Inner Planes

When folks think of the Inner Planes, they often think of just the four core Elemental Planes. They picture the endless azure skies of the Elemental Plane of Air and the hellish blaze of the plane of Fire. They envision the eternal tides of Water and the oppressive depths of Elemental Earth. Such thinking, however, results in a limited scope. There's a lot more to the Inner Planes than this.   Even cutters experienced in planar travel — those who've explored one or more of the Outer Planes (or even hail from one of them)— find the Inner Planes as absolutely different from what they've seen before as they can possibly imagine. They come away awed by the sheer fundamental, tangible reality, something they can't find even on the Prime, let alone the belief-based Outer Planes. Everything in the Inner Planes feels more real, appears more vivid, and affects them more deeply. Raw, powerful, deadly, and passionate (yet paradoxically detached), the Inner Planes seethe and roil, caring not how the rest of the multiverse fares. Sigil, the Prime, the Blood War, modrons on the march — none of these mean anything to the Inner Planes or to those who live here. And that's ironic, considering that the Inner Planes're the soil and nutrients from which the rest of the multiverse grows.   The Inner Planes comprise six major planes and a dozen lesser ones. The former include the four Elemental Planes and the two Energy Planes. The latter are divided into four Paraelemental Planes and eight Quasielemental Planes. Each of these regions is described in brief below and in more detail later in this book.  

The Elemental Planes

Most people think of the Elemental Planes as the fundamental, building blocks of the cosmos. Just as a builder uses raw materials to construct a house, so to does the multiverse use the primal elemental matter of the Inner Planes to form not only the Para- and Quasielemental Planes, but every other plane as well. All of existence can trace its very being back to the four elements, and any bit from any other plane can be broken down into elemental properties, assuming a cutter's got the skill to do it — it's no mean feat, to say the least. ('Course, a body shouldn't forget the importance of the two energy planes or the role of belief in the composition of the Outer Planes, but that's getting too far ahead. More on that later.)

Air

The source of all things gaseous, this plane is a limitless expanse of crisp, sweet air. The sky above, below, and to the sides stretches into infinity with a brilliant azure hue, dotted with occasional clouds and flying creatures.   The conditions of the Elemental Plane of Air make it one of the safest of the Inner Planes. A body can breathe here and needn't wont' about things like being slowly ground to death by pressing stones or instantly consumed by relentless flames.

Earth

The realm of solid matter, the Elemental Plane of Earth is an eternal mass of steadfast stone and uncontaminated soil laced with veins of metal ores and pockets of mineral deposits. Those who travel here must beware of the plane's oppressive weight, for it strives to crush everything that's not a part of it. Many folks call this place "the Anvil," and the reasons for that nickname are manifold.   The two greatest difficulties faced by a visitor to Earth are the simple acts of breathing and moving. After all, few creatures can suck in lungfuls of soil without finding their way to the dead-book. And as for movement, well, it takes a tough basher to bore through even the softest regions of the plane.

Fire

All that is heat, radiance, and raw motion comes originally from this plane. Fire is the plane of change, just as Earth is unmoving, immutable, and dependable. Some call Fire the hottest place in the multiverse, and they may well be right. The blazing flames here consume everything they touch, which is why so many folks refer to the Elemental Plane of Fire as "the Crematorium."   A body can survive in this plane, but it's not easy. The air here isn't really air, but a thin mixture of flammable, toxic chemicals that're only slightly less deadly than the rest of the plane. And then, of course, there's the endlessly blazing ocean of fue, which, in due time, destroys everything it touches.

Water

The source of all liquid substances and of fluidity itself, the Elemental Plane of Water is commonly referred to as "the Bottomless Deep." It's an endless mass of water, not too warm, not too cold, and utterly free of the crushing pressure that marks the depths of terrestrial oceans. The whole place is infused with a soft blue-green light that shimmers over everything.   The greatest hazards that a body faces while exploring the Bottomless Deep are the currents and the lack of air. Usually, the latter problem can be overcome with some minor magic. The former problem, however, is more difficult to counter. A sod never knows when a deadly riptide will grab him and drag him along.

The Energy Planes

Air, Earth, Fire, and Water are four of the major Inner Planes, but a body who wants to understand the whole picture can't ignore two other critical realms: the Energy Planes. As their name implies, they're composed not of matter, but of energy. Both places are difficult to define, but their effects are inescapable.

Positive Energy

The plane of Positive Energy is said to be the mother of all life. That's because the radiation of this bright realm gives animation to all living things. Despite this service to the multiverse, however, Positive Energy is an empty void. Physical matter has no place here. There are few bashers strong enough to survive in this plane. The natural life-giving properties of positive energy can quickly overwhelm any creature, destroying it utterly. Many graybeards speculate that creatures annihilated in this fashion are actually elevated to a new status of being, but there's no easy way to test that theory — at least, not safely.

Negative Energy

The plane of Negative Energy is an ever-hungering maw that seeks to quench the fires of life wherever they burn. It gives power to the ranks of the undead and other such mockeries of life, but the place is anathema to all normal creatures. Survival in the Negative Energy Plane is difficult indeed. A visitor must deal with the complete absence of matter, including air, as well as the plane's natural life-draining properties.

The Paraelemental Planes

The Elemental Planes're held apart from one another by a series of four lesser realms known as the Paraelemental Planes (or paraplancs, for short). These intermediary areas form where aspects of one Elemental Plane mingle with those of another. In essence, they're elemental alloys. The materials that comprise these planes aren't unique, but instead represent the purest combinations of the core four elements.

Ice

The Paraelemental Plane of Ice forms where the chilling winds of Air brush across the surface of Water. This place is often referred to as "the Floating Plane," for it acts as though it were adrift upon the Bottomless Deep with the endless expanse of Elemental Air spreading out above it. Most of the paraplane of Ice is a frozen mass, rather like a giant glacier. Travelers to this place discover that It's unbearably cold and as difficult to tunnel through as Earth.

Magma

Where the Elemental Plane of Earth nears its fiery counterpart, the stone heats, glows brightly, and then runs like water. This is the paraplane of Magma, a realm that's just as deadly as the Crematorium itself. Many dangerous bashers live in Magma, including lava paraelementals and magmen.

