Manual of planes, city of brass question

[BobVosh]

How much longer is the city of brass section from this excerpt: http://www.wizards.com/DnD/Article.aspx?x=dnd/4ex/20081201

Is it worth buying beyond this part?

[Yora]

That's actually 4th Edition.

And from what I remember about that book, I am even suprised that this excerpt is that long. I don't think there are many section in that book, that are that long, so I'd guess that's anything there is on that subject.

[BobVosh]

Oh, of course. MOP is every bloody edition.
>.<
Is the 3.5 version worth getting, especially the COB part?

[CTrees]

Actually, not *quite.* If I'm not mistaken, 3.0 had the Manual of the Planes, but 3.5 had the Planar Handbook. I have the 3.0 version - I know, from Amazon, that the Planar Handbook is shorter, but that's about the extent of my knowledge on the differences.

EDIT: I checked (friend's book, convenient!), and you get a little over two pages, and a map, about the City of Brass. Between the excerpt and the Wikipedia article, there's really not much more in the Planar handbook. If you're *really* looking for fluff on genies and the City of Brass, Amazon has Secrets of the Lamp used for like eight dollars. It's 2nd edition, but if you're using the fluff, 2e stuff tended to be PHENOMENAL in comparison to "anything after WoTC took over" (possible exception being Eberron).

[Yora]

3rd Edition Manual of the Planes is one of my favorite books and certainly worth getting.

It has however no material on the City of Brass, half a column at the most.

The Planar Handbook is completely different from the MoP and more like a "Players Guide to the Planes" with prestige classes and races and other player stuff, while the MoP is almost entirely fluff only. Very good fluff though. Kind of a like a streamlined version of Planescape (which had 6 or so Boxed Sets, instead of a single book) without Sigil. (Sigil is in, but not described in detail.)

[mrcarter11]

I know this is a little off topic, but can someone tell Me what Sigil is? I've heard it from a few places and people.. But never found out what it is, or what books talk about it.

[Alleran]

I know this is a little off topic, but can someone tell Me what Sigil is? I've heard it from a few places and people.. But never found out what it is, or what books talk about it.
Sigil, courtesy of Wikipedia. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigil_%28Dungeons_%26_Dragons%29)

[mrcarter11]

Rather thanks for that.. At least now I know.

[Weezer]

I agree with Yora, whenever you want excellent fluff for anything extra-planar, buy whichever 2nd edition Planescape book covers that area. They are by far and away the best D&D fluff out there. And being 2nd edition there is very little crunch that you'd need to change/update.

[Alabenson]

If you want to stick purely within 3.X products, the most information on the City of Brass can be found within the Planar Handbook, which has multiple-page sections on the City of Brass, Sigil, and Tu'narath (the githyanki capital). As far as the Manual of the Planes goes, while it does not go into much detail on the City of Brass, it is still very useful if you're planning to run a plane-hopping campaign as it covers every plane in the default D&D cosmology and then some.

[BobVosh]

My players tend to groan when they see me reading second ed books :P However I love the fluff of second ed so much more, it seems like 3.X is so watered down.
Hm, I guess I'll go for 2ed MOP, or maybe even both 2 and 3.

Thanks guys.