The cosmology outlined in the Great Wheel model contains sixteen
Outer Planes which are arranged in a ring of sixteen planes with the
Good-aligned planes (or
Upper Planes) at the top, and the
Evil-aligned planes (or
Lower Planes) at the bottom. Depictions usually display the
Lawful planes (or Planes of Law) to the left, and the
Chaotic planes (or Planes of Chaos) to the right. Between all of these sit the
Neutral planes, or the Planes of Conflict. The center contains the
Inner and Material Planes. Many Outer Planes were renamed in
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition in the
Planescape campaign setting, released in 1994. In the 3rd Edition
Manual of the Planes (2001), the old and new names were combined, the Demiplane of Shadow was promoted to the Plane of Shadow, the Prime Material Plane was shortened to the Material Plane, and it was stated that each Material Plane is connected to its own unique Ethereal Plane. The cosmology is usually presented as a series of
concentric circles, with alternating spatial and transitive planes; from the center outwards, they are ordered as follows: Inner, Ethereal, Material, Astral, Outer Planes, and the Far Realm. The Shadow Plane and the Dimension of Time, if they are included, are separate from the others, and usually represented as being connected to the Material Plane. Demiplanes, although most commonly connected to the Ethereal Plane, can be found attached to any plane. All planes, save the demiplanes, are
infinite in extent. Planes may border (be coterminous) or may be coexistent. In particular, the Ethereal and Shadow planes are coexistent with the Material Plane. In effect, the "boundary" between the two extends through all of space. Thus a ghost in
Dungeons & Dragons, which is an ethereal creature, has a location on the Material Plane when it is near the border of the Material and Ethereal planes. It can "manifest" itself into the Material, and force attacks launched from the Material can hit it.
Inner Planes The Inner Planes are made up of
elemental matter and forces. They consist of the Elemental Planes '''' magazine reviewers Lord Winfield and Kaneda found the Inner Planes among the places in the Planescape setting least visited by player characters, which do not lend themselves to a prolonged stay. While the 5th Edition returned to the Great Wheel model, the Inner Planes detailed in that edition "retain aspects" of the 4th Edition
World Axis model: "The four elemental planes are back, but they remain tightly integrated with the material plane as its creative foundation. The paraelemental planes have also returned for the first time since Planescape, but they have more evocative names. The Plane of Ash is known as the Great Conflagration, the Plane of Ice is the Frostfell, the Plane of Magma is the Fountains of Creation, and the Plane of Ooze is the Swamp of Oblivion. Additionally, the
Elemental Chaos is the churning realm within which the Inner Planes are held".
Material Planes The Material Planes are worlds that balance between the philosophical forces of the Outer Planes and the physical forces of the Inner Planes—these are the standard worlds of fantasy RPG campaigns. The Prime Material Plane is where the more 'normal' worlds exist, many of which resemble Earth. The 2nd edition ''Dungeon Master's Guide'' states there are several Prime Material Planes, but several other 2nd edition products say there is only one Prime Material Plane rather than several. Introduced in the
Spelljammer setting, the
Phlogiston is a part of the Material plane. It is a highly flammable gaseous medium in which crystal spheres holding various Prime Material solar systems float, traversable by Spelljammer ships. The
Feywild and the
Shadowfell, the Parallel Planes introduced in the 4th Edition World Axis model, were incorporated into the 5th Edition version of the Great Wheel model. In 2015,
D&D Creative Director
Chris Perkins stated that 4th Edition sourcebooks on these planes were the best source of information for the 5th Edition.
Outer Planes Alignment-based planes. The home of gods, dead souls, and raw philosophy and belief.
Transitive planes The transitive planes connect the other planes and generally contain little, if any, solid matter or native life.
