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The elemental plane of air, also known as the boundless blue, is a beautiful blue sky that extends infinitely in all directions. There is no land and no oceans. It is only air.
Explore the Elemental Plane of Air in D&D lore, covering its environment, travel methods, gravity, inhabitants, and unique features across editions.
Key Takeaways
- The Elemental Plane of Air is unique for its infinite sky and subjective gravity, affecting travel and combat.
- It is accessible via many portals and vortices, making it the easiest inner plane to reach.
- Flight is essential for navigation, with specialized equipment and natural winds aiding movement.
- The plane hosts a variety of elemental creatures and powerful beings with complex relationships.
- Understanding the plane requires knowledge of D&D’s inner planes and edition-specific rules.
Summary
- The Elemental Plane of Air is an infinite blue sky with no land or oceans, illuminated by a pearly radiance without a sun or moon.
- It is the most hospitable inner plane with breathable air and generally welcoming inhabitants.
- Travel to the plane is facilitated by numerous portals and vortices, including floating and whirling vortices, and plane-hopping spells.
- Gravity is subjective, allowing travelers to choose their down direction, with specific mechanics for falling and landing detailed across editions.
- Movement within the plane relies on flight, glide wings, or navigating the labyrinth winds—consistent air currents used by natives.
- Food is scarce as many creatures are air-based, but genies can create sustenance and tend to be friendly.
- The plane contains pockets of other elements, such as earth and ice, influencing local environments and inhabitants.
- Various elemental creatures, including air elementals, invisible stalkers, and chaotic Eolian, inhabit the plane with diverse behaviors and alignments.
- Notable locations include the citadels of Bahamut and the Grand Caliph of the jinn, as well as the Mistral Reach near the para-elemental plane of ice.
- The plane's lore is explored through multiple D&D editions, with evolving mechanics and rich planar geography.
Chapters
- 00:00Introduction to the Elemental Plane of Air
- 01:43Related Videos and Terminology Overview
- 03:30Portals and Vortices to the Plane of Air
- 05:25Labyrinth Winds and Travel Methods
- 07:23Gravity and Movement Mechanics
- 09:05Food and Inhabitants of the Plane
- 11:09Elemental Pockets and Summoning Hooks
- 13:10Air Elementals and Notable Creatures
- 15:43Powerful Entities and Citadels
- 19:27Geographical Features and Additional Locations
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
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Of course, pockets of other elements find their way in, and most creatures that live here make their homes around these islands of other elements.
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Air is change, and the winds here never stop shifting. Clouds billow and dissipate, islands of rock with castles built atop them linger in the distance, and mighty storms hurtle through the expanse.
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The air here is sweeter, crisper, and clearer than any sky on the prime material plane.
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There is no moon or sun. Instead, the entire plane is illuminated by a pearly radiance with no singular source.
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The elemental plane of air is the most hospitable of the inner planes. It has breathable air, it doesn't try to kill you with every step, and the inhabitants are on average more welcoming to planar travelers.
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As one moves closer to the para-elemental plane of smoke, the air gets thicker, warmer, and harder to breathe.
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As you move closer to the para-elemental plane of ice in the opposite direction, the air gets crisper and cooler, eventually forming snow and ice crystals that float in the air. Closest to the quasi-elemental plane of lightning, the
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plane of air gets thick with rain clouds and fog along with the tang of ozone.
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And then finally, towards the quasi-elemental plane of vacuum, the air gradually thins out until you reach the plane of vacuum where there is no air at all.
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Now, before we get into the rest of this video, I do want to let you know that I have a video on the inner planes that covers the elemental planes as a whole.
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This video will be specifically going over what makes the plane of air unique, but there are many things true to the inner planes as a whole that I won't be mentioning as I already covered it in that video. I'll be using terminology
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that's defined in that video. In addition, the map of the planes and where the quasi-elemental and para-elemental planes lie adjacent to the plane of air is all explained in that video, so I suggest you watch that one
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first. Anyways, let's get back to the plane of air. So, first let's discuss travel.