Ooze

Perhaps the most offensive place in the multiverse, the paraplane of Ooze forms where Water comes into contact with Earth. It's a region of filth and disease, of caustic sludge and living slime. A body can survive here well enough — a simple water breathing spell is sufficient to allow normal respiration — but that doesn't mean he'd ever want to visit the place. The paraplane of Ooze is home to all manner of revolting creatures, none of whom are particularly friendly folk.

Smoke

The last of the paraplanes, Smoke, forms at the intersection of Air and Fire. The atmosphere here not only roils with heat, but it's also highly toxic. A body who comes to Smoke'd better be ready to deal with both hazards. A handful of dangerous creatures dwell in this realm, including the hot-tempered smoke mephits. Denizens of both Air and Fire drift into Smoke from time to time, adding to the perils a body can expect to encounter.

The Positive Quasielemental Planes

The four positive Quasielemental Planes (also known as quasiplanes) hang suspended between the Elemental Planes and the Positive Energy Plane. They combine matter and energy to form vivid, dynamic realms unlike those found anywhere else in the multiverse. Here, matter takes on an energetic quality that most folks think of as being...well, positive.

Lightning

The quasiplane of Lightning, also known as the plane of Storms or the Vengeful Land, is a place of turbulent clouds, endless thunder, and (of course) vast arcs of lightning. If it weren't for the fact that a body can get himself fried in a second here, this would be a pretty nice place to sit back and admire the impressive scenery. The hazards of this quasiplane are more or less self-evident. Even though a sod can breathe here, he's got to deal with tremendous winds and deadly electrical discharges. Toss in the lightning quasielementals who populate the quasi-plane, and the plane ends up as deadly as it is beautiful.

Mineral

Where the Elemental Plane of Earth is saturated by the radiance of the Positive Energy Plane, the quasiplane of Mineral is born. This is the multiverse's treasure trove, filled with jewels, gems, and all manner of valuable crystals. Many leatherheads think they can pack some big bags, set sail for the quasiplane of Mineral, and strike it rich. What they forget, though, is that the realm's inhabited by some very nasty creatures who don't like a lot of claim-jumpers and cross-traders showing up and trying to cart off the very essence of their home.

Radiance

The Ouasielemental Plane of Radiance is a place of Incredible light horn of the union between Fire and Positive Energy. Although it's one of the most beautiful sights a body could ever behold, it's also overwhelming. Those who aren't careful find themselves dazed and eventually blinded by the bombardment of light. Reports, rumors, and outright tall tales sometimes make mention of the wondrous creatures that live in Radiance. The only problem is that no one really knows what's true and what ain't. It's difficult to look around in a place so blinding. A body can bet, though, that all manner of miracles wait to be seen by those who can master the endless glare.

Steam

At the juncture of Water and Positive Energy, a cutter finds himself swept up in the rolling white mists of the quasi-plane of Steam. These vapors are the stuff of clouds and fog. They can be breathed safely and feel refreshing against the skin. As always, though, a body's got to take care. It's not that Steam has more dangerous creatures than any other plane, but simply that a visitor seldom knows what's lurking behind the next bank of clouds.

The Negative Quasielemental Planes

Just as there are quasiplanes fueled by the power of the Positive Energy Plane, so too are there regions dominated by the darkness of its opposite, the plane of Negative Energy. Markedly different than their positive counterparts, these are generally grim places that break down matter. Undead are common in these quasiplanes, tortured spirits invigorated by the negative energy that infuses everything.

Ash

The quasiplane of Ash is an accumulation of burnt matter pressed into a solid mass. In most areas, the quasiplane has the consistency of hard-packed soil, though some regions are much less dense. This place is born of the union between Fire and the life-draining power of Negative Energy. Those who travel to the quasiplane of Ash find it an amazingly inhospitable place. Its very nature is such that it siphons the heat from all living (and unliving) things.

Dust

When Earth is infused with Negative Energy, it breaks down and forms the Quasielemental Plane of Dust. Unlike Ash or Earth, Dust isn't a solid mass. Instead, ifs an expanse of tenuous atmosphere filled with swirling particles of granular matter. The greatest threat a body faces from the quasiplane of Dust is disintegration. Eventually, even the most powerful basher will be taken apart. Little can be done to resist this effect, which extends even to portals and gates that lead here.

Salt

There are few who'd argue that' water is not the lifeblood of the multiverse. But even so vital a fluid can be stripped of its nurturing value by the influence of the Negative Energy Plane. This is exactly the process that has spawned the quasiplanc of Salt. Here, in an endless world of crystalline structures, a visitor can expect to have the moisture drained right out of his body. Not long after reaching the quasiplane, he'll become parched and thirsty. In the end, even the toughest planewalker will collapse and be consumed by Salt. When that happens, all that's left is a withered corpse that looks as if it'd been mummified a thousand years before.

Vacuum

The quasiplane of Vacuum is a region of utter nothingness. Formed at the junction of Air and Negative Energy, it has no light and very little matter. Few creatures can endure such surroundings. 'Course, those who do manage to survive in Vacuum are bound to be tough. That means that any cutter with a mind to travel to the quasiplane should plan to stay on the good side of the inhabitants. There's no sense in making all manner of magical preparations against the deadly nature of Vacuum only to be sent to the deadbook by an angry native.

Philosophy

Earlier, it was mentioned that philosophy has little to do with the Inner Planes — that belief just doesn't seem to matter in the face of pure reality. It's true that faith won't move mountains here, but that doesn't stop folks from concocting various ideas and theories to explain the mysteries of the Inner Planes.

Alchemy

The study of alchemy owes its entire conceptual basis to the Elemental Planes. In the dim recesses of time, graybeards spoke of these planes as the sole components of matter. Interestingly enough, they discovered the elements (air, earth, fire, and water) first, and only later realized that each had its own physical plane of existence.   Later, of course, folks learned of the paraelements and quasielements. Unlike the Elemental Planes, the para- and quasiplanes were discovered long before anyone included those substances into a cohesive philosophy of the nature of matter. In other words, folks knew about Ash before they knew about ash — they didn't work those components into their theories until after learning of the associated para- and quasiplanes. Chant has it that the quasiplane of Lightning was the first to be discovered, though it was originally thought to be a demiplane. Other graybeards say that the paraplane of Ice was the first inner-planar find after the discovery of the four basic Elemental Planes.   'Course, it's a little barmy to talk about "discovering" any of the Inner Planes. Long before primes trod elemental ground, natives of those planes lived and died here. The histories of races like the djinn and the efreet extend much farther into the past of the multiverse than do those of most, if not all, prime peoples. Surely the elementals existed as long as the Elemental Planes themselves — and if the Inner Planes provide the rest of the multiverse with its building materials, the elementals may be the oldest intelligent beings of all.   In any case, alchemy's a study that really only serves a purpose on the Prime, so this book doesn't give it much attention. Still, many bashers might benefit from realizing that all matter's composed of the elements (along with the appropriate measures of negative and positive energy and — if the matter's found on the Outer Planes — belief). For example, a spellslinger might find it useful to know that wood in a living tree is part earth and part water imbued with the resonance of positive energy (as are all living things). Once cut, the wood retains a little of that positive energy, but ever so slowly the spark fades away. Wood that's particularly light has a little air to it, which replaces the solid, dense earth. Truth is, a body can look at anything this way. A diamond is earth mixed with positive energy, glass is earth and air, and poison gas is air with a little water and negative energy. All the different materials that comprise the multiverse are just different combinations of these elements.

