Aberrations and Abominations

Aberrations have always been poorly defined. Sometimes they're just weird, sometimes they're affiliated with Cthulhu. Guides to designing monsters, like A Magical Society: Beast Builder, outright state the distinction is an arbitrary "I'll know it when I see it" sort of thing. That's not a stable foundation for world building, so I'm going to go ahead and give "aberration" a clear definition.

Demons versus Devils primer

Sometimes the distinction between demons (see 13th Age Core Rulebook) and devils (see 13 True Ways) may be a little arbitrary. I’ve devised this primer to provide guidelines for how to distinguish them clearly.

On Spirits

So here goes my primer on spirits and their consequences for the game world and rules.

Spirits are anthropomorphic personifications of abstract and physical concepts.
They lack body-soul duality. If you try to steal their soul or they try to possess someone else, no soulless body is left behind. If a spirit is damaged to the point of death it is usually banished rather than destroyed and may reform in the future. Spirits are generally sexless (but may express a gender) and unable to reproduce (but some have offspring with mortals), with special exceptions.

Sources: Encyclopaedia Divine: Shamans, Relics & Rituals: Excalibur, Mythos: The Animae

Three primary distinctions

Primordial spirits: The primordials were the first spirits to come into existence from the primordial chaos, predating the distinction between spiritual and physical. They personify abstract fundamental forces: the Archons of Order, the Achamoth of Chaos, and the Aeons of Balance. (These names are taken from Gnosticism, and unlike other monsters they loosely emulate their namesake.) [Aberrations, Abominations, Asuras?]

Terrestrial spirits: Everything in the material planes, even the planes themselves, has physical and a spiritual aspect or soul. Humans and their ilk have animi; animals, forests, rivers, mountains, and light have terrestrials. The latter exist outside of but still tethered to their physical counterparts. Most of the time terrestrials slumber in the near ethereal unless their physical counterpart is disturbed.

Ephemeral spirits: The thoughts and emotions of living things leave residue in their surroundings. As this ambient emotional energy collects it produces ephemera (sing. ephemeron). Ephemera are so named because they lack physical counterparts to anchor them and must consume the emotions that spawned them.

Other spiritual states

Subcategories of spirits include aberrations, celestials, elementals, fey, fiends and manifestations.

• Aberrations are spirits that originate from primordial chaos, outer space, nightmare worlds and aborted planes. They include aeni qael, akata, denizens of Leng, mâlites, proteans and qlippothim. [Origins in other planes of existence (primordial chaos?), outer space, nightmare worlds (dreams of mad gods?), aborted planes (a possible future, the previous universe, an alternate timeline?), and mad wizard experiment? (That's silly!)]
• Celestials are spirits born of of law and light or created by the gods thereof to oversee the workings of the world. They include angels, couatls, kami, lammasu, pegasi, psychopomps, shedu, sphinxes, and unicorns.
• Elementals are spirits born of the elemental chaos, representative of one or more elements. An elemental is a dual entity consisting of a soul inhabiting a body of base matter. The animating soul could be of any kind: spirit, demon, undead, etc.They include atronachs, gargoyles, genies, jyoti, mephits, sceaduinar, verms, and weirds.
• Fey are "souls that have been given one last chance at existence" (see The Complete Guide to Fey p8). Rather than a class of related spirits, to be fey is a state of being not unlike—albeit inverse to—undeath. They include azatas, blink dogs, dullahans, hags, nuckelavees, nymphs, and satyrs.
• Fiends are spirits born of evil. They include the endless varieties of demons and devils.
• Manifestations (see Relics & Rituals: Excalibur) are spirits born of strong desires and emotions. They include animate dreams and the spectral dead.
• Unborn (see Book of Hallowed Might)

Building the great wheel

13th Age doesn't include information relating to planar adventures by default. It's easy enough to refer to other OGL sources for further information, but for my blog I will be putting my own spin on the planes that I hope would be in line with the design goals of 13th Age.

Cultural views of the soul

Different cultures developed different views of the soul. Paracelsus posited an "elementary body", "sidereal body" or spirit and "eternal spirit" or immortal soul. Both the Chinese and the Egyptians believed that human beings had multiple souls and that these were tied to different parts of the body. This led to the Egyptian's practice of storing mummified organs within canopic jars and to traditional Chinese medicine's preoccupation with organ systems

The ancient Egyptians believed that every person had a soul composed of multiple parts and that these needed to be maintained in order for the deceased to maintain a happy afterlife. Hence the elaborate mummification and funerary rites and the continued practice of making offerings to tombs. The exact schema is unknown because all our knowledge was painstakingly reconstructed from Egyptian texts and thus the greater context was lost.

At its most basic the Egyptian soul was divided into "a body (khat), a spirit (ka), a mind (ba), a shadow (sheut), a heart (ib), and a name (ren)." These parts would be transformed, split and merged through mummification and judgment in the afterlife. There were other parts, like "akh", but the nature of these is not clear and may have changed over time.

