The Plane of Elemental Air
The Plane of Elemental Air
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Of all the inner planes,
the plane of Elemental Air is the most hospitable
to Prime planar life. The plane's substance
can be
breathed and is excellent for travel.
Beings of elemental air are
the most easily summoned and controlled
(the aerial servant,
dust devil, and invisible stalker spells
all summon elemental creatures
from the plane of Air, yet no equivalent
spells exist for the
other elemental planes). Many nonnative
deities make their
domains in this plane, incl. Raven, Heng,
Hotoru of the Amerindian
mythos, Chao Kung Ming, Fei Lien, Feng
Po, and Wen Chung of the
Chinese mythos, Shu of the Egyptian mythos,
and Raiden of the Japanese mythos.
The traveller first
notices the sterling blue color of the plane, like
the bluest high-summer day in the Prime
plane. Unlike conditions
in the Prime, this blue extends underfoot
as well as overhead, so
that the traveller is surrounded by a
great vault of sapphire hue.
Small pieces of matter float in this realm,
bits of other elemental
planes that have found their way (or been
brought by powerful
forces) into the plane of elemental Air.
It is in and around such
matter that other-planar creatures usually
make their homes; the
open space is the home of the air elementals.
As the traveller moves
through the plane of elemental Air, the
terrain changes. As the traveller moves
toward the plane of para-elemental
Smoke, the air becomes, thicker, warmer,
and harder
to breathe. In the opposite direction,
the air becomes cooler, and
snow and ice crystals begin to hang in
the air until they fill the sky,
becoming the thick, crystalline walls
of the plane of para-elemental
Ice. Toward the plane of quasi-elemental
Lightning, the air
thickens with rain clouds and fogs, and
there is the distinct tang
of ozone, until lightning erupts and the
traveller knows the buffer
area between these planes have been reached.
Finally, toward
the Negative Material plane, the air begins
to thin out until an airless
state is reached in the plane of quasi-elemental
Vacuum,
looking into the heart of the Negative
Material plane.
None of these regions
can be reached by the unguided
traveller, though it seems possible to
MOVE from hot to cold, or to follow
a scent on the breeze. In reality, the
winds of the plane of Air
are contrary and treacherous, mixing warm
and cool air, scents
of flowers and brimstone, hints of soft
rain and hot gusts of desert
wind. A traveller folllowing the tang
of electricity may find the scent
dying on the wind, while one seeking a
city built upon an intruding
island of earth may find the structure
blocked by a passing cloud
and disappearing from view.
Breathing: As
noted earlier, breathing is one problem
that does not exist for the traveller
in this plane, though there are other
hazards. It should be noted that clouds
of dust, acid, poison, and
other harmful substances exist for the
traveller to encounter.
Vision and Senses:
The sighting distance in the plane of air is
1,000 yards, or about twice that in daylight
on a clear day in the
PMP. Infravision functions at thrice normal
range,
though ultrravision does not work at all.
Attempts to track
by means of smell are foiled by the chaotic
winds of the plane.
Some native creatures can track, but their
method of doing so
has yet to be discovered.
Encounters in the Plane of Air
Travellers in the plane
of Air have a 1 in 20 chance of an
encounter every 12 hours (another reason
the plane is so popular
with tourists). The type of encounter
is determined below:
| 1-20 | Elemental Phenomena |
| 21-40 | Elemental Pocket |
| 41-00 | Creature Encounter |
Elemental Phenomena
The plane of elemental
Air has some of the most varied, stunning,
and deadly phenomena of the elemental
planes. Roll on the
following table:
| D12 | Effect |
| 1-2 | Cloud Banks |
| 3-4 | High Winds |
| 5 | Sirocco |
| 6 | Rain Storm |
| 7 | Lightning Storm |
| 8 | Snow Storm |
| 9 | Maelstrom |
| 10 | Dust Storm |
| 11 | Hail Storm |
| 12 | Vortex to a PMP |
Cloud Banks: The most
common phenomenon in the plane of
Air, these clouds have no ill effects,
except to reduce visibility
around them to 50 yards maximum.
