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Fellfire
Master of Realmslore
1965 Posts |
 Posted - 27 Feb 2011 : 17:32:06
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I just finished watching Avatar again and got some great inspiration for my Elven holdings on the Plane of Elemental Air. Anybody (Planescapers) know any sources besides the Inner Planes for good chant on the Boundless Blue?
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Misanthorpe
Love is a lie. Only hate endures. Light is blinding. Only in darkness do we see clearly.
"Oh, you think darkness is your ally? You merely adopted the dark. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn't see the light until I was already a man, by then it was nothing to me but.. blinding. The shadows betray you because they belong to me." - Bane The Dark Knight Rises
Green Dragonscale Dice Bag by Crystalsidyll - check it out
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Edited by - Fellfire on 27 Feb 2011 19:06:01
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Fellfire
Master of Realmslore
1965 Posts |
Posted - 27 Feb 2011 : 18:09:33
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| A couple of questions too, if I may. Is there "sunlight," cycles of night/day? Where does it come from? Does it rain? I've read of the windstorms, but rain isn't mentioned. |
Misanthorpe
Love is a lie. Only hate endures. Light is blinding. Only in darkness do we see clearly.
"Oh, you think darkness is your ally? You merely adopted the dark. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn't see the light until I was already a man, by then it was nothing to me but.. blinding. The shadows betray you because they belong to me." - Bane The Dark Knight Rises
Green Dragonscale Dice Bag by Crystalsidyll - check it out
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Edited by - Fellfire on 27 Feb 2011 18:12:32 |
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Hoondatha
Great Reader
USA
2450 Posts |
Posted - 27 Feb 2011 : 18:28:28
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| One place to look is the Al'Qadim sourcebook Secrets of the Lamp. It has details on all four of the genie kingdoms, including the djinn. That'll give some idea of what a typical landhold looks like, in addition to the various Planescape materials. It's a fun resource in and of itself, as well. |
Doggedly converting 3e back to what D&D should be...
Sigh... And now 4e as well. |
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Fellfire
Master of Realmslore
1965 Posts |
Posted - 27 Feb 2011 : 22:11:36
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And a somewhat related question, I seem to recall back in the days of 2e, reading of a tavern located on Elemental Earth called World's End or Earth's End Tavern. Google only gives me some place in WoW and I've looked in all the most logical spots, but can't seem to find it. Anybody remember this place?
edit: I found mention of this place in the 3e sourcebook, Underdark, but I'm very certain I had seen it referenced earlier. |
Misanthorpe
Love is a lie. Only hate endures. Light is blinding. Only in darkness do we see clearly.
"Oh, you think darkness is your ally? You merely adopted the dark. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn't see the light until I was already a man, by then it was nothing to me but.. blinding. The shadows betray you because they belong to me." - Bane The Dark Knight Rises
Green Dragonscale Dice Bag by Crystalsidyll - check it out
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Edited by - Fellfire on 28 Feb 2011 00:09:43 |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31799 Posts |
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
8066 Posts |
Posted - 28 Feb 2011 : 07:13:50
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Um, Planescape: The Inner Planes (TSR 2634, ©1998) is my preferred canon source, though any edition of Manual of the Planes will do in a pinch.
Of course Paizo and other OGL parties have published innumerable non-canon sourcebooks. Planewalker is worth the trip, and you might also find this link useful. |
[/Ayrik] |
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Quale
Master of Realmslore
1757 Posts |
Posted - 28 Feb 2011 : 11:42:55
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quote:
Originally posted by Fellfire
A couple of questions too, if I may. Is there "sunlight," cycles of night/day? Where does it come from? Does it rain? I've read of the windstorms, but rain isn't mentioned.
