The Elemental Plane(t)s

This is my contribution to the 'Elements' Blog Bandwagon from the Prismatic Wasteland Discord server!

I've never been the biggest fan of the elemental planes, and I wanted to re-imagine them as something that excited me. For a while I've been interested in the idea of mapping them onto planets.

These turned out a lot more science-fantasy then I typically like to run my games, but I enjoyed that aspect of writing them! Obviously these are not in any way reflective of the real planets in our own solar system.

Meteor Shower - Étienne Léopold Trouvelot - re-cloured by me

Mercury, Plane of Fire

Vast oceans of magma span the surface of Mercury, the planet of fire. Her continents are woven from smooth black stone, with high mountains and tens of thousands of volcanoes. Home to the cruel and ruthless Iron Empire. 

Legends of Mercury (d6):

1. Hidden in one of Mercury's craters stands the City of Iron, an inter-planar metropolis home to millions of souls.


2. The first of all dragons came from Mercury. Some still live there. When they speak, all forms of life which followed them in creation must follow their commands.


3. In recent years, the Empire has been vexed by devil-folk, who have emerged from caverns deep within the planet in order to wage bloody war. They have captured several major provinces.


4. In Mercury's deepest craters hide splendid fields, sprung from the rich volcanic earth. Pale white flowers dot these lands.


5. A single day on Mercury lasts many years. On her dark side she flowers, growing beautiful night-forests which will burn on the following day.


6. There is a legend that states that Mercury is not truly the Plane of Fire, but was once a lush blue garden, like our own Gaia. The Iron Empress tricked the sun, and stole from it a brilliant spark, and so her jewel Mercury burned.

Encounters on Mercury (d6)

1. Mercurial Dragon [HD 16 / AC as Plate]: The dragons of Mercury are the swiftest of their kind. They breath silver flame hot enough to melt platemail, fusing it to their victims.
2. Devil-folk [HD 2 / AC as Chain]: Little is known of Mercury's devil-folk. They are able to walk across fire and magma, and wield weapons cut from obsidian. 1d6*10 appearing.
3. Salamanders [HD 7 / AC as Chain]: Great serpents with flesh like white ash, glowing like embers from within. Horns like charred tree-branches, and seventeen man-like arms--some used to crawl, others to wield blades. 1d6 appearing.
4. Imperial Soldiers [HD 3 / AC as Plate]: Expertly trained soldiers with stone-like flesh, clad in milky white armour which resists heat by way of enchantment. 1d20 appearing.
5. Astral Pirates [HD 3 / AC as Plate]: Travel on sky-fairing vessels of black steel, flesh-crafted with a screaming maw of teeth. Astral Pirates wear sleek armour which does not restrict movement, and wield falchions or repeating crossbows. 1d6*10 appearing, on a ship. On a roll of 5+, repeat this roll, adding another ship.
6. Tornado of flame.
   

Gaia

Do not allow any to tell you of Gaia who have not seen her for themselves.

Mars, Plane of Stone and Sand

Mars is a world of little water, however this does not mean she is bare or barren. Her soil and sand range in colour from deep brown to crimson. Cacti and desert-flowers bring life to the rocky landscape. High mountains mark a brilliant horizon. There are no true forests, but wiry bone-like trees dot the scrublands.

Legends of Mars (d6):

1. The Mercurial Empire has annexed vast swathes of Mars, where they extract raw iron to be taken to Mercury and melted into machines of war.


2. Mars is Gaia's sister. Where Gaia is mostly sea, Mars is mostly earth.


3. All dwarves originally came from Mars, traveling to Gaia on sky-fairing ships of iron.


4. Red iron from deep within Mars's crust can be forged into some of the strongest blades in the cosmos, though it is far to heavy to turn into armour.


5. Sometimes the Gods of Jupiter are angered when Mars blocks their view of the sun, and so hurl meteors at it.


6. The Martian deserts are home to fearsome automatons, sent to map it by an ancient civilization.

Encounters on Mars (d6)

1. Beetle Warriors [HD 3 / AC as Plate]: Men with stone-like flesh, not unlike the soldiers of Mercury. Clad in chitinous armour, and wielding mandibles sharpened into blades. Ride upon great beetles.
2. Rust Monsters [HD 4 / AC as Plate] Mars has a great many rust monsters, who delight in devouring tones of iron. 3d6 appearing.
3. Sorcerer of Mars [HD 10 / AC as Magic Armour]: The Sorcerers of Mars wear red-blue cloaks and paint their teeth deep crimson. They are masters of lightning, able to pull great bolts of it out of thin air.
4. Great Worms [HD ? / AC as Plate] Massive worms which burrow through deep rock, secreting red fluid, which bubbles up the surface. One theory suggests these are an advanced stage of rust monsters, which feast upon veins of iron. Rarely touch the surface, but when they do, it can be calamitous.
5. Astral Pirates [HD 3 / AC as Plate]: As on Mercury.
6. A sandstorm of powdered bone.
   

