Well, that aside, what non-canon elements ARE you willing to incorporate? Obviously, you can't be in this to publish, since many elements that are central to Planescape and the Great Wheel are implicitly WotC's IP.
I’m willing to consider any quality ideas.
If you are going to be into this for a big story arc, the biggest question I would have is "what is this about?" The plot behind Dead Gods is pretty monumental, and even if you tack it onto the end of Great Modron March, it wasn't a 1-20 adventure campaign.
Well, remember, levels were different back then; characters advance WAY more quickly now.
I bet, if converted to 3E, it probably WOULD run 1-20.
But, I’m still in the brainstorming phase, so, in short, I’m really not sure.
Still, given the variety of factions and other "elements in play" in the planes, it seems sensible to me that the underlying theme of the game would not be the undercurrent of one single plot, but the synchronicity of several major events going on at once and interleaving into each other. That alone could inject some of the plot variety I feel is missing from existing APs.
Yeah, I kinda like this idea.
I was leafing through “Tales of the Outer Planes” this morning (an OLD supplement that first introduced the idea of the World Serpent Inn), and I was impressed at some of the modules within. In particular, the “A Simple Deed, Well Rewarded” impressed me…. (Essentially the party got indebted to Hecate, who asked them to perform a simple task; only in order to accomplish they had to go through numerous “subquests” in other planes.)
If you are going to make a planar AP, it seems logical to take advantage of the situation to make a sort of "tour through the planes" as part of the setting. But then, this was what GMM was about, and I feel that it fails in certain ways, and even if it didn't, you'd want to try something different.
Great Modron March? I
loved the idea, but felt the execution was somewhat subpar for the line.
Some free advice: don't try to do too much too fast. The Planes can be a very inhospitable place. Start out on the prime. Give the PCs a few levels dealing with a cult that's trying to raise Lucifer. Use devils as major villains from 1-6 or 7. Then make the jump to the planes.
This sounds reasonable, actually.
I want a part of the adventure to deal wiht preparations for plane-traveling; going to the Plane of Fire is VASTLY different from going to the Astral Plane.
Let them get the feel for what they're up against. But, when it's time for the change, let them lose. Have them fail to stop the cult leader/mid-level devil from obtaining the McGuffin (maybe have them accidentally hand it over to him).
I really like that last idea actually.
It really fits into the my idea of Devils being “tricksters”/”tormentors”/”seducers”.
