Michael Morris
First Post
You guys might find this interesting, being an alternate way the planes can be connected...
Carthasana is the world that constitutes the "Material Plane" of the Dusk setting. It is an orb not unlike our own within a solar system that obeys many (though not all) of the same physical laws as our own.
Beyond the physical world there are 6 planes in Carthasana's multiverse. They are the Aether, Aborea, Shun, Sodrea, Valrea and Balcridan. Five of these correspond more or less directly to the colors of magic in the setting, and the Aether serves much the same function as the Etheral and Astral planes do for other worlds.
Since much of this material is templated and based on the Manual of the Planes, it is not open content. I hope that someday WotC will release the Manual to the SRD, but until then this has to stay off the main site.
Aether Plane
It is the place of possibility
It is the conduit of magic itself.
It is literally the stuff that dreams are made of.
The Aether plane is the only transitive plane of Carthasana. As such, any spell that expels someone into the "ethereal" or "astral" planes translocates a character into the Aether. But while the Aether follows each in function, it is quite unlike either in form.
The Aether plane is most often simply called the aether. It is completely unlit by light as we understand it - but it is not dark. Anything living or magical on the Aether or the Material plane lights the plane. Indeed, a detect magic spell functions by allowing a character to see into the Aether - creatures on the aether can note magical effects without needing to use any spell and at any distance.
Vision onto the Material from the Aether is not as clouded as the foggy Ethereal plane of other worlds, but it is not a clear vision. Since living things on the material plane are providing the light, it's akin to trying to make out details of lightbulb's wiring while it is on. Further, nonliving things have no real contrast or reflective color. A book on the Material cannot be read from the Aether because it's letters are the same color as the page as seen from the Aether. Signs suffer much the same problems.
Non-living material on the Material plane provides no real barrier to creatures on the Aether, but living things are impassible, as are force effect spells. Abjurational wards bleed onto the Aether to present barriers appropriate to their type - a Magic Circle against Evil is an impassible barrier to evil creatures on the Aether, nor can they see within it's confines.
If perception or passage is blocked on the Aether, it is blocked to transitive and scrying spells as well - most of the time. A castle tower covered in Ivy is protected from teleportations to it's interior, an evil caster cannot scry into a magic circle against evil and so on.
Aether Traits
It is easy to forget about the aether as a plane in its own right since most creatures there are travelling to or from somewhere else.
* No Gravity
* Normal Time
* Infinite Size
* Alterable Morphic: There is little on the plane itself to alter though.
* No Elemental or Energy Traits
* Mildly Neutral Aligned
Aether Magic
Magic in the Aether is normal, for the most part. Effects that manifest on the Aether affect all creatures there normally, but have difficulty affecting Material creatures. It can occur.
A nonmagical creature which has no magical items is completely safe from events on the Aether. Magical creatures and magical items can be affected since their power comes from the Aether.
Spell effects can be targetted from the aether - an ethereal creature can attempt to dispel a spell on the Material plane. This is more difficult than normal (a -5 circumstance penalty is applied to the dispel roll). Magic items can likewise be attacked from the Aether with the same penalty.
Personal effect spells, spell like abilities and supernatural abilities can be dangerous to use on occasion since they open a creature to attack from the Aether as follows: Force spells can target creatures on the Aether from the material plane if they can be targetting, but not vice-versa unless the creature is a magical beast or is using a personal effect spell.
Spells on the Aether are subject to being dispelled from the Material plane as if they were on the Material plane.
A dispel evil / chaos / good/ etc. spell that is successfully cast on a non-native creature on the Aether drives the creature back to the point that it entered the Aether upon.
Aether Links
The Aether links up with pretty much everything. It is coexistant to all planes in the Carthasanan multiverse. Movement "up" from the Material plane while on the Aether will eventually bring one to the greater five planes, though the journey can take many days. Fortunately the Aether is riddled with pathways, called by some "ley lines" or "silver paths" and so on. These paths can allow for near-instantaneous travel to any destination along their route. As a rule "ley lines" is a term used for the paths which run parrallel to a given plane such as the Material or Sodrea. "Silver Paths" run perpendicular to the Material plane and great planes and facilitate travel through the Aether to the different planes.
