A Guide to the Multiverse

‘The Multiverse’ is the name given to the infinite collection of universes and their sub-dimensions that are linked via the Warp.

To picture the Multiverse is impossible for limited beings such as ourselves. Perhaps one of the best analogies would be that of innumerable pearls all floating within an endless sea. Each pearls represents a cohesive reality, a separate universe, with its own worlds and natural laws. The sea represents the Warp, the endless chaos that exists beyond the borders of reality.

The individual universes are often called ‘Planes’. Some Planes mirror others, with many similarities and only a few small but crucial differences. Some Planes on the other hand are bizarrely different from any others. Each Plane may have its own gods, its own afterlives and its own histories. It is impossible to relate them all here.

Every Plane however has its own fabric of reality. This ‘reality’ composes the Plane, and it is this reality that keeps the Warp at bay.

However, reality can be breached. Reality naturally fluctuates in any Plane, and sometimes reality becomes so thin or strained that it tears. At other times, these tears are induced through artificial means, either through advanced technology or sorcery. These tears in reality are known as Warp Gates, and they away from a Plane and into the Warp. Warp Gates are not permanent, and will close again of their own accord when the Plane re-asserts its reality. Holding a Warp Gate open for extended amounts of time requires large expenditures of energy, and so this is rarely done.

The Warp itself is a dimension of anti-reality. It is a rolling, chaotic mass of crimson clouds. It is unpredictable, disorienting, and fickle. No ordinary creature can survive in the Warp – its energies would shred apart body, mind, and even soul, erasing the creature from existence. Despite its hostility, it is believed that some strange, ethereal beings call the Warp home and hunt amongst its endless storms... although no one has seen fit to investigate these beings further.

As dangerous as the Warp is, it is not impossible to traverse. Certain beings possess the ability to pass through the Warp safely. Most of these beings are ‘Warp Travellers’ – people with the necessary means to open a Warp Gate, and then protect themselves from the Warp’s dangerous energy with a magically or technologically created barrier called a ‘Warp Shield’. These shields however are difficult and exhausting to maintain, and Warp Travellers can rarely keep them active for extended periods of time. Often, they will have to rest themselves after any period of Warp Travelling before they can safely erect their Warp Shields again. Entering the Warp without being properly rested and prepared first is extremely dangerous – unexpected Warp Storms and the like can batter weakened shields to such an extent that they fail, dooming the traveller to an early demise.

Another known method of travelling through the Warp safely is possessed by the Daemons who inhabit the Daemonic Plane, Inferno. They are capable of assuming a non-corporal form to pass through the Warp unharmed, although extended exposure will most likely still destroy them. However, the Daemons do not possess the ability to open Warp Gates. As a result, they can only leave their Plane when they are summoned, or when random Warp Gates open. Luckily, as spontaneously occurring Warp Gates are typically small and weak, only the Lesser Daemons can pass through them successfully – the more powerful Daemons are trapped unless Gates are opened for them by a third party.

Though other methods for travelling through the Warp may exist, they remain largely unknown for now.

The Warp itself exists outside the ordinary bounds of mass and space, and representing it by material co-ordinate systems is impossible. However, one result of this is that the Warp is both infinitely large and infinitely small at the same time, and the Warp connects to almost every known place in almost every known Plane. A Warp Traveller who enters the Warp from one Plane can travel a few steps, then open another Warp Gate back into reality, appearing thousands of light-years from where they left, or even entering another Plane from the one they came from. The possibilities are limitless.

Navigation within the endlessly shifting clouds of the Warp is difficult and always remains largely instinctive. Experience is the greatest asset to a Warp Traveller, but even the most experienced do not always arrive where they intended. Accurate travel is very difficult, and it is not unusual for a Warp Gate to appear some distance from where the Traveller intended to go. Although an experienced Traveller knows how to avoid opening a Gate into a mountain or under the sea, they sometimes still end up in unintended and unfortunate locations.

With access to the Warp comes access to the whole Multiverse. If you share the gift of being a Warp Traveller, then you possess a great gift indeed. Wonders untold are yours to discover. May fortune smile upon you on your travels.