It depends, generally there is no gravity and blue light permeates the plane. Air gets the light by bordering Radiance, Lightning, Fire etc., or in particular places through gates and vortexes. Afair ordinarily water just accumulates without gravity unless there is a big enough elemental pocket of Earth nearby. Except for the elemental population the centres of life in the inner planes are rare places where the elements mix. |
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
8066 Posts |
Posted - 28 Feb 2011 : 12:43:00
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You might be interested in this spell from the 2E Tome of Magic:quote:
Estate Transference (W9, Alteration)
Rng 0, VSM, D Permanent, CT 10 turns, AoE 1000'/level, No Save
This powerful spell allows a caster to transfer a large area of land in the Prime Material plane to any of the elemental planes. All buildings, people, and wildlife within the area of effect are also transported. The land forms a pocket of the Prime Material plane within the elemental plane. The pocket is a sphere with a diameter equal to the diameter of the land. The surface of the pocket allows creatures to enter or exit the pocket, but prevents the elements from entering the pocket.
Inside the pocket, the land is surrounded by air of a temperature matching that of the Prime Material plane at the moment the land was moved. In addition, a source of water is created within the pocket.
Before the spell is cast, the area to be moved must be surrounded by solid markers of material from the destination plane. Thus, if a wizard wants to move his castle to the Elemental Plane of Fire, he must first surround the area with solid blocks of matter from the Elemental Plane of Fire, such as hardened magma or magically-crystallized fire. The blocks must be spaced no more than five feet apart and may be placed above ground or under the surface (at a depth of no more than three feet).
The wizard must be within the are to be moved when he casts the spell. When the land moves a hemispherical crater is left behind in the Prime Material plane. Inside its pocket on the desired plane, the land continues its existence as if nothing changed, with the exception of occasional visits from planar creatures.
Any land that is moved in this manner can never again be moved with this spell.
The material component (in addition to the markers) is the appropriate magical device to control elementals of the desired plane (bowl commanding water elementals, brazier commanding fire elementals, censer controlling air elementals, or stone controlling earth elementals). The item must be permanently placed at the heart of the area of effect and cannot be used for any other purpose. If the device is disturbed in any way, the spell immediately fails, allowing the energies of the elemental plane to flood into the protected area.
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[/Ayrik] |
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Fellfire
Master of Realmslore
1965 Posts |
Posted - 01 Mar 2011 : 05:13:28
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| Thanks for that bit, Arik. And to all Scribes willing to aid a fellow gamer. Hoondatha, Sage, Quale, I am much obliged. I think I'm going to borrow the "specially enchanted weir tree" from the talented Mr. Richardson's, Aearee Flying Technologies post in his Secrets of the Avian Creator Race thread. With a Cheshire-Sphinx lurking in the upper branches. I may have to find a way to combine the two ideas. Especially considering that my reading leads me to believe that water is scarce on Air. |
Misanthorpe
Love is a lie. Only hate endures. Light is blinding. Only in darkness do we see clearly.
"Oh, you think darkness is your ally? You merely adopted the dark. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn't see the light until I was already a man, by then it was nothing to me but.. blinding. The shadows betray you because they belong to me." - Bane The Dark Knight Rises
Green Dragonscale Dice Bag by Crystalsidyll - check it out
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Edited by - Fellfire on 01 Mar 2011 05:19:36 |
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
8066 Posts |
Posted - 01 Mar 2011 : 05:55:10
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| A Cheshire Sphinx is conceptually brilliant, especially since the players will assume they're only dealing with some kind of feline instead of a sphinx. It's a bit of an awful tongue twister, though. |
[/Ayrik] |
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Hoondatha
Great Reader
USA
2450 Posts |
Posted - 01 Mar 2011 : 13:27:46
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Water isn't necessarily rare. The djinn landholds description says that many of the floating rocks have rivers of water that constantly flow over the sides of the rock into cascading waterfalls.
Now, whether that's "natural," or due to genie magic is up for debate. And if it's natural, the question becomes how common it is. But the genies, at least, don't seem to have any problem getting a constant, unending sources of water. |
Doggedly converting 3e back to what D&D should be...
Sigh... And now 4e as well. |
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Fellfire
Master of Realmslore
1965 Posts |
Posted - 01 Mar 2011 : 15:59:37
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| According to what I've read, genies are able to create food and water as needed. I'm also certain there are pockets of earth and water to be found in various forms throughout the Plane. I've also read that it does rain, but since inanimate objects have no gravity to speak of, I'm not sure how that works. If potable water sources aren't exactly scarce, they are certainly fiercely contested. |
Misanthorpe
Love is a lie. Only hate endures. Light is blinding. Only in darkness do we see clearly.
