Kobold Avenger
Legend
In 2e Planescape there was A Guide to the Ethereal Plane enough material to fill a 96 page book on the subject of the Ethereal Plane, it had Demiplanes, Dreamscapes, Protomatter, anything incorporeal and a bunch of mysterious locations. But in 3e demiplanes where made to be connected to any plane but mostly the Astral Plane, the demiplane of Shadow became a full-fledged plane, Astral Plane got the Protomatter in the form of the controversial Psionic Ectoplasm, and Dreamscapes became part of the optional Region of Dreams (though established in the Eberron cosmology as Dal Quor). Overall in 3e, the Ethereal Plane didn't have too much going for it beyond a few monsters like Ethergaunts, or the planetouched variety Shyfts which were as boring as the Ethereal Plane became in 3e. 4e didn't even have an Ethereal Plane as more of it's aspects got pulled into Feywild which was the optional Plane of Faerie or the Plane of Shadow which became Shadowfell.
In 5e the Ethereal Plane is back, but after everything it lost in 3e and the established niches of Shadowfell and Feywild, there isn't much left of interest for the Ethereal Plane beyond you go from the Shore (Border Ethereal) to the Ocean (Deep Ethereal) and to another Shore (Border Ethereal) of another plane. With Demiplanes once the Ethereal's biggest feature scattered to different planes, mostly what's left is Dreamscapes if one ignores having the optional Region of Dreams (which hasn't been brought up in 5e yet).
Dreamscapes
I think the Ethereal Plane should take back dreams, Dreamscapes should be emphasized to give the (Deep) Ethereal something of a distinctive niche now that Shadowfell and Feywild have theirs. It's sort of there already as Night Hags still need to be in the Ethereal Plane to use their Nightmare ability.
There's the small temporary dreamscapes that are created when most creatures dream, dreamscapes that only last for the few hours that such a creature dreams. And then there would be the permanent Dreamscapes made from rare dreams that rupture into the Ethereal Plane, like Anavaree a little girl's storybook like realm created by an adult space colonist named Ana who's actually still in a stasis pod of a crashed colony ship (yes this particular example first appeared in 2e).
Some of the sources on Planar Dreamscapes are 3e's Manual of Planes where it's an optional plane, and Dragon 287 where it could be a transitive plane, an inner plane with a tempest dream energy or an outer plane where there's Gods which rule over dreams (taking a bunch of inspiration from The Dreaming in Sandman). My idea is to take elements from all of them.
Dreamscapes had this mechanic where you use mental ability scores to replace a bunch of physical ones. I think that design choice goes against some of the philosophy of 5e design in trying to keep it simple. So none of that should happen, but allow some characters to use something like Intelligence or Charisma for attack rolls and damage if they want to. Dying in a dream usually means one is ejected from a dream, but in permanent ruptured dreamscapes, death is more permanent. Let's just say that somethings that were really powerful in temporary dreamscapes, become diluted and weakened in permanent ones.
Dreamscapes could be regions one wants to go to if they need to do influence someone like in the movie Inception, or uncover a secret from the subconscious.
The Dreamheart and Kingdoms of Dreams
At the heart of the Deep Ethereal is the Dreamheart (or Dreamhearts if one wants multiples), and around the Dreamheart there will be Dreaming kingdoms much like the ones mentioned in Dragon 287. The Dreaming Monarchs would be planar powers akin to the Dark Powers of Shadowfell or the Archfey of Feywild, in that they are God-like but not necessary Divine Entities themselves. Each Dreaming Monarch claims dominion over a certain type of dream, like nightmares born of doubts, dreams of alternate possibilities or revelatory dreams. Some of the Dreaming Kingdoms might have links to other planes, usually Feywild or Shadowfell or one of the Outer Planes, in the form of influences.
Raw protomatter exists throughout the Deep Ethereal Plane, but it is formless and mostly inert unless shaped. Dreams are the most common method of shaping protomatter, think of it where protomatter becomes refined, and the Dreaming Monarchs have servants who shift through and monitor dreams of interest to scavenge. Occasionally something of interest is taken from a dream, and the Dreaming Kingdoms are built with dream forged materials.
