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Message: <blockquote data-quote="RangerWickett" data-source="post: 2956484" data-attributes="member: 63">In my homebrew campaign, the planes are arranged like planets in a solar system. In order from center to outer orbit, the planes are:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The sun.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The plane of fire.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The plane of air.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The plane of life, orbitted by a large moon that is the plane of dreams.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The plane of water.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The plane of earth.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The plane of space, orbitted by a ring that is the plane of time.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The plane of death, orbitted by a sister planet that is the plane of ruins.</li> </ul>I'm going to discuss one plane a day, exploring how it fits into this cosmology, and telling some stories of how the plane featured in my games. Trema, the plane of lifeI’ll start with the main world of the setting, which was of course always intended to fit into this complicated planar system, so there’s absolutely no contradiction. Y’know, the way that many songs start out as singles before they become part of great rock albums.Trema is a world not dissimilar from earth at first glance, but in truth it is composed of layers upon layers of interwoven elements of the other planes in the system, which act as a frame that supports hundreds of cultures and countless billions of lifeforms. Because, as you know, in fantasy settings, biology makes no f***ing sense.Over its history, civilizations have fallen, races have been wiped from the face of the world, but in its own way, everything survives. Each creature tells a tale as it is born, lives, and eventually perishes. The energy that mortals know as magic takes many forms, because there are many different sources for this energy, drawn from life, from death, from the other planes, from history and hopes and dreams. Whatever sort of story appeals to you, that will be your magic. Those awed by storms may discover they have the power to control winds and lightning, those with faith and devotion may be blessed by a loving god, and those who dwell in their own insecurities may plead to a wicked stepmother of a goddess. Sometimes a person will love stories of heroism, but he will not believe himself able to control magic, yet he still accomplishes remarkable deeds.Sometimes magic is subtle.Geographically, Trema has three main continents – Connerlot, Jahangerris, and Lanjyr. Connerlot was the original home of the jenelesti, the elves we all know and loathe today. Lanjyr was the home of humanity and related races, but they decided Connerlot was more awesome, so they invaded and nearly wiped out the elves. Jahangerris is a wild continent, and nobody lives there yet because they haven’t discovered that chocolate grows there. Not cocoa, chocolate. This is my world, so it comes in fruit form.Over the ages the people of the world have shaped its surface and its essence. They have killed icons of arcane power, casting one sea and one desert into a morass of antimagic. They have made foolish wishes, like for all the gold in the world (currency tends to devalue when anyone can just hike to a giant mountain of gold and chip some off). They have carved empires with pure will and pride, nearly tearing the world asunder. It is a world shaped by an unfair portion of tragedy, and often an unwanted quantity of comedy. It is Life, and things are never boring there. Most of the most dramatic places in this world are closely tied to one or more of the other planes, so I’ll mention them when they come up. Tune in tomorrow for the Plane of Dreams.</blockquote>

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