Manual of the Planes

CHAPTER 7:THE OUTERPLANES86law/chaos-aligned, or both. The aligned trait of anOuter Plane determines where it sits in the cosmology.But in general, the aligned traits of the planes tend toagree with the alignments of the deities that makethose planes their homes.• Normal Magic: Some Outer Planes can have theimpeded magic, enhanced magic, limited magic, or evenwild magic traits, depending on the nature of the plane.OUTER PLANES LINKSThe Outer Planes are separate from the Material Plane, sotravelers often reach them through the Astral Plane byspells and through interplanar portals. Individual OuterPlanes can be separate from each other, or coterminous toeach other, allowing movement between two planes.Within the D&D cosmology, each of the Outer Planesborders two others, forming the Great Wheel that encirclesthe Material Plane. It is possible to move between theOuter Planes of the Great Wheel through the Astral orthrough physical movement as one plane gives way toanother near the coterminous border regions. These bordersare loosely defined and always in a state of flux, socreatures sometimes move between planes withoutintending to.In addition to connections with the Astral Plane andneighboring planes, each Outer Plane has portals thatconnect different locations within the same plane. Thiscreates the impression of layers, planes stacked uponplanes, each leading through a portal to the next.LAYERS OF THE OUTER PLANESThe Outer Planes have a number of intraplanar portalsthat lead not to other planes, but to different locations onthe same plane. These portals often connect a network ofsubplanes with similar denizens and planar traits. It’seasy to conceive of them as a stack of related parts of thesame plane, so travelers refer to them as layers.The D&D cosmology has traditionally used layers todescribe the multiple environments of planes such as theNine Hells, the Seven Heavens, and the Infinite Layers ofthe Abyss. Each collection of layers is treated as oneplane, and the natives of one layer are recognized asnatives of other layers.Most portals from elsewhere reach the “first” layer of amultilayered plane. This layer, variously depicted as the“top” or “bottom” layer depending on the plane, is the arrivalpoint for most visitors. The first layer functions like a citygate for that plane. Travelers can reach other layers directlywith the right spells, because the Astral Plane coexists withall layers of the plane unless noted otherwise.TRAVELING THEOUTER PLANESMost travelers on the Outer Planes use the astral projectionspell or a portal to get from place to place (and plane toplane). But there are other options.The River Oceanus: The water of Oceanus is sweet andfragrant, as befits its headwaters in the Blessed Fields of Elysium.This plane-spanning waterway provides a pathbetween realms, layers, and neighboring Outer Planes.The River Oceanus flows through each of Elysium’slayers, passes through the top layer of the Wilderness ofthe Beastlands, streams across the top layer of theOlympian Glades of Arborea, and finally drains awaysomewhere in Arborea’s second layer.Oceanus is a commonly used path between planes andthe layers of the planes. Trading vessels sail up and downits length, and small towns line its banks. Travelers canusually find a boat to hire somewhere along its shores.The River Styx: This river bubbles with grease, foulflotsam, and putrid remains of battles along its banks.Those who taste or touch its water must make a Fortitudesaving throw (DC 17) or suffer total amnesia. Treat thevictim as if feebleminded (as the feeblemind spell). Eventhose who make their saves lose all memory of the eventsof the last 8 hours. Prepared spells remain in memory,although the victim might not realize they’re prepared.The Styx churns through the top layers of the InfernalBattlefield of Acheron, the Nine Hells of Baator, theBleak Eternity of Gehenna, the Gray Waste of Hades, theTarterian Depths of Carceri, the Infinite Layers of theAbyss, and the Windswept Depths of Pandemonium.Tributaries of the Styx snake onto lower layers of theseplanes. For example, a tendril of the Styx reaches the fifthlayer of the Abyss, and countless streams trickle throughvarious other layers of the great pit.Sinister ferrymen skilled in negotiating the unpredictablecurrents and eddies of the Styx ply its waters. For aprice, they are willing to carry passengers from plane toplane. Some ferrymen (and ferrywomen) are fiends, whileothers are the spirits of dead Material Plane creatures(called petitioners). Rarely, a ferryman is a living mortalputting hard-won nautical skills to otherworldly use.Walking the Borders: The first layer of each OuterPlane shares a border with one Outer Plane on each side.In this way, all the Outer Planes are connected. Travelerswho know the proper paths can find places where theborders are thin enough that a simple walk is sufficient totransfer the traveler from one Outer Plane to another.The passage is not a sudden shift but rather a gradualchange. As the traveler approaches the border, the areabecomes more and more like the neighboring OuterPlane, while the features of the current plane becomeless and less noticeable. Eventually, the traveler haspassed wholly onto the new plane, though it is almostimpossible to pin down the exact moment of passage.The Infinite Staircase: The Infinite Staircase is amystery. It leads to all places, though the trick is findingan entry landing and an exit. A link to the Infinite Staircaseusually appears as a nondescript doorway or archsomewhere on each Outer Plane. Beyond the openinglies a small landing with an equally nondescript stairwayleading off. Typically, the Infinite Staircase hides behindan old door that no one pays any attention to in the cellar,