Tavern Talks

Adam: Well met, travelers
and storytellers of all ages.

My name is Adam, the lore teller
of the "Tavern Talks" podcast.

As well, uh, with me today is
my co-host, the ever short Zac

Zac: That's right, you mangy travelers.

We're here to explore the
intricate details of Dungeons and

Dragons and all that it beholds.

Adam: Today's episode is doing something
a little different than what we

normally do because this is episode
two of recording night, uh, four.

So we're a little, uh, little out there,
ladies and gentlemen, and boys and girls

of all ages that are listening to us.

Zac: And men and women.

Adam: We have no guide
to go off of on this one.

I just-- I literally told Zac
we're fixing to press record.

Here

we are pressing record, going
forth triumphantly talking

about Dungeons & Dragons.

So today's episode is going to be
about, drum roll please, planes of

existence in Dungeons & Dragons.

Zac: yeah.

This is a good one.

I

Adam: I always thought it'd be
more fun just to willy-nilly talk

about the different planes of

Zac: and- Well,

because they don't make

Adam: They really

Zac: really don't ... and it
just kinda tracks with how

we're going about this tonight.

Adam: So,

Zac, finish this off as you always do.

Zac: What's that supposed to mean?

Adam: You always finish this off.

Zac: got- Oh ... the tavern.

yeah,

Adam: Talks Podcast."

Zac: yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I know that.

And as we traverse the celestial or
even darkened planes of existience.

Ex- existience?

Existence.

Existence, and nonlinear path.

Welcome back to the "Tavern Talks"

Adam: Roll tape

Planes of existence have lasted eons,
going farther back than any story that

you as a dungeon master will tell.

Planes of existence
exist only in solitude.

Some may be elements.

Some may be mirror images of the
worlds around you that you craft.

Others may be heaven.

Others may be the deepest hells that
your players will ever experience.

This is the "Planes, Trains,
and Automobiles" episode.

Zac: I just wanna go to the Feywilds.

By

Adam: all means, go.

I will, I will let you go
first after my epic intro to

planes, trains, and automobiles.

Zac: merry Christmas to you.

I'm here for- So

Adam: of it this way.

I'm gonna paint you a picture here.

I'm gonna paint a picture
for you out there.

The, there are inner planes that
consist of the elemental planes of

fire, air, and water, and earth, or
your material plane that you exist in

your D&D campaign as, as well as the
planes of positive and negative energy.

Zac: Uh-huh.

Adam: And then there's the elemental
chaos surrounding all of that.

We would like to call that, for
the "Doctor Who" fans out there,

wibbly, wobbly, space timey-wimey
things that go on outside of the

material plane that still happen
in the other planes of existence.

Zac: talking about, like, toymaker stuff?

Adam: about "Queenmakers" now.

They're their own...

Y- yes.

They're their own planes.

They're all connected, and you can
give we can give you enough time

to walk from the plane of fire to
the plane of earth, for example.

And the positive energy plane is
the source of active and life-giving

energy, while the negative energy
plane is the source of an energy

for things like the undead.

Then you have the Feywild and
the Shadowfell, and they're

reflections of the material plane,
so mirror images of each other.

The Feywild, more oriented towards
the plane of positive energy, meaning

that while the geography is the same
as the place on the material plane,

everything is taken to extremes.

Mountains are taller, swamps are
boggier, forests are thicker.

You have a thicker beard.

I am bald in that lifetime.

Even more emotions are extreme in
the Feywild, and they can raise fey

creatures that are too emotional,
and you have things of that nature.

Then you have the Shadowfell.

On the other hand, it's oriented towards
the negative energy, so that's why you

have the positive and the negative.

It's a mirror image.

It dulls.

It's dark color of life

and motion all are muted in that

Zac: We happy few.

Adam: They have the food.

Y- essentially, or there's no
country for good men out there.

Zac: No country for good m-
you mean "No Country for Old

Adam: Yeah, that's right.

One of those sad

Zac: that are sad out there.

You tried.

That's not sad.

That's a great movie.

Adam: a great movie.

It's sad though.

Zac: For Tommy Lee Jones' character

Adam: Eh, still sad.

Zac: What, what is sad about that?

It's

Adam: dull, all right?

It's dull, dreary.

Um, think of it like, uh,
"Nightmare Before Christmas."

Everything's gray in that.

Zac: that.

That's a great movie.

Adam: I understand it's a, I
understand it's a great movie.

I'm just describing the color.

Zac: Oh, you're talking about Halloween-
It's just dull ... like actual...

Yeah.

Yeah.

Okay.

I see what you're saying

Adam: out there.

It's obscured by bleak clouds.

