D&D (2024) Check Out The New Map Of D&D's Planes!

Snapped from the Barbarian video.

 

[MNblockhead]

Why? You can still do that! While people who want more guidance have that.

I've been spending the past few weeks updating and creating policies, SOPs, and guidelines in accordance with our Policy and SOP on guidance development.

If I were driven just a bit more insane from this exercise, and had the time to do it, I could see myself developing an ironic SharePoint site as a Policy and Practice library for D&D GMs.

Some of the comment threads from reviewers of my work rival some of the art-debate threads here. So I would definitely make the documents available with public review permissions so we can see whether the TTRPG fan community can break SharePoint.

 

[AstroCat]

Did you skip out on 2014-2024's 5e? because this is literally the same system, just tweaked a bit.

2014 5e up till around 4-5 or so years ago was relatively solid. The last several years it's taken a serious turn into the garbage dump, so yeah not feeling it any more. Once Volo and Mordenkainen, the original content got crapped on by wotc that was a good turning point marker. But when 2014 5e came out we were all over it (we were a play test group pre-launch), bought all the content, did AL cons, full on. Now, ha! It's a sad joke in almost every way.

 

[Scribe]

Personally, I love the option of "Blobby Plane of Goodness" and "Blobby Plane of Badness" and that would be it. Because, frankly, that's effectively what the Great Wheel is. You can talk all you like about how all these different planes serve different purposes, but, at the end of the day, they don't. They're all pretty much entirely superfluous.

Thats only because Wizards has wasted ink on things not the Great Wheel.

 

[Hussar]

Thats only because Wizards has wasted ink on things not the Great Wheel.

WotC? TSR? Not much difference AFAIC.

I mean seriously. What possible reason is there to have 666 layers of the Abyss? 666 INFINITE layers. Why for? What's the point? They're infinite layers. That means that each layer can have anything and everything in it - that's what infinite means. The only reason to have 666 layers is because of lame "number of the beast" allusions.

Dante could fit the entirety of Hell in ONE CITY. Now, for some reason, we have NINE infinite layers. Again, no reason. No point. Just nine because, again, lame allusions to literature.

Then we have the other layers, most of which are even more pointless. Oh, wow, we have Gehenna and Acheron. Why? Because we needlessly need to fill in all the symmetries.

So, no, I'm not going to blame Wizards for this. The Great Wheel is one of the most pointless things in D&D and is the primary reason I never do anything planar in D&D. Unfortunately, we seem to be stuck with it because there's a VERY loud contingent of folks that absolutely refuse to allow any other options in the game.

 

[AnotherGuy]

I so enjoy these maps and different takes on the cosmology as it allows for me to inject that confusion about the Cosmos by various NPCs (sages, scholars, planewalkers, outlanders...etc) within the game with their hypotheses, opinions, calculated guesses, conjectures. Having these alternate maps and takes strengthens that - besides the Cosmos is supposed to be a mystery.

The richness of the 5e lore over so many editions with its changes IS a feature for my campaign as no one seems to agree on the Cosmos, the Gods and its formation.

 

[Scribe]

Unfortunately, we seem to be stuck with it because there's a VERY loud contingent of folks that absolutely refuse to allow any other options in the game.

Yet, there are multiple cosmologies, so do whatever you want in your game?

If there is a very loud contingent that likes the Great Wheel, maybe let people like what they like and do whatever you want on your side?

Thats what I have to do with pretty much everything Wizards is doing today, discard and do what I want, thats the way things work it seems.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

I so enjoy these maps and different takes on the cosmology as it allows for me to inject that confusion about the Cosmos by various NPCs (sages, scholars, planewalkers, outlanders...etc) within the game with their hypotheses, opinions, calculated guesses, conjectures. Having these alternate maps and takes strengthens that - besides the Cosmos is supposed to be a mystery.

The richness of the 5e lore over so many editions with its changes IS a feature for my campaign as no one seems to agree on the Cosmos, the Gods and its formation.

What "alternate takes" are these? As far as I can tell this is just "the 5e outer planes, as they've been for ages and ages"?

In what way does the Great Wheel communicate "unknowable" or mystery? It's all spelled out in scientific detail. That's the whole point, it's an overwrought hyperspecific accounting of exactly where every single thing comes from.

 

[AnotherGuy]

What "alternate takes" are these? As far as I can tell this is just "the 5e outer planes, as they've been for ages and ages"?

In what way does the Great Wheel communicate "unknowable" or mystery? It's all spelled out in scientific detail. That's the whole point, it's an overwrought hyperspecific accounting of exactly where every single thing comes from.

I didn't make myself clear - I use lore/maps from World Axis, World Tree and Great Wheel + Setting Lore + ideas from internet + my own within the same campaign.

 

[Eyes of Nine]

I didn't make myself clear - I use lore/maps from World Axis, World Tree and Great Wheel + Setting Lore + ideas from internet + my own within the same campaign.

Oooh, slipped world tree in there. Curious how you fit it into your cosmology

 

[Hussar]

Yet, there are multiple cosmologies, so do whatever you want in your game?

If there is a very loud contingent that likes the Great Wheel, maybe let people like what they like and do whatever you want on your side?

Thats what I have to do with pretty much everything Wizards is doing today, discard and do what I want, thats the way things work it seems.

Meh, more of the same AFAIC.

Asmodeus is always the head of Hell. Demons always come from the Abyss. Every setting has exactly the same planes to access (barring a few exceptions like Eberron - which still has 99% of the Great Wheel shoveled into it.)

I long ago gave up on planar stuff in D&D because it's frozen in 1992 and not allowed to make any changes.

Ah well. At least I can pretty much ignore all of that and only use the Far Realms.