Taoism devised a scheme where every person had two sets of souls, the hún and pò. The hún is the ethereal soul, sometimes translated as animus. The pò is the corporeal soul, sometimes translated as anima.

The hún was divided into three parts, the pò seven. The precise symbolism varies between orthodox Taoism, folk religion, yoga, Buddhism and traditional medicine. These souls can be mapped onto any trinity or hebdomad with enough effort.

The hún souls variously correspond to Feng Shui's cosmic trinity of heaven, earth, and man, Aristotle's hierarchy of plant, animal and human, Taoism's three virtues of compassion, frugality, and humility, traditional Chinese medicine's three treasures of essence, breath and spirit, etc. The pò souls variously correspond to the seven orifices in the head, the seven basic emotions, the seven chakras, etc.

Placeholder: Switched to 13th Age

Previous I was operating from a framework based largely on Pathfinder, but I've since switched to 13th Age because it solves a lot of my beefs with the d20 rules like positive/negative energy, alignment, taxonomies, epic levels, and so forth. I'm going to have to revise what few posts I've made so far, so that may take a while. I will be taking inspiration from other retroclones while building my setting and the final result may be a bit eclectic.

Rebuilding the great wheel

I feel that now is a good time to re-examine the planes from a holistic perspective. What is their purpose? What role do they serve in an ongoing campaign? Are they interesting places to visit? What would it take to run planar adventures starting from level one? Could the great wheel benefit from some streamlining?

The dangers of rules rot... and I can't pick a system

Rule systems that are heavy, modular, and not properly proofread and streamlined become subject to what I will call "rules rot." Rules rot is similar to bit rot. When a rule system is suffering rules rot, then it has a large number of exceptions, complications, contradictions and redundancies that make book keeping a bigger chore than it was before.

Pathfinder is an excellent example of a rules system suffering from rules rot. FantasyCraft is an example of how a system that complicated avoids rules rot.

Pathfinder is extremely complex and full of silly sacred cows, but is by far the most popular and well-supported retroclone. Some alternate and third party rules are mandatory. Pathfinder Unchained fixes basic problems like combat and the Christmas tree effect. Spheres of Power makes magic-users less omnipotent and more flavorful. Path of War gives fighters nice things.  It's too bad it couldn't have gone the way of Trailblazer or True20.

Fifth Edition still hasn't slaughtered the stupider sacred cows that even True20 did away with. In other news, Lord of the Rings has officially licensed itself as a campaign setting.

I really can't decide on a system to build my homebrew around. I'm not going to build a new game because that's insane. Taxidermic Owlbear and Old School Renaissance Handbook are good resources for all the many options available for fantasy roleplaying.

Castles & Crusades or Blood & Treasure use a simplified third edition base. Definitely something to keep in mind. I had fun reading the books for inspiration.

13th Age certainly fixes a lot of the problems associated with third and fourth edition. The design approach is certainly flavorful.

Mazes & Minotaurs is great for alternatives to eurofantasy. Great inspiration too, even has a Norse mythology supplement.

Classic Fantasy, previously published under Basic Roleplaying and later Mythras, is entirely skill-based. Classes are collections of skills, so multiclassing or even making up your own is simple and easy. The only other comparison would be Basic d20.

Basic Fantasy has an awesome community contribution thing going on. It even has fantasy space travel in the form of Voidspanners!

OSRIC, Dark Dungeons, Labyrinth Lord, Swords & Wizardry, For Gold & Glory, Blueholmes et al are probably good inspirations what with being the foundation of the first wave of retroclones. I'm still not clear on the waves distinction.

I've heard good things about Adventures Dark & Deep, Dungeon Crawl Classics, Monsters & Magic, Lamentations of the Flame Princess, Dungeon World, Hackmaster, Ambition & Avarice, Wayfarers and Adventurer Conquer King, but I'm not sure until I read more.

Monsters in myth and folklore versus gaming

The difference between monsters in myth and folklore and monsters in gaming is that the latter are well-defined. Myth and folklore is vague and ambiguous about its monsters, their capabilities, even distinguishing them from each other. Game bestiaries, on the other hand, go to great lengths to explain monsters taken from myth and folklore in clearly defined terms often at odds with the source material or combines completely unrelated concepts.

The beast type and associated keywords

As I mentioned in my post on fantasy taxonomy, I kept my taxonomy deliberately as simple and clear-cut as possible from the outset so that it would be easy to build on later, rather than trying force square pegs into round holes. In this post I introduce the keywords mechanic, using the beast type as an example.

Keywords are applied to types to further detail a given creature. Keywords are relevant for the purposes of other rules which specifically reference them. I am not relying on a specific set of rules, so for my purposes keywords will be relevant mainly for in-character rather than out-of-character purposes. This makes it easier to distinguish player and character knowledge rather than making a monster knowledge check because a monster's type is unintuitive.

