Water

[ Water ] [ Mapping Infinity | Pockets | Bestiary | Flora ]

Water

The Bottomless Deep, the Superocean, the Big Tank, the Boundless Sea

The Way of Water

How’re ya floating, battler? Bet’cha need a cobber to flow you through the City of Glass? Ah fine, I’ll ease up on the slang—though you should really learn to talk like one of the glassfolk, if you wanna fit in here. So, you want the oil on the Bottomless Deep? Or the “dark”, or whatever they say in Sigil these days. An unusual request—I’m more of a tout for the City of Glass myself, but I do know a fair bit about the Plane of Water too. I’m no expert, but again, few are. My name is Malime the Wave-Friend (planar triton [he/him] / CN), and sure, for that kind of jink I’ll tell you everything I know about the Plane of Water.

The Plane of Water, the Bottomless Deep, the Superocean or just the Big Tank—whatever you call it, it is different from all the other Elemental Planes. There’s so much more life here, not just a couple of flapping birds or burrowing worms, but vast beautiful coral reefs, schools of fish and colossal sea monsters. Why so? Well, it’s because water is the universal solvent. No, I’m not talking about an alchemical substance. Water can’t actually dissolve everything—not quite—although it can solublise many substances and mix them within itself. A pocket of air in the Anvil is contained by rock—but in the Bottomless Deep it dissolves, enriching the streams and the currents. Add the natural aquatic light, which is produced by the plane itself, and you get the fertile ground for infinite blooms of plankton that nourish every creature all the way up the food chain.

Weirdly enough, elemental creatures are not quite as common in the Big Tank as they are on other Inner Planes. I figure it has something to do with water being the least variable of all the elements. Earth can be granite, clay, limestone or sand, see; Fire manifests itself as solid, liquid or as gas; even Air can be built differently in different places, with fresh air, malair, poison air, and air you can’t breathe at all. But Water is water is water, and everything else here is just pollution. Now, some alchemists claim that acids or salts are, in a way, forms of water, but I’d say that’s just a bunch of hugdug. Nonetheless, I was getting to something… Ah yes! There seem to be fewer varieties of elementals and elemental creatures on the Plane of Water than on other Inner planes, but that doesn’t mean they’re unimportant. In fact, water elementals are perhaps the most active out of four basic elemental types, and water weirds are much more famous (or should I say “infamous”?) than their counterparts of other elements.

Conditions

Substance and Temperature: Any dill can guess what the Plane of Water is made of. That’s right, water. But this means a lot more things than newcomers might realise. First of all, moving around can be somewhat harder than other planes—there are no convenient tunnels in water. A berk’s gotta do things the old fashioned way: swimming, or even just flapping their arms. They’ll also find that most forms of weaponry you use on the Prime—clubs, swords, bows and so on—become harder to wield underwater. Spears, however, stay as effective as they always are, which is why you see us aquatics waving tridents or harpoons. Then, of course, you need to be able to breathe in water. Elementals don’t need to breathe, naturally, but a lot of other natives have gills that filter air from the water around them. For Primes like you I’d recommend using a water breathing spell—it has the added benefit of letting you comfortably exist in areas where there’s not enough diluted oxygen even for gill-breathers. There’s also an issue with the temperature. Water conducts heat much better than air, so in colder regions a cutter risks freezing to death more quickly than they might expect. Core Water has a temperature of around 15-20 degrees Celsius, which is fine for a quick dip, but a battler going for a day-long swim may not even notice themselves slowly succumb to hypothermia. What’s worse, wet clothes barely retain heat, so a waterwalker will want to buy specialised (and, of course, more expensive) bodysuits made from fish scales, kelp or even woven from mermaid hair.

If you are one of those spellcasters (or, Istishia help me, alchemists), you’ll have to really consider what magics you bring with you. Spells that conjure forth fire simply fizzle out—their nature is antithetical to the Bottomless Deep (though spells like heat metal still work, if a splash less effectively). Lightning is even trickier—it might deal damage normally, but it also creates a dangerous burst at the spell’s point of origin (which is typically the caster). Acid and poisons are quickly diluted here, dealing only half damage. Cold and and sound still work as intended, and may even have their area of effect doubled depending on the spell’s nature. There are a lot more individual effects (for example, spells that create mist will fail), so a battler slinging spells should take a good time learning all the ins and outs. Or they can just stay within the City of Glass—most of these changes don’t apply in airy environments.

