Material Plane

Biodata

Cosmology

The Material Plane is one of the multiverse’s three core layers alongside the Semi-Material Plane and the Soul Energy Plane. These layers are enclosed by the near-infinite Astral Plane. 278

In Soren’s understanding of planar structure, the Upper and Lower Planes resemble two pyramids joined at their bases; their meeting point is the Material Plane. 180

Form and Elemental Foundation

• The Material Plane is vast and boundless, but it is not a planet. 526 720
• A planar barrier surrounds its exterior. Deep beneath it are channels connected to the Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind Elemental Planes. 526
• Earth, Water, Fire, and Air form the fundamental material composition of the multiverse; the Material Plane’s relative balance of these forces makes it suitable for ordinary life. 526 720
• Imbalances in elemental influence can radically alter a plane’s environment, such as creating extreme gravity, unlivable heat, endless oceans, or violent winds. 720

Planar Connections

Magic and Divine Influence

• The Magic Net allows Wizards to hand over mana and borrow the Goddess of Magic’s power in exchange for spell slots; it is both a convenience and a restriction on magical development. 21
• The fall of the Goddess of Magic would disrupt spellcasting across countless planes and trigger catastrophic instability on the Material Plane. 21 707
• Greater gods can maintain domains spanning the entire world. Kelemvor’s Eternal Slumber domain normally prevents ordinary corpses from rising as undead without necromantic magic. 1003
• When Kelemvor’s domain began dissipating, the Material Plane’s death aura intensified and dead creatures could potentially transform into undead naturally. 1003

Inhabitants and Significance

The Material Plane is described as the “root of everything.” Most petitioners in celestial divine kingdoms originate here, while demon gods of the Bottomless Abyss also build their realms upon the souls of Material Plane believers. 230

It is home to both native peoples and immigrant races. Orcs, Eye Tyrants, Mind Flayers, Lizardfolk, and other races are noted as having arrived from other Plane Spaces and later settled here. 829

Despite advanced magical centers such as Wizard City and the Northland Witch Council, the Material Plane as a whole remains at a late-medieval level of development. Arcane technology is tightly restricted because magic energy is volatile and mistakes can cause large-scale disasters. 854

Origin Tradition

Followers of Ogma preserve a creation myth stating that Suren, the Lady of the Night, and Shar, the Silver Moon Lady, created the Material Plane; Chauntea, the Earth Goddess, was born soon afterward. The myth further claims that a traveler from a distant realm spent a billion years naming and defining unstable concepts, giving them power and fixing the natural world into material form. 898

Saints Upheaval

• Before the Time of Troubles officially begins, only limited numbers of demons from the Bottomless Abyss and devils from Bator Hell can enter the Material Plane. 230
• As the balance between planes breaks down, connections to the Lower Planes, Elemental Planes, and even the Astral Plane strengthen. 230
• The weakening Planar Barrier leads to more elemental lifeforms and demon attacks across the world. 721
• Soren’s foreknowledge holds that the fall of the Goddess of Magic would cause the Material Plane to collapse into chaos, with roughly 90% of its population dying by the end of the Saints Upheaval. 707
• Devil plots during the upheaval include distributing magically corrupted food that sickens civilians, turns victims into undead, and spreads corpse poison through attacks. 887
• After Kelemvor is harmed and Eternal Slumber dissipates, undead disturbances spread as death energy thickens across the plane. 1003
• Blood War legions invade to harvest souls, then withdraw hundreds of kilometers after securing a major harvest from the densely populated world. 1122

Notable Quotes

“The Material Plane was the root of everything.” 230