The beast type refers to creatures of any level of intelligence which have little or no capacity for even the most basic civilization (the minimum threshold is pre-industrial indigenous cultures). Apes are considered beasts because while they have opposable thumbs, use simple tools and live in family groups, they do not have language or build shelters. Dolphins are considered beasts because they lack opposable thumbs, even though they are otherwise highly intelligent. Ravens are considered beasts because while they may be taught to speak, they lack all but the most basic kinds of tool use. Likewise for fantastical beasts, since I'm not arbitrarily distinguishing magic from nature.

From there, there are several keywords which may be used to further distinguish beasts. These keywords are based primarily on OSR.

• Animals are beasts of subhuman intelligence, usually vertebrates. This includes both animals that existed in the real world and the fantastic animals of myth and legend (which are normal parts of the fantasy ecology). Animals may be taken as animal companions and familiar rather than cohorts or henchmen where applicable. [Optional: Restricted animals are animals with abilities that may be considered game-breaking if they are allowed to be taken as animal companions, such as griffons, owlbears, cockatrices, etc.]
• Vermin are beasts of such low intelligence that they are essentially meat robots. This includes most invertebrates (cephalopods are considered animals due to their higher intelligence). In some cases they may be tamed, such as by mite fey or vermin druids.
• Blobs are beasts of vermin intelligence with amorphous bodies. This includes jellies, oozes, slimes, puddings, jellyfish, gelatinous polyhedrons, etc. Blobs may also fall under the vermin keyword.

Truskin

Of all the planes, the one that is at once the most familiar and the most inscrutable is the Material plane. Home to the natural world, and to the human race, the Material plane is host to a great many secrets, perhaps the most wondrous of which is the fact that it is not one plane, but simply one of many. Known to the majority of its inhabitants as a single localized place, the Material plane stretches vast across innumerable multitudes of worlds, each largely ignorant of the others’ existences. These worlds often share many similarities, from the overall climate and weather patterns to the many varieties of flora and fauna. But there’s something else that’s common to all these material worlds.

Alignment revised

Alignment has been treated fairly inconsistently across editions. My planar revision project takes a different approach, inspired by Stormbringer, Hellraiser, Warhammer and Exalted.

• There are only three alignments: Law/Order, Chaos and Balance/Harmony.
• Alignments are cosmological constants, not personality types or measurements of morality.
• Each alignment has its anthropomorphic personifications who seek to dominate the cosmos.
• Law is represented by the archons (not the SRD archons), who hail from the Halls of Order. The word "archon" references the rulers of the material world in Gnosticism. They include (but are not limited to) entities like the Cenobites from Hellraiser.
• Chaos is represented by the demons (and not just the SRD demons), who hail from Tarassein. They include (but are not limited to) entities like Chaos from Warhammer and Fair Folk from Exalted.
• Balance is represented by the aeons (from the PRD), who hail from the Firmament. The word "aeon" references the emanations of God in Gnosticism.
• The archons and the demons are locked in a constant struggle for dominion of the cosmos, with the aeons caught in the middle. Law and chaos at their extremes are inimical to life, hence the need for balance.
• The lower planes are a key battleground between the forces of law and chaos. The archons created the devils to compete with the demons on their own turf, and the angels to hold both in check.
• The devils are nominally servants of law, but they serve more out of fear of reprisal than loyalty to law itself. They do not always get along with the other forces of law.
• The angels are nominally servants of law, but in practice their actions serve the balance. 

Fiend-touched

Not all mortal races hail from the various Material planes. Deep in the bowels of the Hells and the Abyss, deities of evil have created their own forms of sentience, races who are born into a life of predetermined damnation. Most labor for entire lifetimes, suffering at the whim of demons and devils, but a select few escape to other worlds, or obtain sufficient power and skill to make themselves a force to be reckoned with even amidst such primal evil. Some sages believe that these beings have true souls, as much as any human or halfling born on the Material plane. Others maintain that no soul can journey to the Lower Planes (or any of the Outer Planes, for that matter) until death, and that these beings have no more of a true soul than any outsider. That they are as alive as any human or elf on any other world, however, cannot be in doubt. They are the fiend-touched, and they are perhaps the most racially unlucky people in all creation.

Leonork

Unlike many of the other planetouched races, the Leonork tribes are not originally from the Material Plane. They first came into existence eons ago when a rogue Orc deity, whose name has been lost to the mists of history and time, was outcast from the Orc pantheon for being “too softhearted”. She was created from the calls of fallen Orc warriors, who wished for a quick, merciful death on the battlefield but the head of the Orc pantheon banished her shortly after her creation. Upon leaving, she wandered into the celestial realms of the Leonals and was welcomed by the celestials and given a realm to call her own. There, with the blessing of the Leonals, she created a race in the image of the Orc but with the spirit of a Leonal and named them “Leonorks”. The Leonorks came to live much like their Orcish relatives but with benevolence and celestial ideals. Eons have passed since their creation and the tribes of the Leonorks have found their way to many planes. Here, in the Material Plane, they have joined together with the goodly races in a war upon the Orc and Goblinoid races, an endless crusade to destroy all evil from the world.

Magic versus mundane: why the distinction?

