Border Elemental Planes
“Imagine for a moment that the four Elemental Planes of the multiverse form a sphere, with each plane rolling into one another. This is an oversimplification of course, but it helps to illustrate the nature of the border elemental planes, or paraelemental planes as they’re referred to in older texts. Where each plane “touches” another, a distinct realm is created. It’s worth noting that this behavior is quite unique in the multiverse – there are no other similar border planes known to exist anywhere! Each of these border elemental planes holds its own dangerous properties and creatures, but for the most part these planes are not as expansive or as settled as the core four. Exploration is not recommended for the weak of body or will.”
Astromarchus the Sage
Wild and unruly, the border regions between the Elemental Planes create distinct realms that act as a hybrid between the neighboring regions. Where Air and Water meet, the Plane of Ice is created; the border of Fire and Earth creates the Plane of Magma; the meeting of Earth and Water results in the Plane of Ooze; and the combination of Air and Fire births the Plane of Ash. These realms are smaller in scale than the core four, yet remain expansive nonetheless – they are still each larger than most Material Plane worlds!
Some planar scholars say that the Border Elemental Planes are relatively new in the multiverse, which is why they don’t have dominant species of genies. Others say that the constantly shifting nature of the Elemental Planes keeps these border regions from settling, resulting in regular patterns of activity that is unsuited to the formation or continuation of intelligent species. Certainly there are native creatures in these planes, but they tend toward the animalistic in nature rather than intelligently civilized, though certain exceptions exist (mephits, for example, but they generally lack the discipline to craft lasting legacies).
It has been theorized that the core energy types – fire, acid, cold, and lightning – are birthed from the Border Elemental Planes and not from their core Elemental Plane counterparts. Like many things in planar lore, the truth is likely never to be known and the facts remain debatable in scholarly circles. For example, the cold energy type certainly makes sense to originate from the Plane of Ice, and it’s not too far of a leap to connect acid to the Plane of Ooze. But how is fire a byproduct of the Plane of Magma? And though lightning is common on the Plane of Ash, it is not what most consider a dominant trait of the plane. Debates continue.
The Border Elemental Planes still contain enough adventure potential to lure travelers and bands of heroes to its inhospitable lands, though. Whether searching for the lost Halls of Blazeheart in the Plane of Magma, running from the frozen terrors in the City of the Elder Things on the Plane of Ice, hunting for the secrets of the Slime Lord Tombs in the Plane of Ooze, or picking through debris across the Battlefields of Smoke on the Plane of Ash, excitement and treasures abound for those brave enough to seek them out.
The Powerful and Mighty
Few creatures or groups have claimed dominion over large territories on the Border Elemental Planes. Rumors persist of an Elemental Lord of Ice named Cyronax who dwells somewhere in that frosty realm, but its plans and desires have not yet been revealed to the multiverse. If other elemental lords exist they have kept quiet to date, and the generally hostile nature of the Border Elemental Planes has kept others from making significant progress in controlling regions.
Fimbulvinter the White Doom
The oldest and most powerful white dragon known to exist in all the planes is a venerable great wyrm known as Fimbulvinter, the White Doom. Fimbulvinter’s extensive series of caves on the Plane of Ice is a sprawling masterpiece of icicle mazes miles across filled with traps, guardians, and no small amount of treasure, which the dragon protects fiercely. Several cavernous systems attach to the main lair, and these Fimbulvinter has installed his progeny – white dragons infused with the power of the elemental plane itself.
Fimbulvinter has lived longer than any white dragon has been recorded, and he has done so by being canny and careful. His long life has given him wisdom, but he is still prone to rage at the slightest frustration, a rage he takes out by hunting packs of yeti and frost giants that roam the Plane of Ice. Fimbulvinter is obsessed with collecting artifacts that relate to his most hated foes, the giants. Long ago, on some Material Plane, Fimbulvinter fought against the forces of Thrym alongside scores of white dragons, but the cataclysmic battles ended with the frost giants pushing the dragons out.
Fimbulvinter has never forgotten this, but rather than trust blindly to his rage he has decided to study his hated opponents. To that end, the White Doom employs a network of planar treasure hunters and seekers, and he is careful not to reveal himself as the secret proprietor of these endeavors. What Fimbulvinter plans on doing with his collection of giant artifacts is unknown at this point.
Mephit Monarchs
As far as is understood by planar scholars, no elemental lords rule over the Border Elemental Planes. But that doesn’t mean that no creature claims dominion over them, if you count the loosely organized Mephit Monarchs in that reckoning. Mephits are minor elemental creatures from the Inner Planes, more intelligent than regular elementals but possessing little actual power, even when they travel to the Material Plane. They are petty, cruel, capricious creatures, and four of them have decided to carve up the Border Elemental Planes into their own private fiefdoms.
Each of the Mephit Monarchs rules over a small dwelling on their respective plane, claiming ownership over a much larger area but only able to control a small portion. They each hold “court” attended to by numerous minor mephits, each one of which schemes for control over the throne. These squabbles and bickering keep the Mephit Monarchs from mobilizing and becoming a real force, at least so far, but there is a possibility for one to stand out and truly unite the minor elemental pests into a single power.
Krakk the Boisterous is the King of Magma, and he stole the throne from Krakk the Quiet, who killed the previous Krakk the Mischievous during a skirmish, who lured Krakk the Confused into a trap, and so on. Their home is the Palace of Molten Delights, which is a fancy title for an otherwise simple large cave crisscrossed with magma rivers.
Huranna Toecurler is the Queen of Ash, and she has ruled the longest out of any of the Mephit Monarchs. Her paranoia keeps her from establishing any true power to date, but she has the most potential to affect an alliance with the others – if she could get over her mistrust of everyone. Huranna Toecurler and her court dwell in Everember, a clump of ash tumbling through the Great Conflagration with numerous tunnels carved into its bulk. Juro Joru is the King of Ice in the Frostfell, and he is perhaps the most cruel of all the Mephit Monarchs. His ice mephit subjects are all dreadfully afraid of their king, who has been known to torture mephits and intruders with the slightest of provocations. He holds court in the Dreadfrost Fortress on the Plane of Ice, buried deep beneath the tundra wasteland.
