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| A lot of sods from the Prime Material are amazed to see so many folks out here. Poor berks, they just haven't learned they're not the center of the universe. 'Course there's lots of folks on the planes, because this is their home! Everybody out here can be sorted into primes, planars, petitioners, proxies, and powers, and just who's who makes a big difference. It don't pay to confuse a planar with a petitioner, for one. PRIMES Waterdeep? Never heard of it. - Factol Pentar, Doomguard "Primes" is a polite way of naming them - more often they get called Outsiders or Clueless. Primes are mortal travelers born on any world in the Prime Material Plane who have since ventured beyond their narrow realm. They're usually humans, elves, dwarves, and the like, but don't be too quick to label anybody as a prime or anything else. (Woe to the berk who calls a githzerai a prime!) Most primes are just visitors who journey to the planes for some particular purpose, but some are adventuresome types who've set up permanent shop on the planes, most often in Sigil. A few prime settlers are found scattered about the Outer Planes (mostly in the upper reaches), and wizard primes like to make demiplanes in the Ethereal, but neither's very common. Primes got one big advantage over lockal folks: They're not susceptible to planar-related magic. Seems that while planar folks are sensitive to spells that protect, summon, or banish, the primes are completely immune. A monster summoning will never drag primes away at an unexpected moment, and a holy word won't go casting them back to their prime-material world. Even a protection from evil spell doesn't consider them extraplanar creatures. It pays to treat primes with respect, even if they've got a load of peculiar ideas. Getting to the planes takes power, and more than a few primes could boil a sod's blood just for looking at him sideways. 'Course, not every prime's powerful, but the problem is, with their funny habits, there's just no way to know. Remember, most primes don't know the lay of the land. They mostly think their tiny world is the center of the universe, and they've never heard of the Rule of Threes or the Unity of Rings, either. They're likely to think that just because a thing's got horns, it's evil. They can be easy conies for the bobbers, but real touchy if they learn they've been had, so be careful around a prime, at least until he shows you what he's got. PLANARS Mechanus? My home. It's great place - everybody knows what their role is. - Factol Pentar, Doomguard Gods protect us from the boredom that is Mechanus - Factol Karan, Chaosman Most folks out here are planars, born and bred on the planes. Planars ain't all horrible monsters or whatnot; that's a mistake some green prime's likely to make. Planars include all sorts of folks: humans, half-elves, githzerai, and the like, in addition to some more exotic types. One thought worthy of a prime is can't be native to the Outer Planes. Some primes think their races are unique to the Prime Material Plane. Well, maybe that's where humans and half-elves first came from, but these people have been living in cities and towns out here for millennia. Way back at the Beginning, humans were probably unknown out here, but with time the lost, the curious, the exiled, and the just blamed unlucky made themselves homes out here on the planes. On the surface, it should be real easy to tell a prime from a planar, but it ain't. A human - prime or planar - looks like a human. A body's got to talk to them and know them to be sure what they are, which is another good reason to treat them all with respect. With others it's pretty easy to tell; a githzerai, bariaur, or tiefling's pretty easy to peg (but it pays to be respectful to them, too). Planars do have powers that make them different from primes. It's part of their extradimensional blood, something that just comes from being born a part of the extended cosmos. Planars don't have a silver cord, that magical thread that ties a prime back to his or her prime-material world. Planars also have the power to see the gates between planes. ('Course, these crossing points are limited to certain locations. A planar can't just will himself onto the Astral Plane from anywhere. He's got to journey to wherever the gate is.) Those meshes, between the planes are clear to any planar. A prime won't see anything, but a planar sees the glowing outline of a portal. Planars got their weaknesses, too. They are, in fact, extraplanar and suffer from things like protection from evil, holy word, and exaction Almost as bad, planars can be hauled off to the Prime Material Plane without notice by monster summonings and the like. PETITIONERS The majority of bodies on the planes are petitioners, which are departed spirits of primes and planars whose bodies reformed on the plane that matches their previous alignment or devotion. A