[from Clueless' suggestion]
Should we have a mascot, or something similar, to act as our representative? Is the Lady of Pain enough? The Mimir has Viola. The old Planewalker had Ashy the mephit but that was Collin's persona and since he's gone on to better things, we need something new. Or do we?
Would a logo be enough? Something furry and cute (like the chibis) or darker and more serious? Perhaps an entirely new critter?
Should we commission an artist to do this? Someone famous like DiTerlizzi, or a fan from hereabouts?
Bariaurs. In fact I've actually had a bariaur make an in character announcement for the site before (dunno if anyone read it - it was a while back).
Yes but Bariaur booty? I mean come on. I like big buts as much as the next guy but dang that's huge.
Remind me to have one of my characters *trample* you. And then write bad press about you in the newspaper. 
*snickers* Gerzel 1 Clueless...nah, that doesnt count at one so Clueless - 0.
I can't believe that no one has thought of a Githzerai mascot. They're planar and non-sigil specific. They're recognizable to D&D 3.0/3.5 players that aren't familiar with Planescape (They've been stated in the MotP, PsiH, MM 3.5, and most recently in the Expanded Psionics Handbook where they were detailed as a PC race. They're definately serious. They have personality. And if you work at it you should be able to make one occaisionaly humorous.
Because they're not cute, fuzzy, and deadly.
Bariaurs. In fact I've actually had a bariaur make an in character announcement for the site before (dunno if anyone read it - it was a while back).
What type of personality would you see this bariaur (male or female) having?
"Now, y' just sit down there, sir - buy ya a drink an' if'n ya don' min' me takin' notes w' this sensory stone, we kin start this interview. See, I been lately workin' on a little piece o' fun out in the Clerk's ward. A bit of a hustle someone up top - the fuzzy one with the tiara - has goin'."
"Yeah, I know t'ain't th' safest o' jobs. But someone's gotta poke 'round and drag the darks out in t' light - kickin' and screamin' their fool heads off. Ah, drinks're here. Good. Drink up - bub's free.
"Now - where was I. Oh yeah, you an' yer employer. Opps. Did I say that out loud?..."
"Of course, of course not - she doesn't pay yer bills. Now how much jink it take t' get a quote from ya for the fron' page?"
And yes - he wears a fedora with a press pass stuck in the brim in my mind.
I like that, Clueless! I know some people are turned off by Planescape's use of cant, but it was always something that appealed to me.
I vote we go with one of the following three races...
Modron
- If we don't showcase 'em, well, then they're as dead as certain people want them to be.
- You could develop a very interesting voice and manner of speech for a modron outcast mascot. I'm willing to bet that a modron, if done right, could be just as entertaining and colorful as Xanxost.
- Who better to traipse around a website than a creature of law. Their sense of order is well suited to touting articles in this section or that section.
- The website already displays one prominently.
Tiefling
- We had 'em before FR. They're OURS! Let's reclaim 'em.
- They've got a REAL dark side, just like Planescape.
- On the downside, they're kinda overdone.
Bariaur
- It'd be something fresh. You don't really see bariaur anywhere but Planescape.
- I think that Bariaur are natural planewalkers, and I believe that bariaur touts are quite common in the Cage.
Okay, the more I think on it, the more I'm leaning towards a Modron Outcast. But I'm just one person.
Okay, the more I think on it, the more I'm leaning towards a Modron Outcast. But I'm just one person.
Affirmatory.[/torment]
Plus, there's already a modron on p129 of the MotP.
Must we have only one mascot?
Think about it, we could have the Rouge Modron be the mascot of the pure, hard data (sections like ps3e).
Then, the Bariaur could be the one to tell of new stuff (such as describing updates and new articles), and focus a bit more some of the sights of the planes.
Then the Teifling could fill in the Gaps. Mybe he could even be the one that handles most of the Sigilian things like the Bariaur does the rest of the planes.
Think about it, It is impossible to find just one persona that represents all of planescape and works well as customer service. So, choose just a few.
