Still working on the planar cosmology I laid out the other week. I cut a couple of heavens, added a couple of lands-of-the-dead, and changed some other things. It's still all very top-level, but I want to define how the world works before I drill down into smaller stuff.
Overview
- World of Earth
- World of Fire
- World of Air
- World of Water
- Material Ideal
- Dreamland
- Halls of the Dead
- Elven Fields
- Angelhome
- Heaven
- Spiritual Ideal
- The Absolute
The first five planes are material, shaped from the four natural elements and infused with spirit. The following six are formed out of pure spirit. The twelfth and final plane is beyond both matter and spirit.
Each of the first four planes reflects one particular element. This is not a physical reflection (the World of Fire isn’t full of fire, for example), but rather, each of these planes reflects the philosophy of its element. Physically, these planes are not too different from each other. They all have mountains, forests, oceans, deserts, and so on.
First Plane: World of Earth
Earth is solid and comprehensible, and rarely does anything unexpected. It is difficult to influence or bypass, making it an anti-magical element.
In the world of Earth, magic is weak, to the point where many inhabitants don’t believe it exists at all. Portals to other planes are extremely rare, and do not stay open for long.
Humans and halflings come from Earth, though no halflings remain here in the present day.
Second Plane: World of Fire
Fire is chaotic and unpredictable. It can be destructive, but it is also creative, as it can change matter from one form to another. Fire is hard to kill: a small ember can cling to life for a long time, until it bursts into flames once more.
The world of Fire has seen many great changes and cataclysms throughout its history. The greatest acts of destruction and creation have taken place here.
Dwarves are native to Fire. A long time ago, humans and halflings came to Fire from Earth, and they have stayed and grown numerous. More recently, many elves have arrived in Fire from Air.
Third Plane: World of Air
Air has varying moods. It can be still and silent; it can be flighty and playful; it can be wrathful and awesome. Air is easy to pass through, and conducts magic well.
The world of Air is constantly changing, but rarely as dramatically as Fire often does. Air is highly magical, and interplanar portals are more common here than on other planes.
The immortal elves, native to Air, have a better understanding of the planar cosmology than most other beings of the material planes.
Fourth Plane: World of Water
Water wants to dominate. It submerges and drowns. It sweeps away anything and anyone weaker.
The world of Water is home to the dragons, who constantly compete for dominance. Weaker dragons search for interplanar portals, hoping to rise to power in another world - or just live in peace.
Fifth Plane: Material Ideal
The Material Ideal holds the essences of the four elements. Their power flows from here into each of the material planes. If one element becomes stronger or weaker in the Material Ideal, it will also grow stronger or weaker in all of the lower material planes. For example, if water becomes stronger in the Material Ideal, there will be heavy rains and floods in the lower planes. If water becomes weaker, there will be droughts. Many angels work to preserve balance in the Material Ideal, in order to avoid disasters.
The landscape of the Material Ideal is formed from nigh-pure elements, or simple combinations thereof. There are forests of fire-trees, bottomless oceans, mountains of mist, rivers of mud. Each of the plane’s living creatures are also strongly tied to one or two elements.
The Material Ideal is the last material plane. From here on, the planes and their inhabitants are entirely spiritual.
Sixth Plane: Dreamland
Those who sleep on the material planes visit Dreamland. The plane is in constant flux, as it is shaped by the dreamers’ subconscious thoughts, fears, and desires. Most creatures of Dreamland are not truly alive, as they are created, changed, and destroyed by the whims of dreamers. But if they escape to another plane, they will retain their form and drive.
A waking visitor of Dreamland could find any dreamer and talk to them, but the shifting dreams are difficult and dangerous to navigate. Those who have business in Dreamland instead train themselves to dream lucidly, taking conscious control of the dream, then seeking out the dreamer they need to contact.
Seventh Plane: Halls of the Dead
When a mortal being from the material planes dies, their soul travels to the Halls of the Dead. This is not their final destination, however. When the soul wishes, it can ascend to the Twelfth Plane, where it joins the Absolute. Exactly what this means is a mystery, but certainly no soul has ever returned from this journey.
The Halls of the Dead are dark and dull. Aside from the dead, they are inhabited by a few keeper spirits, who greet newly arrived souls and tell them of the journey they must make.
Some souls linger in the Halls of the Dead. Those who are afraid of what lies beyond, those who refuse to believe they are dead, and those who have unfinished business. A strong soul can will itself back to the material planes, to haunt its old home or place of death.
Magic that raises the dead works only if the dead person’s soul remains in the Halls of the Dead. If it has ascended to the Absolute, it cannot be brought back.
Eighth Plane: Elven Fields
Elves are immortal, immune to death by old age. But if an elf is slain by misadventure, their soul does not go to the Halls of the Dead. Instead, it goes to the Elven Fields.
The Elven Fields are rolling meadows, crossed by streams and dotted by groves of trees. The sky is clear, and it is twilight in late summer.
Elven souls cannot ascend to the Absolute, so they remain in the Elven Fields forever.
Ninth Plane: Angelhome
Angels are servants of the gods. Each angel is tied to one particular god, and carries out their will in the lower planes. Every god has one hundred and eleven angels. An angel cannot be permanently killed while their god still lives. If destroyed, they will reform in Angelhome after a time.
Not all angels stay loyal to their god. Some reject servitude, and decide to live by their own free will. They become demons. Demons have varying ideals, but there are two main philosophies: the Godless and the Godlike.
The Godless reject all divine influence, and believe each being should be solely responsible for itself. In the lower planes, Godless demons work to thwart gods and overthrow faiths.
The Godlike wish to impose their own will on the planes and their people. The mightiest Godlike demons take this to the final extreme: they declare themselves gods, severing the link to their former divine master. These demon lords gather lesser demons as followers, and seek worshippers in the lower planes, all to impose their own vision on the cosmos.
There is constant conflict between angels and demons, and also between Godless and Godlike demons. Angelhome is riven by war, and the three factions clash whenever they meet on other planes.
Tenth Plane: Heaven
Heaven is home to the gods.
Gods care about the beings of the material planes, and want to aid them. They listen to their prayers to find out what they need. Some gods may be capricious or easily offended, but ultimately they all want to help. Of course, different gods have different ideas of what is best for the material planes, which can lead to conflict.
There are many different gods. Most are only worshipped in one or two places on the material planes, and may at times have no worshippers at all.
Gods can be killed, but doing so is extremely difficult. A slain god ascends into the Absolute, and is never seen again. The angels (and demons) who were linked to the dead god will no longer be able to reform if they are destroyed, instead ascending to the Absolute as well.
On rare occasions, new gods spontaneously appear in Heaven, their angels appearing in Angelhome. The cause for this is unknown.
Eleventh Plane: Spiritual Ideal
The Spiritual Ideal holds emotions and concepts: the base “elements” of spirit. Anger, beauty, grief, freedom, love, and many others. A disturbance here will have spiritual consequences on all lower planes.
Beings native to the Spiritual Ideal are strange and single-minded, and can cause great trouble if they make their way to the material planes. The greatest beings in the Spiritual Ideal are perhaps better described as “phenomena”, but either way, they are more powerful than any god.
Twelfth Plane: The Absolute
The highest plane is the most mysterious one. No natural portals lead to the Absolute. Planar spells can take one there, but most such travellers never return. Those who do have difficulty describing the experience. There was a singular presence. They had to use every bit of their willpower to remain separate from it. That is all which can be understood.
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