Whizbang Dustyboots
Gnometown Hero
I've always considered the optional planes in the Manual of the Planes to be a whole heck of a lot more interesting than the rest of the cosmology, due to relative novelty, if nothing else.
But now, after finishing "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell," I have a desire to run a caster-heavy game in a setting where the Great Wheel is not the (apparent) default cosmology. Instead, I'd rather use the Plane of Mirrors and Faerie, with the notion of Heaven and Hell (although in each case, it's mostly the public unknowingly referring to the Upper and Lower Planes collectively) being less well-understood.
So, I have two major changes to make to the D&D setting, and was wondering if anyone sees any problems or complications with them that I do not:
1) Planar travel only works to planes the caster knows of via a Knowlege: Planes check. In different regions, different planes are better known than on others. So on the starting continent, Faerie, the Plane of Mirrors and (sort of) Heaven and Hell are known. A few depraved mages also know of the Far Realm, either thanks to debased texts or due to running into illithid or aboleth who share knowledge with captives who get away. No one travels to the Elemental Plane of Fire, and if they do, they keep it a secret, since having "sole" access to a whole plane is a big advantage against other spellcasters. In other parts of the world, say an Arabian Nights-flavored region, the Elemental Planes might be well-known, but that's it. The other planes (including the Great Wheel) exist, but this world is a relative backwater and the natives are not interested in sharing information with one another. In addition, since knowledge of the planes is so sketchy, it's also possible that other cosmologies also are true, at least for some parts of the world. It's possible to sail into the World Ocean transitive plane in some seas, for instance. No planar spells other than Mirror Walk are available through the usual sources -- no one's giving anyone else an edge here -- but if the players insist, they can go and research Etherealness, Shadow Walk, Contact Other Plane, etc. Summoning spells work normally.
2) A number of races and monsters originally came to this world from other planes, although they've been here so long, they've lost Outsider status. Most aberrations are from the Far Realm or were caused by its overlap onto this plane, but more importantly, elves, gnomes, dwarves, goblinoids and most magical beasts are exiles from Faerie. In some cases, they came voluntarily -- the dwarves (except for two kingdoms of them) threw up their hands at the other residents of Faerie and decided to carve out their kingdoms in the Prime Material. The elves, on the other hand, are the losers in complicated battles among constantly shifting alliances, and were exiled against their will. The battle between the various elvish factions here is a carryover from Faerie, and the reasons are far more complicated (and sometimes even seemingly nonsensical) than the traditional surface elf/dark elf split. All elves retain a much stronger chaotic flavor and a distance from the world, and by tradition will not use cold iron weapons except against one another. The goblinoids and gnomes, for the most part, simply wandered over because this world was interesting to them. They have relatives on the far side, and those in Faerie and without view the others simply as relatives who've chosen to live far away, not as anything particularly different. (I want to use the Court of Stars from the Book of Exalted Deeds, but am not entirely sure how to shoe-horn them in, unless I dump them back in Faerie, but I'd rather the rulers of Faerie be a good deal less cuddly. Maybe one group left Faerie -- the Court that ruled the non-dark elves who stayed in the Prime Material Plane -- but kept on going until they reached "Heaven.")
Any thoughts on whether these changes look workable? How about worthwhile? I'd rather have a setting where the machinations of Faerie are a more immediate threat than, say, Pandemonium, and where mages keep few mirrors in their homes, and those they have are shuttered and locked (usually magically) and where arcane knowledge is more valuable than gold.
But now, after finishing "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell," I have a desire to run a caster-heavy game in a setting where the Great Wheel is not the (apparent) default cosmology. Instead, I'd rather use the Plane of Mirrors and Faerie, with the notion of Heaven and Hell (although in each case, it's mostly the public unknowingly referring to the Upper and Lower Planes collectively) being less well-understood.
So, I have two major changes to make to the D&D setting, and was wondering if anyone sees any problems or complications with them that I do not:
1) Planar travel only works to planes the caster knows of via a Knowlege: Planes check. In different regions, different planes are better known than on others. So on the starting continent, Faerie, the Plane of Mirrors and (sort of) Heaven and Hell are known. A few depraved mages also know of the Far Realm, either thanks to debased texts or due to running into illithid or aboleth who share knowledge with captives who get away. No one travels to the Elemental Plane of Fire, and if they do, they keep it a secret, since having "sole" access to a whole plane is a big advantage against other spellcasters. In other parts of the world, say an Arabian Nights-flavored region, the Elemental Planes might be well-known, but that's it. The other planes (including the Great Wheel) exist, but this world is a relative backwater and the natives are not interested in sharing information with one another. In addition, since knowledge of the planes is so sketchy, it's also possible that other cosmologies also are true, at least for some parts of the world. It's possible to sail into the World Ocean transitive plane in some seas, for instance. No planar spells other than Mirror Walk are available through the usual sources -- no one's giving anyone else an edge here -- but if the players insist, they can go and research Etherealness, Shadow Walk, Contact Other Plane, etc. Summoning spells work normally.
2) A number of races and monsters originally came to this world from other planes, although they've been here so long, they've lost Outsider status. Most aberrations are from the Far Realm or were caused by its overlap onto this plane, but more importantly, elves, gnomes, dwarves, goblinoids and most magical beasts are exiles from Faerie. In some cases, they came voluntarily -- the dwarves (except for two kingdoms of them) threw up their hands at the other residents of Faerie and decided to carve out their kingdoms in the Prime Material. The elves, on the other hand, are the losers in complicated battles among constantly shifting alliances, and were exiled against their will. The battle between the various elvish factions here is a carryover from Faerie, and the reasons are far more complicated (and sometimes even seemingly nonsensical) than the traditional surface elf/dark elf split. All elves retain a much stronger chaotic flavor and a distance from the world, and by tradition will not use cold iron weapons except against one another. The goblinoids and gnomes, for the most part, simply wandered over because this world was interesting to them. They have relatives on the far side, and those in Faerie and without view the others simply as relatives who've chosen to live far away, not as anything particularly different. (I want to use the Court of Stars from the Book of Exalted Deeds, but am not entirely sure how to shoe-horn them in, unless I dump them back in Faerie, but I'd rather the rulers of Faerie be a good deal less cuddly. Maybe one group left Faerie -- the Court that ruled the non-dark elves who stayed in the Prime Material Plane -- but kept on going until they reached "Heaven.")
Any thoughts on whether these changes look workable? How about worthwhile? I'd rather have a setting where the machinations of Faerie are a more immediate threat than, say, Pandemonium, and where mages keep few mirrors in their homes, and those they have are shuttered and locked (usually magically) and where arcane knowledge is more valuable than gold.