There's no sunlight, and undead
creatures that embody, embody that and

create more of those fears out there.

Then you have the Outer Planes.

So we just went over the Inner Planes,
then you have the Outer Planes, and

those, uh, have elements and energy
in them, and the Outer Planes embody

more of the homes of the gods.

There are 16 planes that embody
eight of the nine alignments

that are in Dungeons & Dragons.

So while the planes are where the souls
usually go after they die, there are

mortal creatures that live on those planes
Connecting all these places are hard.

First are transitory planes, and
those are called the Ethereal Plane.

If you imagine all other planes as
islands, then the Ethereal Plane

is the ocean that they sit in.

At the shore of this ocean is the border
of the Ethereal, and when you're in it,

you can still see the Material Plane
as if though through a haze of gray

mist, but you cannot interact with it.

In fact, this is the plane that
ghost inspectors mostly exist in.

Traveling further into the Ethereal Plane,
it takes you deep into-- deeper into it,

which is like leaving the continental
shelf of the islands that you have, and

good navigation requires you to get there.

You venture from one plane to another
by venturing through the, the deep

Ethereal or Astral Sea at that point.

The only place you cannot get to from
the Ethereal Plane and vice versa is the

second transitory plane, the Astral Plane.

This is the plane of thought, and the
typical passage is used to pass the

Material Plane and the Outer Planes.

The plane is simultaneously
infinitely s- similarly small and

infinitely large at the same time.

The planescape consists of silvery mists
with traces of blues and purples with

bright points of light in the distance.

Venturing through it in less of an
exercise in navigation and more of an

exercise in mental prowess and fortitude.

Time does not pass on this plane,
and if you stayed here more than

100,000 years, you'd find that your
body still functions such as a-- your

bodily functions such as aging, sleep,
and metabolism will stop, only start

again once you leave the Astral Plane.

Sometimes you can find the bodies of the
dead gods floating through this plane

Zac: What happened to ad lib?

Adam: Oh, this was totally ad-libbed
from Zimdelphos on Reddit that gave us a

Zac: He's done won- ... starting
point for- She, he- Yeah ... they've

done wonderful- They, they have

Adam: a wonderful starting point
for talking about the planes

that we wanna discuss today.

Continue, Zac

Zac: Zac.

There's one you didn't mention.

Adam: Oh, which one did I not

Zac: mention?

The Beastlands.

Ooh,

ahead.

do you know about the Beastlands?

I do know about

Adam: the

Zac: Okay.

I'm gonna summarize it for all you
new listeners out there and new DMs.

Um, the Beastlands is basically, um, i-
it's a land where all the creatures where

you would normally see lower intelligence
is that of a higher intelligence.

Your civilizations and
societies- Like a role reversal.

Yeah, it, it's basically a role
reversal of what your natural wild

beasts of Faerûn are gonna be.

Okay.

So, you've got smarter creatures now.

Adam: Are they

Zac: Are they Not that I'm aware of.

I mean, I'm sure there, there are...

Um, it, it's-- They really
do base Beastlands off of

a, a very Nordic mythology.

Um, it kinda i- it's one of the
smaller planes of Yggdrasil,

which is the tree of life.

And, one of those planes-
Yeah ... it kinda also falls under

the pandemo- like where Pandemonium
falls from and stems from.

Um, D&D's...

Let me just kinda throw it out
there for the new DMs there.

D&D's exceptionally, uh, complex, so if
you don't understand it, it's all right.

I'm right there with you.

I don't understand every single
bit of it, so I'm not gonna act

like I know everything about it.

I don't.

Um, but I will say this, the Beastlands
have, uh, layers essentially, and the-

Adam: like an onion.

It's got layers

Zac: That's if Shrek was from
my hometown in Mississippi.

"It's g- it's an onion.

It's got layers."

You're welcome on that

Adam: You're welcome on that one.

Zac: Um, so the Beastlands is split into
three different, uh, layers from the

Great Wheel of Cosmology, which is...

I, I can't explain that within a natural
and reasonable time limit, so y- I would

Adam: Look it up.

Zac: look it up.

Google- Look it up.

Google is a amazing

Adam: not very smart right now.

Zac: very smart right now.

No.

But I will say it's split into three
things, which is, uh, the land of

Cragalla, Brooks, and Karasuthra.

Um, those lands are gonna have different
deities on it, different beings.

Um, you're gonna experience
different creatures overall.

Um, it's, it's a really fun land
if you've got rangers in your party

Adam: Like Disney

Zac: Animal Kingdom.

It's Animal

Adam: It's Animal Kingdom.

Animal It is Animal Kingdom.