A while ago I read an essay titled "Breaking out of Scientific Magic Systems" which discussed, among other things, the tendency for tabletop role playing games to segregate magic from mundane physics and offered alternatives to doing so.

On Alignment

Alignment simply does not work as a measurement of morality, at least not in any world that does not adhere to Saturday morning cartoon logic. Alignments, when you get right down to it, are glorified political parties. No sane individual nor society in all of history has ever considered themselves evil and tried to advance the cause of evil. Yet in the typical D&D campaign setting, religions of evil are commonplace. Some settings have turned this on its head, such as Scarred Lands making the evil alignments another faction of the "good guys." Nonetheless, it is too controversial for this blog to adopt.

So I am going back to the source: ancient religions and Michael Moorcock.

In most ancient religions, no distinction was made between good and order. The gods were the enforcers of cosmic order and goodness. There were never really evil gods, at least not in the sense that they were actively worshiped. Evil forces like Apep and Angra Mainyu were never seen as objects of worship. The judge-gods of the the underworld, such as Osiris and Yen-Lo, were seen as good for serving the cosmic order.

Star of Chaos: "freedom"

Medieval Christianity and its allegations that its opponents worshiped Satan is probably the origin of the modern concept of the religion of evil, regardless of how nonsensical it is. All of the evilest people in our history sincerely believed they were doing good, or simply didn't care about the consequences to others. In no event did any of history's monsters aspire to be evil.

Michael Moorcock's Stormbringer series of novels utilizing a similar conflict between the cosmic forces of Law and Chaos. Unlike in our ancient religions, here the two do not map to good and evil but to political right and left. At their extremes they become evil, while harmony between the two is good. This scheme is what shall inform my subsequent depictions of my fantasy universe.

How is alignment relevant to the characters?

Arrow of Law: "control"

Alignment is a useful shorthand for describing a character's general values and attitude towards themselves and society. For the purposes of this blog we will use neutrality as the common reference point. Most people are neutral, having no strong bias towards one value system and willing to pick and choose those values on a situational basis. This avoids logical problems like people in real life generally falling into Lawful Good and Neutral Good based on how D&D defines alignments.

There are several ways to divide values among alignments. Under the two axis model one may divvy values at the ends of each spectrum and allow for varying levels of adherence. One might use a ring model that divides values more equitably. In any case it is best to avoid any binary labels of good or evil and instead allow any value system to become evil when taken to extremes or hypocrisy.

How is alignment relevant to the game's cosmology?

Taijitu: "harmony"

This blog will be adopting the original Moorcock model of law, chaos and neutrality. While generally appearing to follow the mythological view of law and good being united chaos and evil, as explained before law is not necessarily good.

There are two (technically three) cosmic forces in the fantasy universe. The White Lords of Order seek to impose the rigid hierarchy of law upon the universe, while the Black Lords of Chaos reject it and seek to restore the universe to its natural state of chaos. Both sides are too hostile to allow life as we know it to exist, so it falls to the Grey Lords of Balance and the Beast Lords to maintain the harmony that allows life to exist.

Sources

http://www.easydamus.com/alignmentreal.html
wordofthenerdonline.com/2013/08/the-beard-speaks-revising-good-and-evil
https://alzrius.wordpress.com/2010/11/01/removing-alignment-from-pathfinder-part-one-classes/

http://knowdirectionpodcast.com/2014/10/aligning-alignment/
http://www.tangledwilderness.org/lawful-aint-good/
http://theangrygm.com/alignment-in-dd-5e-s-or-get-off-the-pot/

https://alexandraerin.dreamwidth.org/553757.html
http://www.campaignmastery.com/blog/the-hell-of-evil-in-dnd/
http://www.tor.com/2012/11/27/if-i-ruled-the-multiverse/

The principle of four humors

A common peeve of mine is the tendency for fantasy writing to rely on real science to inform how the fantasy world works rather than on the obsolete scientific theories believed by the classical philosophers. So forget everything that you know about real world biology. This is fantasyland, where real physics take a back seat to fantasy physics!

Monster ecology needn't be constrained by reality

Many bestiaries devote word count to describing the place of fantastical creatures within the ecology of the fantasy world they live in. Commonly, they are described in ways analogous to the animals of our own reality. They eat and procreate in the fashion of real animals, sometimes with a fantastical twist. All to often, however, these monsters feel less like monsters and more like cryptids or speculative alien biology projects.

Avoiding the frustrations of taxonomies

This post isn't strictly about planar revision, but it will inform my design goals.

Since third edition rolled around monsters have been classified into a convoluted and inconsistent taxonomy. For simplicity’s sake, I will ignore all these distinctions in favor of something simple, consistent and easy to remember but which may be added onto without falling apart.

On the Omniverse and the World in Balance

As I explained in the post on alignment, the cosmology elucidated in this blog draws on the original Moorcock model of law and chaos with the world in (and of) the balance. The world as we it know it is both in the balance, fought over by the forces of law and chaos, and of the balance, for it represents the harmony of law and chaos.

