Cosmology of the Multiverse

The Multiverse

The multiverse is the name or term given to describe the 'place' which contains all of creation. The multiverse contains everything that is, was and will be. It contains all of reality, all of thought, all of feeling. It is infinity within infinity. It was once believed that there is only void outside of the multiverse, but, after the events of the sundering of the sun, the truth of the Far Realm was revealed.

The Far Realm is another reality where the laws of the universe no longer make sense. It is a place of unimaginable horror and chaos or perhaps its just a place where the sanity of the human mind melts. To speak of it further is blasphemy.

Planes of Existence

The multiverse contains within it many different universes called planes. Each plane of existence is infinite in size and there are an infinite number of them; thus the multiverse is infinity within infinity. The individual planes exist like bubbles within the multiverse. Some bubbles touch others, some bubbles exist within other bubbles and some bubbles float freely in the multiverse without any extra-planar contact.

Categories of the Planes

Planes of existence can be categorized in many different ways dependent on how they interact with other planes around them.

The main bubble of the multiverse is called the Astral Plane. The Astral Plane is a single bubble which contains all other bubbles and provides a planar medium in which the other bubbles 'float'. The Astral Plane is infinite and many bubbles in the Astral Plane float freely through the medium and can interact with each other.

Planar interaction can produce many possibilities.

Planar Clusters - Two bubbles can collide and stick together forming a planar group or bubble cluster. Bubble clusters can also stick to other planes and other clusters to form larger and larger clusters.

Quasi-Planes - The area between planes in a cluster is called a quasi-plane and generally contains some kind of mixture of the two planes. The more planes involved in a cluster the more quasi-planes which can exist. Quasi-planes are temporary and only exist while two or more planes are touching. When a plane leaves a cluster it alters the make up and possibly the existence of all the quasi-planes which it was part of. Quasi planes are just as infinite as regular planes except their existence is dependent on the contact between two other planes.

Sub-Planes – sometimes when two bubbles collide one bubble envelopes the other. The inner bubble is known as a Sub Plane. Sub-planes have their own unique attributes as well as sharing attributes with the plane they are within. The super plane is not altered by the absorption of a sub-plane and often times the super plane is completely undisturbed by the process. There is currently no way to predict why one plane becomes a sub-plane and why others become super-planes. It is possible for sub-planes and super-planes to form planar clusters and produce quasi-planes where the inner plane rests on the inner 'surface' of the outer plane.

Demi-Planes – When multiple bubbles collide they can bounce off of each other and in the process smaller bubbles are created from the impact. These new bubbles are called Demi-Planes. Demi-planes are initially unstable due to the violence and energy of the initial impact. Unstable demi-planes are immediately absorbed by any other stable plane they come into contact with including other unstable demi-planes. The process of absorbing a demi-plane destroys the demi-plane and alters the physics of the absorbing plane. Eventually, the demi-plane can stabilize and become a whole new plane of existence. The process of stabilization is currently unknown.

A Planar Atlas

Since there are an infinite number of planes in an infinite number of configurations it would be impossible to describe them all. However, there are some very important planes (including the one we are currently on) which will be discussed.

The Outer Planes – Within the Astral plane lay the outer planes. It is believed that many of these realms are the final destination for souls after they die. It is also believed that many of the dimensions are the homes of many of the gods that are thought to be the creators of the multiverse. Very few mortals have ever traveled to the outer planes either because they were not invited or because the nature of the planes was so odd that they just couldn't exist there. The outer planes contain many versions of heaven and hell and are home to celestial beings and fiends of great power.

Sigil - The City of Doors is a plane of existence all to itself. It resides in the Astral Plane but separate from the outer planes. It is considered to be cosmically neutral and its laws are enforced by the Lady of Pain, one of the few Great Old Ones from the Before World still active in the multiverse.

The Ethereal Super-Plane: Also known as the Deep Ethereal, this plane exists in the Astral plane and is separate from the outer planes. This plane contains many other planes within it as sub-planes. The Ethereal Plane is also known as the spiritual plane or the Spirit Realm and is considered a purgatory for the dead that are transitioning to some sort of afterlife.

The Dream Realm: This is a sub-plane to the Deep Ethereal and is also a super plane to others. As a sub plane to the Ethereal it shares properties with the Spirit Realm. When people sleep and dream they are temporarily given access to this dimension. Intellect and creativity are given form here and has been used by powerful beings to create new forms of life.

Quasi-Plane of Nightmares: Where the dream realm rests on the edge of the deep ethereal emotion and creative energy have created a vortex of untamed energy. Some scholars believe that this energy has rubbed a hole in the multiverse and given access to the Far Realm. As the Far Realm slowly seeps into the multiverse it gives shape and form to fear, panic, paranoia and hopelessness.

The Elemental Cluster: The elemental cluster is a group of dimensions which are clustered together in a tightly packed and highly energetic formation. The cluster itself is contained in its own Ethereal bubble.

Each plane in this cluster is considered by scholars to be a pure physical element of some kind that exists in our world today to include: Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, Wood, Air, Positive Energy and Negative Energy. The configuration of this cluster is such that all of these dimensions touch each other in some way. There is no three dimensional equivalent to this but it is sometimes represented as a disk where the Fire, Earth, Metal, Water and Wood are on the outside, Air is in the middle and the Positive and Negative planes are on the top and bottom like a spinning disk. Due to the nature of these elements some of them are attractive and others repulsive and so a highly energetic dimensional dance ensues. This dance constantly creates elemental demi-planes and there are an as yet unknown number of quasi-plane combinations in existence. Some believe that the total number of quasi-planes is infinite (as infinity seems to be a constant theme in the multiverse).

The Quasi-Elemental Planes: of the supposedly infinite number of quasi-planes in the Elemental Cluster only a few have actually been confirmed and mapped. The only dimensions that do not seem to touch are the Positive and Negative planes. There are 8 main elemental planes and 27 confirmed and mapped quasi planes.

The Prime Material Cluster: This is a group of similar dimensions which are clustered together in an irregular pattern. This cluster but coexists with the elemental cluster at the same 'level'. It is believed that when the energetic elemental cluster creates demi-planes, those demi-planes combine in random ways to form what are known as material planes. Each material plane is a universe unto itself. One of these material planes is the home dimension of the player characters and is always refered to as the "Prime Material Plane". The other material planes are considered to be parallel worlds. Technically, the Prime Material cluster does have many quasi-planes where different parallel worlds touch, but, since each material plane is so similar to other material planes there is really no discernible difference in the quasi-planes.

Shadow Fell and Fey Wild - The material cluster has two quasi-planes. The Shadow Fell exists where the material cluster touches the negative energy plane and the Fey Wild exists where the material cluster touches the positive energy plane. These quasi-planes are nearly identical to the prime plane except they are more like echos or strange reflections. The shadow fell is a bleak, dreary echo of the prime while the fey wild is a saturated, energetic reflection.

Travel

Travel to, from, in and around the multiverse can be accomplished with special abilities and spells. This list includes but is not limited to Plane Shift, Etherealness, Astral Projection and Gate. Magical items embued with similar magics can also be used.

Survival

Normally, a creature native to one of the material planes cannot survive on any other plane without external assistance, usually from spells or magical artifacts.

The astral and ethereal planes are strange places in that any creature native to any dimension at any level can survive indefinitely without any support. Creatures from the material plane do not need to eat, drink, sleep or breath while in the astral or ethereal planes. It is as if all the physics of all the dimensions are active all at the same time.