The Planes

The cosmos of Aerith is a vast and intricate expanse, a reality woven from the strands of magic, divinity, and the very essence of existence itself. While the mortal world finds its place in the Material Plane, it is but a single thread in the grand tapestry of the multiverse. Surrounding it are realms both wondrous and perilous, where the laws of nature bend, time flows like a river in reverse, and the impossible becomes reality.   Across these planes, travelers may find themselves walking upon landscapes of living flame, standing before celestial citadels sculpted from pure thought, or lost within the shifting shadows of the endless void. From the radiant domains of the divine to the maddening chaos of the abyssal depths, each plane serves a purpose, shaped by the forces that govern the universe. It is within this grand design that Aerith’s cosmology takes form, structured upon ancient wisdom, divine will, and the echoes of the Shattering that reshaped all of existence.

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The Planes

Here is a list and brief description of the planes in the Unknown Shores setting.  

Material Realms:

• Prime Material Plane - The "normal" universe where mortal worlds exist

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Planar Echoes

• The Eternal Homelands

• J'Orell (Faewild) - A land of arcane beauty, fey courts, and magic.

• The Desolation (Shadowfell) – A dark, decayed mirror of the Material Plane, associated with necrotic energy.

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Transitive Planes:

• The Ethereal Plane – A misty dimension that overlaps the Material Plane

• The Border Ethereal – Close to the Material Plane, allows ghostly travel.

• The Deep Ethereal – A vast, foggy expanse where time and space bend.

• Astral Plane - A vast silver void where souls and travelers move between planes

• The Dreaming - Occasionally referenced as a realm where dreamers' minds go when they sleep.

• The Welcoming Dark - The shadowy sanctuary of the children of Ubatsi.

 

The Core Planes:

Nothing actually LIVES in these planes. They are realms consisting of nothing more than the pure, eternal forms of their respective nature. It is the energy and influences of these planes, and their interaction that gives form to the Prime Material Plane.  

• Plane of Fire - NOT The Elemental Plane of Fire - This is a plane of pure fire. The origin of the element itself.

• Plane of Water - Pure Water. Nothing Else.

• Plane of Earth - Pure Earth. Nothing Else

• Plane of Air - Pure Air. Nothing Else.

• Plane of Currents - Pure Electricity. Nothing Else.

• The Plane of Binding (Strong Nuclear Force) - The glue of the universe. This plane ensures that atoms hold together, that matter itself does not disintegrate into chaos.

• Temporal Prime - A plane controlling the flow of time.

• The Plane of Dissolution (Weak Nuclear Force) - The plane of decay, transformation, and atomic change. This plane allows radioactive decay, transmutation, and entropy.

• Positive Energy Plane – A blindingly bright plane of life energy.

• Negative Energy Plane – A deathly void that drains all life.

• The Void (Neutral/Non-existence Energy Plane) - A plane of no energy, a plane of vast emptiness. The void from which all things arise and back into which they return.

   

Inner Planes:

• Elemental Plane of Fire - A realm of constant flame and lava.

• Elemental Plane of Air - An endless sky with floating cities.

• Elemental Plane of Water - An infinite ocean with vast aquatic empires.

• Elemental Plane of Earth - A solid plane of stone, gems, and caverns.

 

Outer Planes:

Good

• The Shining Keep of Everdawn -

• Mount Celestia (Seven Heavens) – A lawful paradise of order and goodness.

• Bytopia (Twin Paradises) – A realm of prosperity and honest labor.

• Elysium (Blessed Fields) – A peaceful plane of absolute goodness.

• The Beastlands – A plane where animals and nature spirits rule.

• Arborea (Olympian Glades) – A plane of joy, passion, and chaotic good gods.

• Ysgard – A heroic realm of eternal battle and feasting.

  Evil

• Acheron – A plane of endless warfare.

• Baator (Nine Hells) – The realm of the devils, ruled by Asmodeus.

• Gehenna – A volcanic hellscape of ruthless ambition.

• Hades (Gray Waste) – A realm of despair and lost hope.

• Carceri – A prison plane of lies and betrayal.

• The Abyss (Infinite Layers of Chaos) – The domain of the demons.

• Pandemonium – A maddening, wind-swept plane of chaos.   Neutral
  • Limbo – A chaotic, ever-changing void of raw possibility.
  • Mechanus – A realm of absolute order and clockwork precision.
  • The Outlands – The plane of neutrality, containing the City of Sigil.
   

  The Expanse

  • The Far Realms - A completely alien plane of eldritch horror, madness, and Lovecraftian abominations.
  • The Nether - The space between planes. Think of it as a plane between all other planes, made entirely of the planar version of the Phlogiston; and equally as dangerous
   

  Other Notable Locations & Demi-Planes

  Some additional places exist outside the traditional multiverse structure.  
  • Spelljammer Wildspace & The Phlogiston – A space-like plane connecting worlds.
  • The Great Umbra - Not a true transitive plane, this is the entrance to Aerith's unique link to the other planes of the universe.
  • The Seinrill Catacombs - The Wards of the Seinrill Catacombs are all individual demiplanes.