Right now the 2 books I'm reading are Beyond Countless Doors and Tome of Battle, does anyone have any ideas or suggestions for using content from both of those books?
I'm finding the idea of some sort of history of 9 (a possibly numerically significant factor) fighting schools intriguing. What does this mean through out the planes, at least philosophically? I certainly see many of the adepts of the sublime way being the more philosphical types, than the standard warrior types, even though this book certainly appeals to my love of kung-fu movies...
With Beyond Countless Doors, it's a lot of interesting flavour so far. I find the idea of the hopelessly bleak plane of Curnorost "Where Angels Go To Die" (it's also a title of awesome song from Flesh Field, was that chapter written by Colin McComb I wonder) to be a most intriguing idea. Would it be something to throw in with the set-up in Planescape, as some sort of realm in the upper planes. Would all angels go there if they died, or only the ones that failed miserably? I know many of the planes there are dying or troubled worlds, but would doing something have consequences for the rest of the planes, let alone the paths characters travel?
I love Beyond Countess Doorways. My group had alredy been to the Storm Realm, and one of the party is a Trog from the Lizard Kingdoms. I really like the take on planar cosmology and conjunctions. Basicly I see each and every Power's realm as a demi-plane that stays in conjunction with the outer plane "on which it is found". I've one character, a Bleaker who argues the "map" of the outer planes is simply a mental construct of how certain pemanent gates are arranged, based mostly on the outlands, and that the "Great Ring" was invented by the Guvners. "Stop trying to see a Truth with a big T in the planes, berk. The planes just ARE."
As far as BCD itself is concerned, I like each and every plane presented (tho some more than others) but i'll agree that there are quite a few dying worlds (Curnorost, Avidarel, Carrigmoor, Mountains of the Five Winds, Palpatur, Dendri (sort of), and Sleeping God's Soul (sort of)) Planehopping and solving problems (or creating them ;P) are what adventures are all about. Like I said before, I LIKE the cosmology of BCD, and if you want to go to Curnorost, then go. Call it a demiplane somehow connected to the upper planes but not really part of them. There are other examples (not canon, but neither is BCD) of demiplanes and realms that are outside the traditional cosmology. Use whaterver strikes your fancy.
("Stop thinking of planes and realms as BEING someplace. They ARE places.")