D&D General D&D's feel vs. what D&D should keep - final comparison

[Neonchameleon]

Exactly this. When I first looked at the Great Wheel Cosmology in 5e, I thought "Oh, cool! Look at all of these planes of existence! I'm sure that in the near-50 years of D&D's history that these have all been well-thought-out and detailed to have them included in campaigns, especially as places for the PCs to journey to!"

Then I spent about an hour or two reading about the planes in the DMG. I quickly fell in love with a few of the planes (Mechanus, Limbo, the Feywild and Shadowfell, the Astral Plane, the Elemental Planes, the eternal war aspects of Ysgard and Acheron, and a few others), but also began to realize that a lot of the planes were lacking in description and/or largely redundant with other planes. I really liked the idea of Carceri as "the Escape Room to End All Escape Rooms", but it barely had any description in the DMG and other official sources, so I never really ended up using it (I used it one time, and it was because of an extremely unlucky roll from a PC against a casting of Prismatic Spray).

I'm amused by how little of what you fell in love with is part of the original Great Wheel. The Feywild and the Shadowfell are pure 4e/World Axis, as for that matter is the Elemental Chaos as opposed to much purer elemental planes. Mechanus is a substitute that doesn't really fit - but is so much stronger than the original Nirvana that no one cares. And Ysgard is just off-brand Asgard, not that there's anything wrong with that.

also got a few questions, like "Why the heck are there 7 different flavors of Heaven and 7 others for Hell,

7 Heavens is so someone can say they are in 7th Heaven. The Nine Hells (not seven) started as the Nine Circles of Hell in Dante's Inferno.

but no Plane of Mirrors, Dream/Nightmare Realm, Death World, Twilight Forest, or . . . [etc]?",

Half of that's in the Feywild or Shadowfell. Why there wasn't before 4e? Pass. There's a reason fluff wise I consider it goes 4e> 5e > everything before.

"What's the difference between the Beastlands and the Feywild?",

The difference between a lightly satirical version of Narnia and Faerie.

"Why are the embodiments of pure chaos [Slaad] evil, multicolored frog-men and not Fey?!?!",

Slaad made it to D&D first.

"Why do we have two different planes of War? [Ysgard and Acheron]",

Different approaches. In Valhalla war is almost fun. Acheron is much grimmer. This is one I can actually see. Of course I once again prefer the 4e World Axis domains of war because one invaded the other.

"Why isn't there a plane of Dragons and another of Giants?",

Pass

"Why isn't there a Mount Olympus Plane if there's a Hades,

Because Olympus isn't supposed to be infinitely big. Mount Olympus is in Arvendor (CG)

and why isn't Hades the Underworld!?!?",

No idea at all here.

"Why do we need a plane for Neutral Evil fiends [the extremely boring and uninspiring Yugoloths], and why is the plane for Neutral Evil fiends not the Neutral Evil Plane of Existence [Hades]!?!?"

If we have Neutral Evil Fiends (itself a little box-ticky) they gotta have a domain. But no idea other than they wanted to put the anchors for Mount Olympus and Yggdrasil right at the bottom of the wheel.

and "Why the heck are all of these redundant planes of existence different from each other, and not just separate parts of different, bigger, and more interesting plane of existence?"

There is. In 4e it's called the Astral Sea and in 5e it's called the Great Wheel and goes on the outside of the axis.

 

[TheSword]

But why are they even there except as vague background if you can't interact with them?

You absolutely can interact with them. You can go there, see the amazing wonders, interact with the denizens and see the beliefs that inform the place.

And space may be infinite - but that doesn't mean that there's very much there. Space may be vast but it's somewhere that in most SF you travel through to get to interesting places.

I'll let you into a secret. Alignment undermines what makes Planescape an interesting setting - and indeed by the premises should be removable if something else takes over as dominant. Although some of the Factions can be matched up to the nine alignments many can't and, indeed, are uneasy alliances. (There's a reason why post Faction War the Mercykillers split, for example). Removing alignment from Planescape wouldn't change much - but the Faction War gutted the setting.

