The Planes: The Abyss
Our next stop in The Planes series is the Abyss - the home plane of demons and evil chaos.
What is the Abyss
Manual of the Planes, 1987 TSR Inc.
The Infinite Layers of the Abyss, sometimes known as Demonholde, is the home plane of demons and is known for being infinite in size and depth. Found between the windswept plane of Pandemonium and the prison plane of Carceri, this plane is considered to be mildly evil and mildly chaotic, though that doesn’t mean it’s safe by any stretch of the imagination. The demons and other evil creatures who roam these layers see the only way to gain more power is to enforce their will over others, be it by enslaving them to the demon armies in the Blood War or to use violence to impose their will.
The plane itself shares many of the same traits as demons, though it acts in a far more devious manner. Littering the top layer of the plane are conduits that lead to almost every layer in the Abyss, though few are marked and even fewer are reliable. Some layers might only have one-way portals and be impossible to escape until someone, typically a powerful abyssal lord, releases you or the conduit might take you to a world that appears to be the Material Plane except that the plants feed off of blood instead of sunlight. Due to the assumed infinite number of layers on this plane, it can be difficult to know exactly where you are when you take a conduit, though several layers have been ‘civilized’ by the demons and actively encourage, and protect, traders to their cities.
History
Demonomicon, 2010 WotC
First detailed in the Manual of the Planes (1987), not much has changed for the Abyss. It is first described as having only 666 layers, though it does clarify that that is only an estimate, this number jumps up to 679 in 2nd edition in the Planes of Chaos (1994) with only 141 of the layers actually habitable by mortal beings. The book later goes on to clarify that the number might be infinite, but nobody knows and the Planescape Campaign Setting (1994) even goes so far to say that nobody will ever do so in a rather illuminating way.
Plain and simple, no one's ever done so because each layer is so horribly grotesque that a berk would have to be barmy to want to see any of them.
3rd edition only clarifies that the Abyss has an infinite number of layers, but that each known layer has clear boundaries, which is some small comfort. The Abyss is only infinitely deep but it isn’t infinitely wide, which means that it does occupy a finite amount of space, sort of. 4th edition walks back the definite idea of the Abyss being infinite, merely qualifying that it could be but no one has explored its multitude of depths to find out for sure. It also describes the Abyss as a wound in reality and as a diseased abscess filled with horror and evil, which provides all the motivation you need to never visit this horror-filled hole in the multiverse. The final edition, 5e, simply states that it is virtually endless and leaves it at that.
An Outsider’s Perspective
Decay, corruption, and entropy are all that await visitors to this plane of chaos and evil. Most who journey to this plane never get further down than the first layer, known as the Plain of Infinite Portals or sometimes as Pazunia, so named for the great demon lord Pazuzu who can often be found on this layer. The plane is brutal and outsiders who arrive here must learn quickly to think on their feet to ensure they don’t become pressed into the Blood War effort or killed by a bored demon. Portals that lead out of here are often guarded by demons who are tasked with gathering up fresh recruits for the demon armies, though they can be bribed with magic items, jewels, and similar goods, except for gold coins as the demons place little value on a metal they deem largely worthless. Power can only be won through strength and violence.
Manual of the Planes, 2008 WotC
Those who choose to travel to the Abyss should be ready for a torturous experience and be well prepared for a fight. Those who can subjugate others can quickly gain a large following of demons, mercenaries, and more on this plane, though they should always remember that the Abyssal lords, also known as the demon princes, rarely take kindly to their subjects being taken away from them. Any time one person gains power, someone else loses it and the most powerful on this plane despise ever losing anything.
If a traveler hopes to survive the plane, and explore more than just a single layer, they will have to use the conduits that link all the layers with each other. Spread out are an infinite number of portals on the first layer, all leading to different layers on this plane, though few are marked as to where they go and even fewer are accurately marked. Those who venture into these layers rarely come back out, and of those who come back out, only a handful can escape with their mind intact. The Abyss is devious when it comes to how it affects its inhabitants, infecting their minds with a madness that refuses to ever heal.
