rpgnow.com - selection advice

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Fidrikon's picture
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Factor
Joined: 2004-12-19
rpgnow.com - selection advice

So, I finally went to the site that Iv'e heard so much abvout, and two questions which I think to be important poped up.

1) with the wide selection of downloads, what are, lets say, the top 4 or 5 downloads I would need? I know the Planescape campaine setting is a must, but what about the others?

2)I noticed they said it was all in older versions. Is this a bad thing? Will i have to convert it myself to a more recent version? or is it close enough that I can use it right of the bat and figure my way around the bumby bits when I come across them?

any advice on either of these is greatly appreciated.

Krypter's picture
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factotums
Joined: 2004-05-11
rpgnow.com - selection advice

Well, what you need depends on where you will be adventuring. If you're on the Nine Hells of Baator, for example, the Planes of Law and Hellbound box sets would be recommended.

Overall my favorite is the Planes of Chaos boxed set, followed by the Factol's Manifesto. The latter is great if you're playing a faction-heavy campaign in Sigil.

Planescape is all 2nd Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, but it doesn't make a difference for the sourcebooks because there are so few rules in them.

The only books you would have to convert are Planewalker's Handbook and the adventures. These are stat-heavy. However, many people have already converted a lot of PS stuff to 3E so you just have to search this site to find them.

cheers,

k

Primus, the One and Prime's picture
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rpgnow.com - selection advice

Things I suggest...

Planes of Law
Planes of Chaos
Planes of Conflict
Hellbound
Faces of Sigil

Planescape is all written in 2e. Now, this means that the stats, etc. that they give you are completely and utterly useless to a 3e player. 2e and 3e are so different its painful. Conversion back and forth is possible, but long and complex.

Luckily, PS was a stat-lite setting. Most of the books mentioned above are almost 90% flavor text and information rather than stats. Plus, alot of people have already converted much crunch for you...

This thread is currently converting almost every creature ever seen in PS to 3e: http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=307692

EDIT: Whoops....

Oh yeah, Planewalker.com has the official conversions for races, plus new plane and faction specific feats and skills. GO THERE... DO IT....

: Primus uses modron hypnosis:

Fidrikon's picture
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Factor
Joined: 2004-12-19
rpgnow.com - selection advice

thanks guys. although, come to think about it, I think I may focus a bit more on Sigil. Its always seemed the most intresting place. But Ill be sure to look up the others too.

By the way, Ive noticed a couple newer dnd books that have to deal with the planes (ie. Manual of the planes, the planar handbook) and I noticed that the handbook talks about Sigil. unfortunetly, the Barnse and Noble guy came back, and I had to either pay for the book or put it back, so I didn't get to see too much of it.
Anyway, the Motp and planar hb, do what they have anything to do with planescape? or are they just the same setting but a different idea entirely?

ceratus's picture
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Joined: 2004-05-11
rpgnow.com - selection advice

They describe the planes, but in a different way than the Planescape books did. The cosmology is different (connections between the outer, inner planes, astral, ethereal, prime, 4 inner planes instead of 16 etc.) They're also pretty thin on flavour text.
Actually, I really don't know where the 150 or so pages of each book went to...they don't really focus on anything...or explain anything in detail.

I'd recommend buying the 2e books if you can find them, these two aren't really worth it. The only downside to the 2e books is the lack of 3e rules, which should be remedied in due time on this site...

But that's just me...and listening to me is a bad idea.... Eye-wink

(one thing that just occured to me...have abishai been converted to 3e? I don't think I've seen them anywhere...)

Krypter's picture
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factotums
Joined: 2004-05-11
rpgnow.com - selection advice

The MotP is a good reference guide for playing in the Planes in 3.5E. It is not Planescape, however, and has a different flavour entirely. It is very much tuned to occasional forays into the planes by high-level adventurers from the prime worlds. In that way it resembles the original 1E manual of the planes.

The PlHB is mostly rules and options for players. Feats, prestige classes, monsters (?), races, and planar touchstones, which I like but many PS fans don't. It also has a decent description of Sigil, the City of Brass and Tunarath the githyanki city. Some neat equipment too.

Overall though, if you can only buy a few books, get the original PS books. They're much better. For GMs anyway.

Fidrikon's picture
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Factor
Joined: 2004-12-19
rpgnow.com - selection advice

the ps books you mentioned, are these the same as the files on RPGnow.com? or do I have to run around the internet again?

also, I noticed a site that I discovered a long time ago isnt on the links page here. whether that is because you havn't heard of it or because its not what your looking for, I don't know.
But anyway, heres the url for npo other reason but that I have no idea where else to submit it :

http://www.pathguy.com/planes.htm

It mainly deals with the planes themselves, their layers, and what the setting itself is all about. Not to mention they have a very decent section on the different faction, their prestige classes, and all that fun stuff.

Planescape, Dungeons & Dragons, their logos, Wizards of the Coast, and the Wizards of the Coast logo are ©2008, Wizards of the Coast, a subsidiary of Hasbro Inc. and used with permission.