When it comes to drinking water—well, if you use water breathing spells, you will drink it, like it or not. But it’s generally safe to do so. Salinity varies greatly from place to place, and increases the closer you are to the Darkened Depths. Be wary of dark water around elemental pockets too, since they can release toxic chemicals as they dissolve.

Movement and Gravity: As I said, to move around on the Plane of Water you’ll have to swim. However, that’s easier than you may imagine, for the Bottomless Deep has no gravity and thus no pressure (or, rather, a constant and quite manageable pressure). You don’t have to worry about your heavy armour either—everything, regardless of its weight or density just floats in place unless disturbed. If you swim for too long and need a rest—just stay still and allow the currents to caress you. Creatures with the natural ability to swim find this environment especially relaxing and can go twice as fast as they can elsewhere [Author’s note: depending on the system and the circumstances this may give a major buff to a lot of creatures. If that’s the case, you can ignore this rule or restrict it to travel time only, not combat].

Senses: All water in the plane shines with a soft green-and-blue light, although it darkens near the border regions. In the dried-out bubbles no natural light is present, although drops of water and even humanoid bodies still shine dimly. But back to the water itself. The natural illumination in the plane allows for normal vision—however, since water is less translucent than air, it may be restricted depending on how clear the Big Tank is in that area. Sounds are carried by water well, although only creatures adapted to hearing underwater can capitalise on this. Same goes for the sense of smell and taste (which are basically one and the same here).

Currents: Just like the Plane of Air, the Bottomless Deep is awash with energy in form of streams and tides running throughout the plane. They aren’t as all-encompassing as in the Boundless Blue, and there are plenty of sargassos of completely still water, but currents are still important for getting around the plane but also dangerous for the unwary.

A Bestiary of Water

• Water Elementals
  • In which is described the many and varied forms which Living Water can take, as the element exemplifies its many various shapes, forms, flavours and temperaments.
• Elementaloids of Water
  • In which we meet creatures not wholly composed of water, but nor are they entirely flesh. Think of them perhaps as planetouched by the element of Water—the aquatic genies, elemental-mortal hybrids, water-infused creatures and true natives of the plane of Water.
• The Life Aquatic (A-K | L-Z coming soon)
  • In which is described the multitude of sea creatures, sea monsters, sea abominations, and sea humanoids who’ve come to the Bottomless Ocean and decided to settle here for good. Some are recent arrivals, and some have been here for generations, evolving into different beasties entirely than their cousins on the Prime.
• Visiting Swimmers (coming soon)
  • In which we will discuss the myriad of visitors a battler might encounter in the Deep. These cutters are not actually natives, and probably do not dwell on the plane at at, at least not permanently—they are more commonly encountered as they travel through the plane on business mercantile, religious or nefarious.
• Flora of Water
  • In which we learn of the most unusual plants and sedentary animals of the Deep.

The Ninefold Seas

• Borders of Water
  • Bay of Light (border region with Quasi-Elemental Steam)
  • Darkened Depths (border region with Quasi-Elemental Salt)
  • Sea of Ice (border region with Para-Elemental Ice)
  • Silt Flats (border region with Para-Elemental Ooze)
• Core Water (the bulk of the Plane of Water)
  • Brack (region of stagnant, saline water) ‡
  • Bubble Fields (region of frothing, sparkling water) ‡
  • Turbid Sea (region of churning, cloudy water) ‡
  • Undertow (region of powerful currents of cold water) ‡
• Deep Water (region of completely pure water) ‡

