Category:Cosmology
The cosmology of GemStone IV is ill-defined in the sense of systematic schemes of categorization and theory. The Shadow World cosmology of the I.C.E. Age was somewhat more concrete, with separate kinds of planes and entities such as the Pales. There were plans for an onion shell kind of model of planes surrounding our world, formed by tensions of kinds of forces and dualities. This was the original sense of the word "valences." Strictly speaking, not every "other reality" should be called a "plane" or "plane of existence", if the metaphor of a surface plane or "existence" is not meaningful.
Properties
Known Properties
Some basic facts of the multi-planar setting from documentation and observed phenomena:
- The world is separated from other planes or realms by "veils" surrounding it.
- Veils in a local region can be permanently weakened or damaged from tears.
- These other realities shift and move around in some higher space.
- Intersections of planes move around as planes move around.
- Intersections allow foreign energy and properties to bleed through the two worlds.
- Very large intersections may form a whole planar nexus or demi-plane.
- Creatures can be corrupted, cursed, or transformed by foreign energy.
- Physical properties, including time, can vary greatly.
- Veils can be "pierced", allowing planar transport.
- Rifts can happen accidentally under intense magic.
- Some realms are "near" while others are "outer."
Unknown Properties
There are numerous unsettled questions on how the greater world system works, some of which include:
- Whether extraplanar beings are (always) here materially in their native form or take on a form according to the laws of our reality.
- Whether what we see on other planes is their true form or if travelers see renderings formed by their own physical properties.
- Which properties or energies of our world are native and which came from other planes? How far into this universe do the latter reach?
- Is the many-veil situation local to our world, and similarly is magic? Is it possible to do this from distant planets in our universe?
- Why is it seemingly impossible or very difficult to make portals to this world starting from other planes? (e.g. Is there a still-working Eye of the Drake near the south pole?)
- Why are beings of this world seemingly never summoned against their will by beings from other planes?
- Whether extraplanar flora and fauna are indigenous or if there was some pre-historical transplanting and perhaps corruption.
- Whether killing extraplanar beings on this plane sometimes banishes them to their world or always destroys them entirely.
- What precisely distinguishes "demons" from "non-demonic" entities, and categories of demons other than valence origins.
- Why the same demonic types appear on multiple planes, or their clearly related cousins.
- Whether "anti-mana" is the same thing as corruptive demonic energies, and whether this is equivalent with "unholy" power.
- Whether corruptive demonic energies are the same thing as the evil essence tainting the undead.
- Whether this unavoidably corrupts races, the fey/nature spirits, and Lornon Arkati.
- Whether such "dark energy" is corrupt mana that can be produced by sorcerers without summoning it from another realm.
- What does it mean for "sorcery" to use extraplanar energies as "elemental/spiritual hyrbids"?
- Whether some extraplanar beings are formed on other planes from what happens on this plane. (e.g. Althedeus)
- To what extent the power of the Arkati reaches into other planes and can be used.
- Whether the Arkati mostly reside in this material world or other planes.
- What does it mean that extraplanar beings can convert beings of other realities into their own or other kinds or hybrids? (e.g. glistening cerebralites, necleriines, Larsya, etc.)
- Is the "soul" immutably part of this plane's properties, or in terms of its constitutive energy, can it be fundamentally transmogrified into an extraplanar being?
- What does it mean that there are extraplanar undead, and given the prior question, the distinction between non-corporeal undead and non-corporeal demons?
Planes
These are categories of planes that have been witnessed or implied to exist. Some of these other-realities may fit in multiple categories. There would likely be multiple planar model schemes in the in-character sense based on different organizing principles. Cultures might disagree with each other on what counts as a "demon" or other categories just as they might on which spirits or entities are "undead."
Elemental Planes
The known elemental planes correspond to the four primary elements. The elemental planes would likely be considered "near planes" rather than outer realms.
