Outer Planes

## Description

If the Inner Planes are the raw matter and energy that make up the Great Wheel, the Outer Planes are the direction, thought and purpose for such construction. Accordingly, many sages refer to the Outer Planes as the divine planes, spiritual planes or godly planes, for the Outer Planes are best known for being the homes of the gods. Gods may live elsewhere, but they actively thrive on these planes.

To the novice traveler, these planes seem much more hospitable and welcoming to those from the Material Planes than either the Inner Planes or the Transitive Planes. This notion is deceptive, however. While the landscape may resemble that of the Material Planes, it can change at the whim of the powerful forces that dwell on the Outer Planes. The desire of the godly powers that dwell here can remake and reshape the landscape to suit their whims.

The Outer Planes also serve as the afterlife for those from the Material Planes. Petitioners roam the various planes, sorted by their deity and/or their alignment. They generally seek to eventually become one with the plane, though in rare cases they can become truly sentient again. Most petitioners lose their previous memories, though rumor is that some very powerful primes retain their memories.

## Outer Plane Traits

The planes that fall under this category tend to have the following traits (though ceretain areas or layers are subject to different rules).

* **Normal Gravity**
* **Normal Time**
* **Infinite Size**
* **Divinely Morphic**
* **No Elemental or Energy Traits**
* **One or More Aligned Traits**
* **Normal Magic**

## Outer Plane Links

The Outer Planes are separate from the Material Planes, so those wishing to reach it either must use the Astral Plane, spells/rituals or by interplanar portals. Individual Outer Planes sometimes are coterminous and sometimes are separate, so it is best to be sure you know how to get to where you are going.

In addition to portals allowing travel between the planes, there are portals that lead "deeper" into the plane, giving the impression of layers. Most call these layers, with the first one being whichever one connects to the Concordant Domain of the Outlands. This top layer is the one almost everyone arriving to that plane has to go through, though technically the Astral Plane touches all layers (its color pools will only take you to the first layer).

## Traveling the Outer Planes

Most travelers from the Material Planes arrive via *astral projection* spell or a portal to get around. But there are other options.

### Oceanus

The River Oceanus is sweet and fragrant, as befits its place as the headwaters for the Blessed Fields of Elysium. This plane-spanning waterway provides a path between realms, layers and neighboring planes.

This river flows through each layer of Elysium, passes through the top layer of the Wilderness of the Beastlands, streams across the top layer of the Olympian Glades of Arborea, and drains away somewhere in Arborea's second layer. It is an extremely common shipping and merchant route, and travelers can pretty easily book passage on one of the ships that uses its water. It even has a fairly well-known portal to Sigil's single canal.

### Styx

The River Styx is the polar opposite of the River Oceanus. This river bubbles with grease, foul flotsam and the putrid remains from battles fought along its banks. Those who tough or taste its waters are attacked (Level + 3 vs. Fortitude), and on a successful hit, suffer complete amnesia. Even those who are not hit lose memory of the past 8 hours.

The Styx churns through the first layers of the Infernal Battlefield of Acheron, Nine Hells of Baator, Bleak Eternity of Gehenna, Gray Wastes of Hades, Tarterian Depths of Carceri, Infinite Layers of the Abyss and the Windswept Depths of Pandemonium. Its tributaries snake even deeper into each one of these planes, making the Styx a very effective path through the Lower Planes, albeit a dangerous one.

Sinister ferrymen skilled in negotiating the unpredictable eddies and currents of the Styx ply its waters. For a price, they will take travelers from plane to plane. Many are fiends, though petitioners or even just skilled living mortals do this work.

### Walking the Borders

Each top layer of the Outer Planes is bordered by three other Outer Planes (the exception being the Concordant Domains of the Outlands, which borders all other Outer Planes). On one side is the Concordant Domains of the Outlands, as noted before, where a gatetown representing the border. On either side of the plane in question are the two planes next to it in the Outer Ring. For example, the Infinite Layers of the Abyss shares a border with both the Windswept Depths of Pandemonium and the Tarterian Depths of Carceri, as well as a border with the Concordant Domains of the Outlands, at its gatetown of Plague-Mort. These borders (except for the Outlands) are not a quick shift but a subtle one, with the terrain slowly shifting until you cross a threshold and are actually in the other plane.

### The Infinite Staircase

The Infinite Staircase is a mystery. It leads to all places, though finding an entry landing and an exit is difficult. Very few of the entrances and exits are commonly known, generally appearing as old doors long forgotten or archways barely crossed. There are even those who claim you can find your heart's desire if you search long enough on it. Planewalkers lucky enough to have learned some of its tricks sell that information to few people at high prices, due to its unique properties.

### Concordant Domains of the Outlands

Because of its unique location at the center of the Outer Ring, it borders the first layer of every plane on the Ring. Gatetowns exist at each of these borders, generally as resting places and markets for travelers.

## Outer Plane Inhabitants

The Outer Planes are home to the majority of outsiders, ranging from celestial/fiendish versions of Material Plane animals to the baatezu, tanar'ri, celestials and yugoloths who wield great power. Outsiders tend to prefer planes of their own alignment, both because they are weaker on opposing planes and because they have an advantage over others on these planes. It is also home to powerful deities who can reshape reality to suit their whims. And much like outsiders, they prefer planes that share their alignment.

The last major group existing here are the petitioners, or the spirits of the dead who come here for final judgment and reward.

## References

1. ↑ Manual of the Planes, Third Edition, Wizards of the Coast, Renton, 2002, p. 85
2. ↑ Manual of the Planes, Third Edition, Wizards of the Coast, Renton, 2002, p. 85
3. ↑ Manual of the Planes, Third Edition, Wizards of the Coast, Renton, 2002, p. 85
4. ↑ Manual of the Planes, Third Edition, Wizards of the Coast, Renton, 2002, p. 85
5. ↑ Manual of the Planes, Third Edition, Wizards of the Coast, Renton, 2002, p. 86
6. ↑ Manual of the Planes, Third Edition, Wizards of the Coast, Renton, 2002, p. 86
7. ↑ Manual of the Planes, Third Edition, Wizards of the Coast, Renton, 2002, p. 86
8. ↑ Manual of the Planes, Third Edition, Wizards of the Coast, Renton, 2002, p. 86
9. ↑ Manual of the Planes, Third Edition, Wizards of the Coast, Renton, 2002, p. 86
10. ↑ Manual of the Planes, Third Edition, Wizards of the Coast, Renton, 2002, p. 86
11. ↑ Manual of the Planes, Third Edition, Wizards of the Coast, Renton, 2002, p. 86
12. ↑ Manual of the Planes, Third Edition, Wizards of the Coast, Renton, 2002, p. 86
13. ↑ Manual of the Planes, Third Edition, Wizards of the Coast, Renton, 2002, p. 86
14. ↑ Manual of the Planes, Third Edition, Wizards of the Coast, Renton, 2002, p. 86-87
15. ↑ Manual of the Planes, Third Edition, Wizards of the Coast, Renton, 2002, p. 88
16. ↑ Manual of the Planes, Third Edition, Wizards of the Coast, Renton, 2002, p. 88
17. ↑ Manual of the Planes, Third Edition, Wizards of the Coast, Renton, 2002, p. 88