Parallelism

The cutters who wigwag about which Inner Plane was discovered first are also the folks who rattle their bone-boxes about parallelism. This belief expresses the idea that all aspects of an Elemental Plane (and perhaps all Inner Planes) share an equivalent counterpart in the other Elemental Planes. Simply put if a body runs afoul of a fire bat in the plane of Fire, as sure as Sigh there's a water bat in the plane of Water, an earth bat in Earth, and so on.   Certainly, a good deal of evidence supports this theory. Air, Earth, Fire, and Water each have a type of elemental, fundamental, genie race, genasi, mephit, elemental grue, and even archomental ruler. A body might observe that various spells, substances, and magical essences from the Elemental Planes also appear to exist in parallel. For their part, the graybeards point out that while not all of these sets of counterparts're identical, enough similarities exist to carry the point (though the frost and fire salamanders may be a bit of a stretch).   Opponents of parallelism claim that while some similarities may exist, a canny basher won't always assume that everything's got an equivalent on another plane. Plenty of things, from the xorn of Earth to the tshala of Fire, appear to have no parallels. What's more, the Paraelemental and Quasielemental Planes don't seem to possess all the qualities and components of the Elemental Planes, let alone one another's. Still, the theory's useful, even if it doesn't always hold true. It can't hurt for a planewalker to remember that each Inner Plane (except, perhaps, for the Energy Planes — and that depends on who a body asks) has its own basic "elemental" native, that each, serves as home to a type of mephit, and that each often requires some sort of magic for long-term survival. In other words, a smart cutter'll let the graybeards spout the philosophy and just learn the facts needed to get by.

Opposites and Fours

The so-called inner-planar experts tend to claim other truisms specific to such places. For instance, they say that supposedly multiversal laws like the Rule of Threes and the Unity of Rings don't hold true in the Inner Planes. To support this theory, they stress the differences between the Inner Planes and the Outer — differences as pronounced as belief and cold, hard reality (but aren't both just different sides of the same coin — alternating views of truth?).   In any event, these folks point out that in the Inner Planes, the Unity of Rings gives way to the Law of Opposites. Each Inner Plane has its opposite: Water and Fire, Earth and Air, Magma and Ice, Negative Energy and Positive Energy, and so on. The importance of opposites and the harmony that comes from a balance between them can't be overlooked. An elemental force can struggle against its opposite all it wants, but in the end it's still defined by that opposite — at least partially. What would Air be without Earth, or hot without cold?   That said, some of the opposites found in the Inner Planes just don't seem intuitive. What makes Lightning the opposite of Dust? Why would the multiverse put Mineral and Vacuum on different sides? The answer, of course, is that they're positive and negative aspects of opposing core elements, but that doesn't really help a leatherhead understand it. An easier thing to remember is the idea that each element (or pars- or quasielement) embodies its own unique aspects, and is as opposed to all other elements as are any of the rest. None of the creatures of an Inner Plane seem to get along with those from any other Inner Plane — of that a body can be sure. In reality, then, all of these planes are in opposition.   Some of the same folks who hold to the Law of Opposites also dismiss the Rule of Threes as having any bearing in the Inner Planes. They claim that it's replaced by the Rule of Fours, and as proof point to four Elemental Planes, four Paraelemental Planes, eight (four doubled) Quasielemental Planes, and two (four halved) Energy Planes. Everything comes in fours in the Inner Planes, they say, which to their critics sounds like little more than a different take on parallelism.   By the way: It should be mentioned that true inner-planar natives don't give a mephit's backside about any of this. They don't care about the Rule of Threes or Fours. To them, the Inner Planes simply are what they are — home.

Elemental Evolution

Some scholars have noted that as time passes, it seems that more and more elemental creatures, locations, and specific nuances appear. At one time, for example, it was thought that nothing lived in the quasiplane of Vacuum, or that the paraplane of Ice was the same wherever a body looked. Both statements are now known to be false. While most explain this by saying that as outsiders spend more time in the Inner Planes, they learn and discover more about them, others have postulated that, in fact, the Inner Planes are evolving.   These theorists put forth the idea that as time passes, the primal and simplistic nature of the Inner Planes fades, and the planes become more and more sophisticated and complex. Many graybeards believe that it's actually the increasing presence of nonnatives that "corrupts" the Inner Planes, infecting them with the intricacies of the Prime Material and Outer Planes. Ironically, they point out, such a change in the Inner Planes could lead to their dissolution. If correct, this theory would indicate that as primes and nonnative planars travel to and settle in the Inner Planes, they destroy those realms conceptually. And the destruction of the foundation planes could only mean an eventual end of the multiverse.

Getting Around

Naturally, the immediate concern for any inner-planar traveler is survival. But once a cutter's figured out how to keep himself alive, he's got to learn how to move around in his new environment with getting lost (in either sense of the word).

North is North, ain't it?

