[Planescape] Creatures from the Inner Planes

[Fanatic-Templar]

I've finally gotten my hands on some of the Planescape materials that I was still missing, and have been reading through them with the intent of starting a game in a modification of its setting, but I've hit something of a blank.

I'm trying to get a grip on how the natives of various planes are characterised, how they think, how they act, and so forth. Primes are obviously not a problem, and with a reality based on belief, the Outer Planes are fairly easy to comprehend as well. And even if they weren't, there's a ton of material out there from which to extrapolate. It's the denizens of the Inner Planes that confuse me.

The Inner Planes are defined as being nearly entirely physical, and they're largely unchanging, at least compared to the Prime Material or Outer Planes. I have difficulty wrapping my mind around the kind of societies that would arise in such worlds, the kind of motivations that would drive its inhabitants, their ambitions, histories, cultures.

References to some specific natives, like the various genie races, in the Monster Manual or The Inner Planes don't seem to give much more information than they would for most monsters.

If anyone could help me I'd greatly appreciate it.

[Yora]

I think except for the Genies, the Inner Planes are entirely unihabited wilderness where mostly just solitary elemental monsters live. The City of Brass of the efreets is the only major settlement in the Inner Planes, to my knowledge.

[Digitalelf]

References to some specific natives, like the various genie races, in the Monster Manual or The Inner Planes don't seem to give much more information than they would for most monsters.

If anyone could help me I'd greatly appreciate it.

For more information on genies and (and to a lesser extent) the inner planes in general, I would suggest you pick up a copy of the Al-Qadim product "Secrets of the Lamp" by Wolfgang Baur; it even has a great poster-sized map of the City of Brass... :smallsmile:

[Digitalelf]

I think except for the Genies, the Inner Planes are entirely unihabited wilderness where mostly just solitary elemental monsters live. The City of Brass of the efreets is the only major settlement in the Inner Planes, to my knowledge.

Each of the various genie races keeps a court within their home plane and each court has some kind of major settlement attached to it... The City of Brass is just the largest. :smallwink:

[Fanatic-Templar]

I think except for the Genies, the Inner Planes are entirely unihabited wilderness where mostly just solitary elemental monsters live. The City of Brass of the efreets is the only major settlement in the Inner Planes, to my knowledge.

Well, some elemental-kin are fairly intelligent and live in groups, so creatures like Azer, Pech or Salamanders should have reasonably developed societies. But what I'm really aiming for is more some kind of overarching mentality, something that would help really identify a native of the Inner Planes and contrast them to Primes or Outer Planars.


For more information on genies and (and to a lesser extent) the inner planes in general, I would suggest you pick up a copy of the Al-Qadim product "Secrets of the Lamp" by Wolfgang Baur; it even has a great poster-sized map of the City of Brass... :smallsmile:

I'll see if I can find that, thanks!

[Eldan]

I think except for the Genies, the Inner Planes are entirely unihabited wilderness where mostly just solitary elemental monsters live. The City of Brass of the efreets is the only major settlement in the Inner Planes, to my knowledge.

Not really. There's dozens of intelligent creatures on each. Even the elementals are intelligent and have society, of a kind.
There was an entire book with largely elemental plane creatures. PS Monstrous Compendium III, I think?

[Digitalelf]

I'll see if I can find that, thanks!

No problem, glad I could help! :smallbiggrin:

And please, don't let the Al-Qadim branding fool you! I mean sure, it is an Al-Qadim product, and it does go into how genie-kind relates to that setting, but the bulk of the information is about how they [genie-kind] live upon their individual elemental planes (with a whole lot of information on the City of Brass). But none of it conflicts with the information found within the various Planescape books, and it dove-tails with Planescape overall quite nicely; though as an Al-Qadim product, it lacks the look and feel of the Planescape books (so no Tony DiTerlizzi art and no "Planescape Cant")...

[Asmodai]

Not really. There's dozens of intelligent creatures on each. Even the elementals are intelligent and have society, of a kind.
There was an entire book with largely elemental plane creatures. PS Monstrous Compendium III, I think?

Compendium 3 is specialised in the Elemental creatures of all kinds, but there is also the guide to the Inner Planes (written by Xanxost among others ;)). There are zounds of intelligent creatures that enjoy the given element living in the different elements - including stuff like sea elves, sahuagin for water or deep dwarves on earth. All the Inner planes have cities among them with the largest two being the City of Brass of the Efreet and the City of Glass of the Marids.

Either way, you can easily staff the places with as many people of all kinds that you feel like. There are whole cities and cultures among the Inner Planes to be found, and some are quite open and nice to visitors, be it because of trade, genuine niceness or the need to keep the dinner off its feet.