The Elemental Plane of Fire: The Crematorium (TIP)

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Absolute Prohibition:	Water
Wizard School 	Alterations
Air, Earth 	<
Fire 	+
Greetings, honored readers! I am Riddel im-Bashadiel, Commander of the Melted Wing, a dedicated legion of the finest soldiers ever given life in the flames of a mother's womb. I have been chosen above all others to instruct those unfortunates not native to the Elemental Plane of Fire about the realm of my heart and home. This I do gladly. My great Sultan, Lord of Flame, the Potentate Incandescent, the Tempering and Eternal Flame of Truth, the Most Puissant of Hunters, Marshall of the Order of the Fiery Heart, the Smoldering Dictator, and the Crimson Firebrand wishes me to encourage those who come to our realm to do so with greater education. The more a "cutter" knows, the more likely it is that he may avoid roasting in the Pit of Slow-Burning Flame for angering my people, the great and noble Efreet.
Filiag Highthumbs of the cold and dark city of Sigil once wrote this of the plane of Elemental Fire in his Planes and Travel journals, which were published posthumously many years ago:
: "If there's a more hostile place than the Elemental Plane of Fire anywhere in the multi verse, it's being kept in the dark. From start to finish, this plane is nothing short of destruction incarnate. Nothing, either animate or inanimate, that finds its way here lasts for long without a good deal of magical protection. That's why folks call it the Crematorium.
: "When most primes, especially the clueless ones, think of Hell, they think of a place that looks a lot like the plane of Fire. The lowest regions of the place appear as a giant sea of living fire. Occasionally, plumes of flame leap into the air, becoming vast blazing clouds of oily incineration. In time, these rolling firestonns slowly settle down to the surface again, frying everything they touch.
: "If a body hasn't tumbled to the idea yet, it's really, really hot here."
The honored master Highthumbs obviously has-or I should say, had-a poor opinion of my home. Actually, that does not surprise me. To those from the frigid realms beyond the plane of Fire, the glory that is true flame must be more than they can comprehend. My sympathies. His description of the plane is not entirely inaccurate, however. The Sea of Scorching Waves washes upon the shores of the Lands of Fire while the Scalding Skies rise above, filled with firestorms and rippling waves of pure, invisible heat. Thus, unlike the natives of some of the inferior Elemental Planes, we can identify such simple concepts as "up" and "down" here. But I will not linger overlong on the misfortunes of the lesser born.
Most physical objects from elsewhere simply burst into flames the moment they arrive in the Elemental Plane of Fire. Some do not even last that long, being instantly and utterly consumed too fast for their owner to notice. In most cases, things burn so thoroughly that no ash or other residue is left behind. The weakness of flammability becomes apparent here more than in the cold realms outside the plane. Even objects that do not bum on the frozen wastes of the Prime Material or most of the Outer Planes catch fire or melt here. While a pleasant thing for my kind (and the elementals and their kin), this can cause hardship for an outsider. However, magical items forged elsewhere have a chance of surviving the hungry flames.
Perhaps you should come to our plane bearing a great number of magical items....
Ahem. In any event, volcanic stone is not subject to the heat of the inferno. Thus, a traveler can sometimes find islands of obsidian or basalt and even scattered, extensive deserts of pumice floating in the endless sea of fire. Such places may offer respite from the searing flames, but they do nothing to lessen the heat.