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Outer Planes You Wish Were Canon

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Mon, 2013-07-22 18:30
#1
Tequila Sunrise
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Outer Planes You Wish Were Canon

I'm a fan of the Great Wheel in concept, if not in all its environmental details. So I'm curious what others think -- are there fantastical environments you wish had made it into outer plane-hood, or layer-hood? Or maybe you wish one of the outer planes was just a little different? Bonus XP if your wish has a mirror-image opposite, such as...

Mechanus is much as canon presents it; an enormous mechanism of interlocked cogs existing in an endless sky.

Limbo is its mirror-image opposite; an infinite variety of islands and continents floating through an endless sky, which often bump or crash into each other.

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Mon, 2013-07-22 18:48
#2
Palomides
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Re: Outer Planes You Wish Were Canon

I have always been partial to the Wild West reboot that got bandied about at
/forum/wild-west-planes

As they stand, the Outlands seem a bit bland to me; so the Wild West rewrite provided more color and it gave a place for a genre that didn't fit anywhere else on the planes

Mon, 2013-07-22 19:13
#3
Palomides
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Re: Outer Planes You Wish Were Canon

Double post

Mon, 2013-07-22 21:56
#4
ripvanwormer
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Re: Outer Planes You Wish Were Canon

I always liked the idea of an Upper Plane whose structure was modeled after the seeds of a mature dandelion, with crystalline branches, each containing a world, that periodically drifted off into the Astral.

In general, I'd like it if Arborea had as many and as varied layers as the Abyss.

Tue, 2013-07-23 11:03
#5
Tequila Sunrise
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Re: Outer Planes You Wish Were Canon

@ Palomides: I think the Wild Wild Outlands could be fun, but...if guns exist on the Outlands, why aren't they everywhere?

@ ripvanwormer: Let's turn Arborea into your dandelion plane! I feel like Arborea must have been one of the last planes that Zeb's team defined, when they were hard against the publication deadline and creatively exhausted.

Zeb: "Okay guys, we've got one last chaotic plane to do...so far we a plane full of infinite layers and infinite varieties of demons, an animal-filled plane of day/twilight/night layers, a prison plane, an underground plane of maddening tunnels, a plane of floating earth motes and goat-centaurs, and a plane of raw chaos inhabited by githzerai and toadmen."

*Thoughtful pause*

Zeb: "Really Bob, toadmen are the exemplars of chaos? ...Well, we don't have time to revisit Limbo, so toadmen will have to do."

*Shakes head to clear thoughts*

Zeb: "So what are we going to do with the CG plane, any ideas...?"

Roy: "How about a plane of Greek gods?"

Matt: "Ooh, and elves!"

Zeb: "Oh for--, elves, Matt?"

Matt: "...Well elves are CG, right? We'll make them super-special-snowflake elves who can...turn themselves into balls of light!"

*Zeb grumbles something about elf fanboys.*

Zeb: "Alright then, Greeks and super-special-snowflake elves it is then. That sounds like a two-layer plane...a bit sparse for a chaotic plane, so we should add more..."

Roy: "How about a desert layer? We'll throw in some Egyptian goddess!"

Zeb: "Okay, that's three layers. Anyone else have any-- damnit, they're all asleep!"

*sighs*

Zeb: "Okay guys, make it happen."

Tue, 2013-07-23 13:23
#6
cromlich
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Re: Outer Planes You Wish Were Canon

With all other 3rd party planar sources that appeared over the years, I no longer use just the Great Wheel, the Great Wheel is one of three most popular theories. The names of some planes and layers are too inconsistent, I like more universal names for planes, in my other theory Limbo is called Chaos, and Mechanus Axis, also there's Heavens and Hell, Nether(world), Abyss, Faerie, and so on. My third theory is that every culture/pantheon has one plane, for example Greeks have Cosmos, Norse Nine Worlds, Celts the Otherworld ...

