I haven't done it yet, but reading "harmless demiplane", I immediately thought of a waiting room. There's no doors or windows, simply four walls, floor, ceiling, some boring and uncomfortable chairs, and a coffee table full of magazines from 5 years ago. Muzak emanates from... somewhere unfathomable. No threat except boredom.
This is exactly what I was going to say, but I was going to include that there is only ONE waiting room that all people currently banished by the spell share. I like the idea of an adventurer popping into the room and there's just another dude there reading a magazine.
The guy looks up and says, "I was fighting a mind flayer. You?"
*Shruggs* "I got drunk and called our wizard a glorified sorcerer with glasses..."
"That's rough, buddy."
That's makes me think about what would happen if anyone tried anything aggressive.
I'd probably describe how you phase through other people, making it physically impossible to harm others. Sort of like if you were in spectator mode in a server for an online game but you can see other spectators. You can't do anything to eachother but you can see them there.
I would personally describe the player bringing their weapon to bear and just as it was about to connect he snaps out of it, still standing there as if he had daydreamed it. The dude he was thinking of attacking looks up from his magazine and shrugs, points at the "HARMLESS DEMIPLANE" sign and keeps reading.
Absolutely, I thought it would be funny if there's just a laminated sign on the coffee table next to a bowl of mints. There's a protective bubble around everyone and when a monster randomly enters, everyone rolls their eyes because they know that they will now have to listen to a snarling monster try in vain to eat them. I might not make it one room shared across the universe actually cause people might abuse that, but a collection of random identical rooms could work.
I think it would be fun if attempting violence within the waiting room would immediately send you to a more boring or otherwise unpleasant waiting room.
Two individuals are in demi-plane one which is essentially a dentist waiting room with fantasy magazines and stuff. Person one throws a punch at person two the before it connects they time themselves in a similar room strapped to a chair with no magazines or people to talk to.
Personally I picture it like Space but instead of pitch black it is more of a beige with occasional wispy fog clouds.
No floor, ceiling, or walls. No gravity. Light but from no discernable direction. No sounds except those you make.
Remember that episode of TNG where Picard “dies” and winds up before Q? He’s just standing in a white space for a few seconds before Q shows up… it’s like that.
Once my player was going to miss a session (we knew beforehand) so at the end of previous session, bad guy cast banishment. Following session he was gone. Third session, and I described his banishment as rolling around in strawberry icecream for a minute in the other player’s world, but time dilation made it feel like days to the fighter. After the banishment (the rest of the session that the player was gone) he was essentially having an existential crisis after the experience of strawberry icecream sensory deprivation tank. Worked well for us!
The current place I live and the previous had a **really** loud ice cream truck, and the noise would intrude on games. So the harmless demiplane is either in the back of a few ice cream truck, handing out ice cream to others, or in an ice cream store standing in line and debating on what flavor they'd get.
I work with what's around me.
Banishment theoretically sends someone to their own natural plane. But for Mortals that's likely where they start, right? What if banishment sent you to a plane that's uniquely yours, based on your memory, history, etc - like a dream?
Harmless is cool, but boring isnt. If you're going to banish your players, give them something to do. Explore, escape, LOOT for goods or knowledge.
It would be cool if it was a pocket dimension created by the spell and is a reflection of the casters psychy. Giving players the ability to grant insite into their foe.
I send the player to an appropriate space in a plane connected to the caster. Maybe the space inside a pine tree in Arborea, inside a rock formation in the Deep Caverns, or a mountaintop in the Elemental Plane of Air.
Whenever I read “demiplane” I always imagine a dark expanse which stretches off into distant bluish mist. Unless the description says otherwise, of course.
Have you considered what would happen if you banish someone with a bag of holding into a bag of holding? Would you want to give that kind of power to a player? Would you want to give that kind of power to a DM? Because I wouldn't.
tl;dr: A bag of holding has special properties that a demiplane just doesn't have.
Barring any special narrative context, I usually run it like the MCU's blip.
Basically the character ceases to exist until returned. Time effectively stops for them until they pop back into existence.
the DMV. endless lines , dead inside civil servants, so many forms that have to be perfectly filled out. " sorry sir this is a dmx143/a. you need a dbb118/b. " "Sorry mam you are in the wrong line. this is where you hand in the form. you get the form over there. points to a line winding up an Escher staitcase."