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How do you get here? Well, the elemental plane of air is probably the easiest inner plane to travel to as it has the most portals and vortices that lead to it than any other. Some known gates to the plane of air are the following.
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There's a two-way portal on the highest branch of Yggdrasil. There are two portals located among the structures of the Greek pantheon on Arborea, but they are miles apart and only open when both are open simultaneously, so they require
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some coordination to function. There is one secreted in a massive stone ziggurat on Jovar, the sixth layer of Mount Celestia, and then there is a section of Bahamut's palace on Mercuria, the second layer of Mount Celestia, that can be
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shifted to the plane of air whenever Bahamut wishes. Elemental vortices to the plane of air are fairly common, at least when compared to vortices to other elemental planes, but given their constantly moving nature, they can be difficult to
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catch up to. There are two kinds of vortices that lead to the plane of air.
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The first are floating vortices. These are ones that float high in the atmosphere, high enough that you must use magical flight to reach as natural flight from wings will not work this high in the atmosphere because the air
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is too thin. Floating vortices are basically invisible since they appear just like the air around them and are only located in clear skies where no clouds or landmarks are in line of sight. The other kind of vortices to the
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plane of air are called whirling vortices. A whirling vortex is found at the heart of a tornado or other air-based whirling storm. Some say every twister has a vortex inside, but given their speed, dangerous nature, and temporary status, no one has been able
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to confirm this. And then of course, you can use various plane-hopping spells such as teleport without air, gate, and plane shift to arrive here. If using plane shift, the material component is a tuning fork made out of tin that is
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tuned to the note of A. So, now we've discussed how to get here, but how do you travel within the plane once you're here? How do you get from one part of the plane of air to another part? So, first we need to discuss
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gravity. Gravity on the elemental plane of air is subjective, meaning your down direction is whatever you wish it to be.
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So, the most common way for people without the ability to fly to travel here involves picking a down direction and simply falling that way, but I'll get more in-depth on that in the property section later. Obviously, if you have
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the ability to fly, that's going to be the simplest way to get around here.
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Most of the creatures that live here can fly, and most of the buildings and structures you're going to run into aren't going to be built with staircases or ramps in mind.
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Another way are glide wings. For 500 gold pieces, one can buy a wing-like harness of wood and stretched skins similar to a hang glider called a glide wing, which allows the wearer to manipulate the air around them, giving
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them the ability to fly if they have the skill to use it, meaning they have the airborne riding proficiency. These were created by the floating sorcerers of Katil, a city of displaced immigrants who have adapted to the plane.
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And the last are the labyrinth winds. See, the air here is always moving, ranging from a gentle breeze to a violent gale. These winds form consistent currents called the labyrinth winds, and the natives use these to navigate throughout the plane. In fact,
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you often have to use these as flying against them is impossible. Properties. First, let's talk about the physical properties.
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So, back to gravity. Like most inner planes, gravity is subjective on the elemental plane of air, at least in first, second, and third edition. So, the most common way of traveling would be picking a down direction and falling
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that way, like I said earlier. This is dangerous as you fall 1,000 feet per round, at least in second edition. So, if you don't see something until it's 900 feet away, for example, there could be a floating rock that was covered by a
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cloud and then the cloud moved away when you were 900 feet away. You could change your down direction, but you would keep your momentum and still fall 1,000 feet.
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Therefore, you would hit the wall as if you fell 100 feet since you would move 900 feet and then hit it with 100 feet remaining, and then you would take fall damage as if you fell 100 feet, which is
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10d6. Also, while falling, you have terrible aerodynamics and control over yourself, and you were treated as maneuverability class F. In first edition, picking a down direction, which included no direction at all, which would just cause you to float in place,
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seems to be easy. Anyone can just do it at will. However, in second and third edition, it's a little more difficult as you had to make successful wisdom checks to change your direction.
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People arriving in the plane for the first time will inherently choose a down direction, even if subconsciously, as that's just sort of baked into your brain. That's what you're used to, so you just kind of can't help it.