High Winds: In the plane
of Air, the medium of the plane is
always in motion, so that some wind is
usually blowing. Usually
these winds are in the 0 to 10 mph category.
Use the following
table (adapted from the WSG) for
high winds and their effects:
| D100
Roll |
Wind
Velocity |
Missile
Combat |
Melee
Combat |
Move
Against Wind |
Move
With Wind |
| 01-10 | 11-20 mph | 0/-1/-2/-3 | - | - | - |
| 11-31 | 21-30 | -1/-2/-3/x | -1 | 3/4 | 1.33 |
| 31-60 | 31-45 | -2/-4x/x | -2 | 2/3 | 1.5 |
| 61-80 | 46-79 | -4/-6/x/x | -4 | 1/2 | 2 |
| 81-90 | 80-99 | x/x/x/x | -8 | 1/4 | 4 |
| 91-97 | 100-120 | x/x/x/x | -8 | x | 6 |
| 98-00 | 121+ | x/x/x/x | -8 | x | 8 |
Missile combat
refers to the effect of wind on missile weapons.
Remember that under normal conditions,
most nonmagical missiles
do not work in the plane.
Melee combat
refers to the reduction
in attack and damage rolls as a result
in being in the area of
high winds.
Move against
and move with winds refer to the penalty (or benefit)
for moving against (or with) the wind.
At high velocities,
an "x" result indicates that movement
against the wind is impossible.
Magical spells that require vocal components
cannot be cast
when the wind rises above 80 mph.
High wind lasts for
1d10 hours and can carry the traveller far
from his original position. It prevents
encounters during that period of
time. No damage is inflicted by high wind
itself, but should
the traveller encounter a hard or resisting
surface, he suffers 1d6
points of damage per 10 miles per hour
of wind SPEED.
Elemental Sirocco:
The sircocco is a hot wind issuing from
those parts of the plane of Air nearest
the quasi-elemental plane
of Steam. In addition to the effects of
high winds (from chart
above), those caught within the sirocco
must successfully roll a
CON check or suffer 1d8 points of heat
damage per hour
(1d2 if the TARGET is sufficiently protected
from heat damage).
Siroccos last for 1d8 hours.
Rain Storm: Because
there is no true gravity in the plane of
Air, rain here forms into collections
of spherical drops that extend
up to half a mile from the clouds that
formed them. This combines
the effects of a cloud bank with those
of a cloudburst spell.
Lightning Storm:
A lightning storm has all the effects of a rain
storm, but all within the AREA are subject
to being struck by lightning.
Roll separately for each character; only
one character can
be hit the strike (unless several characters
are connected
together somehow). Roll in random order,
once one person is hit,
the strike is through. Size S creatures
have a 40% chance of
being hit, size M creatures have a 50%
chance, and size L creatures
have a 60% chance. If a roll has been
made for every being
in the group, and no one was hit, the
lightning bolt missed.
There is a cumulative
10% chance of a bolt per round in the
AREA, resetting to a 10% chance after
a bolt has struck.
In the plane of Air,
targets may roll a saving throw vs. spell.
Those who succeed receive only 1d10 points
of damage. Those
who fail lose 1d6 x 10% of their current
HP.
Snow Storm: Similar
to a rain storm, except that visibility is
reduced to 10 yards. Snow storms in the
plane of elemental Air
issue from the border with the plane of
quasi-elemental Ice.
Those caught in a snow storm who are not
wearing warm clothing
suffer 1d8 points of damage each turn
they are within the cloud.
Hail Storm: A
hail storm may resemble a snow or rain storm in
appearance, but nearer the edges of the
cloud the traveller
encounters small, spherical crystals with
sharp spikes. These
hailstorms, though immobile, retain their
momentum so that
touching one inflicts 1d2 damage to a
size S creature, 3d6
points to a size M creature, and 4d6 points
to a size L creature per
round. Fortunately, such storms quickly
sweep through an AREA,
lasting 1d10 turns at most.