Astral Plane The Astral Plane is the plane of thought, memory, and psychic energy; it is where
gods go when they die or are forgotten (or, most likely, both). It is a barren place with only rare bits of solid matter. The Astral Plane is unique in that it is
infinitesimal instead of infinite; there is no space or time here, though both catch up with beings when they leave. The
souls of the newly dead from the Prime Material Plane pass through here on their way to the
afterlife or
Outer Planes. The most common feature of the Astral Plane is the
silver cords of travelers using an astral projection spell. These cords are the lifelines that keep travelers of the plane from becoming lost, stretching all the way back to the traveler's point of origin. A god-isle is the immense
petrified remains of a
dead god that float on the Astral Plane, where githyanki and others often mine them for minerals and build communities on their stony surfaces. Tu'narath, the capital city of the githyanki, is built on the petrified corpse of a dead god known only as "The One in the Void". God-isles often have unusual effects on those nearby, including causing strange
dreams of things that happened to the god when it was alive. God-isles are also the only locations on the Astral Plane that are known to possess
gravity or normal time flows. Part of ''
Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn'' takes place on the Astral Plane. Trenton Webb for
Arcane magazine comments that
A Guide to the Astral Plane "breathes life into what had hitherto been little more than a planar motorway. Essentially infinite and filled with few 'solid locations' or indigenous species, the Astral Plane should by rights be a dull place. Yet with some deft imaginative touches and sleight of logic, the guide transforms this dead zone into a wonderfully different 'world'." He adds that "By expanding the accepted 'physics' of the Astral plane and applying classic Planescape thinking, the Silver Void is made solid and comprehensible."
Ethereal Plane The Ethereal is often likened to an ocean, but rather than water it is a sea of boundless possibility. It consists of two parts: the Border Ethereal which connects to the Inner and Prime Material planes, and the Deep Ethereal plane which acts as the incubator to many potential demiplanes and other proto-magical realms. From a Border Ethereal plane a traveler can see a misty greyscale version of the plane from which they are traveling; however, each plane is only connected to its own Border Ethereal, which means inter-planar travel necessitates entering the Deep Ethereal and then exiting into the destination plane's own Border Ethereal plane. Many demiplanes, such as that which houses the
Ravenloft setting, can be found in the Deep Ethereal plane; most demiplanes are born here, and many fade back into nothingness here. Unlike the Astral Plane, in which solid objects can exist (though are extremely rare) anything and everything that goes to the Ethereal Plane becomes Ethereal. There is also something here called the Ether Cyclone that connects the Ethereal plane to the Astral Plane. In the 3rd Edition, each Material Plane is attached to its own unique Ethereal Plane; use of the Deep Ethereal connecting these Ethereal Planes together is an optional rule.
Plane of Shadow A fictional plane of existence in
Dungeons & Dragons, under the standard planar cosmology. A dimly lit dimension that is both conterminous to and coexistent with the Material Plane. It overlaps the Material Plane much as the Ethereal Plane does, so a planar traveler can use the Plane of Shadow to cover great distances quickly. The Plane of Shadow is also conterminous to other planes. With the right spell, a character can use the Plane of Shadow to visit other realities. It is magically morphic, and parts continually flow onto other planes. As a result, creating a precise map of the plane is next to impossible, despite the presence of landmarks. The Plane of Shadow is replaced by the Shadowfell in the 5th Edition. In first edition
AD&D, the Plane of Shadow was the largest Demi-Plane of the Ethereal Plane.
Mirror planes Mirror planes were introduced in the Third Edition
Manual of the Planes as an optional group of transitive planes. They are small planes that each connect to a group of mirrors that can be located in any other planes throughout the multiverse. A mirror plane takes the form of a long, winding corridor with the mirrors it attaches to hanging like windows along the walls. Mirror planes allow quick travel between the various mirrors that are linked to each, but each plane contains a mirror version of any traveler that enters it. This mirror version has an opposite alignment and will seek to slay their real self to take their place. All mirrors connect to a mirror plane, though each mirror plane usually has only five to twenty mirrors connecting to it.
Temporal Plane The Plane of Time was known as the Temporal Prime in the 1995 book
Chronomancer. It is a plane where physical travel can result in
time travel. In
3rd edition products, some of the detail of Temporal Prime became incorporated into the "Temporal Energy Plane" mentioned in the 3rd edition
Manual of the Planes.
