MANUAL of the PLANES by Jeff Grubb
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MANUAL OF THE PLANES by Jeff Grubb Sample file Here at last is the source book for all the known planes of existence! TSR Inc. TSR UK Ltd. POB 756 The Mill, Rathmore Road Lake Geneva, Cambridge CB1 4AD TSR, In Wl 53147 OPVOUH United Kingdom ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, AD&D, FIEND FOLIO, PRODUCTS OF YOUR IMAGINATION, and the TSR logo are trademarks owned by TSR Inc. Special Thanks to Despite the singular author credit on the cover, this project (and any project of this size) is the result of the input, advice, corrections, suggestions, and just plain hard work of a lot of people, who in ways great and small have helped bring this book to its present state. Several people deserve special thanks. To Mike Breault, who revamped the prose I am prone to when writing AD&D® game material. To Ed Greenwood, who produced the definitive dissertation on the Nine Hells. To Roger Moore, whose equally definitive articles on the Astral plane formed the foundation of that section. He also reviewed that section and the section on Asgard. To the people who reviewed the manuscript in its first draft: Dave Collins, Joe Karpierz, Ed Greenwood (again), Jim Ward, Steve Winter, and Mike Breault. Their comments and advice have made this text both readable and enjoyable. To Zeb Cook and Doug Niles, who have gone through hard-cover mania before, for listening to every crazy idea I had on this project. To Mike Dobson, for telling me to avoid bogging down (too much) in the logic of the planes and to stress their sense of wonder and magic. To Kate Novak Grubb, for putting up with a crazy writer during this period. And to John and Patricia Grubb, who told their son about the closet of Fibber McGee. Thank you! Credits Manual of the Planes DesignSample: Jeff Grub bfile Editing: Mike Breault Cartography and Diagrams: Dave Sutherland Cover Art: Jeff Easley Interior Illustrations: Stephen Fabian with Jeff Easley Typography: Kim Lindau Graphic Design and Keylining: Susan R. Myers and Stephanie Tabat Distributed to the book trade by Random House, Inc., and in Canada by Random House of Canada, Ltd. Distributed to the toy and hobby trade by regional distributors. Distributed in the United Kingdom by TSR UK Ltd. © 1987 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 0-88038-399-2 This work is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork presented herein is prohibited without the express written permission of TSR, Inc. Printed in the U.S.A. Foreword Welcome to the AD&D® game's closet. you even survive on an infinite plane filled with elemental fire? My parents used to listen to the old radio show, "Fibber McGee This book attempts to answer these questions and many more. & Molly." One of the running jokes of this show was that a charac- One of the basic assumptions of this tome is that what has been ter who had lost something would inevitably check the hall closet written in the past is true, and our job is to explain it. The chief (usually over the shouted objections of the other characters). reason is that the AD&D system is a living and dynamic system When the door was opened, out came the crunch and clatter of that is built upon the foundation of its past. While the game can the entire overstuffed closet disgorging its contents in a manner absorb any amount of new material, casting off pre-existing that can best be seen in the imagination. Thus in our household, material often damages the system. My purpose is to reveal the any drawer or closet crammed full of haphazard material was mysteries of the AD&D game without voiding a majority of them. referred to as "Fibber McGee's Closet." (Perhaps some day this One of the great attractions of the various planes is their phrase will take its place alongside the Hammer of Thor and unknowable nature, though in many cases there is so much Zeus's Thunderbolts.) unknown that DMs are forced to make their own guesses. This In much the same fashion, the AD&D system over the years sense of the unknown is a marvelous thing; it would be a shame has treated the known planes of existence as holding bins for to lose it by fully explaining the intricacies of the planes. To that every idea and adventure that did not quite belong in the Prime end I have concentrated on the basics—survival, movement, Material Plane. We set down the astral method of movement to combat, and spells. Beyond this, the workings of each plane are the outer planes, then whisked individuals bodily into Lolth's discussed in brief detail, allowing a taste of the wonder without realm in the Queen of the Spiders. We placed the Ethereal plane stealing the mysteries. between the Prime and the elemental planes, then broke off piec- Miraculously, the