Outer Planes

An outer plane is one of a number of general types of planes of existence. They can also be referred to as godly planes, spiritual planes or divine planes. The Outer Planes are home to beings such as deities and otherworldly creatures such as demons, celestials and devils, and they are the standard afterlife of mortal souls. Each Outer Plane is usually the physical manifestation of a particular moral and ethical alignment and the entities that dwell there often embody the traits related to that alignment.

The intangible and esoteric Outer Planes—the realms of ideals, philosophies, and gods—stand in contrast to the Inner Planes, which compose the material building blocks of reality and the realms of energy and matter.

All Outer Planes are spatially infinite but are composed of features and locations of finite scope. Many of these planes are often split in to a collection of further infinites called layers, which are essentially sub-planes that represent one particular facet or theme of the plane. For example, Baator's geography is reminiscent of Hell as depicted in Dante's The Divine Comedy. In addition, each layer may also contain a number of realms. Each realm is the home to an individual deity, or occasionally a collection of deities.

Structure

The first layers of each of the Outer Planes touch the Astral Plane. The Outer Planes are connected to the Material Plane via Astral conduits, which are described as great silvery tubes or whirlwinds used by souls to travel to and from the afterlife. On the Material Plane, they are invisible to mortal sight. They are often watched over by mysterious spiritual guardians who resemble the psychopomps of mortal legend.

The various realms and layers of the Outer Planes are connected to one another via planar conduits, similar to the Astral conduits except they knit the Outer Planes to one another instead of to the mortal plane. They are also connected by a network of portals of varying appearance known as the Great Road. Many of these portals are surrounded by gate-towns or fortresses; these settlements are subject to sliding into the neighboring plane if their philosophical outlook changes too greatly, and planar entities and factions often compete to make this happen or to prevent it. Finally, there are the planar paths, such as the Infinite Staircase, Mount Olympus, Yggdrasil, the River Oceanus, and the River Styx, which cross from one plane to another without a need for portals or conduits.

Known Outer Planes

Outer Planes
Mount Celestia	Bytopia	Elysium	Beastlands	Arborea
Arcadia	↑Good↑			Ysgard
Mechanus	←Lawful	Outlands	Chaotic→	Limbo
Acheron	↓Evil↓			Pandemonium
Nine Hells of Baator	Gehenna	Hades	Carceri	Abyss

The cosmology used in the Greyhawk setting (known as the "Great Wheel") contains seventeen outer planes. Cosmologically, they are arranged in a ring of sixteen planes with the good-aligned planes, or Upper Planes, at the top, and the evil-aligned planes, or Lower Planes, at the bottom. The lawful planes (or Planes of Law) sit to the left, and the chaotic planes (or Planes of Chaos) to the right. Between the planes of Law and Chaos sit the Neutral planes, or the Planes of Conflict. One further plane sits in the center of the ring, the Outlands, being neutral in alignment. At the center of the Outlands is a Spire of infinite height; the city of Sigil floats above the Spire's pinnacle. The standard D&D cosmology is the official cosmology used in the Planescape and Greyhawk campaign settings. Many of the alternative names derive from the first-edition Manual of the Planes (1987, ISBN 0-88038-399-2), and were portrayed in the Planescape setting as the incorrect names used by the "Clueless", or characters from the Prime Material Plane unfamiliar with the planes.

