Cosmology of Iourn

When I set about the major update to the Iourn site, I realised that I had said nothing about the cosmology of the campaign setting. Dungeons and Dragons is traditionally replete with various planes of existence where all manner of inhuman and hungry creatures dwell.

At this stage in the life of the setting I don't want to go into too much detail. There are several quite important story-related issues that hang off the planes and to chronicle them all now would be to pre-empt future revelations. I don't want the big reveal I've been planning for years to be greeted with as much surprise as the news that France is full of Frenchmen.

However, some things have already been revealed in sessions past, and others are obvious or simply so mundane that they can be revealed here. Where possible I have attempted to use terms in keeping with the third edition version of the Manual of the Planes so that we all know where we stand.

While reading this please remember that almost every person living in Iourn has no conception that there even are Planes of Existence. The following information, brief though it is, is almost entirely unknown throughout the northern and southern worlds. Even places of great learning such as the repositories of the Scriverners of Doom or the impenetrable citadels of the Arcanum Incognita do not have all the pieces of the puzzle. Having ranks in the skill Knowledge (The Planes) gives you an insight into what is out there, but you could study for a lifetime and still not know a fraction of all there is to know.

Breaking the Great Wheel

Depsite that fact that Iourn was originally conceived as a prime material world to set a Planescape campaign against, I do not use the default D&D cosmology. I like the Great Wheel, and I love Planescape, but there's no room in my campaign setting for all the various planes, permutations and factions that Planescape supported. A third edition Planescape campaign would be wondrous, but it would be a separate campaign. Iourn is its own setting.

I wrestled with this decision for a while, because I originally wanted to incorporate many Planescape elements into Iourn. However, I came to the conclusion that any campaign that puts a great emphasis on the Planes of Existence inevitably makes the prime material world seem smaller. It was very much a running joke in the Planescape campaign that characters like Gandalf, Aragorn and Gimli would arrive in Sigil full of their own importance after destroying Sauron only to realise that Middle Earth was just one world of countless millions and that no-one had even heard of Sauron or remotely cared about their quest (oh, and One Rings were 5gp for a dozen down in the Hive Ward).

I didn't want that for Iourn. I wanted the coming war against Karatath (it is coming, folks) and everything that comes afterwards (I do plan that far ahead) to be a big thing. And when I mean big thing, I mean an apocalyptic thing. I want everything to be at stake - not simply one world. Iourn isn't an insignificant orb, or tiny part of a larger puzzle, it is fundamental to everything. The Last Battle is fought here for a reason. The discovering of that reason is something of a plot point for future campaigns.

So, when you look at the Iourn setting don't expect choruses of angels to descend from Mount Celestia, don't expect the elemental planes to be as you remember, don't expect there even to be a Blood War between the fiends. Every feat, every race, every class and every spell that has been published exists in Iourn, but almost all of them have been twisted to my own purposes. As players discovered with the drow, the statistics might be the same, but beyond that all bets are off. So read the following by all means but bear in mind that the information is deliberately incomplete.

The Planes of Existence

The following are some of the planes that exist in the Iourn cosmology. Over this and the linked pages you will find several terms describing planar traits. On the whole I offer no information in regard to what these terms actually mean. They are described at length on pp7-14 of The Manual of the Planes and it is not my policy to reprint them here. However, there are three terms from that book I will explain here, because an understanding of them is central to an understanding of the Cosmology as a whole. The following text is adapted from p15 of the aforementioned Manual of the Planes:

Separate Planes: Two planes that are separate do not overlap or directly connect to each other. They are like planets in different orbits. An Outer Plane, for example, may have no direct connection with the Material Plane. The two planes are separate and the only way to get from one plane to the other is to go through a third plane, such as the Astral Plane.

Coterminous Planes: Planes that link together at specific points are coterminous. Think of conterminous planes as touching each other. Where they touch, a connection exists, and travellers can leave one reality behind and enter another. The Astral Plane is coterminous to most other planes. It exists along side them and can be accessed from them. Just because a magical portal links to planes does not make them coterminous. The portal may utilise a third plane in order to function.

Coexistant Planes: If a link between two planes can be created at any point, the two planes are coexistant. These planes overlap each other completely. A coexistant plane can be reached from anywhere on the plane it overlaps. When moving in a coexistant plane, it is often able to see into and interact with the plane it coexists with. The Ethereal Plane is coexistant with the Material Plane. Inhabitants of the Ethereal Plane can see into the Material Plane with the right magic, inhabitants of the Material Plane can likewise see and interact with those on the Ethereal Plane - with such spells as see invisibility and magic missile.

It should be pointed out that a plane can be both Coexistant and Coterminous. The Plane of Shadow, for example, is coexistant because it overlaps the Matrial Plane and can be accessed from there with the right spell or ability. It is also conterminous because it is possible to enter the Plane of Shadow at certain points and travel to strange parts of the plane beyond those that lie coexistant to the Material Plane.

Material Plane

The standard locale in which adventures are set, heroes are born and deeds are done. For the purposes of this campaign setting the world Iourn is the material plane. Scholars of the infinite can find no evidence of any other material plane beyond Iourn. The material world starts at the core of this world and ends at the rings that surround it. The material plane is coexistant with the the transitive planes and coterminus

• More on the Material Plane

Transitive Planes

Transitive planes are the glue that holds the universe together. They allow swift movement from one plane to another and even to different parts of the same plane as long as one has the rights spells or items to make use of them. The three regular transitive planes (Astral, Etheral and Shadow) function in exactly the same manner as the standard D&D cosmology. However, this campaign setting adds a fourth transitive plane: Dream.

• Astral Plane
• Ethereal Plane
• Shadow Plane
• Dream

Elemental Planes

The six elemental planes surround the material world of Iourn floating in the Void (see below). They remain separate from Iourn and can only be reached from that world via one of the transitive planes or by physically traversing the Void. The elemental planes themselves are not directly connected so there are no para-elemental or quasi-elemental planes as there are in the Planescape setting.

• Earth
• Air
• Fire
• Water
• Life
• Death

Outer Planes

The term "Outer Plane" is something of a misnomer in the Iourn Cosmology. These planes are places distinct from the material, transitive and elemental planes, but beyond that they share no commonality with each other. As to where these places are located, well that is anyone's guess really. The Great Dark is coterminus with with the Southern World of Iourn and can be accessed through the Seven Gates of Perdition. The Heavenly Realm can apparently be reached by crossing the Weirlands, although where these lands reside is a mystery to many scholars.

• Abyss
• Arvandor
• Far Realm
• Great Dark
• Greymere
• Heavenly Realm
• Io's Realm
• Void

Magic and Planes

The magical weave (see the D&D section on magic) unites all the planes of existence. The weave is anchored at several points around the universe and spreads like a web throughout all reality. The Weave is coexistant with every plane named above, although prevailing local conditions can drastically effect how magic operates on that plane. In some planes magic may not function at all, where in others it may be enhanced to ridiculous degrees.