Material resides, and also ties together the elements of creation. Though sailing the Primordial is more difficult than the Astral, fewer pirates or ships at all venture here, making it a more discreet means of passage. Other than the occasional githzerai monastery or clutch of roving slaad, the Primordial plane is comparatively empty of sentient threats. Though these planes all have an alignment component, they’re much weaker than on other planescapes.
Oceana Alignment: LG Planet: Neptune Description: The Elemental Plane of Water is dominated by a massive freshwater sea and mighty rivers thundering down the plains of the plane. Tritons hail from this plane originally, though they can breathe saltwater as well, and sea elf colonies have sprung up here too. Few settlements or towns adorn the landscape above water however; despite the abundance here, the waters are difficult to navigate, and there is little of value to trade.
The Jungle Alignment: NG Planet: Venus Description: The Elemental Plane of Air is referred to as ‘The Jungle’, because that’s what it is. A riotous explosion of life dominates the plane, consisting of massive plants which reach all the way up and down and in every direction. The breath of life is potent here, and visitors are swiftly healed of any maladies or sickness, though healthy mortals who stay too long can develop mutations and bizarre growths. Living creatures move all through the wood here as well, making this plane a little less hospitable than some others.
Eternal City Alignment: CG Planet: Saturn Description: If the idea of civilization has a manifestation, it is here. The Eternal City is just that; aside from some parks here and there, everything is built upon, in a sprawling, haphazard fashion. Food vendors receive their wares from the plane itself, and charge a modest price for delivering it to waiting customers, and guards of varying efficiency roam the streets. The great city Union is on this plane, though it would be more accurate to call it a ‘neighborhood’. All are welcome here, though the strongest guards are treated as high level paladins within their districts, giving even powerful demons pause when it comes to flaunting the law.
Svartalfheim Alignment: LN Planet: Jupiter Description: Thought by many to be the original home of the dwarves, Svartalfheim produces fantastic illusions and spawns free roaming constructs; the nodes which birth warforged are strongly linked to this plane, and as a result, many warforged come here as well. Rich seams of metals, some found nowhere else, shoot through the plane and are easy to take, if one can survive the other travails here. Dwarves are immune to the illusions on this plane.
Prime Material Alignment: N Planet: You Are Here
Jotunheim Alignment: CN Planet: Uranus Description: The great and giant deities who preceded the gods and helped forge the universe from raw materials have made their home here, at least those who’ve not been killed or imprisoned. The progenitors of more ‘mortal’ giants are forces of nature, and their sharp minds and glimmer of civilization mean that these ancient beings still receive veneration from some (though more commonly make pacts with warlocks), and though they still skirmish with some of the gods, some gods have actually had children with these beings. The plane itself is, like many others here a vast wilderness, but with one notable exception; the storms and waves and volcanoes are many times more violent, making the land itself harsh for visiting mortals. A quest to speak with giants will pit adventurers against hurricanes that can flay flesh from bones and the horrendous game creatures that giants hunt for sport; it is not for the faint of heart.
Plane of Swords Alignment: LE Planet: Mars Description: Despite the name, weapons of all type are made in abundance here, and are all for sale. Though mundane weapons are available and often for sale at normal prices (though travelling to a plane for a mundane sword seems silly to most), magical weapons, often powerful and cruel, can be had as well. The prices are often morally repugnant; in lieu of gold, the powerful fiends who oversee the plane often accept slaves or captured souls, especially because the latter make for potent weapons.
Decay Alignment: NE Planet: Pluto Description: This plane serves as a dumping ground for the planes. Many of the swift rivers that seem to go on forever end here, and the fantastic life that blossoms on the Plane of Air, corpses from the battlefields throughout the multiverse, all end up here. The ground is thick with rot as life breaks down into its component pieces and joins the soil to feed life anew. On this plane, however, other than the rich soils tapped into by great extraplanar trees (which are rare), here the earth begets death. Many afterlives can accidentally strand souls here, and undead roam the plane in great numbers.
Vulcan Alignment: CE Planet: Mercury Description: The Elemental Plane of Fire is inhospitable to creatures who cannot endure constant immolation. Fire resistance will make the plane tolerable if the traveller can still otherwise breathe in the acrid environment, but the plane is permanently occupied only by efreet, fire elementals, and a handful of dragons. The fabled City of Brass floats on a lake of lava here, and potent magics ensure the city is hospitable to visitors.
Shadowfell - The Lower Planescape The lands of the dead occupy the mysterious Shadowfell, a planescape rarely travelled. Though the planes themselves can occasionally receive a fair amount of traffic, few ships dare the Shadowfell itself, and many that do are never heard from again. It is said that when the Titans were born of the Primordial, they shaped the world, and their thoughts created the Astral realm; and when some of the Titans were slain by gods from the Astral Plane, their descent formed the Shadowfell, and introduced death into the world. Because they are foundations of reality, the Titans could never disappear or fade away, and some of them still send servants throughout the multiverse or scheme in the lucid moments between feverish undying dreams.
