Inner Planes

## Description

The Inner Planes are places of raw power and pure element. They are of ultimate states and extreme conditions. As destinations go, they are generally the least hospitable planes to those from the Material Planes. Unprepared travelers either find themselves helpless or dead very quickly.

Within the D&D Cosmology, these planes can further be broken down into four types:

* **Energy Planes**
* **Elemental Planes**
* **Paraelemental Planes**
* **Quasielemental Planes** (which is sometimes further broken down into **Positive Quasielemental Planes** and **Negative Quasielemental Planes**).

Each of the Inner Planes is a region of roughly similar environment. The Elemental Plane of Earth, for example, is mostly solid matter while flames overwhelm the Elemental Plane of Fire. On each of these planes is other bits of elements and substances, existing in otherwise overwhelming element or energy. Outsiders and visitors tend to gravitate towards those bits of comfort. The City of Brass on the Elemental Plane of Fire is the best known example.

## Inner Plane Traits

While each plane is unique, there are some commonalities across them.

* **Normal, Heavy** or **Subjective Directional Gravity:** The Inner Planes have a varity of gravity traits. The Elemental Plane of Fire has the normal gravity trait, while the Elemental Plane of Earth has the heavy gravity trait. Meanwhile, the Elemental Plane of Water, the Elemental Plane of Air and the Energy Planes all have the subnjective directional gravity trait.
* **Normal Time**
* **Infinite Size:** Even though the planes have borders, each is still of infinite size. How areas with defined borders have infinite sizes is one of the great mysteries of the Great Wheel
* **Alterable Morphic**
* **Elemental and Energy Traits:** Each Inner Plane has one or more of these traits based on its individual nature.
* **Mildly Neutral-Aligned**
* **Enhanced and Impeded Magic:** Generally speaking, powers sharing an element with the plane you are on are enhanced, while those opposing it are impeded.

## Inner Plane Links

Within the Great Wheel, the Astral Plane links the Inner Planes to the rest of the cosmos. Portals also exist, as do vortices where the area is most akin to the nature of one of the Inner Planes (for example in the heart of a volcano or in the Darklands on the Plane of Shadow.

Also, some planewalkers claim that calling them the "Inner Planes" is something of a misnomer, as they are less distinct planes of reality but one plane of unfathomable size. In this view, imagine an octahedron, where each line and point is a plane. At the top point sits the Positive Energy Plane. At the bottom point sits the Negative Energy Plane. At each of the corner points sits an Elemental Plane. Any line that connects two Elemental Plane is a Paraelemental Plane. And line that connects an Energy Plane to an Elemental Plane is a Quasielemental Plane. So, if one was so determined, one could walk from the Elemental Plane of Fire, to the Paraelemental Plane of Magma, to the Elemental Plane of Earth, take a turn up to the Quasielemental Plane of Mineral and end up in the Positive Energy Plane.

## Inner Plane Inhabitants

The natives of the Inner Planes tend to be elemental creatures or outsiders. Elemental creatures share the element of the plane; a magmin is made of elemental fire clear through, while a belker is nothing but smoky air. Elementals can even mix two elements together. The thoqqua has both the Earth and Fire subtypes, and is made of both. Outsiders are more complex and tend to have established societies, and are likely highly resistant or immune to the element or energy of that plane.

## References

1. ↑ Manual of the Planes, Third Edition, Wizards of the Coast, Renton, 2002, p. 65
2. ↑ Manual of the Planes, Third Edition, Wizards of the Coast, Renton, 2002, p. 65
3. ↑ Manual of the Planes, Third Edition, Wizards of the Coast, Renton, 2002, p. 65-66
4. ↑ Manual of the Planes, Third Edition, Wizards of the Coast, Renton, 2002, p. 66
5. ↑ Manual of the Planes, Third Edition, Wizards of the Coast, Renton, 2002, p. 66: while such a cosmology is offered as an alternative to the default setting, the Planescape Campaign Setting at a minimum assumes the Paraelemental Planes exist, and thus I have chosen to treat that as the default.
6. ↑ Manual of the Planes, Third Edition, Wizards of the Coast, Renton, 2002, p. 66-67