I wanted to take a look at the Great Wheel cosmology’s Outer Planes, and rework them slightly to fit my more sword-and-sorcery preferences. Here are the planes as they stand in 3.5e.

Plane Alignment Full Name Theme Origin
Ysgard CG/CN The Heroic Domains of Ysgard Battle, Vikings, Valhalla Norse mythology (Asgard)
Limbo CN The Ever-Changing Chaos of Limbo Primordial chaos, elemental forces Catholicism for the name (Limbo, though its appearance draws on John Milton’s Paradise Lost)
Pandemonium CN/CE The Windswept Depths of Pandemonium Wind, madness, tunnels John Milton’s depiction of the capital city of hell in Paradise Lost.
Abyss CE The Infinite Layers of the Abyss Demons John Milton’s Paradise Lost, or Judaism (Abyss) more generally.
Carceri CE/NE The Tarterian Depths of Carceri Prisons Greek mythology (Tartarus)
Hades NE The Grey Waste of Hades Evil, despair, entrapping Greek mythology (Hades)
Gehenna NE/LE The Bleak Eternity of Gehenna Volcanoes Judaism (Valley of Hinnom).
Baator LE The Nine Hells of Baator Hell, devils, fire and brimstone Mostly Dante’s Inferno
Acheron LE/LN The Infernal Battlefield of Acheron Warfare, cubes Greek mythology (Acheron)
Nirvana LN The Clockwork Nirvana of Mechanus Clockwork, regimented order Eastern religions (Nirvana)
Arcadia LN/LG The Peaceable Kingdoms of Arcadia Harmony, order Greek mythology (Arcadia)
Celestia LG The Seven Mounting Heavens of Celestia Heaven, angels, mountain Greek mythology (seven heavens) though Judaism also has a similar concept.
Bytopia LG/NG The Twin Paradises of Bytopia Twin planes, bucolic Reference to the poem The Garden, by Andrew Marvell 1, or to John Milton’s Paradise Lost more generally.
Elysium NG The Blessed Fields of Elysium Nature, beauty, entrapping Greek mythology (Elysium)
Beastlands NG/CG The Happy Hunting Grounds Wilderness, hunting, animals Native American mythology (happy hunting grounds), possibly via the writings of James Fenimore Cooper or Washington Irving.
Arborea CG The Olympian Glades of Arborea Nature, forests Greek mythology (Olympus)
Outlands N The Plane of Concordant Opposition Neutrality, Sigil This is actually an original concept. Created for Planescape in 1994.

When looking at the Great Wheel cosmology, there are a few consistent origins for plane names and themes:

Nine Circles of Hell

Baator is an invented name from the DnD franchise. The levels of Baator are mostly drawn from real sources:

  1. Avernus: from the Greek entrance to the underworld, or the underworld itself.
  2. Dis: from the fortified city of hell in Dante’s Divine Comedy, where the unpardonable sinners are punished.
  3. Minauros: possibly a corruption of the name Minos, the judge of hell seen in the second circle of hell in Dante’s Divine Comedy (who himself is the same Minos seen in the myth of Theseus).
  4. Phlegethos: from the Greek Phlegethon, a river of fire in the underworld.
  5. Stygia: from the Greek Styx, another river in the underworld.
  6. Malbolge: from the cavern where sinners who committed fraud were punished in Dante’s Divine Comedy.
  7. Maladomini: No idea on this one
  8. Cania: No idea on this one
  9. Nessus: this name originates in Greek mythology and is the name of a centaur, whose blood was poisoned by an arrow laced with hydra venom. However, Gygax probably got the name from the centaur’s appearance in Dante’s Inferno (drink!). My headcanon, however, is that this circle of hell resembles the eponymous city in Gene Wolfe’s Book of the New Sun.

Picture of the cover art of the French edition of Book of the New Sun, artist Guillaume Sorel

My Great Wheel

I think this list can be simplified, made to comply with the OGL, and expanded with some other free-use planes.

  • Gehenna and Baator can be combined into one “hellish” fire-and-brimstone plane.
  • Ysgard and Acheron can be combined into one “battle” plane
  • Limbo and the Abyss can be combined into one “primordial chaos” plane
  • Arborea, the Beastlands, and Elysium can be combined into one “wilderness” plane
  • Carceri and Hades can be combined into one “death / prison” plane
  • Mechanus, Bytopia, Arcadia, and Celestia can be combined into one “heavenly / order” plane
  • Pandemonium can stay as a “madness” plane.
  • The Outlands will be removed, since they mostly facilitated the Planescape setting (which isn’t the tone I’m going for).
  • Should probably keep some transitional planes:
    • Ethereal
    • Astral?
    • Shadowlands?

That leaves us with this cosmology:

  • Hell - Hell - Contemporary evangelical christian depictions of Hell, rampant capitalism. Peter Stormare in Constantine. The City of Dis from Mother Stole Fire
  • Battle - Valhalla - Mostly just like Vahalla. Fields of battle, warriors resurrected every night, etc. Edge of Tomorrow but everyone knows it’s a time loop.
  • Chaos - Chaos - The primordial void (outer space?). Chaos the (agender) deity from Supergiant Games’ Hades
  • Wilderness - Faerie - The Elfhame of Celtic mythology. Arthurian.
  • Death - The Underworld - Dusty bookshelves. Quiet. Death as a stern yet kind librarian. Maybe Valhalla is a location in the underworld? Their house parties annoy the librarian.
  • Madness - Carcosa - Geoffrey McKinney’s Supplement V: Carcosa

Such was that happy garden-state, While man there walked without a mate: After a place so pure and sweet, What other help could yet be meet! But ‘twas beyond a mortal’s share To wander solitary there: Two paradises ‘twere in one To live in Paradise alone.

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