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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, , 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 , 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), , , 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 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: Interior Illustrations: 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. , 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 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 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. & DRAGONS® game. The planes are more than a different part of These planes are reached by gateways and the astral spell. Vari- a standard campaign, or a different planet to adventure on. The ous powerful beings (self-proclaimed gods, goddesses, and many known planes have very different physical and magical demi-gods, as well as a full spectrum of other life) call the outer laws than most adventurers are used to. These planes each have planes home. The outer planes are the final resting places of unique rewards as well as unique dangers. deceased sentient spirits native to the Prime Material planes. The concept of the planes has evolved in the time since the cre- The basic arrangement of the planes is depicted on page 6. A ation of the AD&D® game; it will continue to evolve long after this simplified diagram of the connections between planar groups is book goes to print. As the AD&D game universe currently stands, given on page 7. there are five basic groupings of the planes: The Prime Material planes Organization The Ethereal planes The inner planes This book is divided into four sections, one for each of the other The Astral plane major groupings of planes (Ethereal, inner, Astral, and outer). The outer planes Each of these sections is in turn divided into subsections. Overview: A brief overview begins each discussion of the The Prime Material planes are the ones most familiar to AD&D plane or planes. This covers the traveler's first impressions of the game players. The rules governing those planes have been plane upon entering that realm. detailed in the other volumes of this hardback series. The Prime Traveling to the plane: The primary concern for the extra-pla- Material Planes (the Primes) include many earth-like alternate nar traveler is getting into (and often getting out of) a particular worlds and campaigns that operate from the same basic realities. plane. Transit between planes is usually but not always magical Each such plane is referred to by its inhabitants as the Prime in nature, and includes the following methods: Material plane, or the Prime. All other Prime Material planes are noted as Alternate Prime Material planes. Notes on the Alternate Established spells and their variations Primes may be found in the first appendix at the end of this book. Magical items The Ethereal planes are planes of misty proto-matter that exist Spell-like abilities adjacent to each Prime Material Plane (each Prime Material Psionic abilities plane has its own Ethereal plane, so there are also AlternatSamplee Free-standinfile g artifacts (gates) Ethereal planes). It is not possible to travel between Alternate Primes entirely by the Ethereal, though it is possible to travel Survival: Upon reaching a particular plane, the next major between the Prime and the inner planes. Nothing is solid in the concern is for the traveler's survival. This includes such basics as Ethereal, including living creatures and their possessions; unliv- air, food, and water, as well as the effects of the plane on time, ing objects such as weapons and armor may pass through each gravity, sense of direction, hearing, and vision. Movement usu- other with ease. Within the Ethereal exist small finite islands of ally operates under unusual rules in other planes (for example, matter known as demi-planes. These limited planes are covered the Astral has no gravity and movement is by thought alone). in the section on the Ethereal as well. Time: Time is a constant in the known planes of existence, and The inner planes, also called the elemental planes, are regions can not be expanded, contracted, created, or destroyed. The of primary forces, the building blocks of the multiverses. The length of a day in one plane is the same number as the length of a inner planes include the elemental planes of Earth, Air, Water, day in another plane. If a traveler leaves the Prime Material plane and Fire, and the planes of Positive and Negative Energy. for the Ethereal and spends 20 rounds in the Ethereal, 20 rounds Between the elemental planes are regions of mixed elemental pass on the Prime. This type of time is called "true time." force known as the para-elemental planes; between the elemen- While time and the perception of its passage do not vary from tal and Positive and Negative Material planes are regions known plane to plane, the effects of time on living objects do vary widely. as the quasi-elemental planes. In general, these planes are hos- In planes where the effects of time are slowed, the traveler can go tile to non-elemental life, and travel within them is recommended long periods without sleep and food, while in those where the only for those who are prepared. The inner planes are not aligned effects are speeded up, the individual needs more sleep for the in the same manner as the outer planes, rather they are indiffer- same amount of true time. The time that regulates the differing ent to the affairs of other sentients. planar effects on living beings is callecT'subjective time." The Astral plane is the link between the Prime Material plane True time governs all actions, including movement, combat, and the outer planes, much like the Ethereal is the link between and the casting and durations of most spells. Subjective time the Prime and the inner planes. Unlike the Ethereal, the Astral is governs long-term processes that affect the traveler's metabo- a generally barren place, described by travelers as a large vault lism and natural functions. This includes poisons, potions, the with occasional bits of solid matter and the gateways and silver effects of paralysis and aging, the need for sleep and food, natu- cords of other travelers. It is through the Astral that Alternate ral healing, the recovery and research of spells, and spell-casting Primes may be reached. that takes longer than one turn. In general, all spells can be cast INTRODUCTION

Traditional Depiction of the Planes

.Astral Plane Outer Planes

for normal duration unless otherwise noted; the exceptions are are often placed in the Astral, where the subjective effects are usually long-term spells that create permanent items, such as slowed to a virtual standstill. Spell casting is exempt from this golem, clone, and enchant an Item. effect. A sleep spell successfully cast upon a target in the Astral has a duration of five rounds/level. A sleep caused by a magical True vs. Subjective Time in the Planes Samplepotion file, however, would last for 170 true days in the Astral. Prime Material planes: The two times are the same These restrictions and advantages apply to travelers while on a Ethereal plane: 10 true rounds pass for every one subjective plane they are not native to. Natives of a plane are unaffected by round the subjective effects of that plane. A spell-using creature native Inner planes: One true round passes for every two subjective to the Ethereal plane regains spell use by the passage of a stand- rounds ard day in the Ethereal, while a visiting mage from the Prime Astral plane: 365,000 true rounds (approximately 170 true days) regains spells in 10 times that amount of time. pass for every one subjective round The fact that true time flows equally for all planes applies only Outer planes: The two times are equal to the major known planes. There are demi-planes and realms within the outer planes where time functions in a completely dif- Explained in other terms: ferent fashion, and may speed up, slow down, or flow in reverse. • In all Prime Material planes and the outer planes, true time Encounters: A large part of each plane's description includes and subjective time pass at the same rate. possible encounters in that plane. General types of encounters • In the Deep Ethereal plane, subjective effects last 10 times and example encounter charts are included. If the DM feels that as long as they do in the Prime. A potion that lasts 10 rounds in there is going to be a lot of traveling in that plane, he should feel the Prime lasts for 100 rounds in the Ethereal. Similarly, a trav- free to develop his own charts along the following lines. eler who spends 10 days in the Deep Ethereal without food suf- Monsters are defined as being Common to Very Rare (or in fers the effects of fasting for only one day. some cases Unique) for every plane. A DM creating his own ran- In the Border Ethereal (see the Ethereal plane, on page 11), dom encounter charts should use a die range of 2-20, generated subjective time passes as in the plane that is being viewed. by rolling an eight-sided and a twelve-sided die. A DM creating • In the inner planes, subjective effects last only half as long his own tables can fill that 2-20 range in the following manner: as in the Prime plane. Poison takes effect twice as quickly, and a potion that last 10 rounds in the Prime only last five rounds in the inner planes. • The Astral plane has the largest time differential. A thousand years of true time here equals a single day of subjective time. For this reason, individuals incapacitated by poison or other hazards