D20 Modern Primes in Planescape?

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Shadow of Torment's picture
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D20 Modern Primes in Planescape?

Please, hear me out before you lynch me. From what (admittedly little) I know of the Planescape setting, the Prime Material Plane contains all of the various universes of "standard" D&D, with each universe sealed up in its own Crystal Sphere and only reachable by: A; powerful magic, B; using extraplanar portals or C; Spelljamming. Following this understanding, it is thus possible for a Planescape game to include Primes from Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance, Greyhawk and homebrew campaigns, correct?

The point I'm getting to is this; it's quite possible for a Planescape party to include PCs from different Prime settings, but what about including Primes from more "modernised" Crystal Spheres? Primes from the worlds covered by D20 Modern and its various expansions (D20 Future, D20 Cyberscape, D20 Apocalypse etc)? Would you allow or disallow such player characters? Especially if they brought along a toy or two from their Sphere- such as an energy weapon or even something like a pistol or Uzi.

In essence, my basic question is this; is it possible to "integrate" D20 Modern-based Primes in a Planescape game, and if so how would you do it? There's an idea about the integration of Mechamorphosis into a Planescape campaign rattling aound my empty head, but I'm not dumb enough to think about that!

Duckluck's picture
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Joined: 2006-10-10
D20 Modern Primes in Planescape?

Basically, the Prime and the planes are all connected, so the greater planar society incorporates pretty much all technology discovered on the various prime worlds. Therefore, the only prime worlds that would have more advanced technology would have to be almost entirely cut off from the rest of the Multiverse. Even then, you should probably limit it to a late-renaissance/pre-industrial revolution level of technology for a few reasons. One, it would be unbalancing for one player to have an uzi and another player to be stuck with a pointed stick. Two, Mechanus is widely regarded (with good justification, as it imbodies the scientific method) to be the pinacle of technological innovation, and shouldn't be supplanted. Three, if players are given access to effective industrial wonders like electricity and repeating rifles, magic swords seem a lot less interesting.

But don't fear, there is a better way! If you want to kneecap people on the planes, you need look no further than the "Urban Planescape" section of these forums. Basically, in UPS, mutiverse has moved forward a few hundred years, and now everyone really does have tanks, guns, and Inter Planar Ballistic Missiles.

Kestral's picture
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D20 Modern Primes in Planescape?

Note: IPBMs are a common sight near Lower Planar military strongholds. The Blood War is discriminating and voracious when it comes to new technologies to destroy the hated opponent, be it baatezu, tanar'ri, or 'loth.

Seriously, join us in working on UP. Since we use the d20 Modern ruleset, it's a bit easier to integrate multiple Prime timelines, since it's a lot easier to cover things of highly varying PLs in Modern.

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Joined: 2006-07-12
D20 Modern Primes in Planescape?

It helps if you think of it this way, the d20 Modern/Future worlds are still there and connected to the rest of the multiverse, but the timeline is a couple of centuries earlier than the point at which they are described in the setting. So even though the worlds are there and reachable, they have not yet developed the technologies that set them apart. The multiverse of the Planescape setting is, on average, at the same point in the technological timeline - roughly the middle ages with a few world falling just after the Neolithic and a few falling just before the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.

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D20 Modern Primes in Planescape?

Don't forget about canon material like Expedition to the Barrier Peaks that, while not specifically Planar, is a part of the core D&D setting that includes Planescape.

Shadow of Torment's picture
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D20 Modern Primes in Planescape?

I perhaps should have been a little more clear with my original goals; I was thinking of tossing a D20 Modern/Future character into a Planescape campaign as a "variant" of the "Clueless Prime" campaign basis. Basically, a "Moderner" Prime would be even more Clueless than a Ravenlofter, yes? So first up you have the normal "fun" to be had with a Prime in the Planes, and then you have the extra added "angles" to be played. After all, what would the Fiends give for such technology

Is this an idea that could be used? If so, how?

A slightly specific idea that's been rattling around my head goes like this: on a D20 Future-based Prime, in the midst of World War III/IV , a cosmic event opens up an instantaneous one-way portal to the Planes, sucking up a bunch of Power Armoured or even Battle Suited soldiers and depositing them on the Planes. Mayhem naturally ensures, as this single regiment can easily decimate entire legions of "conventional" troops- they may even start selling their services as mercenaries across the planes in an effort to amass sufficient jink that they can find a way home. Not to mention the fact that the various power-players of the Multiverse would want them- or at least the location of their home Prime.

The only real details I can think of for this campaign are that the PCs, for whatever reason, have to go after the Primes and somehow convince them that the PCs aren't threats. And then they have to keep their new "friends" out of harm's way. I'd appreciate more input on this thought.

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