Editing Plane of Faerie (section)

==The First World==
not to be confused with the 5e version, which is mostly the same but with dragons, minus the faeries and still existing.

In the [[Great Beyond]], the First World is so-called because it is believed to be the gods' first draft of a subsequent plane that would later split into the Material Plane and the [[Plane of Shadow|Shadow Plane]]. It is coterminous with both of these "finished models", but exists outside the standard cosmology, being somehow "behind" the other two planes. Travel to and from the First World is generally accomplished via magic that only works in places where the boundaries between the planes are thin. On [[Golarion]], these are generally wild places far from civilization, often marked by mounds, stones, or rings of earth or mushrooms.

Being unfinished, the First World lacks universal, fixed laws of physics. Regions of the First World remain as test grounds for different, unfinished, and sometimes mutable and evolving physical properties; gravity is inconsistent between parts of the First World, and the speed of light is arbitrary and variable. Where these regions overlap, the reactions between these inconsistent laws can cause unpredictable reactions.

The First World is an infinite plane of constantly varying wilderness, with trees as tall as mountains, living bodies of water, and traveling faerie courts. It epitomises the chaos of birth and fertility. Conditions vary dramatically from place to place. What would be considered to be laws of nature on the Material Plane are no more than local by-laws in the First World, and even these by-laws can be overturned (even unconsciously) by those with sufficient willpower. Times and distances are unreliable in the First World. 

Areas of stability do occur. In some cases this is apparently a random event; a current of stability flows through the First World, leaving behind an area of certainty which might range from a narrow trail a pace or two wide up to a vast swathe hundreds of miles across. These stable zones eventually decay back into the natural uncertainty of the First World, a process which might take hours or centuries. It may be that these are gradually increasing in duration. More commonly, stable areas exist where there is a connection to the Material Plane. Stability seeps into the First World at these points, much to the disgust of the locals, who seek to repair the damage and punish those they consider to be responsible.

Of course, this is a two-way process. The fertility of the First World also flows through the connection into the Material Plane, with unpredictable results.

Despite its origins as a prototype material world, or perhaps because of it, the First World still has a role to play in the great cycle of souls. Specificially, as new souls emerge from the crucible of the [[Energy Planes|Positive Energy Plane]], they have to pass through the First World before they reach the [[Etheral Plane]] and [[Material Plane]]. While the souls are unaligned at creation, they gain some of their earliest traits from their journey through the First World. This process also creates new fey from the soul energy left in their wake. 

However, the inhabitants of the First World are themselves blocked from the River of Souls, making its inhabitants effectively immortal. When a native of the First World "dies", their energy simply returns to the First World. None of the plane's souls can exit the First World, nor do new souls enter it. Because slain natives of the First World always reform themselves from the substance of the plane (barring extreme circumstances, such as the intervention of powerful magic), but cannot do so outside of this plane - whilst simultaneously being ineligible for any form of afterlife - they are, understandably, discouraged from visiting other realms. On the other hand, it also means many First Worlders don't understand the true meaning or importance of death. This can have tragic consequences when they interact with mortals, who aren't so blessed.

The inhabitants of the First World have souls, but are of little interest to the gods. They also have little interest in the gods either. A few of the First World's inhabitants might live in the First World to avoid the wrath of an offended deity. Visitors from other planes sometimes report they feel disconnected from their gods. Divine magic still works, however—although whether this is solely due to the faith or will of the spellcaster, or because the gods have not completely abandoned the First World, is a matter of conjecture.

The First World abounds in strange and wondrous - or horrifying - creatures, many of them seemingly prototypes of plants and animals now found in the [[Material Plane]]. The most ubiquitous, of course, are the [[fey]], although [[linnorm]]s are another major presence. Its rulers are a collective of [[Archfey|entities of fey nature and god-like power]], variously referred to as the Fey-Lords, the Shapers, and the Eldest. Nine of these entities have been covered as deities in the [[Pathfinder]] game:
* Count Ranalc
* The Green Mother
* Imbrex, the Twins
* The Lantern King
* The Lost Prince
* Magdh
* Ng the Hooded
* Ragadahn, the Water Lord
* Shyka the Many

Almost all creatures in the First World that can speak can do so in the First World's nameless common tongue. It is similar to both Sylvan and Aklo (to such an extent that visitors fluent in either language can generally understand it) and may have been the root language of both tongues.

{{Pathfinder-Planes}}
[[Category: Planes]] [[Category: Dungeons & Dragons]] [[Category: Pathfinder]]