D&D 5E Check Out Planescape's Table of Contents & More!

Brandes Stoddard has received a copy of Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse (which come out in two weeks!) and is posting loads of photos over on Blue Sky. You can check out his feed for the whole treasure trove--here's a look at the table of contents.

 

[Zaukrie]

Yes, although I've focused more the other two books so far.

From what I saw the adventure seems mediocre at but I didn't do a deep dive.

The Beastairy is... Functional, but completely uninspired so far.

There are traits, but alot are ribbons, but some aren't so it feel unbalanced between the Planes. The only template/traits that change creature type are Petitioner, Fiend or Celestial, it's like they forgot the neutral planes exist, despite referring to them. Anything except Celestials and Fiends can be Petitioners, which leads to the possibility that Animated Armour could be a Petitioner as could a Slaad, but not a half mortal Cambion whose a Fiend. Also mentions Celestials and Fiends, including petitioners are reborn on their home plane after 100 years, unless they decide to merge with the Plane.

Planar Incarnations are surprisingly boring and uninspired, like much of the books. They can blast, slam, teleport as a reaction, give you a reaction based dirty look that deals fire damage, fly, true sight, speak all languages, spit Energy damage breath, but horrifically don't have Spellcasting. In addition to acting as the Avatar of the Plane itself when attacked or otherwise having the plane threatened, and in Sigil and the Outlands, it's shown Gods can create Planar Incarnations as Avatars as well, which given that Outer Planes were traditionally Divinely Morphic makes sense. This really needed something cool like Shapeshifter or possession. Oh what worse is they have a trait that makes them a Fiend on Lower Planes and a Celestial on Upper Planes. The creature type should not change just because you cast Planeshift on them to the opposite sort of Plane. And how does this trait work on a none Upper or Lower Plane like the Feywild or Limbo or Elemental Chaos? It's also not incorporeal, dispite being discribes as energy, it's made from solid stuff. It doesn't even cast light.

Speaking of which they use Ghosts stats. On Outer Planes of all things. Problem with that is Ghosts are reliant on the Ethereal Plane, and there no Ethereal Plane around the Outer Planes which means they don't work. Plus they only possess Humaniods, but the Spiritors are said to possess beings like Saytr, statues, and shrubs, things Ghosts can't do. Honestly even the Eldrane's monsters felt more inspired.

Exalted is wicked, but alot of the other cities feel not as good. Sylvania feel like a glorified fey crossing, the temples that defined it before are gone, one turned into a Feast Hall (I wonder if they remembered that Feast Hall is code for Brothel). Super generic Feywild location, like if no one told you it had a portal to Aborea you wouldn't know it isn't the Feywild.

Not mention no mention of the Olympic Gods outside of the name of the Plane, like in the adventure an obvious reference to Zeus as the father to a pair of Empyreans Daughters refers just says their Father is a Storm God. Pathetic, just absolutely pathetic. The same thing with the Thethbys in the Outlands founded by an "God of Knowledge", so the whole river Ma'at thing (which btw is the name of an Egyptian deity), has been stripped of Egyptian flavour beyond the names.

In fact that only region not made flavour less is the Norns, who are also equated with the Fates and Gracea.

The Gatetowns, outside of the Lower Planes ones, Automata, and Exalted feels like visiting run down 1 dimesional Theme Parks at Disneyland. But with more booze in the case of Sylvania which has been reduced to a Feywild feeling party town.

As for Sigil the least exciting parts were were the factions btw the Factol of Society of Sensation, Erin, is now a sad pathetic Quasi Bard of CR3, instead of a power Cleric, her God unmentioned. Compared to the Guilds of Ravnica or the Factions of FR they were utterly pointless. No meaningful plothooks, a weird disconnect between philosophy and civic function except for Society of Sensation and Havok. None of the Factions seem to have the slightest ambition at all. They were left meaningless outside of Sigil, and even Sigil your better off focusing on stuff like the Bank of Abbothar, Planar Energy Coopative ect..., like the actual factions felt the bit background players compared to some of the none Faction Institutions. They problem existed in 2e, but not only did they do nothing to fix it, they left out alot of what interesting things they did have.

Compare this to the Guilds of Ravnica and the Factions of Wsterdeep/FR which have Philosophies backed up by act ambitions and goals beyond the personal, etc..., or even FR religions, I mean the Athar man enemies were given as the Temples of Sigil, which then gets completely unexplored.

I need to stop spending money on WotC half assed products and more on Theapy to figure why I hate myself enough to keep doing business with WotC.

At least it was better then Spelljammer.

I'm to the point where unless they contract out most of the work like they did with Eberron and Exandria, I don't want WotC touching a FRCG anymore, they simply aren't up to the task for anything they don't playtest heavily.

Why are they amoung the worst in the business, yet they control canon. ****

I'll just say that I don't share the dislike of hte product like this poster does.....not even a little.

 

[Quickleaf]

I'm curious! What's the story with the rilmani? I know the art went a sort of spirit-construct look, but has their ecology or identity changed too?

 

[Henadic Theologian]

Btw I can confirm that the 3rd book should have been a manual of the Planes, or at least the Outer Planes, without that the Gatetowns with a few exceptions feel like they are missing context.

This is feels very uninspired and sanatized.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

I'll just say that I don't share the dislike of hte product like this poster does.....not even a little.

What do you like about it?

 

[Zaukrie]

What do you like about it?

Most of it is at least interesting. Nothing anyone does is perfect. There is more than enough inspiration here.

I like the idea of the adventure quite a bit, as it is very different than most adventures.

The monsters are WotC monsters, if you are expecting something different, you are setting yourself up for disappointment.

The overview book is fine in spots, good in spots, quite good in spots. I'm glad there is some slang, but not ALL SLANG.

 

[Zaukrie]

I mean, if you look at the Gate Town descriptions in the original set and here. these are much more useful for actual play. Much. There isn't as much slang and stuff, but there are locations, there are possible adventures, it is just much more useful in actual play.

 

[Parmandur]

Not mention no mention of the Olympic Gods outside of the name of the Plane, like in the adventure an obvious reference to Zeus as the father to a pair of Empyreans Daughters refers just says their Father is a Storm God. Pathetic, just absolutely pathetic. The same thing with the Thethbys in the Outlands founded by an "God of Knowledge", so the whole river Ma'at thing (which btw is the name of an Egyptian deity), has been stripped of Egyptian flavour beyond the names.

As expected.

 

[Dried]

I'm glad there is some slang, but not ALL SLANG.

Quite interested by this. Reading the table of content it seemed that the cant was not mentioned.
What is still here?

 

[Demetrios1453]

As expected.

He's a regular poster here, and much of what he brought up was either known, or was assumed from previews...

 

[Zaukrie]

Quite interested by this. Reading the table of content it seemed that the cant was not mentioned.
What is still here?

"Visitors who need help communicating can always find touts willing to translate for a price. This service extends to the Cant, a complex local slang heard in some corners of the city."