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Now, if you're trying to land this way, you simply change your down direction to the opposite way a minute or so before landing, and then this will cancel the momentum until you land light as a feather, assuming you time it right.
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However, if you're too late, you'll hit the destination at a decent rate, and if you're too early, you'll just float the opposite way and then have to waste time trying again. Landing this way requires a successful dexterity check in second
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edition, but once you've done it successfully twice, you no longer require a check as you sort of have the timing down.
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Creatures with a flight speed can move as normal and are actually treated as one maneuverability class better than usual. Sin
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normally as the air acts as a liquid when there is no down direction set.
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If a creature dies or is knocked unconscious, they can no longer set a down direction and move at the velocity that it was moving before being disabled. If another creature grabs them, then they take on the gravity of
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the grabbing creature. Breathing. The elemental plane of air is the only inner plane where breathing works normally, at least in older editions.
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However, there are other hazards such as clouds of dust, acid, poison, and other substances one can run into here.
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Vision and senses. The maximum range one can see in the plane of air is twice that on a clear day in the prime material plane. This is since there are rarely any obstacles and the air here is just clearer than air on
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the material. Infravision range is tripled in first edition and doubled in second edition. Tracking by smell though doesn't work as the scent is swept up in the wind.
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Water. While one can find pockets of elemental water, this is unpredictable. There are plenty of times where one might travel for days without finding anything but air, so bringing waterskins is recommended.
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Food. Food is scarce as most animals here are made of air. However, the genies can create food, water, and wine, and they tend to be relatively friendly.
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Magical properties. Magic here follows the rules of magic on all the inner planes, so spells that conjure creatures can only pull creatures native to the plane of air, ones that summon prime material creatures summon ones made out of air,
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and they are not bound to serve the caster, they have free will. Additionally, arcane spells that require access to the astral plane or the outer planes don't function. Additionally, in second edition, earth, fire, and water magic is diminished, meaning the caster
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is treated as one level lower and spells higher than fourth level can't be cast, and then air magic is enhanced, meaning the caster is treated as one level higher and saving throws against it have a minus one penalty.
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In third edition, air spells instead have their range doubled and damage increased by 50% and only earth magic is diminished, meaning you have to succeed a spellcraft check to cast it. Spell keys for the elemental plane of air
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usually involve changes to the verbal components, such as inhaling while speaking the spell. Encounters.
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So, environmental hazards of the plane of air include high winds, cloud banks that reduce visibility, lightning storms from the quasi-elemental plane of lightning, siroccos, which are hot winds from the plane of steam, and other hostile weather effects. The air here is
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always in motion, ranging from a gentle breeze to powerful winds that throw people off course and rip items from their hands, which can last a few minutes or several centuries. There are also maelstroms, which are places where a portal to the quasi-elemental plane of
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vacuum has opened up, creating a whirling vortex which sucks everything in. When caught in one, a player takes damage per turn, requires a bend bars lift gates check to leave, and is incapable of casting spells due to the
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strong winds and collisions with other items trapped in the maelstrom. Another hazard here are elemental pockets.
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Pockets of other elements that have found their way in the plane of air one way or another. Earth pockets are large rocks, usually brought in by creatures to serve as the foundations of a home.
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Fire pockets are spheres of burning flame. Water pockets are balls of water, although sometimes sculpted to other shapes by the djinn. Ice pockets are floating icebergs emitting coldness.
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Smoke pockets look like cloud banks, but poison people who breathe it in as a stinking cloud spell. Magma pockets are quite rare and they cool in the wind, becoming spheres of volcanic rock that emit heat within 50 yards. Ooze pockets
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tend to dry or harden in the winds, becoming similar to earth pockets. Vacuum pockets are invisible, blending in with the air, but have no breathable air and are often used to guard layers.
