Across all the Seven Planes it should be noted that they are not meant for us, and so the longer we remain the more exhausted and drained we begin to feel, with the ultimate risk, of course, being death, unless there is some way to protect oneself. This is not helped by the fact that it is almost impossible to eat on those planes from anything that is upon them – the exception to this being the Seven Mortal Realms. Because of the nature of the structure, Planes tend to have stronger veils, especially around the Mortal Realms, but other dimensions can often be reached directly, much like with Fairywilde, though not entirely as easily. This has led to the perception among layfolk that they are all merely one step away, and caused the less well informed to suppose that there are “wheels” and a multitude of dimensions, and to confuse Dimension and Plane as terms.
Travel to the other planes or dimensions is accomplished in two ways: a gate, or a summoning. For a summoning, the name of the being must be known, which helps greatly to avoid having people randomly snagged. Although it is not perfect, it is said that Ululani setup a shield to prevent Demons from summoning mortals after a particularly nasty incident involving one of her Grand Master Clerics.
Gateways require effort to open to most locales – the Astral, the Ethereal, and the Fairywilde are all very close and don’t need complex gates. The Astral plane is said to have natural gates within it, but most permanent gates are in The Pale in the form of Veil Gates.
There are ways to craft Gates to many other dimensions, bypassing the Planar Veils in some cases, such as weaving a rug that can take one to a dimension, or traveling in a vehicle designed to rupture the Veil in a precise way to reach a given dimension such as the Eighth. Reach Dimensions is a trick few know, and many try, seeking power, prestige, secret knowledge, or just even a meal. The motivations of those who do so are so varied that trying to explain it is beyond me.
Planar Travel Effects
The Pale is filled with swirling maelstroms that are different colors, and within it are storms of many colors, whirlwinds that glitter in a thousand hues. There are peculiar storms that can range from no larger than the palm of your hand to massive content sized things. These storms appear only to those who do not belong there and seem to dim the brightness of the world around them, reduce contrast, as a sort of suggestion of what is coming, the edges of things becoming blurry and indistinct, and then it hit, a massive cacophonous storm of thought that is not a physical thing, but a thing of psyche, a smashing against the walls of our thoughts and feelings and dreams and fears.
These storms were created by travelers from all the planes as they crossed through, and are formed of lost memories, forgotten thoughts, minor yearnings and deep anxieties, subconscious fears, and spasms of despair. Of note is that the denizens of that plane will not see the storm or experience it. And that does mean that here on Wyrlde those from elsewhere do.
These storms can strike one anywhere except the plane to which one is tied, or bound, in that Cycle of their existence.
One cannot eat and survive on food from Planes other than one’s home in the Cycle. Nor can one drink anything from those planes, and as water is a planar conductor, even if one were to carry it with you, it cannot be drunk. Other beverages brought with can be consumed, just as with food, but this places a practical limitation on travel that is often forgotten.
Another well-known effect is the sheer exhaustion that begins to weigh on people when they are off the Seven Mortal Realms. In a strange quirk, those seven places are the only ones where a traveler from one of them does not over time become exhausted simply from the ever-present pressure and dissonance of existing in that place when one does not belong. Each day is a step of fatigue, leading to exhaustion, and few can stay more than a week.
This also only appears to effect Mortals when they leave the Mortal Realms, and not any of the other planar denizens. Yet, it is obvious that The Mortal Realms have much in common, for they are truly like places of respite from the other dimensions.
Veil Gates
A Veil Gate is a dangerous thing indeed, for they are the paths through the Veil that one finds within the greatness that is the Pale. Each gate manifests as a storm, a swirling column of prismatic clouds lit by colored lightning that used to mark and guide one to where that Veil Gate leads.
It is important to note that while Veil Storms only very rarely appear on the Mortal Plane Material Plane, they can appear on the other planes much more readily – the other planes are ultimately just reflections, or shadows, of the Mortal Plane, and so these storms can appear and sweep up much. There are more than a few myths about Veil Storms appearing elsewhere and transferring entire cities to Wyrlde – but such an event has not happened in centuries.
Magic can be used to open a gate on the material plane, in the form of complex spells. These allows for limited passages to and from.
Some ancient ruins have constructed gates, and legend says that at one time they were used to move between the many cities, but these days they are mostly broken, and some do lead to other planes. The Gates are often seen with peculiar symbols and are a form of highly complex sigil themselves, and experienced people have learned to decipher them, though this takes dozens of trips and intense, close study to be able to do. The very slight shade differences mean that most inexperienced travelers will find themselves in the wrong layer of a given plane.
Veil Gates have a specific color to them. Even though one can open a gate to a particular layer of it, the color of that gate is merely a shade of the Plane itself.
