Far Realm
| Greyhawk Plane | |
| Far Realm | |
|---|---|
| Type | Anomalous |
| Layers | Infinite |
| Alignment | None |
| Native Inhabitants | Gibbering mouther, acidic broadleaf, amoebic crawler, bloodsipper, deepspawn, dharculus, farspawn, gibbering orb, gibberling, kaorti, kaortic hulk, neh-thalggu, nightseed, silver tongue, uvuudaum, wyste |
| Greyhawk Powers | None |
The Far Realm is a plane far removed from the standard planar cosmology, existing outside of the planes and outside of time, in the "space" before time begins and after it ends. It is inimical to the life of the known planes, and those who venture there go insane.
Some of the alien vistas reported include rivers of milk-white liquid, mysterious rains of blue globes that release arachnid creatures the size of horses, gelatinous worms, and amoebic seas. Natural laws may change at the whim of the beings who control the plane, and space, time, and logic do not work in ways comprehensible to humanity.
The Far Realm is the realm of things that are not just impossible in, but antithetical to the more familiar planes.
Inhabitants
Many of the Far Realm's inhabitants are too vast and inchoate to even notice visitors to their domain. Others take an interest in mortals, communicating with them through the veil between realms and sponsoring magic-users called alienists.
Gibberlings, gibbering mouthers, kaortis, uvuudaums, wystes, and other aberrant creatures have their origins in the Far Realm. Piscaethces and other Elder Evils may reside in or have formerly resided in the Far Realm.
Structure
The Far Realm has no direct connection to other planes, but portals may open during certain conjunctions of the stars. A portal called the Vast Gate was opened by "Elder Elves" in ages past, destroying their civilization in the process. As a result of this Vast Gate, the Far Realm sometimes brushes against the known multiverse, staining reality. These stains are known as cerebrotic blots. These blots twist and corrupt the flora and fauna and dreams within them. Sometimes the Far Realm touches the world first through dreams.
At least one of the "ether gaps" that form in the Ethereal Plane, Leicester's Gap, leads to the Far Realm.
There is no correspondence between the Far Realm's time and time in the known planes. A traveler in the Far Realm is untethered from history and causality, and could in theory return anywhen.
Layers
The Far Realm contains an infinite number of layers, divisions of reality that can be perceived on multiple levels at once. Many Far Realm beings exist on several layers simultaneously. The layers form and dissolve at the whim of the greater Far Realm beings. It is possible to move between them by a mere effort of will.
History
Aboleths
The aboleth race, said in some sources to be the first of all mortal life to exist on the Prime Material Plane, is thought to have been created by accident when the Elder Evil Piscaethces brushed her body against the world while traveling the infinite layers of the Far Realm.
Quadripartite
When the Oerth was still young, beings from the Far Realm attempted to assert dominance over all reality. They sent minions to destroy the newly sentient, pre-human life that then lived on the surface of the world. Four gods rose to oppose this: Pelor, Obad-Hai, Nerull, and Kord. Pelor and Nerull had yet to form allegiances to Good or Evil in those days; they were most interested in maintaining the balance between Law and Chaos. Kord was just along for the sake of having something to fight. The four gods each sacrificed a part of their power to create an anchor that would sever the ties of the invaders to their unguessable masters, and so were able to defeat them.
Creative origins
The Far Realm is inspired by the writings of H.P. Lovecraft, particularly stories like "Through the Gates of the Silver Key."
Bibliography
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- Collins, Andy, Bruce R. Cordell, and Thomas M. Reid. Epic Level Handbook. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2002.
- Cordell, Bruce. "Enter the Far Realm." Dragon #330. Bellevue, WA: Paizo Publishing, 2005.
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- Grubb, Jeff, David Noonan, and Bruce Cordell. Manual of the Planes. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2001.
- Hope, Matthew. "And Madness Followed." Dungeon #134. Bellevue, WA: Paizo Publishing, 2006.
- Jacobs, James. "The Ecology of the Kaorti." Dragon #358. Bellevue, WA: Paizo Publishing, 2007.
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