The laziest of all the Mephit Monarchs is Lazzara the Queen of Ooze. She is so enormous that she cannot even fit through the exit to her Hall of Slime and Sludge, and she must rely on the other ooze mephits to provide her sustenance. Unfortunately for Lazzara, most ooze mephits are just as lazy as she is, so she is constantly hungry and in search of her next meal.
Slime Lords
The power of the Plane of Ooze is not readily apparent, but beneath its murky surface lies a wealth of untapped potential – or so believe the cabal of ooze manipulators known as the Slime Lords. The group was founded by an orc druid on a distant Material Plane, a sole survivor of a raid by a rival orc tribe. Forced to fend for himself in the swamp, this orc became enthralled with the natural power of his surroundings, and he devoted his life to studying the potential of the swamp around him.
The orc lived a lonely life and grew powerful in his solitude, but the lifespan of an orc is not long, and so he sought to extend his vitality. This research led him to the Swamp of Oblivion, where some property of the plane could be tapped to extend one’s life. He communicated with other scholars of planar lore and together they traveled to the Plane of Ooze, where they built dwellings out of mud and slime hardened by magic. The orc and his fellows distilled potions and elixirs from the swampy plane around them, and developed deep magical understandings of the natural properties of the Swamp of Oblivion. He and his fellows called themselves the Slime Lords.
Over the years, the Slime Lords began to develop sinister uses for their newly found power, and this attracted newer members from across the multiverse. The orc who founded the band cut himself off from physical contact with the rest of the Slime Lords, but others stepped up to take his place, including an ogre sorcerer, a mephit, and an exiled dao. Their single building grew into a large complex, called the House of Slime, and they continued their work to perfect the secrets of slime and ooze.
In their research and application, the Slime Lords sought to steal secrets known only to Juilblex, the Demon Lord of Slimes, from its wretched layer in the Abyss. The effort did not go as planned, and in retaliation Juilblex used its vast power to turn the House of Slime in the Swamp of Oblivion into a permanent tomb for the Slime Lords and their secrets. The mud-hardened tomb sank into the swamp, taking with it the secrets of the Slime Lords and their magic.
Creatures & Denizens
The Border Elemental Planes have no shortage of native creatures, such as the beetle-like dripping crawlers of the Plane of Ooze, the mysterious elder things in the Frostfell, the ever-hungry lava sharks in the Plane of Magma, and the cruel smoke-like belkers in the Plane of Ash.
Belker
Belkers are demonic-looking creatures, with broad bat-like wings and a face twisted with cruelty and anger. Their large forms are surrounded by smoke and ash at all times, and they have the ability to transform themselves wholly into smoke. They are cruel and evil, though also temperamental and very reclusive. They dwell in the Plane of Ash, attacking travelers that wander away from larger groups.
Exiles. The prevailing theory about belkers is that they were once natives to the Plane of Air, but something happened that forced them to relocate to the Great Conflagration closer to the Plane of Fire. Belkers, like most elementals, are practically immortal, but none of them are willing to divulge the secrets of their origin or what possibly could have driven them from the Plane of Air.
Eager Conversationalists. Though cruel and evil, belkers are not without bouts of loneliness, which can drive them to converse with their prey before devouring them from the inside out. They are typically well-mannered in their speech and eager to learn more about their potential victims’ background and upbringing. They are knowledgeable about the Inner Planes, having drifted between the realms for a long time, and many keep lairs across the Planes of Ash, Air, and Fire. Conversations with a belker inevitably end in the creature’s attempt to attack and eat its guest, but some secrets can be gleaned from the belker if a traveler is brave and willing to flee when things start to look bad.
Dripping Crawler
Dripping crawlers are massive beetle-like insects that live in the muck and slime of the Plane of Ooze. They have thick black carapaces dotted with brown marks that extend along their six large legs, which suit them both for moving around in the swamp and digging through it. Their heads are small but with relatively large mandibles that it uses to rend flesh from bone, and their front set of legs have pairs of sharp pincers it can use to attack foes. They are solitary creatures by nature and live off dissolving material in their stomachs, including trees, roots, rocks, and other denizens that it can find.
Swamp Scavenger. Dripping crawlers are opportunistic eaters and usually seek the easiest meal possible. Their large size means many other creatures are viewed as “easy” meals so they do not hesitate to attack a small group of smaller humanoids if they’re hungry or provoked. Most of the time they scour the bottom of the Swamp of Oblivion, rooting through the castoffs and debris that regularly gurgle up from the Plane of Earth or get swept in from the Plane of Water.
Hidden Nests. A single dripping crawler keeps to an area that can span dozens of miles, but somewhere in their chosen territory they keep a nest below the surface of the swamp. The nest is usually a semi-solid hole up to 100 feet below the ground, where the earthen material of the Plane of Ooze becomes more rigid. The main reason for the nest is to protect the dripping crawler’s eggs, which are produced and fertilized once every few years. The eggs are gray and soft, and they gestate after a year into young dripping crawlers. In certain planar markets, such as the City of Brass on the Plane of Fire or the Sevenfold Mazework in the Plane of Earth, dripping crawler eggs are a rare delicacy that can fetch very high prices.
Elder Thing
These utterly alien creatures have desires and plans that grow beyond the understanding of most rational creatures. They have a titanic city frozen on the Plane of Ice, and to date travelers that have stumbled upon it have awakened horrors locked in icy stasis. Very little is known about the elder things, who have a shape unlike any in the Inner or Outer Planes. Most planar scholars agree that they have something to do with the Far Realm, that twisting plane of madness and insanity wherein dwell terrors that constantly seek to escape their prison. But did the elder things escape from the Far Realm, fleeing some other terror, or did they leave willingly? Why did they build a magnificent city on the Plane of Ice?
Elder things appear as membranous barrel-shaped creatures, standing upon a mass of tentacles at its base that allow it to walk and swim effectively. A pair of transparent wings wrap around their body perfectly that, when unfurled, allow them to fly surprisingly well. Five arm-like appendages radiate out from the center of the elder thing’s body, each segmented out five times that allow for flexible movement and attacks. The head of the elder thing is a sprouting opening of four tentacles, each topped with an alien eye. Elder things speak a language that sounds like whistling that few non-elder things can speak or understand.