Again, it is possible to travel through the Aether to other destinations without recourse to the paths, but this is dangerous. The "Light" given off by light and magic is not that bright and dies as one moves "upward." The regions beyond the light are known as the "deep aether" and can keep someone lost for an eternity. Whole undiscovered planes and gateways to other multiverses are said to lie within the deep aether, but few indeed are the travellers with the courage or tenacity to travel these vast stretches.
Aether Inhabitants
Creatures that would inhabit the Astral or Etheral planes of other worlds inhabit the Aether instead in Carthasana's multiverse. Given their wide ranging powers, they can be difficult to deal with and often dangerous to meet.
Movement and Combat
Movment through the Aether is no different than the Ethereal of other worlds.
Features of the Aether
The Aether is usually divided up into the Near and Far by scholars who study it since each has particular characterisitics even though both are part of the same plane.
The Near Aether is that region of the Aether that is within sight of the Material plane (or any other plane touched by the Aether). Beyond the scenery afforded by the nearby plane, it is relatively empty. Phantasmal sites are the most common feature here. Structures destroyed during massive cataclysms often transfer an image of themselves onto the Aether. As long as some semblance of the original structure exists on the material plane, the structure in its full glory often exists on the Aether.
The Far Aether is a different matter. Here pocket domains of various sizes are known to exist, some of which are nothing more than the remnants of particularly strong dreams or nightmares. This area is sometimes called "The Dreaming" due to this trait. Despite its often whimsical nature and startlingly quick changes, this area is not chaotically aligned.
The Greater Five
The planes of Aborea, Balcridan, Shun, Sodrea and Valrea make up the greater five. Each one corresponds roughly to a color of magic (Green, Blue, Red, Black and White repectively). Together they form a cylinder around the material plane that is buffered by the Aether. Travel around the ring takes about a hundred years at normal non-flying paces, but the north south dimenisions of the Five is believed to be infinite.
The Greater Five fill the role of both inner and outer planes for Carthasana.
Common Traits
The great five share several traits First, each one can be divided into three zones - a pure center zone and two transitive zones where each touches its neighbor. Unlike the outer planes of the Greyhawk mythos it is quite possible to walke from one of the greater five into the other and quite impossible to ascertain the exact point where one plane ends and the next begins.
* Normal Gravity
* Normal Time
* Infinite Size (N to S) or finte size (E to W)
* Divinely Morphic - The greater five are especially susceptable to the changes imparted by deities since no deity needs the approval of another to impart a change to these planes whereas they must have approval to effect a major change on the material plane.
* Elemental & Energy Traits. Shun holds the fire and earth elemental traits. Balcridan has the air and water elemental traits. Sodrea has a mild negative energy trait, while Valrea has a mild positive energy trait. Only Aborea is lacking in these traits.
* Alignment Traits: Most of the greater five has no alignment traits, however the regions of them controlled by gods often do.
* Magic: The color of magic is VERY important in the greater five. Many spells are impared, some will not function at all.
Aborea
It is the forest without end.
It is the cradle of life itself.
It is the crucible of evolution
Aborea is the plane which espouses green magic. It is bordered to the west by Valrea and to the east by Shun. Much of it is an endless forest which from the air looks like a sea. Small hills and especially large trees break up this monotony, and the locations of these hills features directly correspond to islands within Balcridan and hills within the swamps of Sodrea.
Almost every creature that ever lived or ever shall life is somewhere in Aborea, provided they aren't better adapted to live on another plane.
Aborea is wild and untamable. Plants and animals here grow to collosal sizes and at startlingly quick rates.
Green magic is freely cast in Aborea - when a green spell is cast the spellcaster either keeps the preparation or simply loses no spell points. Blue and Black spells cost double normal spell points, or must be prepared in slots two levels higher than normal to be cast if spell point rules are not used.
