The Paraelemental Plane of Ice (TIP)

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Wizard School	Alterations
Fire, Earth 	<
Hello, mortals. I shall be your narrator-your unfailing guide, if you will. My name is Sanctimarin, Master of the Frozen Breeze. Your sages would name me a mephit, but I am nothing like the creatures of fire or steam that share that distinction. Referring to my glorious race by that appellation proves more than anything else how badly you need my help.
Let's start with the basics. The Paraelemental Plane of Ice is very, very, very cold.
Got that? Good. Now try to keep up.
The paraplane of Ice is so cold that anything brought here freezes. I know that in cold regions of other planes most liquids freeze, but that's not really what I'm talking about. Here, flesh freezes. Blood freezes. Stone freezes. The air freezes. Spoken words freeze. Thoughts freeze. Even ice freezes.
Ice is a meeting of Elemental Air and Water. Unlike some of the other paraelements, however, ice shares little with the materials that merge to form its essence. It has none of the fluidity, flexibility, and resilience of father Water, nor the speed, lightness, and loftiness of mother Air.
On the other hand, the paraplane itself shows a definite relationship to its two parent Elemental Planes-as well as to the other realms with which it shares borders. As you move away from the heart of my home in an upward direction, the climate undergoes a gradual change. In time, the ice breaks up to become the howling blizzards that form the border with the Elemental Plane of Air. Here, it is possible to walk along the edge of the paraplane, with snow all around you and the plane of Air spreading out above. This region is called the Precipice, and many people think of it as the surface of Ice. In fact, because the paraplane has gravity, some foreigners mistakenly think the Precipice is the whole paraplane. It's easy to see why, really. They trudge along through the vast expanse of ice and snow, staring at the ice-covered mountains, wrapping up tightly against the howling winds, and marveling at the perpetual twilight of the dim, whitish-blue illumination.
What they don't realize, though, is that the majority of the paraplane lies below the surface in the mostly solid, icy heart. If you move downward from the Precipice, the ice slowly becomes more and more watery. This water is horribly cold, but it's still slightly warmer than the paraplane's ice. Eventually, you'll reach a frigid place called the Sea of Frozen Lives, a surfaceless ocean of suspended ice chunks. Beyond this chilling wash is the Elemental Plane of Water. (Because of the way the paraplane of Ice seems to rest on top of the Bottomless Deep, it's sometimes called the Floating Plane or even the Bobbing Plane-and no, you readers from Sigil, that doesn't mean that there are a lot of thieves here.)
That takes care of up and down. Now, if you begin to make the long and draining journey laterally toward the plane of Negative Energy, the nature of the ice undergoes yet another transformation. In one direction, it slowly becomes an endless hail of acrid salt-water ice before giving way to the deadly quasiplane of Salt. This eternally raging tempest of salty crystals is known to most as the Stinging Storm.
Listing toward the plane of Air brings you to a region that's free of ice and snow but gripped in the horrid fingers of absolute cold and total darkness. This place is known as the Frigid Void, and beyond it lies the unending emptiness of the quasiplane of Vacuum.
Don't like those choices? If you travel in the other direction-toward the plane of Positive Energy-the nature of the ice changes yet again. Set your course for the quasiplane of Steam and you'll come upon the Fog of Unyielding Frost, a place of churning, super-cold vapors. These mists are breathable, but they'll freeze your lungs -solid if you don't have some manner of protection from the cold.
Move toward the quasiplane of Lightning and you'll find that the ice breaks up to become a field of softly blowing snow, which, on the surface, seems almost pleasant. In truth, however, these powdery flakes are infused with a dangerous energy. Although the force doesn't cause physical damage, it can have a terrible effect upon the mind. At the start of each turn spent among the Shimmering Drifts, a traveler must make a successful saving throw vs. spell or lose his wits (as if he were the victim of a confusion spell).