Ancient Calamity. The elder things that have been encountered by travelers are isolated to those frozen in hibernation around a great city hidden somewhere on the Plane of Ice. Why are they in hibernation in their city? Was the city built on the Plane of Ice originally by the elder things or was it transported from somewhere else, like the Far Realm? The stones used to build the city are clearly not native rocks to the Frostfell, so it is surmised by planar scholars that the city originated from somewhere else. But the details of what happened to bring the elder things and their fantastic city to the Plane of Ice remain a mystery.
Alien Creators. Elder things are utterly alien in appearance and thought to the normal inhabitants of the planes, and somehow they’ve created life that is just as bizarre within their city. Adventurers that have explored the city and returned tell of massive bubbling masses of protoplasmic sludge that move with intelligence, along with traps and corridors containing unusual metal magical objects. One adventurer, driven mad by her experience, babbles about a great lake beneath the city that holds more dangers of the elder thing’s ancient designs.
Elemental, Border
Similar to the core Elemental Planes, the Border Elemental Planes are inhabited by creatures comprised of the basic elements of their home. These elementals are some of the purest expression of their respective planes, whether that be ash, ice, magma, or ooze, and they often treat travelers into their realms as hostile invaders to be dealt with accordingly.
Ash Elemental
An ash elemental is a swirling tornado-like creature of sooty wind and burnt embers. The sound of crackling fire echoes around it, and it moves with chaotic motions as it flies around its home plane. A strong stench of burning material fills the air around the ash elemental, which it can use against opponents as poisonous vapors – and worse.
Ice Elemental
An ice elemental is a vaguely humanoid entity standing over ten feet tall with body and limbs carved from a single block of semi-transparent ice. The air around an ice elemental plummets in temperature, so much so that it can damage opponents that get too near or attempt to strike it while standing too close. They are slow movers on broad ice-chiseled legs but they are unimpeded by the natural hazards of their elemental domain. They have been known to burrow through snow to catch invaders by surprise.
Magma Elemental
A magma elemental is a creature of constant change. Its rocky body is blackened from the heat, and seams between its body plates reveal dull red ribbons of lava just beneath the surface, like veins on a living being. They move surprisingly quick on their feet and they are adept at swimming through the lava of their home plane. A magma elemental’s fists are nearly as powerful as an earth elemental, and it can hurl great chunks of its flaming body at opponents that stay out of slamming range.
Ooze Elemental
An ooze elemental is a mound of black and brown muck, rolling and reforming over itself constantly as it moves about. It grows arms and legs out of its bulk as necessary, and its favorite tactic is to lay hidden in a pool of slime on the Plane of Ooze for an invader to come close. It surprises opponents by enveloping them in its oozy bulk and strangling them to death, or spitting globs of pure acid at targets too far away to engulf bodily.
Frost Salamander
On the Plane of Ice, the cold and snow are dangerous threats, but often times these hide a much larger danger. Frost salamanders are enormous blue-skinned lizard-like monsters, with bulky bodies supported by three sets of legs that each end in claws like greatswords. The frost salamander’s head is long and serpentine, and it is capable of stretching out to snatch at prey it finds wandering the Frostfell. Frost salamanders dwell in ice caves and great crevasses within the tundra where its large claws aid it in climbing around to catch food.
Snow Stalkers. A frost salamander is a canny opponent that knows its terrain well. It often spots potential prey long before being seen itself, and it is usually careful to avoid detection while it stalks victims across the vast tundra of the Plane of Ice. The frost salamander uses its surroundings to the best of its abilities to trap and ultimately devour frozen victims of either the plane’s natural hazards or its dangerous paralyzing bite.
Frozen Diet. The frost salamander eats anything as long as it is frozen, the longer the better. Some frost salamanders are known to hang around the Tundra Pits on the Plane of Ice, where they battle for territory as they dig through the snow-covered pits for frozen travelers and creatures.
Razorfrost the Scarred. The most dangerous frost salamander known to wander the Plane of Ice is a massive creature known as Razorfrost the Scarred. It is a behemoth by any standard, and its blue-scaled body is covered in scars, silent testimony to the countless battles the beast has fought and won. Razorfrost seems to be more intelligent than most frost salamanders, and it ranges much further than is typical for its kind. Some say that a dreadful howl can be heard on the wind when Razorfrost is on your trail, and if that happens the best option is to get out of the Plane of Ice as quickly as possible. Only a handful of travelers have gone up against the creature and survived.
Lava Shark
Lava sharks, despite the name, are more closely related to the bulette than a water-dwelling shark. These massive creatures are over 30 feet long, with slick black plates covering a dull red underside. The lava shark’s head is oversized and almost entirely devoted to its mouth, which it can open wide to deliver a powerful bite with its rows of jagged razor-sharp teeth. It only possesses a single pair of webbed forearms that allow it to swim through magma, though it’s land movement is more like crawling than moving.
Always Moving. A lava shark is constantly on the move through the Plane of Magma, diving through rivers of lava and moving on land when it comes upon a cavern that might contain food. Some instinct drives them to keep on the move, and their tremorsense allows them to pick up the slightest movement around them effectively.
Blood Hunters. The lava shark eats anything organic, but its favorite meal is definitely humanoid creatures. It can go for weeks without eating, but after a certain point the creature becomes desperate with hunger and begins ranging further and further from its typical territory in search of new food. Blood seems to be a big attractor for these predators, leading some planar scholars to theorize the link between lava sharks and water-dwelling sharks may not be so tenuous after all.
Spawning Pool. At some unknown interval, schools of lava sharks gather together in a single lake somewhere on the Plane of Magma and initiate a spawning session. The difference between a male and female lava shark is as of yet unknown, but the results of the spawning are young lava sharks being birthed, which grow in a matter of months to full maturity. This great spawning is a frenzy of activity, with lava shark fighting lava shark for dominance. The Grand Sultan of the Efreet on the Plane of Fire enjoys watching this dangerous event, and he keeps a team of efreeti scholars hard at work to determine the exact timing so that he can plan his festivities more accordingly in the future.