The Dreamheart is a maelstrom of protomatter and dream material, it may in fact be the source of Ether Cyclones and other such phenomena. It's dangerous for most beings, but it's where protomatter becomes dream material forming a small bubble in the reality of elsewhere inthe Ethereal Plane. Beings of dream energy come and go from the Dreamheart, and it's thought that what was in the Dreamheart was something the ancient Khen-Zai (now known as Ethergaunts) sought.
In 5e the Ethereal Plane is back, but after everything it lost in 3e and the established niches of Shadowfell and Feywild, there isn't much left of interest for the Ethereal Plane beyond you go from the Shore (Border Ethereal) to the Ocean (Deep Ethereal) and to another Shore (Border Ethereal) of another plane. With Demiplanes once the Ethereal's biggest feature scattered to different planes, mostly what's left is Dreamscapes if one ignores having the optional Region of Dreams (which hasn't been brought up in 5e yet).
Dreamscapes
I think the Ethereal Plane should take back dreams, Dreamscapes should be emphasized to give the (Deep) Ethereal something of a distinctive niche now that Shadowfell and Feywild have theirs. It's sort of there already as Night Hags still need to be in the Ethereal Plane to use their Nightmare ability.
There's the small temporary dreamscapes that are created when most creatures dream, dreamscapes that only last for the few hours that such a creature dreams. And then there would be the permanent Dreamscapes made from rare dreams that rupture into the Ethereal Plane, like Anavaree a little girl's storybook like realm created by an adult space colonist named Ana who's actually still in a stasis pod of a crashed colony ship (yes this particular example first appeared in 2e).
Some of the sources on Planar Dreamscapes are 3e's Manual of Planes where it's an optional plane, and Dragon 287 where it could be a transitive plane, an inner plane with a tempest dream energy or an outer plane where there's Gods which rule over dreams (taking a bunch of inspiration from The Dreaming in Sandman). My idea is to take elements from all of them.
Dreamscapes had this mechanic where you use mental ability scores to replace a bunch of physical ones. I think that design choice goes against some of the philosophy of 5e design in trying to keep it simple. So none of that should happen, but allow some characters to use something like Intelligence or Charisma for attack rolls and damage if they want to. Dying in a dream usually means one is ejected from a dream, but in permanent ruptured dreamscapes, death is more permanent. Let's just say that somethings that were really powerful in temporary dreamscapes, become diluted and weakened in permanent ones.
Dreamscapes could be regions one wants to go to if they need to do influence someone like in the movie Inception, or uncover a secret from the subconscious.
The Dreamheart and Kingdoms of Dreams
At the heart of the Deep Ethereal is the Dreamheart (or Dreamhearts if one wants multiples), and around the Dreamheart there will be Dreaming kingdoms much like the ones mentioned in Dragon 287. The Dreaming Monarchs would be planar powers akin to the Dark Powers of Shadowfell or the Archfey of Feywild, in that they are God-like but not necessary Divine Entities themselves. Each Dreaming Monarch claims dominion over a certain type of dream, like nightmares born of doubts, dreams of alternate possibilities or revelatory dreams. Some of the Dreaming Kingdoms might have links to other planes, usually Feywild or Shadowfell or one of the Outer Planes, in the form of influences.
Raw protomatter exists throughout the Deep Ethereal Plane, but it is formless and mostly inert unless shaped. Dreams are the most common method of shaping protomatter, think of it where protomatter becomes refined, and the Dreaming Monarchs have servants who shift through and monitor dreams of interest to scavenge. Occasionally something of interest is taken from a dream, and the Dreaming Kingdoms are built with dream forged materials.
The Dreamheart is a maelstrom of protomatter and dream material, it may in fact be the source of Ether Cyclones and other such phenomena. It's dangerous for most beings, but it's where protomatter becomes dream material forming a small bubble in the reality of elsewhere inthe Ethereal Plane. Beings of dream energy come and go from the Dreamheart, and it's thought that what was in the Dreamheart was something the ancient Khen-Zai (now known as Ethergaunts) sought.