You are

Zac: Kingdom.

You are constantly riding "A Bug's Life."

Hell

Adam: Oh, hell yeah.

bug life.

Zac: Dung beetles galore.

Um, a- and- And

Adam: are just known as
the Beast Lands in D&D?

Zac: Yeah, uh, just the Beastlands.

I mean-

Adam: So what would cause a person
to go to the, the Beast Lands?

Zac: Uh, that's a great question.

I'm not- As

Adam: new DM, what, what would
cause somebody to be there?

Zac: I mean, honestly, it's,
it's part of the Outer Planes.

Um, and apparently, and I've, I've
looked this part up, I'm not even

gonna lie, it's, it's also known
as the Happy Hunting Grounds.

Oh.

I don't know why.

So,

Adam: so if you're wanting
like a safari adventure-

Zac: Yeah, but why would you wanna
just kill these smart beasts?

All right.

Anyway.

It's

Adam: it's the thrill of the hunt.

Zac: No, my druid- They're like the most
dangerous game ... part of druidism in

Adam: the most dangerous
game at this point because

they are now smart creatures.

You are hunting smart

Zac: Oh, clever girl.

See?

Ah.

Adam: to the last episode.

Literally,

Zac: last episode.

Literally right after.

Zac's

Adam: here, surprisingly.

Zac: Yep.

Joe.

Anyway, um, so I mean, you can, you
can incorporate different planes a, a

multitude of ways, whether a mage or a
wizard or a sorcerer throws your party

into one, um, from a teleportation spell.

It, it's not hard, um, to introduce
a new plane to your party.

Just be sure you do enough research on it.

I can't say that I know enough
to just naturally flow one into a

story right off the top of my head.

I would have to do research, but I
think that's part of being a DM is

doing the research, knowing what
you're getting your party into.

Yeah.

Adam: I think y- when you're, when
you're starting out, you don't

wanna just introduce them to a
different plane of existence.

When you, when you start plane
shifting and, and hopping between

worlds, that usually starts
around, I'd say level 14 or 15.

This is totally a, a different
episode that we normally do 'cause

we're trying to follow progression
of a D&D party and introduce the DMs

to what their first challenges are.

But we wanted to n- show you what exists
beyond what the Material Plane can offer.

I wanna discuss a little bit about Elysium

Zac: Is this a real plane?

Adam: It is a real plane.

Elysium

Zac: real plane.

Oh.

It's essentially

Adam: real world's heaven, and
players don't want to leave it the

longer that they stay in there.

And then if they do leave Elysium,
technically that they will try

their best to go back to Elysium.

Zac: Why do they wanna stay
in there when they get in

Adam: there when they get in there?

It-- 'Cause it's paradise.

It, it's, it's got this attraction to it
when they, when they visit it that they

do not, they do not want to leave it.

So it's almost like a trap in
and of itself, even though it's

paradise where these figures

Zac: devoid of free will.

Adam: Y-

essentially, but you're
worshiping s- the deity.

I, I usually have Pelor in Elysium 'cause

Zac: gonna catch these hands.

You breaking free will
contract, buddy boy.

Pelor,

Adam: Pelor, I usually bring Pelor
into Elysium and have their, um,

have their city kind of built on
tiers, like a tiered city with

Zac: Yeah

walls.

Adam: So that's kinda how I do Elysium.

A lot of other peoples do it
differently, but when they visit the...

and they try to go back, they don't
want to leave, because if they do leave,

they will spend the rest of their lives
trying to search for Elysium again.

And getting there is very difficult,
um, in terms of g- you can plane

shift into it, as well as you
can try to teleport into it.

Then you also can find some passageways
by dying and going, you know, if

you have been deemed worthy by the
gods themselves, Elysium's there.

I kind of imagine, like, a lot of
people paint the, the planes as, like,

a existence of a world, like the one
Reddit post I read, where it's like

the central thing is the Material
Plane, and then outside of that it

contains the 16 different planes.

I kinda imagine it in terms of yes,
that happens, but then over here where

the gods live, the Outer Planes, it's
kinda like a mountaintop almost, where

there's the lower gods and there's
the upper gods, and then there's

the higher tier gods that have their
own different planes of existence.

But Elysium essentially is just
heaven in s- the sense of what

we're known as, as heaven for.

Um, it's, it's a neutral
good aligned plane.

Uh, for the most part, you know,
it's g- it's, it's in good territory.

There's lush fields and, and
countryside, um, and they show kindness,

and it's the home of, of true Go-
true good, um, that's out there.

There's bliss fields of Elysium that
they can visit and, um, it's essentially

just our heaven type of thing.

So that's Elysium.