And no one wants e.g. everything in the Feywild to be detailed in black and white ink. Why would they? I mean it's Faerie - and is explicitly a mirror for the Mortal World. Bits are detailed of course. But "Fey mirror of where the PCs have spent their past few adventures and that's easiest to cross into where the correspondence is closest" is inspiring for specifics to interact with is inspiring in a way "infinite conceptual plane" isn't.

Or, to sum up, Planescape is a great idea for a setting that has always been weighed down by having to carry the Great Wheel round its neck. And the best bits of Planescape (Sigil and the Factions) are precisely those furthest from the Great Wheel's infinite planes.

Perhaps the infinite nature of the planes is a problem for you. It doesn’t bother me. The planes are affected by belief, as are the spells that take people there. I have no problem suspending disbelief when folks arrive near the place they’re looking for. It’s like the map of Avernus in BG Descent. There are some two dozen locations detailed for one plane. That is just the locations relevant to that adventure.

There is plenty on the planes - an infinite quantity of things. They’re just not all detailed. Examples are given of some… I ask again, how many do you need?

I’m not really interested in an assertion that Alignment undermines Planescape without specifics of how and why. It’s your opinion but I’m not going to engage with that.

 

[Faolyn]

That's kind of the definition of a Thermian argument, you know. Most of the questions were more from a design standpoint and not a lore standpoint (like why the Underworld/Hades isn't the plane of death, and what the real purpose of two different planes of War are).

No, I wouldn't say that those questions are answered from a design standpoint. Or rather, there's enough lore to them that the lore is more important than the design. For instance: there is no singular Underworld in the Great Wheel. All the planes are the planes of death because dead souls go to each and every plane. Also, Ysgard is a plane of glorious and honorable battle waged for noble purposes, or for fun, with the knowledge that death is not forever and petitioners will be reborn to battle again. Acheron is a plane of meaningless bloodshed and vicious massacres waged for evil purposes like bigotry, hatred, revenge, or for the ego of the generals. They're both planes dedicated to war, but to very different different aspects of war.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

I'm amused by how little of what you fell in love with is part of the original Great Wheel. The Feywild and the Shadowfell are pure 4e/World Axis, as for that matter is the Elemental Chaos as opposed to much purer elemental planes. Mechanus is a substitute that doesn't really fit - but is so much stronger than the original Nirvana that no one cares. And Ysgard is just off-brand Asgard, not that there's anything wrong with that.

I know. The only planes from the original Great Wheel that I actually like are Limbo and Mechanus, and I have problems with those, too (like I said earlier, the fact that the embodiments of pure chaos are multicolored-frog people (and not even the only multicolored frog-people in the game; I'm looking at you, Grung) is a big turn-off for me from Limbo. I do like the Githzerai, however). I'm aware that the Feywild and Shadowfell came from 4e (well, kinda. They were demiplanes before 4e). (I also think that Limbo and the Elemental Chaos are too similar, and might as well be combined.)

7 Heavens is so someone can say they are in 7th Heaven. The Nine Hells (not seven) started as the Nine Circles of Hell in Dante's Inferno.

I meant "seven versions of hell and heaven" as there being 7 different upper planes (heaven) and 7 different lower planes (hell). I'm aware of the origin of the Nine Hells. Just from a design standpoint, I don't see the need to have 7 different Lower Planes and 7 different Upper Planes. Hell, one Lower Plane and one Upper Plane would work with the sub-planes that nearly every Great Wheel plane has.

Half of that's in the Feywild or Shadowfell. Why there wasn't before 4e? Pass. There's a reason fluff wise I consider it goes 4e> 5e > everything before.

IMO, the Plane of Dreams is a pretty distinct concept from the Feywild, as is the Plane of Nightmares and Plane of Death from the Shadowfell. Twilight Forest could be a part of the Feywild (like one of the new Domains of Delight), but it could also be its own thing (as Eberron demonstrates by merging the Beastlands with a Twilight Forest).

The difference between a lightly satirical version of Narnia and Faerie.

Yeah, I don't see the need for that. Narnia already has a ton of Fey-creatures (Satyrs/Fauns, Centaurs, Nymphs, Merfolk, etc), so they might as well be one and the same.

