Hey everyone! It’s been a hectic few weeks for us: the holidays kept us busy, I turned my focus towards finishing the third Wild Beyond the Witchlight map pack as well as an “under-NDA” project, and we moved to Washington. Why Washington, you might ask? It’s been a secret so far, but I got a job as a Jr. Game Producer at WizKids! By the time this comes out I’ll have a few days under my belt, learning the ropes and working on projects that I love. I can’t wait to tell you more, but in the meantime, I must cut back on the number of blog posts I release in a month. The plan is to do at least two a month; one being the Side Quest plus map, with the other depending on new releases or personal whims. My hopes are that once I’m into the swing of things with the new job I can start back with more regular posts. For now though, I need to take things easy so I don’t overwork myself.
With all that said, the other big news recently is the release of the D&D Rules Expansion Gift set containing the new book Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse. Since I own the other two books in the set, I didn’t feel like it was financially prudent to pick up a copy (especially considering our very recent move). I do plan on picking up the stand-alone version once it’s released on May 17th, but I’ve definitely had a bunch of planar D&D encounters on the brain leading up to its release. So in honor of the newest set, here are ten Planar D&D Encounters to use at your table at a moment’s notice.
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, meaning we may receive a small commission from qualifying purchases if you click on our links, at no additional cost to you. As Amazon affiliates, we may earn from qualifying purchases. You can see our full disclosure here. Thanks for supporting your favorite dungeon artists!
If you love these encounters and want more, our Patrons at the $3 level and up receive an additional 5 Feywild-themed encounters plus two more versions of the map without the grid and extra text. You can check these out here. Anyways, on to the encounter
Product Spotlight: wild Beyond the Witchlight Map Pack Chapter 3
Chapter three of our Wild Beyond the Witchlight themed map pack is out on DM’s Guild! This pack features 14 high-quality black and white maps for use with print or digital tabletop services. Each map comes in two versions: One with a 5-ft. scale grid and one without. Best part is: we’ll be releasing a full color version for free for anyone who’s purchased the pack (with a small price increase once the color version is out). You can pick up your copy here!
Ten Planar D&D Encounters
Astral Plane
1. A cadre of githyanki knights traverses the infinite expanse of space astride young red dragons searching for signs of their eternal enemies: the Illithid. The crew flies fast and as silent as death, their eyes trained to the floating astral morass that may hide Illithid cruisers. Drawing their attention is foolhardy, but any who can give them information about their enemies may receive a small reward if the advice is true.
2. Five gnome magewrights have produced the most amazing construct: a hermetically-sealed galley built to travel the Astral seas! With sails made of stretched leather reinforced with runes, the quartet search for arcane and scientific discoveries. Unknown to the rest, one gnome is secretly a doppelganger who works to undermine the crew and bring the ship back to their boss.
Elemental Planes
3. The Plane of Fire grows colder by the day! Few know the source of the chill spreading like frost across the infernal landscape. A thorough search reveals that a tribe of frost giants has invaded a volcano lair deep beneath the ground and are terraforming the caverns to better reflect their icy nature. It is a matter of time before the entirety of the Plane of Fire sputters out like a candle.
4. Xorn ambassadors bearing fine jewels and gifts meant for a Dao khan were robbed and their treasures stolen. The culprits are a team of depraved duergar excavators who set up a small basecamp within a labyrinthine tunnel system a few miles away. The xorn offer a hefty sum if the adventurers can retrieve the gifts, specifically a golden orb said to be able to predict the tremors that occur frequently within the Plane of Earth.
5. A massive ring-shaped reef floats aimlessly through the currents of the Plane of Water. Home to thousands of varieties of sea life, as well as a base to a clan of piratical Sahuagin. These vicious merfolk attack unwary travelers and hoard their possessions in a hollowed-out temple embedded among the coral reef. Some say that a king’s ransom can be found within the submerged hallways.
6. A colossal swarm of air and dust mephits descend upon a floating caravan in the Plane of Air. The mischievous elementals are normally a simple nuisance, but in such numbers, their presence is devastating to the community of merchants. The Prime Trader is offering a substantial reward to not only rid the caravan of the mephits but find out why they amass in such numbers.
Upper Planes
7. An incredibly intelligent raccoon mage named Krchkterkrk (“Kirk” for short) needs aid within the vast wilds of the Beastlands. Kirk asks the adventurers to travel to a recessed grove to obtain a collection of rare herbs for an experiment. In exchange he offers to imbue an item with power stemming from the plane. The grove is not easily reached, and is guarded by a fiercely territorial pack of dire wolves led by a similarly-intelligent winter wolf who knows about Kirk.
8. The adventurers find a path leading to a cliffside vista overlooking a large swath of beautiful Arborea countryside. At the top of the vista sits an elven painter deep in concentration. If the party interrupt their work or wait until the painting is done, the artist introduces themselves and asks if the adventurers would suggest other places of sublime beauty in the realm. They offer a significant amount of money if the adventurers play the part of guides, and will paint them into a portrait if the locations found are worthy.
Lower Planes
9. A mournful wail echoes out across the barren landscape of Acheron amid the endless battle. The noise comes from a lost dwarf child, alone and incredibly out of place. The child is barely old enough to start sprouting whiskers, merely whimpering their name in between sobs.
10. Deep within a market shop in the Iron City of Dis an arcanoloth offers a special ware to the adventurers: a map that supposedly charts a path through Mentiri, the great maze-like prison beneath the city. The only payment the devil requests is that they locate and release an ultraloth ally before returning to the surface.
Wrap up
If you liked these planar D&D encounters, feel free to leave a comment below or drop a comment on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or Discord to let us know what you think! If you’d like access to more maps and content, including downloadable PDFs of our adventures, check out our Patreon. We’re able to do what we do because of all our amazing Patrons!
