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I used God as a possible explanation just to provide an example. But I'm really not sure what I want. Maybe another explanation is because Earth's Crystal Sphere has a a magical tapestry that works like a tide with high points and low points that follow a cycle based on planar conjunctions. Thus maybe the various magical groups who know Earth exists have a secret tradition of planar migration. They leave earth when magic wanes and return when magic rises again. Whatever gets left behind either falls into hibernation or get's trapped into mundane forms. Thus at it's lowest point all portals and planar travel mediums simply shut down...

Seeing as how the planes touch on faith a lot.  I expect that sooner or later the Pcs will ask the inevitable question: "What about God?". Now questions like this are interesting and deserve some thought.

Thing is monotheism isn't an answer in planescape since there are plenty of gods and powers claiming they created the universe and I think it would be pretty cheap to say the other powers are all wrong and the Judeo-Christian faith is right. Just as I think it would be pretty cheap to have it the other way around. I think a fair arrangement would be to have them all have some portion of the truth

So I think that I should at least give him a short amount of treatment. I think having Yaweh be a Greater Power of 19-20 rank would be quite sufficient to give even the most powerful pantheons pause if they decided to start a fight with him as well as explain why he can't just wipe out other pantheons with a wave of his hand. As for where his domain should be I think we can all agree that he would most likely reside in the Seven Mounting Heavens as the plane where the Heavenly city might be. He'd most likely be a rather reclusive deity, concerned only with his prime world and would probably have access to a vast hosts of Archons and Devas to back up his decisions. Perhaps the various archangels (St-Micheal, Gabriel, Uriel, etc.) of judeo-christian theology could be somewhat like the Celestial Hebdonad as powerful unique angels tasked with delivering his will...

What layer would fit? Mertion or Jovar maybe? Any deity lucky enough to have his domain in the 5th or 6th Heaven would definetly command enormous respect in the Planes.

Any thoughts? 

As for the matter of the Antagonist for the story arc. I mentionned Franz Draco as possibly having the Lex Luthor like super-villainy for a good antagonist...

But one thing I'd like is to showcase how the sudden arrival of a new prime world on the politics of the planes causes a sort of race against the clock as every power group wants to get there first...

Any other suggestions for the antagonists in the story arc? 

Guess I should have expected an answer like this. I'm a working on getting my history P.h.D and as of such, I understand that very divergent view points on the matter are perfectly valid. I also understand how difficult it can be to talk about such a topic...

Fortunetly and unfortunetly for me. I know my group. They'll have fun with whatever I choose for my campaign but unfornetly, I know they will ask the question eventually so I have to give it some thought even if it won't be the focus of the campaign...

Anyway, as I said before, I think I will run the Abrahamic God in my campaign as LG Greater Power who resides in the 6th layer of the Seven Mounting Heavens of Celestia with his own domain being the Heavenly City described in Dante's heaven. Have the various angels and archangels of the abrahamic faiths be powerful unique celestials on par with the Celestial Hedomad. Any additional details would be for the pcs to discover if they wish it within the course of the campaign

Feel free to post your opinions...

Anyway, back to the real topic on hand.

The more I think about it, the more I like using Franz Draco in my campaign. An exiled Efreeti prince who dreams of ruling the world and the C.E.O of a multi-national conglomerate seems like too good an opportunity to pass up...

I think I'll build the story starting off with the pcs discovering the supernatural abruptly. They'll get recruited afterwards in my previously mentioned UN group and from there they start exploring the planes as their organization starts trying to make alliances and trade agreements with other prime world rulers and various planar groups.

I could see them afterwards getting into a lot of trouble as various planar factions race to annex earth to their goals and discovering Franz Draco's plans amidst it all.

Maybe Franz is the son or cousin of the Sultan of the City of Brass and he figures the best way to take his place as "Sultan of the World" as he so often puts it is by sinking his fingers into some much of the newly created vaccuum of planar politics created by the rise of magic that he can establish a monopoly on interactions between earth and the various other worlds.

Never one to under achieve he might also want to take a shot a Duke Ironwood. Being the rightful Sultan of the World he shouldn't tolerate that a silly human from back water Oerth would be the Factol of a faction with the philosophy of: the universe is there for those with the power to take it...

This way, it could leave open all sorts of dynamics with the pcs as it could place them in the ambivalent position of having to work with Franz Draco sometimes as he's most likely one of the few people on earth who knows enough about planar politics to navigate the byzantine politics of the Great Wheel without being overwhelmed and without him, the earth might get screwed out of it's independance (wich is ironic considering Franz's goals)

Any thoughts... 

I plan on running my campaign with the pcs coming from a modern earth where magic is returning and now all the old pathways, dormant relics and such are reawakening. I'll use the d20 modern rule set and the setting is best described as a homebrew urban arcana/dark matter setting (as in I took elements of both and created my own setting with it's own history)

The planescape setting will be as written. My idea is that when magic slowly began to wan, the inhabitants of earth's crystal sphere turned to technology and the sciences. Magical beings departed, fell dormant, or were trapped in mudane forms they could assume.