Perhaps what we need are 'auditions' and our own touting competition a la American Idol! Get people to submit their ideas of suitable mascots -- artwork, descriptions, 'resumes', letters of application, letters of recommendation (hey, a glowing letter from the Marauder can take you quite far my friend), etc. Then we narrow the field and hold auditions for these imaginary mascot-wannabes. Challenges will include touting a new article, blasting a forums flamer, and calling for new submissions. The winner will be determined by poll or perhaps by a panel of judges.
Who will be the next Planewalker Idol?
Planewalker idol, eh?
For that we'd need a suitable insultosaurus to shatter the dreams of potential mascots that just aren't good enough. That, and an oversensitive has-been who doesn't say much that's really useful.
*bites tounge *very* hard while snickering*....
Because (a) I'm bored, and (b) the thought amused me...
*dies in laughter*
*Claps* that, is simply terrific!
Seriously tho, start showing up art/stories for the mascot and let the decision be done off that?
Okay, I suggested Planewalker Idol in jest, but the more I think about it, the more I like it. And I love the picture!!!!
-- we get a well-developed mascot
-- we get a mascot that we've all agreed upon (well majority anyway)
-- we draw visitors by touting the competition on other boards, lists, etc.
-- It'll be brilliant fun!!!
-- It's a good community-building exercise.
-- We might see creative new ways to use such a mascot.
If we were to get more than a dozen entries (you never know), then we might need a first-round elimination based on evaluating the entry applications. But to whittle it down to the winner, I'd like to see a series of challenges and a weekly elimination ceremony. To get more people involved, I suggest that we combine judges with polling. Say 4 judges, and the poll results count as the fifth judge. If it's okay, I would love to be one of the judges. I can be scathing. I can be dry and witty and sarcastic. I have no problem with telling a bariaur his horns are too fat.
Need a balanced viewpoint? Since my inspiration comes from the imperceptible vibrations, undulations, and rhythms of the planes themselves, I happen to always be right. And Ciphers have the other effect of tending to balance out extreme viewpoints.
[IC]*Wanders through thread*
You know, we had something just like this where I come from...[/IC]
Seriously though... putting things to vote in this kind of manner works.
And now all we need is a pair of suitable presenters for the later stages (or for mock interviews with the auditioners). Shemmy and Xanxost? The fabled Kit and Kat?
You mean like Ryan Seacrest?
The only thing I'd put forward on this is that the judges cannot be submitters as well.
Just on principle.
Oops. Forgot the US only had one. AU had 2, and I think the UK did too.
Hmm... I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Neth, the Living Demiplane. Neth lives in the planes, has insatiable curiosity, wants to communicate with others, can't be mistaken for some unhende lemon, and forces a berk to confront the vast alienness of the Multiverse...
But it doesn't get out and about very much.
Neth actually gets around quite a bit, it sends tons of golems all over the place.
wow, a plane to represent the planes....
Four judges maybe? One for each "True" alignment excluding true neutral?
How would you illustrate the plane though, for mascot purposes? Every visitor expects to see some kind of image reflecting the nature of the setting. How do you do that with a "living" plane I wonder... You want something that's easy to detail, and something that people will remember.
I'm pleased to say that Planewalker Idol is now officially in the works.
Expect an announcement soon.
W00t... I'll start drawing up Mascots then! Neth. Wacky modron (I already have a number of wacky modron comics drawn up he sooo wacky!)
Two things to consider...
PW's next mascot/figurehead must be an original character concept of your own design. PW must be able to freely use the character without restriction, so all the old PS NPCs are out, so are any you will find in existing publications or online, including Neth.
At the end of the contest, the winning character will become the official face of PW. Sadly, that means you'll have to relinquish all rights to the character to PW management. (that is, you won't be able to use that character anywhere online or in print)
Lim Lims all the way, like the psychotic one on Torment
NOOOOOO that is not the kind of mascot that any kind of sane person would want to represent them. I think the lim lim is cool but as a pet not the kind of thing that I would want to represent me.