For the purposes of this dissertation, the planes are arranged in a model that the 3rd edition Manual of the Planes referred to as the "omniverse" and which formed the basis of the much maligned 4th edition. Fear not, there will be alterations to make it more friendly with with my fellow Planescape and Spelljammer partisans and I will not be lumping demons and devil together or elsewhere they don't belong. However, I will not be slavishly adhering to things like the patchwork terminology resulting from D&D's long line of writers.

The world with which we are most familiar is the Natural World, the Prime Material Plane, the world in (and of) the balance. It is the typical world for adventuring, full of many different planets and civilizations. However, it is merely one of many worlds floating within the Ethereal Sea, known collectively as the Preternatural Planes. Many of these worlds resemble the Material, and it is believed some of them may be reflections of it, that the Material is a reflection of them, or both. It here that the forces of balance reside, protecting and overseeing the natural world.

"Outside" the world are the Inner Planes or Inner Sphere, in loose accordance with the Aristotelian model of the planets. The Inner Sphere is another battle ground for the forces of law and chaos. The islands of stability are the work of law, with the greatest being the Elemental Planes or Elemental Poles. Each of the Elemental Poles represents a classical element like air, fire, earth and water. That is not to say that they are featureless expanses of that element, oh no. Each of the Elemental Poles has many varied landscapes just like the planets of the Material, with skies and lands and seas that reflect their element. However, between the poles exist the Elemental Chaos, where the elements mix and take forms that don't exist under the auspices of law and may be shaped by those with strong wills. Indeed, the Elemental Chaos predates the Elemental Poles. It is the Void from which the universe sprang, Ginnungagap, Tarassein and Limbo. It is home to the races of chaos: elementals, chaosiics, proteans, ogdoad and countless others.

"Above" the Inner Sphere (insofar as that direction makes sense) are the Upper Planes, ruled by the archons (a gnostic greek term for "ruler" and from which all "-arch" and "-archy" words originate) and their legions of celestials. The archons oversee the Celestial Bureaucracy that codifies and imposes the laws of physics that make a consistent existence possible (a concept burrowed from Chinese folk mythology). The upper planes are where you find angels, axiomites and the many other servants of law and goodness. That isn't to say that law is all good, as the more moderate celestials may disagree with the excesses of law.

"Below" are the Lower Planes. This is where the worst excesses of chaos have made their abode: qlippoth, bosch, demons and the souls of the damned. But it is also home to the worst excesses of law as well. During the conflicts between the gods and the demons, the demons devised new strategies on the fly to combat their enemies. The gods were forced to defy tradition and improvise as well: they sent the lawful devils to compete with the demons. It is unclear if the devils were created for this purpose, consigned to it to prevent them from turning against their moderate fellows, or fell from grace for perceived transgressions, but such distinction matters no longer. Ironically, this makes both the temptations of evil and all changes for the better into manifestations of chaos.

Plain of Burning Coals

The Plain of Burning Coals is a vast, stony plain that serves as the agricultural center of the Plane of Fire. As the name implies, the ground is constantly smoldering, yet even so, many travelers to the plane find that this area presents somewhat fewer dangers and inconveniences than are found elsewhere on the plane, and the region is generally accepted as one of the least hostile to visitors from other planes. Though this region is still blisteringly hot, by human standards, it is much more stable than the roiling Sea of Lava or the erratic volcanoes found elsewhere on the plane, and this stability allows for a much more tranquil lifestyle, where numerous natives work and toil to feed the Efreeti empire in the Elemental Plane of Fire’s closest facsimile to idyllic, pastoral farmland. The dangerous environmental effects of the Plane of Fire are less severe here than elsewhere, and while it is still impossible for humans to live here comfortably without the aid of magic, a number of other races have flourished in this relatively comfortable region. Fire giants, dragons, demons and even some plant life find a home on this vast plain.

The Plain of Burning Coals is the major agrarian center of the Plane of Fire, and contains numerous farming communities, which are responsible for growing nearly all crops produced on the plane. Much of life here revolves around farming and the production and sale of food, from dietary staples such as firewheat to the more exotic magmelons, as well as various forms of livestock. In many ways, this region is the most similar to the material plane, as it is populated primarily by farmers, traders, and the small towns and communities that support them.

In general, life on the Plain of Burning Coals is more peaceful than elsewhere on the plane. The locals here are by and large concerned with their labors, religious devotions, and the problems of their day-to-day lives. The landscape is dominated by sprawling farms, connected by overused and poorly-maintained roads. Interspersed throughout the area are humble towns, ruled over by efreet nobles (who are typically anything but humble). Despite the copious amounts of land, these far-flung fiefdoms are not at all desirable among the efreet, who consider a position on the plains to be effective banishment from the social elite in the City of Brass.

Although the vast majority of the region is farmland, there are a few places of note to be found here. There are quite a few old azer fortresses scattered across the land, and though most are abandoned, rumors abound that the ruins hold great secrets for those intrepid enough to discover them. Besides these fortresses, and the various towns and villages, there are several landmarks that every traveler to the plane should be sure to visit: the Gilded Mosque, the Great Pyre, the Gate of Eternity, and the Everburning Forest. Of course, on the Plane of Fire, even humble farmsteads and simple trading villages can still hold great potential for adventure, especially under the watchful eye of Efreeti lords eager to exercise their authority.