Judgment Alignment: LG Planet: Saturn Description: Many belief systems include judgment after one’s death, either in a vague universal sense as relates to the soul’s destination, or by an actual embodiment of cherished ideals. This plane serves as a home for the latter; many souls stop here before being ‘processed’, and this plane not only has numerous houses and denizens of judgment (some for societies which no longer exist), it has copies of all laws and criteria by which a soul may be weighed. The counsel of these wise judges is sought by mortals from time to time, and most are generally willing to help, if they can be contacted.
Amnesia Alignment: NG Planet: Uranus Description: Sometimes, the pain of one’s life is too much to bear, whether through their own actions or those of others. While many souls learn valuable lessons even in calamity, for those who are utterly shattered by what has occurred in life, Amnesia offers relief. Any who partake of the food or drink on this plane will lose memories of their past and who they are, eventually becoming shuffling spirits lost in a sort of fugue state, until reincarnation occurs. Amnesia is a generous plane in that any may leave at any time, but only if they wish to; no one may be taken from here against their will.
Hunting Grounds Alignment: CG Planet: Venus Description: Though Pangea is home to members of extinct species, the Hunting Grounds is the destination of legendary creatures who have passed on- those rare animals who, through superior cunning, strength, or dumb luck, have lived on in memory after their passing. No animal of the Hunting Grounds may be taken down permanently; if one dies, it will be restored at the next sunrise. Hunters the multiverse over travel here to test their skills in a plane which does not make it easy for them.
Acheron Alignment: LN Planet: Mars Description: Referred to as the Plane of Equals, Acheron is a field of battle, and the site of numerous legendary duels. Wish and Miracle spells don’t function here, nor do similar high level abilities possessed by powerful beings. The gods themselves are rendered ‘mortal’ in this plane, though are still incredibly powerful, and any being slain here doesn’t return to its plane of origin, as most outsiders do. Their souls are instead cast into the great karmic wheel of the universe to be reborn; the potency of these souls often creates sorcerers among mortals, or contributes to the tiefling, aasimar, and genasi populations. The types of battlefields here vary (and even include space), so there is something for everyone.
Hel Alignment: N Planet: Earth Description: The common underworld for most cultures is a greyish land where shades eat, drink, brawl, and otherwise pass the time until reincarnation. It’s not the land of the sickly that some have come to believe, though there is little there for the living. The dead of this plane are among the easiest beings to commune with, though in other ways the plane is hard to penetrate; gods and powerful beings watch over the entrances to ensure the souls are not molested.
Pandemonium Alignment: CN Planet: Neptune Description: Opposite the Plane of Equals, Pandemonium has long served as another battlefield, one where anything goes and the forces of good and evil can unleash their full power. Demonic hordes have swept across this plane to battle disciplined ranks of angels or devil-bought mercenaries, and gods of old have raised great hosts of their followers to launch crusades against other deities here. The gods of the north believe that this is the plane in which Ragnarok will take place, for any army that sets out with intention to meet another may be drawn here from elsewhere in the planes, with the Prime Material being a notable exception. Battle can be forced into other planes with some difficulty.
Muspelheim Alignment: LE Planet: Mercury Description: The abode of ancient fire Titans, this plane seeks to burn the multiverse to ashes and exhorts its followers to do so under direction of Surtur, a being ancient and powerful who remembers the upstart gods and their war against his brothers. Unlike the Plane of Fire, Muspelheim is ashen and barren in most places. It is still utterly inhospitable to mortals.
Niflheim Alignment: NE Planet: Pluto Description: Misty and cold, this still land has few denizens, but is still avoided by most mortals. It’s easy to become lost in this dark place, and those who do frequently rise to become undead; the handful of yugoloths who roam this plane often take control over these wandering monsters and turn them towards their purposes. Of the thirteen Neverborn (the fallen Titans), five reside here, and they are paradoxically the most active in the multiverse. The goal of the Neverborn is to bring about the end of the multiverse, that they may know peace.
The Abyss Alignment: CE Planet: Jupiter Description: The nadir of existence, the Infinite Abyss is home to demons and nothing else. Mortals who dare enter do so for brief periods, as the plane itself is as likely to be deadly as howling fiends who rise from the depths to try and tear down all of reality. The devils seek to control the multiverse; demons seek to destroy it, burn it, consume it, or butcher it. Demon Princes rise through sheer power here to rule briefly in the great cosmic span of time, though a small handful have proven doggedly resilient even in the face of the plane’s chaos. A handful of the most powerful princes have corrupted several legions of the Void Marines, creating the Abyss Marines, powerful soldiers of chaos who do not have the vulnerabilities of demons.