Ethereal Plane

The Ethereal Plane was a plane of existence coterminous with the Material Plane. It was a semi-transitive realm of phantasmal static and nebulous proto-matter; those that drowned in the River Styx were said to end up there as ghosts.

There were two parts to the Ethereal Plane: the Border Ethereal and the Deep Ethereal.

The Border Ethereal

Like the Feywild and Shadowfell, the Border Ethereal touched all points of the Material Plane. While in the Border Ethereal, a being could still see into the Material, but only dimly and not very far, whereas those on the Material could not see the being without magic. Verbal communication was not possible between the Border Ethereal and the Material Plane. The Ethereal was unique among the Inner Planes in that an individual could exist in two places simultaneously: the Border Ethereal and the Material Plane.

Occasionally, ethereal crossings were made possible by magical or natural effects. The autumnal equinox, for example, was often said to be a time when the veil between the Border Ethereal and the Material Plane was particularly thin.

The Deep Ethereal

When one passed into the Deep Ethereal, time slowed down to one tenth the rate it flowed in the Material Plane. Transitioning from the Border to the Deep Ethereal was done through sheer force of will, or by finding a curtain of vaporous color. Sentient beings carried on the River Styx to the afterlife would sometimes be lost in the River, usually through their unwillingness to part with their mortal life. When this occurred, it was believed that the souls would eventually drown and fall into the Deep Ethereal.

The Deep Ethereal swirled with large blobs of proto-matter which could form a demiplane when a critical size was reached. Powerful wizards or demigods could also bend the proto-matter to their will and create a demiplane. These nascent planes might exhibit some of the characteristics of the Inner planes or the Prime, but with their own rules of gravity, material make-up, etc., and even support life. Without magical maintenance, most demiplanes would eventually collapse into themselves and break into their constituent forms of proto-matter.