Prime Material Plane
The Prime Material plane was the plane in which Toril and the surrounding cosmos existed. The phrase "Prime Material plane," or simply the "Prime," was generally used by beings from other planes in the multiverse (notably Sigil), and "prime" was used by the same beings to refer to the inhabitants of the Material Plane.
You want to know of the Prime, visit it. The boundless worlds of that plane have an infinite variety, as do the planes, but I cannot encapsulate them as I have here. Suffice it to say they are the birth of the Outer Planes, the children of the Inner, and they hold limitless potential within their boundaries.
- The spirit Asonje
Geography
In the Great Wheel cosmology, the Prime Material plane consisted of an infinite expanse filled with a fluid known as phlogiston, within which floated immense crystal spheres, each enclosing an entire system of one or more worlds. Specific conditions varied greatly from one crystal sphere to another, but they were all considered to be part of the same plane.
The mostly empty space contained inside the crystal spheres, known as wildspace, as well as all the worlds that existed within each sphere, were connected to the border of the Ethereal plane. It was unclear whether the phlogiston was also connected. The Ethereal plane served as a conduit between the Prime and the Inner Planes.
The Prime Material plane was also connected to the Astral Plane, which served as a conduit to the Outer Planes. There was no known direct way to travel between the Inner and the Outer Planes, or between the Astral and the Ethereal, that did not pass through the Material Plane first. Similarly, the Prime was the only plane in which spells that required a connection to the Ethereal or the Astral both worked.
Being the only plane that intersected both the Ethereal and the Astral, the Prime Material plane occupied an important position as a crossroads of the multiverse, and all other planes were defined in relation to the Prime.
A few early versions of the Great Wheel cosmology, as well as the World Tree cosmology, considered that there was an infinite number of material planes, among them Toril's Material Plane, Oerth's material plane, Krynn's material plane, and the universe in which Earth was located.
In the World Tree cosmology, Toril's Material Plane was the main hub that connected all the planes of the cosmology. For that reason, travel between planes was almost exclusively done via passing through the Material Plane first. Portals were rumored to exist that connected Toril to other material planes, using conduits that passed through the Plane of Shadow.
In the World Axis cosmology, the Material Plane, more usually called "the mortal world", existed between the two opposing fundamental planes: the Astral Plane, commonly called the Astral Sea, and the Elemental Chaos.
The mostly empty space contained inside the crystal spheres, known as wildspace, as well as all the worlds that existed within each sphere, were connected to the border of the Ethereal plane. It was unclear whether the phlogiston was also connected. The Ethereal plane served as a conduit between the Prime and the Inner Planes.
The Prime Material plane was also connected to the Astral Plane, which served as a conduit to the Outer Planes. There was no known direct way to travel between the Inner and the Outer Planes, or between the Astral and the Ethereal, that did not pass through the Material Plane first. Similarly, the Prime was the only plane in which spells that required a connection to the Ethereal or the Astral both worked.
Being the only plane that intersected both the Ethereal and the Astral, the Prime Material plane occupied an important position as a crossroads of the multiverse, and all other planes were defined in relation to the Prime.
A few early versions of the Great Wheel cosmology, as well as the World Tree cosmology, considered that there was an infinite number of material planes, among them Toril's Material Plane, Oerth's material plane, Krynn's material plane, and the universe in which Earth was located.
In the World Tree cosmology, Toril's Material Plane was the main hub that connected all the planes of the cosmology. For that reason, travel between planes was almost exclusively done via passing through the Material Plane first. Portals were rumored to exist that connected Toril to other material planes, using conduits that passed through the Plane of Shadow.
In the World Axis cosmology, the Material Plane, more usually called "the mortal world", existed between the two opposing fundamental planes: the Astral Plane, commonly called the Astral Sea, and the Elemental Chaos.