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Dungeons and Dragons has extremely detailed lore, with the official “canon” including details of the story, its own pantheon, and a variety of settings for use by dungeon masters. But the game goes way beyond a set of continents to explore – Dungeons and Dragons takes place in a multiverse, with multiple realities and intersecting dimensions known as the Airplanes. Airplanes come in many different forms, and each is unique.
The degree to which they are actually seen by players can vary depending on the game. An ambitious DM may try to create an adventure in which players travel across multiple planes, but their impact is more likely to be indirectly felt on the frame of the game. game. For example, if a monster from another plane makes an appearance. There are even reference books, such as Strahd’s curse and Nature beyond the light of the witches who provide material for specific aircraft adventures.
To note: The following is based on material officially released by Wizards of the Coast. Details may vary in your campaigns.
6 Material plane and cosmological wheel
The material plane is the closest thing in Dungeons and Dragons on Earth, and this is where most of the campaigns will take place. Lots of officials Dungeons and Dragons settings such as Sword Coast and Forgotten Realms can be found here. On a cosmic scale, the material plane acts as a link between the realms, facilitating the journey of celestial beings through the multiverse.
The default cosmological model in Dungeons and Dragons is a wheel with the material plane at its center. The surrounding, with two adjacent dimensions, are the elementary shots which in turn are surrounded by exterior shots– dimensions built around abstract ideas and concepts.
5 The Feywild and Shadowfell
Directly adjacent to the material plane are two contrasting dimensions, the Feywild and the Shadowfall. The Feywild is a colorful surreal realm of uncontrolled magic, while the Shadowfell is a dark realm of death and decay. Both act as mirrors of the material plane, often including distorted versions of landmarks. Material cities entire cities will be replaced by forests and meadows in the Feywild, as Shadowfell transforms them into baffling shapes straight out of a German expressionist film.
Of the two, the Feywild is arguably the more welcoming, but both have their own share of dangers for unprepared travelers. The Feywild tends to operate outside of conventional logic, which makes navigation more difficult. It also doesn’t help that various locals can pose problems, ranging from mischievous creatures with weird “prank” ideas to much more sinister witches and meenlocks. The Shadowfell isn’t inherently evil, but it’s common to find evil beings there, including the iconic vampire Strahd.
Travel between the two realms and the material plane is possible through portals. Portals to the Feywild are sporadic and unpredictable, seemingly appearing and disappearing at random. Portals to Shadowfell are more consistent, but only open at night at specific locations and times.
4 Elementary planes
the Elementary the plans are four dimensions based on the classical elements of Aristotle: air, fire, water and earth. Each of them is built mostly on their respective element, with pieces of other planes infiltrating occasionally. For example, the elemental plane of water is literally an endless ocean without a surface. The elemental plane of fire is so hot that anyone stupid enough to intervene without any sort of fire resistance will be cremated within seconds. The elemental plane of air is like an endless sky. And the Elemental plane of the Earth is made up entirely of compressed solid matter.
These carry serious dangers. Of the four, the air plane is probably the most welcoming on the grounds that anyone who ventures there will actually be able to breathe. Traveling to the elemental plane of water will require the ability to breathe underwater, while the Earth plane would require the ability to breathe the Earth itself, as well as a way to move through solids.
3 Astral Plane
The simplest description that one can give of the astral plane would be to call it “the space between spaces”. The astral plane is the void between dimensions, and it is not even possible to get there physically. Instead, the only way to reach the plane is mentally through astral projection– literally, the person has to leave their own body to mentally reach the plane.
Upon entering, there are a variety of things travelers can find, including portals to other dimensions and the bodies of fallen gods. There is even a playable race, the Githyanki, who live here.
There is also a very dangerous monster, the astral battleship, which is known to inhabit this plane. In fact, encountering one is extremely rare. but he can easily eliminate any unlucky part he manages to find.
2 Mechanics
There are too many dimensions in the exterior shots cover in one article, but one of the most interesting is Mechanics, a dimension built on machinery and watchmaking in the most literal sense. The entire dimension is a giant machine, the purpose of which is unknown.
It is the ultimate representation of law and order, where the rules are followed to the letter and where everything performs a very specific function without fail. The most common residents of Mechanus are a race of mechanical creatures called modron who live in a social hierarchy based on their forms, who blindly follow the mechanical god Primus.
1 The unavoidable
One of the lesser-known weird monsters to inhabit the D&D multiverse is an odd breed of constructs known collectively as the Inevitable. They are powerful entities that specialize in delivering swift justice in all dimensions. The inevitable come in many different forms and focus on different things. Some pursue those who break contracts while others seek to eliminate the living dead. The rarest and most powerful of these, the Quarut, is responsible for preventing mortals from becoming gods.
The chances of actually encountering them may vary depending on the game and player choices, but in general, it’s best not to make enemies with them. With an armor class of at least 27 and an ability to heal instantly, these are tough opponents that will easily wipe out the party. Escaping from them is also almost impossible. They are determined and will not give up. If a person tries to flee to another continent, the inevitable chasing after them will literally cross the ocean to reach them.
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