Aldarc
Legend
Discussion in the "Are evil gods necessary" thread got me thinking about the alignment setup of the Great Wheel and how extraplanar entities factor into that setup: good/evil, law/chaos, and everything in-between. (And it's a lovely Wheel for what it does and represents.) But I was curious about alternatives. I am aware of the World Axis (4e), the World Tree (Forgotten Realms), the Orrery (Eberron), and so on. But I also began thinking about Magic the Gathering and its Color Pie. My thoughts of late have drifted on how the Color Pie could be used to create a planar model that is distinct from the alignment-based setup of the Great Wheel.
Disclaimer: At the outset, I know that there will be the invariable person saying "Why bother? It's more trouble than it's worth" or ever positive contribution of "The Great Wheel is already perfect in every inconceivable way possible" or even "That's not how planes in MtG works." None of these comments really address the point of this thread. This is brainstorming. This is play. This thread is about taking the concepts of the MtG Color Pie and apply them to creating a new planar setup.
It seems like there could be at least four different viable models using the MtG Color Pie as a basis.
Basic Model: Five Colors (Five Planes)
This minimalist model just uses the basic five colors as the planes: e.g., Blue, Black, Red, Green, White.
Transitional Ring Model: Base Five Colors plus Transitional Colors (10 Planes)
This slightly more advanced model takes the five colors as is, but also includes the outer transitional blends: e.g., White/Blue, Blue/Black, Black/Red, Red/Green, and Green/White.
"Theros" Model: Base Five Colors plus Two-Color Blends (15 Planes)
The "Theros" model takes the above, but also includes the five blend combinations from opposing colors: e.g., White/Red, Red/Blue, Blue/Green, Green/Black, and Black/White.
"Ravnica" Model: No Base Colors, Only Two-Color Blends (10 Planes)
The Ravnica Model removes the base colors and only utilizes the two-blended colors.
So if we operated with these four different models, where would the various planar entities of D&D fit (or not) in their respective setups? I'm not expecting everything to fit, because some things were developed in the Great Wheel to "fill in the blanks" with planar alignments. But I'm curious which of these models people would prefer and how they would rearrange the furniture, so to speak, with the planar entities we have in D&D.
Disclaimer: At the outset, I know that there will be the invariable person saying "Why bother? It's more trouble than it's worth" or ever positive contribution of "The Great Wheel is already perfect in every inconceivable way possible" or even "That's not how planes in MtG works." None of these comments really address the point of this thread. This is brainstorming. This is play. This thread is about taking the concepts of the MtG Color Pie and apply them to creating a new planar setup.
It seems like there could be at least four different viable models using the MtG Color Pie as a basis.
Basic Model: Five Colors (Five Planes)
This minimalist model just uses the basic five colors as the planes: e.g., Blue, Black, Red, Green, White.
Transitional Ring Model: Base Five Colors plus Transitional Colors (10 Planes)
This slightly more advanced model takes the five colors as is, but also includes the outer transitional blends: e.g., White/Blue, Blue/Black, Black/Red, Red/Green, and Green/White.
"Theros" Model: Base Five Colors plus Two-Color Blends (15 Planes)
The "Theros" model takes the above, but also includes the five blend combinations from opposing colors: e.g., White/Red, Red/Blue, Blue/Green, Green/Black, and Black/White.
"Ravnica" Model: No Base Colors, Only Two-Color Blends (10 Planes)
The Ravnica Model removes the base colors and only utilizes the two-blended colors.
So if we operated with these four different models, where would the various planar entities of D&D fit (or not) in their respective setups? I'm not expecting everything to fit, because some things were developed in the Great Wheel to "fill in the blanks" with planar alignments. But I'm curious which of these models people would prefer and how they would rearrange the furniture, so to speak, with the planar entities we have in D&D.