Planar essence

See also: Planar substrate, element, quintessence, and essence

Planar essence, synonymous with planar energy or planar power, is the essential substance and energy of a plane. Many kinds of planar abilities, creatures, and practices find ways to harness or infuse planar essence. Inhabitants of a given plane may refer to another plane's energy as extraplanar energy; for example, that of Heaven is extraplanar with respect to the Universe.

The form and content of planar essence varies wildly between planes based on their alignment or element, and while it sometimes can be extracted or distilled from planar matter with material manifestations or effects, it can also be abstract in nature. For example, the essence of Elysium can be the spirit of cooperation.

Manifestations

• Planar power components are physical fragments of pure, concentrated planar essence.
• The planar aegis spell weaves planar essence into a force shield.
• The bullets of a planar rifter, and rifters themselves, are infused with a plane's essence.
• A planar harmonizer can shield themselves with the essence of their home plane.
• A planar scion is a mortal being infused with the planar energy of one or more planes other than their native plane, such as aphorites who are mortal beings infused with the ordered essence of Axis.

Planar frequencies

A selection of tuning forks attuned for planar travel.

Each plane's energy has a distinct frequency, also known as a planar frequency. The most common application of a planar frequency is in the tuning forks used for certain magical methods of planar travel; each fork's frequency must be attuned to the destination plane's, with some forks and planar frequencies being rarer to find or more difficult to attune than others. Such keys are also crafted from the destination plane's material. Similarly, the planar keys for interplanar teleportation also rely on material from the destination plane.

Recognizing and understanding these frequencies in a planar phenomenon requires a high level of comprehension about planar mechanics, and in application such knowledge can be used to recognize and disrupt certain phenomena, such as planar rifts. A plane's frequency also has a negative harmonic resonant frequency that can be emitted as an audible tone, the application of which can also disrupt or close a planar rift.

Some planar phenomena exist due to a resonant interaction, such as the unusual stability of the island that supports the Foundation of Basrakal in the otherwise chaotic Maelstrom. Conversely, the Ineluctable Prison demiplane's resonant frequency constantly changes in a manner that no standard tuning fork can replicate, preventing most standard methods of plane shifting.

In religion

Covenants form foci of worship around the elemental spirits and planar energies of each of the Elemental Planes, allowing them to provide the benefits of a divine entity to their religious adherents. Examples include the Blooms of the Spreading Weald (Plane of Wood), Breath of the Endless Sky (Plane of Air), Light of the Everlasting Flame (Plane of Fire), Treasures of the Eternal Delve (Plane of Earth), and Waves of the Boundless Sea (Plane of Water).