Uh, do you have one?

Zac: Yeah.

Um, so I'm gonna take
it from polar opposite.

We're gonna go from heaven to hell real
quick just because I'm always intrigued

with the demonic nature of stuff.

Um, the Nine Hells, um, is something...

I- I- it's a realm that
is often mentioned in D&D.

If you fight any, you know, type of
devil or, uh, what do they call them?

A cambion.

Um, y- you're, you're going to expect
them to be from the Nine Hells.

Uh, that's where they
originally derive from.

The Nine Hells is consistent and,
and people might notice this,

Avernus- It's "Dante's Inferno."

It's essentially "Dante's

Adam: for Dungeons & Dragons

Zac: Um, Avernus is the most probably
prominent and, and well-known.

Adam: You also have As-
Asmodeus that's there as

Zac: well.

Asmodeus, yeah.

And

Adam: that's the one that's in
charge of all the demons, I believe.

Zac: Yeah.

He's, he's a demon king essentially.

And, and now-

Adam: money, I th- I

Zac: likes money, I, I believe.

Asmodeus, I don't know if
he's the king of greed.

I believe he is 'cause he's gold.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Right?

Um, or he, he worships gold.

If I'm not...

And that could be us mistaken.

Now we, we are kind of winging this.

We're not gonna fact check it.

We're not gonna fact check it.

We're

Adam: w- we're right on the internet.

That's right.

Zac: We're right right now.

Yeah, that's right.

So, um, no, but i- that-

Adam: Correct us in the comments if we're

Zac: if we're wrong.

Correct, please.

Please, for the love of God,
so we don't look stupid.

Adam: If we are wrong, I apologize.

Zac: I don't, but whatever.

We keep moving.

Um, Avernus is a very
well-known demonic plane

Adam: Do you see our dragon anywhere?

Zac: She is sleeping on the

Adam: A beautiful, okay

Zac: Yeah.

So Avernus is, uh, those who are gamers
might know that Avernus is frequently

mentioned in "Baldur's Gate 3" and
"Baldur's Gate" series throughout.

I

Adam: you an Avernus dice set.

Zac: Yeah,

yeah.

Adam got me an Avernus
dice set for the birthday,

Adam: That's right.

I treat my players as you

Zac: I rolled-

Adam: dungeon

Zac: masters ... this, and
this is, this is a true story.

No, no BS on this.

Our last session, I rolled three
sixes back to back with the

D20 from that Avernus dice set.

And that is no BS.

That is a, a genuinely true story.

He can, uh, he can advocate for that.

Adam: Yeah, 'cause Poe wrote poorly

Zac: anyway.

And if it's not in combat,
I roll great in combat.

I just roll real shit throughout.

But long story short is, uh, Avernus
is a really interesting plane you could

take your players on, especially if, you
know, if you do happen to kill a party

member and you feel guilty about it as
a DM and you wanna bring that character

back, and if you've talked with the
player and they know the rules and where

you've set your boundaries as a DM,
you can go back to the, the Nine Hells

and essentially retrieve their soul.

I mean, that, that is a very...

That's one route you could take.

You could take a million
routes to it, like I said.

Um, but this will give you a, a
fun array of enemies to fight.

Do understand that this is
gonna be a lawful evil and

chaotic evil plane of existence.

You are not- Is that the

Adam: layer of hell

Zac: Avernus- Yeah ... Avernus
is the first layer.

Um, it goes all the way down to Nessus,
which is where the River Styx is, and, um,

there's a million things I can't pronounce
properly throughout and in between.

Adam: I'm looking at, I'm
looking at this just, just quick.

And wherever we find this information,
the "Forgotten Realms" fandom, that's

just the "Forgotten Realms" wiki.

I just literally typed in a, um, a,
uh, Nine Hells D&D, and it popped up

the "Forgotten Realms" wiki, and it
gives s- valuable information from it.

And it's often called the Nine
Hells of Baator or shortened to

Hell or Hells and, and named Baator.

Um, and, and the Infernal was
the home of the devils and the

plane that embodied lawful evil.

It was a plane of sinister
wickedness and institutional cruelty.

So essentially hell itself.

There's others that are called
Dis, Mineros, uh, Phlegethos.

Phlegethos.

Yeah.

Stygia, S-S- Phlegethos.

Zac: Phlegethos, actually.

Stygia- Stygia ... or Stygia, Malebolgia,
uh, which is actually fun fact, Malebolgia

Adam: Meladomini, Kenai, and Nessus

Zac: This is a footnote.

I have to say it or my ADHD is
gonna blow out of my fucking

Adam: This is what we're happening
when we ad lib our episodes and

Zac: when we ad-lib our
episodes and don't prep.

