If the PCs use plane shift to travel to a plane to which they have an attuned tuning fork, do they need an attuned tuning fork to return to the Material Plane?
[RPG] Do I need a tuning fork attuned to the Material Plane to return home with the Plane Shift spell
dnd-5espell-componentsspells
Related Solutions
No canonical list
There is a very obscure list, but it was printed long after the concept of forks for plane shift first originated, so for a long time there was no list. And that list was published in Dragon magazine and never again referenced, making it largely unknown; the overwhelming majority of tables will be unaware of it. In such a case, you’d have to ask your DM if it is relevant to you. On some level, there is supposed to be a specific metal for each, but what exactly is the DM’s call unless he uses that obscure Dragon article.
For reference, I’ve checked the Manual of the Planes, the Planar Handbook, and searched online for any kind of list, official or otherwise. I could not find any, nor have I ever heard of one. I’ve also checked with a friend who knows a lot about Planescape, and he stated quite definitively that no such list exists.
A comment about rationale
The rules regarding the foci get... a little wonky, to be honest. I’ll get into details below. But I think a reasonable interpretation can be found which fits in neatly with the fact that no such list exists.
It seems to me that the forks for the major planes are “negligible,” that is, found in any spell component pouch (or obviated by the Eschew Materials feat), but it is possible for obscurer planes to require forks not typically found in the pouch. So basically, there is no point to any list, because if the plane is a big enough deal to show up in the books, it’s a big enough deal to just be in the pouch so you don’t need to worry about it. If it actually needs something special, by definition it’s something small and unique to a particular campaign, so the book can’t describe it.
What the rules actually say
As I said, the rules get wonky. Here is what we have:
Rules as written
RAW, the foci for plane shift do not have a listed cost: thus they are considered negligible and covered by a spell component pouch or the Eschew Materials feat.
Note that this is despite the fact that the class spell lists have F (my thanks to @insomniac for pointing this out), as in
Plane Shift F: As many as eight subjects travel to another plane.
and the rules for spell lists state that
An [...] F appearing at the end of a spell’s name in the spell lists denotes a spell with a [...] focus component [...] that is not normally included in a spell component pouch.
The class spell lists are secondary sources for spells; they are supposed to indicate, in brief, information already included in the full spell description. Since the primary source for plane shift, that is, the full spell description, does not indicate that the focus component is non-negligible, it isn’t.
Intent?
What was intended is debatable; either they intended the forks to be non-negligible, and forgot to indicate this in plane shift’s full description, or they intended the forks to be negligible, and forgot that the F is only for non-negligible foci (or they changed their mind at some point and forgot to update one or the other).
My interpretation, based on the rules
Or, and I actually think this is the most likely case, plane shift’s focus is sometimes negligible, sometimes not, and the spell list short description is too brief to get into that, so the F is used to indicate that the spell can require a non-negligible focus. Note that miracle, for example, appears in the cleric spell list as
Miracle X: Requests a deity’s intercession.
even though only some uses (“powerful requests”) of miracle cost XP, while others (the spell-mimicking options) do not.
I think this is what was meant because plane shift itself has a caveat that certain planes may not have easily-available foci. So I think that, generally speaking, a well-stocked spell component pouch should include all major planes, but, for instance, the personal demiplane of a recluse wizard, probably not so much. A DM may choose to make this more or less of an issue, but this is always a matter of plot and not of balance.
Sort of
When you are trapped in the ethereal plane, there are no official ways to damage enemies in the material plane, but there are some spells that interact with both planes at a given time. From Appendix C of the basic rules, under the "Transitive Planes" heading:
Some magical effects also extend from the Material Plane into the Border Ethereal, particularly effects that use force energy such as forcecage and wall of force.
It stands to reason that one of these spells cast on the Ethereal Plane would extend into the Material Plane.
Homebrew Options
In my current campaign I've been GM'ing recently my players got stuck in the ethereal plane and I gave them the option to construct devices to allow for certain effects to transfer over (mostly force damage spells). One of my player's artificer constructed a magical pseudo-Gate that allowed for only force spells to go through. It is mentioned in the description for the Ethereal Plane that it would be easier for effects that use force energy to extend into the plane so it seemed reasonable to allow for an option less than a full gate.
Best Answer
Yes, you need the attuned tuning fork.
Using plane shift, you'll need a fork attuned to the Material Plane to travel to the Material Plane. The tuning fork is not optional.