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Dust pockets look like a brownish haze on the horizon and blind those who enter it. Ash pockets look like dust storms and have the same effects of blinding and high winds in addition to causing heat damage. Salt pockets are either
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numerous crystals floating in the air and are treated as hailstorms or are one huge sphere of crystalline salt where creatures make their homes on. Lightning pockets appear as lightning storms and are always occupied by one D4 lightning quasi-elementals. Steam pockets look
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like cloud banks, but scald anyone who enters them and then dissipate after 10 to 100 minutes. Radiance pockets are structures of invisible force that function similarly to walls of force, making them very dangerous to run into.
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And mineral pockets are either spheres or cubes of great crystals, or they are clusters of stones, crystals, or occasionally uncut gems, and deal damage like hailstorms.
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In addition to environmental hazards and the creatures that dwell here, there are two other sites one might come across on the plane of air. These are summoning hooks and bubbles. So, what are these?
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Well, let's start with summoning hooks. When a prime material caster attempts to summon an elemental, a spear, grappling hook, shepherd's cane, or some sort of hook-like item appears in the air, glowing blue, green, or golden yellow.
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The elementals are then naturally drawn to it, and when they touch it, are then summoned to the prime. If a creature not native to the elemental planes touches a summoning hook, they then must make a saving throw versus spell. If they roll
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above the number, they aren't affected. And if they roll below, they are thrown into the deep ethereal as if affected by an ether cyclone. If, however, they roll the exact number of the saving throw, they then are treated as an elemental
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creature, meaning they are summoned to the prime material plane under the command of the summoner. And then the last are bubbles. When someone casts contact other plane, contacting a being on the inner planes, a silvery sphere between half an inch to 9 inches in
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diameter appears in the target plane. When popped, the sender's question appears in the mind of the being that broke it. An answer can only be sent back if the being has the ability to do so.
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Inhabitants. Most creatures native to the plane of air are made entirely out of air. This means that they are invisible. However, they do have a 10% chance to have enough dust and debris stuck in their forms that a faint outline is perceivable. If
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made visible by debris or magic, they have slender streamline shapes with sweeping wings, sturdy fins, or web-like membranes between extremities.
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In addition to the powers all elementals have as discussed in my last video, those of the plane of air are immune to all effects of weather and wind, as well as spells that use or create clouds or mist, such as incendiary cloud, stinking
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cloud, or cloudkill. If caught in an area of vacuum, they must make a saving throw versus spell or immediately perish. The inhabitants of the plane of air tend to be less domineering than those from other planes, allowing a
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greater variety of creatures to flourish. So, let's discuss the different types of creatures that inhabit the plane of air.
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First being the elementals. Now, there are many different types of elementals, so let's go through them. The first are true elementals. True elementals are the creatures you probably think of when you hear the word elemental, a vague shape
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composed entirely out of their native element. In the case of a air elemental, they normally look like a whirling vortex. True air elementals prefer areas of pure air with no other elements polluting it. They tend to be hostile
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toward invaders, but the smarter ones can be bribed as guides, taking perfumes or other interesting scents as payment.
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Common forms for air elementals to take are giant aerial rats for air elementals and aerial owl bears for elemental monsters.
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Djinn. Djinn are the genies of air and tend to be chaotic good. They are said to be majestic beings regarded in awe and fear. They resembled muscular humans standing around 10 and 1/2 feet tall.
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Their skin tone ranged from pale blue to olive brown to dark tan. Their clothes were usually made of thin silk in order to show off their opulence and display their fine physiques. They are ruled by the great caliph Husam al-Balil bin
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Nafat al-Yugaiyim, master of the clouds and son of the breezes, but he rarely leaves the citadel of ice and steel. The djinn live in floating strongholds, each one ruled by a sheikh, and consist of other djinn, jann, and a retinue of
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low-intelligence elemental servants, pets, and bodyguards. These landholds are described in the location section at the end of this video. Each of these strongholds is part of a confederation of nearby strongholds, sending word to each other if one is under attack. These
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confederations are led by caliphs, who rule all the states within 2 days travel, who the sheikhs report to. The caliphs swear fealty to grand caliphs, who then report to the great caliph in the citadel of ice and steel.
