D&D 5E Elemental Border Planes

[urLordy]

I like. I see a sort of precedent for this with the myths of Muspelheim and Jotunheim. Instead of fire giants and other giants being exported to the Outer planes across the Astral and associated divinities, they can be annexed to Midgard.

It would also be very easy to have sections of Elemental Deeps that can replicate the experience of pure elemental exploration.

 

[urLordy]

Heck, the most in-depth coverage of the topic with the most unique locations to visit was Monte's 2e 'Inner Planes' book. Provide us something that takes that source fully into account and give us something that has both a sense of wonder--

I remember that sense of wonder when the book told me that, on some purely physical elemental planes, the direction of gravity was literally up to your imagination. I really wondered about that (but not in a good way).

I like how border elemental planes would dispense with that sort of non-sense, by grounding the elemental planes closer to Earth with relatable physical laws.

 

[Jeff Carlsen]

I can see the Shadowfell working as the borderlands of the plane of shadow as well. But the Shadowfell might also work as the border between the mortal realm and the afterlife(s) of the outer planes. While mortals use magic to travel directly, the souls need to walk to the other world via the Shadowfell.

I also think the Feywild works best as its own place. It doesn't need to be a border. It's just Faerie or the twin of the mortal world.

Certainly, they could be. I've always imagined that the Shadowfell was the replacement for the plane of shadow, which itself has had a strange history throughout editions.

I'm running on the assumption that these two planes should be stolen from the World Axis and inserted into the Great Wheel. There are two things that make me see the Shadowfell and the Feywild as border planes. First, the abundance of undeath and life in each, respectively, which would be a natural occurrence to being close to the negative and positive energy planes. Second, the feeling of joy that comes from the Feywild, and of dispair that comes from the Shadowfell also fit in this model.

Finally, in the Great Wheel, the path of souls is outward. It's one element of the Shadowfell that can't be reconciled easily.

 

[Shemeska]

I remember that sense of wonder when the book told me that, on some purely physical elemental planes, the direction of gravity was literally up to your imagination. I really wondered about that (but not in a good way).

I like how border elemental planes would dispense with that sort of non-sense, by grounding the elemental planes closer to Earth with relatable physical laws.

YMMV, but that sort of "non-sense" is why I enjoy D&D's planes so much.

 

[urLordy]

YMMV, but that sort of "non-sense" is why I enjoy D&D's planes so much.

Don't get me wrong, I like the extraplanar fantasy too. Thought-powered movement on the mental Astral plane - cool! Thought-shaped movement in a plane of physical incarnate - ah em uh.

 

[Shemeska]

Certainly, they could be. I've always imagined that the Shadowfell was the replacement for the plane of shadow, which itself has had a strange history throughout editions.

Very often with the 4e World Axis cosmology, I found that it seemed that the designers really wanted to do their own thing and not be bound to prior D&D planar lore, except that they still wanted all of the creatures from past editions to be there in 4e. Thus you have some monsters sticking out like sore thumbs because they don't fit very well taken out of their original context, and in other cases the plane doesn't so much seem like it was designed around a central concept so much as it was there to have monsters who had their 1e/2e/3e plane of origin excised in 4e.

The Shadowfell seems to be a weird mashup of the Plane of Shadow, the Negative Energy Plane, and some vague Greek Underworld symbolism thrown in. The Elemental Chaos being the Abyss, the Elemental Planes, and Limbo boiled into one (though possibly only the latter because the slaadi and githzerai had to found a place somewhere with Limbo being removed).

I just hope they avoid some of the more IMO awkward admixtures that we saw from having to force-fit classic D&D into a cosmology alien to much of it.

 

[TwoSix]

I can see the Shadowfell working as the borderlands of the plane of shadow as well. But the Shadowfell might also work as the border between the mortal realm and the afterlife(s) of the outer planes. While mortals use magic to travel directly, the souls need to walk to the other world via the Shadowfell.

I also think the Feywild works best as its own place. It doesn't need to be a border. It's just Faerie or the twin of the mortal world.

Or the Feywild is the border plane between the Prime and the Elemental Planes. Pure creation, magic in its raw, primal form...the Feywild and the Elemental Planes go together pretty well in my view.

 

[Nymrohd]

I think they need to make clear the concept of what an elemental really is before dealing with their planes. What is an earth elemental? Is it an animate piece of rock that just really likes being a rock? Is it a spirit of earth, tied to a specific location? Is it an earth creature whose personality is shaped by the connotations we give to the earth (stable but static, strong, immovable, stubborn or whatever else you can identify as an earth characteristic).
This will help define the planes themselves. If elementals are spirits embodying elemental features, then the planes need to have loads of them (no massive plane of near-solid earth since if so, how do you separate features on it for the elementals to embody). If they are philosophical analogs to their element, then elements should be as pure as possible.
The Inner Planes are supposed to be the planes of matter. Perhaps the best option would be the very first one; elementals are just animate elements with no instinct beyond being immutable and maintaining their surroundings pure. But that just goes against the planes having any features and certainly against outsider races on the Inner Planes who have different agendas. If Akadi wants the Plane of Air to be pure air, undiluted by anything, he'd be hostile to the djinn, wouldn't he? Yet his relation is neutral at worst.
A final issue is the gamist perspective. I agree that the Inner Planes as a grind (prepare the proper spells and maintain them or die!) are damn boring. . .

P.S. Personally I prefer the Elemental plane like the elemental chaos sans the Abyss and Limbo parts. A varied environment with realms of pure elemental matter in it. Limbo after all really needs a redefinition beyond chaotic elemental plane; that just is not as chaotic as Mechanus is orderly.