Locations in Water

• Arzanib (ruined marid burg) †
  • Planes of Power [PFe] p42
• Axtarr, Firros, and Palixna (fire pockets which light the plane, Bay of Light) †
  • Planes of Power [PF1e] p44
• Avenger (wandering vehicle/construct/site)
  • Inner Planes [2e] p58,77; Manual of the Planes [3e] p79
• Bloodtide, the (site) ‡
  • Elemental Netbook [2e] p49
• Boundless Sea (realm of the archomental Lysianassa) †
• Bubble Net (vortex to the Plane of Air, Bubble Fields)
  • Planescape Campaign Setting [2e] DM’s Guide p31
• Citadel of Ten Thousand Pearls (marid capital burg)
  • Secret of the Djinn; Monstrous Compendium [2e] Al-Qadim Appendix; Dragon magazine #353 p45; Inner Planes [2e] p54,56,58-59; Manual of the Planes [3e] p79; Planescape Campaign Setting [2e] DM’s Guide p31; Planewalker’s Handbook [2e] p28
• City of Glass, the (major city of the plane)
  • Inner Planes [2e] p4,59; Manual of the Planes [3e] p79; Planewalker’s Handbook [2e] p28; Vortex of Madness [2e] p65-69
• Curling Wave (realm of Ahto)
  • Inner Planes [2e] p55; On Hallowed Ground [2e] p104,173
• Demiplane of Filth (site)
  • Monster Manual V [3e] p165
• Evershale (marid city) †
  • Planar Adventures [PF1e] p144; Planes of Power [PF1e] p44; Rage of Elements [PF2e] p166
• Fulgurate Marble (city of unknown masked humanoids) †
  • Raiders of the Fever Sea [PF1e] p69
• Gasping Pearl (site) †
  • Planes of Power [PF1e] p6; Rage of Elements [PF2e] p171
• Heart of the Sea (planar touchstone)
  • Planar Handbook [3e] p156-157
• Heavy Water (site) ‡
• House of Diehl Kranar †
  • Dungeon Magazine #72
• Ice Catacombs (planar touchstone site, Precipice)
  • Planar Handbook [3e] p163
• Indigo Canyon (realm of the archomental Olhydra; Deep Water)
  • Dragon Magazine #374 p38
• Jungle of Worms (forest of corals and anemones) †
  • Raiders of the Fever Sea [PF1e] p69
• Kelizandrika, the Brackish Empire (realm of the archomental Kelizandri, Brack) †
  • Palace of Salt and Bones
  • The Great Beyond [PF1e] p21; Planar Adventures [PF1e] p144-146; Planes of Power [PF1e] p45; Rage of Elements [PF2e] p168,170,186; Raiders of the Fever Sea [PF1e] p69-70
• Krakenlands (region of Deep Water) ‡
• Lion’s-Mouth Hold (enormous psychic jellyfish in a kelp forest) †
  • Planar Adventures [PF1e] p145; Planes of Power [PF1e] p45
• Lure (enormous anglerfish) †
  • City-on-Lure (ceratioidi burg) †
  • Planes of Power [PF1e] p46; Rage of Elements [PF2e] p167
• Mapailek (selkie burg, Sea of Ice) †
  • Planes of Power [PF1e] p46
• Murky Depths (realm of Blibdoolpoolp, Silt Flats)
  • Inner Planes [2e] p55; On Hallowed Ground [2e] p136,177
• Nation of the Kelp (nation) ‡
  • Elemental Netbook [2e]
• Phantom’s Ebb (shadowy ship graveyard, Darkened Depths)†
  • Planar Adventures [PF1e] p145; Planes of Power [PFe] p46; Rage of Elements [PF2e] p167
• Salvage Tide, the (region of crusting pressure, Undertow) †
  • Planes of Power [PF1e] p46
• Savisura (abandoned temple complex; Sea of Ice) †
  • Planar Adventures [PF1e] p146; Planes of Power [PFe] p47
• Sea of Timelessness (realm of the archomental Istishia)
  • Cresting Spires (palace of Istishia)
  • On Hallowed Ground [2e] p181
• Shelluria (realm of Eadro and Persana)
  • Inner Planes [2e] p56; On Hallowed Ground [2e] p177
• Shell Confederation (cephalopod burg, Deep Water) ‡
• Silver Eye (gate to Muspelheim)
  • Inner Planes [2e] p51
• Ssesurgass (realm of Ben-Hadar)
  • Dragon Magazine #353 p45; Inner Planes [2e] p55; Planescape Monstrous Compendium Vol. III [2e] p20
• Trawling Citadel (realm of Rissinis) ‡
• Trench of Uapo’an (a bleachlake in the Darkened Depths) †
  • Rage of Elements [PF2e] p167
• Undertow (main burg in the Undertow) ‡
• Undine Realm
• Vialesk, the City of Splendid Waves (independent undine metropolis) †
  • Arrekin’s Bazaar (spiral merchant district)
  • Azure Armoury (city guard)
  • Chamber’s Sphere (amphitheatre)
  • The Glass Pit (communal furnace and forge)
  • Guildmaster’s Hall (trading organisations)
  • The Sonaphor (acoustic listening station)
  • Splendor’s Docks (docks for all kinds of vessels)
  • Swaying Gardens (ornamental garden and farm)
  • The Great Beyond [PF1e] p21; Planar Adventures [PF1e] p146-147; Planes of Power [PFe] p48-49; Rage of Elements [PF2e] p168-169; Raiders of the Fever Sea [PF1e] p70
• Void Mosasaur
• Waterspout (see Bubble Net)
• Whirlcurrents (realm of Osprem, Undertow)