Balcridan
It is the endless sea
It is deeper than thought and time
It is the cradle of creativity and artifice
Balcridan embodies blue magic. It is, for the most part, a featureless sea with an endless sky. There are islands here, and they correspond exactly to hilltops in Aborea and Mountains in the sand seas of Shun.
Beneath the waves Balcridan is stronger water elementally aligned. Above them the plane has the strong air element trait. The clouds of Balcridan are solid with castles inhabited by Djinni nobles of great power.
Balcridan is neighbored by Valrea and Sodrea, the two most antagonistic planes of the five. It is perhaps fortunate that the oceans of Balcridan present an all but impassible barrier for the earth bound fiends and celestials alike, and the djinn have enough strength to prevent both from flying through Balcridan to harass and harangue each other, though this does occur since Balcridan is the shortest point. Valrea lies to Balcridan's east and Sodrea to its west.
Balcridan is unique among the greater five in that the entire plane has one feature influenced by it's neighbors.. As one moves from Valrea to Sodrea the sea goes from pure fresh water to a salt level that kills all life. The sky changes from clear to stormy and fogger as Sodrea is approached.
Blue magic is cast freely in Balcridan as Green Magic is freely cast in Aborea. Green and Red magic is hindered in the same manner.
Shun
It is the fire that never dies
It is the furnace that cannot be cooled
It is chaos made form.
Shun is often called the furnace, for good reason. It is, for the most part, a desert that has never known rain, with rolling sand dunes that look like brown waves. Mountains stick out of thes dunes from time to time, and their locations correspond exactly to islands in Balcridan or the small hills of Valrea.
Shun embodies the might of red magic, and it shows in the smokey red skies which angrily arc with lightning bolts of fire and flame. The "clouds" of shun are composed of smoke, brimstone and fire. While creatures from the material plane can live on the desert floor, travel into the mountains or the sky can be perilous from the fire.
Shun has a strong fire elemental trait in the sky and a strong earth elemental trait beneath the sand which quickly gives way to rock of every possible type
Shun is neighbored by Sodrea and Aborea. The firestorms are most violent near Sodrea and the sand gives way to bubbling mud and tar pits. Near Aborea the sand dissapears into a a more solid floor desert. The border between the two planes is the most sudden of the five - the forest runs up right to the edge of the desert.
Red magic is cast freely in Shun, white and blue spells are hindered.
Sodrea
It is the pit of despair
It is the swamp of death
It is the throne of death ascendant
Sodrea is the seat of black magic. Much of the plane is unlit, but where light to visit here the terrain would be much like the Floridia everglades with occasional islands in the swamp. These islands correspond exactly to hills in both Aborea and Valrea.
Sodrea is only lit near its neighbors. Near Balcridan it is incredibly cold, while near Shun it is unbearably hot and humid though as the desert approaches the moisture fades. While life is here, it is in decay and it seems to feed on inself.
Sodrea has a mild negative energy trait. Black magic is ascendant here - white and green magic is suppressed.
Valrea
It is the field of peace.
It is the sacred ground of purity.
It is the last and greatest bastion of hope.
Valrea is the plane of white magic. It is dotted by townships, and these correpond to mountains in Shun and hills in Sodrea. The plane is fairly lit at all time, and pleasant in weather and form. Material plane visitors often consider it heavenly and most desirable among the great five. This is only natural, as it is mildly positively aligned.
Valrea's neighbors are Aborea and Balcridan. Several rivers run out of Aborea's rain forests to cross the plains of Valrea on their way to the sea. Of the "enemy planes" of the Great Five, Aborea and Balcridan's residents seem the most content to leave one another alone, increasing the tranquility and peace of Valrea. Aborea's end on the side with Valrea is not sudden as it is with Shun. The trees break up into groves and cloves with high grassland, giving way to the grasses that dominate much of the plains. Balcridan's appearance is more sudden but subtle all the same, a sandy sea shore that has never known a storm and whose waters are pure instead of salty.
White magic is ascendant in Valrea and can be cast freely. Black and Red magic is hindrered here.
Afterword
Well, that's this very long, lengthy draft. Since it is planar in nature, I hope you don't find it off topic - and I apologize if it is off topic. Comments, questions and additions are welcome.
