The Planes Beyond (DK)

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Though markedly different in their approaches to life on Athas, all three priest classes draw their magical spells from the elemental planes. Powerful sorcerer-kings and templars have contact with beings on those planes, and the beings can channel magical energy to the desert world of Athas. The relationships of the various planes, the creatures there, and their interest in Athas can be important to high-level characters in a DARK SUN campaign. 
==The Big Picture==
For this discussion, the planes can be divided into five categories: the prime material plane, the ethereal plane, the inner planes, the astral plane, and the outer planes. 
Athas resides on the prime material plane. Actually, it is on but one of many alternate prime planes, but these alternates have no impact on Athas. All standard play in DARK SUN campaigns takes place on the prime material plane. 
Adjacent to the prime material plane is the ethereal plane, a realm of proto-matter-material items in the ethereal plane pass easily through one another since nothing there is truly solid. Within the ethereal are many Operating demiplanes, islands of solid matter with their own character, but, again, these have no impact on Athas. 
From the viewpoint of a person in the prime material plane, the various inner planes lie beyond the ethereal. The inner planes represent the material building blocks of the universe. The elemental planes of earth, air, fire, and water are each realms dominated by their element. The positive energy and negative energy planes are also storehouses of fundamental power in the inner planes. The para-elemental planes are regions of mixed materials where the elemental planes border on one another. Where the elemental planes instead border on the positive and negative planes of energy there are quasi-elemental planes. All of the elemental, para-elemental, quasi-elemental, positive, and negative energy planes are part of the inner planes. None of the inner planes is particularly aligned to good or evil, and in fact the creatures there display a marked indifference toward affairs outside their particular plane. Why some powerful beings of the inner planes have become so interested in Athas as to lend spell energy to its priests is explained later. Also connected to the prime material plane, but not directly connected to the ethereal or the inner planes, is the astral plane. The astral is largely a void, with only Ooating bits of solid matter and the silver cords of travelers to break the monotonous emptiness. The cords are links between a traveler's physical body and his astrally projected form (as per the astral spell). 
Again, from the prime point of view, the outer planes lie beyond the astral. These so-called planes of power are vast realms with terrain and material forms not unlike the prime material. Each separate outer plane is strongly aligned-both good and evil creatures there have designs on the prime material plane. The distinctions between the many outer planes is unimportant to this discussion; suffice to say that outer planar creatures tend to be highly polarized (either extremely good or terribly evil). 
==Mapping the Planes==
The prime material plane is directly connected to both the ethereal and the astral planes; travelers can readily employ magic that will take them from Athas to either of these destinations. 
The ethereal plane is surrounded by the border ethereal, an overlap between it and the prime material or the inner planes. A traveler at the border ethereal can see into both planes (ethereal and prime material) and walk fully into one or the other from the border area. With the appropriate magic, a traveler could walk from the prime material into the ethereal and then beyond into one of the inner planes; he would pass through the border ethereal twice on his journey. 
The inner planes are also connected to the prime material plane via vortices. Commonly known types of vortices are free-standing and temporary. A free standing vortex to the elemental plane might be in the heart of a volcano, for instance. A temporary vortex is most often a spell such as plane shift. Less commonly known or acknowledged are the living vortices, creatures of great power, described later. 
Going the "other way" from the prime, if you will, a traveler can journey through the astral plane. The astral spell allows him to leave his physical form on the prime while his astral form moves through that plane. His astral form, its silver cord trailing behind it, can then travel to other locations on the prime material plane or it can move to the first levels of the outer planes. Within the unending grayness of the astral the traveler can find color pools, gateways to alternate prime material planes and to the first layers of the many outer planes. 
The direct paths from the prime material to the outer planes are called conduits. Anchored firmly at two locations, one on the prime and one in an outer plane, these wormhole conduits ferry beings back and forth regularly. On the prime, fixed locations such as temples are ideal anchors for conduits. Jealous of the unique relationship between the elemental planes and the prime material, some dark powers of the outer planes have fabricated living conduits that masquerade as living vortices, so that they might meddle further in the affairs of the tiny world of Athas. 
Character travel: An Athasian character's most common means of travel to and from the various planes are spells, psionic powers, and magical items. Plane shift and astral spell are the most common personal spells available to a character. With the former, he can travel bodily to any other plane. The astral spell is somewhat more limited, however, allowing the caster to take an astral form on that plane or form a second physical body on a distant, outer plane-anything happening to these other bodies can have disastrous effects. When using materials from the Tome of Magic in a DARK SUN™ campaign, a character can use the spell join with astral traveler to journey there. Psionically, a character can employ several psychoportive disciplines and sciences, such as summon planar creature and astral projection, to utilize the other planes. Magical items such as oil of etherealness or ethereal armor allow a character to walk through the ethereal plane, even to the inner planes beyond. 
Some creatures have spell-like abilities that allow them to walk the planes, and some artifacts are in fact gates to other planes. The OM administers these. 
Character communication: Direct communication with beings in the elemental planes can be accomplished with commune spells and similar divination magic. Clerics, druids, and rangers have indirect contact with the elemental planes every time they draw upon the magical energies there for spells. 
It is extremely rare that a creature from the elemental planes initiates contact with the prime material plane. 
Communication with characters on the astral plane can be accomplished through the 1st-level priest spell speak with astral traveler (from the Tome of Magic).