The concepts of "north and south" or "east and west" don't mean anything in the Inner Planes. A body won't be able to tell one direction from another without help from a native source.   Chant is that an item called an elemental compass lets a traveler find his way around the Inner Planes. While it doesn't indicate "north" or anything like that, the compass points toward the various elemental frontiers. Thus, a body in the plane of Air can use such a device to determine which direction will lead him to the paraplane of Smoke or the quasiplane of Lightning.   These widgets can be found in Sigil's Great Bazaar or in many of the markets of larger outer-planar burgs — particularly those with known portals leading to an Inner Plane. Buyers should be careful, however, because many a swindler has left a gullible sod stranded in the Inner Planes with a compass so useless that it might as well say "north" and "south."   Planewalkers can also try to hire a native to lead them safely and surely (as detailed below), but without a guide or a compass, it's almost impossible to get around the Inner Planes. Many sods're used to some of the Outer Planes or the Astral, where they just need to think about their destination and they get there one way or another. Not here, no matter what a body thinks, believes, or feels, it won't move him an inch closer to his goal. Maps can be useful, but only in planes like Earth where there's a path to follow or recognizable landmarks to spot. For example, the fabled obsidian maps of the plane of Fire are helpful only if a basher can tell where the Plain of Burnt Dreams ends and the Sea of Searing Waves begins — and of course, it all looks like fire, even to the best planewalkers.   Sometimes, folks living in the Inner Planes create minor magical charms called beacon seeds. When swallowed, these pebblelike seeds guide the swallower to a particular destination on a particular plane. No matter where he is in the plane, the eater always knows how to get to the keyed location. Natives often give these to newcomers or visitors so the sods can find their way back when they invariably get lost. Occasionally, the high-ups of an inner-planar burg, seeking to attract new merchants or wealthy tourists, mass-produce the seeds and distribute them freely in places like Sigil.   And then there's the story of the berk who took the name beacon seed literally and planted one in the ground. Chant is the seed either grew into a magical bush that literally sprouted golden leaves, or gave rise to a creature like a shambling mound that eventually devoured the poor planter. One or both tales're probably screed, but that's the way of the chant.

Elemental Guides

Traveling within or between them can be a difficult and timeconsuming endeavor. Guidelines for getting around a given plane appear in that plane's article. Still, certain considerations apply to the Inner Planes as a whole. The most important of these regards the hiring or use of elemental guides.   An elemental guide is a native of a particular Inner Plane — usually an honest-to-goodness elemental, mephit, or other such creature. Some, however, are humans or other nonnatives who've called kip in the plane for most or even all of their lives (after all, few Inner Planes lack communities of displaced planars who've learned to live in the environment). A group of travelers can hire one of these guides to lead them to a given destination in the plane, though the advantages of securing such a guide can extend far beyond mere direction.   Movement with the aid of an elemental guide is far swifter and more accurate than independent travel. Because the Inner Planes are infinite, a lone planewalker can journey forever without reaching his destination. An elemental guide, on the other hand, can bring a body to any given point in its home plane in 100 to 1,000 (10d100) hours, it can also lead a basher to the border with another plane even more swiftly — such a trip lasts only 10 to 100 (1d100) hours.   At the DM's discretion, some of the more powerful native guides can confer a certain level of protection to a traveler. While a body is in physical contact with the guide, he's unaffected by the natural environment of any plane in which the guide can survive. Thus, a cutter who's hired an elemental guide from the plane of Fire can move about there without feeling the searing kiss of its deadly flames, and he's safe in Magma and Radiance as well.   Naturally, the cost of hiring an elemental guide can be quite high. And to make matters worse, few of these creatures have any interest in gold or the like. Exactly what type of payment an elemental creature expects is determined by its nature. For example, an air elemental might demand fragrances and perfumes, while a fire elemental might insist upon rare fuels it can consume. In all cases, however, the value of such payments will not be less than 100 gold pieces per hour of service.

Safe Havens

Wherever a cutter goes, it seems that someone's been there before him. Now, that impression obviously isn't always true—if there's any doubt, just look up the definition of infinite — but it sure can feel that way. The Inner Planes are no different. Even in the most hostile of environments, some basher's long ago tumbled to a way to survive there and call it home. Sure, this can be unsatisfying to the intrepid planar explorer who wants to get everywhere first, but it can also save his life. Where a basher finds other planewalkers or nonnative residents, he's sure to find what he himself needs to survive, whether it's clean air, fresh water, or some sort of protection against the harsh surroundings.   Throughout the Inner Planes, a traveler might find anything from humble waystations to entire cities of humans, elves, dwarves, githyanki, or just about anything else the DM can imagine. Some of the more interesting sites include Hoard, a reputed city of dragons in the quasiplane of Mineral; Yuhnmoag, a mind flayer fortress in the paraplane of Ooze; Sian, a glass-covered lizard man burg in the paraplane of Smoke (chant says it was built by something other than lizard men, but no one knows what Xigg Mannaric, a secret gehreleth outpost/laboratory floating through the quasiplane of Lightning; and Deathdelve, a fantastically large orcish mine dug out of a portion of the Elemental Plane of Earth.   'Course, while a cutter might hope to find solace in these and other places, he'll hit the blinds if he expects to get help for free. The Inner Planes exemplify survival and harsh reality, and those who call it their home, whether by birth or by choice, usually adopt the same ideal. A body who needs aid or refuge should expect to pay far more than he would just about anywhere else in the multiverse (except, perhaps, the Lower Planes, but who goes looking for aid there?).   An interesting example of potential assistance is a blood named Captain Soot (Planar/Male Human/Fighter 12), who pilots a magical ship, the Ebony Queen. Soot sails the Inner Planes like eighteen individual seas and knows each like a well-seasoned sailor on the Prime knows the waters of his own world. He's respected among even geniekind, all of whom have pledged him safe passage through their realms. Soot's not a guide as such, but he does carry passengers, at a cost of 200 gold pieces per person and 300 gp per 100 cubic feet of cargo—and that's just to go from one neighboring plane to the next.

The Ethereal Plane

The Ethereal Plane extends its noncorporeal borders to each and every Inner Plane (as well as to the Prime Material). Thus, it's one of the best ways to travel to the Inner Planes in general, or to move from one Inner Plane to another. Fact is, numerous intelligent elemental creatures use the Ethereal as a neutral ground upon which to meet or parlay.   The Ethereal Plane has two parts: the Border Ethereal and the Deep Ethereal. The Deep Ethereal is a place far removed from any of the planes that the Ethereal touches, with its own qualities and parameters. But on the Border Ethereal, which intersects by each Inner Plane in turn, a planewalker can experience a fraction of the environmental dangers associated with each plane. For example, bashers traveling through the Border Ethereal where it touches the paraplane of Magma find movement a little slower and may suffer a small amount of fire damage.   Bloods can use the Ethereal to move "through" an Inner Plane without suffering its severe environmental dangers by crossing required distances on the Border Ethereal rather than in the plane itself. This can be tricky, but those accustomed to becoming ethereal on the Prime Material Plane can do it with relative case.   It's not completely safe, of course. Most inner-planar creatures aren't aware of ethereal objects or travelers, but some — including some genies, powerful elementals, and other beings — can see into the Ethereal and won't allow an ethereal planewalker to trod through their territory unchallenged. For the most part, however, being ethereal's a good way to avoid notice and conflict.   Speaking of conflict, many creatures in the Ethereal usually avoid the elemental border areas, since the crossover environments cause damage or at least difficulty. Devourers, phase spiders, terithran, and others stick to the Deep Ethereal or the Prime part of the Border. However, some beings, such as the ghosts of those killed in the Inner Planes, certain nathri tribes, plasms, and various genie races frequent the border areas that intersect the Inner Planes.