Mud Serpent
The Slime Lords experimented with a great many types of transmutation magic, and when their base was sealed by the demon lord Juiblex and sunk beneath the swamp on the Plane of Ooze, many of those experiments were left to fend for themselves. Mud serpents were such creatures, and they were originally built as guardians for the Slime Lords’ personal abodes as well as tools to use in their research. The mud serpent appears as a brown sticky snake comprised entirely of oozing sludge, with hollow eye sockets and a gaping mouth filled with dripping acid.
Strength in Numbers. Left unchecked, the mud serpents have spread out from the region surrounding the Slime Lord Tombs, and their ability to transform victims into more mud serpents has increased their numbers greatly from the original count. They tend to gather in nests around particularly deep and treacherous swampy pits, waiting to ambush travelers and transform them into new mud serpents. This desire seems to motivate them above all else.
Buried Secrets. It has been theorized that the Slime Lords had a cure for victims transformed into mud serpents, but if that is the case the secret is buried in their tomb beneath the Swamp of Oblivion. Digging through the muck and slime of the plane to penetrate the sealed tomb is a daunting task and one based on more hope than actual fact, but for the friends of someone transmuted into a mud serpent few other options remain.
Ragewraith
The River of Rage that courses through the Plane of Magma draws hate and anger towards it like a fly to a corpse. As it consumes creatures, it draws their very life force out and binds it to its flow, creating ragewraiths. These incorporeal creatures appear as red- or white-hot specters possessed with unnatural rage, their faces twisted in exaggerated expressions of pure fury. They are drawn instinctively towards the angriest target, but as all sentient creatures are possessed with some amount of anger, the ragewraiths never want for targets.
Inferno Rage. Ragewraiths are consumed with anger and fury derived from the heart of the River of Rage itself, and this power is unlike any other on the Plane of Magma. Pyromancers have sought to study the ragewraiths to learn the secrets of this inferno fire, but so far capturing one without being attacked in the process has proven difficult. The River of Rage itself does not seem to exhibit the same burning fury fire, so it is theorized that the ragewraiths generate this special element as part of their natural existence.
Fire and Fury. The most common place to find ragewraiths is in or near the River of Rage on the Plane of Magma, but this is by no means the only place. A ragewraith can occur naturally across the multiverse when a particularly angry person is killed by fire in a moment of intense passion. Barbarian tribes in tropical climates near volcanoes have been known to encounter ragewraiths, and some tribes actually honor the undead creatures as remnants of their ancestors. Possessed by their unnatural fury, however, such ragewraiths are just as likely to attack and destroy a living relative as a total stranger.
Swarm of Ash rats
Vermin of some variety can be found across the multiverse. On the Plane of Ash, the most frequently encountered vermin are ash rats. Individually, an ash rat appears as a burnt piece of a debris, blackened with claws and beady red eyes. A cloud of noxious fumes follows an ash rat wherever it goes, and this cloud grows as more and more of the creatures gather together. They fly through the Great Conflagration, devouring the floating embers that drift continually through the plane, but they do not discriminate when presented with living creatures to devour.
Ash Rat King. When four or more swarms of ash rats are encountered, they usually fuse into one massive moving swarm called an ash rat king. Such a fusion is capable of devouring whole islands of floating ash in a matter of minutes, and both the efreet and djinn are careful to avoid entering the path of destruction of such a large swarm.
Swarm of Frostmites
Frostmites are small blue locust-like elementals that fly about the blizzards and storms of the Frostfell. They are dangerous opponents to encounter, as they spread a debilitating disease called black chills that can make survival on the Plane of Ice difficult if not impossible for those affected.
Black Chills
Black chills is a disease spread through frostmite bites, usually only encountered on the Plane of Ice. It takes 1d4 hours for the black chills’ symptoms to manifest, which include uncontrollable shaking and a black color spreading across the victim’s joints. The infected creature suffers disadvantage on attack rolls along with Strength-related ability checks and saving throws. In addition, the infected creature regains only half the normal number of hit points from spending Hit Dice and no hit points from finishing a long rest.
At the end of each long rest, an infected creature must make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw. On a successful save, the DC for this save drops by 1d6. When the saving throw DC drops to 0, the creature recovers from the
disease.
Hazards & Phenomena
Like the rest of the Inner Planes, the Border Elemental Planes have hazards that can wreak havoc on travelers and natives at a moment’s notice. From chokeclouds on the Plane of Ash, to deep freezes on the Plane of Ice, to magmafalls on the Plane of Magma, to insect swarms on the Plane of Ooze, each one of these realms holds dangerous ways to threaten life and limb.
Plane of Ash: Chokeclouds
While the entire Plane of Ash is dangerous to creatures that breathe air, the phenomena known as chokeclouds can be particularly threatening. This is primarily due to the fact that a chokecloud is near invisible on the plane – it appears as little more than another cloud of ash and embers in the red-lit endless sky.
Creatures that encounter a chokecloud can make a DC 14 Wisdom (Perception) check to smell its presence, which is made at disadvantage if a bandage or cloth is covering the creature’s face to protect from the plane’s natural hazard. Chokeclouds have a faint odor of brimstone, stronger than the rest of the plane, and canny travelers that detect the presence of the hazard can attempt to change course to avoid direct contact with it. Creatures that breathe air that run into a chokecloud, which is usually miles across, must make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw. On a failure they suffer 18 (4d10) poison damage and gain a level of exhaustion, while on a failure they suffer only half damage and no exhaustion.
The saving throw must be repeated for every round spent in the chokecloud. Escaping a chokecloud with a flying pace of 30 feet or more requires a DC 14 Wisdom (Perception) check and 1d6 rounds; flying at lower speeds doubles the amount of time to escape.
Plane of Ash: Red Lightning Strike
The Plane of Ash is riddled with streaks of red lightning that dance between the thick ember-filled clouds that fill the Great Conflagration. Some strange property of the plane draws the red lightning to non-natives, so encountering a burst of it while traveling involves a short window of dangerous activity.