Malbosia is one of the main villains in
the "Spawn" series in the original run.

Adam: say What?

Zac: Just fun fact.

I don't know who took
inspiration from who, but...

Or what happened.

And then Metha-- Uh, where's Nessus?

Uh, I was seeing- Nessus

Adam: is at the bottom

Zac: is at the bottom.

Cania.

I thought I saw something that said
Mephistopheles or something of the sort.

Long story short, you're gonna have, in
all the nine hells, you're gonna have

very demonic inspirations from Christian
theology, from other theologies, and just

Adam: there's a lot

Zac: lot

literature in general.

A

Adam: of Norse in there as well.

Zac: Exactly.

So prepare yourself.

If you decide to bring your
players there, God have mercy

on their souls, no pun intended.

even Gods have mercy ... multiple,

Adam: uh, that rules the
seventh circle of hell and...

It's not Beelze- it's Baalzebulb

Zac: Yeah, that's definitely
inspired by "Be as a

Adam: Yeah.

And then Dispater, Phiernia,
Garuth, Ghaunadaur, Glasya, Gruumsh.

Gruumsh is kind of cool.

Um, a cool, a cool thing that you
could do as a DM later on if you

wanted to, maybe somebody opens up
a, a, uh, caver- or a ravine from the

abyss and brings forth demons upon the
world, and they have to seal the abyss

and destroy a city entirely from it.

On top of that, I would also recommend
later on as they level up, maybe

level 15 through 20, is now they're
traveling through these sacred planes

of existence that we're talking
about, and now there's different

planes

of hell that is trying to rise above,
uh, into the material plane itself, and

they have captured gods from the other
planes and they have to go tr- That's

Zac: and- That's a good

Adam: And I got, I get that idea from
"Drunks and Dragons" or "Greetings

Adventurers" 'cause that's what
they're going through right now.

Zac: Oh.

Adam: out of 10 to
Michael DeMarro out there.

I highly recommend if you haven't
seen Dungeons-- or "Greetings

Adventurers" from the beginning.

I'm in episode, like, 300-ish, and
they're going through the planes 'cause

they're high level and they, different
gods are getting captured from the

planes of exi- from the planes of hell,
and they just haven't realized it yet.

But I, I think they get, are
catching on very quickly.

So I think that's a cool...

As you level up, you want the, you w-
you want the grand adventure because

when you get to those levels 17 through
20, there are very powerful beings,

and it's hard as a DM when you get
up to those levels to combat that.

So him having them fight gods,
fight beings like Gruumsh and

things of that nature create a

Zac: he the Orc?

Yes.

He is.

And- Yeah

having

Adam: fight him instead becomes a
great battle that they must ensue.

I think that's just a tidbit that
I would like to include there is

as you get up, you, these battles
need to become greater for it.

Zac: I would agree.

Adam: So,

um, I am gonna hit on the material
plane of, uh, and it's one of them.

I'm just gonna hit on the
overall, um, element of...

Let me see here.

I wanna do-- I'm just
gonna random pick here.

Mechanus

Zac: What the f-- What?

Adam: Yeah.

So it's a weird...

It

Zac: that the one where those
weird robot with eyeballs live?

So,

Adam: it's, it, it's described
as essentially the inside

of a giant clockwork device.

Zac: Oh, God.

That is where the, like, automatrons
and all those things exist, isn't it?

Yeah.

Adam: It, it's basically- law, it, it's

law and order a- as a plane, because
you gotta think these outer planes

are all different- Sure, boss.

Uh, sure.

Okay.

Let

Zac: I'm gonna pull it up.

I know exactly what
I'm talking about here.

Yeah.

Adam: that's Anthar's, uh...

Zac: have Dungeon Craft

Adam: back there.

Zac: I got you.

Hold on.

Keep

Adam: She's gonna, she's gonna
make the dungeon, uh, the dragon

appear get off her, her seat.

So essentially M- Mechanus is, is
the, um, i- is the clockwork, I

would describe it as, as the plane.

So y- you're, you're sitting there with a
bunch of c- clockwork monsters, construct

creatures, and the, and the modrons.

The Mechanus is the plane
of absolute law and order.

And under the watchful eye of Primus,
the inhabitants of the plane live in

perfect harmony, and interference and
manipulation of this order is intolerable.

So it's kind of a fun play if you, if
you have characters that are a little

chaotic to go into the planes of Mechanus
because they are law and order, and

they have to abide by law and order
because they're programmed that way.

Um, I always think it's fun just to
freak 'em out a little bit because

they will attack very quickly because
the law and order is, is the law.