Elemental Pockets

Most people think of the Elemental Planes (and the Para-and Quasielemental Planes, for that matter) as bastions of absolute purity. Ask a body what's in the plane of Air and he'll say ''air." And, of course, he's pretty much right.   From time to time, however, bits of material leak from one plane to another. In the plane of Air, for instance, a body may encounter floating pockets of elemental Water drifting about on the winds. Similarly, a lucky planewalker moving through the endless expanses of Vacuum might come upon a floating cloud of breathable air. An elemental pocket can allow for a safe campsite, the replenishing of supplies, and a chance to stretch cramped limbs. 'Course, they can also lead to a sod being eaten, incinerated, drowned, or otherwise lost.   Following the Law of Opposites, elemental pockets fall into two different types. The first is the pure, unadulterated pocket of elemental material — what most bashers think of when they think of pockets. These are the floating blobs of ooze in the plane of Air or the solid chunks of earth suspended in the endless sea of the plane of Water. The two elements don't interact at all.   The other type is the corrupted or mixed pocket, where the foreign elemental material has mixed with or been altered by the environment in which it now rests. Water pockets in the plane of Earth become huge muddy pools, and fire pockets in Ice melt their surroundings to create temporary open areas of water. Most corrupted pockets don't last long. For example, vacuum pockets in the quasiplane of Lightning cause a momentary implosion and then disappear, dust pockets in Air blow about and scatter, and magma pockets cool and harden in most nonfiery realms.   Many graybeards claim that all pockets begin as pure specimens and eventually lose their elemental singularity (whatever that means), decaying into mixed pockets. On the other hand, many's the experienced planewallcer who can remember seeing a brand-new pocket corrupt immediately or an ancient one retain its purity. Go figure.   One can use the following table to calculate the size of an elemental pocket. First, roll 1d8 to determine what type of die to use, and then roll 1d8 again to determine the multiplier applied to that die.

1d8 Roll	Type of Die	Multiplier
1	1d3	10 yards
2	1d4	100 yards
3	1d6	1.000 yards
4	1d8	1 mile
5	1d10	5 miles
6	1d12	10 miles
7	1d20	25 miles
8	1d100	100 miles

Thus, a roll of 6 followed by a roll of 3 indicates a pocket that is 1d12 x 1,000 yards across. Most elemental pockets are more or less spherical in shape.   Generally, a 25% chance exists that any such pocket houses 1d4 elementals, quasielementals, or paraelementals of the proper type. Some pockets can serve as lairs for other creatures as well, depending on their type and location (for example, an Earth pocket in the plane of Air offers a roost for natives of the plane, if they choose to use it). Naturally, some pockets are more or less likely to contain life, as noted in the individual sections below.   The following descriptions provide the dark of each type of pocket However, one should tailor the information based on the plane where the pocket is encountered and on whether the pocket is pure, corrupt, or somewhere in between.

Air

After any length of time spent in the claustrophobic depths of the solid planes, the unbreathable murk of the liquid planes, or even the choking atmosphere of a place like Smoke or Dust, a body who comes upon a pocket of elemental Air should give thanks to whatever gods she reveres. Air pockets appear as great open areas, which, although they often lack water or light, are as hospitable a place as can be found in many Inner Planes. Because of this, however, they tend to be inhabited. Fact is, an air pocket is devoid of life only 10% to 30% of the time, depending on the seventy of the larger plane's environment. If an air pocket is inhabited, the creatures that dwell there may be from the plane of Air (30% chance), the plane upon which the pocket is located (30% chance), or another plane altogether (40% chance).   A body can move about in an air pocket just as if she were in the plane of air. Anyone who decides that a given direction is down, however, had better be ready to change her mind fast — or find out just how small the pocket really is.

Ash

To an outside observer, a pocket of elemental Ash may look like a dust storm. A berk who enters one, however, finds the air choking and painful to breathe. In other places, an ash pocket might appear to be a mass of solid cinders, which means that a body's less likely to rush into it. Either way, with every passing second, the pocket drains heat from anyone in contact with it, inflicting 1d6 points of fire damage per round. An ash pocket is quite flammable, too, and an open flame causes it to ignite, forcing everyone in the pocket or within 10 feet of it to make a successful saving throw vs. breath weapon or suffer 5d6 points of damage. Such an explosion converts the pocket into a cloud of elemental Smoke.

Dust

Depending on where it's found, a dust pocket can take the form of a swirling storm of powdery motes and sand; a patch of thin, dry, quicksandlike particles, or a thick morass of murky liquid. Dust pockets obscure vision and threaten to choke sods caught within them. What's more, they can be very abrasive and inflict 1d4 points of slashing damage per round to those inside them.

Earth

Pockets of elemental Earth take the shape of floating mountains, tumbling asteroids, or simple chunks of stone. There's a 5O% chance that an earth pocket is the lair of one or more creatures. However, the biggest danger associated with an earth pocket comes from smacking into it while moving around in more open planes.

Fire

A pocket of elemental Fire appears as a glowing orb of scintillating flame. There's a 50% chance that any fire pocket houses an elemental creature. An unprotected berk who enters one of these burning pockets suffers 2d10 points of fire damage per round.

Ice

Pockets of elemental Ice take the form of giant icebergs or snowballs tumbling through the sky, floating in liquid, or just embedded in another solid. They're so cold that an unprotected sod who explores one suffers 1d4 points of cold damage per round. Ice pockets offer a thirsty traveler an opportunity to obtain water while passing through planes where the commodity is scarce.

Lightning

A lightning pocket takes the form of a vast electrical storm, though an addle-cove might mistake it for a pocket of air. The greatest danger here is, of course, lightning. Anyone venturing into such a region must make a successful consitution saving throw for half damage or suffer 2d10 points of lightning damage each round.