A random non-native member of the party is targeted by a bolt of red lightning, and the target must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, suffering 21 (6d6) lightning damage on a failure, or half as much on a success. The lightning waits 1d4 rounds before it strikes another random target, and it continues the cycle until 1 minute has passed.
Native creatures are often attracted by the red lightning strikes. Roll for another random encounter, re-rolling any non-creature result. The random encounter arrives 5 rounds after the red lightning strikes begin.
Plane of Ice: Blizzard
A wind constantly blows on the Plane of Ice, and it is perpetually snowing at least a little throughout the bleak days and bitter nights on the Frostfell. When a blizzard picks up, however, it blankets a very wide region in high-speed winds and heavy snow. A blizzard on the Plane of Ice lasts for a variable amount of time based on the below table.
| 1D20 | Blizzard Duration |
|---|---|
| 1-10 | 8 hours |
| 11-14 | 1 day |
| 15-17 | 4 days |
| 18-19 | 1 week |
| 20 | 1 month |
During a blizzard, a whiteout occurs in a radius of 1d6 x 50 miles. During a whiteout, visibility is reduced to 30 feet and every 1 foot of travel requires 2 feet of movement pace, which includes flying speed (but not burrowing) because of the heavy snow. Any ranged attack in a blizzard suffers disadvantage, and Wisdom (Survival) and Wisdom (Perception) checks are also made at disadvantage. Dexterity (Stealth) checks are made at advantage, however.
Plane of Ice: Deep Freeze
Snow and ice are constant threats, but one of the real terrors of the Plane of Ice are the sudden drops in temperature. Called deep freezes, these polar plunges occur without warning and can freeze even the most careful of travelers in a matter of minutes. A deep freeze lasts 1d8 hours, during which creatures that are not immune to cold must make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw every round. On a failure they gain a level of exhaustion. No amount of winter gear assists against a deep freeze, only complete immunity to the cold. The only known way to escape a deep freeze is to get underground. Some particularly unhinged guides that have been to the Plane of Ice claim to have survived a deep freeze wrapped in the body of a dead frost salamander, but such prospects seem skeptical at best.
Plane of Magma: Magmafall
The most dangerous hazard on the Plane of Magma is the magma itself, and some travelers think that by avoiding the rivers of lava that cross the realm they are safe. Unfortunately, magma has a way of shifting the landscape, and sometimes that can happen above an unlucky group of travelers. When this happens, a magmafall occurs, which dumps scalding lava in an area 1d10 x 10 feet wide from the ceiling or wall (determine randomly if necessary). Creatures caught in a magmafall must make a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw. On a failure they are caught fully in the cascading material, suffering 55 (10d10) fire damage and becoming immersed in a sudden pool of lava 5 feet deep. On a success they suffer half damage and are pushed to the edge of the newly created lava pool.
Plane of Ooze: Insect Swarms
Moving about the Plane of Ooze is a dangerous prospect, and not just because of the monsters that inhabit the realm or the slow pace that overland travel must take. Enormous swarms of insects feed off the muck and slime of the plane, and they enjoy nothing more than a fresh meal of flesh and blood. The first sign of these swarms is a drone-like buzzing on the air that grows louder over the course of 1 minute, at which point a veritable black cloud of flies and other airborne insects descend out of the gloomy sky.
An insect swarm in the Swamp of Oblivion fills the area with a heavily obscured cover, making sight difficult, and the droning causes every Wisdom (Perception) check to made at disadvantage. Spellcasters must make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw while concentrating on a spell in an insect swarm every round or lose their spell, and conversation becomes impossible at distances greater than 20 feet. Every minute spent in the insect swarm, creatures suffer 10 (4d4) piercing damage from countless bites.
The insect swarms on the Plane of Ooze last for 10 minutes and follow groups of travelers relentlessly until driven away by some means. A strong blast of wind can disperse the swarm, and creating a fire to smoke the swarm out reduces the duration by half. Spells and effects that affect normal insects also affect these swarms.
Plane of Ooze: Mudsink
While avoiding the great clouds of biting insects that infest the Swamp of Oblivion, travelers may stumble blindly into the other big hazard of the plane – mudsinks. A mudsink appears as a normal region of swamp on the Plane of Ooze, roughly about 50 feet in diameter, but any creature walking into must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw. On a failure they are pulled down into the mudsink up to their waist as the sucking mass surges around them, affecting other creatures within 10 feet of the original victim. Creatures that succeed on the saving throw avoid falling into the mudsink entirely.
Escaping a mudsink requires a DC 15 Strength check, which can be aided by someone with a branch or pole long enough to reach from the bank, granting advantage on the check. A stuck creature is able to move 5 feet on a successful check, so two such successes are necessary under normal circumstances to escape. However, at the end of a stuck creature’s turn, it must succeed at a DC 15 Strength saving throw. On a failure they are pulled further into the mudsink, up to their shoulders, and further attempts to escape are made at disadvantage (which can be cancelled out through the aid of a non-stuck helper).
After a third failure the mudsink pulls the victim down bodily into the slime, forcing DC 15 Constitution saving throws to avoid gaining a level of exhaustion every round. Escape is only possible by succeeding at the DC 15 Strength check to climb out but it cannot be assisted once the victim is fully submerged in the mudsink.
Mysterious Sites & Treasures
With all the hazards and monsters on the Border Elemental Planes, why would anyone go there? To seek out treasure and wonders from the various mysterious sites of course! There are numerous reasons to travel to one of the Border Elemental Planes, and below are a sample list of some of the most legendary that may pique the interest of any adventure-seeking band.
Battlefields of Smoke
On the Plane of Ash, djinni and efreeti forces clash regularly in a broad region that has become known as the Battlefields of Smoke. The Diamond Citadel of the djinn sits at one end, while the efreet Choking Palace is on the other, and between them is a dense field of floating rocks, debris, and swirling ash storms. The two opposing elemental forces battle for control of this region because, at its center, is a huge floating dormant volcano known as the Mountain of Smoke. Long ago when it was pulled up into the Great Conflagration the lava drained out, leaving countless tunnels, tubes, and chambers inside, along with a rare mineral known as jaspum.