A Native’s Perspective
Plane of Chaos, 1994 TSR Inc.
Known as the home plane of demons, the Abyss is a chaotic evil plane built on the assumption that might makes right. While demons largely rule most of the known layers, other creatures, all evil and chaotic in nature, can be found in many of the layers, these creatures include undead, bodaks, renegade devils, corrupted mortals, and more. While the demon princes are considered to be the rulers of this plane, many of them are simply just powerful demons instead of powerful deities. Because power is all about your dominion over others, those demons who prove themselves to be the mightiest of their kind can often find themselves ruling sections of a layer, or an entire layer if they can just get others to fall in beneath them.
Life on this plane is hard and brutal, those who lack power are abused by those with power. Those with power are paranoid that their power could be taken away from them, and those who scheme for more power are often killed brutally and painfully to show others what happens if you go against your betters. Those who rise must always be on guard, for there is always one more powerful than yourself, and knowing when to push your muscle and when to prostrate yourself are important life lessons that few get to survive after a single mistake.
Beyond the constant power struggle of the demons and other natives of this plane, the inhabitants must also fight against the plane itself. Some layers are blistering hot or freezing cold, others are bogs of acid, deserts of crushed bone, or near-perfect copies of the Material Plane. Every layer is different, and all of it is devious. What might appear at first glance as a normal field of grass could easily become a field of carnivorous plants that feed on flesh, bones, and blood.
Plane of Chaos, 1994 TSR Inc.
Despite the dangerous nature of this plane and its inhabitants, it isn’t all terrible. Some powerful lords have gotten it into their heads to make their domains proper cities and trading outposts, all to gain more power over others through magic items, wealth, and more. These cities often have very few rules, as it isn’t in the Abyss to follow law and order, though traders are often highly protected by the demon lords, for if the traders are too fearful to come, their dreams and aspirations of becoming a powerful city ends. Many times a trader will be given several strong demons to act as their guards, ensuring that a trader can come and go from the Abyss unmolested, then again, sometimes demon princes can change their mind and take what they want from a trader and leave them stranded on a layer. It’s difficult to stick to long term plans on this plane as sudden emotions and passions can overwhelm even the strongest willed.
Atmosphere
The Abyss’ atmosphere is largely dependent on which layer you are on, and how that layer functions. On the top layer, the Plain of Infinite Portals, it is hot with a fat reddish-dim sun that burns away any vegetation that tries to grow on the layer. On another layer, the air might be laced with poison or disease, while another layer could have no atmosphere or be completely unbreathable for a mortal being, or the layer could be hundreds of miles of ocean with no sight of a surface.
Despite the six hundred plus known layers of this plane, only about a fifth of the layers can support life for the typical traveler. Luckily, most layers have their own source of light, it could be harsh red light from a burning sun high above, the ground might emit greenish light that casts shadows high onto the clouds above, or the light could come from good-aligned creatures who shine like beacons, the more good a creature, the brighter they shine. There are a few layers that are pitch black and even some that act more like a vacuum, feeding off the light and extinguishing it before you can see the world around you.
Plane Below - Secrets of the Elemental Chaos, 2009 WotC
Traits
Travel to the Plane
Most who travel to this plane rarely make it back, those that do are often forever changed by their experience. Those who wish to travel to this plane are strongly encouraged to not do it, that whatever they are searching for is not worth the price of coming to this plane, but people still come. To get to this plane, one can find portals from all over leading to the top layer, the Plain of Infinite Portals, though there are a few portals that will take you to a different layer.
The portals in the Astral Plane take on the purple color of amethyst, and the two neighboring planes, Pandemonium and Carceri, feature portals to this plane. Portals in the Abyss take on the form of pits, sometimes they appear to be bottomless, sometimes they have a bottom, and sometimes they aren’t portals and are just dangerous pits that clueless travelers step into and plummet to their death.