Your party might travel to p- the plane to
besiege, uh, the aid of modrons and Primus

against a greater evil, or they may b- b-
be brought here because of their crimes

against the modrons and have a p- have to
escape the plane, things of that nature.

Uh- It

Zac: It is Modrons.

Yeah,

Adam: Yeah, it's modrons.

Um,

it's,

it's an interesting, a very interesting
plane that a lot of people don't touch on.

Um, it's just basically the embodiment
of the lawful neutral alignment.

So it's those mechanics
and, and things that

Zac: I don't like them.

Adam: I, I mean, you, you...

It's just fun.

Uh, most people don't try to do
Mechanus as a material plane, but, or

a- as a plane of existence, excuse me.

But it's out there, and if your players
wanna venture into it, I highly suggest it

'cause law and order is really fun to play
with and mess with in the world itself.

Zac: Well, I mean, you can do a lot of
things with "Law & I mean, if you...

Think about what your p- your party's not-

Dun,

nine ti- not the- Sorry,

Adam: I just thought of

Zac: of it.

Da-dun.

Nine times out of- I, I

Adam: say if they do enter the m-
the Mechanus plane, you've gotta

play the "Law & Order" soundtrack.

Zac: a missed opportunity if you don't.

And guess what?

It's, y- you can do it.

Nobody's gonna care.

It's all right.

Everybody can do this.

Um, don't know.

What should we end on?

I mean- Are

Adam: Are we gonna end it?

We got like

Zac: How many minutes we got?

Adam: more planes.

Zac: We got a million planes.

We can't go through every plane, Adam.

Two more planes?

20 more planes?

21 more

planes?

51 more planes?

15.

We're at 26 minutes.

Adam: minutes.

Thanks.

If you look down on your podcast
timer, if it's not 26 minutes and 47

Zac: seconds-

The editing has

Adam: The editing had, had...

We cut out a lot.

Zac: Um, okay.

Well, then we still got plenty of time.

Adam: We got

Zac: I like the dark planes.

I'm, I'm a- Shadowfell?

Yeah.

Oh, man.

Did that give it away?

The dark planes give away Shadowfell?

Um, Dral.

It i- it is Shadowfell.

Adam: a Shadowfell.

Underdark.

Zac: Yep.

So, um, Shadowfell's known as a plane

Adam: is known as-

Zac: We already did that ... uh,
of shadow, uh, shocker.

Yeah,

Adam: Really?

Shadowfell has

Zac: Yeah, no, they're, they're a
plane of absolute natural light.

It's the

Adam: literally the f- the freaking
"Wizard of Oz" of, of the planes.

So- Follow the yellow
brick road ... you're,

Zac: you're gonna find Shadowfell is

Adam: how I imagine the Feywild to
be is "Wizard of Oz" in my mind,

'cause it's just so colorful.

Everything is just taken to extremes-

Zac: The "Fae Wilds" is an acid trip.

I can only imagine if
your character actually

Adam: like a combo of "Wizard
of Oz" and "Alice in Won-"

uh, uh, "Alice in Wonderland."

Zac: Yeah.

It's- Essentially ... "Fae Wilds"

Adam: the animated "Alice in Wonderland,"
not "Alice Through the Looking Glass"

or the Johnny Depp "Alice in Wonderland"
one, which that was just straight LSD too.

Zac: They're all

Adam: with the, with m- uh, with the
crab from "Moana" that sings "Shiny."

Zac: Yes.

That- Straight acid Oh,
yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, that's a good one too.

That's the one song that doesn't
fit in with the whole movie, though.

It's so shiny.

Adam: Okay.

Zac: Okay.

Well, we're gonna stick
to B&Ms real quick.

Um-

Adam: be good at voices, man.

Gotta be g- good at voices.

Zac: Ethereal planes, um,
i-i-it's going to be...

So the Shadow planes, basically,
you're gonna have a lot of drowls,

you're gonna have a lot of spiders,
you're gonna have a lot of evil things

Uh, what to say about it?

It is dark.

It's a dark place.

Um, obviously there is
sha- there are shadows.

Um, okay, hold up real quick 'cause I
really don't know much about Shadowfell.

So fun fact about D&D is they
have something called a World

Tree Cosmology Model, where, um,
a lot of the planes derive from.

Do I know what that means?

Not thoroughly.

So-

Adam: No.

You want me to explain?

Zac: Yeah, go ahead.

Adam: n- think Norse mythology.

Interesting.

World, world, yeah.

Zac: Oh, okay.

So it's tree life.

World tree, and then there's,
there's- Different planes on

that tree ... planes on the tree.

Easy.

