Planar Handbook

Planar Handbook

Abbreviation: N/A Author: Bruce R. Cordell, Gwendolyn F.M. Kestrel Publisher: Wizards of the Coast Item Code: 179200000 Release Date: July 2004 Format: Hardcover Page Count: 192 ISBN-10: 0-7869-3429-8 Price: $29.95 ; C$44.95

Product Blurb: Explore Never-Ending Realms of Adventure Only the most exceptional characters dare tread the infinite paths of the planes. From Sigil, the City of Doors, to the Blinding Tower at the heart of the Plane of Shadow, to the Elemental Plane of Fire’s storied City of Brass, countless perilous locations in the multiverse await bold heroes armed with remarkable talents and abilities, more than a little courage, and above all, knowledge. This supplement for the D&D game provides everything you need to create and play characters prepared for the odyssey of planar travel, including new planar races, feats, equipment, spells, and magic items. The Planar Handbook also introduces the power of planar touchstones, along with details and advice for visiting dozens of planar sites. This text is quoted from promotion material. Text and images are copyrighted by the original publisher.

Races

Name	Page	Description
Aasimars	6	Carrying the blood of a celestial, an aasimar is usually good-aligned and fi ghts against evil in the world. Some aasimars have a minor physical trait suggesting their heritage, such as silver hair, golden eyes, or an unnaturally intense stare.
Bariaurs	7	Native to the rolling hills and woods of Ysgard, the centaurlike bariaurs wander the lands in search of evil. When a vile foe is located, the bariaurs charge into glorious battle.
Buommans	8	There might have been a time when the buommans were merely human visitors to the Astral Plane. But now, perhaps hundreds of millennia later, the buommans are neither merely visitors, nor merely human. Known to some astral denizens as the “moaning monks,” buommans dwell in temples and shrines formed by astral debris, which they believe to be the mortal forms of sleeping deities, long forgotten. Whether the buommans inhabit these structures in the hope of awakening these deities, or in an effort to ensure that they stay asleep, is known only to the buommans.
Mephlings	10	Scholarly lore contains two different origin stories for the mephlings. In one, mephlings are planetouched offshoots of long-ago unions between mephits and an indeterminate race of humanoids. The other is a darker tale of a megalomaniacal mage seeking to imprint his essence on another race. What is true is that a mephling will occasionally be born to mephit parents. Weaker than their mephit ancestors, mephlings are put out of mephit communities as undesirable runts. They’re left to the mercies of the inhospitable planes. Mephit parents revolted by their humanoid child will leave the babe on a hostile plane. Kindly parents will place the child on a habitable plane where it will easily be found by other creatures. Sometimes other creatures adopt the abandoned baby and it grows to reach adulthood.
Neraphim	12	Neraphim are a nomadic people who hunt through the maelstrom of Limbo, tracking their elusive and ever-moving prey. Neraphim have developed special hunting tools and techniques, giving them exceptional skill in bringing down the game they seek above all else: the chaos beast, one of which provides a neraph tribe with a week’s worth of nutrition and raw materials for clothing. They are proficient leapers, able to jump from mote to mote of stable earth in the otherwise ever-changing environment of Limbo.
Shadowswyfts	13	Shadowswyfts are plane-touched beings with ancestry from the Plane of Shadow.
Spikers	14	Spikers are of the same general ancestry as bladelings (see Monster Manual II). Both races hail from Acheron, but scholarly speculation places their origins on the Nine Hells of Baator, the Bleak Eternity of Gehenna, or even some unknown metal-based plane.
Tieflings	15	Carrying the taint of evil in their forms—and perhaps their very souls—tieflings are often persecuted and feared throughout the planes. The distant descendants of humans and evil outsiders, tieflings are regarded as twisted, devious, and untrustworthy. More often than not, this opinion is accurate.
Wildren	16	Over time, the petitioners (spirits of the departed) who arrive in the Wilderness of the Beastlands acquire animal traits, eventually becoming celestial beasts or animals. Some instead mingle with the beasts they will one day become, creating new races that are perpetually half-animal, half-humanoid. Prominent among these are the wildren, beings descended from the union of partially transformed dwarf petitioners and celestial badgers. Prowling the darkest forests of Karasuthra, the Beastlands’ lowest layer, wildren build elaborate underground burrows, which they defend, out of a commingled racial memory, to the death. Often short-tempered and vengeful, wildren generally live solitary lives, emerging only occasionally from their burrows to hunt and seek mates.

