D&D General the elemental planes are trash

[Hriston]

I thought about this some more and didn't make many changes, but I wanted to update what I posted here with something less tentative. So the idea is the elemental planes are arranged in a tetrahedron with the following faces:

1. Fire
2. Air
3. Water
4. Earth

(The other inner planes (Material, Feywild, and Shadowfell) would be located inside the tetrahedron).

At the edges of the tetrahedron, where two faces meet, are the following six para-elemental planes:

• Lightning between 1 and 2,
• Steam between 1 and 3,
• Magma between 1 and 4,
• Mist between 2 and 3,
• Dust between 2 and 4, and
• Mud between 3 and 4.

In addition, at the vertices of the tetrahedron, where three faces meet in a point, are the following four trans-elemental planes (renamed from quasi-elemental because I think it fits what I'm doing better):

• Storm where 1, 2, and 3 meet,
• Ash where 1, 2, and 4 meet,
• Volcano where 1, 3, and 4 meet, and
• Frost where 2, 3, and 4 meet.

Here's a sketched map to illustrate the concept:

.
I'm imagining this is on the inside of the tetrahedron.

 

[Yaarel]

Here's a sketched map to illustrate the concept. ...
I'm imagining this is on the inside of the tetrahedron.

I like how Cold (frost) is available to all three Air (snow), Water (ice), and Earth (solid).

 

[Hriston]

I like how Cold (frost) is available to all three Air (snow), Water (ice), and Earth (solid).

It's also the farthest point on the tetrahedron away from the Plane of Fire.

 

[Yaarel]

Earth-Fire-Air: Lightning (Fire plasma, Air storm, Earth metallic electrical wires)
Fire-Air: Radiant (Fire plasma sunlight, Air daylight sky)
Fire-Air-Water: Thunder (Fire explosion/shockwave, Air lightning, and Water pressure/tsunami)
Air-Water: ...
Air-Water-Earth: Cold (Air snow, Water ice, Earth solid)
Water-Earth: Weapon (Bludgeon, Pierce, Slash, erosion)
Water-Earth-Fire: Acid (Water liquid, Earth salts, Fire burn)
Earth-Fire: Fire (Fire flames, Earth smoke/soot/volcanism)
Fire-Water: Force? (immaterial, but analogously transparent like Water but energetic like Fire)
Air-Earth: ...

Air-Earth-Fire-Water − all in harmony: Positive Energy (living, healing)

Note, separately, Psychic is soul, and both Poison and Necrotic are body. Necrotic is literally dead cells like gangrene, but associates with corpses, whence antilife and Negative Void.

 

[NoBodyFound]

I'll add a few points that no one brought so far.

1) OG Quasiplans were representing "beginning" and "end" states for the elements:

Lightning strikes produce oxygen — that's why they are between Positive and Air.
When vapor condenses rain begins — so Steam is between Positive and Water.
Fire is ignited with light => Radiance, and minerals when mixed produce rocks => Minerals.

On the other hand, time grinds Earth to Dust, only Ashes remain from Fire, Salt is left when Water is gone, and Vacuum represents the death of Air as one stops breathing rising higher in the mountains.

2) OG Paraplanes represent physical, rather than conceptual mixtures. A plane of Ooze and Magma doesn't even need an explanation, Smoke emerges the moment you give an outing to the fire and serves as a kind of chimney to the plane of eternal burning, and Ice is what becomes of water exposed to the winds (perhaps it is a result of cooling that happens during evaporation, or perhaps it's just because winds make you feel cold).

3) Now this part is a speculation.

OG Elemental Planes were meant not as fully separate, but as a supplementary space to the Material plane.
Elementals (in their medieval version) are in charge of the laws of physics. Why do you think fire is burning? That's because Fire elementals make it!
Now, elemental planes are backrooms behind the stage. It's from here that elementals make the world spin and where they normally live, invisible as a postman.
They are not separate worlds but spaces within the Material plane that are normally inaccessible to humans — a different perspective or perhaps frequency partially overlapping with the "regular world", like that:

That's why they are called "planes". and when you ship between planes you don't open a hole into the parallel universe, but instead shift yourself

Therefore the plane of fire is not merely a place full of fires — it's a place that connects ALL fire on the Material plane into a single plain sheet (and possibly extends much farther than that).

