Planescape Planescape Pre-order Page Shows Off The Books!

You can now pre-order Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse from D&D Beyond. The set comes out on October 17th.

Scroll down through the comments to see more various peeks at the books!

Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse

An adventure setting spanning the infinite realities of the world’s greatest roleplaying game

www.dndbeyond.com

• Discover 2 new backgrounds, the Gate Warden & the Planar Philosopher, to build planar characters in the D&D Beyond character builder
• Channel 7 otherworldly feats, new intriguing magic spells & more powered by planar energies
• Explore 12 new ascendant factions, each with distinct cosmic ideologies
• Face over 50 unusual creatures including planar incarnates, hierarch modrons, and time dragons in the Encounter Builder
• Journey across the Outlands in an adventure for characters levels 3-10 and 17
• Adds adventure hooks, encounter tables, maps of Sigil and the Outlands & more to your game

This 3 books set comprises:

• Sigil and the Outlands: a setting book full of planar character options with details on the fantastic City of Doors, descriptions of the Outlands, the gate-towns that lead to the Outer planes, and more
• Turn of the Fortunes Wheel: an adventure set in Sigil and the Outlands designed for character levels 3-10 with a jump to level 17
• Morte’s Planar Parade: Follow Morte as he presents over 50 inhabitants of the Outer Plane, including incarnates, hierarch modrons, time dragons, and more with their stats and descriptions

 

[Uni-the-Unicorn!]

I don't agree they're similar. To me, the Elemental Chaos was a lazy way to include all the Elemental Plane stuff without having to actually include the old lore.

Is there a way to give your thoughts without being derogatory?

 

[Micah Sweet]

It's not an either/or scenario. Some things can be done because it was Ed's way, and some things can be done because they were later choices to improve the setting. They can, and to a surprising degree do, co-exist.

That's true. I like that they added the Feywild and (to a lesser degree) the Shadowfell to the Great Wheel for 5e, but jettisoned the rest of the World Axis.

 

[Uni-the-Unicorn!]

That's true. I like that they added the Feywild and (to a lesser degree) the Shadowfell to the Great Wheel for 5e, but jettisoned the rest of the World Axis.

They retained the elemental chaos too (along with the elemental planes)

 

[Micah Sweet]

It's not for you, as you've made clear for a long time, but making gaming books that are useful for actual gaming is a very big deal for many folks and is, in fact, why all of this stuff was created to begin with. It was at least a decade, maybe two, after RPGs were first created that anyone said "you know, I know this is a supplement/setting/adventure module, but making it an entertaining read is what we should really be worrying about, rather than whether it's actually useful at the table."

Table value doesn't need to matter to you, but pretending that table value is "not the point" of gaming books is ridiculous. There is a whole world of books that aren't meant to have table value -- they're called "every other book on Earth." You don't have to turn gaming books into them as well.

You're polarizing again. I said table value isn't my highest worldbuilding priority, not that it shouldn't exist at all.

No argument is ever going to move forward if people keep framing every issue as a binary.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Is there a way to give your thoughts without being derogatory?

Ok. I feel that the Elemental Planes worked better when they could be discussed and detailed separately, and combining them all together lessened their value to a significant degree, and that more effort would have resulted in a better end product.

 

[overgeeked]

Table value doesn't need to matter to you, but pretending that table value is "not the point" of gaming books is ridiculous. There is a whole world of books that aren't meant to have table value -- they're called "every other book on Earth." You don't have to turn gaming books into them as well.

If you play universal, generic, or FKR games, you can easily turn “every other book on Earth” into a gaming book with a shedload of value at the table.

 

[Micah Sweet]

They retained the elemental chaos too (along with the elemental planes)

They did, but I see absolutely no value in what they did there, since I didn't like the World Axis for D&D, and therefore I ignored that part.

 

[Quickleaf]

They retained the elemental chaos too (along with the elemental planes)

I ran a little Limbo back when I GMed AD&D Planescape. I was a teen so there was no grand design or intent behind this, I just did it… Limbo had everything about to change, so every situation or environment was like a swaying boulder on the top of a peak or a kettle 1 degree from boiling. This also applied to NPCs who either were on cusp of emotional changes or belief changes or changes in state (eg getting the helmed horror made of deadman’s armor to realize it’s no longer alive & to move onto afterlife).

For some reason I had lots of floating mirrors and Escher-esque staircases in Limbo. Maybe there was some Tony Diterlizzi art I was inspired by? Kinda like Elemental Chaos, but more instances of built/constructed environments.

The big thing I had was “private heavens/hells” for githzerai, which formed a sort of dreamscape bubble around the deceased (their bodies were shot out in crystal coffins kinda like naval burials at sea). Within the deceased’s body was surrounded by subconsciously conjured illusions of people from their life. BUT the shapeshifting green slaad infiltrated these “githzerai afterlives” as impostors, trying to get the githzerai soul to abandon its values/hope and embrace chaos/nihilism, which then allowed the green slaad to devour their soul.

The other thing I used was Limbo warping planewalkers during their stay if they interacted with certain things/sites (weird powers) & also warping equipment (which might be chaos imps possessing a sword OR armor being rapidly decomposed to constituent minerals).

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

If you play universal, generic, or FKR games, you can easily turn “every other book on Earth” into a gaming book with a shedload of value at the table.

That would be a weird approach for D&D or World of Darkness books (who really perfected the "eh, we'll just sell books to people reading, not playing" system), but fair enough, I guess.

 

[Incenjucar]

The thing with Limbo is that it's not strictly elemental chaos, but full on chaos, so you can have it raining eyeballs onto a sea of pudding.