petitioner retains the mannerisms, speech, even general interests of his or her former self, but all memories of the past are wiped completely away. At best, a petitioner has a shadowy recollection of a previous life, but little or nothing useful can be learned from these fleeting images. Petitioners mostly desire to attain some ultimate union with the powers of their plane. This can be accomplished in a number of ways good works, serene contemplation, steadfast faith, or vile notoriety, depending upon the petitioner's align ment. Petitioners hate leaving their home plane, as "death" outside that place results in oblivion. Fact is, they can't be resurrected if slain at home, either; once dead, the petitioners' essences are merged with the plane, but they figure that's better than nonexistence. Still, a power's got to raise an army now and then, and it may be petitioners that fill out the ranks, but that's the only way they'll ever leave their home turf - on the boss's orders. Petitioners tend to view all things as a test of character. They ain't eager to die, but they'll take that risk in order to further their own goals. For example, a petitioner warrior on Ysgard will fearlessly rush into battle, since combat is the glorious and right thing for him to do. Petitioners are never player characters, but they often appear as 0- or 1st-level nonplayer characters. They can't gain additional levels or abilities unless elevated to the station of proxy. In a PLANESCAPE(TM) campaign, petitioners fill the roles played by commoners in primematerial worlds: landlords, grooms, spies, farmers, guards, etc. Petitioners aren't identical to commoners, though, for they always have a greater goal in mind (i.e., to merge with the plane on which they reside). PROXIES Some Outsiders think every planar's a proxy, but that just ain't true. Proxies are those beings - primes, planars, and even petitioners specially chosen to act as agents of the powers. Usually, the body chosen is transformed into a creature favored by the deity - into an evil rutterkin or a good deva, for example. On rare occasions, the being isn't transformed, but is bestowed with special powers. Proxies are absolute servants, obeying the wishes of their deity as fully as is appropriate to that alignment. Those of good powers are unswervingly loyal and obedient, and those of evil powers are utterly difficult and tricky, even for their masters. On the Upper Planes, a proxy knows he can rise even higher through good service. On the Lower Planes, a proxy usually prospers by finding some clever and nasty way to create an opening for his high-up man. Proxies are never player characters unless a power intentionally makes them one. Normally they are elite nonplayer characters who serve the powers. Their abilities are specifically granted by the deity who makes them a proxy, so their skills will vary according to the scope of their assignment. Proxies may join the player character party for a short while, or they may oppose it. POWERS Finally, there's the powers. Make that Powers: the deities that preside over the planes. Now, the Athar claim there just ain't no gods, but it don't matter if they're right or wrong because the powers definitely exist. Once more, they've got more might in their thumbs (those that have thumbs, that is) than any mortal's ever going to have, so be careful what you call them, berk, as the powers can have mean tempers. They can turn a man inside out and leave him still alive, or drop him off in the deepest layer of the Abyss with only half a map. Actually, the powers don't take as much interest in the goings-on of the Outer Planes as they do in the Prime Material (excepting the Blood Warriors). It seems they get their strength mainly from the worlds on that plane, sucking up energy from their worshipers there. Without this energy they'll die - as much as an immortal can die. Getting a god killed ain't easy, though, since first there couldn't be a single worshiper left on a single prime-material world. (Not a simple task, eh?) Long before it dies, a power weakens to the point where its body is cast out of the Outer Planes to drift in the Astral Plane. It might cling to life forever or it might fall into an immortal decay - and depart for the realm of some ultimate god. That's not a fate most powers look forward to or allow, if they can help it. ('Course, they're used to being the biggest fish in the sea, so who can blame them?) It's not that the powers ignore their worshipers on the Outer Planes. A deity's got to protect itself from the dealings of its fellows, so its plane-wandering clerics also get spells and granted powers, and they may even get called to help with a special mission. It's supposed to be a great honor to get chosen for a quick raid on Baator, just to recover a flower or whatever nonsense is required. Still, there's a bigger price for saying "No," so it's an honor most priests don't refuse.