Water Powers

• Ahto (Finnish power of the sea)
  • Inner Planes [2e] p55; On Hallowed Ground [2e] p102,104,173
• Ao’orn / Lion’s Mouth (colossal intelligent communal jellyfish) †
  • Planes of Power [PF1e] p45; Rage of Elements [PF2e] p169
• Ben-Hadar (archomental Prince of Good Water creatures; Squallbringer; the Valorous Tempest) (planar water archomental [he/him] / NG)
  • Dragon Magazine #347 p39; #353 p43-45; Fiendish Codex I [3e] p113; Inner Planes [2e] p55-56; Planescape Monstrous Compendium Vol. III [2e] p9,17,20-21
• Blipdoolploop (kuo-toa power of death and drowning)
  • Dragon Magazine #300 p62; #334 p63; #342 p76; #347 p39; #349 p35; Inner Planes [2e] p55-56; Monster Manual V [3e] p98; Manual of the Planes [3e] p100; On Hallowd Ground [2e] p136,177
• Eadro (patron power of locathah and merfolk) [missing, possibly dead?]
  • Dragon Magazine #141 p30; #347 p38-39; #353 p45; Inner Planes [2e] p56; On Hallowed Ground [2e] p177
• Istishia (primordial archomental elemental water and purification [he/him] / N)
  • Dragon Magazine #347 p29; Inner Planes [2e] p54,56; On Hallowed Ground [2e] p53,181; Planescape Campaign Setting [2e] DM’s Guide p32
• Kelizandri (the Brackish Emperor; elemental lord of drowning, water and waves [he/him] / NE) †
  • Planes of Power [PF1e] p6; Rage of Elements [PF2e] p69,166-171,186
• Lysianassa (Empress of the Torrent; elemental lord of currents, tides and water [she/her] / NG) †
  • Planes of Power [PF1e] p6; Rage of Elements [PF2e] p168-171
• Olhydra (archomental Princess of Evil Water creatures [she/her] / NE)
  • Dragon Magazine #374 p30,34,36-39,41; #353 p45,50; Inner Planes [2e] p46,54-56; Planescape Monstrous Compendium Vol. III [2e] p9,16-18,20; Monster Manual IV [3e] p7,13-14; On Hallowed Ground [2e] p53
• Ol-Okun (Yoruban power, Owner of the Sea)
  • Dragon Magazine #27 p39
• Osprem (Suel power of sailors, sea voyages and ships)
  • Dragon Magazine #350 p69
• Persana (triton power of creation and architecture)
  • Dragon Magazine #347 p39; #353 p45; Inner Planes [2e] p56; On Hallowed Ground [2e] p177
• Rissinis (Pelinorian power of fishermen and sailors / N)
  • Imagine Magazine #26 p14
• Queen of the Depths †
  • Planar Adventures [PF1e] p146
• Shaliroi (the King of Water Elementals, power)
  • Dragon Magazine #24 [D&D 1e] p37
• Straasha (the Water Lord, lesser power and Lord of Water Elementals)
  • Dragon Magazine #54 [D&D 1e] p9
• Tefnut (Egyptian power of storms and water)
  • Deities & Demigods [3e] p135,157; On Hallowed Ground [2e] p84,86,88,91,173; Planes of Conflict [2e] Liber Benevolentiae p32-33,44-45
• Water Lion (wandering power patron of benevolent sea creatures / NG)
  • Dragon Magazine #353 p45; On Hallowed Ground [2e] p177