Prestige Classes

Name	Page	Description
The Athar	43	The Athar are sometimes called “defiers” or “the lost” because their beliefs bring them into direct philosophical (and occasionally physical) conflict with just about every religion ever established in the multiverse. They believe that TRUE gods would have limitless power, and that the deities (as the mortals of the D&D realms know them) are very much limited in what they can do. The Athar's strength of belief in their philosophy gives them unique defenses against divine spells and servants of the gods.
The Doomguard	46	Members of the Doomguard believe that the multiverse is slowly falling apart, and they delight in its inevitable destruction. They are often nicknamed “sinkers.” The ultimate leaders are the doomlords, who gain great powers of entropy and destruction.
The Fated	49	The multiverse belongs to those who can hold it. Everyone makes his own fate; you’re a victim only if you allow it. A person is meant to succeed only if he pursues success with never-ending vigor. According to “takers” (as members of the Fated are called), anyone can be great, but greatness is not guaranteed. Hard work must come first, and follow after.
The Mind’s Eye	52	Throughout the planes, many groups search for enlightenment. One such organization is the Mind’s Eye, headquartered in the Outlands. Members of the organization call themselves seekers, and their elite members are known as visionary seekers. They focus on the ultimate journey of self-discovery by seeking out challenges throughout the cosmos.
The Society of Sensation	54	The multiverse offers a multitude of different sensations to be experienced and savored. The Society of Sensation is based on Arborea. In Sigil, it runs the Civic Festhall and has a large membership base in the planar city. Many folk dabble as novice members of the Society of Sensation and see it merely as an excuse to wine, dine, and romance. Their selective attitude limits both their desire to advance in the Society and their ability to do so. True sensates seek out different experiences—many pleasurable, many not—on a quest of personal fulfillment.
The Transcendent Order	58	The multiverse is really one tremendous organic entity moving with some greater end that is beyond mortal minds to comprehend. Each one of us is an infinitesimal part of the whole, playing out some role whose ultimate purpose we could never guess. Since the multiverse would not work against its own interests, we all are born with perfect knowledge of what it is we are supposed to do. However, most people bury their instincts under fear, self-doubt, meaningless trivia that some call “education,” and worst of all, ego.
The Xaositects	60	The multiverse is chaos. Neither order nor pattern can be recognized. But chaos has a beauty and wonder all its own. By immersing oneself in anarchy, one learns to appreciate randomness. By studying the quandaries of nature, one learns that the sublime intricacies of disorder are the very foundations of existence.
Astral Dancer	63	The Astral Plane is a place of no gravity; moving through it is more like flying with perfect maneuverability, like walking on air. Travelers quickly learn to change directions by mentally visualizing solid footing and pivoting on it. To longtime inhabitants of the Astral Plane, ignoring the lack of gravity eventually becomes second nature. But a few skilled combatants learn to take advantage of that situation.
Elemental Warrior	65	The elemental warrior sees that great strength comes from focusing on the most basic aspects of reality. The sages say that the worlds are formed through combinations of fire, water, earth, and air, and that any problem can be overcome with the correct application of these forces. The elemental warrior becomes attuned to one of these building blocks of reality, channeling its power to great effect.

