Universe

The Universe

(Plane)

Titles

Material Plane

Sphere

Inner Sphere

Gravity

Normal

Time

Normal

Realm

Immeasurable

Structure

Lasting

Essence

Mixed

Alignment

None

Magic

Normal

Denizens

Varied mortal life, both mundane and bizarre

Divinities

Dominion of the Black, Gozreh, Arazni, Great Old Ones, kami lords, Kitumu, kishin oni, rakshasa immortals, Outer Gods, Ydersius

Description

Endless void very occasionally filled with countless celestial objects

Images of the Universe

Source: Planar Adventures, pg(s). 93 (1E)
GM Core, pg(s). 174–175 (2E)

The Universe, also known as the Material Plane, is the Inner Sphere reality in which the planet of Golarion is located along with its sun, its 10 sister planets, and an unending space spanning uncountable galaxies. Within that space, terrestrial planets or other less-stable celestial bodies occasionally house other forms of life. It is the destination plane of newly created souls, and most mortals live out their lives on this plane before passing on to the Boneyard for judgement.

History

The Universe was created by primordial deities as a complex receptacle and testing ground for souls, as part of a larger process to distribute positive energy between gods and planes of the Outer Sphere. The First World is a predecessor of the Universe, created as a first attempt at a Universe and then directly overwritten by the plane as it exists today.

Metaphysics

The River of Souls, the process by which positive energy is cycled through mortal souls on the Universe and back to the Outer Sphere.

The Universe is governed by fixed, if magically mutable, laws of physics, such as gravity and a fixed speed of light.

Relationships to other planes

The Universe is metaphysically coterminous with the First World and Netherworld, existing in slightly unaligned dimensions of the same cosmological space. The Ethereal Plane also borders all Inner Sphere planes as a transitive plane. The First World is pulled away from the anchoring Universe by its relationship to Creation's Forge, while the Netherworld is pulled away by the Void.

Creation myths

Genies and elementals state and believe that the Elemental Planes existed before the birth of the Universe. Eventually, the Elemental Planes mixed with Creation's Forge, and the latter's life-giving energies helped create the Universe. Many scholars believe there is some element of truth within this myth regarding the real historical facts.

The material universe

The Universe is practically infinite in scale, with galaxies separated by vast voids, each containing countless stars, and many stars anchoring systems of other bodies, with innumerable other phenomena in between. Its diversity, which blends concepts and creations from all other planes across its countless worlds, results in many metaphysical scholars placing the Universe at the center of multiversal models.

Golarion's solar system

Golarion's solar system.

Even though Golarion has the most diverse lifeforms and cultures of the planets orbiting its sun, it is not alone in the solar system. Other planets include Castrovel, covered in green jungles, and the red planet Akiton with its vanished seas and endless deserts. Magical gates created long ago by lost civilizations are said to connect Golarion to its sister planets.

Other worlds

Millions upon millions of miles away from Golarion, countless other stars with worlds of their own exist on the Universe. These include:

• Androffa, the homeworld of the crashed Numerian starship Divinity
• Carcosa, ruled by the Great Old One Hastur
• Earth, the homeworld of Baba Yaga
• Kasath, the desert homeworld of the Kasatha

Dark Tapestry

The immense void between the stars harbors strange life. This region is known as the Dark Tapestry, and is home to creatures stranger than any found in the Outer Rifts. Luckily for the inhabitants of Golarion, the Dark Tapestry is far enough away that its denizens rarely trouble this world.