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Plane Of Mirrors

Overview

The Plane of Mirrors is a variant Transitive Plane—or more accurately a collection of Transitive Planes—that exists in the space behind reflective surfaces. Some scholars maintain that the common belief that mirrors simply reflect light is wrong—in truth, they allow the viewer to gaze into a reality that exists alongside the one they know. That reality is known as the Plane of Mirrors. With the proper spell, a traveler can turn this window into a door and move into the space between the mirrors, a place of power and danger.

Once through the mirror into the space behind it, the traveler finds himself in a long corridor leading to the right and left. Behind him, the Material Plane is clearly visible through the mirror, though others on the Material Plane see nothing in the mirror but their own reflections.

Moving through the corridors, the traveler sees other windows: the backs of other mirrors on other planes.

There are usually 5d4 other mirrors connected to a single Plane of Mirrors, and they can connect anywhere: Inner Planes, Outer Planes, Alternate Material Planes, or even different locations on the same Material Plane. The stone-and-mortar corridor that connects the mirrors winds and curves. Travelers usually find a new mirror every 2d6×20 ft.

The Plane of Mirrors is a secret plane, unknown to most inhabitants of the Material Plane it borders. The only visitors to the Plane of Mirrors are those seeking secrets or passage into other regions. Its existence may allow individuals to breach areas otherwise inaccessible because of lack of connection to the Astral Plane.

Properties

  • Physical - normal gravity, normal time, finite size
  • Energy/Alignment - mildly neutral-aligned
  • Magic - normal magic
  • Planar Relations - Material Plane (coterminous), Special (whatever other planes have connecting mirrors, a single plane may have several Mirror Planes attached to it.)

Mirror Links

The Plane of Mirrors is coterminous to the Material Plane and whatever other planes have connecting mirrors. A single plane may have several Mirror Planes attached to it. Each mirror is connected to a group of 5d4 other mirrors in a “constellation.”

The mirrors in a constellation have something in common with one another. They may all have the same manufacturer, have the same owner, be made of materials from the same source, or be created in the same place. This affinity for one another connects the mirrors in a small collection of entrances. Mirrors taken to other planes retain their connections to the other mirrors in their constellation, and they’ll continue to occupy the same spot in the hallway on the Plane of Mirrors.

Mirrors used for mirrorwalking between planes do not gain any special abilities and may be broken as any other mirror. The sound of breaking glass resounds through the entire Plane of Mirrors, warning travelers that at least one of the portals has been sealed. Smashing all the portals of a particular constellation of mirrors will trap anyone still on the Plane of Mirrors indefinitely.

The Plane of Mirrors does not connect to the Ethereal Plane, the Astral Plane, or the Shadowlands. Spells that rely on these planes do not function on the Plane of Mirrors.

Mirror Inhabitants

The Plane of Mirrors has few inhabitants. However, when a traveler passes through a mirror, the population of the Plane of Mirrors increases by two, not one.

Mirror-Self

A mirror-self is created somewhere else on the Plane of Mirrors whenever someone mirrorwalks onto the Plane. This mirror-self is identical in every way with the original character, with the following exceptions:

  • The mirror-self has the opposite alignment as the original character. For example, an LG mirrorwalker would spawn a CE mirror-self. (An N mirrorwalker spawns a neutral mirror-self.)
  • If the original self is carrying a mirror as equipment, the mirror isn’t duplicated by the mirror-self. All other items held, worn, or carried by the original are duplicated by the mirror-self.
  • The mirror-self knows the location of its original self, but the reverse isn’t true unless the two meet. The mirror-self also has the memories of the original at the moment of creation, including which mirror the original used to enter the Plane of Mirrors.
  • The mirror-self is an outsider, so it cannot be raised or resurrected if slain.
  • The mirror-self has 60-foot darkvision, whether the original self has this ability or not.
  • Mirror-selves can innately identify each other by sight.
  • The mirror-self favors the opposite hand. An ambidextrous traveler produces an ambidextrous mirror-self.
  • The mirror-self cannot leave the Plane of Mirrors unless it slays its original self.

There’s not much on the Plane of Mirrors, so most mirror-selves immediately start to stalk their originals in hopes of killing them. If a mirror-self succeeds, it will try to escape through a mirror-portal and take over the life of its original. The original self may still be rescued and raised from the dead, but it must then deal with whatever havoc its mirror-self has created on its home plane. If slain, a mirror-self shatters, along with all items it possesses.

