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Outer Planes

Occult scholars may argue that there are enough outer planes to accommodate all the spiritual values in the cosmos, but this is false. There are exactly four dimensions in the Outer Sphere, and they do not operate under the same spatial laws as the mortal realm. It is best to think of each dimension as a vast “space”, filled with dozens of bubbles connected by a tangled network of threads. These bubbles are sub-realms, each with their own unique name and character. The threads represent a network of portals, byways, and paths connecting them. 

 

Not all realms are connected, and some are hard to reach. The powers that rule these realms are aware of one another, but those with dramatically different “cultures” tend to have minimal contact. Some worlds are metaphysically “closer” to certain sub-realms, leading mortals to believe the outer planes are uniform when they are not. Sub-realms ruled by deities are the hardest of all to enter, and the paths leading to them are well defended. Travelers who venture into the outer planes rarely appear in divine realms, and those who do are usually banished, cursed, or destroyed for blasphemy. In mystic circles this is well understood, and most spell casting organizations have taboos against it. 

Morality

Because the Outer Planes coincide with moral alignments, we must briefly discuss the mindset of each realm. In simple terms, every alignment plane embodies a different vision of what is desirable. This concept is important because it is the motive force behind the actions taken by creatures from those realms. The outer planes are all about extremes. They are not balanced, and this lack of balance makes them powerful but flawed. The totality of existence is only embodied in the prime. This is why it's called the prime. 

 

Celestial Realms (Celestials). The underlying principle behind “good” is that satisfaction and prosperity are mutual concepts. All beings are interconnected, so it is logical that they should actively nurture one another for their own sake. Even in hardship, it is important to have hope and faith in this ideal. Celestials are hostile to any creature that rejects or threatens this philosophy. Not because they hate them, but because the two ideologies cannot harmoniously coexist. Celestials do not lust after power or control for their own sake: they see such things as the natural consequence of experience, self-development, and the respect of their peers. Their leaders are teachers and military officers, elected democratically for their competence.

 

Infernal Realms (Fiends). The underlying principle behind “evil” is that satisfaction comes from predation and control. Everyone is in competition, prosperity is individual, and the rush of victory means they are winning at life. Causing harm to others reduces their strength, which makes one stronger by default. Fiends regard all other sentient beings with a mixture of hate, jealousy, fear, and desire. They are only socially stable when viewing others as assets, enemies, or property. All social interaction betweens fiends is grounded in some form of manipulation or abuse, and their leaders hold power through a mix of fear, prestation, violence, and bribery. 

 

Lawful Realms (Axiomatics). The underlying principle behind “law” is that satisfaction and security come from belonging to a hierarchy. Order gives purpose and reinforces personal identity, so lawful creatures believe they have an imperative to control the universe. They are threatened by independence and soothed by predictability. Lawful creatures are hostile to anything that threatens the power or integrity of their hierarchy, including rule breakers. Axiomatic creatures care only for their duties, and object to anything that impedes them. The most sociable specimens have duties that are broad or general, allowing more leeway for complex thought and personal judgment. 

 

Chaotic Realms (Proteans). The underlying principle behind “chaos” is that satisfaction comes from freedom and obeying ones impulses. Self-possession, willpower, and creativity are the most important values, and society is only acceptable if it validates one's emotions. Chaotic creatures only work together out of self preservation, or to satisfy their personal desires. They are hostile to anything that tries to exert control over them without their permission. 

 

The Eternal Struggle. Mortals tend to view good and evil as the main sources of ethical friction in the universe, but in truth this conflict simply boils down to whether a creature has empathy or not. The most vicious struggle is the one between law and chaos, and it is far more complicated. Celestials manage this conflict with debate because they empathize with one another, even if they do not agree. Fiends resolve it with violence; devils constantly try to subjugate demons, and demons constantly try to erode their hold on reality while selfishly consuming anything they can. This struggle has many names in many cultures, but it ensures that the lower planes are eternally riven by war. 

The Big Four

It’s hard to generalize the outer planes due to the great variety of sub-realms within them, but some territories are larger and more important than others. They have plentiful roads and portals leading into other realms, and see a high level of traffic. Below are four of the largest sub-realms in each dimension. 

 

Heaven

  1. Arborea. A forest realm growing around roots and branches of the World Tree.

  2. Celestia. A vast realm of open blue sky and cloud islands bathed in white light. 

  3. Elysium. A rolling realm of meadows, fields, forests, and pastoral perfection. 

Abyss

  1. Acheron. A menacing wasteland of red skies, looming fortresses, and battlefields. 

  2. Carceri. A broken hellscape dotted with caverns, prisons, and fortresses. 

  3. Gehenna. A freezing dark gray desert leeched of color, brooding beneath a stormy sky.  

  4. Tartarus. A subterranean realm of interconnected caverns and howling wind. 

Nirvana 

  1. Automa. A vast cityscape of sprawling clockwork, crystalline structures, and energy streams. 

  2. Utopia. An eerily perfect wilderness where nature is totally immaculate and symmetrical. 

  3. Webwork. A vast sky-realm filled with ghostly calcified webs, spun with geometric precision. 

Limbo

  1. Arcadia. A primordial forest where life blooms, mutates, and clashes amid erratic weather.  

  2. Ysgard. A realm of harshly dynamic landscapes where strength and conflict dominate.  

  3. Wasteland. A blasted desert rife with energy storms and manifestations of chaos magic. 

The Afterlife

When mortals die, their souls transmigrate to whichever outer plane they most closely align to. Those who lack true faith appear in generic sub-realms, while those devoted to deities gravitate to their gods. Most souls in this stage undergo a spiritual metamorphosis, slowly forgetting their former lives over a span of many years. This is a graceful process that typically finishes well after those who personally knew the deceased have also died. While not all outsiders are born from mortal souls, those who are tend to remember their lives the same way adults remember their childhood: a few strong memories stand out, but everything else is recalled only in a general way. 

 

People with advanced skills (like adventurers) who have died and transmigrated to the outer planes retain their former training, but the process of becoming an otherworldly creature diminishes these memories over time. Extremely powerful mortals often decline the process of transformation, choosing to continue their existence in spirit-form. This comes with limitations, however. Just as a tadpole cannot leave water until it becomes a frog, the spirits of dead mortals cannot leave their afterlife in corporeal form. Those who somehow manage to do so become ephemeral, powerless, and exhausted. They succumb to this exhaustion within minutes, fading away and returning to their alignment plane. 

 

True neutral creatures do not transmigrate into the outer planes after death: they belong to the spirit world. The powers of the ethereal plane consider true neutral souls to be in sympathy with the tides of nature, so they reincarnate them. Nature is a closed system, and participation in that system is its own reward. The powerful souls of neutral people (such as druids) who choose to remain in the spirit world and avoid reincarnation serve as ancestor spirits, similar to ghosts but unbound by malice or dark magic.

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