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The cosmology of Dungeons and Dragons includes a vast and diverse set of locations that would make excellent settings for a campaign. Most D&D players have gone through the standard fantasy worlds over and over again. They want a nice change of pace without having to start a whole new campaign.
One great resource to pull inspiration from is the Outer Planes section of the Dungeon Master's Guide. This chapter includes a ton of interesting realms to send players to in search of adventure, treasure, or danger. Each of these planes exists outside the Material World, complete with its own physical laws, denizens, and regions. A D&D campaign focused on planar travel will have no shortage of exciting new locations and territories to explore.
Updated June 8, 2022 by Declan Lowthian: D&D's Outer Planes are incredibly unique places to set campaigns, with each one changing the core assumptions of a traditional fantasy world. There is no shortage of planes to choose from, and even the "good-aligned" planes have plenty of potential for danger, intrigue, and adventure.
15 The Outlands: The Ideal Starting Point For Adventures In The Outer Planes
The Outlands exist as nexus between all the other Outer Planes. The most notable location in the Outlands is Sigil, the City of Doors. This city is sprawling, with different types of people from all across the Outer Planes calling it home.
The city of Sigil would be the ideal starting location for a campaign centered around the Outer Planes, as portals between each of the planes are commonplace. It could also provide a resting point between adventures, allowing the party to catch their breath between forays into D&D's dangerous outer planes.
14 The Astral Plane: The Realm Between The Realms
If a D&D party is traveling from plane to plane, they will likely be traversing through the Astral Plane at some point. While the Outlands serve as a nexus for D&D's Outer Planes, the Astral Plane is this seemingly endless nebulous space between. While it may appear there is not much to the Astral Plane, there is more than meets the eye. It is home to many strange and horrifying monsters, along with the bodies of dead gods and ancient beings. Since it is possible to reach the Astral Plane through dreams and psychic projections, there is no end to the kinds of adventures a D&D party could have there.
13 The Beastlands: A Sprawling Jungle Filled To The Brim With Monsters
A good-aligned Outer Plane, the Beastlands act as a haven for all bestial creatures. It is simply an endless wilderness where any neutral or good-aligned beats may roam freely to hunt for the rest of their days. The Beastlands would be an excellent setting for an adventure revolving around a great hunt, with the party as either the hunter or the hunted.
The Dungeon Master's Guide offers two fun optional rules for the Beastlands, including enhancing Animal Handling, Perception, and Survival skill checks and even transforming characters into animals if they harm them. Introducing some kind of magic like this is a good way to make this D&D plane feel wild and unique.
12 Carceri: An Inescapable Prison Plane
As its name suggests, Carceri is an Outer Plane made up entirely of a prison. It has six layers that range from bogs to jungles to oceans, all with the sole purpose of trapping creatures there for all eternity. The Dungeon Master's Guide suggests an optional rule to underscore this in that no normal planar magic can free creatures from Carceri's clutches. Assuming they don't have access to a Wish spell, a D&D party trapped in Carceri will need to seek out one of the secret, and heavily guarded, portals to escape. Escaping a prison world is a great set-up for a long and grueling D&D campaign.
11 Mount Celestia: The Glorious Heavens Of The D&D Worlds
An inconceivable mountain rises in the center of this plane. Mount Celestia is inspired by Mount Olympus and features seven heavenly plateaus along its slope. This realm is rare among D&D's Outer Planes in that it is, by and large, truly safe.
Ideally, DMs would want to use this location as a kind of home base for their campaign. The player characters could launch missions to other planes from the relative safety of a citadel on Mount Celestia. Alternatively, some kind of evil force could invade the plane and the players could be charged with protecting it.
10 The River Styx And The Infinite Staircase: Two Ways To Travel Between Planes
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Though the Astral Plane is a very likely candidate for traversing between different Outer Planes in D&D, the Dungeon Master's Guide includes several other possibilities. The River Styx is a polluted river that flows throughout Acheron, the Nine Hells, and other evil-aligned Outer Planes. Anyone who touches the water is subjected to the Feeblemind spell, making traveling in this fashion a dangerous prospect. Hiring a skilled navigator is essential for groups seeking to travel by this method.
The Infinite Staircase is another means of inter-planar travel included in the Dungeon Master's Guide. As its name suggests, this is a long spiral staircase that connects all the other planes D&D has to offer. Stumbling on a hidden entrance to the Infinite Staircase is a great way to kick off a planar campaign, as it could feasibly lead to any of the other planes in a surprising and unpredictable way.
9 The Far Realm: A Place Of Eldritch Horror
Like the Outlands and the Astral Plane, the Far Realm is a plane that exists beyond the confines of the normal Outer Planes. It is a truly alien realm composed of impossible geometry and creatures unlike anything found in the normal multiverse. Star Pact warlocks and Aberrant Mind sorcerers draw their power from Far Realm entities, so some parties will have more of a reason to visit this place than others.
Visiting the Far Realm is unlikely to be an easy task. Of all the planes D&D has to offer, it is easily the most dangerous. A campaign centering around aberrations could culminate in a desperate voyage to the Far Realm to save the world at any cost.
