Manual of the Planes

positiveElementalPlane ofWaterThree-Dimensional Modelsof the Inner PlanesfireElementalPlane ofAirNegativeEnergyPlaneearthairPositiveEnergyPlanewaterCHAPTER 6:THE INNERPLANESElementalPlane ofEarth(reverse side)ElementalPlane ofFirenegativethe property of that plane; a magmin is made of elementalfire clear through, while a belker is nothing but smoky air.Elementals can mix two elements together. Forinstance, the thoqqua, which has both the fire andearth subtypes, is made of both. Cutting a thoqqua openwould not reveal organs or living tissue (which is whatyou’d see with most outsiders), just more of its basic elementalessence.In addition, elemental creatures are spontaneously generatedfrom the material of the plane itself rather thanbeing “born” in a more traditional sense. A whirlpool onthe Elemental Plane of Water or a gathering of windson the Elemental Plane of Air can achieve sentience andbecome a free-thinking part of its native plane. If slain onits home plane, such an elemental returns to its basic,unthinking elemental nature.pqqqqrsOPTION: WITHOUT THE INNER PLANESYour cosmology does not need the Inner Planes to function,nor does it need to use all the planes of the D&D cosmology.You still have air within your Material Plane even if there is noElemental Plane of Air, and creatures that use negative energy,such as wraiths and wights, still have their life-draining abilitieswithout a Negative Energy Plane.Unlike the Transitive Planes, there are a number of spellsthat are best used on the Inner Planes but few that use thenature of the planes themselves.The following spells or spell-like abilities are reduced ineffectiveness without the appropriate Inner Planes: avoidplanar effects, elemental swarm, elemental body, safety, andsummoning spells that affect elemental creatures andnatives of the Inner Planes.What happens to the above spells? The simplest and mostdramatic change is to rule that such spells simply don’t function.As an option, however, these spells still work if the spellcastercan provide enough of the element for them to form.The elemental summoned would require a volume equal tothe creature’s face and height (for all elementals) and weight(for earth and water elementals). To summon a Huge earthelemental, for example, in a cosmology without the ElementalPlane of Earth, a spellcaster would need an amount of homogenousnatural rock, soil, or stone 32 feet by 10 feet by 5 feetin area weighing some 48,000 pounds.The material must be relatively pure and not magicallyaltered in any way. When the spell elapses, any material usedto summon the elemental returns to its inert state.If you eliminate some or all of the Inner Planes, you haveto decide what happens to creatures with the elemental typeand earth, air, fire, and water subtypes. They either don’texist or live elsewhere (probably on the Material Plane or theOuter Planes).pqqqqrs67