Dust Storm: A
dust storm combines the effects of high winds
with particles that can temporarily blind
those creatures that keep
their eyes open or unshielded. Those blinded
cannot attack and
their opponents receive a +4 bonus to
attack rolls with missile
weapons and +4 bonuses to both attack
and damage rolls when
using melee weapons.
Maelstrom: One
of the most deadly phenomena in this plane is
the aerial maelstrom, which is best described
as a tornado eating
its own tail (a toroidal or doughnut shape).
The maelstrom can
hover in space for decades, gathering
force and debris, before
dwindling down or exploding with massive
force. Those caught
within the maelstrom suffer the effects
of a dust storm. Unlike the
other phenomena, those caught within a
maelstrom cannot
escape short of moving faster than 2,000
feet per turn, magically
affecting the winds, being rescued by
those outside the maelstrom,
or leaving the plane entirely.
Vortex to a Prime
Material plane: Such vortices are very temporary
in the plane of Air--most last 2d10 subjective
days and
only one in 50 lasts longer than that.
They appear as great tornadoes
or hurricanes that have been smashed flat
from top to bottom,
so that a spiral forms from the edge to
the center. Air (and
creatures) pass in and out of this center
into the PMP.
The traveller can USE this as a quick
method of egress from
the plane, but be warned of two things:
First, the opening on the
Prime plane is usually in an AREA of severe
weather (the inner
winds of a hurricane), as well as several
miles above the ground
in a region where gravity works just fine,
thank you. Second, the
DM may determine for hihs campaign the
chances of such a vortex
leading to the traveller's Prime or an
Alternate Prime.
Elemental Pockets:
An elemental pocket is a piece of another
plane that has been sucked into, and then
CAST adrift in, the plane
of elemental Air. The passive nature of
the plane is such that all
other elemental, para-elemental, and quasi-elemental
forms can
be found as pockets. The DM can choose
the pocket according to
the area of the plane the traveller is
in, or he can roll randomly
from the following table.
| D8 +
D20 Roll |
Elemental Pocket |
| 1-2 | Earth Pocket |
| 3-4 | Fire Pocket |
| 5-6 | Water Pocket |
| 7-8 | Ice Pocket |
| 9-10 | Smoke Pocket |
| 11 | Magma Pocket |
| 12 | Ooze Pocket |
| 13 | Vacuum Pocket |
| 14 | Dust Pocket |
| 15 | Ash Pocket |
| 16 | Salt Pocket |
| 17 | Lightning Pocket |
| 18 | Steam Pocket |
| 19 | Radiance Pocket |
| 20 | Mineral Pocket |
Descriptions:
Earth Pockets:
In the plane of Air, the earth pocket resembles
a large asteroid or a spherical ball of
rock. Earth pockets are
pretty common because intelligent beings
often bring this material
into the plane to form their own bases.
Djinn in particular are
known for gathering elemental pockets
and using them as the
foundations for their cities. There is
a 50% chance that any earth
pocket encountered is the lair of a creature.
If the pocket is inhabited,
there is a 90% chance the creature is
from the plane of Air
(roll on the Air Encounter Chart) and
only a 10% chance that the
creature is from the plane of Earth (roll
on the Earth Encounter
Chart).
Fire Pockets:
Pockets of fire appear in this plane as spheres of
flame burning without need of fuel. The
air is warmer near the
edges of these pockets, and those who
come within 100 yards of
one suffer the effects of an elemental
sirocco. Those entering a
pocket of fire suffer the effects of entering
the plane of elemental
Fire. There is a 30% chance that a fire
pocket is the lair of some
creature (always roll on the Fire Encounter
Chart, page 39).
Water Pockets:
Pockets of elemental water appear to be huge
balls of water hanging in the air, though
sometimes they have
been sculpted by passing djinn into strings
of watery pearls,
doughnuts, cubes, etc. Those entering
this type of pocket suffer
the effects of immersion in the plane
of elemental Water. These
balls are often used as watering holes
by creatures that require
water. There is a 50% chance that there
is a creature near them.