Dragon Magazine No. 353 associates it also with the "Demiplane of Time" that has appeared in various forms since 1st edition.
Demiplanes Demiplanes are minor planes, most of which are artificial. They are commonly created by
demigods and extremely powerful
wizards and
psions. Naturally occurring demiplanes are rare; most such demiplanes are actually fragments of other planes that have somehow split off from their parent plane. Demiplanes are often constructed to resemble the Material Plane, though a few—mostly those created by non-humans—are quite alien.
Genesis, a 9th level arcane spell or psionic power, and the 9th-level arcane spell
Demiplane Seed are among the few printed methods for a player character to create a demiplane. Among the most notable of demiplanes is the
Demiplane of Dread, the setting of Ravenloft.
Neth Neth, the Demiplane That Lives, was first presented in
A Guide to the Ethereal Plane, a sourcebook for the
Planescape setting of AD&D Second Edition. It is a living,
sentient plane of finite size that has an immense curiosity. The only access Neth has to the rest of the multiverse is through a single metallic, peach-colored pool on the Astral Plane. Those who look into the pool from the Astral Plane might notice a huge eye flash into focus on its surface, which quickly fades. The only thing native to Neth is the plane itself. Neth creates humanoid subunits of itself called Neth's Children, sometimes for specific short-term purposes before reabsorbing them. At Neth's center is a thick knot of membrane at least a mile across where all the folds come together. This serves as Neth's brain. Other parts of the membrane also serve specific functions, which include areas where the membrane can be easily deformed for communication, encapsulation, and budding Neth's Children. The Visage Wall is an area of Neth's membrane where Neth communicates with visitors. It contains thousands of head-shaped bumps that resemble the likenesses of those previously absorbed by Neth. Neth speaks to its visitors from about five or six of the heads simultaneously, questioning them to learn more of the outside universe. Sometimes, Neth will choose to encapsulate its visitors. Two folds of membrane will come together and ensnare and seal off the victims. Neth will then flood the compartment with either preservative or absorptive fluid. The preservative fluid will put the victim in temporal stasis, and the victim can be revived if the fluid is drained away. If the compartment is flooded with absorptive fluid, the victim will dissolve and be absorbed into Neth itself, including the victim's memories. Gravity on Neth is the same strength as that on the material world; however, Neth chooses the direction of gravity's pull and may change it at will. Time is normal on Neth. Neth can move its interior membrane at will, creating or destroying fluid-filled spaces.
Other planes Far Realm The Far Realm is an alien dimension of
cosmic horror. It is the home plane for many aberrations and strange monsters. The Far Realm's mix of horror, madness, and strange geometries was largely inspired by the work of American writer
H. P. Lovecraft.
James Jacobs later called Cordell's work an "adventure with a distinctly Lovecraftian feel", noting that "Deep inside Firestorm Peak lies a portal to an insidious region beyond sanity and light known only as the Far Realm, and the unknowable but hostile entities of this hideous region prepare to pass through into the world." The adventure featured a magical portal that produced creatures and energies from the Far Realm. In Third Edition, the Far Realm was incorporated into the Realm of Xoriat in the
Eberron campaign setting. The Far Realm's association with the new setting has been detailed in various supplements. The Far Realm contains an infinite number of layers, these layers range from inches thick to miles, and it is often possible to perceive multiple layers simultaneously. These layers can grow, spawn further layers, breathe and possibly die. The Far Realm is home to many powerful and unspeakable beings ripped from the nightmares of the darkest minds of the waking world, beings so unfathomable that their very existence is a perversion of reality itself. These beings are governed by lords of unimaginable power and knowledge completely alien. The Far Realm is a plane far outside the others and often not included in the standard cosmology. It is sometimes referred to simply as "Outside", because in many cosmologies it is very much outside reality as mortals understand it.
Plane of Dreams The Plane of Dreams is a plane far outside the others and often not included in the standard cosmology. As its name suggests, all true dreams take place on the Plane of Dreams. == The World Axis cosmology ==