Countdown to Planescape

[jaappleton]

http://planescape.com/

I believe this aligns with when they typically release Unearthed Arcana.

So... Ahem.

Discuss.

This was tweeted out by the official D&D account, by the way.

EDIT: Hidden in the coding of the site is P T E E

I take that to be an acronym for Planescape: Torment Enhanced Edition, so I think its a re-release of the old PC game.

[Spellbreaker26]

What is this? Are they doing something about planescape?

[jaappleton]

What is this? Are they doing something about planescape?

I dunno, man. I do not know.

I DO know that its the setting Chris Perkins REALLY loves more than any other, and some of his earliest work at WOTC was on the Planescape setting. Its also one of the most requested settings, next to Eberron, for 5E content.

For awhile now, I've been thinking the next book was a Manual of the Planes.

.....doesn't Sigil connect EVERYTHING? So if they're going to do it... Isn't a decent way to do it... THROUGH Sigil? Using it essentially as a catalyst?

[Typhon]

I dunno, man. I do not know.

I DO know that its the setting Chris Perkins REALLY loves more than any other, and some of his earliest work at WOTC was on the Planescape setting. Its also one of the most requested settings, next to Eberron, for 5E content.

For awhile now, I've been thinking the next book was a Manual of the Planes.

.....doesn't Sigil connect EVERYTHING? So if they're going to do it... Isn't a decent way to do it... THROUGH Sigil? Using it essentially as a catalyst?

Catalyst, springboard, entry point. Take your pick. I want Planescape to come back.

[DivisibleByZero]

I believe this aligns with when they typically release Unearthed Arcana.

Off by a day and a few hours
4 days 2 hours 40 minutes from now is Tuesday, 3pm, CDT

[hymer]

Off by a day and a few hours
4 days 2 hours 40 minutes from now is Tuesday, 3pm, CDT

And the page's name is Plan Escape, not Planescape.

[DivisibleByZero]

And the page's name is Plan Escape, not Planescape.

That one I'm willing to overlook, as it may be a red herring. I was only commenting on the UA release schedule, and the fact that this is the following day.

[Honest Tiefling]

I will be 100% convinced that someone did a virgin sacrifice if they revive the art or make it similar to the art style.

Personally, I could do without it, given that I like my women to have space for organs and stuff.

Through I am a LITTLE concerned about this counter's proximity to April...

[jaappleton]

.....Damnit. I know what it is.

A friend of mine told me that hidden in the coding, when translated, is PTEE.

Planescape : Torment
Enhanced Edition

It's the old Planescape PC game getting the Enhanced Edition treatment via Beamdog.

[Spellbreaker26]

I mean, it's supposed to be a great game. Haven't heard great things about Beamdog though. I've heard their writing sucks.

[jaappleton]

I mean, it's supposed to be a great game. Haven't heard great things about Beamdog though. I've heard their writing sucks.

Don't take my comment for a knock against the game.

Just.... not what I was hoping for, y'know?

[hymer]

.....Damnit. I know what it is.
[...]
It's the old Planescape PC game getting the Enhanced Edition treatment via Beamdog.

Sounds good to me! :smallsmile:

[Honest Tiefling]

I got the BG:EE version of both BGI and BGII...And they're not bad if you lost your original copy.

Through having WOTC link this when they had some Eberron stuff and revived Dark Sun for 4e seems like a mildly stupid idea. I doubt jaapleton is going to be the only mislead person...

[Spellbreaker26]

Don't take my comment for a knock against the game.

Just.... not what I was hoping for, y'know?

I know what you mean. I was kinda hoping for more official stuff in the actual game as well.

[jaappleton]

Also, apparently there's been no domain registered as 'planescape.com' in a decade. So... I don't know what that means, if anything.

Its also hosted on the same web server as Sports Illustrated's website. So... RAMPANT SPECULATION!!!

It means nothing.

[NecroDancer]

This is all my dreams come true! With luck they will retcon the faction war and re-hire DiTerlizzi

[jaappleton]

Yeah, Beamdog just tweeted something about it.

Its the game.

[Honest Tiefling]

Uh, check out the Beamdog twitter. Yeah, I think the theory of the Enhanced Edition Planescape Torment suddenly got a lot of traction...

[DivisibleByZero]

Yeah, Beamdog just tweeted something about it.

Its the game.

Nothing to complain about. Torment was literally one of the greatest CRPGs ever made, so if you've never played it you should absolutely pick it up.

[jaappleton]

Nothing to complain about. Torment was literally one of the greatest CRPGs ever made, so if you've never played it you should absolutely pick it up.

Oh, don't misunderstand. I know the game. Its story is top notch.

