The Implied Setting of Contact Higher Plane

When I first read through original D&D, the spell Contact Higher Plane intrigued me.

“Contact Higher Plane: This spell allows the magical-type to seek advice and gain knowledge from creatures inhabiting higher planes of existence (the referee). Of course, the higher the plane contacted, the greater the number of questions that can be asked, the greater the chance that the information will be known, and the higher the probability that the question will be answered truthfully. Use the table below to determine these factors, as well as the probability of the Magic-User going insane. Only questions which can be answered "yes" or "no" are permitted.

Plane	# of Questions	Chance of Knowing	Veracity	Insanity
3rd	3	25%	30%	nil
4th	4	30%	40%	10%
5th	5	35%	50%	20%
6th	6	40%	60%	30%
7th	7	50%	70%	40%
8th	8	60%	75%	50%
9th	9	70%	80%	60%
10th	10	80%	85%	70%
11th	11	90%	90%	80%
12th	12	95%	100%	90%

If a Magic-User goes insane, he will remain so for a number of weeks equal to the number of the plane he was attempting to contact, the strain making him totally incapacitated until the time has elapsed. For each level above the 11th, Magic-Users should have a 5% better chance of retaining their sanity. The spell is usable only once every game week (referee's option).”

- Men & Magic, Gygax & Arneson

(I believe this is the only mention of different planes of existence in original D&D.)

The spell describes a series of ten higher planes, inhabited by beings of progressively greater knowledge and truthfulness. Contacting these beings risks driving a magic-user insane: the higher the plane, the greater the risk.

Notably, the list starts at the third plane, with no mention of the first or second. This implies two things:

- The base plane, where the magic-user lives, is the second plane.

- There is an even lower plane: the first plane.

So what does "high" and "low" mean? A higher being seems to have greater knowledge and be more truthful. They also seem to have a maddening effect on the beings of lower planes, though that is possibly an effect of the act of contact, rather than the higher being itself.

If there are magic-users on the first plane, they could be using this spell to contact beings on the second (base) plane. Following the pattern, there would be two questions allowed, a 20% chance of knowing, and a 20% chance of veracity. There would be no risk of insanity.

The Wizard Knight

I came across a post on Monsters and Manuals about Gene Wolfe's The Wizard Knight, and taking inspiration from it for Planescape. I have not read the book (I plan on doing so!), but the way noisms describes it, the cosmos of The Wizard Knight seems to resemble that laid out by Contact Higher Plane. A finite hierarchy of planes, going from low to high.

The idea that beings of lower planes are supposed to worship beings of higher planes fits nicely into D&D: the higher planes are home to the gods.

The First Plane

If the second plane is something like the standard D&D world, then what do the other planes look like? It might be best to start with the one lower plane: the first plane. I have a few different ideas for what it could be.

Hell: If the highest plane is heaven, then the lowest plane should be hell, with the highest degree of ignorance and falsehood. Perhaps when a being dies, their soul reincarnates on another plane, moving upwards or downwards on the planar hierarchy. A being on the second plane that disrespects knowledge and truth is sent to hell when they die. (These are the two virtues that can be extrapolated from the spell - there might be others.)

Hell's inhabitants may not worship anything, but can still serve higher beings by being summoned. Perhaps beings on any plane can be summoned as servants to a higher plane?

Dreamlands: An alternative way to look at the lack of knowledge and truth on the lowest plane is to see it as unreal and whimsical. The plane of dreams, or something like Alice's Wonderland. Maybe Faerie or D&D's Feywild.

The inhabitants of this plane might have small, short-lived religions worshipping individuals on the second plane. A visitor from the second plane could find a temple dedicated to themselves!

Maybe beings from higher planes influence lower planes through their dreams. When a higher being dreams, their spirit enters a lower plane. The lower beings cannot perceive them, but the higher being's actions in their dream has an effect on the lower plane. The spell Contact Higher Plane lets the magic-user see the dreamers and ask them questions.

Earth: If the highest plane is the most maddening and incomprehensible place, then the other end of the scale should be the most mundane. There is nothing more mundane than real-life Earth. And I do like when a fantasy setting has some connection to the real world, instead of being a totally separate universe.

Are Earth's inhabitants worshipping beings on the second plane, people like the player characters? It might be better to place Earth's gods a few planes higher. That means those gods would also be venerated by people on the second plane. A PC cleric might follow Thor or Osiris. That's fine. Earth gods already feature in other D&D settings (Forgotten Realms, Wilderlands). Fantasy creatures of the second plane could be the inspiration for Earth's myths and legends.

Overall, I think Earth is the option I like best.

The Higher Planes

We've decided that gods live on the higher planes, but we'll need more than that. There are a lot of higher planes, ten in total.

Beings of the third plane are probably not that much more powerful or strange compared to those of the second plane. Perhaps this is where elves come from? They are good candidates for "higher beings".

The fourth and fifth planes could also hold some other not-that-much-greater higher beings. Dragons?

The sixth plane can be the elemental plane, holding sway over the elements of the lower planes. Beyond this plane, things are no longer composed of natural matter.

Beings on the seventh plane are close to the gods. They are angels and demons, serving the gods or rejecting them. Powerful demon lords may have worshippers on the lower planes.

On the eighth plane live the lesser gods. These have local religions on the lower planes, and might periodically not have any worshippers at all.

On the ninth plane live the greater gods. These have major religions on the lower planes, but are virtually unknown on the first plane, as they are simply too distant.

On the tenth plane live the gods of the gods, who have no contact with the lower planes.

On the eleventh plane live beings more powerful than any god, incomprehensible to beings of the lower planes.

The twelfth and final plane holds a singular being, greatest in the cosmos. An overgod, or an Azathoth-type dreaming the universe. But, as the spell tells us, not even this being knows the answer to every question.

What's Going On?

So, why do beings on one plane care about what happens on another plane?

One central fact has to be: Gods care. They care about mortals on the lower planes, and want to aid them. Some gods might be capricious or easily offended, but at their core, they want to help. Mortals pray to gods to let them know what help they need. Of course, different gods have different ideas of what's best for mortals, which leads to conflict.

The angels of the seventh plane serve as agents of the gods, carrying out their will on the lower planes. But some of them reject the gods, becoming demons. Some demons believe gods shouldn't interfere with other planes. Other demons set themselves up as gods - not because they care, but because they want to be worshipped. (There could be a Blood War-type conflict between these two kinds of demons.)

The elements of the sixth plane each strive for superiority. Their ebb and flow affects the elements across all of the lower planes. If the element of water is strong, there will be floods; if it is weak, there will be droughts. Angels try to keep the elements in balance, to avoid disasters on the lower planes.

The lower you get in the planar hierarchy, the harder it is for the inhabitants to travel between planes. Beings from the second, third, fourth, and fifth planes rarely leave their home plane. However, when the magic flows just right, a portal can open, and an unwitting traveller may stumble through.

What's Next?

I'm going to keep thinking about this setting. Need to decide what is going on at the fourth and fifth planes. And I want to read The Wizard Knight, but that might take a while...