Dust
Physical Conditions on Dust

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The Sky and Ground

The Sky and Ground -- Like Ash, Dust is a solid plane, f you don't mind using the word 'solid' in a loose sense. With a consistency of wet sand at its most solid (with the occasional lump of rock thrown in) Efka Farstriderto clouds of dusty nothing at its thinnest, there's no division between sky and ground. In places, a traveller can simple walk through the plane, in others she'll have to dig. Careful, though, because tunnelling here is treacherous and cave-ins frequent.

The Light

If you like a bit of light, you'll have to bring your own. The proximity of Dust to the Negative means that light sources are dimmer than you'd expect, but as you can't see far anyway, it's not like it matters. Either the plane is solid or so choked with dust that vision is measures in inches rather than yards!

The Locals

'Bleak' is a word that readily springs to mind when considering the natives of Dust. The mephits tend to be a dour bunch, obsessed with death and decay -- they'd make fine members of the Doomguard or the Dead if they weren't so sodding provincial and apathetic that they'd considered there's life outside this miserable plane. The quasi-elementals are similarly unfriendly, though this is more due to their longevity. Dust quasielementals are about as immortal as they come, and they delight in watching things slowly crumble. The chant goes a dust quasielemental thinks nothing of spending several centuries on the Prime watching a rock become weathered, crack and blow away. You can imagine they're not the greatest of conversationalists.

The Laws

Little is taboo on this plane, for the pervasive nature of death and decay here preclude most of the things societies regard as abhorrent crimes from being any more than the norm on Dust. Someone's been murdered? Who cares? They were on their way out anyway. However, one thing should be noted. Priests who use spells in the sphere of Creation should beware for the spirits and powers of the plane take great exception to these magics. Similarly, the casting of the wizard spell mending is a heinous crime.

The Gravity

Bring your own. Or rather, think your own. The plane has no up or down of its own, so if you like that sort of thing (as most planewalkers do) be prepared to spend some time imagining it up.

The Magic

Spell keys here revolve around the crumbling of stones. If your spell requires crushed sandstone for a key all well and good. But mages who like to cast higher-level spells had better work on their finger muscles, for crushed flint and diamonds are tall orders for anyone!

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Inner Planes

Here's something I can't praise enough. This tome explores not only Dust, but all eighteen Inner Planes, describing the hazards, physical conditions, powerful residents and most famous sites of each.

Just because I like you, I'm going to make you an offer. You want to learn more about the Inner Planes? You got the right jink? Why didn't you say before? It's a deal!

Find out more about the Inner Planes book here, or order it here, at a generous discount from the RRP of US$20: [ US$ | UK£ ]

Copyright 1999, text by Jon Winter,
graphics by Jon Winter and Jeremiah Golden

Consult the Mimir Again