Jupiter

Home of the Gods, who rule from a palace of red mist.

Uranus, Plane of Ice and Sea

A great majority of Uranus's surface is covered by a deep oceanic abyss. It's equator is warm, home to great coral reefs and rocky shoals. Its poles are frigid, characterized by great glaciers and dark waters.

Legends of Uranus (d6):

1. Uranus's largest land masses live! Great krakens meander through the seas, leveling cities when they stir.


2. Deep beneath the southern pole, the Demon Lord Leviathan has been sealed in ice. Its release would be the end--not just of Uranus, but of all life under the sun.


3. Only through the power of twenty-eight lunar maidens are Uranus's tides kept in check. If even one of these mages was slain, the waters of Uranus would overflow, extinguishing the sun and flooding the eight-and-a-half worlds.


4. Uranus is ruled by four Seafoam Princes, each of whom can take the form of a man, a shark, a whale, or an octopus, as it suits him.


5. Men the size of mountains walk upon Uranus. They trawl the oceans with great nets, feasting upon whales.


6. When the Old King of Oceans was felled by his sons, his bident was flung into space. It struck Gaia, but has never been found.

Encounters on Uranus (d6)

1. Merfolk [HD 2 / AC as Leather]: Merfolk populate the warmer regions of Uranus, forming cities and kingdoms in the reefs. d100 appearing.
2. Prophet of the Deep [HD ? / AC ?]: A radiant figure, loved by all who meet it. Preaches the faith of the deep abyss. Serves as the glistening lure into the maw of an angler-demon.
3. Reef Dragon [HD 9 / AC as Plate]: Briliant dragons, as vibrant as coral. Breaths boiling steam, then devours the dead fish which float to the surface.
4. A Polar Kraken: How curious. Were they of this world before they came to Gaia? Did they come to both from somewhere else entirely?
5. Astral Pirates [HD 3 / AC as Plate]: As on Mercury.
6. The earth rocks as a great kraken stirs.
   

Neptune, Plane of Wind and Rain

The lamenting howls of the nine Sisters of Wind sweep over a desolate world. Razor-sharp rocks a mile high rise over scar-like canyons--the only shelter from the treacherous gales. Neptune's grass is razor-steel, her rivers are quicksilver.

The Wind Sisters rule Neptune. In their grasp they hold vacant queendoms, each ten-thousand miles wide. They build their palaces on the highest peaks: great spires of white marble and brass.

Legends of Neptune (d6):

1. The eldest of the Wind Sisters, Queen Lapyxs, wears a mask of silver chains, woven with the finest diamonds in all of creation.


2. Somewhere on Neptune there is a great floating island, the size of a Gaian continent. It is home to great gardens, and birds of paradise not found anywhere else in creation. This isle is guarded jealously by the Wind Sisters.


3. Neptune will sometimes birth a Grandfather Storm, which will thunder across her surface for centuries before dispersing.


4. All but one of the Wind Sisters have been slain. The seventh meerly puppeteers the others through necromantic magic.


5. One of the Wind Sisters fell in love with the Iron Empress of Mercury, and gave her a thousand diamonds in exchange for the steel griffons which now hunt the world.


6. The yoke of an egg plucked from a Sky Soverign's nest will increase the drinker's life tenfold.

Encounters on Neptune (d6)

1. Bird Warriors [HD 3 / AC as Leather]: Noble warriors who make their homes in the high rocks and dance in the winds of death. Their ilk have slain great beasts of the sky and tyrannical necromancers. d100 appearing + a Captain with 5 HD.
2. Steel Griffons [HD 7 / AC as Plate]: Watchdogs of the Wind Sisters. Relentlessly hunt anything not of this world. 1d6 appearing.
3. Sovereign of the Skies [HD 18 / AC as Plate]: The kings of all birds. Wingspan of 100'. Attack on sight and never check morale.
4. Daemon of Air [HD 7+1 / AC as Chain]: Wandering nobles from the courts of the Wind Sisters, sometimes in exile. Dressed in extravagant fashion, and with eccentric personalities. Travel on sky-fairing vessels, accompanied by d100 courtiers with 1 HD each.
5. Astral Pirates [HD 3 / AC as Plate]: As on Mercury.
6. A rain of diamonds.