rules and mechanics that govern the planes es of those planes for the elemental nodes in The Temple of Ele- have been kept to a small number that apply to all the planes of a mental Evil. The Negative and Positive Material planes moved type (inner, outer, astral, or ethereal). A "Grand Unified Theory of from being co-existing with the Prime to being part of the inner Spells" deals with the planar aspects of each type of spell, thus planes, giving birth to the quasi-elemental planes in the process. reducing the number of special effect spells that could occupy With additional books of monsters, we moved all manner of pages for every layer of the Abyss. slaad, modrons, and githyanki into these planes as visitors, then Finally, I'd like to address a touchy subject that usually arises moved entire pantheons to co-exist in the Legends and Lore when talking of outer planes and "gods" for campaigns. Though book. And for every adventure in every plane, another set of I consulted many texts to gather the mythological and theological effects on spell-casting was created. information in this book, some topics just were not addressed in This then, has been the AD&D game closet; like Fibber these sources. When faced with the question of what Indra's McGee's, it is filled to capacity with the well-intended thoughts of realm looks like, or the nature of the Yggdrasil, or what is to be a decade. found on each of the Seven Heavens, I employed a time-honored And I have the pleasurable task of throwing open the door and Dungeon Master process. (provided I am not crushed by the bowling ball on the top shelf) I made it up. picking through and explaining the pieces. SampleYes file, I admit it. To combine the various mythoi and beliefs into a It is a massive task. Consider, for example, that the planes are coherent system, I changed some things and added others. This infinite (except the demi-planes, but that's another story). Can the- has been done for game balance, payability, and ease of presen- se regions be mapped? How do the Hells appear to descend and tation. If you are looking for the accurate background on a partic- the Heavens to rise? Where do the gods of the ancient pantheons ular pantheon, there are many good source books on the mythoi live? Do they get along with each other? What about other life on presented here. those planes (gods need servants, after all)? How do you travel We have opened the door to the AD&D game's closet—let's through an infinite plane filled with elemental fire? Indeed, how do find out what's in there! Jeff Grubb Thanksgiving, 1986 Table of Contents AN INTRODUCTION TO THE PLANES 5 The Positive Quasi-Planes 55 Organization 5 Survival 55 Time 5 Movement 56 Encounters 56 SPELL SUMMARY 8 Combat 56 THE ETHEREAL PLANE 11 Magic 57 Overview 11 Features 57 Reaching the Ethereal Plane 11 The Negative Quasi-Planes 57 The Border Ethereal 11 Survival 58 Survival 12 Movement 58 Encounters 14 Encounters 58 Combat 17 Combat 59 Magic 18 Magic 59 Player Characters 20 Features 59 Demi-Planes 21 THE ASTRAL PLANE 60 THE INNER PLANES 22 Reaching the Astral Plane 60 Reaching the Inner Planes 22 Physical Travel 61 Survival 23 Color Pools 62 Movement 24 Survival 63 Encounters 25 Movement 64 Combat 26 Encounters 64 Magic 27 Combat 67 Player Characters 30 Magic 68 The Plane of Elemental Air 31 Player Characters 71 Survival 32 Features 72 Encounters 32 THE OUTER PLANES 73 Movement 34 Reaching the Outer Planes 74 Combat 34 Survival 75 Magic 35 Movement 76 Features 35 Encounters 77 The Plane of Elemental Fire 36 Combat 77 Survival 37 Magic 78 Movement 37 Player Characters 82 Encounters Sample37 Featurefile s 82 Magic 39 Outer Plane Descriptions 84 Features 40 Nirvana 84 The Plane of Elemental Earth 41 Arcadia 86 Survival 41 Seven Heavens 87 Movement 42 Twin Paradises 89 Encounters 42 Elysium 90 Combat 44 Happy Hunting Grounds 91 Magic 44 Olympus 92 Features 45 Gladsheim 94 The Plane of Elemental Water 46 Limbo 97 Survival 46 Pandemonium 99 Movement 47 The Abyss 101 Encounters 47 Tarterus 103 Combat 49 Hades 105 Magic 49 Gehenna 107 Features 49 The Nine Hells 109 The Para-Elemental Planes 51 Acheron 113 Survival 51 Concordant Opposition 114 Encounters 51 Beyond the Outer Planes 116 Movement 53 Combat 53 APPENDIX I: The Prime Material Planes 117 Magic 53 APPENDIX II: Creatures of the Inner Planes 120 Features 53 APPENDIX III: Creatures from the Outer Planes 122 The Energy Planes 54 APPENDIX IV: Abilities of the Powers 124 The Quasi-Elemental Planes 55 INDICES 127 AN INTRODUCTION TO THE PLANES The term "the planes" encompasses all the alternate levels of The outer planes, also called the planes of power, are realms reality that may be encountered in the ADVANCED DUNGEONS with terrain both like and unlike that of the Prime Material plane.