Once you arrive on this plane, it is far harder to leave as the demons and other inhabitants don’t like outsiders coming and going as they please. Powerful demons guard the portals out of this plane and ensure that anyone who arrives here learns their proper place.
Traversing the Plane
Manual of the Planes, 2001 WotC
Depending on which layer you are on, traversing this plane can be very easy, very dangerous or you can immediately perish. Some layers are completely unknown and could be a perfect representation of the Material Plane, while other layers could just be copies of the Plane of Fire or the Plane of Water. Much like how Limbo is chaotic, so are the layers of the Abyss, though their big difference is that the Abyss isn’t constantly morphing and changing. A layer rarely changes itself unless there is a suitably powerful individual to morph it to their will.
Some demons gain enough power to do so, but most are unable to, the ability to morph a layer or at least part of it, is largely reserved to the most powerful demon princes. Of the princes that can morph the Abyss, most can only adjust a small portion of the layer, but the more powerful you become, and the more worship you can accrue from those in the Material Plane, the more you can morph and control. One prince, Graz'zt, lays claim to three layers that are interconnected, while another prince, Lolth, only claims two layers.
Some layers could never be controlled by even the gods simply because there is nothing to work with or it’s a trap layer. Trap layers are typically devoid of anything, including portals to leave the layer, and you are simply floating through it until someone powerful enough can release you from the outside, or some layers only require another creature to show up and you are then shunted out of the layer as someone else becomes trapped. Another layer could be so completely full of demons that there is no land due to the miles and miles deep pile of demon bodies that cover it, all attempting to climb above the others so that they can gasp for breathe through the press of bodies.
Magic and the Abyssal Lords
Spellcasters are, by and large, mistrusted by demons and the other inhabitants, and for good reason. Those who practice magic often lack in a powerful appearance, leading many demons to assume that spellcasters are weaklings, just waiting to be subjugated under a powerful creature. For those, it’s often the last mistake they will ever make, and for the spellcaster, casting any spell immediately puts a target on them. Demons hate spellcasters above all else because of their rituals of binding and summoning, dragging them out of the Abyss, and into another plane where they are placed under the control of the summoner. No demon wants to be beholden to another creature, especially one who it thinks it is more powerful than.
Plane of Chaos, 1994 TSR Inc.
Those who cast spells while in the Abyss should be mindful of where they do it, and in whose domain they do it in. Spells immediately attract the attention of whoever controls the domain, bringing unwanted attention to any travelers trying to sneak their way through the territory. Some types of spells are more likely to anger a demon prince while others may be completely ignored, it all depends on who it affects and how. A spell that only affects you or your party can be ignored, while a spell that damages another demon might be met with a team of demons sent to capture you for the Blood War. If a spell is used to control a demon or force them to follow your commands, this calls for immediate and severe action by whoever holds power in this domain, and a swift and bloody end to the spellcaster.
Rumor has it that a demon prince always knows when a spell is cast in their domain, allowing them to easily hunt down spellcasters. Spellcasters should always be cautious about how and what spells they cast, especially if they are planning to sneak in or mind control one of the inhabitants.
Locations
The Abyss is composed of hundreds and hundreds of layers, with many believing that it is infinite in scope. Because no set conduit leads down from one layer to the next, the layers are only numbered based on their discovery, not on how far down they are in the plane. This means that the Phantom Plane, layer #7, was found before Blood Tor, layer #13, but it very well could be that the Phantom Plane is located at the bottom of the Abyss while Blood Tor is a few hundred layers from the top.
The Plains of Infinite Portals
This is the top layer of the plane and the most traveled too. It’s one of the few layers that are survivable, at least as far as the environment is concerned. The dim light of this plane is provided by the bloated red sun that burns away anything that would try to grow here. Large pits dot the dusty and barren landscape, these pits are the conduits that lead to the other layers of the Abyss, though few of them are marked. Massive fortresses made of iron are the strongholds of the Abyssal lords, each of these fortresses are filled with devoted servants who protect their lord’s body while the powerful demon visits the other worlds as a spirit, seeking to corrupt and spread their brand of evil.