Magma

Pockets of magma may appear almost as volcanic vents or lakes. As a planewalker draws nearer to such places, the ground becomes warmer and warmer until it finally glows red-hot, liquefies, and runs like water. Alternatively, in an environment without gravity, the pocket can exist for a short time as an orb of glowing, rippling lava until it cools and becomes similar to an earth pocket. A sod who gets too close to a magma pocket while it's still hot suffers 1d12 points of fire damage per round. Once a pocket's cooled, a 25% chance exists that some creature will make its lair on (or in) the hardened rock.

Mineral

Finding a mineral pocket can be the best thing that ever happens to a basher, if he doesn't get himself lost doing it. Not only are these places full of valuable gems and priceless crystals, they also tend to be riddled with pockets of air and occasionally dotted with pools of water. Fragments of the quasiplane of Mineral appear as sharply angled crystalline clusters. They're inhabited more often than are other pockets (75% chance), since mines sunk into them can produce valuable stones in large quantities. In most cases, those busy mining a mineral pocket won't be too keen on having visitors.

Ooze

Pockets of elemental Ooze appear as wobbling bubbles of slime that look like giant amoebas moving without gravity, or as pools of muck that slowly and endlessly gurgle and drip. They're rare in planes like Air, for the winds of the Boundless Blue generally tear them apart in short order. Pockets of ooze can become deadly traps to sods foolish enough to tread upon them. They're very sticky and anyone who touches them has a tough time pulling free (doing so requires a successful athletics skill check).

Radiance

A pocket of elemental Radiance appears as a glowing orb that, from a distance, looks like the sun around which many typical prime-material worlds circle. Those who look directly at a radiance pocket must make a successful constitution saving throw or be blinded. This has the same effect as a cause blindness spell.   Anyone touching the surface of a radiance pocket is affected as if they'd come into contact with a random color of a prismatic sphere. Any leatherhead dim enough to pierce one of these pockets finds the conditions within identical to those in the quasiplane of Radiance itself.

Salt

When elemental Salt pockets come into being in the airy planes, they take the form of swirling storms of crystalline hail. These abrasive and painful particles cause 1d4 points of slashing damage per round. They also sting exposed eyes, making everything slightly obscured. In more solid environments, a pocket of elemental Salt appears as a vein of white crystals that sparkle and scintillate if a light is put upon them. At first glance, it's possible to mistake such a place for a mineral pocket. There's only a 5% chance that a salt pocket selves as something's lair. A berk who tries to inhabit or move through a salt pocket finds the moisture slowly drawn from his flesh, which causes 1d4 points of true damage per round if they have water in their body. What's more, anyone carrying fresh water into a salt pocket must keep it tightly stoppered. Otherwise, the water becomes so tainted with salt as to be undrinkable.

Smoke

A pocket of hot elemental Smoke chokes those moving through it just as one of elemental Ash does. Its not flammable, but anyone who enters such a place suffers the effects of a stinking cloud spell unless he makes a successful constitution saving throw. If he stays in the pocket for some reason, he must make another saving throw each round or suffer 1d6 points of true damage per round if they need to breathe. Everything is lighlty Obscured in a pocket of Smoke, and darkvision doesn't function at all.

Steam

A pocket of elemental Steam usually takes the form of nothing more than an expanse of cool, white vapor. Most primes mistake them for clouds as they drift lazily along through the surrounding environment. Steam pockets cut down on visibility, making everything heavily obscured, but a body need not fear choking on these harmless fumes.

Vacuum

These are perhaps the most deadly of all the elemental pockets. For one thing, they're invisible. A body usually has no warning before he stumbles into one. The edge of a pocket of vacuum is identical to that of a globe created by Otiluke's resilient sphere, so a sod's likely to think he's come across a barrier keeping him out of a safe haven.   Anyone who manages to enter a vacuum pocket must make a constitution saving throw or be killed instantly by the harsh environment. Those who succeed must make another saving throw each round until they leave the pocket. 'Course, a blood equipped to travel in a vacuum need not make the roll, though the DM may apply modifiers as she sees fit.

Water

Pockets of elemental Water found in environments without gravity are called orb seas, and they float about on the winds like giant soap bubbles. There is a 75% chance that any given orb sea is inhabited by aquatic creatures. While the smaller pockets are usually broken apart by winds, effectively becoming pockets of steam, large orb seas may linger for years.   On solid planes with gravity, pockets of elemental Water form vast lakes and seas. Again, there's a 75% chance that a pocket is filled with life, containing anything from simple fish to creatures from the Elemental Plane of Water itself. These pockets can serve as good places for a body to net a meal, refill canteens, and escape the grind of travel.   Apart from drowning, there's no great danger associated with entering water pockets — unless a sod irritates the animals, monsters, and folk that live in and around them. Canny planewalkers remember that water is a valuable resource in most planes and make note of the fact that those who've claimed it for themselves will be loath to share it with anyone else.

Elementals and other Natives

Many among the Clueless think they know all there is to know about elementals. Truth is, they don't know anything until they've been to the home of the creatures. See, elementals - when summoned to the Prime appear to be mind less brutes, On their home planes, though, they're intelligent beings with cultures, societies, and lives.   Elementals (and, for that matter, quasi- and paraclementals) usually organize into small bands led by one member chosen because of its strength and intelligence. This tribal organization varies greatly by plane and even by group. Although the members of an elemental band are sexless and don't reproduce, they function much like humanoid families, displaying fierce loyalty and affection for one another.   To figure the statistics for elementals in their home plane, the DM can start with the numbers from the Monster Manual and then increase the Intelligence score to Average to High (10-14) or better. The number of beings encountered can rise to 1d6 or more. Most elementals are true neutral in alignment but once in a great while, a neutral good or neutral evil elemental will be encountered in its home plane (10% chance). These good or evil elementals usually serve an archomental — an elemental of great power, unique to each plane — and travel alone or in smaller groups (1d4 individuals).   Elementals swayed toward chaos and law also exist, but they've actually become slightly different beings due to this influence. Eolians, erdeen, kryst, hydrax, and other creatures have been transformed into beings focused on order or chaos. Even in the Elemental Planes, they're quite rare, and no known quasi- or paraelemental examples exist.   Fundamentals are minor elemental creatures, virtually two-dimensional in nature, while elemental-kin are creatures close in nature to elementals, but which cannot truly take the name. Examples of elemental-kin include salamander, sylphs, crysmals, water weirds, sandlings, aerial servants, and azer.   'Course, the Inner Planes are home to plenty of creatures that aren't elementals or even their kin. Frost salamanders (Ice), fire bats (Fire), thoqqua (Magma), vacuous (Vacuum), and bzastra (Water), for example, are all inner-planar natives. It comes as a surprise to many, but the Inner Planes teem with life, much like any prime-material world. Confusion sets in because narrow-minded bashers wouldn't recognize it as life at all — at least, not as they define the term.

