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See plane (cosmology) for the common meaning of plane as used in cosmology.
In the standard cosmology of the Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game, the planes of existence are alternate planes or dimensions. They can be grouped into three basic categories: the spatial or substantial planes (containing solid matter, free-standing energy and living creatures); the transitive planes (connecting the other planes and generally containing little, if any, solid matter or native life); and the demiplanes (minor, artificial planes, often possessing qualities of both).
The planes as a whole are usually presented as a series of concentric circles, with alternating spatial and transitive planes; from the center outwards, they are ordered as follows: Inner, Ethereal, Material, Astral, and Outer Planes. (The Shadow Plane and the Dimension of Time, if they are included, are separate from the others, and usually represented as being connected to the Material Plane.) Demiplanes, although most commonly connected to the Ethereal Plane, can be found attached to any plane. All planes, save the demiplanes, are infinite in scope and size.
Spatial planes
Transitive planes
Astral Plane
The Astral Plane is the plane of thought, memory, and psychic energy; it is where gods go when they die or are forgotten (or, most likely, both). It is a barren place with only rare bits of solid matter; some creatures, such as the tyrannous githyanki, use the petrified corpses of dead gods as floating fortresses. The Astral Plane is unique in that it is infinitesimal instead of infinite; there is no space or time here, though both catch up with you when you leave. The souls of the newly dead from the Prime Material Plane pass through here on their way to the afterlife or Outer Planes.
The most common feature of the Astral Plane is the silver cords of travellers. These cords are the lifelines that keep travellers of the plane from becoming lost, stretching all the way back to the traveller's point of origin.
Ethereal Plane
The Ethereal is often likened to an ocean, but rather than water it is a sea of boundless possibility. It consists of two parts: the Border Ethereal which connect to the Inner and Prime Material planes, and the Deep Ethereal plane which acts as the incubator to many potential demiplanes and other proto-magical realms. From a Border Ethereal plane a traveler can see a misty grey-scale version of the plane from which they are traveling; however, each plane is only connected to its own Border Ethereal, which means inter-planar travel necessitates entering the Deep Ethereal and then exiting into the destination plane's own Border Etheral plane. Many demiplanes, such as that which houses the Ravenloft setting, can be found in the Deep Ethereal plane; most demiplanes are born here, and many fade back into nothingness here.
In Dungeons & Dragons Third Edition, there is canonically one Ethereal Plane attached to each Material Plane; use of the Deep Ethereal is an optional rule.
Shadow Plane
The Plane of Shadow was once a demiplane but recently became a full-fledged transitive plane. It is, as one would expect, an empty plane of darkness, where shadows are cast without any source of light. The Shadow Plane connects to other planes not only through portals but also through darkness; this is especially true on the Material Plane, where a monster or mage might use the shadows as a form of teleportation.
Dimension of Time
Another recent conversion from demiplane to transitive plane is the Dimension of Time. It is a plane of temporal energy, where physical travel can result in time travel.
Demiplanes
Demiplanes are minor planes, most of which are artificial. Demiplanes are commonly created by demigods and extremely powerful wizards and technologists. Naturally-occurring demiplanes are rare; most such demiplanes are actually fragments of other planes that have been somehow split apart from their parent plane. Demiplanes are often constructed to resemble the Material Plane, though a few — mostly those created by non-humans — are quite alien.
The most notable demiplane is the Demiplane of Dread, the setting of Ravenloft.
Portals, Conduits and Gates
Portals, conduits and gates are all openings leading from one location to another; some lead to locations in the same plane, others to different planes entirely. Although the three terms are often used interchangeably, there are notable distinctions. Portals are bounded by pre-existing openings (usually doors and arches); if that opening is destroyed, the portal is as well. Portals also require portal keys to open; a key is usually a physical object, but it can also be an action or a state of being. Naturally occurring portals will often appear at random, especially in Sigil; some portals only exist for a brief period of time, or shift from one location to another. Conduits are also naturally occurring, but they are natural phenomena, the planar equivalent of whirlpools and tornados. Conduits are only known to occur in the Astral and Ethereal Planes. A type of conduit known as a color pool is a common gateway from the Astral Plane to the Outer Planes. A vortex is a link from a Prime Material world to the Inner Planes, which begin in areas of intense concentration of some element (e.g., the heart of a volcano might be a vortex to the Plane of Fire). Gates are portals that are not bounded by physical apertures; gates are rare, and usually appear as a result of magical spells and rare planar phenomena. Lastly, planar bleeding occurs when regions of two planes coexist; such phenomena are usually short-lived, and disastrous for their environs.
Alternative interpretations
In the context of the game, there are many theories of the organisation of the planes. For instance, in some lands it is believed that there are multiple Prime Material planes, rather than one containing all the worlds or planets. In these lands the Ethereal planes are believed to surround each Prime Material plane.
See also Alternative theories of the Outer planes.
History
In the earliest versions of Dungeons & Dragons, the concept of the Inner, Ethereal, Prime Material, Astral and Outer Planes was introduced; at the time there were only four Inner Planes and no set number of Outer Planes. In the original Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Masters Guide (First Edition), the full canonical layout of the planes was presented for the first time; this material was expanded upon in the original Manual of the Planes. The Plane of Shadow was a demiplane here, rather than a separate plane, and most of the Outer Planes went by different names. Many Outer Planes were renamed in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Second Edition in the Monstrous Compendium supplement for the Outer Planes, as publisher TSR, Inc. sought to distance itself from terms like "Hell" and "Heaven" that could cause controversy among Christian fundamentalists. In the Third Edition Manual of the Planes, the old and new names were combined together, the Demiplane of Shadow was promoted to the Plane of Shadow, the Prime Material Plane was shortened to the Material Plane, and it was stated that there was one Ethereal Plane connected to each Material Plane.
See also
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