Portals lead in and out from this layer with very few touching on the lower layers, typically when a portal does reach a lower layer, it is only due to bad things. A demon somehow found a way to open a portal your Material Plane, a summoner foolishly didn’t close their summoning gate correctly or the cultists have finished their rituals and a demon army descends upon an unsuspecting world. Some say that the Abyss is made up of ancient worlds that the demons conquered, that once they completely corrupt the land, it can fuse with their plane and becomes yet another layer.
Demonomicon, 2010 WotC
There are several important sites on the Plain of Infinite Portals like the Lakes of Molten Iron, massive crucibles filled with white-hot and red-hot molten material for use in the construction of the iron fortresses and the weapons used in the Blood War. The River Styx flows through this top layer, it’s waters trickle past the town of Styros, a barracks-town overflowing with thousands of demons waiting to get shipped off to do their part in the Blood War. The molydeus, powerful demons who only answer to the strongest of the Demon Princes, send these hordes off in rickety and questionable boats. Sometimes as much as half the forces sent will sink on the journey there, the molydeus see it as an acceptable level of casualties and keep sending more.
Broken Reach
Broken Reach is a city founded a few hundred years ago by a succubus, Red Shroud, a flame-haired taskmistress who still rules the city to this day. She is well known for her poisons as well as having the most dependable information and rumors on the Abyss and the greater multiverse. Many Abyssal Lords, or demons hoping to become powerful, seek her advice and see the information from her as genuine and as real as you can get, despite her many connections, her city has had to fight to survive on this top layer. Mobs of petitioners, githzerai looking for a new citadel home in the Abyss, and even Abyssal lords have attempted to take the fortress city from her grasp, all have failed.
This town is typically one of the more hospitable places on the Plain, but that isn’t saying much. Those who are unprepared for the Abyss don’t survive their first night here, and those that do should have deep pockets for any supplies they need. Red, the succubus in charge, is a firm believer in turning a large profit and charges high taxes on everything in this town. In the town square is a slave auction and several succubi and incubi can be found there, most of them are the offspring of Red who doesn’t want any children trying to take over her role as head of the town.
Beneath the iron citadel that oversees the town is a portal to Plague-Mort, the gate town on the Outlands. Utilizing this portal, Red can conduct trade with the rest of the planes and gather the latest news and information about the multiverse. It is said that Red is no longer happy with just her one town and is looking to expand her holdings to the nearby fortress of Mithrengo.
Azzagrat
Demonomicon, 2010 WotC
This realm is ruled over by Graz’zt, a Demon Prince of pleasure, dark lusts, carnal desires, and subtle manipulations. Graz’zt is one of the demon princes that actively encourages traders to visit his realm and provides a retinue of demons to act as guards for the traders. The realm of Azzagrat is spread out across three layers with his citadel-fortress city, Zelatar, existing on all three layers simultaneously. This realm stretches over the 45th, 46th, and 47th layer and they share many traits as well as several conduits that connect them. The River of Salt flows and connects all three layers, this sparkling and crystalline river is made of liquid salt crystals that are deadly for anyone to submerge themselves in.
Portals between the three layers can appear in a wide variety of locations, all based on Graz’zt’s cruel sense of humor. Groves of viper trees, ovens of green fire, that may or may not be a portal, and other horrible and devious locations keep newcomers on their guards as they wander the realm. Even Zelatar is a confusing mess of streets that twist and weave themselves like a maze, always reworking their layout as soon as you go down the street. This fluid city is difficult to traverse, though all inhabitants of Zelatar seem to pick up on the intricacies of travel after a year of living there, all others require a guide for the city.
