D&D 5E Connecting the Planes: What New Interstitial Setting Do You Want?

[Ruin Explorer]

Take a look at Beyond Countless Doorways sometime, you might like it.

I will at some point probably, but I got an entirely one-sided and largely unreasonable feud going on with Monte Cook re: what he did to Planescape so I am disinclined to look favourably upon any planes-related products of his. That heedless vandal.

Also, four veteran Planescape designers re-united and none of them are Zeb Cook who came up with the entire setting and all the key concepts? Might as well call it a Nirvana re-union and it's the Foo Fighters. Yes that does make Monte Cook David Grohl. Where this is a good thing or a bad thing is very much a matter of perspective.

 

[Mercurius]

Yeah that might be a minor factor mate lol.

And you're still describing something that's largely useless, because you're basically picking through it for additional usable info.

Why can't we have both? Because there's absolutely no possible way for WotC to do justice to what you're describing in a single book of 256 pages (which will also inevitably have a lot of pages devoted to monsters, archetypes, lineages, probably spells and so on), which is the maximum we're getting. That's one of the key reasons I'm against what you're suggesting, this sort of multiverse cookbook, because all you'll get, is a ton of quarter-arsed junk. I've seen it plenty of times before in TT RPGs - "we covered everything in minimal detail and it was useless to everyone!". In older RPGs they'd then release actual sourcebooks for all the stuff they quarter-arsed, but WotC isn't doing that.

You're assuming that a single book on the planes is the maximum we're getting. I'm not so sure.

What we could see, and what I would advocate for, is a Manual of the Planes book which covers planar rules, some monsters, short descriptions of the planes, and chapters dedicated to variant cosmologies.

Then you can branch out with story arc books that give more detail for a given location or sub-setting in the planes (Avernus already did this, to some extent). They could do an adventure set in Sigil and the Outlands akin to what Tomb of Annihilation did for Chult. Or they could do a story arc involving the githyanki that explores and describes the Astral Sea and gives rules on spelljamming. In fact, I think it more likely that we see that type of book first, and then a more general MotP book shortly thereafter.

WotC clearly likes books that are multi-faceted and with different components integrated into a whole. The idea that we'd see them cover the planes in a "one and done" approach is rather odd, not to mention almost neglectful.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

You're assuming that a single book on the planes is the maximum we're getting. I'm not so sure.

I am absolutely and completely confident that if they printed something called "Manual of the Planes", and they would call it that if it was as you describe, we would only get that one book, of 256 pages, yes.

WotC clearly likes books that are multi-faceted and with different components integrated into a whole. The idea that we'd see them cover the planes in a "one and done" approach is rather odd, not to mention almost neglectful.

I guess well that to WotC?

They did that in 3.XE. They did that in 4E.

I don't see how or why if they did an MotP, they wouldn't do that in 5E, especially as we've probably got what, until 2024 before 6E, pretty much tops. I'm sure they'd have some associated adventure, which might give some more details on a certain plane or set of planes, albeit as an aside, not as a main focus of the product.

 

[Maxperson]

Anyway, I voted for the Manual of the Planes over Planescape, because 1 - I prefer the toolkit approach to planes and 2 - Planescape is awesome and has such style, but it's much more exciting when you have other planes to go to.

Planescape also offered much more detailed looks at all of the planes than the Manual of the Planes ever did. If you want to go to other planes, then I would recommend getting the old 2e Planescape books or PDFs(if legally available) for the planes you want to go to. 2e lore was the best lore of any edition of D&D.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Oh yeah, I have a couple of the various Planescape planar guides and they are wonderful. But since that sort of sprawling product line isn't 5e's strategy, I'd rather a Manual of the Planes-style book with a chapter on Sigil than a Sigil-centric Planescape-style book.

Planescape also offered much more detailed looks at all of the planes than the Manual of the Planes ever did. If you want to go to other planes, then I would recommend getting the old 2e Planescape books or PDFs(if legally available) for the planes you want to go to. 2e lore was the best lore of any edition of D&D.

 

[Mercurius]

I am absolutely and completely confident that if they printed something called "Manual of the Planes", and they would call it that if it was as you describe, we would only get that one book, of 256 pages, yes.

I guess well that to WotC?

They did that in 3.XE. They did that in 4E.

I don't see how or why if they did an MotP, they wouldn't do that in 5E, especially as we've probably got what, until 2024 before 6E, pretty much tops. I'm sure they'd have some associated adventure, which might give some more details on a certain plane or set of planes, albeit as an aside, not as a main focus of the product.

If we would only get one book, how would we also get an associated adventure?

Again, they could publish a MotP and then expand upon aspects of it in further products - adventures, splats, maybe even settings.

The planes are different than other settings in that they are a "meta-setting." Theros makes sense as a one-and-done, the planes do not because they aren't only "one."

I mean, we could see an adventure in which the PCs have to go to do different D&D worlds are part of some kind of quest. The possibilities are endless.

A MotP is a kind of launching off point that opens up new doors, but it doesn't mean they have to cover every aspect of it in depth.

 

[OB1]

What I would love to see is a CSG style Manual of the Planes, with a focus on Sigil (including a small adventure) and then go through the rest of the planes gazetteer style.

I'd much rather see Spelljammer as an AP.

 

[Voadam]

They did that in 3.XE. They did that in 4E.

I expect 5e to be one and done but 4e had Manual of the Planes, The Plane Above, The Plane Below, and Shadowfell: Gloomwrought and Beyond.

Depending on how you view the 4e Cosmology Underdark counts too.

The Feywild was the only 4e plane without a full expansion setting book beyond the initial 4e Manual of the Planes. Which is a shame because it had a lot of potential to be fantastic.

Even though 3e was mostly one and done on the planes as a setting book, there was Ghostwalk a 226 page setting book on a planar city of the dead, and the two hardcover Fiendish Codexes had a lot of setting elements for their respective fiends' home planes.

 

[Don Durito]

Bemused to see that given the thread title asks for what "new" setting we want, there's not even a poll option for something actually new.

Have we now reached a point in popular culture where the genuinely new is unthinkable?

 

[Mind of tempest]

Bemused to see that given the thread title asks for what "new" setting we want, there's not even a poll option for something actually new.

Have we now reached a point in popular culture where the genuinely new is unthinkable?

you got one you want to share?