Manual of the Planes

CHAPTER 6:THE INNERPLANES68Outsiders are more complex beings and often havemore complex societies. This aspect makes them morecomprehensible to natives of the Material Plane. Outsiderswho call an Inner Plane home are immune to thenatural effects of that plane. They are resistant or immuneto damage of that type—at least to a degree.ELEMENTAL PLANE OF AIRIt is as open as the eternal sky.It as solid as a child’s breath.It is falling forever.The Elemental Plane of Air is an empty plane, consistingof sky above and sky below. Clouds billow up inbank after bank, swelling into grand thunderheads anddissipating into wisps like cotton candy. The wind pullsand tugs around the traveler, and rainbows glimmer inthe distance.The Elemental Plane of Air is the most comfortableand survivable of the Inner Planes, and it is the home ofall manner of airborne creatures. Indeed, flying creaturesfind themselves at a great advantage on this plane. Whiletravelers without flight can survive easily here, they areat a disadvantage.Natural vortices connect the Elemental Plane of Airand the Material Plane, usually on high mountaintops orin the middle of severe weather conditions (such as theeye of a hurricane).ELEMENTAL PLANE OF AIR TRAITSThe Elemental Plane of Air has the following traits.• Subjective Directional Gravity: Inhabitants of theplane determine their own “down” direction. Objectsnot under the motive force of others do not move.• Normal Time.• Infinite Size.• Alterable Morphic.• Air-Dominant.• Enhanced Magic: Spells and spell-like abilities thatuse, manipulate, or create air (including those of theAir domain) are both empowered and enlarged (as ifthe Empower Spell and Enlarge Spell had been usedon them, but the spells don’t require higher-levelslots). A cloudkill spell would thus have its range doubledand its damage (to those it did not kill outright)increased by half. Spells and spell-like abilities thatare already empowered or enlarged are unaffected bythis benefit.• Impeded Magic: Spells and spell-like abilities that useor create earth (including the summoning of earth elementalsor outsiders with the earth subtype) areimpeded. This includes spells of the Earth domain.These spells and spell-like abilities can still be used, buta successful Spellcraft check (DC 15 + level of the spell)must be made to do so.AIR INHABITANTSMost of the life on the Elemental Plane of Air is on thewing, and it is a realm where the swift and the maneuverablesurvive.Most common on the plane are the elementals thathave emerged from the winds and weather of the planeitself. These generally free-willed beings include air elementalsand half-elemental analogs of many MaterialPlane creatures. Ice and smoke paraelementals dwell inthe more extreme parts of the plane, in vast clouds of ashand among storms of ice and hail. (See Chapter 9 for theparaelementals and the half-elemental template.) Suchbeings consider the Elemental Plane of Air their own anddo not hesitate to harass (at best) or destroy (at worst)travelers from elsewhere.A small number of outsiders make the Elemental Planeof Air their home; the best-known are the djinn. The scavengingarrowhawks and omnipresent dust, air, and icemephits can be found here as well.Creatures from the Material Plane can be found here,especially if they have wings. But the plane’s lack of obviousground tends to disorient and confuse many nativesof the Material Plane, making them easy prey for morepowerful Elemental Plane of Air natives. Material Planecreatures encountered on the Elemental Plane of Airinclude hippogriffs, pegasi, beholders, sphinxes, andsprites. Common birds and unintelligent fliers do notsurvive long on this plane.The native language of the Elemental Plane of Air isAuran, a breathy, leisurely tongue that sounds like a long,slow exhalation. When other languages are needed, theCommon language of the Material Plane is often used,and Celestial is sometimes used as well.MOVEMENT AND COMBATMovement on the Elemental Plane of Air is described inthe section on subjective directional gravity in Chapter 1.Creatures that have a fly speed have their maneuverabilityimproved by one grade on the Elemental Plane ofAir, from clumsy to poor, from poor to average, fromaverage to good, and from good to perfect. In addition,any flying creature can dive, moving in the same fashionas other, nonflying creatures.Air CombatOn the Elemental Plane of Air, a larger number of attackersmay assault an target, being able to attack from aboveand below, as noted in the Combat in Three Dimensionssidebar in Chapter 1.Characters might want to dive toward their opponentsas a form of charge. If they do so, treat it as a regularcharge (straight-line movement only, a +2 attackbonus, and a –2 penalty to Armor Class for 1 round).Alternatively, characters can simply plummet toward ahelpless or stationary target. In this case, use theFalling Objects section in Chapter 3 of the DUNGEONMASTER’s Guide, to determine damage from fallingobjects. Apply that damage to both attacker and target.