The Powers

The Outer Planes serve as the stomping grounds of the gods. Powers that come to the Inner Planes to make a home are few in number and usually very specialized. Most are, unsurprisingly, gods of the elements.   In any case, few folks think of the Inner Planes as godly realms, and they're often surprised to find that any powers live here at all. Others can't really tell one earth god from another, and may even be surprised to learn that there's more than one. Such clueless don't last long in the Inner Planes, even if they're prepared for the elemental conditions. It's just as important for a body to know who lives where he'll be heading.   Mentioned briefly above, the archomentals — also known as the Elemental Princes of Good and Evil — aren't quite gods, but they are singular, powerful elemental beings that equal almost any Abyssal lord in sheer power. What they lack in worshipers, they make up for in influence among their kind. Simply put, every single creature native to the Elemental Planes fears the Elemental Princes of Evil. The Elemental Princes of Good struggle against their wicked counterparts, but they're not quite up to the challenge. Perhaps simply because they've been around longer, the masters of elemental Evil have greater strength and influence in their home planes, not to mention a greater reputation elsewhere in the multiverse. Most earth-related creatures on the Prime, for example, have heard the name Ogremoch spoken in hushed tones.   When worshipers across the cosmos die, they go to the realm of their power. It's no different for those who pledge themselves to an elemental god. Petitioners in the Inner Planes usually take a form indistinguishable from the plane around them. For example, the spirits of fallen Fire worshipers might become inseparable parts of the flames crackling all around, a final fate that suits most of them just fine. Some addle-coves suggest that the petitioners actually become elementals, but that hardly seems likely. The elementals are too primal to be nothing more than dead folks.

Combat

The varying nature of the inner Planes makes combat a little (or a lot) different in each one. While in the Elemental Plane of Water, for example, a body's subject to the normal restrictions that apply to any aquatic environment. Still, a few rules extend throughout the Inner Planes.

Elemental Immunities

Almost by definition, the natives of an Inner Plane are Immune to the element, energy, paraelement, or quasielement of that plane. This should tell a body two things. First, using that same element as any sort of attack is the move of a complete leatherhead. Second, and more importantly, a basher should expect an elemental creature in its home plane to use a different sort of attack.   For example, a fire elemental doesn't really burn anything in the plane of Fire (it does, but not much more than the environment itself). Instead, it alters its attack to a physical, forceful strike, inflicting about the same amount of damage, though it can do this only while in its own plane. Thus, complete immunity to flames won't always protect a planewalker from Fire's inhabitants. What's more, other creatures in the plane that have elemental attacks are canny enough not to use them in battle. For example, winter wolves engaged in combat in the paraplane of Ice won't rely on their breath weapon.   The DM might rule that certain elemental creatures' attacks or very special magic actually supercedes the planar environment, which means that protection against the environment isn't enough to protect against the attack. To use the example of the plane of Fire again, chant is there're things in the plane that're so hot that they actually scorch fire elementals themselves. Fire so hot that it bums fire — that's just one of those concepts that takes a bit of getting used to. Naturally, these sorts of attacks should be incredibly rare, since each Inner Plane's environment represents the ultimate, purest form of its element. Something smokier than the paraplane of Smoke or drier than the quasiplane of Dust should be the stuff of legends (though, truth is, most primes feel that way about the Inner Planes in general).

No Gravity

In planes without gravity, like the Elemental Plane of Air or the Quasielemental Plane of Vacuum, it's possible for a sod to be attacked from many directions at once. To simplify combat of this type, the DM can use the following guidelines.   A body who's attacked from above loses the benefits of a shield — at least, he does under normal circumstances. If he holds his shield over his head, he regains the protective bonus. Of course, in so doing he loses the advantage of a shield against straight-on attacks.   A large number of opponents can attack a body who's floating in the air. The following table indicates how many foes of a particular size can attack an enemy of a given size in any round. The DM can adjust these, numbers to reflect blocked facings and the like.

Size	Maximum Number of Attackers

	T	S	M	L	H	G
Tiny	8	6	3	2	1	1
Small	12	8	6	3	2	1
Medium	18	12	8	6	3	2
Large	27	18	12	8	6	3
Huge	44	27	18	12	8	6
Gargantuan	66	44	27	18	12	8

Thus, a medium creature can be attacked by as many as eighteen tiny creatures at once. In such a fray, the attackers're normally assumed to be more or less evenly divided around the target, A gargantuan creature (such as a dragon) would be vulnerable to attacks by as many as sixty-six such creatures. 'Course, a dragon could probably take it — but that's a topic for another day.

Magic Use

Magic's a fickle thing, ain't it? It's a wonder anybody puts any stock in it at all. Still, most spells and such can be used more or less normally in the Inner Planes, although certain alterations and restrictions must be taken into account. A few specific rules for individual planes may be found in other articles, but this section covers most of the general guide-lines one should keep in mind.

General Conditions

Both wizards and priests must contend with a number of restrictions and special situations when it comes to inner-planar spellcasting.

Absolute Prohibitions

Due to their fundamental opposition, certain schools of spells cannot be cast within some planes. Spell or power keys cannot overcome these limitations; the basic nature of the plane itself supersedes any such attempt. These prohibitions are listed on the following articles.

Elemental Fusion

Certain spells, like fireball or create water, summon elemental material into being. When a spellslinger casts such magic in the Inner Planes, the substance that's created will mingle with the element that makes up the plane he's in.   As an example, consider a body casting a create water spell while exploring the Elemental Plane of Earth. Instead of the sparkling fluid he hopes to get, the poor sod is likely to end up with something that resembles a mud puddle. The same sort of thing happens to anyone who uses a wall of stone in the undersea kingdom of the Elemental Plane of Water. And fire spells on the plane of Ice produce explosions of steam rather than fire.   There's not a whole lot a planewalker can do about this. The careful use of spell keys'll improve matters a bit, but other than that, a cutter just has to take what he gets.