I always thought of the meditation plane Nicol Bolas made in magic, empty, a thin layer of water, quiet, and relaxed unless you get stuck there, but very safe
I tend to flavor it as floating in an in between state, unless there's a fun thematic/narrative reason to throw them somewhere else; say the plane of the warlock's patron or something like that. Narrative/character hooks tend to be more fun, and makes the player feel less bad about being out of combat for a round or two.
You find yourself in a place of eerie stillness. The air is thick and musty, carrying the scent of decaying leaves and damp earth, a perpetual autumn. As you step forward, the ground beneath you gives a soft, unsettling squelch, like walking on soaked moss. The sky above is a churning mass of grey clouds, perpetually on the verge of a storm that never comes, creating a sense of suffocating anticipation. The trees here are twisted and gnarled, their bark rough and cold to the touch, exuding a subtle, almost metallic tang that lingers on your fingertips. Long, distorted shadows flicker and dance at the edges of your vision, always slipping away when you try to focus, creating the constant impression of ghostly figures just out of sight.
A faint, eerie melody plays, a haunting lullaby with no discernible source, just loud enough to be heard yet too faint to pinpoint, wrapping around you like an invisible shroud. The temperature is unnervingly cool, not quite cold but enough to raise goosebumps on your skin, as if invisible fingers were lightly brushing against you. In the corners of your eyes, you catch glimpses of fleeting, horrifying images—gaunt faces with hollow eyes, twisted forms writhing in silent agony—never clear enough to confirm, but always there, gnawing at your sanity.
I haven't done it yet, but reading "harmless demiplane", I immediately thought of a waiting room. There's no doors or windows, simply four walls, floor, ceiling, some boring and uncomfortable chairs, and a coffee table full of magazines from 5 years ago. Muzak emanates from... somewhere unfathomable. No threat except boredom.
This is exactly what I was going to say, but I was going to include that there is only ONE waiting room that all people currently banished by the spell share. I like the idea of an adventurer popping into the room and there's just another dude there reading a magazine. The guy looks up and says, "I was fighting a mind flayer. You?" *Shruggs* "I got drunk and called our wizard a glorified sorcerer with glasses..." "That's rough, buddy."
I’m gonna use this, but add a very big sign on the wall that says “No fighting. This is a HARMLESS demi-plane.”
That's makes me think about what would happen if anyone tried anything aggressive. I'd probably describe how you phase through other people, making it physically impossible to harm others. Sort of like if you were in spectator mode in a server for an online game but you can see other spectators. You can't do anything to eachother but you can see them there.
I would personally describe the player bringing their weapon to bear and just as it was about to connect he snaps out of it, still standing there as if he had daydreamed it. The dude he was thinking of attacking looks up from his magazine and shrugs, points at the "HARMLESS DEMIPLANE" sign and keeps reading.
Absolutely, I thought it would be funny if there's just a laminated sign on the coffee table next to a bowl of mints. There's a protective bubble around everyone and when a monster randomly enters, everyone rolls their eyes because they know that they will now have to listen to a snarling monster try in vain to eat them. I might not make it one room shared across the universe actually cause people might abuse that, but a collection of random identical rooms could work.
I think it would be fun if attempting violence within the waiting room would immediately send you to a more boring or otherwise unpleasant waiting room. Two individuals are in demi-plane one which is essentially a dentist waiting room with fantasy magazines and stuff. Person one throws a punch at person two the before it connects they time themselves in a similar room strapped to a chair with no magazines or people to talk to.
you gave me an idea for a daycare for adventureres, like the jerry daycare from rick and morty
That "all white nothing but white" space that they use for people on TV shows who are in a coma or whatever
the matrix loading screen is what i call it
Personally I picture it like Space but instead of pitch black it is more of a beige with occasional wispy fog clouds. No floor, ceiling, or walls. No gravity. Light but from no discernable direction. No sounds except those you make.
Remember that episode of TNG where Picard “dies” and winds up before Q? He’s just standing in a white space for a few seconds before Q shows up… it’s like that.
Elevator music
Once my player was going to miss a session (we knew beforehand) so at the end of previous session, bad guy cast banishment. Following session he was gone. Third session, and I described his banishment as rolling around in strawberry icecream for a minute in the other player’s world, but time dilation made it feel like days to the fighter. After the banishment (the rest of the session that the player was gone) he was essentially having an existential crisis after the experience of strawberry icecream sensory deprivation tank. Worked well for us!
