Class Makeover: Transforming the Horizon Walker into a True Planewalker

[ThePlanarDM]

Edited to fix links.

I updated the Horizon Walker sub-class for the Ranger that was published in the 5th edition book, Xanathar's Guide to Everything, to give it more abilities (and a new spell) specific to the Outer Planes. Whereas the standard Horizon Walker protects the Prime Material Plane from Planar threats, this version becomes the archetypal planewalker, the type of cutter who knows the Abyss from the Hells, or at least enough dark of it to avoid being put in the deadbook.

Here is a link to the article: http://theplanardm.com/class-makeover-transforming-the-horizon-walker-xanathars-guide-into-a-true-planewalker/

Or if you want to skip the article and go directly to the class update, here's a one-page pdf: http://theplanardm.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Modified-Horizon-Walker-by-ThePlanarDM-1.pdf

[Cicciograna]

Your links do not work.

[PhantomSoul]

Your links do not work.

I've got the same problem; the clipping of the link ("..."ing) is in the actual hyperlink, so it doesn't reach a valid page. :/

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Proper link for the article: http://theplanardm.com/class-makeover-transforming-the-horizon-walker-xanathars-guide-into-a-true-planewalker/

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Thoughts:

Starting Language: I'm guessing somewhere other than in the feature description there's more about the Planar Cant. It would be good to have the basics in the feature itself, though. (And how... well... common is common in extraplanar contexts? Is this actually like an extraplanar pidgin? I'm not sure how to infer the worldbuilding or the usefulness right from the feature.)
Favoured Enemy Options: I'm guessing the factions are listed elsewhere based on the tabs at the top, but at least listing what they are here would be useful. Ideally with a blurb to give a quick idea of who's who and how effectively you can identify faction members.
Favoured Terrain Options: Depending on the campaign, this could be incredibly powerful or completely useless, and it could overlap with existing terrains depending on how you conceive of a forest in the Feywild for example. For the planar effects, I'd probably include a blurb to give it more context; e.g. I'm inferring you're using something like the planar effects of the Shadowfell and the Feywild, but don't know what the feature would be expected to grant or how often to expect it might come up. (It's a cool idea, I'd just like more details, and I might restrict it more -- specific number of allies based on slot / stats, or having it be an aura of protection that you activate.)
Planar Jaunt: It would be easier to parse this one if all features were in one place.


EDIT: To elaborate: I think it's a fun idea, but it looks like it might tie into information elsewhere, so it's harder to comment on without reading more about the worldbuilding it's based on (and players who are new to the setting would have the same need to look at supplementary material).

[Brookshw]

You can navigate to it easily, just click "Posts", it's the first on that comes up.

http://theplanardm.com/class-makeover-transforming-the-horizon-walker-xanathars-guide-into-a-true-planewalker/

@ThePlanarDm: nice website.

[ThePlanarDM]

Your links do not work.

That's embarassing, sorry about that! Links in original post now fixed.

[ThePlanarDM]

Phantom Soul: You are correct that this article assumes a lot of background information that is not easy to access, which I did not make clear enough. The two sources one would need to be familiar with are the Horizon Walker Standard Subclass in Xanathar's Guide to Everything, and the Planescape Campaign Setting, which is a 2nd Edition DND product line that has not seen a real update since.

I give a summary of the Campaign setting here, (http://theplanardm.com/planescape-understanding-the-core-setting/) but I'll copy the relevant parts about the Cant and the factions, both of which are key features of hte setting. Though honestly if you are not planning to use the Planescape materials, those aspects of the class update probably aren't worth anything.

The Cant

The setting uses a few tools to breathe life into NPCs. One is the Cant, the common slang of Sigil and the planes, which, the creators of the setting noted, “came from the extremely colorful slang of thieves, swindlers, and beggars [of England] in the 16th, 17th, and 18th century” (Sigil and Beyond, p.95). To impress the language of the setting on DMs and players, all of the official D&D 2e Planescape source materials are written in the Cant to some degree, while many Planescape themed websites adopt it as well. DMs should consider this a fun, though completely optional, part of the setting’s flavor. The Planescape Campaign Setting, described below, contains a glossary of common terms, and one may also find Cant dictionaries on the internet.

The Factions and Philosophy

Planescape’s other setting-specific tool to breathe life into NPCs is its collection of 15 factions (http://theplanardm.com/faction-hq/), each with a unique and unusual philosophical orientation (think half-baked college philosophy ideas meet planar cults), that vie for control of influence in Sigil and the Outer Planes. In the Outer planes, belief literally changes reality, so the factions are all trying to promote their own beliefs to shape reality in a way that benefits them. The Mercykillers, for example, are trying to make the planes more just by ensuring that all are properly punished.

Factions make the perfect quest givers in Planescape. They have the resources; they have premade headquarters and NPCs; they are constantly trying to get the leg up on one another; and, because their beliefs and skills are skewed to rather specific philosophies, they often lack the diversity of beliefs or skills to accomplish all of their goals on their own, in-house. Therefore they often need to contract more morally flexible outside help, i.e., the PCs.

The faction system essentially creates a blueprint for adventure scenario design in Planescape. First pick a faction about which the players have expressed interest and imagine an event or change or item that, if introduced into the world, would negatively impact that faction. The faction then hires the PCs to prevent or address that problem.

Alternatively, if you already know the even in the world that you want to introduce, such as the Modron March, start with the event and then imagine which factions will benefit or lose as a result. In the case of the Modron March, if the planes become more lawful and orderly, this will benefit factions espousing order while harming those who believe in the creative virtues of Chaos. The lawful governor's faction makes a natural benefactor for an adventure that assists the objectives of the March, well the Doomguard, who support entropy, would likely pay adventurers to disrupt or prevent the March.

[ThePlanarDM]

Favoured Terrain Options: Depending on the campaign, this could be incredibly powerful or completely useless, and it could overlap with existing terrains depending on how you conceive of a forest in the Feywild for example. For the planar effects, I'd probably include a blurb to give it more context; e.g. I'm inferring you're using something like the planar effects of the Shadowfell and the Feywild, but don't know what the feature would be expected to grant or how often to expect it might come up. (It's a cool idea, I'd just like more details, and I might restrict it more -- specific number of allies based on slot / stats, or having it be an aura of protection that you activate.)

My idea for generalized planar effects are things like the "extreme heat" of the Plane of Fire (DMG 55), corruption of the abyss (dmg 62), or winds of pandemonium (dmg 62). I'll add this kind of explanation to the article, thanks for the feedback.