Kingdoms and Tribes of Water

• Consortium of the Transparent Bell †
  • Rage of Elements [PF2e] p169
• Elemental Realms
  • Cult of the Crushing Wave
  • Weird Conclaves
• Faydhaan Empire of Marids (the Coral Throne)
  • Dragon Magazine #347 p39
• He’moana (ruvoka tribe)
• Kingdom of Tritons
• Kelizandrika, the Brackish Empire (brine dragon realms, ruled by Kelizandri) †
  • Planes of Power [PF1e] p41; Rage of Elements [PF2e] p168,170
• Koalinth Coalitions
• Krakens
• Kuo-Toan Cult of Blipdoolploop
• Merfolk Territories (Darkened Depths) †
• Phantom Wreckers (undead gang led by the Lightless Lord) †
  • Planes of Power [PF1e] p46
• Sahuagin Baronies
• Sea Elf States
• Shale Circle (secret shahzada marid leaders of Evershale) †
  • Planes of Power [PF1e] p44
• Shell Confederation (cephalopod burg) ‡

Wavemakers

• al-Rakal, Haitm (planar wizard [he/him])
  • Inner Planes [2e] p59
• Alanoin (human bard proxy of Ahto [he/him] / Indeps / NG)
  • Inner Planes [2e] p55; On Hallowed Ground [2e] p104
• Anhianhi (the Mistress of the Docks) †
  • Planes of Power [PF1e] p49
• Blue Coven (trio of sea hags in service to Olhydra)
  • Dragon Magazine #374 p38
• Enkala (oracular dancing faydhaan marid) †
  • Rage of Elements [PF2e] p169
• First Pilot Fireen (ceratioidi bard [she/her] / NG) †
  • Planes of Power [PF1e] p46
• ibn Jari, Kalbari al-Durrat al-Amwaj (Great Padishah of the Marids, the Keeper of the Empire, Pearl of the Sea, the Mother of Foam, the Maharaja of the Oceans, Emir of All Currents) (planar marid [she/her])
  • Inner Planes [2e] p54,58-59; Manual of the Planes [3e] p79,173; Planescape Campaign Setting [2e] DM’s Guide p32
• Lea Kinnae (undine ferry pilot) †
  • Planes of Power [PF1e] p40
• Lightless Lord (shadowy ruler of Phantom’s Ebb — may not exist) †
  • Planar Adventures [PF1e] p145
• Lindalliss (water naga summoner [he/him] / N) †
  • Planar Adventures [PF1e] p146; Planes of Power [PF1e] p47
• Riafera (nautilus proxy of Lysianassa)†
  • Rage of Elements [PF2e] p168
• Swaranna Rei (marid oracle [she/her] / N) †
  • Planes of Power [PF1e] p45
• Varine Yeogh (selkie ranger [she/her/ / CN) †
  • Planes of Power [PF1e] p46
• Councillor Vaitea Una (the Chamber of Splendor’s leader) †
  • Planes of Power [PF1e] p49
• Water Dwarf, the (dwarf fighter proxy of Ahto [he/him] / LG)
  • Inner Planes [2e] p55,58; On Hallowed Ground [2e] p104
• Wientaugh (triton)
  • Inner Planes [2e] p50
• Willam Hoshtull (undine fighter [he/him] / LN) †
  • Planes of Power [PF1e] p48
• Zilm (salamander rogue [he/him] / N) †
  • Planes of Power [PF1e] p49