I wish more places from mythology and fantasy were planes, layers, or realms, for example Cockaigne, Neraka, Avici, Sheol, Shamayim, Duat, Aaru, Iteru, Anrutef, Barzakh, Akasha, Patalan, Swarga, Dyuloka, Vaikuntha, Aralu, Irkalla, Ekur, Hubur, Purgatory, Asphodel, Abzu, Eden, Nod, Dreamtime, Apeiron, Hyle, Psukhe, Wuji, Diyu, Kunlun, Penglai, Aztlan, Xibalba, Tamoanchan, Pleroma, Tehom, Sephirot, Meru, Devachan, Araf, Alam-i-Malakut, Jahannam, Jannah, Jarnvid, Guinee, apiri-Daeza, Duzakh, Paristan, Hamistagan, Chinvat, Welkin, Mag Mell, Nemeton, Tech Duinn, Iriy, Yav, Prav, Nav, Buyan, Taohua Yuan, Hara Berezaiti, Rashith ha-Gilgalim, Linnutee, Zebul, Takamagahara, Jigoku, Benesht, Nysa ...

Tue, 2013-07-23 13:36
#7
Palomides
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Re: Outer Planes You Wish Were Canon

Tequila Sunrise wrote:
@ Palomides: I think the Wild Wild Outlands could be fun, but...if guns exist on the Outlands, why aren't they everywhere?

My suggestion (that I like) on the thread mentioned above, was that the power of gunpowder was proportional to the distance from the Spire (inverse to the power of magic). So in the gatetowns, gunpowder fizzles; in the middle range Outlands, it works like gunpowder and guns work.
I also liked the idea that a clueless PC loads up on guns and then goes to a gatetown or Sigil to find that the firearms are useless

Tue, 2013-07-23 15:48
#8
Palomides
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Re: Outer Planes You Wish Were Canon

Cromlich-
I had to look up many of the items on your list (which is agood thing since I like to learn) but couldn't find "Anrutef". What/where is that?

Van Wormer-
I also liked the dandelion analogy (as it seemed very unique). Do you envision the "seeds" that wander off to have similar themes of goodness (to parallel the Abyss' infinite layers of evil)? If so, it seems like there should be many little worlds/demiplanes in the Astral that are benevolent to the PCs (unless good is defined differently within in which case visiting PCs might be treated more like invading viruses)
Or perhaps these 'seeds' harbor some agent of good that will remain dormant until Ragnarok or whenever the forces of evil turn full-force against the upper planes?
Just curious how you picture their effect on the multiverse

Wed, 2013-07-24 04:41
#9
cromlich
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Re: Outer Planes You Wish Were Canon

Quote:
Cromlich- I had to look up many of the items on your list (which is agood thing since I like to learn) but couldn't find "Anrutef". What/where is that?

Not sure, it's been long time since I added that to my notes. Probably a desolate realm from the Egyptian mythology.

Thu, 2013-08-01 10:41
#10
Calmar
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Re: Outer Planes You Wish Were Canon

Tequila Sunrise wrote:
I'm a fan of the Great Wheel in concept, if not in all its environmental details. So I'm curious what others think -- are there fantastical environments you wish had made it into outer plane-hood, or layer-hood? Or maybe you wish one of the outer planes was just a little different? Bonus XP if your wish has a mirror-image opposite, such as...

Mechanus is much as canon presents it; an enormous mechanism of interlocked cogs existing in an endless sky.

Limbo is its mirror-image opposite; an infinite variety of islands and continents floating through an endless sky, which often bump or crash into each other.

Mechanus is the one Outer Plane that fascinated me the most whe I discovered Planescape. Inhabitated by legions of modrons and merciless inevitables, I envisioned Mechanus as an endless, unfeeling (but not inherently malevolent) mechanism of huge complexity that swallows and crushs those unable to comprehend its vast logic. Mechanus (somewhat coloured by PS:T) seemed quite threatening to me in its (presumed) coldness and vastness.
In the end its often depicted as quite orderly and largely uneventful. Sad

Off topic: I'm glad to see you, ripvanwormer! Smiling

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