Carthasana is the world that constitutes the "Material Plane" of the Dusk setting. It is an orb not unlike our own within a solar system that obeys many (though not all) of the same physical laws as our own.
Beyond the physical world there are 6 planes in Carthasana's multiverse. They are the Aether, Aborea, Shun, Sodrea, Valrea and Balcridan. Five of these correspond more or less directly to the colors of magic in the setting, and the Aether serves much the same function as the Etheral and Astral planes do for other worlds.
Since much of this material is templated and based on the Manual of the Planes, it is not open content. I hope that someday WotC will release the Manual to the SRD, but until then this has to stay off the main site.
Aether Plane
It is the place of possibility
It is the conduit of magic itself.
It is literally the stuff that dreams are made of.
The Aether plane is the only transitive plane of Carthasana. As such, any spell that expels someone into the "ethereal" or "astral" planes translocates a character into the Aether. But while the Aether follows each in function, it is quite unlike either in form.
The Aether plane is most often simply called the aether. It is completely unlit by light as we understand it - but it is not dark. Anything living or magical on the Aether or the Material plane lights the plane. Indeed, a detect magic spell functions by allowing a character to see into the Aether - creatures on the aether can note magical effects without needing to use any spell and at any distance.
Vision onto the Material from the Aether is not as clouded as the foggy Ethereal plane of other worlds, but it is not a clear vision. Since living things on the material plane are providing the light, it's akin to trying to make out details of lightbulb's wiring while it is on. Further, nonliving things have no real contrast or reflective color. A book on the Material cannot be read from the Aether because it's letters are the same color as the page as seen from the Aether. Signs suffer much the same problems.
Non-living material on the Material plane provides no real barrier to creatures on the Aether, but living things are impassible, as are force effect spells. Abjurational wards bleed onto the Aether to present barriers appropriate to their type - a Magic Circle against Evil is an impassible barrier to evil creatures on the Aether, nor can they see within it's confines.
If perception or passage is blocked on the Aether, it is blocked to transitive and scrying spells as well - most of the time. A castle tower covered in Ivy is protected from teleportations to it's interior, an evil caster cannot scry into a magic circle against evil and so on.
Aether Traits
It is easy to forget about the aether as a plane in its own right since most creatures there are travelling to or from somewhere else.
* No Gravity
* Normal Time
* Infinite Size
* Alterable Morphic: There is little on the plane itself to alter though.
* No Elemental or Energy Traits
* Mildly Neutral Aligned
Aether Magic
Magic in the Aether is normal, for the most part. Effects that manifest on the Aether affect all creatures there normally, but have difficulty affecting Material creatures. It can occur.
A nonmagical creature which has no magical items is completely safe from events on the Aether. Magical creatures and magical items can be affected since their power comes from the Aether.
Spell effects can be targetted from the aether - an ethereal creature can attempt to dispel a spell on the Material plane. This is more difficult than normal (a -5 circumstance penalty is applied to the dispel roll). Magic items can likewise be attacked from the Aether with the same penalty.
Personal effect spells, spell like abilities and supernatural abilities can be dangerous to use on occasion since they open a creature to attack from the Aether as follows: Force spells can target creatures on the Aether from the material plane if they can be targetting, but not vice-versa unless the creature is a magical beast or is using a personal effect spell.
Spells on the Aether are subject to being dispelled from the Material plane as if they were on the Material plane.
A dispel evil / chaos / good/ etc. spell that is successfully cast on a non-native creature on the Aether drives the creature back to the point that it entered the Aether upon.
Aether Links
The Aether links up with pretty much everything. It is coexistant to all planes in the Carthasanan multiverse. Movement "up" from the Material plane while on the Aether will eventually bring one to the greater five planes, though the journey can take many days. Fortunately the Aether is riddled with pathways, called by some "ley lines" or "silver paths" and so on. These paths can allow for near-instantaneous travel to any destination along their route. As a rule "ley lines" is a term used for the paths which run parrallel to a given plane such as the Material or Sodrea. "Silver Paths" run perpendicular to the Material plane and great planes and facilitate travel through the Aether to the different planes.