Spells

Page	Class	Level	Name	Description
89	Bard	1st	Beastland Ferocity	Subject fights without penalty while disabled or dying.
89	Bard	1st	Locate Touchstone	Find nearest planar touchstone on the plane you currently inhabit.
89	Bard	2nd	Cloak Pool	Hide a color pool on the Astral Plane from view.
89	Bard	2nd	Discolor Pool	Change the color of a color pool on the Astral Plane.
89	Bard	2nd	Summon Elysian Thrush	Summon an Elysian thrush, which accelerates natural healing.
89	Bard	3rd	Analyze Portal	Find a nearby portal and discover its properties.
89	Bard	3rd	Analyze Touchstone	Find a nearby planar touchstone and discover its properties.
89	Bard	4th	Lay of the Land	You gain an overview of the geography around you.
89	Blackguard	3rd	Mantle of Evil	You gain SR 12 + caster level against spells with the good descriptor.
89	Blackguard	4th	Unholy Storm	Evil-aligned rain falls in 20-ft. radius.
89	Cleric	1st	Anarchic Water	Makes chaotic-aligned anarchic water.
89	Cleric	1st	Axiomatic Water	Makes lawful-aligned anarchic water.
89	Cleric	1st	Light of Lunia	You radiate silvery light, which you can expend as 2 bolts that deal 1d6 damage.
89	Cleric	1st	Resist Planar Alignment	Subject can resist penalties for being of an opposed alignment on an aligned Outer Plane.
89	Cleric	2nd	Avoid Planar Effects	Provides temporary protection against overtly damaging planar traits.
89	Cleric	2nd	Light of Mercuria	You radiate golden light, which you can expend as 2 bolts that deal 1d6 damage, 2d6 against undead and evil outsiders.
89	Cleric	2nd	Locate Touchstone	Find nearest planar touchstone on the plane you currently inhabit.
89	Cleric	2nd	Summon Elysian Thrush	Summon an Elysian thrush, which accelerates natural healing.
89	Cleric	3rd	Anarchic Storm	Chaotic-aligned rain falls in 20-ft. radius.
89	Cleric	3rd	Analyze Touchstone	Find a nearby planar touchstone and discover its properties.
89	Cleric	3rd	Attune Form	Grant target creature temporary protection against overtly damaging planar traits.
89	Cleric	3rd	Axiomatic Storm	Lawful-aligned rain falls in 20-ft. radius.
89	Cleric	3rd	Devil Blight	Damage and confuse baatezu; damage other lawful and evil creatures.
89	Cleric	3rd	Hamatula Barbs	Subjects grow barbs, which damage foes that attack subject in melee.
89	Cleric	3rd	Holy Storm	Good-aligned rain falls in 20-ft. radius.
90	Cleric	3rd	Light of Venya	You radiate silvery light, which you can expend as 2 bolts that either deal 3d6 against evil outsiders and undead or heal 3d6 points of damage.
90	Cleric	3rd	Mantle of Chaos/Evil/Good/Law	You gain SR 12 + caster level against spells with opposite alignment descriptor.
90	Cleric	3rd	Protection from Negative Energy	Ignore 10 points of negative energy damage per attack.
90	Cleric	3rd	Protection from Positive Energy	Ignore 10 points of positive energy damage per attack.
90	Cleric	3rd	Unholy Storm	Evil-aligned rain falls in 20-ft. radius.
90	Cleric	4th	Astral Hospice	While on the Astral Plane, open a portal to a demiplane so natural healing can occur.
90	Cleric	4th	Balor Nimbus	Subject’s flaming body damages foes in grapple.
90	Cleric	4th	Demon Dirge	Demons are stunned and take 3d6 damage/ round for 1d4 rounds.
90	Cleric	4th	Evil Glare	Paralyze creature with your glare.
90	Cleric	4th	Focus Touchstone Energy	Convert unused touchstone abilities into temporary hit points.
90	Cleric	4th	Infernal Wound	Weapon inflicts persistent, bleeding wounds.
90	Cleric	4th	Negative Energy Aura	10-ft. radius surrounding you deals 2 points of damage/round.
90	Cleric	4th	Planar Exchange, Lesser	Trade places with one of four lesser planar creatures (your choice).
90	Cleric	4th	Planar Tolerance	Provides long-term protection against overtly damaging planar traits.
90	Cleric	4th	Positive Energy Aura	10-ft. radius surrounding you heals 2 points of damage/round.
90	Cleric	4th	Spell Vulnerability	Reduce target creature’s spell resistance by 1 per caster level (max reduction 15).
90	Cleric	4th	Summon Bearded Devil	Summon a bearded devil to follow your commands.