There's branches- Done ... that

Adam: them.

So Shadowfell is like a mirror dimension.

Zac: pops in to your party's
campaign single-handedly.

And

Adam: just yells, "Boy."

Zac: Boy.

Adam: Boy.

Zac: Listen here, Boy.

Adam: And so let's talk about, we
went from Shadowfell, let's talk

about the Feywild, 'cause Feywild's

Zac: we're going back to Feywild?

Adam: Yeah, I didn't touch on it too much.

But Feywild is a basically a enhanced
version of the Material Plane.

It, it's the, it's like a mirror plane.

It j- so there's a Feywild and
the Shadowfell, and they're

adjacent to the Material Plane.

They contrast very wildly
different between the both of them.

It's a wondrous fairy land, but
it's more dangerous for adventurers.

It's overgrown, um, it's very mystical.

It, it's just,

Zac: It's whimsical

Adam: whimsical, but
it's where the fays live.

So there's the sprites that
are mischievous in nature

that come from the Feywild.

Um, a couple of the lower tier
gods come from the Feywild.

Um, it, you end up hitting a lot of
different areas in the Feywild that

equate to what would be considered
the fairies and the sprites.

Um, it's not chaotic as Limbo is
in the planes, and the Feywild is

star- it's not a very orderly plane.

It's wilderness, jungles.

They're alive with creatures.

Man- many denizens are ruled by
the extremes emotions that can

make interacting with l- the local
population in the Feywild difficult

for players, oftentimes dangerous
because they ride on those emotions.

And then as time passes differently
from the Feywild, and thus sometimes

travelers lose their memories
oftentimes after they've returned

to the prime Material Plane.

So it, it, it's an enhanced version of the
Material Plane, but it's very dangerous

for the adventurers to go forth into
the Material Plane or into the Feywild

Zac: And with the Feywilds, so the,
the only actual visu- visual aid I've

had with the Feywild, and I, I, I know
we're not gonna try to touch too much

on some of these folks, but v- um,
"Critical Role" does a really, really

thorough job at animating the Feywilds
in their, uh, series "Vox Machina."

Um, it does appear in Season 2, I believe.

Um, when Keyleth does go to the Fey
Wild, or they're all transported to

the Fey Wilds, um, a- and I think
just it shows kind of how acid

trip-based the Fey Wilds can be.

Uh, distances don't make sense.

Even though something looks like it
could be the same distance from one

to another, it might be three mile...

You know, it might be three days'
hike, um, where it only looks to

be, you know, maybe a day at best.

Um, it also shows the dangers of it, how
the flora and the fauna themselves can

kill you, how there's gonna be adversaries
and enemies within the Fey Wild itself.

I think that's something that's
really well done from them.

Um, now granted, you, when you're creating
this realm for your players, if you decide

to use the Fey Wilds, um, you do not have
to do a copy and paste version of it, but

you, you could take inspiration from it.

I think it's something good to look at if
you don't have an idea of how it works.

Um, and, and don't, don't be afraid
to kinda get into the exploratory

side of, of what it could be.

Um, we've talked about
earlier the Beast Lands.

Add some of these beasts in the Fey Wild.

Adam: Would you like
to go on a safari, kid?

Zac: And have it be an animal
talking to you that way.

You know, uh, just kinda

Adam: I would love to make a "Most
Dangerous Game," Beastlands edition.

I just think it'd be fun

Zac: That would be really cool.

Like Cabela's Beastlands, Most Dangerous
Hunt, and you're hunting like a,

Adam: A lion, but it's a humanoid

Zac: What's the last one?

Adam: last one?

The Astral Plane, which is probably

Zac: Oh, shit

Adam: D- y- you as a DM
and you as a player is your

Zac: Here we go

Adam: is your first introduction
to a plane of existence

that everyone knows about.

It, it becomes a, a mysterious plane
basically that a lot of players

Zac: us about this mysterious

Adam: explain what this
mysterious plane is?

I will.

Uh, the Astral Plane is much like the
Ethereal Plane, uh, it's where you can

travel and, and have a hub connected to
other planes except on a grander scale.

So Ethereal Plane, you can
look in the haze and the mist.

Um, i- if you remember what I was
discussing from the Reddit post, um, is

the gray mist that you can't interact
with but you can watch what's happening.

Now the Astral Plane is you traveling
amongst the stars and the cosmos

to the other planes of existence.

You reach just about every plane
of existence from the Astral

Plane as the starting point.

So if you wanted to have a plane
of existence or a plane story with

i- incorporating a lot of that
into it, you will eventually end up

as an Astral Plane as your way of
navigation between to the other planes.