Slaad made it to D&D first.

Slaad had their own plane of existence first. Fey have been around since the beginning, and have always been known for their chaotic and tricksy nature.

Different approaches. In Valhalla war is almost fun. Acheron is much grimmer. This is one I can actually see. Of course I once again prefer the 4e World Axis domains of war because one invaded the other.

Then just make one plane of war with cosmic different battlefields One for Vikings where they fight Valhalla-style, one for Goblinoids vs. Orcs, one for the Blood War, one for Celestials vs. Fiends, etc. Redundancy doesn't help anyone, IMO.

Pass

They're finally answering the Plane of Dragons question in Fizbans, saying that the Material Plane is the Plane of Dragons (created by the dragon gods and the dragons are native to it), though it is very late into the hobby to be giving a sort of explanation like this, IMO. Giants? Notsomuch.

Because Olympus isn't supposed to be infinitely big. Mount Olympus is in Arvendor (CG)

Then just make Mount Olympus infinitely big. Deities live on it, for Heavens' sakes! (pun intended)

No idea at all here.

What makes me even more mad/confused is that there's Hades (which isn't the Underworld, for some reason, and doesn't have Hades/Pluto in it), the Shadowfell, and the Fugue Plane that all sort of function as a "Plane of Death" (at least name/concept-wise), even though Hades is the most irrelevant of the 3.

If we have Neutral Evil Fiends (itself a little box-ticky) they gotta have a domain. But no idea other than they wanted to put the anchors for Mount Olympus and Yggdrasil right at the bottom of the wheel.

Kinda my point. Yugoloths are box-ticky, and Gehanna exists only because of box-ticking (and it's not even in the right spot!).

There is. In 4e it's called the Astral Sea and in 5e it's called the Great Wheel and goes on the outside of the axis.

Well, the Great Wheel isn't really a plane of existence, it's a way of organizing the planes (and the Astral Sea/Elemental Chaos is kinda the same). What I meant was more "why not just have a few Upper Planes and a few Lower Planes (probably not called that anymore and organized differently) and get rid of all the filler?".

 

[Neonchameleon]

There is plenty on the planes - an infinite quantity of things. They’re just not all detailed. Examples are given of some… I ask again, how many do you need?

I think the biggest point of disconnect is when you say "infinite" my immediate understanding is "empty to the point of sterility". The planes themselves can be infinite, but the number of people is always going to be countable. Which means that there's an infinite amount of space per person in any of these planes - and it's either going to be more or less empty or in a best case scenario what's there will be procedurally generated.

Space may be infinite and if so there may be an infinite number of things in it. But so far as we know all the interesting stuff is in the miniscule amount that's stars or orbiting stars. The rest's just a void.

And at a bare minimum? Three. If I was detailing a country I'd want at minimum a capital city and what makes it both distinct and part of the country, a rural community, and probably a small town. These infinite planes are supposedly much much bigger. Which makes just three far more egregious than using just three settlements to represent the whole of Earth.

 

[TheSword]

I think the biggest point of disconnect is when you say "infinite" my immediate understanding is "empty to the point of sterility". The planes themselves can be infinite, but the number of people is always going to be countable. Which means that there's an infinite amount of space per person in any of these planes - and it's either going to be more or less empty or in a best case scenario what's there will be procedurally generated.

Space may be infinite and if so there may be an infinite number of things in it. But so far as we know all the interesting stuff is in the miniscule amount that's stars or orbiting stars. The rest's just a void.

And at a bare minimum? Three. If I was detailing a country I'd want at minimum a capital city and what makes it both distinct and part of the country, a rural community, and probably a small town. These infinite planes are supposedly much much bigger. Which makes just three far more egregious than using just three settlements to represent the whole of Earth.

No the rest is not empty. Infinite means infinite opportunity. Not an expectation to fill that.

You want to add inverted volcanos rising up and down on plumes of fire, you can find a plane to put it into.

You have a god who’s domain you want to fit in… that’s going to be easy. No need to get the shoehorn out.