90	Cleric	4th	Summon Hound Archon	Summon a hound archon to follow your commands.
90	Cleric	5th	Call Zelekhut	A zelekhut aids you in hunting a fugitive.
90	Cleric	5th	Death Throes	Your body explodes when you die.
90	Cleric	5th	Opalescent Glare	Kill evil creatures with a look, or make them very afraid.
90	Cleric	5th	Summon Bralani Eladrin	Summon a bralani eladrin to follow your commands.
90	Cleric	5th	Unholy Storm	Evil-aligned rain falls in 20-ft. radius.
90	Cleric	6th	Barghest’s Feast	Destroy target corpse, potentially preventing its return to life.
90	Cleric	6th	Planar Exchange	Trade places with one of three planar creatures (your choice).
90	Cleric	6th	Summon Babau Demon	Summon a babau demon to follow your commands.
90	Cleric	7th	Call Kolyarut	A kolyarut aids you in punishing an oathbreaker.
90	Cleric	7th	Planar Bubble	Create bubble around target creature that emulates target’s native planar environment.
90	Cleric	7th	Plane Shift, Greater	’’ Plane shift’’ accurately to your desired destination.
90	Cleric	8th	Bodak’s Glare	You slay a creature, which turns into a bodak 24 hours later.
90	Cleric	8th	Fierce Pride of the Beastlands	Summon celestial lions and celestial dire lions to follow your commands.
90	Cleric	8th	Planar Exchange, Greater	Trade places with one of three greater planar creatures (your choice).
90	Cleric	9th	Abyssal Army	Summons demons to fight for you.
90	Cleric	9th	Call Marut	A marut aids you in pursuing one seeking to cheat time.
90	Cleric	9th	Heavenly Host	Summons archons to fight for you.
90	Cleric	9th	Hellish Horde	Summons devils to fight for you.
90	Cleric	9th	Hunters of Hades	Summons a pair of pack fiends to follow your commands.
90	Druid	1st	Beastland Ferocity	Subject fi ghts without penalty while disabled or dying.
90	Druid	1st	Locate Touchstone	Find nearest planar touchstone on the plane you currently inhabit.
90	Druid	1st	Resist Planar Alignment	Subject can resist penalties for being of an opposed alignment on an aligned Outer Plane.
90	Druid	2nd	Avoid Planar Effects	Provides temporary protection against overtly damaging planar traits.
90	Druid	3rd	Attune Form	Grant target creature temporary protection against overtly damaging planar traits.
90	Druid	3rd	Babau Slime	Secrete a body-covering acid that damages foes’ weapons.
90	Druid	4th	Lay of the Land	You gain an overview of the geography around you.
90	Druid	4th	Perinarch	Gain greater control over Limbo’s morphic essence.
90	Druid	4th	Planar Tolerance	Provides long-term protection against overtly damaging planar traits.
90	Druid	4th	Summon Elementite Swarm	Summon an elementite swarm to follow your commands.
91	Druid	4th	Touchstone Lightning	Use your Planar Touchstone granted higher-order abilities to fuel damaging rays.
91	Druid	5th	Astral Hospice	While on the Astral Plane, open a portal to a demiplane so natural healing can occur.
91	Druid	5th	Focus Touchstone Energy	Convert unused touchstone abilities into temporary hit points.
91	Druid	6th	Miasma of Entropy	Rot all natural materials in 30-ft. cone-shaped burst.
91	Druid	6th	Summon Greater Elemental	Summon a greater elemental to follow your commands.
91	Druid	9th	Perinarch, Planar	Gain control over a small area of any divinely morphic plane.
91	Paladin	1st	Axiomatic Water	Makes lawful-aligned anarchic water.
91	Paladin	1st	Resist Planar Alignment	Subject can resist penalties for being of an opposed alignment on an aligned Outer Plane.
91	Paladin	3rd	Holy Storm	Good-aligned rain falls in 20-ft. radius.
91	Paladin	3rd	Mantle of Good/Law	You gain SR 12 + caster level against spells with opposite alignment descriptor.
91	Paladin	4th	Axiomatic Storm	Lawful-aligned rain falls in 20-ft. radius.
91	Ranger	1st	Lay of the Land	You gain an overview of the geography around you.
91	Ranger	1st	Resist Planar Alignment	Subject can resist penalties for being of an opposed alignment on an aligned Outer Plane.
91	Ranger	4th	Planar Tolerance	Provides long-term protection against overtly damaging planar traits.

