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Help with cosmology

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Mon, 2010-10-25 23:06
#1
Har Megidon
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Help with cosmology

I am looking for ideas for my cosmology. Here is a basic diagram:

Prime
Ethereal
Inner
???
Energy
Astral
Outer

Note that the higher planes are more "real".

There are three main things that I want help with:

In my cosmology, the Spire is sort of an axis for the multiverse to rotate around, poking out at the top (Prime) and bottom (Outer). I am not sure what to do with the Prime part of the Spire. The main options I thought of is Sigil paradoxically being at both ends, or an alternate Sigil, which until I think of a better name I shall refer to as Logos.

I have seperated the Energy and Elemental planes. I decided to add in the Temporal Plane, and add in a Spatial Plane to act as an equal and opposite. I am looking for monsters that would live in the Spatial Plane, and ideas for it's geometry.

I need ideas for the plane between the Energy and Outer planes.

Thanks in advance for your help.

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Tue, 2010-10-26 09:13
#2
Palomides
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Re: Help with cosmology

This may not help but this is what I had:
I have three transitive planes that contain other "regular" planes
**Astral -> various Outer Planes
**Ethereal -> various elemental planes
then I had (for lack of a better name)
**Temporal Prime -> holds the past, present and future of the Prime as well as alternative Primes (think the "Sliders" TV show)

I also had a "hub" in each of the transitive planes:
Astral/Outer Planes -> Sigil

Ethereal/Inner Planes -> I had an area that was intended to be the "Sigil of the Inner Planes" but without a powerful authority figure (like the Lady), it had devolved into a battlefield between the elements. This meshes pretty well with the 4e Elemental Chaos

In the center of the Temporal Prime, I placed a closed citadel (as opposed to the relatively open city of Sigil) that housed an order of guardians that tried to minimize changes to the time flow. I also had a city about the citadel where those who had mastered the art of slipping from regular time-space into the Temporal Prime could meet and maybe engage in limited trade of goods and ideas.
But the temporal guardians (who are almost never seen) lord over the city from their high citadel making their god-like decisions about what "corrections" they need to make.

If my players ever get here, I could envision a lot of potential adventures as these guardians send the PCs to "correct" critical events in history, or to hunt down a renegade time traveler (either a well-meaning but perhaps more bumbling Dr. Who-type or a meglamaniacal Kang the Conqueror-type)

May not be your cup of tea but hopefully it inspires some ideas.

Tue, 2010-10-26 09:33
#3
Har Megidon
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Re: Help with cosmology

My ideas are pretty different from yours, but thanks.

I've decided Logos would be ruled by an entity known as the Steel King, a mysterious hooded figure known for apparently being made of blades. Some say that when the Lady casts her shadow upon someone, it is the Steel King who is responsible for slashing up the offender via mysterious magic. Some say that the two are unrelated, some say they are siblings, some even say that they are lovers, but the Dabus refuse to talk about him. Logos would look prettier than Sigil, but actually is much worse for the inhabitants, as the Steel King's edicts are usually for much more personal reasons than the safety of the city. The only reason the Blood War didn't overrun the place is due to upper planar influence.

I've also decided for the parts of the Spire that are not poking out of the planes to be part of a dismal land of pure stasis, known as the Grey. Basically, the planes in the middle of the multiversal pillar are closer to the mysterious core of the Spire, and because of that not only does magic stop working near the centre, but so does the various laws of physics, until you are frozen in time.

Tue, 2010-10-26 11:00
#4
Palomides
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Re: Help with cosmology

I'm asking not to criticize; but to understand (and possibly swipe ideas)

I'm not sure what you are picturing.
-So you have Spire in the Prime and a ringed (or other shaped) city at the top of this?
-Is this city filled with portals too? If so, where do they lead? The exisiting planes? Alternate timelines? New planes?
-If not filled with portals, what is the purpose of this city? Who lives here or visits? Why do they do so?
-I do like the Steel King. Does his form of punishment differ from the Lady? (E.g. if her shadow cuts, does his drain levels/life force?)
-When you mention the Grey, is this supposed to be the innermost core of the Spire?
-If the Grey is a land where not only magic but physics and time break down, why would anyone go there? If you never plan to have anyone go there, why do you detail it?

Tue, 2010-10-26 15:30
#5
Hyena of Ice
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Re: Help with cosmology

-If the Grey is a land where not only magic but physics and time break down, why would anyone go there? If you never plan to have anyone go there, why do you detail it?

Seems like a good place to dump those pesky destructive artifacts, to me.

Tue, 2010-10-26 20:08
#6
Har Megidon
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Re: Help with cosmology

Palomides wrote:
I'm asking not to criticize; but to understand (and possibly swipe ideas)

I'm not sure what you are picturing.
-So you have Spire in the Prime and a ringed (or other shaped) city at the top of this?
-Is this city filled with portals too? If so, where do they lead? The exisiting planes? Alternate timelines? New planes?
-If not filled with portals, what is the purpose of this city? Who lives here or visits? Why do they do so?
-I do like the Steel King. Does his form of punishment differ from the Lady? (E.g. if her shadow cuts, does his drain levels/life force?)
-When you mention the Grey, is this supposed to be the innermost core of the Spire?
-If the Grey is a land where not only magic but physics and time break down, why would anyone go there? If you never plan to have anyone go there, why do you detail it?


-The Spire is in all universes, just that it is simply rises out at the Prime and Outer Planes. Logos is at the Prime end, Sigil is in the Outer end. Imagine the planes being discs on a stick, the stick being the spire, the topmost disc being the Prime, and the lowermost disc being the Outer Planes. The stick is still in the discs in the middle, it just only pokes out at the top and bottom.
-It has portals, but with different mechanics. They are not in bound spaces, but on symbols mysteriously carved into the walls.
-The Steel King prefers to amplify the effects of gravity on someone until they cannot support their own weight. Occasionally, people do survive, severely crippled, but they need ridiculously high constitution scores.
-The areas around the innermost core.
-The Grey is mainly used by entities from alternate universes to travel to this one, as the warped space creates rifts between worlds. I'm planning for my campaign to use a rift to travel to the Illithid homeworld.

Wed, 2010-10-27 06:42
#7
Palomides
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Re: Help with cosmology

Har Megidon wrote:
[Logos] has portals, but with different mechanics. They are not in bound spaces, but on symbols mysteriously carved into the walls.

Ironic that Logos transports via sigils but Sigil does not.

Wed, 2010-10-27 22:32
#8
Har Megidon
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Re: Help with cosmology

Okay, here is the ideas of some addle-cove about this cosmology. Think of it as my cosmology's version of the Ordial plane theory.

"You ever wondered why there are four sets o' normal planes, four elements, four axes of alingement, and yet three transitional planes? Or why the multiverse is a pillar, even though everything else is a ring? Well, the King and the Lady, they are makin' a new plane. Connecting the Outer and Prime, even! This will connect the two ends of the spire and merge the two Cages! Since the plane would be connectin' the realm of the powers and that of the primes, the gods would certainly want that shortcut. But the Lady and the King are blockin' them, so that no god could use it to gain too much influence over the prime. Think about it! It took a while before the Lady started mazing people. The reason why she couldn't do it immediately was that the fourth transitional plane didn't have enough room in it made to contain the mazes! Of course, the Centre of All rule says that there is going to be somethin' big inside the centre of the multiversal ring. Wonder what that'll be?"

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