Um, there are also other th- other things
inside the Astral Plane such as psychic

winds that howl across the starry expanse
that can shove you into parts unknown so

you can end up in a plane of existence
that you did not wanna end up at.

And sometimes th- they can als-
the Astral Plane can drive you mad.

There's ships that are magical that can
sail through, and they're also often

captained by mysterious and viscous
githyankis, um, as well as other

creatures that want to captain it.

So imagine like "Treasure Planet"

as

the Astral Sea, and you have all
the captains and the ships and stuff

sailing back and forth amongst them.

You can go to the Astral Plane
physically, uh, if you want to, but

you can also go there spiritually.

But if you go there in spirit,
you run the risk of having your

soul separated from your body, and
that results in permanent death

Zac: Okay, so you basically become a Star

Weird from "Star Wars."

Adam: Yeah.

Uh, but imagine, like, them
traveling amongst the astral plane.

I really imagine, like,
Treasure Planet-esque traveling

through the planets as-

Zac: Yeah, and I mean, we've, we've
had our own experiences within our

party that we're doing in the astral
plane, and you kind of present

it more as an astral projection.

Mm-hmm.

Where we're-- it, it's
traversing, but we're not,

we're not doing this

Adam: talking about my
bag of s- bags of holding?

Zac: No, I'm talking about your, when
we fall asleep, when we fought the dream

Adam: Oh, well, that's
just the dream plane.

That's not even the astral plane.

It's just the

Zac: plane.

Oh, that's not even an astral

Adam: the astral plane?

No,

Zac: the dream plane.

Oh, whole different thing.

Yeah.

New, new

Adam: My bags of holding exist
in the astral plane, though.

Um, they exist as bubbles.

Uh, so the, as many bags of holding
that are in the world that exist,

they're bubbles of different astral--
uh, of different, um, items that are

all hovered around this plane around
the same area in the astral plane.

So if you travel the astral plane and
find that area in the astral plane, you

end up inheriting all those items from
everyone's bag of holding in the world.

Zac: Okay.

Adam: that cool?

Zac: Isn't that cool?

Well, that's something to take note of.

Adam: take note of.

Well, anyways, uh, I think
that about wraps it up.

Again, there, there are 18 realms
and, and planes of existence.

I hope a little touch on each of them
that are kind of the major ones that

you can introduce in your campaign.

A- and you can hint about it in the
earlier plane or in the earlier campaign,

Zac: of your

Adam: and then you can come back to
it later, and I think that that will

tie the knot beautifully in traversing
the planes, whether it be through the

astral plane or teleportation or plane
shift or anything of that nature.

I think we hit the highlights of it.

So without further ado, we're gonna
end tonight's episode on a good note.

Zac, take it away.

I

Zac: just wanted to say a, a genuine,
uh, thank you to all of the listeners

who have made it with us this far.

Adam: that's lasted us

Zac: this- That's lasted

Adam: Ad-libbed through us all.

Zac: Um, we, we genuinely are
thankful for you, and we, we hope

that we can grow with you and you
help us grow in, in the same sense.

Uh, we wanna make sure that we make
your journey as a DM as convenient,

fun, and entertaining as possible.

Adam: Yeah.

As we close this door of discussion,
crafting your first, uh, astral

plane adventure or your planes
of adventure itself, I would like

to hear from you as well as Zac.

Zac: as Zach.

Adam: Um, please do reach out to us.

Um, I'm gonna do like a
Sarah McLachlan commercial

with

Zac: In the arms of an
angel ... with the arms of an angel.

Adam: talk to us.

We're bored out of our minds.

We're just sitting here
talking to ourselves basically.

Uh, reach out to us on X or
Twitter at PodTavernTalks.

We'll interact with y'all.

Or on Instagram at TavernTalksPod.

Or please share your experiences on
TikTok with us at TavernTalksPod as well.

Um, also please, I, I im- im-
abhor you to leave a review on our

podcast as well, what you would
like to see us talk about next.

Um, and we may even, uh, l- I would
love to hear feedback from y'all

just, j- just in, in a general sense.

So please do.

Um, we, we rely heavily on these reviews.

We rely heavily on the feedback
to know that we're doing something

that someone wants to listen to.

And if you're one of those that
like to listen to us, I amend, uh,

I commend you for listening to us

Zac: for- This far ... hours on end

Adam: and this part here.

Zac: And, uh, so whether you're trying
to keep your feet cool in the first

layer of the nine hells of Avernus or
you're trying to fight the fauna of

the Feywilds, we're eager to hear your
stories and your adventures of your party.

So please reach out to us any way you can.

Adam: Until next time, safe travels
and may your tales be ever legendary