Sorceror/Wizard Spells

Page	Class	Level	School	Name	Description
91	Sorcerer/Wizard	1st	Abjur	Resist Planar Alignment	Subject can resist penalties for being of an opposed alignment on an aligned Outer Plane.
91	Sorcerer/Wizard	1st	Div	Locate Touchstone	Find nearest planar touchstone on the plane you currently inhabit.
91	Sorcerer/Wizard	1st	Evoc	Light of Lunia	You radiate silvery light, which you can expend as 2 bolts that deal 1d6 damage.
91	Sorcerer/Wizard	2nd	Ench	Mechanus Mind	Reformat subject’s mind to be coldly calculating.
91	Sorcerer/Wizard	2nd	Evoc	Light of Mercuria	You radiate golden light, which you can expend as 2 bolts that deal 1d6 damage, 2d6 against undead and evil outsiders.
91	Sorcerer/Wizard	2nd	Illus	Cloak Pool	Hide a color pool on the Astral Plane from view.
91	Sorcerer/Wizard	2nd	Illus	Discolor Pool	Change the color of a color pool on the Astral Plane.
91	Sorcerer/Wizard	2nd	Trans	Belker Claws	One touch/level deals 3d4 damage and lingers +1 round/3 levels.
91	Sorcerer/Wizard	3rd	Abjur	Avoid Planar Effects	Provides temporary protection against overtly damaging planar traits.
91	Sorcerer/Wizard	3rd	Div	Analyze Portal	Find a nearby portal and discover its properties.
91	Sorcerer/Wizard	3rd	Div	Analyze Touchstone	Find a nearby planar touchstone and discover its properties.
91	Sorcerer/Wizard	3rd	Evoc	Light of Venya	You radiate silvery light, which you can expend as 2 bolts that either deal 3d6 against evil outsiders and undead or heal 3d6 points of damage.
91	Sorcerer/Wizard	3rd	Trans	Babau Slime	Secrete a body-covering acid that damages foes’ weapons.
91	Sorcerer/Wizard	3rd	Trans	Devil Blight	Damage and confuse baatezu; damage other lawful and evil creatures.
91	Sorcerer/Wizard	3rd	Trans	Hamatula Barbs	Subjects grow barbs, which damage foes that attack subject in melee.
91	Sorcerer/Wizard	3rd	Trans	Spell Vulnerability	Target takes penalty on spell resistance equal to caster level.
91	Sorcerer/Wizard	4th	Necro	Evil Glare	Paralyze creature with your glare.
91	Sorcerer/Wizard	4th	Trans	Balor Nimbus	Your fl aming body damages foes in grapple.
91	Sorcerer/Wizard	4th	Trans	Corporeal Instability	Transform a target creature into an amorphous mass.
91	Sorcerer/Wizard	4th	Trans	Demon Dirge	Demons are stunned and take 3d6 damage/round for 1d4 rounds.
91	Sorcerer/Wizard	4th	Trans	False Gravity	Travel on a solid surface as if that surface had its own gravity.
91	Sorcerer/Wizard	4th	Trans	Infernal Wound	Weapon inflicts persistent, bleeding wounds.
91	Sorcerer/Wizard	4th	Trans	Perinarch	Gain greater control over Limbo’s morphic essence.
92	Sorcerer/Wizard	4th	Trans	Touchstone Lightning	Use your planar touchstone- granted higher-order abilities to fuel damaging rays.
92	Sorcerer/Wizard	5th	Abjur	Planar Tolerance	Provides long-term protection against overtly damaging planar traits.
92	Sorcerer/Wizard	5th	Conj	Call Zelekhut	A zelekhut aids you in hunting a fugitive.
92	Sorcerer/Wizard	5th	Conj	Precipitate Breach	You can force planar boundaries to rip, creating a planar breach.
92	Sorcerer/Wizard	5th	Necro	Death Throes	Your body explodes when you die.
92	Sorcerer/Wizard	5th	Necro	Opalescent Glare	Kill evil creatures with a look, or make them very afraid.
92	Sorcerer/Wizard	6th	Abjur	Seal Portal	Seal an interplanar portal or ‘’gate’’.
92	Sorcerer/Wizard	6th	Conj	Wall of Gears	Creates wall of moving gears that deals 1d6 damage/2 levels to creatures within 10 ft.
92	Sorcerer/Wizard	6th	Div	Rary’s Interplanar Telepathic Bond	Link lets allies communicate across planes.
92	Sorcerer/Wizard	7th	Abjur	Planar Bubble	Create bubble around target creature that emulates target’s native planar environment.
92	Sorcerer/Wizard	7th	Conj	Call Kolyarut	A kolyarut aids you in punishing an oath-breaker.
92	Sorcerer/Wizard	7th	Necro	Barghest’s Feast	Destroy target corpse, potentially preventing its return to life.
92	Sorcerer/Wizard	7th	Necro	Miasma of Entropy	Rot all natural materials in 30-ft. cone-shaped burst.
92	Sorcerer/Wizard	8th	Conj	Fierce Pride of the Beastlands	Summon celestial lions and celestial dire lions to follow your commands.
92	Sorcerer/Wizard	8th	Conj	Plane Shift, Greater	‘’Plane shift’’ accurately to your desired destination.
92	Sorcerer/Wizard	9th	Conj	Abyssal Army	Summons demons to fight for you.
92	Sorcerer/Wizard	9th	Conj	Call Marut	A marut aids you in pursuing one seeking to cheat time.
92	Sorcerer/Wizard	9th	Conj	Heavenly Host	Summons archons to fight for you.
92	Sorcerer/Wizard	9th	Conj	Hellish Horde	Summons devils to fight for you.
92	Sorcerer/Wizard	9th	Conj	Precipitate Complete Breach	You rip wide the boundary between two planes.
92	Sorcerer/Wizard	9th	Trans	Perinarch, Planar	Gain control over a small area of any divinely morphic plane.