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Other air elementals consider the djinn as having turned their backs on the purity of air, whereas the djinn believe the archomentals to be savage and single-minded, incapable of appreciating the beauty of the other elements. The djinn war against the cloud and storm
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giants that inhabit the plane of air, but more often they are fighting the efreet, the genies of fire, who they despise more than anyone else.
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Invisible stalkers. Invisible stalkers are, as you probably guessed, invisible elementals summoned to the prime to track and hunt down a quarry given to them by their summoner. They can perfectly track any trail less than a day old and are completely invisible,
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only perceived as a slight shimmering in the air while on the material, astral, or ethereal plane. They are only found on the material plane when summoned by a spellcaster, and they seldom enjoy this forced servitude. Short tasks are seen
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as distractions, but any task that takes longer than a week result in them twisting the interpretation of the command in order to get back at their slaver. Little is known about what they do on the plane of air. Most just assume
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that they live similar lives to true air elementals. They understand common, but can only speak their own language called Sacha, which sounds like the whooshing and roaring of a windstorm. At least in second edition. Later editions removed these individual languages and instead
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all creatures of the plane of air speak Auran. According to fifth edition, invisible stalkers are not actually their own beings, but simply air elementals that have been shaped into this form by a spellcaster so that they can perform
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their tasks better, implying that invisible stalkers only exist on the material plane and you'd never actually find one on the plane of air.
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Aerial servants. Aerial servants are air elementals summoned by clerics to perform tasks other than combat. They are invisible on other planes, but on their home planes of air, the astral or ethereal, aerial servants appear as legless humanoids made out of sparkling
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blue smoke. Similar to invisible stalkers, they resent their summoner and will go insane and kill their summoner if their task is unable to be completed.
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They reproduce by going into storms of extremely high winds, which blow them apart into two. They must feed on the winds of their home plane or take damage every day after 30 days without feeding.
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Sylphs. Sylphs are neutral good fey, resembling humanoid women with dragonfly wings, who inhabit the elemental plane of air. Some believe them to be a crossbreed between nymphs and aerial servants. They are adventurous and travel frequently. Being all female,
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they reproduce with other humanoids, preferring elves, and then lay eggs, usually placing their nests in mountains or tall trees and then decorating them with gems and magic items. They can turn invisible at will, summon an air elemental once a week, and cast spells
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as a seventh level wizard. In second edition, they have their own language simply called Sylph.
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Mistral They say air elementals that spend too much time near the border of the quasi-elemental plane of vacuum become tainted with negative energy, becoming neutral evil wisps of air called Mistral. They tend to keep to themselves, but given their malicious
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nature were often blamed when people disappeared or died mysteriously. They can envelop individuals and drain their constitution, and they also create airy tentacles with razor sharp talents to strike with. Mistral occasionally perform tasks for magic users in exchange for powerful magic items.
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Sislan. Sislan are monstrous looking vortices of air. They have a single eye and three appendages that end in sharp claws. Unlike other elementals, they are not made of pure air. Their bodies contain particles of viscous liquid, causing objects that have passed through
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to develop thin waxy coatings. When they die, they leave behind a dollop of syrupy muck, which some use to create powerful adhesives and potions of flight and levitation. They are chaotic neutral and are fairly alien creatures, refusing to communicate with others, which make
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their motivations difficult to discern. Some say they are air purists who seek to remove planeswalkers and would-be settlers from the plane of air. However, they are also said to produce flutes and horns that make music so beautiful a
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mortal can't bear to hear it. They also despise the Ildriss, the air elemental grues, and attack them on sight. They travel in groups of three, where each Sislan has authority over the other two in at least one area, forming
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complicated triumvirates. They never leave the plane, and many believe they can't exist anywhere else. Some say they're spirits of slain air elementals, and others say they are a fundamental aspect of the element of air, but truthfully, no one knows.
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Ildriss Ildriss are the elemental grues of air. Grues being neutral evil elementals. They are fog-like clouds with airy tentacles and glowing red eyes. They take on this true form when attacking, but otherwise, they usually remain as an invisible wispy entity.