Because of this, earth's technology reached it's current level. Problem is now magic is returning...

In this interpretation, the technological levels of other worlds would be on par with traditional planescape as with readily, functional magic, technology simply didn't get the kick in the ass it needed to really take off. 

Yet I'm thinking M16s VS wands of fireball...  

I like this idea of removement from the more magical center though. Might pluck some this as a reason why magic follows a cycle of high and low periods on earth...

Could be, it could also explain why in the bible, when priest of other faiths invoke their Gods they too have a tendency to find themselves finding their Gods falling silent. Maybe that could be a metaphor for an Overpower.

Maybe these priests don't receive their powers because the gods of these faiths have an agreement with Yaweh where he rarely intervenes directly but when priests of other faiths piss him off they piss off their Gods as well in the "When the Overpower talks, you will listen or we will take away those nifty spells you get..."

Still, I don't know, I'm totally for my pcs being priests of Yaweh/Allah/God and getting their spells for it (such as the acolyte advanced class in the d20 modern core book or the mystic advanced class in the Urban Arcana campaign book).

So Yaweh being an Overpower causes some problems since overpowers don't grant priest spells. I'll have to think this through... 

Well, like I've said before, I'm not the most versed in Planescape lore. But I seem to remember that the only officially listed overpower is Ao and he has this whole priesthood who don't receive spells, why is that?

Similarly it brings up the question of priests themselves why hasn't anyone received priest spells for their raw faith yet? I mean priest don't even have to worship gods to receive spells, they can follow philosophies, be adherents of a more open outlook. Heck even the Athar can have priests...

So why don't those followers of Ao receive spells?

Anyway, my big problem with Yaweh being an overpower in my setting isn't so much about the granting of spells as the issue that it implies he is greater then other gods from other pantheons found on earth. I'm not opposed to him being a very powerful god (I mean if the whole 12 plagues of Egypt business and the Flood is any indicator, he wouldn't be a weak power) But I'd like my pcs to have their outlook shattered a little bit when they step into the planes. Knowing that there are other forces that are equal to Yaweh would be a great way. And if the priest character keeps his faith afterward it makes it all the more interesting (and knowing the pc who will be playing a religious character most likely, he'll find it a lot more rewarding).

Anyway... anybody ever write upt stats for duke Ironwood in DnD 3.5? I'd like to have a gauge so I can adjust him for my game so if Franz gets into a fight with him it's interesting...

Wich is funny when you think about it since it might make some of those followers try even more to get his attention and "prove themselves" to Ao so to speak. I'm surprised there haven't any nutbags sor far in that cult trying weird stuff like mass suicides and the liket to get his attention...

Any like I said previously, I wouldn't be worried about Acolytes and Mystics getting their spells from Yaweh wether he's an overpower or not. If one of my pcs wants to play a muslim acolyte of a evangelical mystic, that would be fine by me...

This brings to my mind 2 questions I'd like opinions and answers

1-Do all prime material worlds have an Overpower?

2-Setting aside the questions of alignement, portfolio and such. Do you posters really perceive him more like an overpower then a Greater Power (like Zeus, Odin, Re)? I mean mythologically speaking, Zeus and the other creator figures all strike me as having demonstrated about equal feats of power. Wouldn't it make more sense for him to be a greater power in the 19-20 rank?

Well, as I've said before, my campaign won't focus on the gods.It's going to be a campaign about planar exploration, cross planar politics and the sudden reapearance of Earth on the planar scene after hundreds of years of absence. I'm thinking a format ala Stargate with a story arc for the entire campaign spiced up with adventures that go along as side-quests. Really have ther pcs look in awe at the great wheel.

I think for my purposes I'll make him a Greater Power. And have the waning forces of magic contribute to the rise of monotheism by paradox. Since magic started to disappear, more and more worshippers of the old gods started to loose faith in their gods and this made it easier for the idea of monotheism to spread since monotheism is easier to explain without obvious supernatural occurences. Most of the old gods took this opportunity to spread to other planes and they building up their powerbase from there. They kept watch however, waiting for the wheel to turn...

Only now magic has returned and the old gods know this, they join the gold rush created by earth's reemergence with the other planar factions. And all that's stands in the way are the pcs and their allies trying to prevent earth from getting swept up in the maelstrom...

Moving along. One thing I was thinking was that with magic returning, the old artefacts are powering up again. Mystic sites are starting to work again. Start the pcs off from there. they start on earth working with the UN agency and after a few adventures finally step off into the planes.

I'm trying to think a bout 2 places that could have dormant portals so I could have one in the hands of the Pc's patrons and one in the hands of Draco industries. For the pcs I think I'll have the Un agency hake their hands on a portal somewhere in Europe and Franz Draco control a portal somewhere in the middle-east.

Any places that strike you as possible locations where a planar portals could be? I'd like to avoid using stonehenge since it's too obvious. but I'm open to suggestions...

Hey Rip Van Wormer  Long time, I remember you from the old 2nd ed forum at wizards before 4th edition hit. Cool to see you're still around...