8 Acheron: It is Just Cubes And Battlefeids As Far As The Eye Can See
The eternal battlefield of Acheron is a spectacular Outer Plane. It is made up of colossal iron cubes floating through an endless void and serves as an eternal battlefield for all manner of interplanar creatures. Here many warriors with the spirit of battle fight for all eternity. The Dungeon Master's Guide suggests an optional rule that rewards characters with temporary hit points for vanquishing their foes, inciting the violence Acheron is known for.
7 Mechanus: There Is No Such Thing As A Grey Area In This Plane
Ruled by the eternal being Primus, this Outer Plane is filled with clockwork and inhabited by mechanical beings called modrons. Each cog and gear serves a specific purpose and function, all to keep the plane running. With its focus on order above all else, it's easy to see how a group of D&D characters could end up in peril while exploring Mechanus.
The optional rules in the Dungeon Master's Guide change things somewhat significantly on Mechanus. One rule has every creature on the plane use the average result instead of rolling their damage. On one hand, this has the potential to make fights somewhat predictable. On the other, it could make for a unique adventure where players are forced to use different tactics than they normally would.
6 Elysium: A Paradise That Can Offer Too Much Of A Good Thing
The plane of Elysium is associated wth the neutral good alignment and is often hailed as a refuge for planar travelers. Anyone fortunate enough to find themselves here will be sure of a warm bed and a tasty meal. However, there is more to Elysium than meets the eye,
The optional rule presented in the Dungeon Master's Guide for Elysium has players making Wisdom saving throws or become too enamored with the plane to leave it. Failing three of these saving throws will render a creature unwilling to leave permanently. Introducing a seemingly beautiful plane that has the potential to trap adventurers there forever is a great way to keep a D&D party on their toes.
5 The Abyss: An Infinite Number Of Layers Means Endless Campaign Settings
The Abyss is actually a nearly endless stack of different layers, each one a different realm of horror crawling with demons. Some of the most notable layers are ruled by demon lords, powerful creatures that would make excellent main villains for any planar D&D campaign.
Mordenkainen Presentes: Monsters of the Multiverse expanded on the information previously available about the major demon lords, including information about their layers of the Abyss. The Horned King Baphomet, for instance, resides in a layer called the Endless Maze, a twisting labyrinth of endless passages. Demogorgon, one of the most famous of the demon lords, resides in a tangled jungle called the Gaping Maw. The sheer variety in the Abyss makes it a great place to set an entire D&D campaign.
4 Hades: A Bleak And Grey Wasteland Ripe For Post-Apocalyptic Campaigns
Another plane inspired by Greek mythology, hades can provide a different experience from any other campaign setting. Hades is a place where unclaimed souls go to wait out a bleak eternity, and it is a dangerous place to spend an extended period of time. An optional rule in the Dungeon Master's Guide threatens players with exhaustion at each long rest, eventually culminating in a horrid transformation into a giant grub.
This plane would be excellent to house a post-apocalyptic-style D&D campaign. Hades could be dotted by decaying cities filled with people trying to stave off their inevitable transformation. Some of D&D's more unique fiends, like night hags and rakshasas, call Hades home, introducing an opportunity for DMs to use some less popular monsters.
3 Ysgard: A Plane Where Death Is A Temporary Setback
Clearly inspired by a number of realms from Norse mythology, Ysgard is a chaotic plane made up of high mountains and yawning fjords. Heroes venture here to test themselves against the many giants, dragons, and other monsters that dwell in its vast wilderness.
To reflect Ysgard's nature as a place of eternal battle, the Dungeon Master's Guide suggests an alternate rule wherein any creature slain in battle on Ysgard is restored to life the next day. This has the potential to create a whole new way of adventuring, one where the party is willing to take much greater risks than they otherwise would be in order to achieve their goals. A D&D plane that can provide this level of creative new solutions is easily worth considering for a campaign.
2 Limbo: Pure Chaos, Nothing More, Nothing Less
A truly sprawling Outer Plane filled with floating mountains, crackling thunderstorms, and thousands of Slaadi, Limbo is the embodiment of chaos. Anyone with enough willpower can stave off the chaotic nature of Limbo, leading the ascetic githzerai to build their monastaries there as a test of their mental might.
The optional rule for Limbo in the Dungeons Master's Guide is one of the most involved of any of D&D's Outer Planes. By means of an Intelligence check, characters can attempt to move or even manipulate objects around them. Being able to transform stone to smoke or extinguish flames with a thought would open up a huge variety of creative options for a group of adventurers working their way through Limbo.
1 The Nine Hells: A Regimented Realm Of Tyranny
Like the Abyss, the Nine Hells are made up of several unique layers, each with their own ruler, ecology, and purpose. The first layer alone, Avernus, is the subject of an entire D&D campaign in Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus, so DMs should have no problem finding something for their players to do.
Like their rivals the demon lords, the archdevils that rule the Nine Hells got some updated information in Monsters of the Multiverse. This includes descriptions of their respective layers, including the ruler of Avernus Zariel. This former angel was transformed into an archdevil by Asmodeus in return for her devoted service and is an excellent choice for the main villain in a multi-planar D&D campaign.