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Eolian Eolian are air elementals that have taken to the chaotic alignment, pursuing their own interests with little care for order. They have taken to the chaotic alignment so well that they change their alignment at least once per day, from
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chaotic good to chaotic neutral to chaotic evil. Eolians resemble constantly shifting winds, similar to heat shimmers, around 10 ft long and 5 ft wide. Their homes are vast maelstroms that constantly toss their belongings around.
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Anemo Similar to the Eolians, Anemos are air elementals that have taken to the lawful alignment, dedicating themselves to creating order from the raw stuff of chaos. They work together with others of its kind, constantly attempting to catalog and order all of existence.
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Anemos resemble fluffy balls of cotton made up of a highly complex network of off-white fibers.
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Besides elementals, there are plenty of other creatures that make their home here. In terms of animals, almost every kind of bird has been brought to the boundless blue, either by wandering through vortices or being brought in by other beings. Other flying animals such
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as bats and insects can also be found here. Large birds and other bird-like creatures such as rocs, giant hawks, giant owls, giant bats, and pteranodons also inhabit the plane, most having been brought here to serve as mounts.
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Monsters. Flying monsters like pegasi, hippogriffs, and griffins can be found here, either brought to the plane as mounts or because they simply wanted to live somewhere they could fly endlessly.
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Sylvan. Sylvan flying races such as pixies, atomies, and sprites can be found here. Even land-based fey like elves can be found on well-forested floating mountains. All of them pay respect to the Grand Caliph of all jinn.
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Other flying races can be found here as well, such as the aarakocra, terramin, quatl beholders nith sphinxes and cloud and storm giants. Rumors persist of a double-winged, 50-ft long andro-sphinx whose every word inflicts significant mental pain and knows the
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secrets of every wizard spell ever created etched underneath its wing feathers. Powers So, besides all the other creatures and elementals I talked about, let's discuss the powers. First, we'll discuss the archomentals. Archomentals being the most powerful of the elementals. There
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are two that we know of that reside here, Chan and Yan-C-Bin. Chan is the princess of good air creatures.
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[music] She is the mistress of calm breezes and gentle sounds, and the enemy of Yan-C-Bin, the prince of evil air creatures. She spends most of her time in her palace of unseen contemplation and wandering the plane of air
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furthering the cause of good. Yan-C-Bin is the master of evil air and one of the notorious princes of elemental evil. He is always invisible since he is a being made out of air. He lives in a palace made of solid air
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located within a broken land of destroyed elemental pockets of intruders, and it is rumored to be a wealth of both knowledge and gold. He spends most of his time wandering the plane of air and other planes, especially the prime, and he also is
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plots against Chan, his greatest foe. Neither of them amass armies, so their war is one of information.
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Now, let's discuss the gods that dwell here. Akadi, [music] the queen of air, is the goddess of the element of air and free-willed elemental creatures. She lives within a great maelstrom called the Great Funnel, which is big enough to swallow a planet. They
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say all the winds of the plane originate here. No being is allowed to pass through without Akadi's permission, as air elemental guides will turn around and other elementals will be destroyed.
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Earth ones turn to dust, water ones evaporated, and fire ones snuffed out. If she does wish to see you, you can pass the turbulent winds unharmed. Akadi is not good, evil, or neutral. She is amoral, only caring about her own people
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and the element of air. Her proxies are a collection of 12 female air genasi warriors called the Azure Guard. They wear magical azure-colored armor said to be forged from the wind itself, giving them an AC of zero and no encumbrance penalty. Keep
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in mind, low AC was good in second edition. Each is said to be at least a 20th level fighter, and Akadi has granted them the strength of cloud giants. Six to eight remain in her Great Funnel, while the rest go elsewhere to
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perform the Wind Queen's business. Bahamut, also known as the platinum dragon and is the god of the good-aligned dragons, is said to have a citadel on the plane of air. His citadel is a huge castle of spires and domes
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made from pure glass and gypsum. It is an extraordinarily rare sighting, and the elemental guides and even the archomentals deny its existence. He is said to have a realm in the far northern reaches of the prime material plane and
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in Mount Celestia. So, either he has multiple realms or he has one that can transition between these planes. Given that his realm on Mount Celestia is said to have a gate that can access the elemental plane of air at will, I'm
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going to assume that the former is the correct interpretation and that he can simply plane shift his palace when he wants. That would also explain why sightings of his citadel are so extraordinarily rare on this plane, as most of the time it's just not on this
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plane. The last god on the elemental plane of air is Shu. Shu the Upholder is the Egyptian god of wind, tasked by his father Ra to keep the would-be lovers Geb and Nut apart.