Jaspum grows in the hottest of lava tubes and is generally only found on the Plane of Magma, but through some combination of factors the mountain in the Battlefields of Smoke contains rich veins of the smoky rose quartz-like mineral. Both the djinn and efreet covet jaspum for the creation of magical jewelry, and thus the battle for its control has raged for many years. Neither side gains dominance for long, but over the years each side has managed to mine away small portions of the mountain. Rumors in the City of Brass and the Citadel of Ice and Steel say that some primal guardian stalks the hollow lava tunnels as well, making mining expeditions extra dangerous.
Bog of the Dead
Creatures die all the time in the Plane of Ooze, and their bodies are consumed by the swampy terrain and returned to the landscape as food for the various plants that grow and thrive. In the Bog of the Dead, however, this natural cycle is interrupted by the sheer volume of dead creatures dumped into it. The source of the dead bodies, humanoids generally but also monsters of a wide variety, is a portal that flares to life above the bog, from which pour the fallen soldiers and foes of a powerful necromancer somewhere on the Material Plane.
Many of the bodies are former zombies and skeletons, and some spark of necromantic energy mixes with the natural power of the Swamp of Oblivion to create a particularly dangerous region. Undead monsters grasp and pull down travelers, and sometimes the portal opens and dumps more dead creatures, or parts of them in some cases, creating a grisly rain of decaying flesh. Treasure has been known to be found among the fallen in the Bog of the Dead, and the lure of discarded items is too much for some scavengers on the plane.
Choking Palace
The border of the Battlefields of Smoke in the Plane of Ash closest to the Plane of Fire is monitored and patrolled by the efreeti forces from the Choking Palace. Currently, the efreeti bey Zaahid Bilaal el-Diabris commands the troops from the palace, which sits on an unstable floating island made of burnt ash. Zaahid’s forces include ash elementals, an elite squad of efreet warriors called the Five Flaming Falchions, gargoyle mercenaries, and the best fighting slaves pulled from the markets of the City of Brass. They fight for control over the Mountain of Smoke and the rich veins of jaspum contained in its depths, warring with the djinn and their allies in the Diamond Citadel on the other side of the great battlefield.
The Choking Palace is an imposing gothic structure built to inspire fear rather than hope. The forges run by azer slaves beneath the onyx towers belch black smoke into the air, mixing with the already toxic fumes of the Plane of Ash to create massive clouds that settle around the palace. Bey Zaahid is an ambitious efreeti noble from the City of Brass who sees the conquest of the Mountain of Smoke as his ticket to greater glories, perhaps even a place in the Grand Sultan’s court, so he drives his forces into more and more conflicts in an effort to overwhelm the djinn. He knows he’s fighting an uphill battle – the djinn have more allies in the region that are able to fly, but Bey Zaahid tries to make up for that difference in sheer numbers.
City of the Elder Things
Frozen in a wind-swept valley in an area of low mountains on the Plane of Ice sits a sheltered site of madness and monsters. This City of the Elder Things possesses cubic architecture unlike any seen elsewhere, either on the Plane of Ice or beyond, and the slumbering inhabitants are alien creatures utterly beyond the understanding of most beings. These elder things sleep in deep hibernation in the vaults and catacombs beneath the curious stone buildings and arches that make up the frozen city, but their guardians remain active and alert to intruders.
The most chilling accounts come from adventurers and travelers that came upon the city by mistake while searching for something else, and they tell of great bubbling slimes with unnatural intelligence that move about the city’s halls and chambers. Some elder things have been encountered above ground as well, either having been disturbed out of their hibernation or plotting some nefarious scheme, and they command traps and puzzles that utilize powerful elemental forces completely unheard of across the Inner Planes.
Yet, some planar scholars seek to catalogue and unearth the true secrets of the City of the Elder Things. Where did it come from? What are the true motivations of its builders? Why do the elder things hibernate and what are they waiting for? The answers to these questions may lie somewhere in this frozen city of death and madness on the Plane of Ice.
Diamond Citadel
At the opposite end of the sprawling Battlefields of Smoke on the Plane of Ash from the efreeti Choking Palace stands a gleaming spike of architectural marvel known as the Diamond Citadel. In a plane filled with soot and ash, the gleaming walls of this djinni citadel are always clean and sparkling, a beacon of light and hope standing in stark contrast to the darkness belched out by the Choking Palace. The djinn pulled a cloudstone island from the Plane of Air into the Great Conflagration, and through magic and regular upkeep the island and diamond walls are kept meticulously clean.
The djinni forces at the Diamond Citadel are commanded by Shahinji Tahaani Randa al-Muraji, a female djinni working her way through the military of the Great Caliph. She has sworn in the presence of the Great Caliph to control the Mountain of Smoke, and to that end she has been given control over the hippogriff-mounted unit known as the First Scimitar Air Cavalry, along with aarokocra soldiers from Aaqa. Shahinji Tahaani has her entire campaign planned out, and to date her forces have been performing exactly as she planned. Her plan does require a lot more time, however, something that is getting the Great Caliph and his advisors very nervous about the prospects of actually controlling the Mountain of Smoke. Only time will tell if they can prevail against the efreeti forces gathered at the other end of the great battlefield.
Throne of Blazeheart
Long ago, the azer of the Plane of Fire sought to settle new lands away from the raiding parties of the efreet. Several large clans of azer left their mountainous homes in the Fountains of Creation and traveled deeper into the Plane of Magma. They crossed rivers of lava and caverns of wonder before finally settling into a massive chamber that once fed a titanic volcano. The azer carved homes and forges from the walls and founded Blazeheart, a kingdom to call their own.
The exact details of what happened to Blazeheart are unclear, but something tragic happened and the city of the azer was consumed by powerful forces that could melt all of their mighty works. All except the throne of the azer king of Blazeheart, which now sits somewhere in the Plane of Magma in a buried chamber. The rumors say the throne is possessed with the souls of all the azer dwellers of Blazeheart, and they are imbued with knowledge of the planes beyond the understanding of most scholars and wizards. Some azer have gone out in search of the throne to learn of what befell of Blazeheart and its structures, but so far none have returned from the journey deep into the Plane of Magma.