Planar Natives

As noted above, creatures on their home planes aren't subject to magical effects that mimic the substance of the plane. There's no sense attacking an ice paraelemental with a cone of cold. Logical, right?   This concept extends a bit farther than that when it comes to magic. Simply put, a creature on its home plane ain't extraplanar. What's that mean for a spellslinger? Well, spells like banishment, binding, dispel evil, holy word, and protection from evil and good cannot affect creatures in their home. An efreeti might be as evil as sin, but trying to banish her from her own plane just won't work.

Spell Variants

A little snooping on the part of a wizard (or directed prayers from a priest) can turn up some useful spells. Anyone kicking around an important burg like Sigil or one of the gate-towns of the Outlands should be able to find spell variants like breathe radiance or airy ice. These variations can be purchased for a fairly moderate price, considering their limited versatility. Therefore, a cutter planning a trip to the Inner Planes should make sure that his spellbook is fairly full of such magic.

Summoning Creatures

Summoning spells call forth only those creatures native either to the caster's current plane or to one that borders it. Thus, a wizard in the plane of Air could call forth a sylph or a lightning quasielemental, but not a lava mephit. The DM should always remember that the Ethereal Plane borders all Inner Planes.   There's another twist, though. A creature native to the caster's current plane might be summoned, but it's not bound by the magic. That means the spellslinger must find some other way to control the subject once it arrives. More than one poor sod's gotten himself lost by forgetting that little detail.

Arcane Restrictions

The Ethereal Plane connects the Inner Planes to the Prime Material Plane, and the Astral likewise connects the Prime to the Outer Planes. But there's no direct connection between the Inner Planes and the Astral or Outer Planes, and that fact makes certain kinds of spellcasting difficult. Wizards must also deal with the fact that their spells are subject to alterations by school. Most such changes can be overcome with the proper spell key, although in some cases the physical nature of the plane simply does not allow the spell's effects to function correctly.

Astral Spells

The nature of the Inner Planes prevents wizard magic that taps into the Astral Plane from functioning. Even spell keys can't overcome this effect — it's woven into the fabric of the multiverse. This prohibition applies to astral projection, find familiar and similar.

Pathway Spells

Several spells may or may not function, depending on where the spell is cast. For example, if contact other plane was cast on the plane of Steam, it would function normally to contact any other Inner Plane or the Ethereal. Attempting to use such a spell to reach the Outer Planes, however, fails utterly. Such potentially plane-crossing spells include banishment, contact other plane, demand, Drawmij's instant summons, magic mirror, sending.

School Alterations

As noted above, conjuration/summoning spells are limited by the planes they can draw upon; otherwise, they function normally. Bear in mind, however, that if a summoned creature cannot endure the general condition of the plane it will swiftly perish.   Evocation spells are generally unchanged save for the fact that many are elemental in nature, and therefore must abide by the elemental alteration rules as described below. The ever-popular fireball, for example, is both an evocation and an Elemental Fire spell.   The following conditions apply to elemental wizard spells cast in the Inner Planes. All can be overcome to one degree or another with the use of spell keys. In the case of diminished or enhanced spells, if modifying the level of the spell doesn't affect the spell in any way, the DM can reduce or increase (depending on the effect on the spell) the target's saving throw instead. If the spell doesn't require or allow a saving throw, the DM can just reduce or increase the magic's range, duration, or casting time by 25% (or so). These alterations are listed on the following articles.

Null Spells (&)

Spells of these schools simply don't work on the listed plane without a key.

Diminished Spells (>)

True to the Law of Opposites, a spell cast in the plane whose element opposes that of the spell is reduced in power. Diminished Spells work at one level lower than cast so a diminished level 3 Fireball will be treated as a level 2 Fireball. Additionally Spell Attack Rolls will be adjusted by -1 and Saving throws will be adjusted by 1 in a direction that is detrimental to a caster. Also, all spells above 4th level will fail, except with the aid of a spell key.

Enhanced Spells (+)

Again following the Law of Opposites, spells involving the element of the plane function as though the spell was of one level higher, so a level 5 Fireball will become a level 6 Fireball on the Plane of Fire. Additionally all spell Attack Roll bonuses of spells that are affected will be increased by 1. Saving throws will also be adjusted by 1 in a way that benefits the caster.

Altered Spells (#)

Spells altered by inner-planar conditions vary widely, requiring adjudication on the part of the DM. Common sense can help determine these elemental alterations. Some examples are provided in the following articles.

Divine Restrictions

Considering all the constraints on their wizardly brothers, a priest's inner-planar restrictions look mild in comparison. They don't have to worry about elemental alterations, except as noted under "Absolute Prohibitions" above; they can even cast spells such as the astral projection spell despite the lack of a planar connection to the Astral. Such is the power of the gods they serve, but such power has a price. For every plane between a priest and his deity's home plane, he loses a prepared spell. Also for every spell lost he loses one spell slot of the highest level he can cast. The following chart indicates the number of spells a priest loses, depending on the location of his power.

Priest's Plane	Powers Plane	Spell Loss
Inner Plane	Outer Plane	- 3
Inner Plane	Astral	- 2
Inner Plane	Prime	- 1
Inner Plane	Ethereal	0
Inner Plane	adjacent Inner Plane	0
Inner Plane	other Inner Plane	varies (-1 to -3)

To determine spell loss for priests with powers in the Inner Planes, consult the map. Every plane in-between the two in question (by the shortest route) indicates a one-step spell loss.

Magical Items

Magical items can also suffer a reduction in effect, depending on where they were forged. For every plane removed, they lose one "plus" of magical power. Thus, a +3 sword forged on the Outer Planes loses all bonuses when brought to the Inner Planes.

Where Used	Where Forged	Loss
Inner Plane	Outer Plane (or Sigil)	- 4
Inner Plane	Astral	- 3
Inner Plane	Prime	- 2
Inner Plane	Ethereal	- 1
Inner Plane	adjacent Inner Plane	- 1
Inner Plane	other Inner Plane	- 2

Again, consult the map to determine magical item loss for items forged in the Inner Planes. Non-adjacent planes trace a path through the Ethereal Plane and therefore suffer a -2 lost in effect. Magical items that mimic spell effects are also subject to the spell alteration rules as described above, as the DM adjudicates.