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He dwells in his home known as Desert Wind, near the border of the para-elemental plane of smoke. His only known proxy is a human magician named Karahady, who is a member of the Harmonium. He handles all his master's
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dealings and obsessively manages Shu's schedule down to the second. Locations Borealis Borealis is a several hundred yard wide spherical palace built around a vortex to the quasi-elemental plane of radiance. It has hundreds of thousand yard long spires jutting out from it,
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causing it to resemble a sea urchin. The structure appears to be made of stained glass, but rumors claim it is actually solid light. It ripples and scintillates with every color imaginable, putting on one of the most beautiful visual
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displays in the entire multiverse. It is populated with nith, predatory creatures from the prime material plane that resemble glowing balls of light, similar to willow wisps, but many claim they are merely guardians and something else dwells in the heart of Borealis.
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The nith leave visitors alone as long as they stay at the tops of the spire and don't attempt to enter the palace.
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The Citadel of Ice and Steel The jinn live in magnificent to behold flying cities, but the most impressive of these is the Citadel of Ice and Steel, the home of the Grand Caliph of all jinn.
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It is a wind-sculpted oval structure that eternally hurtles through the plane of air. Most of the structure is made of unmelting mined in the paraplane of ice, and its archways, buttresses, and other accents are built of multi-hued steel
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taken from the quasi-plane of mineral. Since it is always falling, wind constantly rushes throughout the entire palace. Because of the wind and the fact that there are no stairs connecting various levels, only flying creatures can move around and non-flyers are
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always escorted. Unlike the rest of the plane, one cannot choose a gravity direction, for only the Grand Caliph has control over it here. The Citadel is crisscrossed by canals fed by intricate fountains that bubble musically at all times. Scattered about are numerous art
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galleries, each dedicated to the works of a single genie artisan. Artwork varies from more traditional paintings and statues to exotic flame sculptures and chromatic symphonies. Visiting nobles and members of the Caliph's court live on houses located on islands of
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rock and ice that orbit the Citadel. These sport magnificent gardens and elegant towers. Somewhere hidden on the Citadel of ice and steel is the Invisible College, an organization of sorcerous genies who use illusions and deception to defend the Citadel from its
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enemies. Some believe they possess magic unknown to everyone else in the multiverse. Rumors state that Sardior, the god of gym dragons, occasionally visits the Citadel in his ruby palace, demanding treasure and time with the Grand Caliph, who begrudgingly obliges as the Ruby
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King is a powerful ally. In addition to plummeting through the plane of air, many have witnessed it traveling to other planes as well.
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Typhon, the Palace of Tempest, an enormous stone palace built on the top of a floating mountain near the border between the elemental plane of air and the quasi-elemental plane of lightning.
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Sticking out from all directions are docks where dozens of airships are stored. The aerial armada and fortress are both commanded by Halifex, the Wind Duke, a chaotic neutral 18th-level fighter air genasi. Despite being a genasi, his non-elemental parent was a
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storm giant, so he is quite large and powerful when compared to other genasi. He has dedicated his life to wiping out all other air genasi, as he considers himself the only true Wind Duke.
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The Waterspout. The waterspout is a pair of vortices that both lead to the elemental plane of air. A great torrent of water pours out of one, travels 500 yd through the air, and then plummets into the other. Since
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mist rolls out of both vortices, the waterspout appears to float between two clouds. The structure confuses many natives, as its existence doesn't really make sense or follow the laws of the inner planes.
