Bits and Pieces of Worlds & Monsters

[Plane Sailing]

Is there any info of how the "default" world/cosmology was created? We know about the primordial war with the gods (how to differentiate them if they were born at the same time?).

Yes, they've got a lot of detail about how the world was created, how the gods decided to join in, how the primordials got huffy and tried to destroy it, and gangs of gods ganged up on primordials (also how when making the world the primordials dumped all bits that were too shiny on one side and all the bits that were too dark on the other side, and those became the Feywild and shadowfell).

I'm not particularly enamoured with their creation myth, and I think that when I run a campaign I'm going to dramatically change the cosmology to suit my preferences. I love having the feywild and the shadowfell right next door, but I'm going to use a different arrangement, probably turning domains into planes and going with either the Orerry (like Eberron) or the Winding Road approach, or one of the others that I like.

Cheers

 

[Warbringer]

Is this mentioned as something that has no real world analog, or does this mean they've gotten rid of Detect Evil?

p13.. You can't use magic to know know whether or not a ceature is evil or good: You must judge by its actions

 

[Voss]

Primeval illithid empire? So they aren't somehow self-creating time-travelers from the End of Time any more? I suppose thats good...

 

[Intrope]

Primeval illithid empire? So they aren't somehow self-creating time-travelers from the End of Time any more? I suppose thats good...

They may have wanted to tone down the sci-fi elements that had crept in; if so, then I suspect that 4e psionics will have less pseudo-science and more fantasy elements. (This would also be consistent with renaming Sonic -> Thunder, too).

I didn't mind the sci-fi aspects, but I can see how they could be jarring. And I would prefer more fantasy less magi-tech type things in general (For instance, I'd have prefered that Eberron's magical transport mode not be a 'magic train'--it'd have been better to be a more fantastic transport mode, less of a tech-substitute. Magic should do things differently, not do the same things with different flavor text!)

 

[Plane Sailing]

(For instance, I'd have prefered that Eberron's magical transport mode not be a 'magic train'--it'd have been better to be a more fantastic transport mode, less of a tech-substitute. Magic should do things differently, not do the same things with different flavor text!)

One Eberron write introduced a magical 'rumbler', an earth-elemental powered device like a big ball that people sit in and which can travel on the ground or through the earth

To me, that was way too 'fantastic' a conception.

I've never minded the 'magic train' because if you want a reliable way of transporting people and goods around, the 'train' concept happens to be a very straightforward one; that's one of the reasons why we invented them, effectively.

I don't like mag-tech washing machines or aeroplanes, and I wouldn't like magic production lines, or magi-tech cars (!!!) but some kinds of 'parallel evolution' seem to be fairly reasonable in the sense of "with this many mage-crafters about, what might seem a good way of handling things"

Cheers

 

[Tzarevitch]

Primeval illithid empire? So they aren't somehow self-creating time-travelers from the End of Time any more? I suppose thats good...

It looks like that is the case (I have the book too).

Tzarevitch

 

[Tzarevitch]

Among other things I notices in the book, it seems that ogre magi have are again referred to as "Oni" like the 1e monster manual (where they were sometimes referred to as "Oni" or "Japanese Ogres"). There is a picture of an ogre mage toward the back with the caption "oni". I guess this is to differentiate an ogre mage from an ogre who is a mage or differentiate them from ogres in general.

I like the return of the Formorians to their celtic roots. They are the most powerful of the fomor races of the Feywyde (not clarified in the book). They are also now are not giants, they are just giant-sized fey of undisclosed type. They each have an oversized "evil eye" that affords them great power and causes them pain and trouble. The gnomes may or may not have been their servants once (as of print time it doesn't seem like they decided), but they are served by evil fey and cyclopses.

The book also mentions to beware the fey. Sprites are not the cute, cuddly diminutive elves from previous editions. They are like flying pirhana if pissed off. They will literally flay the skin from your bones.

Tzarevitch

 

[Dragonblade]

My favorite bit was the statement that in 4e: "Being good is not a vulnerability to evil. It is a defense against it."

Very profound.

 

[Lab_Monkey]

I like the return of the Formorians to their celtic roots. They are the most powerful of the fomor races of the Feywyde (not clarified in the book). They are also now are not giants, they are just giant-sized fey of undisclosed type. They each have an oversized "evil eye" that affords them great power and causes them pain and trouble. The gnomes may or may not have been their servants once (as of print time it doesn't seem like they decided), but they are served by evil fey and cyclopses.

I love the flavor of the Oni, Formorian, and Sprites! It really sounds like they are carefully considering how monsters fit in the world. That's a great step forward from 3.5 IMO.

I am a little worried about how gnomes are going to fit (and I say this as one who isn't a big gnome fan). If they go with the Formorian slave idea it would be something of a Fey Wild parrallel to the enslavement of the dwarves by the Giants. That's ok, but I'd rather the gnomes' backstory be richer and more distinct than just Fey dwarves.

 

[Intrope]

One Eberron write introduced a magical 'rumbler', an earth-elemental powered device like a big ball that people sit in and which can travel on the ground or through the earth

To me, that was way too 'fantastic' a conception.

I've never minded the 'magic train' because if you want a reliable way of transporting people and goods around, the 'train' concept happens to be a very straightforward one; that's one of the reasons why we invented them, effectively.

I don't like mag-tech washing machines or aeroplanes, and I wouldn't like magic production lines, or magi-tech cars (!!!) but some kinds of 'parallel evolution' seem to be fairly reasonable in the sense of "with this many mage-crafters about, what might seem a good way of handling things"

Cheers

You've got a point about parellellism (most things take the forms they have because that's what solves the problems!). But, I'd have been happier if:

1. The 'magic train' had more naturally arisen from existing D&D magical systems;
2. If they were less obviously 'mass-produced' and more diverse designs.

Example: a 'magic train' that's actually an oversized carriage borne litter-like by a group of golems--this would be adapting existing D&Disms to the desired end (bulk movement!) rather than essentialy inventing an entirely new magical 'technology'.

Instead of Airships, you could have a magical Howdah that reduces it's occupants--enabling Griffons, Wyverns or even Rocs to be used as flying transports.

And a boat that could sail on land would be a very interesing idea (although I don't think I'd let it be a submarine!). I think there was something like this in Elric...