Why not something unique like a modron or/and lim lim or somthing else
Whoever submits a lim-lim will have to write press releases and section intros in the voice and personality of a lim-lim. 
...
You may want to consider this carefully. 
A lim lim be perfect because it shows just how strange planescape can get but who'd be the voice *looks at fridrikon cracks a smile* and fonikon who ever said we were sane
I truely think that it should just be the Lady- I mean really, her Serenity is the perfect symbol of the planes... I'm still reluctant to give in to having a tiny frog with wings representing-... uh "us"... I admit that they're cute and all... but I just can't bring myself to... *quivers*..... how bout the Lady petting a Lim-Lim?... lol, that would be an interesting thing to see
but then again, when are we ever sane eh?
I don't think you ever see the Lady's hands in any canon pictures... And no one's ever touched her (that I know of, anyway) so she might as easily be incorporeal.
Either way... I favor a tiefling and aasimar pair- possibly siblings, or even fraternal twins, since if they have both bloodlines it is possible I believe. I'll have to dig out the stats I used for such a dynamic duo...
That's what I'm working on... A duo based loosely on Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. "Rose" the green-skinned, thorny tiefling is already up in A^2, and Stern, the Aasimar, is coming shortly. I expect to be writing them as foils for one another.
Either way... I favor a tiefling and aasimar pair- possibly siblings, or even fraternal twins, since if they have both bloodlines it is possible I believe. I'll have to dig out the stats I used for such a dynamic duo...
lol thats true, ya never really do see hands, but hey she could pet the Lim-Lim with her sleeves right? actually I agree, I think that the Tiefling *hugs the Tieflings!* and Aasimar is much better
Sweetness! ^^
Her serenity is all great but really she's more of sigil's mascot the tiefling and assmir dou on the other hand shows two characters that most P.C.'s
can relate to
Fraternal twins would be impossible, since they would have to be the result of a single mating.
Still, a regular brother/sister tiefling/aasimar would still be pretty interesting.
What, impossible? In Planescape?
I think fraternal twin half-siblings are even possible in the real world if the two impregnations happen in quick succession (how would that be different from two impregnations by a single father in quick succession? I'm talking about the same night). In Planescape it's certainly possible; what if the father was a creature that shifted from half-fiend to half-celestial every few seconds? What if the father was half-fiend and half-celestial (or one-quarter of each), and passed half of his traits to each of his offspring? What if they were originally aasimar twins, and one got cursed in the womb? What if, as in the legend of Taliesin, they were originally a fiend and a celestial transformed into grains of wheat who the mother swallowed so they transformed into half-human fetuses in her womb?
Sorry, I guess I should have said 'impossible without magic'.
It would be unlikely that a tiefling and aasimar would sleep with the same woman in the same night, but it's possible, so you got me there. Maybe one or both of the men were under a charm spell or something similar? Or maybe they were Sensates trying record a new experience. Wow, this thread has suddenly gotten very kinky... 
The chance that tiefmar would pass his infernal genes to one child and his celestial genes to another is infinitismal, unless magic is involved, of course.
I like the cursed in the womb idea, though. Maybe there was a curse on the firstborn child, so it only affected one of the babies. Or maybe it was the result of wild magic. Maybe the mother annoyed a power somehow. This would even allow them to be identical twins if you wanted.
Unless it happened somewhere that strictly enforces balance... which would be an exceptionaly interesting possibility.
A rilmani for a evil fairy godmother?
I don't actually recall what my source was for the teifling/aasimar fraternal twins... I think I was going by the idea that you just need the blood to manifest a particular way if there are celestial and fiendish ancestors back in the bloodline somewhere.
Or maybe sometimes the essences reject each other and rather than getting a teifimar from a teifling/aasimar paring you get twins with distinctly different bents. I wasn't treating the idea as something genetic at all...
Um. There's another species *just* as iconic I just realized that had never made the list....
Bariaurs. In fact I've actually had a bariaur make an in character announcement for the site before (dunno if anyone read it - it was a while back).