While reading some of the discussions about 4E vs. the Planescape setting, I started to wonder about various other planes which "don't quite fit".
Hyper-Reality? The Far Realm?
How do other GMs work these - and other planes which seemingly exist outside of the Planescape setting?
What other odd planes are there? And how do you incorporate them into a PS setting?
Well, hyper-reality isn't actually a plane, per se. In Doors to the Unknown, there was a divine realm on Mercuria, the Second Heaven, that had the properties of hyper-reality. Basically, it means everything is more "intense" there — colors, sounds, damage rolls, and XP awards.
The Far Realm is actually fairly well integrated with Planescape, it's just generally regarded to be "outside" the Multiverse. The Multiverse is an island, the Far Realm is the sea. One of the cool things about this interpretation is it means that while the Far Realm may be strange and incomprehisible, there could potentially be other Multiverses floating in it that could be just like the one we know, or even weirder than the Far Realm (this is where I like to put weird paralell universes and the like).
I rather likeduckluck's explanation as it opens up a new door of opportunities without distrupting the current order of things. Also, it fits in well with most of what is written about the Far realm so far. Book of Aberrations anyone?
As for the planes that do not fit in very well with the Graet Wheel, I consider the Shadow plane the foremost. It is not a transitive plane. It is not a demiplane. Its not the shadow of the multiverse. What is it? It is an abomination. Its current state is far from clear. It needs a lot of work to improve, to make it somehow be applicable to every campaign. The same goes for Mirror and dream planes which have been subject to a lot of diferent takes over different source materials.
I think tidying up of the numerous more obscure planes can be a good objective for PSCS project in the near future. I would be more thn happy to contribute.
These said however, I still retain the idea that places like the Far Realm, the Hyper Reality, or the shadow, while they may be good campaign backgrounds, should be reserved for very special occasions. What the shadow plane is, depends on which edition you look for its description, as far as I know. In 2ed it's a demiplane which was 'growing' to become something bigger, e.g. a complete inner plane. In 3ed it has become a transitive plane (or maybe it is supposed to always have been a transitive plane afterwards).
You could say that the plane of shadow evolved from his demiplane status after the events of "Die Vecna Die".
The problem is that between the 2nd and the 3rd ed its properites are totally different.
In the 2nd edition it is part of the ethereal (a demiplane) while in the 3Ed he is not connected with the Ethereal and coexists with the Astral plane (something that I find really absurde). It is also used as a way to travel between prime worlds, because in 3rd ed phlogiston and chrystal spheres don't exist.
I didnt know that crystal spheres were disposed of. I'll have to check it from manual of the planes. I'm not sure I like that. I kind of liked the phlogiston, it blew up and stuff.
Oh by the way, a relatively recent issue of Dragon Magazine had re-introduced spelljammer races scro, giff and that insect race. They must have some place to live...
In the last PS campaign I ran I approached it like this - the PCs "crossed" the Far Realm to get to the Beyond Countless Doorways multiverse.
Well, they weren't mentioned. If you go by the rule that older material is still canon if it's not explicitly contradicted, then crystal spheres and phlogiston are still there in 3rd edition (and 4th edition).
I notice that the Phlogiston and the crystal sphere of Realmspace are mentioned in the 4th edition Forgotten Realms campaign setting, actually (page 41, in the creation myth). So definitely canon.
Well now I don't know If I should be relieved or horrified?
Is the phlogiston different from the astral sea? Are the crystal spheres different form the astral domains? Because I thought the astral plane, phlogiston and ethereal were mashed together like the abyss and limbo and inner planes. Am I wrong?
I certainly don't mind the Faerie World or Feywild as it's become in 4e. I liked the Plane of Dreams too, and even though I like the Quori and all the Dal Quor stuff in Eberron, I wouldn't have the Plane of Dreams too tied to any particular force like the Quori for any campaign outside of Eberron.
The Plane of mirrors was another optional concept introduced in the 3e Manual of Planes, and it actually appeared in Planescape in the module Tales of the Infinite Staircase with the appearance of the Kamarel.
With 4e canon, it's hard to know. I don't know if they even mentioned "The World" as being a round planet anymore.
I am still considering the Feywild for inclusion in my cosmology, and what do to about Shadow.
Shadow was originally presented as a balance between Positive and Negative. However, over the years, it has become more negative, being a gloomy place where evil, shadowy creatures dwell. From what I've heard, this trend continues into 4E.
If instead, we decide that Shadow is a Negative reflection of the Prime, its evil tendencies make more sense. Then the Feywild, a vibrant magical plane, could be the corresponding Positive reflection of the prime. Colors would be more vivid, etc. Mirror could then become the Positive/Negative reflection/blend, which might make more sense.
Dream presents a bit of a problem initially. However, I consider it a blend of the Ethereal, which is a place of unreality, with Yumesar - one of the Hidden Layers of Arborea (see my article).
Shadow was originally presented as a balance between Positive and Negative. However, over the years, it has become more negative, being a gloomy place where evil, shadowy creatures dwell. From what I've heard, this trend continues into 4E.
When was that? So far as I was aware, it was originally presented as a demiplane in the Ethereal that was always a source of danger for beings from outside passing through it, like the Shadow Walk spell warned against.
When was that? So far as I was aware, it was originally presented as a demiplane in the Ethereal that was always a source of danger for beings from outside passing through it, like the Shadow Walk spell warned against.
In the dragon mag issue 213, demiplane of Shadow mentioned to be one of the largest, on its way to become the newest inner plane. It is nearly infinite in size. On its skies there are two suns which are actually vortices to the positive and negative energy planes. A special kind of matter is generated fom the intermission of these two energies called shadowstuuf, which is what forms the plane and evertything in it, like shades and stuff.