Lair of Fimbulvinter
One of the oldest and most powerful dragons in the multiverse is a truly ancient white dragon called Fimbulvinter the Winter Doom. He claims a sprawling series of frozen caves below the wind-swept tundra of the Plane of Ice as his lair, which he has continually expanded and built out over the centuries. Many of the passages are large enough for the great dragon to fly through, and he has secret side tunnels that lead to hidden portals that allow him to access much of the multiverse. Ice golems and ice elementals patrol much of the lair as well, keeping intruders out, but it is rumored that Fimbulvinter becomes aware of any unwanted entry to his lair at any time.
Some parts of the massive megalair are given over to Fimbulvinter’s offspring, ancient and powerful dragons in their own right, and they squabble with one another over their father’s unbelievably large treasure horde. Fimbulvinter’s obsession with gathering artifacts related to his most hated foes, giants, means he spends little time watching his children, but he also knows that if anything truly valuable were stolen he has the might to take it back with little effort. Several tribes of yetis worship Fimbulvinter as a dragon god, something that amuses the Winter Doom, and he allows them to live in sections of his lair and provide another level of security.
Lost Mire
The Plane of Ooze is a vast, unwholesome swamp, filled with insects and monsters that want nothing more than to eat travelers and spit out their bones. It is also a realm where things can go missing for a long time, and nowhere is that truer than the Lost Mire. Deep shadows hang over this foreboding region, leading some to believe it holds a strong connection to the Shadowfell, and dark voices can be heard on the winds that howl through the stands of gnarled trees.
Some ancient force holds sway over the Lost Mire, and any object that is thrown into its depths becomes trapped for a period of 1,000 years. What force keeps it away from the multiverse is unknown, but it is strong enough to keep even deities from retrieving them. After the century has passed, the object is regurgitated back into the Plane of Ooze, usually violently and in a random direction. Shadow creatures patrol the region and seem to do the bidding of whatever force keeps things lost in the Lost Mire, but that hasn’t stopped adventurers and treasure seekers from seeing what bubbles up every now and then.
Obsidian Observatory
The Plane of Magma is a very inhospitable place, but for the wizard Tressafyne it also might hold the key to understanding the multiverse. She and a small band of apprentices learned of ancient lines of magic that run through the Plane of Magma, and they believe these lines connect up to every portion of the multiverse in some way. In order to study the strange phenomena, which many in the planar scholarly community do not believe really exist, Tressafyne commissioned a building where she could conduct her research. The azer that built it considered her mad, but they did as they were paid, and the Obsidian Observatory was constructed to Tressafyne’s exact specifications.
The Obsidian Observatory is a large dome made of shiny black obsidian, magically treated to withstand the power of the lava around it, with several towers protruding along its top. Tressafyne chose a cavern in the Plane of Magma that seemed to be the focus of the magical lines she believed would unlock the multiverse’s secrets, though over time the cavern has collapsed and reformed due the flowing molten rock of the plane. The observatory remains anchored in place, however, which seals her and her apprentices off for years at a time. Has Tressafyne found something? Or has she truly gone mad?
River of Rage
Magma is often viewed allegorically linked to anger, but on the Plane of Magma that link has manifested as a tangible location. The River of Rage is a magma flow river that cuts its way through the rocks of the plane with a passionate fury, and it hungrily devours any and all that get it in its way. It is theorized that some elemental intelligence commands the River of Rage, and that it can redirect its flow at any time in any direction in pursuit of new victims to consume. The bubbling river of lava is more volatile than most on the plane, with great bubbles of crimson erupting from its fast-flowing surface, and it splashes and moves more like water, allowing it to move swiftly through slower moving pools of magma.
And it’s not just the lava that travelers must worry about. Sentient victims of the River of Rage turn into ghostly apparitions that follow its course and goad other creatures into falling into its path. These ragewraiths are spirits of elemental fury, consumed with adding more numbers to the ever-hungry River of Rage. They are the embodiment of furious evil, though they have been known to appear in other planes when a particularly angry individual perished while holding on to their internal rage.
Slime Lord Tombs
The Slime Lords were a group of wicked spellcasters that used powerful transmutation magic in new and devious ways. They built a complex on the Plane of Ooze called the House of Slime to conduct experiments and magical research, pulling power from the very plane around them, and they were very successful at their efforts. Each of the individual Slime Lords had a wing of the House of Slime that was theirs, though infighting and treachery were common. The leader of the Slime Lords was an orc wizard from the Material Plane whose sheer will and determination kept the rest of his fellows in line.
Until they interfered with Juiblex, Demon Lord of Slime, in his lair on the Abyss. What secrets were stolen have never been known, but when Juiblex learned of the thieving efforts he brought down a terrible wrath upon the Slime Lords. The Swamp of Oblivion rose up at the command of the demon lord and encased the House of Slime, trapping them inside, and then it sank beneath the muck of the plane. Did any Slime Lords escape? What happened to their research and magical powers? Some wizards have sought out the sunken House of Slime, now referred to as the Slime Lord Tombs, but to date none have found it and lived to tell the tale.
The region of the Plane of Ooze that sits above the Slime Lord Tombs is known to have bizarre magical properties and strange construct-like guardians. Acidic rain, slime from the swamp that moves up into the sky, geysers of muck, and more keep the unwary from finding the sunken home of the Slime Lords.
Tundra Pits
On the Plane of Ice, the frozen tundra that stretches across the realm is broken up periodically by ice-covered mountains. But in one spot, the landscape dips down and creates a broad bowl-shaped depression that stretches for more than a hundred miles. The howling wind is lessened inside the depression, the interior of which is dotted with countless holes. This region is known as the Tundra Pits, and the ice sheet on the floor sits over a curious porous stone that creates pits with a depth from 10 feet up to 100 feet or more.
Travelers and explorers of the Frostfell have taken refuge in the Tundra Pits from the unrelenting cold and wind of the plane, only to find themselves trapped in a surprisingly deep pit. Some of the pits lead to a series of caves, while others sit in frigid zones that can freeze a creature in a matter of moments.
Lay of the Land
Each of the Border Elemental Planes is a distinct realm, though there isn’t as much variation in the landscape as the prime Elemental Planes.
