Pathfinder 1E Paizo - Scourge of Old Worlds?

[Staffan]

I don't see how anything was "shoe horned" into the Great Wheel. Each god has a domain and an alignment; their domain was found on the plane that most suited their alignment. I wouldn't say FR's cosmology was any more "shoe horned" in than that of Greek, Egyptian or Norse mythology (in other words, you don't need to "shoe horn" in anything that fits just fine into an infinite cosmology designed specifically to fit everything into).

The Realms might not have had the same problem real-world pantheons did, because the Realms gods are a mish-mash anyway. However, real-world pantheons do present a problem with the alignment-based Wheel cosmology. For example, the Aesir should all live in Asgard (with the exception of Hel, who of course lives in Hel), which has been identified as Ysgard or Gladsheim in the Wheel. Ysgard lies between Chaotic Good and Chaotic Neutral.

So, should Balder (NG), Forseti (LG), Frigg (LN), and Tyr (LG) live in Ysgard with the rest of the pantheon, or should they have domains on Elysium, Arcadia, Mechanus and Mount Celestia?

 

[BrooklynKnight]

Sean K Reynolds said to check these two threads on his forums for why the realms were changed.

http://p082.ezboard.com/
fseankreynoldsboardsfrm2.showMessage?topicID=809.topic

http://p082.ezboard.com/
fseankreynoldsboardsfrm2.showMessage?topicID=812.topic

 

[RangerWickett]

Can folks give me some ideas of Planescape campaigns and adventures they have run? First, that'll help me come up with ideas for my own plane travel games. And second, I'm curious what types of games WotC actually is screwing with, such that the changes have messed up your history.

 

[Bendris Noulg]

So, should Balder (NG), Forseti (LG), Frigg (LN), and Tyr (LG) live in Ysgard with the rest of the pantheon, or should they have domains on Elysium, Arcadia, Mechanus and Mount Celestia?

In Ysgard. It was clear that Asgard was placed in Ysgard due to the qualities of the Nordic people, not the gods themselves. Indeed, I've always considered the Nordic gods mis-aligned; The alignments that they have always received are more or less based on modern views of their portfolios. After all, regardless of their alignment, their originals would have them in support of Chaotic (generally Chaotic Good Human) cultures.

 

[Sernett]

Paizo is Not Revamping Planescape

Hi guys. I love this discussion. It's exactly the kind of debate that should occur around such core elements of the game. But I want to make it clear that Paizo is not revamping Planescape and has no plans to do so. The comments in my editorial are about the core cosmology (A.K.A. the Great Wheel), not about the Planescape setting. I love Planescape, and I own all the products produced for the line, but attempting to redo the setting in Dragon would be folly.

That said, my trouble with the Great Wheel cosmology (and by proxy, the Planescape cosmology) is that it doesn't provide DMs with solutions to the problems it creates, problems I alluded to in my editorial. What happens when you fly up in the Beastlands? Infinite air. A creative and experienced DM can solve some of these problems, but the game should equip players with ways to solve problems it creates, or it should eliminate the problems (the strategy I favor). Not every DM who thinks sending the PCs to the outer planes would be cool is a DM with tons of products and years of experience, and not every experienced DM wants to deal with finding solutions to the problems.

Also, please keep in mind that a magazine’s editorial is often an opinion piece meant to drive thought about a topic and debate (and letters to the editor, too). Just because the editorial appears in the official D&D magazine, it doesn’t mean that my opinions are the official stance of Wizards of the Coast (or even of all of Paizo). I’m sure there are plenty of folks at WOTC who would disagree with my assessment of the planes.

 

[Desdichado]

How did my halfling's flabby gut turn into a trim waist?

How did his feet suddenly become hairless? (in a poof of smoke?)

How did his pipe o' tabacco go missing?

Why can't said halfling take a portal from Sigil to FR/Mystara/Dragonlance/Darksun/Spelljammer/Ravenloft/Birthright anymore?

Why can't I shake hands with a priest of Zeus on the Outlands, or sip tea with a priestess of Bast in the Lady's Ward?

Why haven't I seen any spelljamming ships come to dock in Waterdeep these days?

Why have all the bullywugs taken the last portal from Oerth and gone to the Realms?

Why don't Mordenkainen and Elminster keep in touch anymore?

I don't know. Why don't you ask your DM?

A lot of the questions like this seem really silly to me; who cares what the "fluff" says if you still have the old stuff? To play in 3e, all you need are the 3e rules. The flavor text, the scope of adventures, the descriptions of characters, etc. is all extremely malleable and the easiest thing to change imaginable.

Quite honestly, to complain about any one of the things in the post above seems like a monumental waste of time.

 

[barsoomcore]

I heard that.

If you like Planescape the way it was, that's fine. Off you go, and play Planescape. I don't see how an editorial in Dragon magazine stops you. Or even a new version of your favourite setting that changes everything -- if you like the old setting, keep on keepin' on.

It's like the people complaining because of the sorcerers allowed in the Dark Sun revamp -- seriously, is that hard to say, "In my Dark Sun campaign, there are no sorcerers."?

Play your settings the way you think they should be played.

 

[Psion]

If you like Planescape the way it was, that's fine. Off you go, and play Planescape.

There is that.

However, some of us have it as a dream in our heart-of-hearts that we will see some manner of official support for WotC or their surrogate, Paizo. When and if they do that, it would be nice if they did it right.

 

[Desdichado]

Two threads in a row, barsoomcore, that I've looked at and found we've had back to back replies with essentially the same idea. You're really freakin' me out!

 

[barsoomcore]

It would be nice if they did it right

Keep in mind that what this REALLY means is "It would be nice if they did it the way I think is best." It sounds a lot less likely that way, doesn't it? I think a proper formulation (that is, the formulation I think is best) helps to set expectations properly.