--A Tourist’s Guide to: The Elemental Plane of Fire, Copyright 2013; Authors: Alex Riggs, Joshua Zaback, Rosa Gibbons  

Sea of Fire

Without question, the most dominating feature of the Elemental Plane of Fire is the Sea of Lava, which covers nearly the entire plane. While it is an environment of nearly incomprehensible danger to non-natives, it serves as the main thoroughfare for those who call the fiery world home. Still, much like its watery counterparts, the Sea of Lava presents a number of dangers even to those who can stand its heat and traverse it frequently. There is the risk of getting lost at sea, and stormy weather can prove disastrous. Even creatures that are resistant to the scorching heat of the waves of lava may not be able to swim long enough to reach land, should their boat capsize far from shore. Like any other ocean, the Sea of Lava has a complex system of currents, and on the open ocean, waves can be tens of feet high. The fact that the waves are made of scorching hot molten rock and fire makes it vastly more dangerous than seas made of mere water, however.

Natives to the plane will tell you that, in fact, it is not just one massive ocean, but that there are several distinct seas with distinguishing features; to visitors, however, one region of endless, molten lava seems just like another, and often travelers are too busy trying to survive to appreciate much else about the boiling sea. Once beyond the view of the few islands of civilization that dot the Plane of Fire, there are many dangers that threaten those who would sail on the Sea of Lava, and many details about the sea and its inhabitants are still unknown. Even the greatest of planar travelers have never seen the bottom of the sea’s vast depths, and even those who are comfortable swimming in the molten waves fear the sea’s lurking inhabitants. Fire serpents and worse roam the waves, eager to strike at unwary travelers; few who attempt to swim any distance through the Sea of Lava reach their destination alive.

Despite its many dangers, those who want to travel from one place to another on the Plane of Fire must brave the fiery waves. In order to do so, the efreet have developed ships that can withstand the heat of the lava. These ships are often made of brass or volcanic rock, and are used almost universally for traveling about the plane. Occasionally there are those who think that it would be safer to fly above the sea to get to their destination, rather than floating through it, but the dangers of the skies are not to be underestimated: those who attempt flight will have to be prepared for the terrible firestorms which often rage across the plane, and if a creature can’t endure the heat of the lava sea, such storms spell a similar doom for him. Even if able to withstand the fires, however, travelers who adventure through the sky will find a number of other deadly threats await them: the air is often filled with choking fumes and gasses, and clouds of smoke can make even the most experienced navigator lose his way. And of course, one cannot rule out the chance that a passing dragon or other malicious flying predator might attack. When it comes down to it, most decide to trust the efreet’s ships, which have been (relatively) reliably transporting passengers for countless generations, rather than take on the uncharted dangers of the skies.

Newcomers to the Elemental Plane of Fire will soon find it painfully clear that the efreet do, in fact, strictly control maritime travel and trade. Those who wish to buy or captain a ship across the Sea of Lava can do so only with the permission of an efreet lord (something that is typically very difficult for any non-efreeti to obtain), and with the purchase of an expensive license. Attempting to bypass these laws is punishable by death. Even so, piracy and freebooting are an everyday problem in the Sea of Lava, and maritime marauders constantly threaten trade and stability. Most who travel on the Sea of Lava, however, are merchant vessels transporting heavy cargos of gems or foodstuffs to or from the City of Brass or other civilized places on the plane, or else belong to the efreet navy, which constantly patrols the region with large warships manned with elite efreeti warrior-mages, bent on ensuring the rule of efreeti law.

While the fabled City of Brass is the most prominent location on the Sea of Lava (and, perhaps, the entire plane), there are many other notable areas that travelers often wish to visit. The Pillar of Issum and the Everburning Reef are both major sites of interest in the Sea of Lava, and besides these places there are numerous islands throughout the region where one can find unique and varied creatures and cultures. Chief among these are the five great island cities, which provide a sense of civilization away from the large mainland regions of the rest of plane.

--A Tourist’s Guide to: The Elemental Plane of Fire, Copyright 2013; Authors: Alex Riggs, Joshua Zaback, Rosa Gibbons 

Teeth of Soraak

This hellish landscape seems to be drawn from the stuff of nightmares, and many travelers to the plane doubt whether it would really be worse to spend an eternity being punished on the planes of Hell or the Abyss than it would to be forced to live in this region until the end of time. Blackened volcanic rock spires straight out of the vast Sea of Lava, like a twisted dark spine on a burning red body. Towering and broken peaks littered with caves dominate this continent-sized mountain range, and very little survives long here. Often, the peaks of the volcanoes stretch up and out of sight, shrouded in smoky clouds that hang low in the sky. Still, when a volcano erupts, one can make out the burning red glow that marks the height of the peak, even through the dense, ashy clouds. The ground is continuously split by geysers of fire or lava, and rivulets of molten rock crisscross the shattered obsidian landscape. Unsurprisingly, nothing grows in this blasted land. An oppressive air hangs over the whole region, and it is not solely due to the formidable scenery.