But that was before 3rd. Remember, 2nd said that shadow was on its way to become an elemental plane. 3rd made it into something akin to a transitive plane. Or something else. It is really a mess. all it did was to allow things like shadow weave or shadow dancers which I really don't care about.
Here are a few options I came up with concerning Shadow:
1. I think I like Feywild and Shadowlie better than demiplane of shadow:(minus the parts about shadowlie being where souls travel to their end.) Say, they are the positive and negative reflections of a prime world into the ethereal. But this would make the worlds connect directly with the positive and negative energy planes through these two reflection planes. So...No ethereal? And plus, if Shadowlie was pure negative and feywild pure positive, this means no shadowstuff in shadowlie...
2. Shadow as a new Innerplane could be neat: There could be a new inner plane, a "paraenergy" plane, connecting the "top" and "bottom" of the inner planar sphere. Like the positive and negative, the shadowstuff could be anew form of energy. But remember, shados stuff is a stuff, matter, not just energy, so find a way around that. What else? forget about shadow walking to cover great distances in a few steps, manga-style. If you cant use water or even air with the same way, you shouldnt be able to use shadows like that either. Or thats what I think.
3. Shadow is a Veil that covers what we don't believe: PSCS chapter 8. A truly inspiring idea vey well executed. I say, Why not? But in this case, Shadowplane should lose most of its other properties. It doesnt make sense to have shades in such a plane. Neither is shadowstuff as an elemental forcei appropriate. While artistically neat, I guess this role is one more befitting the Far Realm, or some other plane.
Thats what I could come up with for now. What do you think? I also thought about temporal and dream and ordial... So if I can, I will try to write them down to see what you think.
If instead, we decide that Shadow is a Negative reflection of the Prime, its evil tendencies make more sense. Then the Feywild, a vibrant magical plane, could be the corresponding Positive reflection of the prime. Colors would be more vivid, etc.
This is by far the best translation of 4e Feywild into the Planescape settings! Now this is how I can introduce Feywild to my players...
If instead, we decide that Shadow is a Negative reflection of the Prime, its evil tendencies make more sense. Then the Feywild, a vibrant magical plane, could be the corresponding Positive reflection of the prime. Colors would be more vivid, etc. Mirror could then become the Positive/Negative reflection/blend, which might make more sense.
In the 3.5 DMG it's pretty much described in that way. Personally I've always regarded it like this.
Idran wrote:
In the original Deities & Demigods (1980) the Plane of Shadow was defined as the plane where the Positive and Negative Planes mingle in the shadow of the Prime Material Plane.
It was retconned as a demiplane in the Manual of the Planes (1987), and kept that way through 2nd edition. As Evil mentions, it was still defined as created by the mingling of the Positive and Negative Planes (equal parts light and darkness) in Dragon #213, though A Guide to the Ethereal Plane defined it as the ultimate destination of all shadows cast on the Prime Material instead. It became a full plane in its own right again in 3e.
Here's a related question: do you place alternate worlds and settings (such as our own world) within the Prime Material Plane? Or are they an entirely separate multiverse, separated by the Far Realm? What about something like the Star Wars setting?
We know that (supposedly) Elminster and Mordenkainen visit Ed Greenwood, implying there are known ways to open portals between their worlds and our own. There are a number of other examples of items from our world arriving on Faerun or Oerth. How are these connections characterized? Are they simply portals from one multiverse setting to another? If so, do they pass through the Far Realm (instantaneously)?
Well, the idea of people heading to alternate multiverses rather than other worlds or planes has been around ever since 1e, when the DMG actually had rules for sending your characters to (if I remember correctly) the Boot Hill, Gamma World, and Metamorphosis Alpha settings, which were described in just such a manner. In fact, so far as I'm aware it's canon that Murlynd has spent time on Boot Hill.
I suppose you could consider it as instantaneously passing through the Far Realm; it's certainly one way of going about it, and it would be an interesting way of approaching it. But I've always just thought of it as a different kind of portal. One even harder to form because of the vastly different nature, and so much rarer, but passing through the same thing that a Sigilian or an interplanar layer portal passes through, whatever that is.
If I may combine the two for a moment. In my games, I've always liked the idea that the primary way of traveling to alternate multiverses was by traveling through the plane of shadow on foot. I kinda imaged it how when all of the infinite multiverses were created out of far realm, the plane of shadow was created as a link between them to prevent the far realm from simply ripping them apart and swallowing them back up. I thought of the plane of shadow as a tether between multiverses the same way you'd have a rope tied between cave explorers or mountain climbers.
In this case the plane of shadow gets degraded over time and the link is weaker in some places, and nonexistant in others. I promise you there are few adventures more exciting and horrifying for players than journeying through a section of degrading shadow, where the darkness shifts to reveal a crack with a pair of bleeding triangular eyes staring back at them...
I always go with the "Ignore-it-and-it-will-go-away" tactic Most times, if a player gets pushy about something I've intentionally left out I just wave a lighter in the general direction of thier character sheet and usually they stop bugging me about it. Then again, I'm a slightly heavy-handed DM. ^_^
On a more serious note: "There is one thing to bear foremost in mind berk, and I'll gladly share the dark of it with you: The planes don't really form some nice neat ring that you can walk around. They exist, completely seperate form each other, and there's just some that are so closely tied together that most "maps" will stick 'em together. Other planes exist all over the place, but most of 'em aren't important enough for anyone to care to mark em on a map or tell anyone about 'em. Some are so full of valuable resources that people who know about 'em are tight-lipped, or otherwise smart. Hyper-Reality? Never heard of it. Far Realm? That's near Limbo, ain't it? Ah, sod it all, if they were worth talkin' about I'd'a heard of 'em"