Ash

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The Negative Quasi-Elemental Plane of Ash

Ahoy Portalskippers!

Me old chiv Voilá! gave me the rattle as he reckoned I could give you the best whispers on the plane of Ash. And you know what, he was probably right.

Me name’s Efka Farstrider, and I’ve been banging about this part of the multiverse for as long as tanar’ri teeth. Longer than some of the factions have been in your Cage, that’s a cert. Oh, I remember the Great Upheaval… it ain’t often that something from Spiretown makes waves out this far, I’ll tell you that for free.

But I’m meandering. You want to hear about Ash. I know it like the back of my hand. In fact, the back of my hand looks a lot like Ash. But then that’s because I’m dead. No, don’t get all morbid on me, I rather like it. I’m deader than dead. Undead, you call it, eh? Surprised? We’re not all rapacious ghouls, mindless zombies or ravishing vampiresses, you know. Some of the wights I know are quite normal. Well, as normal as a shambling decaying talking corpse can be… you could almost call some of them friendly.

And before you ask just because I’m dead, it doesn’t mean my chant’s out of date too. ‘Fact, I’ve done a lot more exploring since my (un)death set in; indeed, the Lower Elemental Planes are a hefty sight more friendly to your constitution if you ain’t got one. Best thing I ever did was die. I heartily recommend it, portalskippers…

Fire’s Wake: Physical Conditions on Ash

So here’s a glancing look at the plane, its physical conditions, and vital chant you’ll need to know if planning to come here.

The plane of Ash has no layers. Fact is, cutter, some graybeards in Spiretown don’t even think it’s a real plane at all, they mumble something about negative energy causing entropy to elemental fire, quenching and decomposing it to ash, as if our beautiful smouldering wastes were nothing but a border zone of elemental chaos. Whatever burns your brain-box I suppose, us Ashers couldn’t care less what they write in their books about the place. Paper turns to ash in the end anyway, and their words will too. When you’ve look out across the vast pristine waste, seen the motes churning and mixing like they’re alive, watched the fires of creation crackle and die—then you can talk to me about what’s a plane and whats not.

At its edges, Core Ash touches Fire, Smoke, Magma, Dust, Vacuum and the Nothing. As you move towards any of those other elements, the nature of the ash itself changes…

Mapping Infinity: The Ashenlands

• Core Ash is the chilly heart of the plane.
• Travel Dustwards and you’ll come across the accursed Wasting Place.
• Head Magmawise and the heat intensifies as you enter the Cinder Wells.
• Towards Fire, you’ll find the Sea of Frozen Flames, Fire’s Death.
• Towards Smoke, the Ash is fanned by warm breezes and becomes the Embers.
• But that’s nothing to the last two—in the direction of Vacuum the motes thin out more and more until you’re in the Sparkling Vast, a place as beautiful as it is barren.
• And then finally, if you dare, venture Nothingwards and let the chill of entropy take over your bones as you cross into Empty Winter.

So there you have it portalskipper; travel in the Inner Planes is probably very different to what you’re used to. I hear you’ve got things called compasses on the Prime that point in one direction. Here on the Inner Planes we have six cardinal directions, and remember, the nearest exit may be behind you…

Places of Note

• Ammet Han’sha (burg in Core Ash) ‡
• Ashes of Penance (burg in the Wasting Place) ‡
• Ashes to Ashes (burg in Empty Winter) ‡
• Charcoal Palace of Yethea, the (site in the Embers) ‡
• Choking Cloud, the (hazard in the Wasting Place) ‡
• The Cinder Mines (site in the Cinder Wells) ‡
• Cindrek (burg in the Embers) ‡
• Citadel Cavitius (fortress in Empty Winter)
• Citadel of Former Flame, the (fortress in Core Ash)
• Cold Reality (burg in Empty Winter) ‡
• Crumbling Citadel, the (fortress in Empty Winter) ‡
• Ember (burg in the Sea of Frozen Flames) ‡
• Pollutus (burg in Core Ash) ‡
• Rekindle (fortress in the Sea of Frozen Flames) ‡
• Shadowdust (site in the Wasting Place) ‡
• Smouldering Rage (burg in the Sea of Frozen Flames) ‡
• Starfall (realm in the Sparkling Vast) ‡

Core Ash

Cinder Wells

Embers

Empty Winter

Sea of Frozen Flames

Sparking Vast

Wasting Place

Philosophy and Culture

• The Ash Statues (a story from the Sparkling Vast) ‡
• The Faithful of the Flame (seekers of the ashes of an immolated power) ‡
• The Incorporata (a power-hungry sect of Ash) ‡
• The Sifters (a coterie of Doomguard) ‡