There has not been reference to other pure elements that exist in some world settings, such as Planes of Light, Aether, Nether, and so on.
Prime Elemental Planes
It is unclear if there are multiple elemental planes of the same kind, or only a single plane for each "prime element."
The Prime Elemental Planes consist of:
- The Elemental Plane of Fire
- The Elemental Plane of Air
- The Elemental Plane of Water
- The Elemental Plane of Earth
Composite Elemental Planes
When two or more elemental planes collide, an interplanar nexus may be formed, combining the properties of those planes. (See Elemental Confluence (plane) for illustration.)
- The Elemental Confluence (PMP intersection; claimed by Alusius to be our primary original source of elemental mana)
Spiritual Planes
These are loosely other planes of or storing spirits, whether fey or undead or souls. They might be able to be traveled to astrally or materially through portals.
Near Planes
These seem to be comparatively near (but separated) planes which spirits easily move between under the right conditions.
- The Maw of Luukos (where souls go marked by Luukos, mawfire burns both flesh and spirit)
- The Pale (beyond the Ebon Gate; seemingly same place as Purgatory)
- The Void (Vishmiir)
Coterminous Planes
Separate spaces that are contiguous with other planes.
- Major Sanctuary (220) (constructed by local spirits or spirit servants of Arkati)
Coexistent Planes
Fey otherworlds and realms of lesser spirits seem to be coexistent with other planes. Summoning them and transport does not require portals, rifts, or veil piercing.
- Shadow Valley (the fey otherworld intersecting Silver Valley, though the shadow steeds returned through a sky portal)
- Castle Anwyn (the fey otherworld intersecting Castle Anwyn)
- Red Forest (the fey otherworld intersecting Red Forest; the forest coexists in mirror images on both sides of the DragonSpine)
- Non-corporeal undead (they only partly exist in the given plane, but they can be pulled all the way in with Phase (704).)
Astral Planes
These are loosely other planes involving the mind or spirit moving between worlds, or the body de-materializing and re-materializing, or thoughts manifesting reality.
There may be a distinction between an astral method of entering other planes and a plane that is purely immaterial. They might tend to be "Near Planes."
- Purgatory (The Pale; the death mechanics messaging)
- The Rift (possibly esoteric planes in the mind of Koar, multiple overlays coexisting in the same places)
- The Broken Lands (loosely based on Lovecraft's Dreamlands; seemingly a transplanar nexus)
- The Eternal Dream (e.g. dream-walkers; Ronan vs. Sheru realm of dreams; truffles and the Erithian woman)
- The Endless Light (mindscape of Prelate Chaston Griffin, accessed through Rodnay in 5116 Modern Era)
- "Echo" of the Shadow Realm (accessed by Quinshon and through Teuriz in 5117 Modern Era)
- Mind Rot (hallucinations of the same places from oculoth venom)
- Darkness (where you go while possessed by oculoths)
Demonic Planes
It is unclear if the Faendryl use "valence" as a synonym for "all planes", or only "demonic" planes, or a subset of such realities.
The sorcerous valences may be the "outer realms" while others would instead be considered "near planes."
Valences
Known demonic "valences" include:
Other Demonic Planes
- The Shadow Realm (Althedeus, oculoths)
- The Twisted Realms (plane the Nameless Necromancer stored the Planar Shift (740) spell)
- Pales (archaic, I.C.E. Age demonic planes category)
- Black Hel (archaic, I.C.E. Age demonic plane)
- Unknown plane of Ur-Daemon
- Unknown plane of thew bark trees
- Unknown plane of blood apple trees (Deadfall; extraplanar seeds from a Marluvian priest)
- Unknown valence of splinter-clawed demon of Goblyn's Workshop
- Unknown plane of scorched wasteland, shadow, smoke, black ichor seen through arch in Goblyn's Workshop
- Unknown plane of Solhaven's shadow demons
- Unknown plane of vathors
- Unknown plane of Maleskari
- Unknown valence of Mind Jolt (706)
- Unknown plane of Cloak of Shadows (712) demon
- Unknown plane of Balefire (713)
- Unknown plane of Torment (718) demon
Temporal Planes
These are time warps outside the given space, but they are coterminous with it. They intersect with it at various fixed points in a region.