Just... hoping it was something else, y'know?

[Honest Tiefling]

Nothing to complain about. Torment was literally one of the greatest CRPGs ever made, so if you've never played it you should absolutely pick it up.

I have not played. If there's an Enhanced Edition coming out, I'm interested. Convince me to buy this game.

[DivisibleByZero]

I have not played. If there's an Enhanced Edition coming out, I'm interested. Convince me to buy this game.

Read the post you quoted again until what I said sinks in.

[Squiddish]

The page title says "Plan Escape"

Clearly this is the next adventure module, an extraplanar megadungeon prison break.

[Honest Tiefling]

Read the post you quoted again until what I said sinks in.

You're probably not wrong, but it really isn't playing into my plan of discussing the game to make the news less disappointing.

[Ursus the Grim]

The page title says "Plan Escape"

Clearly this is the next adventure module, an extraplanar megadungeon prison break.

Not quite. I work near the Boston Harbor and saw Chris Perkins skulking around some shipping containers. I can therefore confirm that Wizards is opening a D&D themed 'escape the room' event.

[INDYSTAR188]

This is all my dreams come true! With luck they will retcon the faction war and re-hire DiTerlizzi

Yes! That gentleman is a fantastic artist. I love all the planescape stuff, if it really is the game that's less cool but still exciting.

[DivisibleByZero]

You're probably not wrong, but it really isn't playing into my plan of discussing the game to make the news less disappointing.

http://kotaku.com/5989197/why-people-love-planescape-torment
From 2013:

Yesterday, a video game shattered yet another Kickstarter record: in its first 24 hours, Torment: Tides of Numenera raised $1.7 million, becoming the fastest Kickstarter to earn a million dollars.

Tides of Numenera is a spiritual successor to Planescape: Torment, a role-playing game that came out for the PC back in 1999, and it's received blessings from a chunk of the old Planescape team, including designer Chris Avellone. Maybe that's why it's made so much money.

People love Planescape. People really love Planescape—to the point where they'll dish out a whopping amount of cash just to see a new game that carries on its legacy.

You might be asking: why do people love this game so much? Here are a few reasons:

It's not fantasy... or sci-fi

It's something in between. It's set in D&D's Planescape lore, which is sort of the RPG equivalent of Internet: you can access an endless number of worlds, but some of them are sketchy and full of pedophiles. Although the isometric look feels a bit obsolete today, it's still easy to appreciate Planescape: Torment's fascinating world, which sometimes looks like it was built in a junkyard and other times looks like it came straight out of Lovecraft.

Planescape: Torment's world is sort of like a cross between Cirque Du Soleil and the Necronomicon. It's unforgettable.

The characters are all flawed and memorable

Party members in Planescape: Torment fight. They squabble. They get on your nerves. They say things that you might not agree with.

There's the ghostly suit of armor with a twisted sense of justice who only joins your team if you lie to him about who your main character really is. There's the insane wizard who spent his life setting so many things on fire that as punishment, a bunch of other wizards set him on fire. There's the succubus healer who runs a brothel—but not the kind you're thinking of.

Planescape: Torment only gives you a few playable characters, but they're all interesting. They all stick with you. When you piss them off—and you will, while playing Planescape, piss people off—you'll feel remorseful about it. Or maybe you won't. Maybe you'll get angry at their disloyalty. Maybe you'll want to kill Vhailor, and maybe you'll want to shove Morte back into the tower of skulls from whence he came. That's all part of the fun.

Your choices actually matter

In Planescape: Torment, a lie can bring a person to life. You can talk your way out of boss fights. You can even convince the final boss to kill himself.

When people talk about Planescape, they generally talk about how good the writing is, but they're not just talking about prose and flow. They're talking about how your decisions carry weight. How every bit of dialogue almost feels like a puzzle to solve, a tree full of complicated choices whose branches all lead to different possibilities.

There's a question asked frequently in Planescape: Torment. "What can change the nature of a man?" It's one of the driving themes behind the game. But the real question you'll be asking as you play is: how can you change the nature of man?

Maybe it's just the little things

In Planescape: Torment...

• You can die. You'll come back to life. This is an integral part of the game.

• You can join a cult that worships death, or a cult that believes that everybody is a god. Or you can just become an anarchist.

• You can visit a pregnant alley, then prevent it from getting an abortion. This makes even less sense than it sounds.

• You can piss off the deity-like Lady of Pain and find yourself trapped in a maze for all of eternity.

• You can kill the incarnation of your character's mortality.

Although Planescape hasn't aged super well—and you need a high-resolution mod if you plan to play it today—it's a special sort of game, and it's had a significant impact on a lot of people. No wonder so many people want to throw money at the sequel.

