Manual of the Planes

Type: SupplementCompany: Wizards of the CoastURL: http://www.wizards.comDesigner: Jeff Grubb, Bruce Cordell, David NoonanRelease: Late AugustOutline: The long-awaited Manual of the Planes is the 3rd Edition response to the question of "what happened to the planes"? If the wait time is directly porpotional to the quality of the product, then I would have gladly waited three more months for this tarmy bit o' chant! Two hundred and twenty-three pages comprised of an introduction, nine chapters and an appendix, all of sheer genius is exactly what this product is, and my hat is off to Jeff, Bruce and David for pulling something off that will no doubt go down in the annals of role playing history as "the greatest save ever"!Contents:

• First, the cover art, a planar orrery, masterfully depicted by Arnie Swekel is a jewel for the eyes. It makes one long for a journey to Mechanus - 'nuff said.
• The Introduction, which fits perfectly on a single page is elegance in itself. It's take on leading one into "elsewhere" really perks the interest of the reader and will draw in any die hard PS fan in a heartbeat. It is simply elegantly done and is a perfect middle ground for fans new and old, as well as the initiate to gaming in general.
• Chapter 1: Nature of the Planes leads us into the defining elements of the planes and answers the question, "what is a plane" as well as show us how to generally introduce them into a campaign. Also, this section details, in concise, precise detail, the new mechanism of Planar Traits and provides initial examples, despite the ample ones later on in the book, on how to use them.
• Chapter 2: Connecting the Planes defines the "standard" D&D cosmology for us and right off the bat, puts our minds at ease. PS fans will see a very similar Great Wheel cosmology used and other than the Outlands being lower (it's hard to explain, but when you see it, you'll understand), the Astral and Ethereal being handed slightly different, and the addition of the Plane of Shadow, you'll think that you are back to the old PS once again. It gives a nice, homey feel to us PSers, which is very settling. Also, this chapter details the concepts of Planar Interaction, traveling from plane to plane (which should be VERY similar to all the old PS fans) and goes into detail on building ones own cosmology.
• Chapter 3: Characters and Magic introduces four new planar prestige classes, the divine agent, the gatecrasher, the planar champion, and the planeshifter, all of which are thoroughly detailed and superbly well fashioned (the art in this section is to die for). Also, we get a refresher on using monsters as PC races, but with a planar sheen, and we are treated to a brief but informative lesson on planar magic. Twenty-six new spells, all of which are going in my spellbook, round out this chapter, leaving one with a whetted palate, searching for a planar jaunt.
• Chapter 4: The Material Plane delves into the spot where most campaigns begin in detail, outlining the Material Plane's Plane Traits and how it fits into the standard cosmology. Also, we are given tips, pointers, and examples on alternate material planes - this alone should perk the ears of MANY a DM.
• Chapter 5: The Transitive Planes opens the door on what may very well be the most hotly debated section of the book - those planes which have changed the most. This chapter deals with the Astral and Ethereal Planes and the Plane of Shadow, as well as moving back,forth, and within them. This shows the masterful work that was done by these authors, as as I read over this chapter, there were no glaring, horrific changes that I could, in no way, accept. All the changes simply seemed to make sense to me, and all seemed to fit nicely into place. Overall, I was very pleased with the outcome of this chapter, and dove hungrily back into the remainder, wanting more!
• Chapter 6: The Inner Planes shows us the new face of the Inner Planes, details the Planes Traits of each, tells us how they connect and can possibly connect to the rest of the planes, and tells us a bit about the inhabitants. For the most part, this too, was not a large surprise to me, as much of this seemed akin to the old chant lanned in the PS books, with one primary exception. In the standard Great Wheel cosmology, there are only the following planes: Air, Earth, Fire, Water, and the Positive and Negative Energy planes. However, this too, seemed somehow to fit, as by this time, I had been assured that if there was anything about this wonderful book that I did not like, that I could simply change it to meet the needs of my own, personal campaign. Again, masterfully done.
• Chapter 7: The Outer Planes details the Outer Planes as they pertain to the standard Great Wheel cosmology. To be truthful, many times while reading this chapter, I had to check myself - I often thought that I was reading an old PS book. It is really that similar. All of the good stuff from days long gone is here, with quite a bit of very tarmy new chant as well. This, if nothing else, is a reason for every Planescape fan out there to snag this book. 'Nuff said.
• Chapter 8: Demiplanes is a concise and informative chapter on how to handle demiplanes in this new world of variance and limitlessness. A very nice Random Demiplane Generator is included, as well as an old favorite to PS fans out there - Neth, the demiplane that lives. Further, you will find some new faces such as the Observatorium and Common Ground.
• Chapter 9: Monsters answers many of our questions with some old faces, some old faces made new, and a couple of new faces. The Arcane have seemingly gotten a face lift and are now known as the Mercane for reasons yet unknown. Also, there are the Inevitables, among which is the Marut made new and a couple of his cousins, the zelekhut and the kolyarut. All of these creatures are very good reasons for planars to mind their p's and q's, suren! Among them we see some old faces, such as the Astral Dreadnought, bariaur, celestial (firre and leonal), demon (uridezu, armanite, goristo), devil (spinagon, narzugon), energon (xag-ya and xeg-yi), genie (dao, marid), githyanki, githzerai, paraelemental (ice, magma, ooze, and smoke in all shapes and sizes) and the yugoloth (canaloth, mezzoloth, nycaloth, ultroloth); and some new faces as well in the form of the ephemera (dusk beast, ecalypse, umbral banyan). Also, new templates on how to create half-elementals (basically genasi) shadow creatures, element creatures, wood element creatures, axiomatic creatures (creatures that dwell in the lawful planes), anarchic creatures (creatures that dwell in the chaotic planes) and petitioner characters are provided.
• Appendix: Variant Planes and Cosmologies is quite possibly one of the most interesting chapters in the whole book. This is the new cutting edge of roleplaying and the minds that spawned (literally) this chapter are among the best and brightest in the biz. Simply fascinating stuff, like the Far Realm, the Doppel Cosmology, the Region of Dreams, and the Spirit World are enough to make even the canniest of Planewalkers turn their heads and take notice. I cannot WAIT to see more of this, and sincerely hope that Jeff, Bruce and Dave will not let these concepts lie fallow - till these fields of thought, bloods!
• Lastly, provided for the reader's ease, there are complete listings of all Maps, Diagrams, and Sidebars within the text - a very handy and nice addition for sure!