Feats

Name	Page	Description
Acheron Flurry	37	You master the secret technique developed by Acheron-native special forces of limiting a foe's options in hand-to-hand combat.
Air Heritage	37	You are descended from creatures native to the Elemental Plane of Air.
Anarchic Heritage	38	You are descended from creatures native to the planes of chaos.
Axiomatic Heritage	38	You are descended from creatures native to the planes of law.
Celestial Heritage	38	You are descended from creatures native to the Upper Planes
Celestial Summoning Specialist	38	You can select from a larger number of options when summoning good creatures.
Earth Heritage	38	You are descended from creatures native to the Elemental Plane of Earth.
Elemental Spellcasting	39	Choose an element. You cast spells with that descriptor more effectively than normal.
Fiendish Heritage	39	You are descended from creatures native to the Lower Planes.
Fiendish Summoning Specialist	39	You can select from a larger number of options when summoning evil creatures.
Fire Heritage	39	You are descended from creatures native to the Elemental Plane of Fire.
Improved Elemental Heritage	40	You have manifested an even stronger tie to your elemental ancestor, resulting in a minor resistance to elemental effects.
Improved Outer Planar Heritage	40	Your ancestral tie to the Outer Planes manifests as an ability to deal damage with your natural attacks as if they matched the alignment of your ancestors.
Natural Heavyweight	40	You are descended from creatures native to a plane of heavy gravity.
Neraph Charge	40	You master the Limbo-native neraph martial art of motion camouflage when you charge your foe.
Neraph Throw	40	You master the Limbo-native neraph martial art of motion camouflage for your thrown weapons.
Nonverbal Spell	40	You can cast spells that have verbal components without actually verbalizing the words.
Personal Touchstone	41	You draw more power form one of the planar touchstone locations to which you have forged a link.
Planar Familiar	41	When you are ready and able to acquire a new familiar, you may choose one of several nonstandard familiars.
Planar Touchstone	41	Forge a link between you and power-rich planar locations, referred to as planar touchstones.
Shadow Heritage	42	You are descended from creatures native to the Plane of Shadow.
Stalwart Planar Ally	42	The allies you summon from a specific plane are tougher than normal.
Water Heritage	42	You are descended from creatures native to the Plane of Water.

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