 

[Crimson Longinus]

I don't use elemental planes, but I simply describe elementals as creatures formed from elemental forces. They tend to appear in and inhabit realms that are heavily influenced by those forces. After that? I just made a cosmology that made sense to me loosely based on the nine worlds of Norse Mythology.

Yeah, I do something similar. There are no elemental planes. Elementals are spirits residing on the "material plane," which is composed of mixture of elements. In some places the elements are unbalanced, and the area becomes overwhelmed by one element. In such places the elements spontaneously manifest and roam around.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

If I don't like the elemental planes I could say they are a cluster of astral realms created by forgotten deities from previous ages.

If the elemental planes aren't interesting it is because they are right places for adventures with low-level PCs.

Really I am more interested into paralemental and quasielemental monsters. For example if the players know the big bad guy is a necromancer then they will get ready with anti-undead and anti-infernal stuff, but if in the final fight the necromancer summons ash, vacoom, dust or salt then it would a(n unpleasant) surprise. Or grave/pyre/blood/mist elementals.

Maybe the quasielemental planes are like the Feywild and Shadowfell of the elemental planes.

 

[Corinnguard]

In some places the elements are unbalanced, and the area becomes overwhelmed by one element. In such places the elements spontaneously manifest and roam around.

I would include that any humanoid born in such areas would be born as a Genasi. So, in a location overwhelmed by Elemental Earth, you are likely to see a number of Earth Genasi births.

 

[Shardstone]

I'll add a few points that no one brought so far.

1) OG Quasiplans were representing "beginning" and "end" states for the elements:

Lightning strikes produce oxygen — that's why they are between Positive and Air.
When vapor condenses rain begins — so Steam is between Positive and Water.
Fire is ignited with light => Radiance, and minerals when mixed produce rocks => Minerals.

On the other hand, time grinds Earth to Dust, only Ashes remain from Fire, Salt is left when Water is gone, and Vacuum represents the death of Air as one stops breathing rising higher in the mountains.

2) OG Paraplanes represent physical, rather than conceptual mixtures. A plane of Ooze and Magma doesn't even need an explanation, Smoke emerges the moment you give an outing to the fire and serves as a kind of chimney to the plane of eternal burning, and Ice is what becomes of water exposed to the winds (perhaps it is a result of cooling that happens during evaporation, or perhaps it's just because winds make you feel cold).

3) Now this part is a speculation.

OG Elemental Planes were meant not as fully separate, but as a supplementary space to the Material plane.
Elementals (in their medieval version) are in charge of the laws of physics. Why do you think fire is burning? That's because Fire elementals make it!
Now, elemental planes are backrooms behind the stage. It's from here that elementals make the world spin and where they normally live, invisible as a postman.
They are not separate worlds but spaces within the Material plane that are normally inaccessible to humans — a different perspective or perhaps frequency partially overlapping with the "regular world", like that:
View attachment 377509



That's why they are called "planes". and when you ship between planes you don't open a hole into the parallel universe, but instead shift yourself

Therefore the plane of fire is not merely a place full of fires — it's a place that connects ALL fire on the Material plane into a single plain sheet (and possibly extends much farther than that).

Amazing

 

[Xeviat]

I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air. Much that once was 4th Edition is lost, for none now live who remember it.

Alchemically, Water+Earth = ice could work. Water is cold and wet, Earth is cold and dry. But where does that take us?

Earth and Fire are both Dry, but they can be hot and cold. Metal is dry, and it can be hot and cold. Metal is forged from ore, refined with heat. So it can work.

Air and Fire are both warm, but what is warm and also wet and dry? Thunder storms are usually hot and humid, so that works.

Air and Water are both wet. What is wet but also warm or cold? Clouds, steam, mist, weather, rain could all work.

My own personal 8 elements are this, though: Air, Lightning, Fire, Metal, Earth, Wood, Water, Ice, and back to Air.