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The plane of water has no gravity and thus no pressure, so the water shouldn't be forced out of a vortex. The plane of air also has no gravity, so it shouldn't be pulled down out of the vortex, either. Also, the fact that there are
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two vortexes right next to each other, and they're lined up perfectly so that water can flow from one to the other, is unlikely to be a coincidence. So, there are many scholars that argue over the nature of its existence.
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A lawful neutral level nine fighter level nine monk air genasi named Bramis Polavuin has begun constructing a series of water wheels that wrap around the entirety of the waterspout. His plan is to generate power and store it in a
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magical energy accumulator called the Inverted Sphere. Aqa. Aqa is a beautiful realm of shining spires and lush gardens atop a pocket of earth. It is home to the Wind Dukes of Aqa, also known as the Vati, a race of
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lawful beings that dedicate themselves to fighting chaos. They are served by many arakocra that inhabit the realm.
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Sirocco Straits. This is the section closest to the para-elemental plane of smoke, the place between air and fire.
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This is a place of hot, dry winds and barren earth motes where gargoyles from the plane of earth stage invasions into Aqa.
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Mistral Reach. The Mistral Reach is the location in the plane of air closest to the para-elemental plane of ice. Here, snowstorms are blown into and out of the plane of ice, and the earth motes here are covered in snow and ice.
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Zephyrhome. Zephyrhome is a cloud giant complex where they maintain catalogs of all races in the multiverse and a secret about each, and they will trade this knowledge in exchange for one of the buyer's memories.
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Katul. Katul is a city of displaced immigrants who have adapted to living on the plane of air. It is home to the floating sorcerers of Katul, wizards who focus on magic relating to flying and the winds, and the creator of the glidewings.
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Palace of Unseen Contemplation. This is the realm of Chan, the princess of good-aligned air elementals.
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It is a palace built of reflective glass made from the finest sand from the elemental plane of earth, gifted to her by Sunnis, the princess of good earth creatures. The Palace of Unseen Contemplation is designed with complex labyrinthine corridors that visitors
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frequently get lost in, but meditation always reveals the correct path. The palace is filled with many glass panels that have observations of the multiverse documented on them in Auran and Vati. She welcomes guests in to meditate and provides cool or warm
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breezes constantly to make them comfortable. Desert Wind, the divine realm of Shu, the Upholder, the Egyptian god of wind.
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Desert Wind is a realm of warm breezes near the border of the para-elemental plane of smoke. Golden flecks drift in the wind resembling grains of desert sand, and beams of sunlight pierce the realm warming those they meet. These
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breezes, golden motes, and beams of radiance are all Shu's petitioners, all of good alignment. The chaotic ones become the breezes, the lawful ones become the sunbeams, and the neutral ones become the golden flecks. If he desires visitors, the realm is open to
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enter, but if he does not, the breeze becomes scalding, the motes hot as embers, and the sunlight hot enough to melt armor, preventing all he doesn't want from entering.
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Other. In addition to the specifically named places, there are a few common places one is likely to see scattered throughout the elemental plane of air.
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The first are flying castles. Since the plane of air is relatively safe and it's an infinite expanse of air, it makes for a good hideaway for wizards who want uninterrupted study sessions, clerics escaping the dangers of other planes,
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and monasteries and libraries whose users seek out solitude. These structures are usually built on pockets of earth, but occasionally they are built on other elemental foundations, such as clouds that have been infused with enough magic to make them solid.
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And then the other location are genie strongholds. The strongholds of the genies are between 1,000 yd and several miles across, and are typically built from glass or fine curving stones. They are usually little more than opulent estates of pleasure crammed with ornate
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buildings, gardens, and fountains. And that is everything I could find on the plane of air. If you want more information on the other inner planes, remember to subscribe and hit the bell icon, as I will be doing a video on all
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the remaining elemental planes. Thank you guys so much for watching. I really hope you enjoyed this one.
Topics:Elemental Plane of AirDungeons & DragonsD&D loreinner planesplanar travelelemental vorticessubjective gravityair elementalsplane shiftD&D editions
