Zee Planes Boss!

[sirwmholder]

Does anyone know if WotC has scraped the Ethereal Plane. I can't seem to find any mention of it. The Astral Plane is now a Sea... adrift with all kinds of Deity House Boats even the Feywild is hitched in there somewhere. The Elemental Planes are now part of the Primal Chaos that makes up Limbo and the rest of the Universe... still no word on the Ethereal Plane. Before it was a hauntingly, ghostly world transposed on top of the Prime Material... is that still the case?

Thanks for the time,
William Holder

 

[bording]

Yeah, based on what is talked about in the Worlds and Monsters preview book, the ethereal plane is gone.

Instead you have two planes that are imperfect copies of the world (Shadowfell and Feywild), a plane "above" (Astral Sea) and a plane "below" (Elemental Chaos).

You also have a plane that is Outside (Far Realm)

And that is the entire 4E core cosmology.

 

[davidthegnome]

I believe the shadowfell will be the new haunting, spooky place that you described.

 

[sirwmholder]

Well I can dig that I guess... Astral Projection is a little trickier... just as long as it's easier to explain to new players than the difference between Invisible, ethereal, and all points in-between.

William Holder

 

[bording]

I don't think there will be an ethereal type any more since there is no more ethereal plane. The new miniatures rules have a condition called Insubstantial, and you do half damage to insubstantial creatures.

I expect we'll see something similar in the full 4E rules, and it will replace incorporeal and ethereal.

 

[Dragonblade]

Ethereal probably no longer exists, especially since it basically did what incorporeal did. Why have both statuses and a whole extra plane to go with it?

The whole concept of demi-planes is now folded into the Astral plane and are called "domains". Incorporeal is simply incorporeal and no longer tied to a plane. Works for me.

 

[Dragonblade]

I don't think there will be an ethereal type any more since there is no more ethereal plane. The new miniatures rules have a condition called Insubstantial, and you do half damage to insubstantial creatures.

I expect we'll see something similar in the full 4E rules, and it will replace incorporeal and ethereal.

You beat me to it!

 

[Ace]

Yeah, based on what is talked about in the Worlds and Monsters preview book, the ethereal plane is gone.

Instead you have two planes that are imperfect copies of the world (Shadowfell and Feywild), a plane "above" (Astral Sea) and a plane "below" (Elemental Chaos).

You also have a plane that is Outside (Far Realm)

And that is the entire 4E core cosmology.

I like!

 

[rkanodia]

I have to say, I was initially worried, but the more I hear about the 4E cosmology, the more I like it. I was a huge fan of Planescape 2E, and so removing the Great Wheel and the Inner Planes was looking like a big problem. But really, when I think about it, it was the Factions and their combined 'philosophical/actual war'* that I really liked, and the sort of 'otherworldly cosmopolitan' atmosphere. Other posters have called the old cosmology an 'Epcot center', and I have to agree with them.

*Probably why I hated the Faction War - way to completely destroy a setting

 

[StarFyre]

...

what i like of planescape are the different unique planes....pandemonium, mechanus, etc.

however, these can be done without any changes really, within 4e. The same way many of us did changes to the cosmology in PS to fit our own styles, the same can be done in 4E. You want an ethereal plane back? add it...not a problem. A few house rules for creatures that you want to belong to that plane instead of another, etc.

For me, the feywild wild be an intersection of several 'wild/nature' planes such as arborea, etc.

Shadowfell is shadow, negative energy and i have a special place for ravenloft *grin*

should b easy enuff.

Sanjay