Substances, The Elemental Plane of (3.5e Environment)

The Elemental Plane of Substance

This plane is intended to be used as part of the Fortress Celestia Campaign Setting.

The plane is a mess of countless sub - planes, each consisting mainly of a single substance. In addition to sub - planes containing air, earth, fire, water, and positive and negative energies, there are sub - planes of well - known substances such as ice, ooze, ash, etc., there are said to be planes of more exotic substances and energies such as sand, rainbows, titanium, chlorine, or gamma rays. The exact number of sub - planes is unknown but must be at least dozens if not hundreds or thousands. Many sages claim each sub - plane here was once a separate plane, while others claim there were originally only either 6, 18, or 27 inner planes. In each sub plane, 80 - 99.9999% of the volume is completely filled with the substance it is named for, the rest consists of inclusions of something else, often air pockets, rivers of various fluids, and rocklike solids.

The plane is so vast it is possible any castle, town, realm, plane, etc., said to be within the inner or elemental planes might actually be found here, or the remnants of such a place.

Plane Traits

Physical Traits

Gravity

Varies. Locally one or more elements or energy forms will be dominant. Objective gravity. Most places there isn't any. Gravity is usually either in the direction that makes the most logical sense (i.e., 'down' is towards the outside of a giant air pocket), or in the direction that one or more sentient beings (in game terms, anything with an intelligence of at least 2) happen to think it is.

Time

Mostly Normal. Some subplanes, regions, realms, etc. can have nonstandard time flow. The whole plane has a timeless quality to it; changes contrary to the nature of the plane or the local area affected tend to have a shorter lifespan than normal so that eventually it is as if nothing had happened. Likewise, in most regions of most subplanes, there are no seasons, geological epochs, and as far as anyone can tell, it is always the same time of day. Lighting is often only from immediately local sources such as glowing magma, photo luminescent fungi, etc., and the local region is otherwise completely dark. Other regions of sub - planes are filled with enchanted light from no immediately obvious source that can be as bright as full daylight.

Solid places such as the Sub - Plane of Elemental Earth tend to be more trapped in time than more fluid sub - planes, and also it is more likely for the forces of law, order, and tradition to be prevalent. On the other hand, fluid filled planes, especially the sub - planes of air and water, are home to nomadic creatures and local situations tend to be only temporary.

Size

Infinite, as far as anyone can tell.

Morphic

moderately morphic. Divine beings have the same ability to mould the local environment as they do in a standard outer plane. Other creatures can alter the local gravity by mere thought in the more fluid regions of the plane. Through powerful magic, labor - intensive projects, or technology, small regions can be reshaped to the will of non - divine beings

Magic, Alignment, and Energy/Elemental Traits

Elemental Dominance

Varies. Locally one or more elements or energy forms will be dominant.

Energy Dominance

Varies. Locally one or more elements or energy forms will be dominant.

Alignment Trait

None. Locally there will be exceptions, places where a local divine or epic - level being has altered the environment.

Magic Trait

Varies. Each sub - plane augments the energy or element(s) it is adjacent to, and reduces the effect of magics that rely on other elements or energy.

Movement and Combat

Works normally except for the local issues listed above.

Features of the Plane

The plane has an unknown number of sub - planes, many of them so hostile, a normal human could only survive a round at best. Others, such as the sub - planes of air, earth, ice, and water, are so hospitable in places due to continent - sized inclusions, that visitors never realize they are not on a prime world.

Plane Links

The plane is linked by portals to the transit plane and, according to some, every other plane in the multiverse.

Sub - planes are co - terminous with other sub - planes that share in some way a substance or energy characteristic. For example the sub - plane of ooze is connected to the sub - planes of earth, water, negative energy, silt, clay, and so on.

Plane Inhabitants

Any elemental or element - touched outsider is likely to be common somewhere on the plane; any normal animal, humanoid, aberration, etc. which spends most of its life in an ecosystem similar to the substance in question might be found in that sub - plane. Each of the major sub - planes are divided into regions where the local ecology varies so in some, the elemental beings dominate, in others, they are rare and humanoids are common, and in still others the only living beings are unintelligent animals, aberrations, and so on. In a few places, creatures that only exist in the imagination even in most fantasy worlds, such as burrowing elephants and flying dolphins, can be found. Ruling or claiming to rule over all are the planar lords, divine or quasi - divine beings. Most of the element - touched creatures and planar lords do not get along with their counterparts from other sub - planes, or with non - element - touched beings who seek to make the Plane of Elemental Substance more like a prime world than it already is.

Locally, conditions vary dramatically, but on the whole, there is a pecking order where, if a conflict gripped the entire plane, creatures who are closer in nature and temperament to the traditional nature of the subplane would likely eventually defeat the more ordinary or exotic creatures in case of all - out war. On the Sub - Plane of Elemental Water, for example, the sahuagin would likely defeat an alliance of merpeople and dolphins, but not the water elementals or water mephits. On the Sub - Plane of Elemental Earth, the pecking order might go: Earthlords, earth elementals, earth - touched, dwarves, orcs, drow, trolls, neanderthals, cave dragons, burrowing elephants. However, unlike the Plane of Ideological Conflict, wars on this scale are effectively impossible here.

Plane Encounters

extremist patrol

a small group of elementals, outsiders, etc. who regard all immigrants to their sub - plane as dangerous intruders.

bizarroid encampment

a tribe of intelligent creatures of unlikely species, such as mer - kobolds, is encamped here, hiding from sahuagin, dwarves, fire mephits, etc.

entrepreneurs

a team of mining engineers, trade route cartographers, etc., with a heavy load of gear and trade goods, hoping to open a section of the plane to exploitation. They are eager for knowledge, trade goods, etc., but unfortunately likely to underestimate the locals.

tower

a lonely cylindrical fortress surrounded by the planar material. It might be guarded by humanoid troops from a local government, outsiders, or members of a religious order who regards the local sub - plane as holy ground.

city

a larger town perched on a patch of habitable surface. The locals are interested in trade, but likely to ignore strangers who aren't obviously dangerous or persons of means. The place is crowded with high - rise buildings as the space they are working with is limited.

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