Elemental Plane of Water The Elemental Plane of Water was an Inner Plane or Elemental Plane of the Great Wheel cosmology and the World Tree cosmology models . After the Spellplague , the Elemental Plane of Water collapsed into the Elemental Chaos , mixing with all the other Inner Planes . Water is one of the four elements and two energies that make up the known universe and therefore of great interest to cosmologists . This plane was abundant with life : native creatures born of the elemental nature of the plane itself , sentient water - breathing peoples , and most every species of aquatic life that could survive after being sucked through a vortex from their plane of origin . Cosmology . According to the Great Wheel cosmology model , the Elemental Plane of Water could be reached via the Ethereal Plane , an adjacent elemental plane , or by an elemental vortex . The Pale River vortex on the Elemental Plane of Earth had its source here , and there was a vortex to the Plane of Air called the Bubble Net . If traveling through the Deep Ethereal , a green " curtain of vaporous color " indicated the boundary of the Plane of Water ' s Border Ethereal region . Once in the Border Ethereal , a traveler could observe the Plane of Water and be detected by its denizens . Using the spherical model , this plane was adjacent to the para - elemental planes of Ice and Ooze and the quasi - elemental planes of Steam and Salt . Elemental vortices could occur wherever a high concentration or nearly pure form of an element was found , and could be temporary or permanent . Vortices to the Plane of Water could often be found in the deepest parts of the seas and oceans , in clear underground lakes , or as surface whirlpools in any large body of water . Temporary gates could be created by the " plane shift " spell or the abilities of high level druid s . As described by the World Tree cosmology model , the Astral Plane connected all planes with the Prime Material Plane and the Ethereal Plane was only used for journeying between locations on the Prime . The Elemental Plane of Water was not connected or coterminous with any other elemental plane , however both the cross - planar rivers Styx and Oceanus were known to have vortices to the Plane of Water and there were known portals to the Fated Depths . The spell " astral projection " could be used to reach the Plane of Water via a dark blue " color pool " . Additionally , the " gate " and " plane shift " spells could be used to open a temporary " portal " to this plane . It was said that " portals " to the Water Plane could be found in the cold , clear depths of the Moonsea in North Faerûn and the Riftlake in the Great Rift of South Faerûn . Description . There was no deep or shallow , no dark depths nor wavy surface , just an endless ocean that felt as if you were submerged several feet ( say a couple meters ) in any body of water on the Prime Material Plane . There was no sun , yet the water itself seemed to glow dimly with a bluish green luminescence . Volumes of water at any temperature and salinity could be found if you knew where to look or had a guide . The Great Wheel cosmology model explained this by the proximity to the para - and quasi - elemental planes : water became cold and formed icebergs as you neared the Plane of Ice ; water became brackish as you approached the Plane of Salt ; water became silty and slimy as you neared the Plane of Ooze ; water started to boil as you approached the Plane of Steam . The World Tree cosmology described this plane as having all varieties of water constantly in motion , influenced by currents and tides . Life that depended on particular conditions flowed along with their preferred environment or suffered the consequences . Impurities such as bubbles of air , chunks of earth , and even short - lived balls of fire could be found floating about due to elemental vortices or the workings of powerful beings . Habitats and settlements typically formed near sources of food and shelter , or near portals and vortices to facilitate trade . Supporting the teeming life of this plane were the coral s and plants that made their way here and found purchase . Huge drifting three - dimensional reefs and loose spheres of freshwater grasses , kelp , and seaweed were home to myriad species and were fertile fishing spots . Travelers had to keep in mind that large predators knew of these fishing grounds also , or else they might discover just how bite - sized they actually were . Just like a Prime ocean , the Elemental Plane of Water seemed to have no limit on how large some creatures could be as giant squid , aboleth , and kraken were known to prowl the plane . Small creatures could be deadly too , with poisonous spines or barbed tails . The smallest of them all was perhaps the deadliest : algae that formed the infamous " red tide " . Exposure of the eyes or lungs to the red tide caused a blinding sickness as virulent as any disease . If the Plane of Water had any weather , it was the currents , whirlpools , tidal bores , and flows of ice , steam , or silt that could inconvenience a traveler or be a deadly surprise . Usually invisible , currents could be strong enough to pull visitors off in some direction for long distances before they were able to exit the current . Tidal bores were the most dangerous currents , hitting like a thrown boulder and carrying the unlucky creature away for miles ( kilometers ) . Whirlpools were caused by countervailing currents that sucked everything in a tightening spiral , some of which lead to vortices to other planes . Ice and silt flows were fairly easy to spot before encountering , but steam flows were nearly undetectable and could cause nasty burns or boil the flesh from your bones . Inhabitants . It is difficult to determine what type of creatures were the most numerous in the Elemental Plane of Water but presumably the water elemental s had the upper hand because they were manifestations of the plane itself . They could take on any shape their fluid bodies could form but they were extremely hard to see , similar to the effect of a robe of blending , and therefore were often described as blurry versions of Prime Material Plane animals and monsters typically of the aquatic variety . Water weird s , an intelligent life form that could possess water elementals , were also thought to be native to this plane . All other peoples and creatures are interlopers or inadvertent immigrants by way of being sucked through an elemental vortex . Those that made a home here and thrived included some jann , the marid s , the nereid s , and the triton s . Besides almost every species of salt - and fresh - water marine life , there were reports of sightings or encounters with many creatures including aboleth , charonadaemon s , black and bronze dragon s , eyes of the deep , mephit s of the ice , ooze , steam , and water varieties , mud - men , sea hag s , tojanida , varrdig , and will - o ' - wisp s . Trade also brought many different races to the Elemental Plane of Water . Merchants that traded with the dao and the marids included aquatic elves , human s , kuo - toa ns , lizardfolk , locathah , mercane s , and sahuagin .