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CREATING A PLAYER CHARACTER Before following any steps to create a player character, ask the DM what kind of campaign he or she plans to run, as the type of campaign affects the choice of races and kits. The choices for a PLANESCAPE campaign are: Prime and Planar Characters Both. This is the broadest option, allowing the DM to run adventures anywhere in the multiverse. All PLANESCAPE products are designed in this style. Players with this option can choose from the races, classes, and kits allowed in either the PLANESCAPE setting or those of any prime-material world (provided the DM allows it). However, players must choose to be either a prime or a planar. In this kind of campaign, one character might be a half-elf ranger from Toril, another a bariaur paladin from the Beastlands, a third a tinker gnome from Krynn, and so on. All races are found in Sigil, gateway to the planes. Prime Characters Only. In this case, the DM intends to use the PLANESCAPE campaign setting for single adventures only. The characters and factions presented in this book can't be used to create prime-material player characters. Rather, player characters can be of any race, class, and kit allowed in the base prime-material campaign. For example, player characters using a DARK SUN® campaign as a base could be half-giant gladiators or human preservers, but not githzerai priests or bariaur warriors of the Dustman faction. Planar Characters Only. Here the DM intends to use the PLANESCAPE setting exclusively, so player characters are restricted to planar races. PLAYER CHARACTER RACES Once the DM has indicated the particular style of campaign that he or she wishes to run, the players can proceed to the selection of a race for their character. The available races are listed below. Descriptions of new player character races (indicated by italics) follow.
PLANAR CHARACTER RACES TABLE
Planar Bariaur Githzerai Half-elf* Human Tiefling | Prime Dwarf Elf Gnome Half-elf Halfling Human Any optional race from a prime-material campaign
* Planar half-elves are the result of a union between a planar human and a prime elf (as if they weren't already suffering from an identity crisis!). BARIAUR Better is wrestle with a giant than to lock horns with a bariarur. - Ysgardian Proverb The bariaur is a centaurlike being of the Upper Planes, but it's hardly a centaur. In appearance, it's a combination of man and ram or woman and ewe. Roughly human sized, it has the body Of a large goat and the torso and arms of a human. The head is a mixture of human and animal. Males have a pair of ram's horns, but females lack them. Bariaur tend to be fussy about their appearance. They usually wear shirts, jackets, blouses, vests, and leather girdles, but this is a matter of personal taste rather than decorum. They also dye, cut, and shave their pelts to make themselves look more attractive, at least to each other. The look is often finished with jewelry hung from horns or woven into their wooly hair. Bariaur are a carefree lot. To some they appear irresponsible, but it's only a powerful wanderlust that makes them seem unsettled. There are no known bariaur towns, and few bariaur make anything like a permanent home. They do congregate in herds of their own kind, but the more dauntless range far and wide on their own or with adventuring parties. Sedentary bariaur favor a pastoral life of tending sheep herds, watching over meadows, and acting as guardians of the wilderness. This isn't to say they won't be found in cities, but those sods are usually visiting out of curiosity or on business. Most bariaur are found on the plains of Ysgard, with smaller populations on the planes of the Beastlands, Elysium, and Arborea. The bulk of the race is chaotic good, but player-character bariaur can be of any non-evil alignment. Bariaur are social and outgoing, friendly to strangers, but not foolishly trusting. They're noted for being fierce fighters, and they particularly hate giants, often going out of their way to attack these creatures. All bariaur possess infravision (60-foot range) and have a movement rate of 15. They usually make one attack per round, but warriors can exceed this limitation as they rise in level. All bariaur are herbivorous, and even the thought of eating meat is revolting to most of them. Bariaur possess special abilities that vary according to their sex. Males gain a +1 bonus to their Strength and Constitution scores, but they suffer a -1 penalty to Wisdom and Dexterity. From young adulthood males are never unarmed, for this is when their horns start to grow. A bariaur male can always butt for 1d8 points of damage (plus Strength bonus), tripling this result by charging at least 30 feet in a straight line. However, if the hit is successful, the charging bariaur character must successfully save vs. breath weapon or suffer the same damage as the target. The creature charged is knocked to the ground 50% of the time, if size M or smaller. Females gain a +1 bonus to Intelligence and Wisdom