Standard D&D Cosmology
The standard Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) cosmology contains seventeen Outer Planes. Cosmologically, they are arranged in a ring of sixteen planes with the Good-aligned planes, or Upper Planes at the top, and the Evil-aligned planes, or Lower Planes at the bottom. The Lawful planes (or Planes of Law) sit to the left, and the Chaotic planes (or Planes of Chaos) to the right. Between all of these sit the Neutral planes, or the Planes of Conflict. One further plane sits in the centre of the ring, the Outlands, being neutral in alignment. At the center of the Outlands is a Spire of infinite height; the city of Sigil floats above the Spire's pinnacle. The standard D&D cosmology is the official cosmology used in the Planescape and Greyhawk campaign settings. Many of the alternative names derive from the 1st-edition Manual of the Planes (1987, ISBN 0-88038-399-2), and the in-game explanation given in the Planescape setting is that these names are used by the "Clueless", or characters from the Prime Material unfamiliar with the planes.
Outer Planes | ||||
Celestia | Bytopia | Elysium | Beastlands | Arborea |
Arcadia | ↑Good↑ | Ysgard | ||
Mechanus | ←Lawful | Outlands | Chaotic→ | Limbo |
Acheron | ↓Evil↓ | Pandemonium | ||
Baator | Gehenna | Hades | Carceri | Abyss |
Name | Alternative Name(s) | Alignment | Description | Notable native inhabitants |
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Elysium | Blessed Fields | Neutral good | The plane of peace and unadulterated goodness. |
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The Beastlands | Happy Hunting Grounds | Neutral good / Chaotic good | The plane of idealized nature. |
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Arborea | Arvandor, Olympus, Olympian Glades | Chaotic good | Fey realm of passion, abundance and nature's caprice. |
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Ysgard | Asgard, Gladsheim, Heroic Domains | Chaotic neutral / Chaotic good | The eternal battleground where true heroes prove their valor. |
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Limbo | Plane of Ever-Changing Chaos | Chaotic neutral | An alien, anarchistic and unpredictable plane. |
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Pandemonium | Plane of Windswept Depths | Chaotic evil / Chaotic neutral | An infinite network of pitch-black catacombs, with winds that drive men mad. |
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The Abyss | Plane of Infinite Layers | Chaotic evil | Evil lands of shocking perversity and unpredictable horror. |
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Carceri | Tarterus, Tartarus | Neutral evil / Chaotic evil | Liars, cheats and traitors are imprisoned here by their own deceptions. |
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The Gray Waste | Hades | Neutral evil | Here, all emotion and compassion is drained away, until only hopelessness, selfishness and apathy remain as baatezu and tanar'ri meet and clash in a colorless expanse. |
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Gehenna | Plane of Bleak Eternity | Neutral evil / Lawful evil | Volcanic realm of evil schemes and merciless cliffs. |
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Baator | Hell; The Nine Hells | Lawful evil | A realm of oppression, torment, and diabolical plots |
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Acheron | The Infernal Battlefield | Lawful neutral / Lawful evil | A plane of constant, pointless war, where identity is forever lost. |
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Mechanus | Nirvana | Lawful neutral | This clockwork plane is the ultimate in order; scholars and constructs live here. |
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Arcadia | The Land of Perfect Order, Plane of Peaceable Kingdoms | Lawful neutral / Lawful good | A peaceful place where all live in harmony; consequently, it is quite dull. |
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Mount Celestia | The Seven Heavens | Lawful good | Countless paladins and saints have ascended here. |
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Bytopia | Twin Paradises | Neutral good / Lawful good | Gnomes and other industrious folk dwell here. |
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The Outlands | Plane of Concordant Opposition | True Neutral | The plane between all other outer planes. |
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