Just musing...
As it stands, the ideal of each of the outer planes is described in terms of its location on the D&D alignment axes. What if we gave each of the outer planes its own "alignment word" instead? So Arcadia, rather than being the plane of "law with a good bent," might be the plane of "harmony." (It seems like the residents of such planes would think of themselves as the "purest" form of a particular ideology rather than an offshoot.) The planes of pure law, chaos, good, and evil in the current system could obviously remain the same, though I wouldn't mind hearing alternatives. I've been trying to come up with a word for each plane, but it's hard, and I figured you guys would have some good insight.
I also was wondering about the planes that lack exemplars. If they did have exemplars, what would they be?
You mean one-word ideals that encapsulate what each plane is about? Sure I'll play
Mechanus - Order
Arcadia - Harmony
Mt Celestia - Virtue / Reverence
Bytopia - Industry / Work ethic
Elysium - Peace
Beastlands - Nature / Primal beauty
Arborea - Passion
Ysgard - Bravery
Limbo - Chaos
Pandemonium - Madness
Abyss - ?
Carceri - Survival (by any means necessary)
Gray Waste - Apathy
Gehenna - Suffering
Baator - Pragmatism / Tyranny
Acheron - Discord