D&D General Does Earth (or at least a fantasy version of it) have a crystal sphere and exist in the D&D Cosmology?

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Perhaps it's simply tiny Word Archons, too small to be seen with the naked eye, who just translate everything off-worlders say and hear, rather than a true lingua omnia (if I'm using the Latin correctly).

That doesn't make any sense unless they live in people's ears and excrete a telepathic matrix formed by combining the conscious thought frequencies with nerve signals picked up from the speech centers of the brain which has supplied them.

 

[James Gasik]

That doesn't make any sense unless they live in people's ears and excrete a telepathic matrix formed by combining the conscious thought frequencies with nerve signals picked up from the speech centers of the brain which has supplied them.

Which of course would allow us to logically prove that the Gods do not exist!

 

[dead]

Did any real-world pantheons - Egyptian pantheon, Greek pantheon, Norse pantheon, etc. - feature in 5E’s Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse?

 

[Mirtek]

Couldn't we just have a really big crystal sphere, with a diameter larger than the observable universe?

Or a "standard sized" one and all our observations are just because that's what the magic is letting us see.

It's worth noting that not all places in the D&D multiverse follow the same rules. You can (though it's not easy) find a Gate to Athas. This does not mean Athas has a Crystal Sphere (and I believe it was definitively stated Athas-space does not).

AFAIK it does, it just has become impenetrable. Except when for some reasons it suddenly is not. IIRC there are some survivors of a crashed spelljammer on Athas that mutated and went native.

 

[nevin]

In the D&D Cosmology, countless worlds, along with their solar systems, are encased in crystal spheres that bob in the Astral Sea. You can travel between the worlds in a spelljammer ship. All the worlds share the same Prime Material Plane.

I was wondering if our Earth, or at least a fantasy version of it, has been officially recognised as existing in a crystal sphere in D&D’s Prime Material Plane.

I know there has been references to Earth in the past. For example, there was an AD&D 1E adventure in Dragon magazine where the PCs had to travel to our real Earth to recover the Mace of St Cuthbert. Also, I believe, Elminster has said he knows a guy from Earth called Ed Greenwood. I think these references predate Spelljammer, though - ie. the idea of one Prime Material Plane with many crystal spheres/worlds in it.

Also, many gods of Earth pantheons exist in D&D’s Cosmology, ie. the Egyptian pantheon, Greek pantheon, Norse pantheon, etc. These gods must have at least come from a fantasy version of Earth. Did any of these real-world pantheons feature in 5E’s Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse? Or were they not mentioned?

technically Gamma World was an alternate earth and the egyption civilization in forgotten realms came from earth so probably. I can't imagine they'd ever do a supplement of it but there are some easy to miss references that hint that Forgotten realms is connected to earth somehow.

 

[nevin]

Or a "standard sized" one and all our observations are just because that's what the magic is letting us see.


AFAIK it does, it just has become impenetrable. Except when for some reasons it suddenly is not. IIRC there are some survivors of a crashed spelljammer on Athas that mutated and went native.

Dont forget Barrier Peaks in Greyhawk. There is a crashed high tech spaceship there. Expedition to Barrier Peaks was the module. It had some really viscous charts for figuring out things like Grenades. You could roll badly and pull the pin and watch it blow up in your hand.

 

[Morrus]

I say yes because the D&D cartoon heroes officially exist, and they come from Earth.

 

[nevin]

Or a "standard sized" one and all our observations are just because that's what the magic is letting us see.


AFAIK it does, it just has become impenetrable. Except when for some reasons it suddenly is not. IIRC there are some survivors of a crashed spelljammer on Athas that mutated and went native.

AThas

Or a "standard sized" one and all our observations are just because that's what the magic is letting us see.


AFAIK it does, it just has become impenetrable. Except when for some reasons it suddenly is not. IIRC there are some survivors of a crashed spelljammer on Athas that mutated and went native.

Athas 2nd edition was not connected to the Ethereal Plane. It was in some way out of phase and totally unreachable from the greater DND cosmology and gods. Why was never explained. It may just be that's where it was created or it may have been moved there by the great civilization of halflings to escape the multiverse craziness before thier civilization crashed.

I suspect they were playing with some way to segment fantasy and scifi settings when they worked that out. Maybe I'm giving them too much credit.

 

[dave2008]

I'm pretty sure it's another "dimension." In the BECMI version of the rules, other dimensions could have different laws and properties, and I'm pretty sure that non-magical Earth qualifies.

The very first "Immortals" adventure in the BECMI line has your characters traveling to New York City

 

[Voadam]

technically Gamma World was an alternate earth and the egyption civilization in forgotten realms came from earth so probably. I can't imagine they'd ever do a supplement of it but there are some easy to miss references that hint that Forgotten realms is connected to earth somehow.

Like all the dragon articles where Elminster and Greenwood chat directly.