[RPG] Does the interior of a portable hole rotate to adhere to the hole’s orientation

dungeons-and-dragonsmagic-items

I've always accepted that you could place a portable hole on any flat surface, but I've never really thought about it.

Let's say I was a eccentric Faerûnian wine collector who recently got his hands on a portable hole. So, naturally, the first thing I do is hire a competent carpenter and let him build a wine cellar into the space:
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Confident that my century-old orcish wine collection is safe from any burglars, I wrap up the hole and take it with me.

Now, a few days later I'm closing an important business deal with a colleague and intend to pull up a bottle of my best wine. Unfortunately, his office is rather small, so I cannot place the hole on the floor.

Instead, I put it on the nearby wall. What happens to my priceless wine collection on their shelves?

TL;DR:

If a portable hole is placed on a wall instead of a floor (or vice versa), is the interior space rotated to adhere to the orientation of the portal (and thus jumbles everything stored in there around)?

Edition isn't really important as (I think?) the holes worked relatively similarly throughout. If not, I guess focus on the newer editions would be more interesting.

Best Answer

This answer is based on 5e

Your wine collection will be fine, maybe.

Since portable hole exists in a different plane, the orientation of the portal does not change the orientation of the plane.

The cylindrical space within the hole exists on a different plane

(Based on suggestion from comment) This plane is likely a demiplane, since most other planes are defined as the comprehensive list and the outer planes dont really fit, where fundamental forces like gravity seem to be more of a suggestion rather than a given. As such, it is unclear how exactly they interact. Take note is from the PHB:

Demiplanes are small extradimensional spaces with their own unique rules. They are pieces of reality that don’t seem to fit anywhere else.

The spell gate serves as a portal to the same location regardless of orientation which may imply that the planes behave the same regardless of the portal (see quote below). If you opened a gate to the demiplane of a portable hole you would appear in one of the spaces at the apex, where you fall is unclear.

You can orient the portal in any direction you choose ... moving through its front. Anything that does so is instantly transported to the other plane, appearing in the unoccupied space nearest to the portal.

In 3.x and 4e the space is not specified on a different plane so a ruling is more complicated.

3.x

This specifies extradimensional which implies that orientation is not relevant but there is no further clarification. (From SRD)

When spread upon any surface, it causes an extradimensional space 10 feet deep to come into being.

4e

This version doesn't even specify extradimensional so either ruling could make sense.

P.S. The demonym is Faerûnian

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