Movers and Shakers

• Almdrid Sunkiller (demipower of love and cold) ‡
• Doomlord Devland (high-up of the Crumbling Citadel)
• Vecna (lich-power of magic and evil secrets)
• Yethea (planar ash mephit queen [she/her] / N) ‡

Creatures of Ash

• See the separate entry for the Bestiary of Ash

Canonwatch: Entries are from D&D canon unless otherwise marked, although when the canon is sparse I’ve got creative with the details; † adapted from a 3rd party publication; ‡ homebrew.

The Sky and Ground

We don’t have those here, ‘skipper. Like Earth, Ash is a solid plane, though it’s less stony and real easy to tunnel through. Plenty of native creatures can burrow through the stuff as if it wasn’t even there, and some of them leave tunnels behind too. Be warned, though, that the ash collapses with ease, you’ll want to reinforce them if you want them to stick around. There are also caverns and rifts and some places where other elements have bled through the planar boundaries or been deliberately introduced.

As Ash overlaps with the neighbouring elements, its consistency changes considerably; near Smoke, Vacuum or the Nothing, the ash thins right out until it becomes more of a cloud. The ashen dust of the Wasting Place is a fine silt that won’t support tunnelling at all, that place is real hostile if you’re not a native. The Sea of Frozen Flames and the Cinder Wells are solid ground, pock-marked with holes and natural tunnels. See, Ash is much more complicated than you probably thought; there are microclimates all over the place.

The Light

Ash is a dim plane, though it’s considerably better off than the rest of the Lower Elementals. Ash is lit by the dull glow of cinders and dying coals; a dim red radiance at best in the brighter areas. Nearer to the Negative all light is muted further until freezing dead ash is all there is. Here, it’s black as pitch. Ah, the peaceful darkness, just lovely.

The Air

If you’re unlucky enough to still be drawing breath, then you’re going to have a problem here. While the tunnels tend to have thin air—that I’m told smells a bit like burnt hair—you’ll have to wear some kind of mask or filter to save yourself from choking. Out in the Core Ash though where you’ll need to dig, there’s nothing to breathe so you’ll want magical assistance. And a mask!

The Gravity

Gravity is a subjective thing here. Whichever way you perceive it, it finds you, so a canny cutter can walk along the walls, floor, or ceiling of tunnels—well, of course those words stop meaning things then. However, when he comes to a burg, the prevailing gravity depends on where the inhabitants planned it. Funny thing, gravity…

The Hazards

The chill of Ash is the main thing a visitor’s got to worry about. If she ain’t protected from cold by magic, the numbing chill will take its toll [2d6 hps per turn]. Fiery creatures suffer far more, and even magic won’t save ’em from the numbing effect of the plane. Mage powder, Negative pockets and deathly sludge are other dangers of the plane [see Inner Planes, p110-111 for the dark].

The Laws

The laws on Ash are few and far between. Both ash mephits and quasi-elementals look unfavourably upon bashers who kill members of their own race (but not the other’s—there never was love lost between ’em). Theft of planar material is also a big taboo, but when was the last time any sane sod tried to steal cartfuls of ash? It just ain’t a problem, berk. Just because nothing else is illegal here, doesn’t mean the natives are impossible to annoy, though—far from it. The tempers of ash creatures are legendary; one false move and they flare up like rekindled fires, burning as hot as the angriest efreet.

The Magic

Fire spells don’t work here without a key, and as fire can’t be sustained without an atmosphere, only instantaneous fire spells will have much effect anyway—spells like heat metal or wall of fire will fail. Spell keys here are generally the burned remains of spell components, but don’t assume that, it’s always wise to check.

I’ve also got the chant on a handful of spells that are well-known here but maybe haven’t made it to Spiretown:

The Magic of Ash

• Ashen Buckler (wizard level 1) ‡
• Soot Ball (wizard level 1) ‡
• Ashen Reconstruction (wizard level 5) ‡
• Object to Ash (wizard level 7) ‡

Canonical Sources:

• The Inner Planes [2e] p108-113 (Essential information for would-be travellers)
• Planescape Monstrous Compendium Volume III (various ashy monsters)
• Manual of the Planes [5e] p126-128, see here

Source: Jon Winter-Holt. Canonwatch: † is from a third party publication, usually Pathfinder; ‡ denotes a homebrew item.