Again, it is possible to travel through the Aether to other destinations without recourse to the paths, but this is dangerous. The "Light" given off by light and magic is not that bright and dies as one moves "upward." The regions beyond the light are known as the "deep aether" and can keep someone lost for an eternity. Whole undiscovered planes and gateways to other multiverses are said to lie within the deep aether, but few indeed are the travellers with the courage or tenacity to travel these vast stretches.
Aether Inhabitants
Creatures that would inhabit the Astral or Etheral planes of other worlds inhabit the Aether instead in Carthasana's multiverse. Given their wide ranging powers, they can be difficult to deal with and often dangerous to meet.
Movement and Combat
Movment through the Aether is no different than the Ethereal of other worlds.
Features of the Aether
The Aether is usually divided up into the Near and Far by scholars who study it since each has particular characterisitics even though both are part of the same plane.
The Near Aether is that region of the Aether that is within sight of the Material plane (or any other plane touched by the Aether). Beyond the scenery afforded by the nearby plane, it is relatively empty. Phantasmal sites are the most common feature here. Structures destroyed during massive cataclysms often transfer an image of themselves onto the Aether. As long as some semblance of the original structure exists on the material plane, the structure in its full glory often exists on the Aether.
The Far Aether is a different matter. Here pocket domains of various sizes are known to exist, some of which are nothing more than the remnants of particularly strong dreams or nightmares. This area is sometimes called "The Dreaming" due to this trait. Despite its often whimsical nature and startlingly quick changes, this area is not chaotically aligned.
The Greater Five
The planes of Aborea, Balcridan, Shun, Sodrea and Valrea make up the greater five. Each one corresponds roughly to a color of magic (Green, Blue, Red, Black and White repectively). Together they form a cylinder around the material plane that is buffered by the Aether. Travel around the ring takes about a hundred years at normal non-flying paces, but the north south dimenisions of the Five is believed to be infinite.
The Greater Five fill the role of both inner and outer planes for Carthasana.
Common Traits
The great five share several traits First, each one can be divided into three zones - a pure center zone and two transitive zones where each touches its neighbor. Unlike the outer planes of the Greyhawk mythos it is quite possible to walke from one of the greater five into the other and quite impossible to ascertain the exact point where one plane ends and the next begins.
* Normal Gravity
* Normal Time
* Infinite Size (N to S) or finte size (E to W)
* Divinely Morphic - The greater five are especially susceptable to the changes imparted by deities since no deity needs the approval of another to impart a change to these planes whereas they must have approval to effect a major change on the material plane.
* Elemental & Energy Traits. Shun holds the fire and earth elemental traits. Balcridan has the air and water elemental traits. Sodrea has a mild negative energy trait, while Valrea has a mild positive energy trait. Only Aborea is lacking in these traits.
* Alignment Traits: Most of the greater five has no alignment traits, however the regions of them controlled by gods often do.
* Magic: The color of magic is VERY important in the greater five. Many spells are impared, some will not function at all.
Aborea
It is the forest without end.
It is the cradle of life itself.
It is the crucible of evolution
Aborea is the plane which espouses green magic. It is bordered to the west by Valrea and to the east by Shun. Much of it is an endless forest which from the air looks like a sea. Small hills and especially large trees break up this monotony, and the locations of these hills features directly correspond to islands within Balcridan and hills within the swamps of Sodrea.
Almost every creature that ever lived or ever shall life is somewhere in Aborea, provided they aren't better adapted to live on another plane.
Aborea is wild and untamable. Plants and animals here grow to collosal sizes and at startlingly quick rates.
Green magic is freely cast in Aborea - when a green spell is cast the spellcaster either keeps the preparation or simply loses no spell points. Blue and Black spells cost double normal spell points, or must be prepared in slots two levels higher than normal to be cast if spell point rules are not used.
Balcridan
It is the endless sea
It is deeper than thought and time
It is the cradle of creativity and artifice
Balcridan embodies blue magic. It is, for the most part, a featureless sea with an endless sky. There are islands here, and they correspond exactly to hilltops in Aborea and Mountains in the sand seas of Shun.
