Spirit World

The Spirit World was one of the planes of existence in the World Tree cosmology. It was home to the Celestial Empire and its Bureaucracy, the overarching pantheon of Kara-Tur.

Cosmology
The Spirit World was apparently incompatible with the Great Wheel cosmology, coming as it did from a radically different worldview. It was, however, considered a part of the World Tree cosmology, in which it replaced the Astral Plane, but only over the continent of Kara-Tur, where the Celestial Empire and its Bureaucracy held sway.

It was a transitive plane that was both coexistent with and coterminous with the Material Plane, but only in the continent of Kara-Tur. The Ethereal Plane formed a border region between the Material Plane and the Spirit World.

Although it was, on the whole, a neutral plane with no elemental traits, individual locations could vary and bear local traits and alignments. The Spirit World equivalent of a blacksmith's forge might be fire-dominant, while that of a haunted graveyard could be mildly evil-aligned.

Magic that derived from appropriate veneration—that is, divine magic—was enhanced in the Spirit World, while magic that depended on knowledge—arcane magic—merely functioned as normal. Spells that depended on the Plane of Shadow did not work in the Spirit World, as it had links to that dark realm.

The plane was timeless; though days and nights still passed, the denizens never aged and never hungered and thirsted.

Description
The Spirit World was a realm of extremes, with everything a seemingly greater version of its counterpart on the Material Plane. Every sense was enhanced, made keener and more aware, showing the world in sharp focus. Every sound was more distinct and pleasing to the ear. Colors were brighter or more vibrant, deeper or more intense: in the day, the sky was the purest blue, in the night, a jet black with brilliantly shining stars. So it was to visitors from the material world; the spirits who dwelled there described the material world as but a pale reflection of the Spirit World.

Every natural locale in the material world had a spirit counterpart, but these too were greater in every way. A mountain stood taller and more majestic, a lake was deeper and held purer water, and a tree reached higher and its fruits had stronger taste. Not all sites built by living creatures were repeated in the spirit world, and structures from anthills to castles might be missing, but when they were, they too were larger and sturdier and grander.

Accounting for this, the geography and general terrain of the Spirit World followed that of the material world, namely the continent of Kara-Tur. Distances between landmarks were always the same, regardless of their apparent magnitude.

Every deity, immortal, and spirit of the Celestial Bureaucracy dwelled in a small realm attached to the Spirit World.

Inhabitants
The Spirit World was the home of the spirits of all things in the material world: living beings, deceased ancestors, spirits of items, and spirits of places, from the biggest mountain to the smallest stone. For example, a lake in the Spirit World was the abode of a water elemental who served as the spirit of the lake in the material world. A palace in the Spirit World housed the spirits of the ancestors of the ruler of the palace in the material world.

Settled areas in the material world were, in the spirit world, generally heavily populated by the spirits of the deceased. These could be the most hazardous, as the ancestors were very protective of their still-living descendants. For instance, a ninja who sought to slay a lady in her palace might first have to get past the angry ghosts of her ancestors before he delivered her to them. Seeking the protection of their ancestors, rulers preferred to live in the same palace for generations.

Thus the Spirit World was home to all manner of creature, of all kinds, including dragons, elementals, fey, outsiders, and undead. Spellcasters could summon creatures from the Spirit World to the Material Plane.

The Celestial Emperor and all the various deities, immortals, and spirits of the Celestial Bureaucracy dwelt in the Spirit World.

Locations
The Spirit World was the site of the Celestial Heavens, the divine domain of the Celestial Empire. It also contained the Underworld, the hells in which it imprisoned the spirits of the evil dead and disgraced officials of the Bureaucracy. The Shou believed the Underworld to lay in the west, and so thought it unlucky to build a house facing this way.

Connections
From the material plane, travelers to the Spirit World would often first slip through the Ethereal Plane. Whilst ethereal, they could see both the material world quite clearly and the spirit world as its faint echo. By focusing on that echo, they brought themselves closer to the Spirit World and finally entered it. Spells that formerly allowed passage to the Astral Plane instead applied to the Spirit World, at least within the land of Kara-Tur. The plane shift spell could be used to cross back and forth.

As the material and spirit worlds were coexistent, a traveler who crossed to the Spirit World and made a journey of say 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) to the north and returned would find themselves 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) to the north of where they'd started.

The Spirit World held some natural portals to other planes, especially the abodes of greater gods who administered the operation of the universe. A portal to a god's realm stood at the counterpart of an appropriate location in the material world. However, the Spirit World had no links to the Plane of Shadow.