A mirror-self winks out of existence if its original self passes back through a mirror before the mirror-self gets a chance to slay it. It normally takes 2d20 rounds for a mirror-self to hunt through the winding corridor of the Plane of Mirrors and find its original self. If the mirrorself is slain, then the original self is forever safe from mirror-self attacks while on that Plane of Mirrors. A Plane of Mirrors connecting a different set of mirrors will still spawn a mirror-self, however.

The danger of encountering one’s dark (or light) mirror-self is increased when a group travels to the Plane of Mirrors and is beset by a group of mirrorselves. Once a fight begins, it’s often hard for a mirrorwalker to tell whether a given combatant is real or a mirror-self. Characters who pursue an enemy onto the Plane of Mirrors should realize that somewhere along the corridor lurks a potential mirror-self ally with the face of their enemy.

The Nerra

The rulers of the Plane of Mirrors are the creatures known as nerras. Enigmatic and contrary by nature, nerras lurk the eternal hallways of the Plane of Mirrors, observing activities on the Material Plane by looking through any of the countless mirrors that serve as conduits between the two planes.

All nerras look like normal humanoids, but they have skin with a perfectly mirrorlike smooth surface. Nerra occasionally cross the border between the planes to kidnap individuals on the Material Plane. It has been theorized that they are planning an invasion of the Material Plane.

Sometimes nerras wander the Planes, gathering information and infiltrating a variety of organizations. They monitor the activity of a wide range of people. These are usually, but not always, individuals in positions of power. After a while, they try to capture the individual and bring him or her onto the Plane of Mirrors.

Nerras speak Common plus their own language. Their language is not particularly pleasant since it sounds like glass being scored by a rock. Over time, most nerras learn the language of the particular race that they spend the most time observing.

Nerras are contrary by nature, and they balance on a knife’s edge of different morality and ethics. They strive to maintain a neutral outlook, but see themselves as inherently superior beings to those that gaze into their mirror portals.

Sillits are the leaders of the nerras, but they rule through necessity more than for the sake of power. Individual varoots and kalareems can wield considerable power and even eclipse a sillit over time. Most, however, defer to the rule of the sillits with no qualms.

How to Get to the Plane of Mirrors

Those who try to walk through mirrors unaided get nothing but a bump on the forehead for their trouble. It takes a spell to access the Plane of Mirrors.

Mirror Walking
Transmutation

Level: Clr 5, Sor/Wiz 7
Components: V, S, F
Casting Time: 1 full round
Range: Touch
Targets: Creature touched, and see text
Duration: Special
Spell Resistance: Yes

You or the one you touch may pass through any mirror or reflecting surface of sufficient size onto the Plane of Mirrors. The mirror must be large enough for the creature touched to fit through, as if it were a window or other opening. The spell lasts until the subject passes through a mirror again, either the same mirror or a related one.

On the Plane of Mirrors, you will find other windows that represent similar mirrors tied together by some strong bond. Frequently they were all made by the same artisan, but mirrors with particularly strong-willed owners or mirrors made at a particular historic moment may also be tied together.

When on the Plane of Mirrors, you can see through these other mirrors without being seen, allowing you to spy on others. You can reach through the mirror to grab items that are within easy reach, or even grapple with someone within arm’s reach of the mirror. A grappled individual will be drawn onto the Plane of Mirrors and becomes a new subject of the mirror walk spell. For each subject, the mirror walk spell ends when a second mirror is passed through. Other mirrorwalkers aren’t affected.

Using the mirror walk spell is not without danger. When you travel to a Plane of Mirrors, you create a mirror-self that will try to slay you and escape through the mirror to take over your life.

Focus
A mirror or other reflective surface of sufficient size to step through.

Mirror Survival

Other than battling yourself in combat to the death, there are no obvious perils on the Plane of Mirror. Travelers can breathe normally on the plane. Food and water must be brought along by long-term visitors, for there are no natural sources of sustenance on the Plane
of Mirrors.

Vision on the Plane of Mirrors is like in any interior castle hallway. The various mirror-portals may provide light if there is light on the planes they connect to.