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A Japanese poster over on RPG.net has received the 4e version of the Manual of the Planes. You can read about it here.
__________________ Veronica: Where's your brother?
Dick: I think he took Ghost World up to his room. They're probably up there making love. Or playing Dungeons and Dragons. Or both, at the same time. They're both, like, 12th-level dorks. I'm just sayin'
I think that its interesting that the bladeling gets the NPC write up that can be used as a PC. I'm just happy that the chasme and shadow demons are appearing in this book.
__________________ Veronica: Where's your brother?
Dick: I think he took Ghost World up to his room. They're probably up there making love. Or playing Dungeons and Dragons. Or both, at the same time. They're both, like, 12th-level dorks. I'm just sayin'
no factions, nothing reminiscent of planescape at all except for Sigil (this on a quick once over)
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It is a DM book, but does include how to use one of the races as a PC race (Bladelings)
Monsters:
Archon Air
Astral Dreadnought
Bladeling
Baphomet
Howling Blade
Demons (Canoloth, Chasme, Shadow, Solamith)
Devils (Barbed, Brazen, Pain, Storm)
Dispater and Aspect
Gtaz'zt and Aspect
Keeper
Korred
Raavasta
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Bladeling
War god's creation gone rogue
+2 Dex +2 Wis
Skill + 2 Initimidate
Normal vision
Acid Resistance
Razor Storm encounter power that causes spikes and blades to lead from your body and do a a close burst damage to all targets
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Paragon Paths:
Blade of Cendriane
Doomguard Marauder
Gatecrasher
Knight of Celestia
Malec-Keth Janissaryyy
Planeshifter
Shadow Captain
Soul Guide
Sigil: 5 pages and I didn't say anything about factions
No epic destinies
Tidbit: I saw a small section on Spelljammers!
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Feywild and Shadowfell get very detailed sections. more later.
Far Realm and Plane of Dreams both get 1 page each.
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No stats on Lady of Pain and no pirate talk.
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I don't actually know all the factions of original Planescape. Doomguard however does seem to be directly connected. Gatecrasher is a mystic rouge who deals in interplanar "trade". Is that Planescape-y?
4E has rituals, use them, they're magic; Want to see the greatest thing you will ever see? then click; You can use “Earth” as a D&D setting; Origins of The Rouse; (look for it) The Rouse responds; (look for it) One can appreciate both old and new D&D.
Nothing very different from what I expected so far. It's looking very much like a second coming of the 3e Planar Handbook from what brief stuff has been said over there about it so far (and that's an endorsement of mediocrity if the sneak peak material holds steady). But I'll refrain from eviscerating the book till I've had a chance to read a physical copy at the local book store, at which point I might offer some praise if it turns out to have some decent material that hasn't been mentioned on rpg.net.
That said, I'm curious to see what they did with the Keeper as a monster, since I wrote their ecology for Dragon.
__________________ "I can just see the 4e adventure anthology "Tale from the Limited Staircase"." - Ken Marable
no factions, nothing reminiscent of planescape at all except for Sigil (this on a quick once over)
Did people really expect this? The book is only 160 pages, scarcely enough to cover the huge changes to the planes, and people expected there to be Planescape material? Planescape, which at last print, was completely trashed by Faction War and now needs to be largely rewritten? Yes, let's include the factions, only most of them no longer exist or are different entities as of Faction War. Let's finally present the New Coke Planescape that was proposed 10 years ago and see if people actually take to it. Let's do it in 5 paragraphs.
Granted, it would be nice to completely ignore Faction War, as I prefer to do. What a horrible way to end the Planescape product line that was.
Did people really expect this? The book is only 160 pages, scarcely enough to cover the huge changes to the planes, and people expected there to be Planescape material?
If they want to use any of the prior material that originated or was most heavily developed in the Planescape line, they're going to be compared to that original material. It's large shoes to fill. They might have been better off doing their own thing entirely and developing the 4e PoL cosmology from scratch.
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Granted, it would be nice to completely ignore Faction War, as I prefer to do. What a horrible way to end the Planescape product line that was.
... I loved Faction War...