 Alignement and such aside. I think keeping Yaweh in the Greater Power range will serve my purposes just fine. A greater god with a divine rank of 19-20 with great influence over a prime world (given the number of people on earth who are christians/jewish/muslims of some denomination) would be pretty secure amidst planar politics. Being alone in his pantheon would also grant him great sway over his prime world, possibly enough that he wouldn't need to be an overpower to accomplish great feats of divinity. He might have some sway over the tides of magic as part of his portfolio...

Since d20 modern does not have planar travel and d20 modern mages top out at level 5 spells. I figure I'll keep planar magic as lost lore pcs can rediscover if they start researching magic and negociating with spell casters from other worlds. If a pc decides to take up magic or faith (and take one of the d20 modern spellcaster advanced classes). I'd open up higher planar magic as incantations that require rituals to complete to reflect how Earths tapestry isn't attuned to planar magic like other worlds.

I was also thinking about locations that might contain dormant portals and here are a few places I can think:

-Stonehenge to heroic domains of Ysgard

-Ayers Rock: the Astral Plane

-Machu Pichu: portals might be found to different planes devided by the gods each building were dedicated to...

Any other ideas... 

Indeed, some of the places could connect to Hades and Mount Olympus. I could see one of these portals being found in an Island on the mediteranean and Mount Olympus could have a portal  in one of the old temples... 

Allright People here's my first sample incantation I will allow my players to discover and possibly use for planar travel from earth to the rest of the great wheel.

Climbing the Tree of Life

Conjuration (Planar Travel)

skill check: Knowledge (arcane lore) DC 35, 7 successes; Failure: three consecutive failed checks; Components: mental, focus, verbal, material, Backlash; Casting time: 5 hours (minimum); Range: 50 ft; Target: Up to 5 travelers; Duration: instantaneous; saving throw: will negates (DC 16+ caster's wisdom modifier); spell resistance: Yes

This powerful ritual is one of the greatest secrets by Kabbalist scholar. By concentrating on the truths that descend from the tree of life and attuning his mind to the emanations of the Sephiroth. The Kabbalist may takes hold of these energies and physically transports himself and others similarly attuned to one of the supernatural realms on the many levels of the tree of life

This incantion allows the caster to open the planar barrier separating Earth from the rest of the Great Wheel. The caster may select the plane he wishes to travel to and if successfull, he and the other travelers will appear on the selected plane.

Material Components: A fully prepared Kabbalistic circle, a cipher with the name of the plane the caster wishes to travel to serve as foci. 

Options: Characters attempting to travel to a plane with an allegeance possessed by the caster reduce the DC to successfully cast the incantation by 2. Characters capable of casting divine spells and wishing to travel to the plane of their divine patron may further reduce the DC by 2

If this ritual is performed on a mystic site the caster gains a bonus to his check equal to the strenght of the site (+1 for a faint mystic site, +2 for a moderate mystic site, +3 for a strong mystic site)

Casters casting this ritual on a dedicated site (See Urban Arcana page 106) with an allegeance shared by the plane the caster desires to travel received a +5 bonus to all skill checks to succeed. Casters casting this ritual on a dedicated site with an allegeance opposed to the plane the caster desires to travel reveive a -5 on all skill checks to succeed

Backlash: The caster and all other travelers using the ritual are fatigued and receive 1 negative level.

Failure: The caster and all other travelers must make a will save (DC 16+ the difference between the required check to succeed and the caster's roll) or take 2d4 wisdom damage and receive 2 negative levels as their minds are wracked with the improperly attuned planar energies

Because:

It's a ritual used by adepts of the Kabbalah, a form of Jewish Mysticism. Hygdrasil is clearly part of Norse Mythology. Ygdrassil is part of the Great Wheel just like the infinite Staircase and acts as one of the roads that connect to all planes, like the infinite Staircase. While arguably, the Tree of Life the ritualists climbs could be Hyggdrasil, adepts of the ritual wouldn't know this in most cases...

It's something pcs could discover further along the adventure, sure, but the ritual itself is another matter entirely.

Besides, the idea is to give pcs a way they can travel to other planes of their choice. Thus I think it's appropriate to allow them to choose the plane they want to travel to... 

Right Jem, considering that part of the idea of the Sephiroth and the tree of life is spiritual enlightenment. It makes sense that Mount Celestial could be representative of Kether.

I'm using traditional Planescape Cosmology for my campaign with (as you've all been know by now) d20 modern/Urban arcana+ DnD 3.5 rules (in other I update d20 modern to 3.5 rules but keep the classes, spells and such)

Jewish Mythology has a Sheol as a the place where souls go after death, a gray plane that symbolizes finality and in my respects ressembles the Grey wastes of Hades. So I could easily see how Kabbalists could with research and exploration (and some good old fashioned plane-hopping) piece together at least a partial model of the Great wheel through it... 

 I like your idea however that different aligned planes could require more difficult checks and that certain planes could only be accessible with more esoteric rituals.

As to what you're working on with the tree of life keep me posted on it I'd definetly like to take a look at what you are writting...