The creature is either from the plane
of Water or the plane of Air
(50% chance for each).
Ice Pockets:
Pockets from the plane of para-elemental Ice
appear as great icebergs tumbling in the
air. Cold-based creatures
sometimes (10%) USE these as lairs. The
area within 100
yards of such a pocket affects travellers
as a snow storm.
Smoke Pockets:
Pockets of para-elemental smoke appear to
be cloud banks. Once entered, however,
the traveller must roll a
successful saving throw vs. spell or be
affected as if by a stinking cloud
spell. There is only a 5% chance that
a smoke pocket is occupied,
but any creatures encountered are always
natives of the
plane of para-elemental Smoke.
Magma Pockets:
These are quite rare as they come from the
far end of the inner planes. These pockets
soon cool in the winds
to become spheres of volcanic stone (as
mentioned for earth pockets).
Those within 50 yards of a magma pocket
suffer the
effects of a pocket of fire. Travellers
who enter the pocket are
affected as if strolling into the plane
of para-elemental Magma.
Magma pockets normally do not have inhabitants.
Ooze Pockets:
Pockets from the plane of para-elemental
Ooze are rare in the plane of Air. They
soon harden into dry
winds or freezing cold to become similar
to earth pockets. Those
entering a globular chunk of floating
ooze are subject to the dangers
of that muck. In the plane of elemental
Air, such pockets are
usually uninhabited.
Vacuum Pockets:
These are among the most deadly type of
elemental intrusions into the plane of
Air. Not only are these
pockets invisible, but their effects are
as if the traveller suddenly
entered the plane of quasi-elemental Vacuum.
These normally
have no inhabitants, but they are often
used to protect the lairs of
powerful creatures (they make deadly mines).
Dust Pockets:
Such pockets are similar in appearance to Dust
sotrms and at a distance look like a brownish
haze on the horizon.
The effects of entering a dust pocket
are the same as for a dust
storm (as opposed to being trapped in
elemental Dust). There is a
50% chance of an inhabitant, usually from
the plane of Earth
(75%) or the plane of Dust (25%).
Ash Pockets:
Ash pockets appear to be dust storms, but they
combine the effects of dust storms with
those of siroccos. Further,
ash pockets are very flammable (any flame
turns an ash
pocket into a pocket of elemental Fire
for 1d10 turns). Such pockets
are normally uninhabited.
Salt Pockets:
These vary in appearance from a multitude of
crystals hanging in the air (similar to
a hailstorm) to a large sphere of
crysalline salt. Pockets of the former
type affect travellers as hailstorms,
with the added effect that creatures from
the plane of
Water suffer as if immersed in the plane
of Salt. Pockets of the
latter type are often colonized (50% chance
for either the plane of
Air or the plane of Salt).
Lightning Pockets:
Pockets from the quasi-elemental plane of
Lightning have the appearance of lightning
storms. They are
always occupied by 1d4 lightning quasi-elementals.
Steam Pockets:
Pockets of steam appear to be ordinary cloud
banks, but they scald anyone who enters
(as if entering the plane
of quasi-elemental Steam). These pockets
last for only 1d10
turns.
Radiance Pockets:
Pockets of radiance are structures of
invisible force and have the effects of
a solid wall of force for
movement (or running into). They can be
as deadly as vacuum
pockets. Like vacuum pockets, radiance
pockets are normally
uninhabited. In rare cases the interiors
of these pockets are settled,
producing hollow worlds.
Mineral Pockets:
Pockets of this quasi-elemental type appear
as spheres or crystalline cubes of great
size (colonized as for
earth pockets) or as clusters of stone,
crystals, or, in very rare
cases, uncut gems (of 10 gp each). These
clusters have the
effects of hail storms.
Creature Encounters
Most creatures in the
elemental plane of Air are invisible, their
forms at best only outlined by bits of
dust and debris caught in
their wind-like bodies (10% chance that
the being's outline is visible).