Named for the salamander deity Soraak, this volcanic range was once the mighty center of a salamander empire; however, the land was conquered by the efreet centuries ago, and has been under their tyrannical rule ever since. Still, centuries of dominance by the efreet have done little to quiet things down, and the salamanders are constantly rebelling and quarrelling with their masters. So far, the efreet have managed to retain control, but it is not easy, and the next great salamander rebellion always seems to be brewing. This region is far from the center of efreet power, in the City of Brass, and it is only through strong shows of military might and martial law that they have managed to keep the area from slipping out of their hands. It does not help matters much that the salamanders are a fierce and warlike race, and who chafe at the yoke of efreeti rule, and are unlikely to accept their rulership any time soon. Luckily for the efreet, the salamanders are unorganized and hampered by infighting, which has continually proven the weakness in each of their previous rebellions. Now the heart of the salamander resistance lives deep in mountain caves, where the salamander way of life is still strong, and the outlaw salamanders plot how they will free their people from efreeti rule.

Although this region is almost entirely devoid of plant life, it is still one of the most important sources of natural resources for two reasons: precious metals, and precious gems. A wide variety of metals and gems can be mined here in the volcanoes, and the salamanders and efreet fight for control of the largest mines. Another important commodity found in abundance in this region is salamander slaves. The efreet, of course, have no qualms about enslaving unruly rebels, but neither do the clannish salamanders hesitate to capture and enslave those of their brethren who hail from a different mountain or fight under a different flag. In addition to the salamander slaves, there are also more exotic slaves found here, often of a monstrous nature, which are bought and sold for high prices.

Even amid constant war and harshness, some life still flourishes in this region. Many cities of a grand and military nature exist and even thrive here. That said, few visitors are welcomed, and travelers coming to this region should be prepared to fight the elements, the salamanders, the efreet, and possibly all three at once. Those that are able to protect themselves from the region’s warring factions will find that some of the more notable sites in the region include the Cave of Embers, the Frozen Flows, and Ivarshot, the last free salamander city.

--A Tourist’s Guide to: The Elemental Plane of Fire, Copyright 2013; Authors: Alex Riggs, Joshua Zaback, Rosa Gibbons

Ash Wastes

The eternal flames of the Plane of Fire do not require fuel. Still, pockets of matter do drift into the plane through portals, or are brought in as payment or sacrifices to powerful elementals. Whole nations have been consumed by the flames – take a handful of ash floating on the thermal winds, and you hold kings and heroes of old.

All this ash drifts down into the colder reaches, where the Plane of Fire comes close to the Negative Energy Plane. In the depths, there are great deserts of ashes and embers, broken by the occasional pool of still-burning flame or the crumbling remains of scorched stone. The Ash Wastes are all but bereft of elementals, who prefer warmer climes, but the other denizens of the Fire Plane often sift through the ashes for relics.

While this desolate region is far cooler than the rest of the Plane of Fire, it is surprisingly the most lifeless part of the plane, and is truly barren. The region is a massive island (perhaps better described as a continent) which is completely surrounded by the Sea of Magma and totally covered with a thick blanket of grey ash. Absolutely nothing grows here, and, with very few exceptions, nothing lives here – though it has numerous non-living residents.

In many ways, this is the least hospitable part of the Plane of Fire. The landscape is bleak, consisting solely of endless dunes of grey ash. Except for the very occasional glimpse of a ruined azer stronghold, these ash dunes are all there is to see in any direction. Walking through the Ash Desert can be extremely tiring over long distances, as the ash shifts softly underfoot, and feet sink further into the dusty mire with each step. The air is also filled with ash, which is gathered into great swirling clouds by the constant winds which sweep across the region. These ashy clouds are incredibly dangerous, filling the lungs of those caught in them with silky soot, which quickly leads to death by suffocation for those who are ill-prepared. The lack of life also means that travelers to the region must bring their own food and water with them, increasing the difficulty of any extended trips. Compounding the issue, there are few, if any, shelters or outposts within the Ash Desert, and if something goes wrong during an expedition, stranded explorers will have no one to turn to for help or extra supplies.

It is a common belief amongst the residents of the Plane of Fire that the Ash Desert’s cold temperature (by the Plane of Fire’s standards, at least) and lack of life are the result of a lingering magic from an ancient cataclysm, but many scholars dismiss the notion, proclaiming that the region is naturally cooler than the rest of the plane, and that this coolness allows ash present in the air throughout the plane, to settle here, eventually leading to the buildup of great dunes. Natives of the plane generally dislike spending any time in the Ash Desert, both because it is uncomfortably cold for them, and because of the various rumors about how the region is cursed.