Beneath the waves Balcridan is stronger water elementally aligned. Above them the plane has the strong air element trait. The clouds of Balcridan are solid with castles inhabited by Djinni nobles of great power.
Balcridan is neighbored by Valrea and Sodrea, the two most antagonistic planes of the five. It is perhaps fortunate that the oceans of Balcridan present an all but impassible barrier for the earth bound fiends and celestials alike, and the djinn have enough strength to prevent both from flying through Balcridan to harass and harangue each other, though this does occur since Balcridan is the shortest point. Valrea lies to Balcridan's east and Sodrea to its west.
Balcridan is unique among the greater five in that the entire plane has one feature influenced by it's neighbors.. As one moves from Valrea to Sodrea the sea goes from pure fresh water to a salt level that kills all life. The sky changes from clear to stormy and fogger as Sodrea is approached.
Blue magic is cast freely in Balcridan as Green Magic is freely cast in Aborea. Green and Red magic is hindered in the same manner.
Shun
It is the fire that never dies
It is the furnace that cannot be cooled
It is chaos made form.
Shun is often called the furnace, for good reason. It is, for the most part, a desert that has never known rain, with rolling sand dunes that look like brown waves. Mountains stick out of thes dunes from time to time, and their locations correspond exactly to islands in Balcridan or the small hills of Valrea.
Shun embodies the might of red magic, and it shows in the smokey red skies which angrily arc with lightning bolts of fire and flame. The "clouds" of shun are composed of smoke, brimstone and fire. While creatures from the material plane can live on the desert floor, travel into the mountains or the sky can be perilous from the fire.
Shun has a strong fire elemental trait in the sky and a strong earth elemental trait beneath the sand which quickly gives way to rock of every possible type
Shun is neighbored by Sodrea and Aborea. The firestorms are most violent near Sodrea and the sand gives way to bubbling mud and tar pits. Near Aborea the sand dissapears into a a more solid floor desert. The border between the two planes is the most sudden of the five - the forest runs up right to the edge of the desert.
Red magic is cast freely in Shun, white and blue spells are hindered.
Sodrea
It is the pit of despair
It is the swamp of death
It is the throne of death ascendant
Sodrea is the seat of black magic. Much of the plane is unlit, but where light to visit here the terrain would be much like the Floridia everglades with occasional islands in the swamp. These islands correspond exactly to hills in both Aborea and Valrea.
Sodrea is only lit near its neighbors. Near Balcridan it is incredibly cold, while near Shun it is unbearably hot and humid though as the desert approaches the moisture fades. While life is here, it is in decay and it seems to feed on inself.
Sodrea has a mild negative energy trait. Black magic is ascendant here - white and green magic is suppressed.
Valrea
It is the field of peace.
It is the sacred ground of purity.
It is the last and greatest bastion of hope.
Valrea is the plane of white magic. It is dotted by townships, and these correpond to mountains in Shun and hills in Sodrea. The plane is fairly lit at all time, and pleasant in weather and form. Material plane visitors often consider it heavenly and most desirable among the great five. This is only natural, as it is mildly positively aligned.
Valrea's neighbors are Aborea and Balcridan. Several rivers run out of Aborea's rain forests to cross the plains of Valrea on their way to the sea. Of the "enemy planes" of the Great Five, Aborea and Balcridan's residents seem the most content to leave one another alone, increasing the tranquility and peace of Valrea. Aborea's end on the side with Valrea is not sudden as it is with Shun. The trees break up into groves and cloves with high grassland, giving way to the grasses that dominate much of the plains. Balcridan's appearance is more sudden but subtle all the same, a sandy sea shore that has never known a storm and whose waters are pure instead of salty.
White magic is ascendant in Valrea and can be cast freely. Black and Red magic is hindrered here.
Afterword
Well, that's this very long, lengthy draft. Since it is planar in nature, I hope you don't find it off topic - and I apologize if it is off topic. Comments, questions and additions are welcome.
