Manual of the Planes

ELEMENTAL PLANEOF WATERIt is an ocean without a surface.It is domain of current and wave.It is a bottomless depth.The Elemental Plane of Water is a sea without a floor or asurface, an entirely fluid environment lit by a diffuse glow. Itis one of the more hospitable of the Inner Planes once a travelergets past the problem of breathing the local medium.The eternal oceans of this plane vary between ice coldand boiling hot, between saline and fresh. They are perpetuallyin motion, wracked by currents and tides. Theplane’s permanent settlements form around bits of flotsamand jetsam suspended within this endless liquid.Even these settlements drift on the tides of the ElementalPlane of Water.ELEMENTAL PLANE OF WATER TRAITSThe Elemental Plane of Water has the following traits.• Subjective Directional Gravity: The gravity hereworks similar to that of the Elemental Plane of Air. Butsinking or rising on the Elemental Plane of Water isslower (and less dangerous) than on the ElementalPlane of Air.• Normal Time.• Infinite Size.• Alterable Morphic.• Water-Dominant.• Enhanced Magic: Spells and spell-like abilities thatuse or create water are both extended and enlarged (asif the Extend Spell and Enlarge Spell had been used onthem, but the spells don’t require higher-level slots). Awater breathing spell would thus last 4 hours per level,rather than 2 hours per level. Spells and spell-like abilitiesthat are already extended or enlarged are unaffectedby this benefit.• Impeded Magic: Spells and spell-like abilities withthe fire descriptor are impeded. This includes spells ofthe Fire domain. These spells and spell-like abilitiescan still be used, but a successful Spellcraft check (DC15 + level of the spell) must be made to do so.WATER INHABITANTSThe Elemental Plane of Water is relatively benign for anInner Plane and is home to a large number of native elementals,water-breathing outsiders, and creatures fromother planes that can survive in its watery seas.Elementals are discrete and separate manifestations ofthe plane itself, granted sentience and mobility frommagic or natural forces. These include the water elementalssummoned by spellcasters and elemental versions ofMaterial Plane creatures. Such creatures tend to be atleast semiliquid and mimic seagoing beasts and monstersof the Material Plane.Many water-breathing outsiders also make the ElementalPlane of Water their home. These include suchtransient beasts as the tojanida and the mephit, as well asmore settled groups such as tritons and marid genies. Ingeneral, water-breathing outsiders found on the ElementalPlane of Water tend to be playful and cruel, not hesitatingto torment (and drown) interplanar visitors whorely on magic spells or items to survive on their plane.Finally, water-breathing creatures from other planesmay be found on the Elemental Plane of Water. Fish,crustaceans, cephalopods and most sea-dwellers live onthis plane, but not air-breathing ocean-dwellers such aswhales and dolphins. The Elemental Plane of Water ishospitable to both freshwater and saltwater species,though each type has its own regions to inhabit. Monstrousaquatic creatures such as the kraken and abolethmay be found here as well.Portals seem to be common between the ElementalPlane of Water and oceans on the Material Plane, andrarer portals connect to large bodies of water on otherplanes. Both of the great rivers of the Outer Planes, theStyx and the Oceanus, contain vortices to the ElementalPlane of Water. Tritons and marids in particular make useof the vortices, and settlements of these creatures are usuallyfound near permanent portals.Natives of the Elemental Plane of Water speak Aquan, aflowing, subtle language filled with double meaningsand hidden puns. Those dealing with other planes speakother languages to facilitate their dealings: Common,Infernal, Abyssal, and Celestial are frequent choices.MOVEMENT AND COMBATThe Elemental Plane of Water has no set directions, sotravelers can move about in a fashion similar to movementon the Elemental Plane of Air. Rather than falling, atraveler may choose to rise or sink.While a traveler may choose which way is up, whethershe rises or sinks depends on whether she would rise orsink normally. Characters carrying less than 5 pounds ofgear rise headfirst, but others sink feetfirst. Both do so atthe same rate: 15 feet the first round, then 30 feet eachround thereafter. The resistance of the water prevents thegreat speeds found on the Elemental Plane of Air andelsewhere, so a sinking or rising character takes nodamage from striking an object.In addition to moving about by sinking or rising, travelerscan swim normally. If a solid surface is available, theycan walk. Those with fly speeds can fly at half their normalrate, and their maneuverability is reduced by one grade.There are almost no static physical locations on the ElementalPlane of Water, because even the largest communitiesdrift on the currents of the plane. These includeportals that lead elsewhere, and established communitiesmay drift along with these vortex entrances. Travelbetween two communities on the Elemental Plane ofWater often requires divination magic. Alternatively,travelers can hire a local guide knowledgeable in the currentsand tides of the plane to figure out where a particularcommunity or portal has drifted to. Tritons andmarids make suitable guides, and they tend to treat fleshyCHAPTER 6:THE INNERPLANES77