Thanatos
Located on the 113th layer is the realm of Thanatos, the Belly of Death and undeath. This layer appears to be a vast and cold tundra with only a small number of villages huddled throughout this plane. The newest ruler of this realm is Orcus, though many claim that he has always ruled and had simply allowed others to think he had been dead for eons. Cultists largely make up the population in the villages, all seeking to emulate Orcus and his undeath, while outside the villages are the hordes of undead who roam the land in search of flesh.
The strongest of Orcus’ faith will gather up massive armies of the undead and lead them on raids and wars against the other demon princes, trying to carve out more territory for their undead war. Graz’zt, Demogorgon, and others are the targets of these raids and while there is rarely progress made, it all serves to spread the power of Orcus throughout the Abyss.
Visitors to this layer should be incredibly careful on this layer for the energy of undeath permeates everything on this layer. Chill, fatigue, and the growing sense of mortality rise up in all who visit here, and any that die here soon rise back up as undead in just a few moments. There is little to sustain travelers on apart from molds, fungi, and some moss.
Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes, 2018 WotC
Other Layers
Hundreds of realms exist though none of them are exactly alike, and only a handful can sustain any type of life.
Realm of a Million Eyes - 6th Layer
Home of the Great Mother, the ‘goddess’ that all beholders revere in one way or another. The realm consists of twisting tunnels and eyes that line tunnels like gems. Each of these eyes is an eye of Great Mother who watches over all while her beholderkin children roam the tunnels, killing any they find for all are an afront to the beauty of Great Mother except for that specific beholderkin.
Demonweb Pits - 66th Layer
Plane of Chaos, 1994 TSR Inc.
While Lolth’s influence can be found on many other layers, she controls the 65th and 66th layers directly. On the 66th layer are the Demonweb Pits which is a layer composed of four strands of tunnels that, somehow, have formed into a great web that stretches off into the infinite mist. Each strand of tunnels has a collection of portals that led to locations where Lolth is strongest and has worshipers who follow her dark words.
Abysm - 88th Layer
Also known as the Brine Flats, Abysm is the home to Demogorgon who is known as one of the most powerful demon princes. Briny water and rocky outcroppings make up this layer that is the home of flying demons, aboleths, kraken, and other demonic fish that war in the depths. Demogorgon rules here with absolute authority and all must follow his will or be destroyed. His palace of Abysm appears to be two serpentine towers that rise out of the waters, though the vast majority of his palace resides underwater in the bitterly cold waters and caverns.
Prison of the Mad God - 586th Layer
This layer serves only as a prison for the mad god of the derro, Diinkarazan. This layer is like that of a hurricane with heavy winds and floating chunks of earth that crush and slam into one another. At the center of this great mass of wind is the mad god who is magically bound to a stone throne thanks to Ilsensine, the power of the illithids. In these strong winds are visions and hallucinations that drive even the mightiest of gods insane and Diinkarazan is no exception as he curses and screams of things he has seen in the winds. Terrible monsters, mind flayers, visions of death in lava and water, and more, Diinkarazan has grown mad and any visitors to this plane are seen as illusions to be destroyed by his great power.
Factions & People
Demons
Monster Manual, 2014 WotC
The largest of the natives to the Abyss, the demons can be found in massive hordes that sweep across the layers seeking to grow power and influence over others. The lowest of the demons, the manes are hideous creatures with rotted and pale flesh and maggots that squirm under their skin. Despite their lowly position, every mane would rather be a demon than anything else in the world.
At the top of the common rabble of demons are the molydeus who act as generals for their demon princes. They send waves of demons through portals, down the River Styx, or against each other in a bid to win the Blood War and more territory in the Abyss. Even the mighty balors must listen to a molydeus for their power is only outmatched by the demon princes they serve.
A curious thing about the demons is that there is no definite way of being promoted. Demon princes and other demons hate promoting the lesser demons as they see it as part of their power being ripped away from them, if they make someone else more powerful, even if they weak and useless compared to them, they are given up just a tiny bit of their power and influence over others. Demons are only promoted when there is a great need for a more powerful demon and it is always random who gets chosen. Many have claimed that if the demons simply worked together, they could promote every one fo their kind to such powerful demons that the rest of the multiverse would simply be destroyed, luckily for everyone, demons hate working together unless they are forced to.