"Oh, you think darkness is your ally? You merely adopted the dark. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn't see the light until I was already a man, by then it was nothing to me but.. blinding. The shadows betray you because they belong to me." - Bane The Dark Knight Rises
Green Dragonscale Dice Bag by Crystalsidyll - check it out
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Edited by - Fellfire on 01 Mar 2011 16:04:58 |
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
8066 Posts |
Posted - 01 Mar 2011 : 19:40:12
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Genies and elementals probably don't require food or water (as we understand it), they derive sustenance from the substance of their plane.
There are pockets of foreign matter scattered through all of the inner planes; although you won't find a lot of the opposing element. Although infinite in some ways, the inner planes do have indefinite boundary zones where they partially overlap and merge into each other (or into the astral, ethereal, prime, or elsewhere). You could theoretically travel from one elemental plane to another, or around the "little ring" of all four (or all six, if you include positive/negative planes). Items like the elemental compass are useful for this; you might walk from elemental water to elemental earth (through a lot of elemental mud), then (through a lot of elemental magma) to elemental fire. On the plane of air you'll find water and fire, though not a lot of earth; you'll find plenty of moisture if you're located "close" to elemental water. These pockets of substance tend to move around chaotically, creating a sort of infinite weather system.
Note that the estate transference spell specifically states that "a source of water is created within the pocket". To be honest, if a wizard can't figure out how to handle provisioning details then he's probably not sufficiently skilled to survive long in a hostile environment like the elemental planes anyhow. I'd recommend buying lots of cheap livestock (y'know, 1gp will buy 100 chickens) and start practicing that polymorph spell (system shock survival not strictly required). Or plant a magical garden. Bring a little weather system (or foreign elementals) with ye.
Hierophant druids would probably know a lot about these sorts of details. |
[/Ayrik] |
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Fellfire
Master of Realmslore
1965 Posts |
Posted - 01 Mar 2011 : 23:57:11
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| All good points, of course. If a wizard is capable of maintaining an extra-planar abode, conjuring up some vittles shouldn't be much of a problem. My vision of the holdings (suggestions for a name, anybody?) of this elven family is as a place to retreat to, a safehold if you will, and a private space to dally with their fey/elemental lovers and throw lavish parties. More of a vacation home than anything else with a certain amount of creature comforts. |
Misanthorpe
Love is a lie. Only hate endures. Light is blinding. Only in darkness do we see clearly.
"Oh, you think darkness is your ally? You merely adopted the dark. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn't see the light until I was already a man, by then it was nothing to me but.. blinding. The shadows betray you because they belong to me." - Bane The Dark Knight Rises
Green Dragonscale Dice Bag by Crystalsidyll - check it out
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
8066 Posts |
Posted - 02 Mar 2011 : 08:11:31
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| I'd call it Caledonia upon the Skye, of course. |
[/Ayrik] |
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Hoondatha
Great Reader
USA
2450 Posts |
Posted - 02 Mar 2011 : 14:46:04
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Elementals certainly don't require food as we know it. Genies, however, do. Most djinn landholds have farms that are worked, and there are vast fields tended by slaves outside the City of Brass. Not so sure about the dao, but obviously finding food wouldn't be hard for the marid on the fish-rich Plane of Water.
On the other hand, Arik is right. If a wizard is capable of moving and/or creating a mansion on another plane of existence, food and water shouldn't be a problem. I'd start off with a decanter of endless water, and go from there. I think there was also a Dragon article way back (somewhere in the 100's, I mean) that focused on magical items for your castle; some of those might be helpful. |
Doggedly converting 3e back to what D&D should be...
Sigh... And now 4e as well. |
Edited by - Hoondatha on 02 Mar 2011 14:46:56 |
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Kno
Senior Scribe
452 Posts |
Posted - 03 Mar 2011 : 22:13:53
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| I heard that genies grow elemental food, air apples and such, they inhale them. |
z455t |
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Elemental Air