Merits: My goodness - where to start?!? I guess initially and most significantly, the greatest merit that this book has to offer is sheer unbridled flexibility. I do not know how the geniuses that wrote this masterpiece pulled it off, but somehow they managed to not only salvage 98% of the best of Planescape, but also provide the keys to unlocking the doors of infinity for DM's everywhere. You can now do anything that you like in your campaign AND justify it, which should be an utter boon to those DM's out there that have to deal with those pesky rule lawyers amongst us.

The layout of the book is supreme and makes perfect sense, with one chapter leading you directly into another with an easy flow and continuing energy. The art is simply phenomenal and should please just about everybody out there, including those that for some odd reason, did not like the wonderful work of Tony D.

The entire book is chocked full of new and exciting ideas that DM's can use to expand their campaigns. Some of these new concepts venture into territory that has never been mentioned (much less detailed) before...

For DM's that want something more out of their campaigns than "prime" Material hack and slash and that wish to open the doorway to thought-provoking and imagination-spinning role-play, it is simply, a MUST HAVE. Get it.Flaws: About the only flaws that I can find is that I find myself wanting so much more! However, I simply could not afford Jeff, Bruce's and Dave's salary to personally write new and tarmy stuff for me every day, so I will just have to deal with that myself.

Seriously, I did want to read more, and I wanted more art!! The art, the cartography, the diagrams - all were superb but there simply was not enough! Other than that, it was a PERFECT PRODUCT. I said it before, I'll say it again - get it.

By: Brannon HollingsworthImported from a previous version of Planewalker.com