Brainstorming: Making an Atlas of the Planes

I would say that's a pretty tall order. You're asking someone to essentially replicate the entire line of Planescape boxed sets. Care to take the lead on that multi-year project?

As for the atlas part, you would need a competent cartographer, but it's hard getting artists to work for free.

Don't worry, the PSCS team will have something about the planes in general out soon. I don't know if we can do more than that.

Well, being something of a cartographer by profession (geographic information systems, to be exact), I certainly appreciate a good atlas, but it sounds to me like you're thinking more of a travelogue, or diary of a journey. An atlas is simply a collection of maps, nothing more. There are already some good maps of the planes out there, most notably the one in the basic boxed set. There are also small maps in the new Manual of the Planes, and plenty of location maps scattered throughout the Planescape line.

It would seem to be redundant to replicate all that fine work.

A travelogue (with some location maps) would be a better idea and to my knowledge has not been done in Planescape. So that's a starting point. I always enjoy reading the Chronicles of Talislanta. It's an exciting travelogue with great illustrations and evocative writing. Perhaps someone could do a similar Chronicles of a Planescape Traveller with location maps and illustrations. Still a lot of work though. In the meantime, you can check out the novella called Around the Ring in 80 Gates, on this site.

Is that kind of what you had in mind?

Hmm, that would certainly be more doable. It's what we're trying to do in the Lay of the Land section under Planar Portals. Something like this, written for the hinterlands:

/portals/node/

I think you'd have to get the ball rolling first though, most of the planewalker staff already have a dozen projects they're working on. .

I have a few maps of some unknown areas of the planes (a small cube on acheron, an island in the abyss etc.) but they're still not in ink (or whatever english language calls that thing that is used to draw over the pen) and a bit too cartoonish for public use :oops:

*in the background a small figure starts twirling a lasso with an intent stare at the self-declared artist....*

Question of the day: Do you take commissions?

Its okay Fid, If it helps, I dont have a life either.

Btw: are there any significant changes to the planes from the planescape series and the Manual of the Planes? Im not talking from a roleplaying sense, Im talking from a machanical, effects of a given plane sense.

Just wondering, because if there is, then my only other sources for specific planes is the pathguy site. Which is a great site, but I am forced to doubt in connonicity. ( Rushes off to submit the word connonicity to webster and earn himself a shiny nickle)

What kind of writing experience do you have? Any ideas about how you'd like to contribute?

In a fantasy setting I believe a travelogue would be a diary or lecture about travelling in specific places, accompanied by illustrations and possibly maps. Something like this, for Eberron:

http://www.coveworld.net/eberron/across-eberron-1.jpg

http://www.coveworld.net/eberron/gallery.html

I find it to be one of the best ways to quickly introduce someone to a setting. It's fun, artistic and not too wordy. Also, no there are rules or statistics, which is my preference.

Yep. I've done freelance work since I was in High School. Email me at [REDACTED] and we'll talk.

Gerzel, I think I might just have an idea of what you are looking for. Your description of what you want seems to me like you are looking for a version of the Manual of the Planes, but it being in more of a format, style, and flavor that was used in the creation of the original planescape books. The one that immediatly comes to mind is In the Cage: A guide to sigil.

It has the artwork, the advertisments, the dm's darks, all the information, the good old planescape feel, and that new car scent. Is this a correct assumption?

If I missed the point entirely, sorry. But hey, thats why Im the Berk, right?

So, we are focusing on the outlands now?

come to think of it, there hasnt been much in the way of good outlands guide. I mean, even with the gate town, towns shifting over, *The Spire*, and the Rilmani, no one ever seemed to portray the outlands as more than a planar highway. It might have its sights and cool attributes, but your just passing through. Except for merchants, who really goes to the outlands for the sake of going to the outlands?

A good outlands guide could really change that.

It would be cool if one of the logs was made like call of chtulhu (the story). A diary of the man who hadn't had much experience with the real things but did loads of research and found many maps, scraps of letters, poems, sketches and things like that

I'm not home this week so i didn't bring any maps, but I made one on the spot:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v307/Almighty_Watashi/ysgard_island.jpg

Let me know if you need anything like this

(yes, i know the labels aren't easy to comprehend, I'm working on it :oops: )

Gerzal, is this the kind of thing your looking for?