The plane shift spell says:
A rules lawyer will say, but it doesn't say it has to be attuned to the destination plane. Good luck with that, maybe your GM will buy it. I wouldn't. And my plane-shifting wizard's GM wouldn't either, they'd just give you that GM look and say hard no.
Using the sigil sequence of a teleportation circle
The plane shift spell also says:
Some might argue that this is presenting an alternative to using an attuned fork. However, to my reading, it is presenting an alternative to the process in the preceding paragraph, in which you specify a destination in general terms and at the GM's descretion you appear "in or near that destination", and not an alternative to the attuned fork. Using a teleportation circle allows you to specify the destination more precisely, but you still need the fork.
Additional information in the DMG
The Dungeon Master's Guide provides additional information on using plane shift, under "Planar Travel":
That makes it very clear that a fork is not optional. A maximally cooperative GM may choose to interpret the spell as not requiring a tuning fork if using a sigil sequence, but that is not a very supportable rules-as-written interpretation.
Getting a fork
You might ask, how to even get a tuning fork for the Material Plane? It is up to the GM, but a fork for the Material Plane should be among the easiest to get, especially on the Material Plane itself.
In our game, the GM ruled that having grown up in a magical society and a large magical city, my wizard had no problem with getting a tuning fork for the Material Plane, and recipes for several others. Your GM may rule differently.
Don't leave home without it
As an aside, once a spellcaster is operating at levels where planar travels happen, it's wise to carry a fork for the Material Plane. My wizard always carries one. Early on she started carrying it, and shortly after having learned plane shift, she was hit by a prismatic spray and plane-shifted to what I think was Avernus. After a night of cowering in a rock-colored hut with a familiar on watch, she prepared plane shift and returned to the Material Plane. Smarter by far than wise, it was a rare moment of wisdom on her part to carry the fork. I wish she'd been thoughtful enough to bring back a rock from Hell, but at least she came back.
For an uneventful return trip, use a sigil sequence, too
Because otherwise, you'll return to a general location on the Material Plane. My wizard spent days traveling back to where the party was. The ideal is to carry a familiar item for the specific place on the Material Plane you want to go, then plane-shift to a known teleportation circle, then teleport to your final destination using the familiar item.
Other ways to get back home
Stuck on another plane without a fork?
There are other ways to get back than by using plane shift and a tuning fork.
The banishment spell
Any creature native to the Material Plane can be banished back to the Material Plane using the banishment spell. This has some real advantages; it is a 4th level spell so it's available to fairly low-level casters, it is available across a wide range of classes and subclasses, and there's no costly component. It has some disadvantages, too. You need to upcast to send more than one creature at a time, they get a save, it requires the caster to spend a minute concentrating to make it stick, and it says nothing about where on the Material Plane you return. That last one in particular could be a bit awkward.
The gate spell
The spell gate will also get you back. You can target a specific location on the Material Plane (or any other plane) and you can hold it open using concentration and get the whole party through at once. Unfortunately, it is a 9th level spell limited to clerics, sorcerers, and wizards. It also requires a 5000gp diamond, although it is at least not consumed by the spell.
If you yourself don't know gate, all is not completely lost. If you know anyone who knows the spell you could use sending to contact them and get them to open a gate to you. Aside from the obvious downside of needing high-powered associates and possibly owing big-time for the favor, this use of gate will only transport one creature, so it will either need to be repeated for every party member, or the one gated will have to return to the far plane with something useful, like an attuned tuning fork.
Portals between the planes
There are also portals here and there connecting the planes; as an example, fey crossings between the Feywild and the Material Plane, although finding them can be tough.
The Outlands ("the plane between the Outer Planes"), contains the gate-towns, each built around a portal leading to one of the Outer Planes. Within the Outlands is Sigil, the City of Doors, which according to the PHB "holds countless portals to other planes and worlds". Admittedly, attempting to get back to the Material Plane via The Outlands and Sigil are probably more a the resort of the truly plane-lost traveler than any reasonable plan, unless you happen to know the right portals.
Other ways
There are nearly endlessly many other ways. A cleric may be able to use Divine Intervention. There is a magic item, the amulet of the planes that will do it, although perhaps with unintended complications. Both the Astral and the Ethereal planes can be used to travel between some other planes.
All and all, might be easier to get hit by prismatic spray and get lucky.