scores, but they suffer a -1 penalty to Strength and Dexterity. Lacking horns, they don't have the special combat ability of males, but they do have keen senses and an intuitive resistance to magic. Their sharp senses of smell and hearing allow them a +2 bonus on surprise rolls, provided the opponent has a scent or makes noise, and they gain a +3 bonus to saving throws vs. spell. Bariaur males can be fighters, rangers, paladins, or priests. Bariaur females can be fighters, priests, or wizards. A bariaur can rise to 13th level in any class. GITHZERAI Githzerai, Githyanki, who cares? There're all the same. - The Late Yufan Lis This race of mysterious humanoids now hails from the plane of Limbo, but the githzerai originated on the Prime Material, from a place called Gith. Their history is almost forgotten, but at its roots is a long-standing hatred of mind flayers and their cousin race, the githyanki. Once, the githzerai and githyanki were the same people, but bloody differences sundered them into two species. The cause of that split has long been lost, but the ageless bloodfeuds and forays of revenge continue unabated. Githzerai look almost exactly like humans (but woe to the sod who suggests they're of the same stock!), except githzerai are slightly thinner and taller than humans. Also, their features are sharply cut and their faces are longer, but the most notable difference is in their eyes, which range from gray to catlike yellow. Githzerai are a severe lot who don't dress in bright colors, don't wear jewelry, and don't smile, at least not in public. They have no particular dislike of other races (beyond mind flayers and githyanki), but they don't often grow close to others either; they say what needs to be said and little more. Bards know githzerai make bad audiences they have no sense of art within them, it seems. However, githzerai do have fierce passions that burn dangerously. First, as mentioned, the githzerai hate the githyanki. The long-time enemies will never willingly cooperate and will rather try to do each other in. (This hatred isn't suicidal, though.) Second, the githzerai have a single-minded dedication to the security of their own race, no doubt the result of their never-ending war with the githyanki. The githzerai say little of their fortresses on Limbo, lest they say too much, and say even less of other activities. Finally, if githzerai have a sport, it's illithid hunting. Organized into parties called rrakkma, their youths cross the planes, hunting mind flayer prey. Githzerai player characters gain a +1 bonus to Intelligence and Dexterity scores, but suffer a -1 penalty to Strength and Wisdom. Player characters can be of any nonlawful alignment. Character classes are limited to fighter (9th-level maximum), fighter/wizard (9th/12th levels respectively), wizard (12th level), or thief (15th-level maximum). The githzerai revere an ancient wizard-king as their god, and they have no priests. Githzerai possess infravision to a range of 60 feet. More significantly, githzerai warriors and thieves possess an innate magic resistance of 5% per level (95% maximum). This magic resistance is always in effect; a player character can't voluntarily lower his resistance to benefit from a spell. In addition, their magic resistance also effects magical items they might use. Whenever a magical item is first used by a githzerai character, it has the above-defined percentage chance of becoming inert while in that character's possession. This check is only made once per item, and once determined it remains that way forever. A failed-roll item still detects as magical, but the character can't make use of its powers in any way. For example, a 5th-level githzerai fighter finds a suit of plate mail +1. As the character dons the armor, the DM checks to see if it will function. A 24 is rolled, just below the 25% chance to render it active (5th level x 5%). From then on, that particular suit of armor is no better than normal plate mail to that character. Githzerai wizards don't have any innate magic resistance, as they must purge that quality to become mages. Fighter/wizards can choose to have the resistance (with its penalties) or not, deciding when the character is created. TIEFLING Don't ever make a bet with a tiefling. - Planar proverb In the multiverse, few creatures are of pure lineage, and even fewer are what they seem to be. That's the greatest truth of the tiefling's existence. It's not advisable to ask a tiefling about his or her ancestors, as the answer wouldn't likely be pleasant. Part human and part something else, tieflings are the orphans of the planes. They can be described as humans who've been plane-touched. A shadow of knife-edge in their face, a little too much fire in their eyes, a scent of ash in their presence - all these things and more describe a tiefling. No planar would mistake a tiefling for a human, and most primes make the mistake only once. Tieflings live with both pride and shame of who and what they are. They have no culture of their own, and most