Otherwise such creatures have all the
advantages of the invisibility
spell, with the addition that they do
not lose their invisible
status if they attack or strike a solid
object.
If made visible (by
spell or dust in the air), creatures of the
plane of elemental Air are large, lacy
beings with full sweeping
wings and streamlined shapes. Some draw
the air through their
bodies and have sturdy stubby fins (much
like modern-day jets).
Some are humanoid in shape, but even these
are slender and
have weblike membranes bewtween extremities.
In addition to powers
all elemental creatures have on the inner planes,
those of the plane of elemental Air are
immune to all
effects of weather and wind, including
lightning and other
weather-related forms of attack. They
are affected by vacuum--
an air elemental creature that is trapped
in an AREA of complete
vacuum must roll a successful save vs.
spell or perish.
Natives of the plane of Air are immune
to the effects of spells that
USE or create clouds or mists in their
casting (such as incendiary cloud,
stinking cloud, or cloudkill).
Air Encounter Chart
| D8 +
D12 Roll |
Number | Creatures
Encountered |
Notes |
| 2 | 1d4 | Demons, Type I | V |
| 3 | 1d4+1 | Aerial Owlbears* | MM* |
| 4 | 1d4 | Aerial Criosphinxes* | MM* |
| 5 | 1d6 | Aerial Axebeaks* | MM* |
| 6 | 3d6 | Jann* | MM2 |
| 7 | 4d6 | Vortex* | FF |
| 8 | 2d4 | Elemental Grues, Ildriss* | MM2 |
| 9 | 1d10 | Aerial Servants* | MM |
| 10 | 4d3 | Air Elementals* | MM |
| 11 | 4d6 | Djinni* | MM |
| 12 | 2d6 | Invisible Stalkers* | MM |
| 13 | 5d10 | Giant Aerial Rats* | MM* |
| 14 | 3d6 | Wind Walkers* | MM |
| 15 | 1d10 | Human Party | V |
| 16 | 1d8 | Vapor Rats | MM2 |
| 17 | 4d6 | Winter Wolves | MM |
| 18 | 1d20 | Air Leprechauns* | MM* |
| 19 | 1d3 | Spectres | V |
| 20 | 1d4 | Monadic Devas | V |
Notes on the Monsters:
* Indicates native to
the plane of Air
V = Visitor to the
inner planes--requires protection from the hazardous effects of the plane.
MM = Monster Manual
creatures
MM2 = Monster Manual
creatures
FF = FIEND FOLIO creatures
MM* = Elemental monsters
or animals that have the basic
forms, stats, and abilities of the listed monsters, but
are natives of the plane of Air and gain the additional
abilities of such creatures as listed above.
The most common method
of movement in the plane of Air is
by changing the down direction and falling
(as noted for movement in the Inner planes
on page 24).
This method is both swift and rather unsafe
as it takes the traveller in a straight line from
point to point, running into intervening
objects. The traveller has
all the aerodynamics of a rock (Maneuverability
Class F).
Normal walking, running,
or riding is accomplished by not designating
a down position and moving in that fashion
at your normal
SPEED. Movement can be in any direction.
Beings that fly, whether
by magickal devices or wings, can do so
at normal SPEED in the plane of Air. The
Maneuverability Class is
one better than normal (C becomes B, B
becomes A, A
remains A). As there is no set down direction,
creatures able to
levitate can MOVE in any direction. Those
that MOVE by swimming
may do so normally, as the air acts like
a liquid medium when
there is no down direction.
When a being is knocked
unconscious, reaches 0 HP, or
dies, it can no longer determine a down
direction. Such a being
continues to MOVE at the velocity (SPEED
and direction) that it was
moving before it was disabled. Other sentient
beings can change
the disabled being's movement by grabbing
it.