Frostfell
The Plane of Ice sits between the Planes of Water and Air, and it is one of the coldest planes in the multiverse. The bulk of the Plane of Ice is comprised of a region known as the Frostfell – broad, wind-carved tundras and mountains hiding ice-locked lakes of unknown depth. The skies are gray with constantly churning storm clouds pushed in from the Plane of Air mixing with the heavy moisture from the Plane of Water, and it is always snowing somewhere across the Frostfell.
Great Conflagration
Between the Planes of Air and Fire is the Plane of Ash. Scorching winds blow constantly through the Great Conflagration, the main region, which is dominated by a firestorm of immense proportion. The smoke-choked air obscures vision to only a few dozen feet, and blackened earth motes drift chaotically through the swirling ash. Unlike the Plane of Air, gravity has an effect here, but the supercharged heat from the Plane of Fire keeps even large earth motes and objects afloat, though unstable. A red glow from the fiery realm filters through the ash-filled sky.
Fountains of Creation
Towering peaks and volcanoes pierce the Plane of Magma on the borders of the Planes of Fire and Earth. Mighty underground channels of lava cut through the rock, creating a cycle of cooling and re-heating that keeps the area full of dangers. The area is also known as the Fountains of Creation, and in the deep caverns great seas of magma are known to hide dangers and threats beyond the real possibility of burning or drowning.
Swamp of Oblivion
The bubbling, rumbling Plane of Ooze rests between the Planes of Water and Earth. Dominated by the aptly named Swamp of Oblivion, this plane is difficult to travel on the ground because of the sludge-like pools that dominate the terrain. It’s not friendly to air travel either, though, as great insect swarms act as dark clouds that block out the meager light from the Plane of Water.
Cycle of Time
The Border Elemental Planes share dim ambient light energy from the Planes of Fire and Water, which both have regular day/night shifts. It isn’t as distinct as on those Elemental Planes – a slight darkening of the sky at night, and a brighter tinge to the air during the day. Most of the travel and interesting sites on the Plane of Magma takes place underground, and the Plane of Ice hides its fair share of secrets below the surface as well, so in these regions no exterior force exists to assist in recording the passage of time.
Surviving
Each of the Border Elemental Planes offers its own interpretation on ambient danger that travelers must be aware of and contend with. The most straightforward is the Plane of Magma. Falling into or being immersed in the raw magma of the plane results in 55 (10d10) fire damage. If a creature starts its turn in the magma, it takes the same fire damage.
On the Plane of Ice, the dangerous temperatures can drive unprepared travelers into frosty graves. Creatures and characters that complete a short or long rest anywhere on the Plane of Ice must succeed at a Constitution saving throw (DC 12 for a short rest, DC 18 for a long rest). Creatures that fail gain one level of exhaustion. Bundling up in Material Plane winter gear reduces the DC by 2. In the Cloud City of Calypso on the Plane of Air, specialty clothing shops make ice-repelling fur gear that can offer advantage on the saving throw, but acquiring them requires more than just gold.
The Plane of Ash offers a similar hazard due to the thick choking clouds. Creatures that need to breathe air must make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw every hour; on a failure they gain a level of exhaustion from the soot-filled clouds that dominate the plane. Wearing a strip of cloth over the mouth moves the required saving throw to once every 8 hours, but the cloth must be replaced at the end of those 8 hours as it ceases to provide any benefit afterwards.
Traveling the Plane of Ooze offers no special threat to living creatures, but the entire plane is considered difficult terrain for the purposes of traveling on the ground. The insect swarms and mudsinks are another matter entirely (detailed under Hazards & Phenomena).
Getting There
The easiest access point for all of the Border Elemental Planes is to travel to the Elemental Planes, reach the region closest to the border, and keep traveling, though the distance is variable and highly subjective to the whims of the multiverse. If you are on the Plane of Earth and travel to the Mud Hills, if you keep going through that area you’ll eventually reach the Swamp of Oblivion and be on the Plane of Ooze. Such travel is not without its inherent dangers, as the natural properties of the Elemental Plane give way eventually to the hostile nature of the Border Elemental Plane, but the trip can usually be accomplished by going in a certain direction.
Portals exist to various points on each of the Border Elemental Planes, but these tend to be spontaneous events as much as purposely constructed permanent gateways. Savage blizzards in hostile arctic terrain on the Material Plane can create a sudden vortex to the Plane of Ice, and the appearance of the right conditions in a particularly nasty swamp can create a temporary gate to the Plane of Ooze for a short period. The wizards and sages of the Prismatic Order on the Plane of Air, specifically the Red Master Mage and his apprentices, have one of the most complete collections of known portals to the Border Elemental Planes known to exist.
Traveling Around
Traversing the Border Elemental Planes carries its own risks depending on the specific plane. The Plane of Ice is dangerous because of the numbing cold and powerful blizzards that spring up without warning, but beyond that travel is relatively straightforward, on foot or flying. The Plane of Ooze holds hidden dangers in its endless swampy domain and moving about is difficult because of the thick morass of sucking mud and slime – using a boat or finding another way to stay above the muck is the fastest way to move about from one location to another.
The Plane of Ash is hazardous to breath and difficult to see, but aerial creatures can fly relatively unimpeded (avoiding the earth motes that dot the region and the searing hot winds). The Plane of Magma offers the most difficulties to traditional travel, as the entire plane consists of underground shifting molten rocks. Creatures that need to breathe air are going to be in for trouble, and those without the ability to swim through lava or shift through rock naturally need to find some magical means of getting around outside of portals or gates.
It’s worth noting that the Border Elemental Planes, like the Elemental Planes, do not have the traditional “compass” directions of north, east, south, and west. Among planar cartographers, direction is usually identified as inner – meaning towards the center of the Elemental Planes, which is the Material Plane – or outer – towards the absolutely realm known as the Elemental Chaos. Each of the Elemental Planes uses its neighboring Border Elemental Planes as a navigation point for travelers. For example, on the Plane of Fire, efreet use the terms “magmaward” and “ashward” to designate the two opposite ends of the plane, and on the Plane of Water cartographers in the City of Glass refer to the opposite ends as either “iceward” or “oozeward.”
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