- Temporal rifts (e.g. glyph traps and Familiar Gate (930) without a familiar; temporal warrior and worm invasion creatures)
- The Rift (was related to the temporal rifts; depicts multiple realities it touches upon, based heavily on Tarot cards)
- Lich's Landing (Goblyn's Workshop is temporally warped and she has Lich's Landing out of phase with our reality)
Demi-Planes
These are loosely speaking smaller planes (if distance is meaningful), possibly artificially made, that may be pocket realities contiguous with other planes.
- Temporal rifts (accessible from any spatial point in a plane, exiting back to the same point or sometimes a set of fixed points)
- Major Sanctuary (220) (constructed by spirits, fixed to a spatial location; may be dispelled by location's magic)
- Sign of Darkness (Council of Light teleportation ability, demi-plane exits to spatial locations)
- Ithzir sanctuary (Ithzir armor escape ability, possibly mind power oriented)
- Elemental Confluence (possibly, depending on its true spatial extent)
- Broken Lands (possibly, depending on its true spatial extent)
- Lich's Landing (possibly, Goblyn has Lich's Landing out of phase with our reality)
- Labyrinth of Zenon (archaic, I.C.E. Age but unique to GemStone III)
Other Planes
The universe Elanthia is set in is called the Plane of Abiding in DragonRealms, and is a material universe with ordinary laws of physics in the absence of planar bleedthrough in Shadow World. It is unclear which planes with solid matter should be considered "material planes", and if these are natural kinds or inherently low-grade composites of other planes. The following are categories of other planes:
Ithzir Planes
The Ithzir live in material plane worlds and apparently travel to others conquering them.
Known Ithzir worlds include:
- Kol Tar'sken
- Kol Granoth (Old Ta'Faendryl Ithzir)
- Unnamed forest plane (seen through portal in 5115 Modern Era)
Alternate Elanthia
These are other versions of Elanthia, or possibly the same Elanthia under another history or later times.
- Orb vision in the Sheruvian summoning chamber (Town Square Central at this moment, but mass slaughter and flames)
- Sorcerer Guild on Teras Isle (Crossroads from DragonRealms, possibly a time rift)
- The Rift (some rooms correspond to places in Elanthia in twisted darker forms)
Not Really Planes
These are situations of places that sometimes get considered to be other planes or dimensions but are not really.
- Bre'Naere (Aelotoi homeworld; contemporary documentation carefully distinguished between "planes" and "planets")
Miscellaneous Planes
- Plane of the V'reen morphs
- Inorios Plateau (Fash'lo'nae Library)
- Interplanar rift of The Vvrael (anti-mana realm)
- Interplanar void of Implosion (720)
- Starry realm in urglaes-set pitted silver talisman (Marluvian relic, possibly Broken Lands)
- Plane of Nershuul
- Plane of the Black Temple (Griffin Sword War)
- Origin of the Erithi (possibly another time, another plane, an alternate Elanthia)
- Cracked plain of undead seen in Darkstone Castle's mana storm (possibly an alternate Elanthia)
- Unknown plane Dharthiir, Taki Rassien, Sabrar had disappeared into fighting at ShadowGuard.
- Unknown plane where Despana and liches may or may not have been banished in implosion of Maelshyve.
External Links
These are comparative examples of cosmology in other related or similar world settings.
- The Plane Cosmology of DragonRealms
- The Plane Cosmology of Shadow World (this is slightly off-canon)
- The Plane Cosmology of Dungeons & Dragons
Pages in category "Cosmology"
The following 21 pages are in this category, out of 21 total.