All abilities permitted
for combat in the inner planes are possible
in the elemental plane of Air. Combat
is similar to that in the
Airborne Adventures section of the DMG,
SAVE that there are no
negative modifiers for fighting while
in flight. As in all the elemental
planes, nonmagical missile fire is impossible
unless some part
of the weapon remains in contact with
the firer (such as a lasso).
Magick works here as for the inner planes in general.
| The elementals | Archomentals | Akadi | Bahamut | The Djinn | Hooks and Bubbles |
The elementals:
Most numerous of the creatures on the plane
of elemental Air are all manner of air
elementals, ranging from air
animentals (such as giant aerial rats)
to elementals and elemental
monsters (such as aerial owlbears). As
mentioned before,
such creatures match the basic stats of
their Prime Material
counterparts, though their appearances
may vary greatly from
the Prime Material monsters.
True elemental creatures
prefer areas of pure elemental air.
They generally react with hostility towards
invaders, but elemental
creatures of sufficient intelligence can
be bribed to be guides.
Archomentals:
Of the elemental Princes of the Air, only
evil Yan-C-Bin
(FIEND FOLIO tome) has been described, but his
powers are typical for this type. They
are considered demi-gods
for purposes of determining powers on
their planes (see page 124).
Yan-C-Bin is said to
inhabit a broken land filled with the
destroyed elemental pockets of interlopers
and would-be settlers.
This graveyard is rumored to be a wealth
of both knowledge
and gold. Yan-C-Bin and his servitors
(10 Air elementals of the
greatest power) guard it as well.
Akadi: Akadi
is the queen of the free-willed elemental creatures.
She is said to dwell within a whirlwind
that spins within a
great aerial maelstrom, the width of which
is sufficient to swallow
the known world. No being, elemental or
otherwise, may pass
through this region without Akadi's permission;
Air elemental
guides TURN back, and those of other planes
are destroyed (earth
elementals are eroded into dust by the
winds, water elementals
are evaporated, and fire elementals are
snuffed out by the winds
[150+ mph]. Akadi is not good, evil, or
neutral; like all the rulers
of the the elemental worlds, she only
cares about her own people and
is thus amoral and above Prime planar
morality.
Akadi is the name by
which this being is known, but is not the
creature's true name. That is unrevealed,
and likely to remain so,
as none of the rulers of the elemental
planes have visited the
Prime, and their power is such that a
visitation would be disastrous.
Akadi is a Greater Goddess, the full force
of the elemental wind,
and as such is unslayable in her homeland.
She has all the
powers afforded a Greater Deity in Appendix
IV (page 124).
Hooks and Bubbles:
These are the manifestations of spell
casting from the PMP to the elemental
plane.
A hook appears
as a great spear, grappling hook, or shepherd's
crook hanging in mid-air, glowing blue,
green, or golden
yellow. This is the business end of a
conjuration/summoning
spell
directed at the elemental plane by a Prime
Material M-U
trying to conjure elemental or
grab an aerial servant or invisible stalker
spell. These hook is so alluring that
the targeted creatures
are drawn to it like bees to flowers.
Should a nonnative traveller
touch a summoning hook, he must
roll a save vs. Spell. Rolling above the
save number
means that the traveller is unaffected,
while rolling below it
means the traveller is catapulted into
the Deep Ethereal as if swallowed
up by an ether cyclone. Rolling the saving
throw number
exactly means that the traveller is affected
by the spell as if he is
an elemental creature--he is called into
the PMP
(not necessarily his PMP). While under
the
effects of the spell, the traveller has
all of his powers and abilities
(as opposed to the elemental powers),
but is under the coomand of
the summoner. If a traveller is summoned
by an invisible stalker
spell, the traveller must carry out the
letter of the summoner's
command.
A bubble appears
as a great silvery sphere, ranging in size
from about a half inch to nine inches
in diameter. This is the elemental
plane end of a Prime material contact
other plane. It
breaks easily, and the question pops into
the mind of the being
that broke the bubble. Unless the being
can determine
the sender and respond, the sender's question
is lost. If the being has
these powers, it can answer the question
as it sees fit.
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