All combined, it means that only people who have undertaken many dozens of trips and spent the time to learn and understand the planes and the nature of the veil gates, are able to determine where one leads with any precision. Because of time differentials, planar compositions, assorted risks and dangers, and the limitations of a body that cannot eat, these people are very few, and rarely of whole or rational mind.
| Prime: Green, with shades of Blue | |
| Shadow: Violet, with shades of Purple | Nether: Blue, with shades of Yellow |
| Celestial: Golden, with shades of Silver | Infernal: Red, with shades of Black |
| Radiant: Orange, with shades of Green | Necrotic: White, with shades of Gray. |
Planar Summoning
Each plane is inhabited, and the nature of the planes and the being there has combined to impact them in different ways. Some are exceedingly powerful, potent, and dangerous. Others are considered weak and subject to the powers of those above them according to the nature of the world there.
There is little back and forth travel between the Planes and the Prime, except among the inner planes of the Mortal Plane. Each plane has its own set of peoples and its own inner planes, and those in turn are also thought to be easier to pass through. To cross between the greater planes, the Seven of them, one must put forth enormous energy and effort, and there is always risk. While you could get lucky on a general summoning and bring across some nameless beast from a different plane, should you bring across a sentient being you should always be extra careful. Even more so if you seek to bargain or command them.
Most summoning is done through rituals, with engraved spaces, though on occasion some coven will try to do it without a fixed or precise basis, and the tales that accompany that are horrific.
These are sentient beings, and they are not people, and they are dangerous and dislike being subject to the will of others. A small error in crafting a summoning can result in them being called, but then them taking the summoner back to serve them as a slave.
Worse: once they have been summoned by you, they can then in turn summon you to them once released. Many a great and mighty wizard has fallen, and we shall not speak to the effects this can have on Sorcerers. Summoning is covered in more depth later.
All three Pedants agree: do not summon anything. Especially accidentally.
Planar Phenomena
Spatial Distortions
It is not wholly uncommon for those who use magic to carve out distinct, separate Demiplanes themselves, and perhaps even affix those spaces to objects. These spatial distortions are themselves Demiplanes – and often do not have constraints such as time or vacuum in them; they may also not have air and space.
Dimensional Rifts
On occasion, a Dimensional Rifts will open. Druids are very handy to have around because some of them have learned the skill of weaving the Fabric of the Veil back together, often using a bit of themselves in the process.
Dimensional rifts allow people to cross willy-nilly, and while this sounds charming and all, it also means that those from the other dimensions can cross over to here, and they are not often friendly. Indeed, they are three times more likely to be unfriendly or upset at encountering a rift – especially if they get trapped on this side of it.
Demiplanes
Demiplanes can and do exist within the cosmology, forged by powerful magics that unite various aspects to create them. This is due to the presence and will of The Pale, which is ultimately the source of all magic. All Demiplanes are Dimensions, themselves, but are separate from the greater Planes and the normal Dimensions, hence the Demiplane moniker – Dimensional Planes.
Very powerful beings will often create a Demiplane and tie it to a place where the fabric of the Veil is thin or threadbare, worn, and weak.
The Elemental Planes
Children’s Cycle Teaching
Air births the water, as rain falls into the night.
Water births the earth, as the clay to make our cups
Earth births the fire, feeding on the land
Fire births the stone, clay within a hearth
Stone births the smoke, rising when it burns
Smoke births the lightning, darkening the sky
Lightning births the thunder, shattering our time
Thunder births Spirit, quickening a life
Spirit births the Frost, cooling down a heart
Frost births the Sun, just because it can
Sun births the sand, dust and grains alight
Sand births the air, screaming winds a-sup
The Elemental Planes are all Demiplanes, and there are a lot of them. The Elemental Planes are exceptionally hazardous for People to enter, for they are realms comprised mostly of that element; crossing into the plane of Stone can prove instantly fatal to anything not able to breathe rock.
The Elemental Planes are Air, Earth, Fire, Frost, Lightning, Stone, Sand, Smoke, Spirit, Sun, Thunder, and Water. Void is a direct conduit to The Void, and often counted as an element, but is not a safe one. Don’t open a passage there elementally. It never ends well. This may be why no spells truly use it – no one has survived the experience, since the caster is always subject to the Void themselves.
Elementals live within the wholeness of their element, and there are birds, beasts, fish, and people that live and exist within them.
Elementals are the total masters of these regions. The Pale is also filled with innumerable pocket dimensions, some lived in, others untouched or unclaimed, but very few ever stumble on one for the Veil hides them as it surrounds them. Gob, Peralda, Djin, and Necksa all make their homes in Demiplanes within the Pale, from whence come the many incredible elemental beings. Those four, in particular, are considered the Rulers of the Planes, and direct children of Powers That Be.
Mourama
The Mourae are described as traveling to the demiplane of Mourama within the Pale while sitting on a stone that can float in the air or water. Inside caves, under rocks and under the earth many legends say there exist palaces with treasures. A Moura is a likely a Fell Fae, a Stone Woman, capable of changing shape.
