Planar Resonance

Each object and creature in reality resonates in sync with the plane of existence on which it currently rests. Since it is possible to move between planes, scholars have spent much time and effort attempting to find the physical relationships between planar locations. All planes of existence do not truly exist with any true spatial relation to each other. 

Same Spot Theory

Some have posited that the planes all exist in the same space, and all one needs to do to transport between them is find a way to attune themselves to another plane. In this way, there were a variety of attempts to draw maps that identify relating spaces on each plane of existence to each other. And this was replicable! When planar travelers attempted to use these maps and found that they were arriving at the same location each time, they were sure that the theory must be correct. Unfortunately, the whole effort was upended when a group of planar travelers who had been independently researching this phenomenon came out with their own set of maps. Similar and sometimes the same points on the Prime Material Plane did not correspond to the same locations. After some more research (and several rather petty wizard duels which set the whole science of planar travel back a few dozen years), it was found that unbiased third parties would arrive at the location listed on their map depending on the map they were holding. 

Macro-Plane Theory

Many of the interested parties spent a good decade trying to develop a theory of Planar Drift which described how the planes would move in relation to each other on a sort of Macro-Plane which contained them all. This research was started as a direct response to the difficulties in mapping the planes that had arisen from Same Spot Theory, and attempted to explain the inconsistencies in that theory. Macro-Plane Theory posits that everything has got to exist somewhere, and so the planes must exist in some sort of higher space that does not follow the traditional rules. Sure, the planes could be right on top of one another on the X, Y, and Z axes, but what about the Q axis? They proposed that there must be some larger space in which all of the planes exist, and that the different "resonances" of the planes were simple a way for individuals to move themselves along to another plane on the Q axis. They dubbed this space the "Macro-Plane." They then went on to theorize that the planes move through this Macro-Plane, similarly to how the planets move around one another. This "Planar Drifting" was the reason that travel between the planes was so inconsistent. When a magic user would use a map, they would subconsciously be targeted a certain point on a plane, rather than targeting the truly corresponding location. On the other hand, when blindly plane hopping, the traveler would instead be targeting the "true correspondence" with the target plane. Since the planes moved around in the Macro-Plane, the blind traveler would end up in different places depending on the "Q-angle" between the two planes.

Type

Metaphysical, Arcane