__________________ "I can just see the 4e adventure anthology "Tale from the Limited Staircase"." - Ken Marable
Second the love for Faction War! I don't think I knew at the time when I bought that it would be the last PS accessory ever.
If ever a gaming product demanded a sequel, Faction War was that product. Perhaps one day Monte Cook will hear my nightly secret prayers and sketch out in great detail the future of Sigil as he foresaw it then.
I'm just happy that the chasme and shadow demons are appearing in this book.
Fun fact; at D&D Experience, we saw the Shadow Demon in some book somewhere. The Shadow Demon is in the pre-4e "Monsters and More" PDF. I wonder how close to the pre-4e one it is.
(Incidentally, the Goblin Picador is in there too. It didn't make the MM cut.)
Fun fact; at D&D Experience, we saw the Shadow Demon in some book somewhere. The Shadow Demon is in the pre-4e "Monsters and More" PDF. I wonder how close to the pre-4e one it is.
(Incidentally, the Goblin Picador is in there too. It didn't make the MM cut.)
I didn't go to DDXP, but I remember those floating around. I think they were taken from the 4e stats on the DDM cards.
__________________ Veronica: Where's your brother?
Dick: I think he took Ghost World up to his room. They're probably up there making love. Or playing Dungeons and Dragons. Or both, at the same time. They're both, like, 12th-level dorks. I'm just sayin'
I didn't go to DDXP, but I remember those floating around. I think they were taken from the 4e stats on the DDM cards.
That would do it.
I really liked the Shadow Demon's design, too. It inflicted an ongoing 5 necrotic, but if you were within 5 squares of the demon, a shadow creature, or another person taking ongoing damage, you received a -5 penalty on the saving throw. When the demon was bloodied, it immediately teleported next to someone who was taking ongoing 5 and did damage, and it also could teleport next to someone who just dropped to 0.
Edit: Here's the pdf. Wow, it's interesting looking back and comparing them to the finished product in the MM.
(1) Our very own Plane Sailing was the person who wrote the very first Shadow Demon, back in the 1e Fiend Folio.
(2) According to Monte, Faction War was an interim product that had a follow-up which set the factions back to their old status (more or less.) The line got cancelled before it could be published, and Sigil was left in relative disarray.
In any case, I'm looking forward to this book. I understand JonRog1 wrote part of it as well.
__________________ - Piratecat, EN World Admin
Currently editing the 4e War of the Burning Sky adventure path. Support EN Publishing, get excellent modules!
I think I would prefer if books like this were done in the same manner as the PHB's in a sense. That is to say, have the first Manual of the Planes focus on the Shadowfell, Feywild and Far Realms each in ample detail, with stats for the major players in each, info on locations and of course monsters, paragons and epic destinies. Then have the next Manual of the Planes be more like the Plane of Dreams, The Nine Hells and The Abyss, and again go into all the details, etc etc.
Idk, I much rather them throwing us big, juicy portions than samples of everything. I mean its not like if they released a Manual of the Planes entirely on the Shadowfell, Feywild and Far Realms that they couldn't release yet more supplements regarding those realms, like something aberrations focused or fey focused, or expand it in the future Planescape or Spelljammer settings.
(1) Our very own Plane Sailing was the person who wrote the very first Shadow Demon, back in the 1e Fiend Folio.
Yeah, well maybe, but who cares if he didn't also illustrate it! =P
But know I now who to ask why it is weaker AC in light (day/torch), but oddly immune to lightning of all kinds.....I would think it should get some kind of temporary AC adjustment as if under torch light (maybe AC6 instead of 5 since lightning is quicker) for a round or something from being in the presence of such intense/focus light.
Just how did someone in Japan get the book anyway, and can it be trusted?
Just how did someone in Japan get the book anyway, and can it be trusted?
The Japanese branch of Amazon often ships before the American street date. I remember SpringsBoundlessThorns' having posted about other books before release.
__________________ Christopher Adams - Sydney, Australia
Religion must remain an outlet for people who say to themselves, "I am not the kind of person I want to be." It must never sink into an assemblage of the self-satisfied.
4E has rituals, use them, they're magic;
Want to see the greatest thing you will ever see? then 
You can use “Earth” as a D&D 
The Rouse 
One can appreciate both old and new D&D.
Linear Mode
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