Elemental Plane of Air (Inner Plane)

The Plane of Air is an empty plane, consisting of sky above and sky below. It is the most comfortable and survivable of the Inner Planes and is the home of all manner of airborne creatures. Indeed, flying creatures find themselves at a great advantage on this plane. While travelers without flight can survive easily here, they are at a disadvantage.

The Plane of Air exists at the edge of the universe—a “skin” of wind and clouds where down seems to be in every direction at once. Here, the sky is everything there is, and only those who can fly can ever truly call this reality home.

Just beyond the Material Plane floats the immense, seemingly peaceful blue firmament of the Plane of Air. Known to many as the Endless Sky, this plane is shot through with enormous clouds, floating cities of fantastic design, meandering sheets of ice and crystal, strange spheres of brass and iron, and even more astounding features. Towering cloud walls mark the borders it shares with the edge of the Material Plane’s universe, and gigantic water bubbles—oceanic ecosystems in their own right—pepper the areas abutting the Plane of Water. Although its population is scant in comparison to those of the other Elemental Planes, the Plane of Air is home to a grand djinni society, dozens of mephit kingdoms, and a plentitude of diverse creatures.

Breathable air is the plane’s most dominant substance, making the Plane of Air the most hospitable of all the Elemental Planes for visitors from the Material Plane.

Flying creatures have great advantages here, though nonnatives of all sorts might find themselves constrained by the lack of solid ground. Such material does exist, in the form of great chunks of drifting ice originating from the adjacent Plane of Water and magically suspended hunks of earth and crystal—but such places are few and far between.

TRAITS

The Plane of Air has the following planar traits:

• Subjective Directional Gravity: Inhabitants of the plane determine their own “down” direction. Objects not under the motive force of others do not move.
• Time normal
• Realm immeasurable
• Structural lasting
• Essence air-dominant
• Alignment mildly neutral-aligned
• Magic enhanced (spells and spell-like abilities with the air descriptor or that use, manipulate, or create air [such as those of the Air domainand the elemental air bloodline]) or impeded (spells and spell-like abilities with the earth descriptor or that use or create earth [such as those of the Earth domain and the elemental earth bloodline])

DIVINITIES

Elemental lords of air

• Zephyrus
• Yan-C-Bin

• Outsiders air elementals (including aerial servants, air wysps, anemoi, belkers, comozant wyrds, invisible stalkers, and mihstus), air veelas, djinn, and mephits (air, cold, and dust)
• Petitioners air pneuma (semitransparent, misty-looking forms)
• Qualities immunity to air and electricity effects, fly speed 60 ft. (perfect)

INFUSIONS

• Basic You gain a +2 bonus on Fly checks and a +2 bonus on saving throws against air or electricity effects.
• Improved You can use air walk once per day as a spell-like ability.
• Greater You can use wind walk once per day as a spell-like ability.

DENIZENS

Although it is the least populated of the Elemental Planes due to its lack of solid ground, the Plane of Air still teems with life. Unlike on the outer planes, the petitioners of the Plane of Air (vaporous entities known as air pneumas) are not common, as the time it takes for an air pneuma to transition into an air elemental or similar creature is typically quite short. Listed below are several prominent or noteworthy residents whom planar travelers might encounter.

Djinn The Plane of Air’s native genies are the true lords of the Endless Sky. Powerful beings in their own right, they focus on art, culture, trade, and especially the acquisition of knowledge, which brings them great wealth and even greater influence. Calmer and more peaceful than the genies native to other planes, djinn are nonetheless quick to remind all listeners that they have been the plane’s undisputed masters since before the mortal races appeared. This sense of superiority, combined with their paternalism toward nongenies, has earned the djinn a widespread reputation of insufferable self-importance. Despite the djinn’s stuffy proclamations, some believe that their superiority has not always been uncontested. Mysterious metal spheres scattered throughout the plane fuel rumors of a long-vanquished foe. A recent theory involves an ancient war between the djinn and a contingent of extraplanar outsiders, or perhaps gods. Some claim that these spheres actually imprison the genies’rivals. The djinn’s failure to acknowledge these rumors, plus their refusal to build upon or even touch these spheres, has done nothing to quell such speculation.

Air Elementals Though just as disorganized as other elementals, air elementals have their own culture and are known for being more gregarious than others of their kind. They are intelligent, but their mind-sets and emotions can change as quickly as the winds from which they are born. The elementals’ command obedience from all but the most rebellious air elementals. Air elementals are not the realm’s only elementals. In the places where the azure sky turns dark with violent storms, lightning elementals dash about like children playing in the sea, unleashing great bolts of electricity. Ice elementals also venture to this plane, despite being native to the Plane of Water.

Cloud Dragons Cloud dragons are natives of the Plane of Air and are known for flitting unhindered through the expanse of the Endless Sky, indulging their fickle whims. They have an innate curiosity and may begin a quest for lore or a lost bauble only to allow a distraction to sidetrack them for years. Cloud dragons’ whimsical journeys sometimes take them away from their home plane; most cloud dragons on the Material Planetraveled there for a specific but now long-forgotten purpose and, finding the mountain peaks of Material Plane worlds quite hospitable, decided to stay.

Mephits Three types of mephits dwell on the Plane of Air: air, dust, and ice mephits. These miniscule scamps sometimes serve the powerful entities that dwell on the Plane of Air and are often seen flitting about the plane’s great cities, delivering messages or running errands. Many mephits, however, choose to remain independent. These mephits create small nations on the plane’s scattered islands, and each nation’s strictures and social mores depend on the type and personality of its self-proclaimed mephit ruler. Mephit nations often have confusing and contradictory laws and customs, making it easy for visitors to unknowingly break them. Moreover, familiarity with the customs of one nation never provides much help in understanding the rules of another.

Sylphs Although uncommon on their progenitors’ home plane, highly capable sylphs have left the Material Plane in fair numbers to reside on the Plane of Air. They work often as commanders of airship fleets or as extraplanar diplomats for the djinn—or, more rarely, the elemental population. Still others are high-priced guides for the plane’s most esteemed or influential visitors. Some conspirators posit that such sylphs act as spies for extraplanar forces that wish to eventually challenge the djinn for dominance of the plane, but practically no one—the air genies included— gives the theory any credence.

d%	Encounter	Avg. CR
1–5	2d6 sylphs	4
6–11	1d8 Small air elementals	5
12–14	1d8 Small lightning elementals	5
15–19	2d6 air pneuma petitioners	6
20–24	1d8 Medium air elementals	7
25–29	1 invisible stalker	7
30–32	1d8 Medium lightning elementals	7
33–35	1d6 comozant wyrds	7
36–38	2d6 air mephits	8
39–41	2d6 dust mephits	8
42–44	2d6 ice mephits	8
45–47	1d4 belkers	8
48–50	1 mihstu	8
51–55	2d6 air wysps	8
56–60	1d8 Large air elementals	9
61–63	1d8 djinn	9
64	1 young cloud dragon	9
65–67	1d8 Large lightning elementals	9
68	1 djinni vizier and 1d6 djinn	10
69–73	1d6 air veelas	10
74–78	1d8 Huge air elementals	11
79–81	1d8 Huge lightning elementals	11
82–84	1 aerial servant	11
85–89	1d8 greater air elementals	13
90	1 adult cloud dragon	13
91–93	1d8 greater lightning elementals	13
94–95	1d8 elder air elementals	15
96	1d6 monadic devas	15
97	1d8 elder lightning elementals	15
98	1 ancient cloud dragon	18
99	1 anemos	18
100	1d8 mythic elder air elementals	18