Planarverse

Cosmology, the study of the planes, is a complex and niche field.  The danger and difficulty involved in planar research deters researchers. It is also difficult to obtain funding for planar research due to the steep expenses and the low chances of being able to recover any of said costs.  Cosmology as a field is mainly focused on knowledge for knowledge’s sake, and only appeals to those who need to know the innerworkings of the cosmos regardless of whether it yields any personal benefit.

## Layman’s Understanding

The average Kippelian citizen has a simple but functional understanding of the planes, which mainly stems from the Kippelian faith.  They know that the Nexus, Moon, and Sun exist in the Prime Material plane, which is in the center of the Planarverse.  They know that “good” people will have their souls taken to one of several heavens when they die, depending on which god they pleased the most during their lifetime. They also know that “wicked” people will have their souls pulled into the Abyss when they die, either to be consumed by fiends or to become a fiend themselves.  Devout believers in the Kippelian faith may have a more complete understanding of the Planarverse due to many planes holding religious significance.

## Planar Structure

The Planarverse Model undergoes frequent changes as the current understanding of the Planarverse evolves.  Faithfully depicting the Planarverse on paper is impossible and many cosmologists believe that the planes are oriented in an extradimensional configuration, rendering even 3D representations misleading.

### Known planes in order of closest to furthest from the PM plane:

1. Feywild and Shadowfell
2. Astral Plane, Ethereal Plane, and usually Limbo
3. Elemental Planes
4. The Heavens and the Abyss
5. Mechanus

Interplanar distance describes the difficulty of traveling between planes, for example gates between the Feywild and the PM plane have occurred naturally whereas opening a gate to or from the Abyss is a monumental task.

## Long-Standing Planarversal Truths

Certain facts about our understanding of the cosmos have remained unchanged for centuries.

* The Prime Material Plane is connected to every other plane.
* The Feywild and the Shadowfell can only be accessed from the Nexus.
* The Heavens are connected.
* The Elemental Planes are connected.
* The Astral Plane exists in the gaps between the planes and is connected to all of the planes except for the Feywild and the Shadowfell.
* The Astral Plane is much more treacherous and difficult to navigate than the Prime Material plane.
* The Heavens and the Abyss exist on opposite ends of the Planarverse.
* Mechanus is only connected to the Astral Plane and the Prime Material Plane.

Interplanar connections mean that it is possible to open a gate directly from one plane to the other. For example, it’s theoretically possible to open a gate to the Fire Plane from the Water Plane but not from the Abyss.

## Time and the Planes

The relationships the different planes have with time are not fully understood.  In most cases time seems to flow differently on other planes that on the PM plane.  For example people who have been resurrected a few days after their death recall spending mere hours in the Heavens, and St. Sanguinnius felt as though he had been trapped in the Abyss for years and had visibly aged despite only a few months passing on the Nexus.

## Notable Planar Researchers

* The Magister
* Tekk M. O'Brah