are loners, which fits their background. Some slip into the edges of human society, becoming poets and artists who describe the corrupt fringes of the respectable world. Adventurous types often spend their years probing the unexplored edges of the multiverse, be it to survey strange lands or experiment in the forgotten niches of magical science. Humans don't trust tieflings (and deep inside they fear them), but they remain inexplicably fascinated by tieflings just the same. The planetouched are often accused of secret plots and awful alliances - mostly without a shred of proof - because of who and what they are. A tiefling learns early that life is unfair and hard. His reaction is to fight back and never let his foes see the pain. Other people, even other tieflings, simply aren't viewed as allies and often are automatically considered enemies. A tiefling doesn't take a friend until he learns the measure of his companion, and even then he'll never fully trust anyone. "I watch my own back," is an old tiefling quip. They maintain no hereditary blood-feuds, but tieflings take care of themselves without any thought of others' prob- lems. Tiefling characters gain a +1 bonus on Intelligence and Charisma scores, but suffer a -1 penalty to Strength and Wisdom. Tieflings can be of any alignment save lawful good. They also gain a number of special abilities, based on their mysterious heritage: They possess infravision to a range of 60 feet and have the ability to create darkness, 15-foot radius once per day. Tieflings suffer only half damage from cold-based attacks, and they gain a +2 bonus to all saving throws vs. fire, electricity, or poison. Tieflings can be fighters, rangers, wizards (including specialist ma- ges), priests, thieves, or bards. They may also pursue multiclass options, including fighter/wizard, fighter/priest, fighter/thief, wizard/thief, and priest/thief. Tiefling thieves make the following racial adjustments to their thief abilities:
PP | OL | F/RT | MS | HS | DT | CW | RL
- | - | +5% | +10% | +10% | - | - | +5%
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PLAYER CHARACTER CLASSES I'm dead? So why I don't remember dying? - Al-Jaffar, Formerly of Huzuz The classes available to the player characters depend on the campaign: Those that allow prime characters permit any class from the DM's base prime-material campaign. Planar characters can be any class found in the Player's Handbook, provided it's allowed by their race. In a PLANESCAPE campaign, fighters and rangers are viewed as they would be in any campaign setting. As paladins are tied to specific powers, they may provoke extreme reactions. Those who share the paladin's faith treat the holy warrior with greater-than-normal respect. Those with opposite views consider paladins little more than sinister agents, and they treat them accordingly. Wizards, whether mage or specialist, are not viewed with the same degree of respect accorded in most other settings. The planes are highly magical themselves, and wizards are just another part of it all. Priests are treated with some caution. Most planars figure that priests, so close to their respective deities, must have special powers. This isn't necessarily true, but it's still a tough feeling to shake. Nevertheless, priests tend to attract trouble from planes of contrasting alignment. For instance, fiends love to give a good-aligned priest all kinds of grief. Long-lived priests learn to be clever, tough, or both. Thieves are either heroes or heels. Creatures on the Lower Planes grudgingly give them a hateful respect - in their opinion, a good thief is untrustworthy, treacherous, and deceitful (good qualities all from their point of view, unless practiced against them). Beings of the Upper Planes hold the same opinions of a thief's character, but find little laudable in those qualities. Bards are more highly regarded on the Upper Planes since their skills, while occasionally unfortunate, represent art and clarity of mind. A lower-planar creature considers a bard useful only to sing its praises. Opinions and attitudes are less developed about the other character classes of the Prime Material Plane. Psionicists are viewed simply as another type of wizard. Black, Red, and Gray wizards from Krynn are viewed as weaklings, for their powers tied to the distant moons of that world. Tinker gnomes are considered abominations, best avoided or eliminated quickly. Defilers and preservers from Athas (the DARK SUN campaign world) have a special status. Fiends like the destructive power of defilers, good beings hate it, and the relationship's just the opposite regarding preservers. Most planars consider Athas's elemental clerics woefully ignorant of the realities of the multiverse. Gladiators are just another type of fighter. Athasian bards are the only bards well regarded on the Lower Planes. But here's the real chant: Names count less than actions. Want respect in Sigil? Then go out and earn it! |

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A Players Guide to the Planes