[Spellbreaker26]

You're probably not wrong, but it really isn't playing into my plan of discussing the game to make the news less disappointing.

If the Bauldur's Gate series is the Leonardo Da Vinci of 2e games, with fantastic functional form and an engaging plot, Planescape is the Picasso, a riveting, soul searing experience that pushes the very boundaries of how DnD can express itself.

[Temperjoke]

You know, even if it's a PC game, and not a new book, this doesn't mean that the book isn't coming as well. After all, there is a bit of lead time from when a book is announced to when it's released, and the latest book was released today at FLGS locations, which means they're due for an announcement for the next coming title. Having both the game and a book announcement would be a big enough event to justify the whole countdown hype.

[Typhon]

I have not played. If there's an Enhanced Edition coming out, I'm interested. Convince me to buy this game.

You start dead and on the table of your own dissection. Upon waking, you know nothing of who or what you are. The only one willing and able to help is a floating skull who is very chatty. From there you much escape the Mortuary. Then you get to the rest of the game.

I don't think that is really any kind of spoiler for an older game as such, considering it is literally the very beginning of that game. What a hook though.

One of my favorite games ever.

[Typhon]

If the Bauldur's Gate series is the Leonardo Da Vinci of 2e games, with fantastic functional form and an engaging plot, Planescape is the Picasso, a riveting, soul searing experience that pushes the very boundaries of how DnD can express itself.

I do take exception with the artistic references, but I quite agree that Planescape is far greater than Baldur's Gate or Icewind Dale.

[Honest Tiefling]

If the Bauldur's Gate series is the Leonardo Da Vinci of 2e games, with fantastic functional form and an engaging plot, Planescape is the Picasso, a riveting, soul searing experience that pushes the very boundaries of how DnD can express itself.

Sadly, all I know about Picasso is that he's the one with the furry porn and the one who made his barely legal mistresses fight naked on the floor. Oh, and La Guerra, but mostly the other stuff.

I admit, the plot has ALWAYS been lauded when I have heard of it. I wonder how many bugs there are, because the Enhanced Edition of Baldur's Gate had to fix a few (and some dialog trees in Dragonspear seemed wonky). I also wonder if there'll be more companions added in, just like BG:EE.

[Ursus the Grim]

Sadly, all I know about Picasso is that he's the one with the furry porn and the one who made his barely legal mistresses fight naked on the floor. Oh, and La Guerra, but mostly the other stuff.


Well, if you were trying to make an art fan out of me, you've succeeded!

/s

Or is it?

[hymer]

Well, if you were trying to make an art fan out of me, you've succeeded!

Here's another light way heading in the general direction of Pablo Picasso:


https://youtu.be/WGN5xaQkFk0

[Regitnui]

A new videogame to feed my RPG addiction? Great. But the next setting book better be Eberron or I am going to fart repeatedly in Chris Perkin's office and release hornet-stung skunks into the planning meetings.

[Typhon]

A new videogame to feed my RPG addiction? Great. But the next setting book better be Eberron or I am going to fart repeatedly in Chris Perkin's office and release hornet-stung skunks into the planning meetings.

Planescape is worth 2 Eberrons and a Dark Sun.

[JackPhoenix]

A new videogame to feed my RPG addiction? Great. But the next setting book better be Eberron or I am going to fart repeatedly in Chris Perkin's office and release hornet-stung skunks into the planning meetings.

I've played enhanced editions of both BG games. If it's the same (and it seems it is), I wouldn't call it a new game, it's 15 year old game upgraded to better work on current computers, propably with some modifications to controls and UI and higher-res graphics, maybe with few NPCs and quests added.

OTOH, PT was awesome and I would definitely play it again.

[Pex]

If they bring factions back I hope not every single one of them is a selfish blowhard like the original. It would be nice to have at least one faction where an honest good person would be happy to be a part of, but I reminisce rant.

[Typhon]

If they bring factions back I hope not every single one of them is a selfish blowhard like the original. It would be nice to have at least one faction where an honest good person would be happy to be a part of, but I reminisce rant.

As I recall, most were fairly OK. Their leaders on the other hand were thick in politics against each other and occasionally the Lady of Blades. The Dustmen, Bleak Cabal, Free League, Sign of One, Transcendent Order, Believers, and the Fated were all mostly ok.

The ones that were the biggest issue were the Doomguard, the Harmonium, the Mercy-killers, and the Revolutionary League. Oddly, the most diametrically opposed in the setting I think.

The trick is that you had to not pick too deep. Granted it may have limited your resources and left you without consistent allies, but being an Outsider could work if your friends were on the inside of the Factions.