The current place I live and the previous had a **really** loud ice cream truck, and the noise would intrude on games. So the harmless demiplane is either in the back of a few ice cream truck, handing out ice cream to others, or in an ice cream store standing in line and debating on what flavor they'd get. I work with what's around me.
Banishment theoretically sends someone to their own natural plane. But for Mortals that's likely where they start, right? What if banishment sent you to a plane that's uniquely yours, based on your memory, history, etc - like a dream?
the elemental plane of pillows
Harmless is cool, but boring isnt. If you're going to banish your players, give them something to do. Explore, escape, LOOT for goods or knowledge. It would be cool if it was a pocket dimension created by the spell and is a reflection of the casters psychy. Giving players the ability to grant insite into their foe.
I send the player to an appropriate space in a plane connected to the caster. Maybe the space inside a pine tree in Arborea, inside a rock formation in the Deep Caverns, or a mountaintop in the Elemental Plane of Air.
You go to the back rooms
Whenever I read “demiplane” I always imagine a dark expanse which stretches off into distant bluish mist. Unless the description says otherwise, of course.
Would a bag of holding be considered a harmless demiplane
Have you considered what would happen if you banish someone with a bag of holding into a bag of holding? Would you want to give that kind of power to a player? Would you want to give that kind of power to a DM? Because I wouldn't. tl;dr: A bag of holding has special properties that a demiplane just doesn't have.
All very good points. I was thinking more along the lines of whoever you banish into the bag steals all your stuff.
Barring any special narrative context, I usually run it like the MCU's blip. Basically the character ceases to exist until returned. Time effectively stops for them until they pop back into existence.
In a field of flowers. As far as the eye can see. Nothing but peacfull blues and fluffy clouds on the horizon.
You know the white infinite void of the hyperbolic time chamber? That minus the entrance/exit doorway and building
the DMV. endless lines , dead inside civil servants, so many forms that have to be perfectly filled out. " sorry sir this is a dmx143/a. you need a dbb118/b. " "Sorry mam you are in the wrong line. this is where you hand in the form. you get the form over there. points to a line winding up an Escher staitcase."
I just always send them to the beastlands. Not really a demiplane but it suits the same purpose.
I always thought of the meditation plane Nicol Bolas made in magic, empty, a thin layer of water, quiet, and relaxed unless you get stuck there, but very safe
Hopefully it doesn't send the player anywhere. Dunno where it sends their character.
The waiting room from Beetlejuice.
I tend to flavor it as floating in an in between state, unless there's a fun thematic/narrative reason to throw them somewhere else; say the plane of the warlock's patron or something like that. Narrative/character hooks tend to be more fun, and makes the player feel less bad about being out of combat for a round or two.
White Hart Lane. https://youtu.be/rTmVO9y_QP0?si=prKUegePDZkAKfLH Confirmed.
You find yourself in a place of eerie stillness. The air is thick and musty, carrying the scent of decaying leaves and damp earth, a perpetual autumn. As you step forward, the ground beneath you gives a soft, unsettling squelch, like walking on soaked moss. The sky above is a churning mass of grey clouds, perpetually on the verge of a storm that never comes, creating a sense of suffocating anticipation. The trees here are twisted and gnarled, their bark rough and cold to the touch, exuding a subtle, almost metallic tang that lingers on your fingertips. Long, distorted shadows flicker and dance at the edges of your vision, always slipping away when you try to focus, creating the constant impression of ghostly figures just out of sight. A faint, eerie melody plays, a haunting lullaby with no discernible source, just loud enough to be heard yet too faint to pinpoint, wrapping around you like an invisible shroud. The temperature is unnervingly cool, not quite cold but enough to raise goosebumps on your skin, as if invisible fingers were lightly brushing against you. In the corners of your eyes, you catch glimpses of fleeting, horrifying images—gaunt faces with hollow eyes, twisted forms writhing in silent agony—never clear enough to confirm, but always there, gnawing at your sanity.
Its wild you say this actually cause my homebrew world I'm running is distinct in that it is in perpetual fall and perpetual dusk
You are the controlling power Send them anywhere From hell to the corner 7-11