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The environmental devastation of Athas has thrown these forces into opposition. The elements are depicted as forces that care only for the preservation and growth of their natural/pure form. This is one of my favorite sourcebooks, as it provides tremendous flavor for the setting. However, these ideas aren’t really present in other sources.Įarth, Air, Fire, and Water describes the elements, para-elements, and the priests devoted to these elements (in Dark Sun priests were either elemental clerics or servants of the powerful and evil sorcerer-kings). The book contains the most useful description of the Gray and Black, suggesting the Gray wraps around Athas somehow and impedes planar travel, while the Black is within Athas, as if it were under its surface. The sourcebook Defilers and Preservers provides several possible explanations and illustrations for planar layout, but makes it clear that all of the presented options are wrong in some way. A number of sources make it clear there are portals to the elemental planes, typically in very inhospitable places (volcano, Sea of Silt, raging sandstorm, etc.). Demons and devils can exist on Athas and somehow be summoned to it. However, the extent to which Athas is closed is unclear in official canon sources. Spelljammer sources describe the crystal sphere as similarly closed. Various supplements and versions of the campaign setting make it clear that Athas is closed to planar travel. The Black is similar to the plane of shadow and deep within it is the Hollow, a demiplane holding the terrible creature known as Rajaat. Most are slowly dissolved over time, though undead and powerful spirits may survive for a long time. The Gray is the Athasian plane of the dead, where all dead beings go. Instead, the harsh desert world of Athas is only directly touched by two planes. Unlike other campaign settings, planes such as the Astral, Ethereal, and various outer planes are largely inaccessible.
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The aspect of cosmology that is most certain in canon sources is that getting to Athas is very difficult.
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Check out the Ashes of Athas events at Winter Fantasy. This is a guest post for the #5eplanes blog carnival by the Ashes of Athas admins: Teos Abadia Chad Brown and Derek Guder.