For all of these reasons, the Ash Desert is home primarily to those without the breath of life within them. The region is home to large quantities of undead, especially ghosts and specters, and any creature that dies in the region is very likely to rise as a ghost and join their number. The region is also home to another sort of lifeless inhabitant: golems and other wondrous constructs left behind by the ancient azer empire, whose capital once stood in the center of these ashen dunes. Some of these beings lie inactive in forgotten ruins, waiting for some trigger to wake them. Others are quite active, whether standing guard in the long-abandoned halls of their masters, or walking the dunes aimlessly, attempting to carry out tasks issued eons ago.

Despite the severe conditions and the many dangers, there are a few who find reason to brave the Ash Desert. Some of these are fugitives from the empire, doomed to certain death, who decide that their best chance at survival is to try hiding out in the deserted desert. Others are adventurers, seeking to make their fortune by plundering the remains of some undiscovered azer ruin. A handful have succeeded in this, but most who enter the Ash Desert never return. Still, the tales of the great treasures and secrets of the azer empire lying buried in the desert, just waiting to be picked up, entice many. And it is not merely rumor; the azer were a strong and wealthy people before their empire was destroyed, and their scorched and shattered halls remain in broken shambles, still lined with the treasure of kings and relics of an age long gone. A few intrepid travelers come to the Ash Desert, tempted not by the chance to collect gold, but by the opportunity to unravel some of the mysteries of the region. No one quite understands the reason for the region’s colder temperature or increased number of undead creatures, and a mage who could discover the secret of the Ash Desert may be able to find a way to use it for his own benefit. The region also has a few places of note, for those daring enough to reach them, which are also shrouded in mystery: the Pile of Skulls, the Bowl of Smoke, and the ruins of Harshkand’s Vault.

--Classic Play - The Book of the Planes copyright 2004, Mongoose Publishing Ltd.

--A Tourist’s Guide to: The Elemental Plane of Fire, Copyright 2013; Authors: Alex Riggs, Joshua Zaback, Rosa Gibbons 

The Material Plane

The Material Plane is, for most campaigns, the primary (and often only) setting of the party's adventures. The basic structure of the plane should be family to most adventurers.

The Material plane consists (usually) of a nigh-infinite vacuum, in which float countless galaxies made of countless suns. Many suns are orbited by planets, and some of these planets support life. The most common form of life are "demikind" like humans, elves, dwarves, halflings, and so forth alongside "beastmen" like orcs, gnolls, goblinoids, lizardfolk, and so forth.

While most solar systems are heliocentric, some are geocentric. While most planets are solid aside from underground tunnels, others are hollow and may even contain concentric shells or a miniature sun! Some planets made be composed largely of water or gases. Others may consist of a series of massive asteroids in a stable orbit, where airships are a common means of travel.

Travel between systems is accomplished through gates or flying machines. Beware! In the black void between worlds exists countless unimaginable horrors and alien threats constantly yearning to make planetfall. Possessors, phrenic scourges, formians, ravin, pirates... Thankfully, the threat is mitigated by the presence of stellar empires dedicated to enforcing their own visions of order on the cosmos. Better the devil you know...

For more detailed information on space opera and scifi horror, please refer to such works as Aether & Flux: Sailing the Traverse, Necropunk Campaign Setting, Between Chains and Starlight, Dragonstar: Starfarer's Handbook, Voidspanners, It Came From The Stars: Campaign Guide, et al.

The Material Plane is encircled by the Vault of Stars, otherwise known as the night sky. A massive surface made of an unknown black material, the Vault is the plane of moral neutrality. It is home to the star pools, fey, aeons, psychopomps and many other strange entities. For more detailed information on the Vault of Stars, please refer to Classic Play: The Book of the Planes.

The Ethereal Sea

The Ethereal Sea is the multifaceted interstitial fluid of the universe. Composed largely of innumerable islands, continents, planets and the corpses of forgotten gods suspended within an endless expanse of grey mists, silver skies and other strange weather phenomena loosely analogous to a material ocean, the basic geography consists of an arbitrary number of layers that serve different purposes. Many planes such as the Material Plane and Elemental Poles have adjacent ethereal layers known collectively as the Border Ethereal. A border layer coexists, invisible and intangible, alongside the plane it borders. Another major layer is the Deep Ethereal, often known as the Astral Plane, which connects to all border layers and to many other planes. Within the Astral exists countless varieties of demiplanes and byways through which travel to virtually anywhere in the universe is possible. Other major layers include the whimsical Plane of Dreams, where fantasy becomes reality and reality becomes fantasy, and the esoteric Akashic Record, where all knowledge may be discovered in the Libraries of Babel.

The Ethereal Sea supports an ecosystem populated with just as much life as any other plane, all with special adaptations suited to the unique nature of their home. There are many kinds of inhabitants, permanent and transient, counterparts of material creatures and wholly unique species: ghosts and other spectral undead, phase spiders, blink dogs, animate dreams, astral devas, ectoplasmics and psychoplasmics, ethereal marauders, greymalkin, corpsespinners, hypnalis, nightgaunts, possession devils, shulsaga, thought eaters, xill, aether elementals, qael, and more.