The interesting stuff is whatever is relevant to your campaign. If you expect three things on every single plane then fair enough. If my memory serves most planes in the 2e Planescape boxes have 6-12 areas with at least half a page on each. There are pretty much 32 pages on each plane. Then there are the dozens of supplementary products that go into more details.

That said I don’t get down on other campaign setting because each location doesn’t have dozens of fleshed out locations. I just see it as space to put my own stuff in.

 

[Neonchameleon]

No the rest is not empty. Infinite means infinite opportunity. Not an expectation to fill that.

Infinite means an infinite amount of space. If space is infinite then it is mostly empty. There's no need to fill it - indeed my expectation if somewhere is described as infinite is that most of it isn't filled. It's empty - and we're supposed to admire it for its structure. Space is beautiful and infinite is a thing.

You want to add inverted volcanos rising up and down on plumes of fire, you can find a plane to put it into.

So what you're saying is that it's approximately as useful as saying that there are multiple demiplanes created by various individuals. Except we're not playing with infinities there.

 

[TheSword]

Infinite means an infinite amount of space. If space is infinite then it is mostly empty. There's no need to fill it - indeed my expectation if somewhere is described as infinite is that most of it isn't filled. It's empty - and we're supposed to admire it for its structure. Space is beautiful and infinite is a thing.

So what you're saying is that it's approximately as useful as saying that there are multiple demiplanes created by various individuals. Except we're not playing with infinities there.

I think you’re getting hung up on the concept. The space isn’t mostly empty. It’s filled with the denizens of the planes and locations that fit that plane. The domains of the gods of the infinite material planes that exist that we’ve never heard of. The untold millions of homebrew worlds.

Planescape is a setting that can handle that in its stride.

 

[TheSword]

The Great Wheel is a place where alignment is at its best. Alignment is intrinsic and essential to the fundamental structure of the multiverse in the Planescape version of the Great Wheel, and in that setting alignment works.

The reason it works, is because in the great wheel Alignment comes first and then individuals are free to act their own way and then deal with the consequences of that. The variations of alignment inform the nature of the plane. The concept of Strongly aligned and Mildly aligned work together to create some very interesting concepts.

For instance the Strongly Good and Law aligned Celestia is the epitome of hard work and striving for good in an ordered way. Whereas the Strongly Law Aligned and Mildly Good aligned Arcadia is a plane where the greater good becomes more important than the individual, where harmony is the be all and all. This may be a granular distinction but the neatly ordered rows of identically planted crops and perfect fields, and the happy people because being unhappy just isn’t tolerated is a fascinating concept for me that is capable of standing on its own as a place to adventure. The Mildly Lawful, Strongly Good Bytopia is the plane of helpful industry, of labors of love, pastoral industry, a fair trade. Again a totally different feel to Arcadia and Mount Celestia.

That too can be contrasted with Strongly Law and Mildly Evil aligned Archeron, the plane of collateral damage, of endless war, and the military machine with all the inhumanity that comes with that. Contrasted with the Strongly Law and Evil aligned Baator is the epitome of hierarchical evil, diabolical plots and ordered tyranny.

When looked at through the eyes of Mild and Strong alignment all the planes have a very distinct personality. Brought to life by some very imaginative and clever writing.

Incidentally it was raised earlier that the planes were inconsistent in that the gods of the same pantheons don’t live together. However Mount Olympus as a location touches several planes as does Yggdrasil connecting the realms of the Greek and Norse pantheons so they can live together apart. It has been already considered.

 

[Neonchameleon]

I think you’re getting hung up on the concept.

So what you're telling me is that the actual concept is worse than useless?

The space isn’t mostly empty. It’s filled with the denizens of the planes and locations that fit that plane.

Dozens << Infinite. And the primary property presented in the overview is infinite.

The domains of the gods of the infinite material planes that exist that we’ve never heard of. The untold millions of homebrew worlds.

Planescape is a setting that can handle that in its stride.

So can most settings. And they do it without having lots of infinite planes. Infinite is a completely different concept to really really massive. And infinite is a great concept for exploring vastness and majesty. I'm not "getting hung up on the concept" so much as responding to the concept as presented. Infinity is a great concept for some things. Like I say, space is effectively infinite. It's just not great for adventuring.