Name	Alternative Name(s)	Alignment	Description	Notable native inhabitants
Elysium	Blessed Fields	Neutral good	The plane of peace and unadulterated goodness.	Guardinals—noble immortal humanoids with bestial features Pelor—God of the Sun
The Beastlands	Happy Hunting Grounds	Neutral good/chaotic good	The plane of idealized nature.	Animal lords—archetypal rulers of the various animal species Ehlonna—Goddess of forests
Arborea	Arvandor, Olympus, Olympian Glades	Chaotic good	Fey realm of passion, abundance and nature's caprice.	Eladrins Titans & gods of Greek mythology The Seldarine pantheon of elven gods
Ysgard	Asgard, Gladsheim, Heroic Domains	Chaotic neutral/chaotic good	The eternal battleground where true heroes prove their valor.	Gods of Norse mythology Kord—God of Strength Olidammara—God of Rogues
Limbo	Plane of Ever-Changing Chaos	Chaotic neutral	An alien, anarchistic and unpredictable plane.	Slaadi—frog-like creatures Githzerai—human-like monks
Pandemonium	Plane of Windswept Depths	Chaotic evil/chaotic neutral	An infinite network of pitch-black catacombs, with winds that drive men mad.	Erythnul—God of Hate and Slaughter
The Abyss	Plane of Infinite Layers	Chaotic evil	Evil lands of shocking perversity and unpredictable horror.	Demons—Mortal enemies of the devils Lolth—Spider Goddess of the drow Demogorgon—Beastly Prince of Demons Graz'zt—The Dark Prince Orcus—The Demon Lord of the Undead
Carceri	Tarterus, Tartarus	Neutral evil/chaotic evil	Liars, cheats and traitors are imprisoned here by their own deceptions.	Nerull—God of murder and darkness Demodands (Gehreleth) Yugoloths—presence largely confined to Othrys Titans exiled from Olympus
The Gray Waste	Hades	Neutral evil	Here, all emotion and compassion is drained away, until only hopelessness, selfishness and apathy remain as devils and demons meet and clash in a colorless expanse.	Yugoloths (Daemons) Demons and devils fight the Blood War on this plane Abbathor—Dwarven god of greed. Grey Sisters (night hags) Hades—Greek god of Death and the Underworld. Believed to be the most powerful deity on the plane. Mydianchlarus—Current Oinoloth of Khin-Oin. Iggwilv—Witch Queen of Perrenland, mother of the demigod Iuz. Infamous author of the blasphemous Demonomicon. The true idenity of Tasha, member of the infamous adventuring group known as the Company of Seven.
Gehenna	Plane of Bleak Eternity	Neutral evil/lawful evil	Volcanic realm of evil schemes and merciless cliffs.	Yugoloths (Daemons) Demons and devils fight the Blood War on this plane
Baator	Hell; The Nine Hells	Lawful evil	A realm of oppression, torment, and diabolical plots	Devils—mortal enemies of demons Tiamat—The Chromatic Dragon Kurtulmak—God of Kobolds Asmodeus—Lord of the Ninth.
Acheron	The Infernal Battlefield	Lawful neutral /lawful evil	A plane of constant, pointless war, where identity is forever lost.	Gods of the goblins and orcs, such as Gruumsh and Maglubiyet Wee Jas—Goddess of Death and Magic Hextor—God of Tyranny
Mechanus	Clockwork Nirvana	Lawful neutral	This clockwork plane is the ultimate in order; scholars and constructs live here.	Modrons, orderly geometrically-shaped beings Formians, warlike ant-like beings Inevitables, mechanical enforcers of all law
Arcadia	The Land of Perfect Order, Plane of Peaceable Kingdoms	Lawful neutral/lawful good	A peaceful place where all live in harmony; consequently, it is quite dull.	Saint Cuthbert—God of Wisdom and Common Sense
Mount Celestia	The Seven Heavens	Lawful good	Countless paladins and saints have ascended here.	Angels, archons, and devas Bahamut—The Platinum Dragon Heironeous—God of War and Valor Moradin—God of Dwarves Yondalla—Goddess of Halflings
Bytopia	Twin Paradises	Neutral good/lawful good	Gnomes and other industrious folk dwell here.	Garl Glittergold and other gods of the gnomes
The Outlands	Plane of Concordant Opposition	Neutral	The plane between all other outer planes.	Rilmani—Metallic skinned humanoids Boccob—God of Magic Obad-Hai—God of Nature The Lady of Pain—Protector of Sigil

Alternative theories

Theories of organization of the Outer Planes vary according to culture. Suel barbarian lands might see the plane of Ysgard as dominant over all others, in accordance with the importance they ascribe their god Kord there. Some of the lands of Oerik west of the Baklunish Basin see the planes not as separate regions, but as a single mass throughout which are scattered different agencies of the Celestial Bureaucracy, with the Celestial Emperor residing on one plane, and his Minister of State on another.

In the fourth edition of the Dungeons & Dragons game, the Outer Planes are replaced with (or renamed as) the Astral Dominions in the Astral Sea.

See also

• Category:Characters of the Great Wheel

Bibliography

• Richard Baker, Rob Heinsoo, and James Wyatt. Manual of the Planes. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2008.

• Cook, David "Zeb" Dungeon Master's Guide. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1989.

———. Planescape Campaign Setting. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1994.

• Cook, Monte. Dungeon Master's Guide v. 3.5. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2003.

———. The Planewalker's Handbook. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1996.

• Grubb, Jeff. A Player's Primer to the Outlands. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1995.
• -----.Manual of the Planes. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1987.

• Grubb, Jeff, David Noonan, and Bruce Cordell. Manual of the Planes. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2001.

• Gygax, Gary. Players Handbook. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1978.

• Jacobs, James, Erik Mona, and Ed Stark. Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2006.

• Laws, Robin D. and Robert J. Schwalb. Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants of the Nine Hells. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2006.

• McComb, Colin. Faces of Evil: The Fiends. Renton, WA: TSR, 1997.

———. On Hallowed Ground. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1996.

• McComb, Colin, and Monte Cook. Hellbound: The Blood War. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1996.

• McComb, Colin, Dale Donovan, and Monte Cook. Planes of Conflict. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1995.

• McComb, Colin, and Wolfgang Baur. Planes of Law. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1995.

• Noonan, David. Complete Divine. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2004.

• Pramas, Chris. Guide to Hell. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 1999.

———. The Vortex of Madness. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2000.

• Smith, Lester W., and Wolfgang Baur. Planes of Chaos. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1994.

• Ward, James M. and Robert J. Kuntz. Deities & Demigods. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1980.

  Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index

The Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index (EGI) is based on previous work of Jason Zavoda through '08, continued by numerous other fans. The EGI article has a list of sources, product names, abbreviations, and a link to the full, downloadable index.

Topic	Type	Description	Product	Page/Card/Image
OP1 Tales of the Outer Planes, AD&D 1e	Adventure		Dragon magazine #351	8, 21