Is there any book that has a map showing where the planes (especially the Outer Planes) are in relation to each other? I always pictured something similar to the Great Wheel (as each alignment has it's own plane), but maybe I'm totally wrong.
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I don't have all the answers, and probably can't answer your direct question, but this was a topic that fascinated me for a while (esp. had the question for a time whether the Plane of Fire served as a surrogate sun for all Outer Planes and whether they could see it in the 'sky'). It is important to remember that the Outer Planes in the Great Beyond are referred to as the Outer Sphere.
The entire cosmology is a series of nested spheres (at least in the 'orthodox scheme'), with the Material, Shadow, and Energy planes in the centre surrounded by the Inner Sphere. Surrounding the Inner Sphere is the Astral Plane, and finally the infinitely large Outer Sphere. All of the Outer Planes lie either on the inside 'surface' of this sphere, or in the special case of the Abyss, below it.
Strictly speaking, I don't think it is ever defined where most of the planes lie in relation to one another aside from 'somewhere on this infinitely large sphere' but we do have a few relationships pinned down:
-The Maelstrom seems to cover the majority of the Outer Sphere, metaphysically bordering every other plane. Most of it is a sea of liquid quintessence called the Cerulean Void which gives way into the Borderlands where it butts up against other planes.
-The Abyss is accessed by rifts in the Maelstrom leading to vast depths beyond imagining.
-The plane and city of Axis lies directly next to the foot of Pharasma's Spire, atop which sits the Boneyard
-The River Styx begins in Abbadon and flows through all lower planes until it pools at the base of Pharasma's Spire.
-While I don't think it's official, it seems reasonable to suggest that the towering mountain of Heaven and the pit of Hell lie on opposite sides of the sphere.
Other than that, any two planes might be at any geographical relation to one another... especially since each individual plane is also infinitely large, making the very concept of geographical relationships hazy at best when it comes to mapping out the metaphysical relationships of one Outer Plane to the next...
The relevant pictures are in
Campaign Setting, p. 180
The Great Beyond, just inside the cover (before the pages get the numbers) - the same immage as in the Campaign Setting
Planar Adventures, p. 66
Additionaly, in The Great Beyond, on many maps of the individual planes you can see parts of the planes that border them. For example on the map of Axis you can see a part of the Pharasma's Spire, on the map of Maelstrom you can find an abyssal rift and a coast of Elysium, and on several maps you can see parts of Maelstrom.
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As good conceptually as the various maps are, it's worth noting that location for the various outer sphere planes (except the Maelstrom and Abyss) is relative and unfixed. They move and drift about within the surrounding Maelstrom, with the Borderlands in the Maelstrom adapting to partially reflect the nature of the bordering plane.
I imagine the pictures Adjoint mentioned are really 2D representations of a 4D or 5D multiverse. Each of the planes is infinite in extent in 3D terms, but join in certain places on the 4th and 5th dimensions.
If the Plane of Fire does light the other planes up at all (which I doubt) it'll be more akin to the cosmic microwave background.
Yeah, originally I imagined that perhaps the plane of fire looked like it might be visible but as I read on I realized it was quite unlikely. The Astral Plane does explicitly have currents generated by the heat of the plane of fire, but I get the impression that it us so large that on the outer side of the astral, if the plane of fire can be seen at all, it's as a distant star, and the outer planes themselves have their own internally consistent skies.
Of course, doesn't change that it makes a pretty cool mental image to picture.
Is the Borderlands a plane in its own right? I've never heard of it until now.
Is the Borderlands a plane in its own right? I've never heard of it until now.
The Borderlands is one of two broad regions of the Maelstrom. The Borderlands are any place where the Maelstrom touches another plane, where the edge of the Maelstrom takes on characteristics of that plane. The rest is made up of the Cerulean Void, which is the vast expanse of mostly liquid quintessence.
To possibly illustrate the weirdness of planar geography, even though you'd kind of assume the Maelstrom notionally surrounds the other planes, the Borderlands are described as being a perimeter around the circumference of the Maelstrom general--implying that perhaps while the Maelstrom surrounds all the other planes, the other planes also metaphysically surround the Maelstrom.
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Each of the planes is infinite in extent in 3D terms, but join in certain places on the 4th and 5th dimensions.
Worth noting that of Golarion's planes, only the Maelstrom and the Abyss have been specifically called out in print as being infinite in scale. The others are mind-bogglingly large, but finite.
Worth noting that of Golarion's planes, only the Maelstrom and the Abyss have been specifically called out in print as being infinite in scale. The others are mind-bogglingly large, but finite.Each of the planes is infinite in extent in 3D terms, but join in certain places on the 4th and 5th dimensions.
Valid point--the majority of planes technically qualify as 'Immeasurable' in scale:
Most planes are immeasurable, so immense they are impossible to quantify. Which immeasurable planes, if any, are infinite is a subject of debate among philosophers and scholars alike. Since so many planes are immeasurable, those planes omit a scope trait. Otherwise, the plane likely has either the finite or unbounded trait.
The only planes explicitly called out as not being Immeasurable are the positive and negative energy planes, which are 'Unbounded', while no planes in the GameMastery Guide are listed as Finite (presumably more common among demiplanes).
Creative Director
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Well, to be more exact, none of the planes in the Great Beyond are truly infinite. The Abyss and the Maelstrom and the Astral are all MUCH MUCH larger than other immeasurable planes... but none of them go on forever.
Unbounded is indeed the closest we get to infinite, but those are still of a specific size. They just don't have borders.