And yes, I realize the final copy would have to have much more information on gate towns.

The Berk’s Guide to the Outlands.

Welcome, Cutter, to the Plane of Concordant Opposition. Most, if not all, planeswalkers have been to it, and most planeswalkers worth their salt are using it to get elsewhere.
Yeh see cutter, the Outlands is the melting pot of the planes, it is. Maybe not to the same degree as the city of Doors, but yeh walk around and you’ll see just as many types of planars as you’ll find in the Cage. The thing is, most people ‘cept the Guvners just up and ignore the Outlands, even though it’s the soddin hub o’ the outer planes!
Most think of it as a fine place to find a bit o rest afore throwing yerself back out into the umpteenth layer of neverwhere. And it is. The locals will ignore you, mostly anyway. Unless yeh find yerself in one of the towns headed for the lower planes, then the locals can be downright nasty, but well get to the dark of that later.

Well, the first three things you gotta know about the Outlands are this: First off, the whole place is pretty neutral, so if you’re tired of preachers and zealots, there are less of those here. I’m not saying that you won’t find any, cause that’s like saying you won’t find razorvine.
Second, all round the Outlands you got gate towns. Gate towns are towns that built themselves up around a portal to the outer planes. Each one will take yeh somewheres different. You’ll hear a lot about that later on.
Thirdly, you have the Spire. Yes the same spire that Sigils above. But don’t try to climb it. Al that will do is get you stuck. Remember, that spire just goes up. Forever. It’s infinitely tall. And using magic ain’t gunna work, once you get near the spire, magic just kinda fizzles. So trying to fly up the spire is just going to give you a nice long fall when you get too close. Even powers can’t touch when you’re too close to the thing.
But the gate towns, they’re a long ways away from the spire, so they still got magic.
Another thing about the spire, that’s where the Rilmani live. Yeh know how the Gith are always going on about ‘Balance in all things?’ Well, the Rilmani take that to extremes. They always work behind the scenes, manipulating everything, even more then the damned loth’s! There’s chant saying that Shemeska the Marauder herself is just some Rilmani puppet, but anyone that’s met her will tell you that’s a load of screed, pure and simple.

But back to those Gate Towns I was talking about. You see, there a gate town aimed for most of the outer planes. And each gate town is like a watered down version of the plane it borders.
For example, Xaos borders the ever-shifting chaos of Limbo. Now, Xaos may not have all its elements playing a game of tag, but its inhabitants and even the town itself are chaotic in nature. That’s ‘cause most of the locals in a Gate town are petitioners that were not quite strong enough in their beliefs to make it to the full-fledged plane.
Here’s the dark on the Gate towns and where they are aimed at.
Automata has a portal that leads to the incredibly lawful (and by all accounts, incredibly boring) Mechanus.
Fortitude possesses are portal to Arcadia, which isn’t a bad place to be. Excelsior is aimed for the lawful good plane of Mount Celestia. If you’re trying to avoid the zealots, give this place a wide berth.
Tradegate sends you to Bytopia (remember, the city above you is not falling toward you. If you forget this, it can lead to a very embarrassing moment when you walk through the portal.)
Ecstasy owns a nice portal to Elysium, the best place to go lick your wounds.
Faunel will have you going to the Beastlands, only real advice is to bring a druid. Sylvania sports a portal to Arborea, which is, coincidentally, a great place to find that druid you need for the Beastlands.
Glorium populated by petitioners of heroes, who weren’t quite heroic enough to make it to Ysgard. So close…
Then there’s Xaos. Expect Chaosmen. In abundance. And wearing hats.
A stop at Bedlam will send you packing to Pandemonium (BUY EARPLUGS), while a quick trip to Plauge-mort will give you a glimpse of the Abyss. And with luck, that’s all you’ll ever have to see of it.
Curst is a town of betrayal that has an arch leading to the red spheres of Carceri, which is called the prison plane for a reason, berks.
Hopeless will take you to the Gray waste of Hades, so don’t expect enthusiasm.
Torch will send you to the volcanic Gehenna, which is only really recommended for those that can stand the heat. Although an endure elements spell will help you greatly.
Ribcage borders the nine hells of Baator. People, prepare to be peeled.
Finally, we have Rigus, which leads to the never-ending battlefields of Acheron.