Larkas
2012-04-23, 04:25 PM
First off, I don't read much in the way of general DMing advice like the one I'm about to ask in this forum, so I hope this is the right place to be asking it.
I'm in need of a little advice and general opinions on cosmology for a new campaign I want to run.
Basically, I want to run a Planescape campaign, and while it is pretty straightforward to adapt the setting to the 3E rules, one problem I keep running into is the Plane of Shadows. In 2E, it was merely a Demiplane located somewhere in the Ethereal Plane, but in 3E it was "promoted" to a fully-fledged Transitive Plane.
If you look at it superficially, you don't really have to bother converting it at all: it is simply a third Transitive Plane, which by the way fullfils the "Rule of Threes", which says that everything in the Multiverse always come in threes: three levels of existence (Inner Planes, Prime Material, Outer Planes); three ethical alignments; three moral alignments; etc. The problem is that the Plane of Shadow, while a Transitive Plane, is totally different from both the Ethereal and Astral Planes in that it links the Prime Material only to itself (the Ethereal links the Material to the Inner Planes in 2E). Besides, one idea that is usually thrown around in Planescape discussions and that I particularly like is that there is already a third Transitive Plane linking the Outer to the Inner Planes, where the gods live (in Planescape, the gods can't be physically found unless they want to, not even in the Outer Planes) and no mortal or its magic can hope to reach (or can they?), a plane sometimes called Ordial. Something of an unreachable Terra Incognita. As I like the idea and intend to apply it to my game, even if the players never come to know of its existence, having the Plane of Shadows as a Transitive Plane actually BREAKS the Rule of Threes.
I could "simply" remove the Plane of Shadows as a Transitive Plane and demote it back to Demiplane, but that is not simple at all: it would have all kinds of impacts on spells, creatures, classes, flavor, etc. Demiplanes are, after all, finite, even if unimaginably big, and not coterminous or coexistant with the Prime Material.
I've been toying with the idea of having the Plane of Shadows as a different kind of plane, something of a parallel Prime Material, but as much part of the "real world" as the latter. Going from one to other is much easier than going through the Astral to the Outer Planes, after all, and is pretty much a broken reflection of the Prime Material. It would be what it is in 3E, though not a Transitive Plane proper, and with links to both the Astral and the Ethereal Planes. Furthermore, from what I was reading, I could even adapt 4E's Feywild as a third "parallel Material", one where everything is pristine and more beautiful than on the Prime Material (personally, though, I'd remove Eladrin shenanigans). I don't have 4E's books, though, and I don't know how that would go. If I got it right, Feywild is somewhat like that "Spirit Plane" described in the Manual of the Planes, where everything is grander and more beautiful versions of stuff in the Prime Material. The only "problem" is the lack of spells referencing this plane, but that is easily fixable and, quite frankly, ignorable. And it has the advantage to reinforce the Rule of Threes.
I don't know how the new connections would impact the Plane of Shadows (or Shadowfell), though. Am I missing something? Any other options I haven't considered? Any input on Feywild/Shadowfell is greatly appreciated too, since I'm a little clueless on their specifics and where to read more about them. Thanks in advance for the advice!
I'm in need of a little advice and general opinions on cosmology for a new campaign I want to run.
Basically, I want to run a Planescape campaign, and while it is pretty straightforward to adapt the setting to the 3E rules, one problem I keep running into is the Plane of Shadows. In 2E, it was merely a Demiplane located somewhere in the Ethereal Plane, but in 3E it was "promoted" to a fully-fledged Transitive Plane.
If you look at it superficially, you don't really have to bother converting it at all: it is simply a third Transitive Plane, which by the way fullfils the "Rule of Threes", which says that everything in the Multiverse always come in threes: three levels of existence (Inner Planes, Prime Material, Outer Planes); three ethical alignments; three moral alignments; etc. The problem is that the Plane of Shadow, while a Transitive Plane, is totally different from both the Ethereal and Astral Planes in that it links the Prime Material only to itself (the Ethereal links the Material to the Inner Planes in 2E). Besides, one idea that is usually thrown around in Planescape discussions and that I particularly like is that there is already a third Transitive Plane linking the Outer to the Inner Planes, where the gods live (in Planescape, the gods can't be physically found unless they want to, not even in the Outer Planes) and no mortal or its magic can hope to reach (or can they?), a plane sometimes called Ordial. Something of an unreachable Terra Incognita. As I like the idea and intend to apply it to my game, even if the players never come to know of its existence, having the Plane of Shadows as a Transitive Plane actually BREAKS the Rule of Threes.
I could "simply" remove the Plane of Shadows as a Transitive Plane and demote it back to Demiplane, but that is not simple at all: it would have all kinds of impacts on spells, creatures, classes, flavor, etc. Demiplanes are, after all, finite, even if unimaginably big, and not coterminous or coexistant with the Prime Material.
I've been toying with the idea of having the Plane of Shadows as a different kind of plane, something of a parallel Prime Material, but as much part of the "real world" as the latter. Going from one to other is much easier than going through the Astral to the Outer Planes, after all, and is pretty much a broken reflection of the Prime Material. It would be what it is in 3E, though not a Transitive Plane proper, and with links to both the Astral and the Ethereal Planes. Furthermore, from what I was reading, I could even adapt 4E's Feywild as a third "parallel Material", one where everything is pristine and more beautiful than on the Prime Material (personally, though, I'd remove Eladrin shenanigans). I don't have 4E's books, though, and I don't know how that would go. If I got it right, Feywild is somewhat like that "Spirit Plane" described in the Manual of the Planes, where everything is grander and more beautiful versions of stuff in the Prime Material. The only "problem" is the lack of spells referencing this plane, but that is easily fixable and, quite frankly, ignorable. And it has the advantage to reinforce the Rule of Threes.
I don't know how the new connections would impact the Plane of Shadows (or Shadowfell), though. Am I missing something? Any other options I haven't considered? Any input on Feywild/Shadowfell is greatly appreciated too, since I'm a little clueless on their specifics and where to read more about them. Thanks in advance for the advice!