Hazards of Water

• Bleachlakes (particularly Darkened Depths) †
  • Rage of Elements [PF2e] p167
• Burn Water (particularly Darkened Depths)
  • Tainted, acidic water resulting from chemicals dissolving from a Mineral or Ooze pocket. These areas can cause damage to creatures and objects they touch. [2e Rule: Save vs. breath weapon or suffer 2d10 damage, halved on a successful save]
  • Inner Planes [2e] p53
• Currents (particularly Undertow) ‡
  • Simultaneously hazardous and useful, the complex network of currents across the Plane of Water are most commonly used as trade routes, for the swift-flowing streams carry creatures and vessels at surprising speed across vast distances with little effort required. Many of these currents are tidal however, and understanding the ebb and flow of currents is a skill that many mortal navigators require years to master.
• Dead Water (particularly Deep Water) ‡
  • A patch of extremely pure water, which is more dangerous than it sounds to many creatures—hence the name given to these places by planewalkers. Firstly, for creatures relying upon gill-breathing, there is no dissolved air for them to extract. Secondly, the osmotic gradient of pure water leeches out minerals from mortal swimmers, slowly starving their bodies of nutrients and inflicting hyponatremia, or water intoxication. Only elemental creatures made from water are unaffected by these effects, conversely finding the lack of pollution invigorating.
• Doom Tide (anywhere in Elemental Water)
  • Inner Planes [2e] p53
• Iceburgs (particularly Sea of Ice) ‡
  • A slow-moving but silent threat to vessels and structures, but also a hazard to unprotected swimmers who can be crushed or afflicted with hypothermia from the chill currents that emanate from these structures.
• Red Tide (particularly Turbid Sea)
  • Currents infested with parasitic life, which is debilitating to non-water breathers but deadly to native water breathers. [2e Rule: Treat as a cause disease spell]
  • Inner Planes [2e] p53-54; Planar Handbook [3e] p77
• Ripples (anywhere in Elemental Water)
  • Extreme and sudden variations in heat, salinity, current or pressure which present a danger to planewalkers and planar natives alike.
  • Rage of Elements [PF2e] p167
• Sargasso (particularly Deep Water) ‡
  • A aquatic doldrum of still water with no currents. Even water elementals can become disorientated and lose their sense of direction in these places. Should a vessel get stranded in the sargasso, it’ll need rowers or swimmers to tug it back into a current the hard way.
• Storm Surges (anywhere in Elemental Water)
• Thermal Vents (surrounding Magma pockets)
  • Magma pockets spew sulfurous and superheated water jets into the sea, threatening unprotected swimmers with damage from scalding heat or skin-stripping acid.
• Thin Water (particularly the Bay of Light)
  • Dragon Magazine #347 p52
• Whirlpools / Vortices (anywhere in Elemental Water)

Sources

Canonical Sources: Start with the excellent Planescape Inner Planes [2e] book p6,8-10,13,29,50-59,68,72,83,104,118,120.

• Dead Gods [2e] p86; Guide to the Ethereal Plane [2e] p17,20,47,86; Inner Planes [2e] p6,8-10,13,29,50-59,68,72,83,104,118,120; On Hallowed Ground [2e] p53,102,136,173,177; Planes of Chaos [2e] Book of Chaos p51; Monstrous Supplement p5; Planewalker’s Handbook [2e] p9,25,28-29,39,42 (26
• Planescape Campaign Setting [2e] DM’s Guide p12-13,15,26-29,31-34,36,38; Monstrous Supplement p28-29; Player’s Guide p5; Sigil & Beyond p57
• Planescape Monstrous Compendium Vol. I [2e] p53,128; Vol. III p8-9,12,17,20,24-25,38,40-41,46,80,96,102-103,112-113,117,122-124
• Dragon Magazine #008 p4; #347 p32,38,42,50-52; #349 p42; #353 p45; #357 p54
• Manual of the Planes [3e] p77-80,146,173,180,182,194-195,207; Planar Handbook [3e] p42,77,80,156,163; Monster Manual II [3e] p127; III p28; IV p14; V p162
• † Pathfinder lore references mentioned on the relevant entries.

Sources: Margarita and Jon Winter-Holt. ‡ Homebrew.