Abyssal Lords / Demon Princes
Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes, 2018 WotC
At the very top of the hierarchy are the demon princes, also known as the Abyssal lords, who have so much power as to control massive hordes of demons. They are constantly warring against each other, always looking to gain the upper hand and steal more power from each other. The most well known of the demon princes are Graz’zt, Orcus, Demogorgon, Lolth, and Baphomet.
These demon princes are mighty and powerful, though they are still limited in their power. While they are not true deities and have less power than a minor god, they can still grant powers to clerics. The lowest among them can pass on the powers of 1st- and 2nd-level spells, while the strongest of them can grant such divine power as 7th- or even 8th-level spells. For the most powerful of spells, it requires their direct presence where they bestow the power of 9th-level spells on only the most faithful of their flock, but they only do so with absolute disgust. They hate sharing their power with anyone, even someone as loyal and devoted as their clerics.
Petitioners
The Petitioners, the mortal souls of those who have died, are the spirits of evil and chaotic. They take on the form of manes, though a handful of them are so evil or so powerful in life that they begin their time on the Abyss as a more powerful demon. While being a mane isn’t anything special for a petitioner, they don’t care. They want to be a demon because of who they are, they like power and the tantalizing promise of transforming into a more powerful form is all they need. Raw power is the desire of these petitioners and while some claim a petitioner could take the form of something that isn’t a demon on this plane, none have done so.
Encounters
A Friend in Need - An friend to the party has become trapped in a trap layer of the Abyss with little hope of escape. They were able to send a message, thanks to a sending spell, but they lack any other power to escape.
Dark Blessings - A demon prince is offering the powers of a cleric to one of your own, all they must do is worship the demon and spread their word throughout the planes. Also, they must make a pilgrimage to the demon prince in the Abyss, if they can survive that, they'll be given even greater power.
Graz'zt's Offer - A powerful demon prince is offering safe passage to those who come to his city and take part in a great festival he is hosting. Some claim that is a trick for the demon prince to steal any powerful magical items brought down, while others think that Graz'zt is trying to civilize his layers and become a powerful capital in the multiverse.
Planes of Chaos, 1994 TSR Inc.
Ships of Chaos - The perfect warship against the devils, these ships exude chaos and cause the normally ordered and lawful devils to break in fear and chaos. The Doomguard, a faction in Sigil, were promise several ships for their help in the construction of these things but the demons turned against them. They are hiring mercenaries to take over a Ship of Chaos and bring it to them on the Outlands.
The Mad God - Whispers are that the Prison of the Mad God is held between the madness of Pandemonium and the prisons of Carceri and that the derro have gotten it into their minds to push this layer into another plane to release their god. Crazed with madness, the derro are spreading insanity throughout their realms on the Material Plane and the influence of Carceri is slipping on the Mad God’s layer.
Unending Demon Hordes - A gate to the Abyss has opened and out pours hordes of demons, gnolls, orcs, and more. The only way to close the portal is to journey to the other side and kill the demon responsible for the portal. The only problem is then there is no way out except by finding a conduit to the top layer of the Abyss and then find a way to leave the plane itself.
Resources & Further Reading
Manual of the Planes (1st edition)
For more information on the Abyss in 1st edition.
Planes of Chaos (2nd edition)
For more information on creatures, locations, and inhabitants of the Abyss.
Manual of the Planes (3rd edition)
For more information on locations in the Abyss.
Manual of the Planes (4th edition)
For more information on locations in the Abyss.
The Plane Below - Secrets of the Elemental Chaos (4th edition)
For quest and adventure ideas in the Abyss.
Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes (5th edition)
For information on Demon Princes, the Abyss, Abyssal portals, and more.
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