ZEITGEIST Ending configuration question

[Speed_demon]

Not that my party is anywhere near it yet, but I was curious about the Planes and how people saw them configured in their games. Any unusual combinations/decisions people saw or think are likely in their games? What combinations are the most common?

 

[RangerWickett]

I'll just say that I have a few regrets that I didn't put in some more interesting options in the Gyre, or, like, scattered special hard-to-find bonus planar icons around the adventure path. I'd certainly do that if this ever got made into a video game.

There aren't enough good options in the Gyre, and plenty of obvious "no" options. And I think Mavisha works better as a space and water plane (since islands are far apart) than time and water. There weren't enough good time options.

 

[Speed_demon]

I'll just say that I have a few regrets that I didn't put in some more interesting options in the Gyre, or, like, scattered special hard-to-find bonus planar icons around the adventure path. I'd certainly do that if this ever got made into a video game.

There aren't enough good options in the Gyre, and plenty of obvious "no" options. And I think Mavisha works better as a space and water plane (since islands are far apart) than time and water. There weren't enough good time options.

That's understandable, though their are definitely some interesting options, like the musical one. Still, having some 'bonus' icons hidden around is something I'll consider for my campaign when we get there.

I did definitely notice the 'no' options, like Drozani. Would anyone really want the birthrate of their new world to eventually dwindle to 0? I can't really think of any group or goal that one would be useful for. It's curious that you say Time has not enough good options. It does seem slightly weighted to me, be plenty of it's options seemed neutral-ish. Water seemed to have the biggest negatives attached to it, at least in my opinion, with Planes like Ringes, Wilanir, Hunlow, etc. Still, I'll consider some more Time options when coming up with 'secret' planes.

I'm also considering with my group having the Star Pact Warlock, if he's still survived and it's ok with the player, to try tricking the group them into making his patron, Allebar, Opener of the Way (a planet sized far realm monster from 4e MM3), as a false Plane moved into alignment there.

 

[EarthSeraphEdna]

The most confusing part of the Axis Seal ritual is that it is possible to double-slot planes in a single slot, or potentially even triple- or quadruple-slot them. The Axis Seal ritual is terribly murky on the subject, and I wish it received more detail, since multi-slotting planes naturally seems like an ideal method of having one's metaphorical cake and eating it, too.

It is also true that the Gyre offers too many obviously good planes and too many obviously bad planes, so there is not as much choice in crafting an optimally utopic configuration as one would think.

 

[EarthSeraphEdna]

Also, if it helps, there could definitely be some "bonus icons" in the form of the planes talked about during the Mutravir convocation. That is what my DM did in my own game, and I believe he should be more qualified to speak on the subject.

 

[arkwright]

Heyo, Edna's DM here. For Book 7, rather than talking about 'aspects', I tried to include the planar traits from Act 3. This did include a bit of guesswork, as lots of planes in Book 7 are unnamed; but they still matched rather well. There were a very small number of planes not in the Gyre which I had to create names for. Here are the planar arrays I made for Book 7, including the party's planned config, SPS.

Planes of the Obscurati
Miller's Pyre, Arboretum, Watchmakers, Colossus, Panarchists.
Minor Factions, Radical Factions.
MAP, Colossal Congress, Watchmaker Watchmen, Miller's Clock, Colossal Conquest
SPS 2.0

I could talk about configurations I found interesting, but I think instead I should point you to a few sections in the AP you might find relevant. Books 12 includes some frank author discussions of the planes and posits a few different configurations. Book 13 talks about Nic's preferred final configuration, and the if-he-wins monologue provides a nice example of what that configuration might look like.

In our own game, the party has done an excellent job at calling out Nic's flaws on the world stage and destroying both his popular and Ob support. Hence he is trying for a different final configuration.

If you'd like to chat about Zeit, Speed, hit me up. Discord arkwright #8183

 

[Speed_demon]

Yeah, double slotting seems like it would lead to some interesting merged effects, though I'm not sure how all of those could go. One's that share some common traits like the plane that make water everywhere and the plane that makes water burn make sense (even if that would be a terrible idea to use), but the others... and like you said, that's before considering even more icons being put in the same spots.

I have noticed a fair gap in undeath based ones. There's one plane that boost specifically incorporeal undead over their corporeal counterparts, with the plane that can fit in any slot able to destroy all undead with sunlight.

Thanks, those are some handy docs to use, especially if my PCs feel inspired by parts of the portals the Ob came up with during the convocation. I took a closer read at 12, and wow, there are a fair number of mages that have ended up screwing over one plane or another, huh? Also Drozani is still terrible, but looking at it's description in Adventure 12, it seems to be that way because of the Sea God in Hunlow. Hunlow loses any of it's traits if the god is killed, but I wonder if killing it would just change how things are on Drozani.

 

[Andrew Moreton]

If its any use these are my basic notes on a few planes I am adding to the Gyre to try and make more complicated choices. Some of the planes are definite no's (Talingarde and Furiousa) I may change them if I have more ideas before I get to the Gyre. This uses up all the plundered ruin locations .


10 Talingarde Life and Death

‘Evil is Beautiful, and all Frogs are poisonous’


The FROG. The frog is a giant monster which ate pseudo france and has been hanging around as unkillable while the world ended. Combination of the Tarrasque and a Frogemoth with increased defenses

This one is an in joke from my group

11 Celestia Earth Water

‘Everything is ordered

Forbidden Palace, the emperor dead on his throne, Bureacrats as zombies and clockwork servitors all guarded by Clockwork minions


30 Bathory Death Water

‘Undead are more alive’

A Nunnery remains with surviving vampire nuns, they are all meditating to avoid the attraction of the players blood . Only 3 nuns can resist enough to deal with the pc’s the Abbess and her deputy will not as it is against their vows leaving Genevieve. There is a Gazebo at the edge of the world were they can take tea. The world was broken when anti-vampire crusaders unleashed a terrible plague on mortal allies which spread and killed all life


34 Gloriana Water and Earth

.’Civilisation Triumphant, the civilised nations will rise and prosper ‘

An island in the middle of the world besieged by hordes of zombies which rise up each day. Fortified and defended by red coated soldiers and a pair of Ironclad ships . A small town lies in the middle of the fortress and the garrison is slowly being worn down at the peak of each attack the Eternal Queen (a teenager) m;oves to the most threatened places and powerful sorcery drives back the attackers , and heals many of the defenders. They have antiaircraft guns and have met the legion and the pirates , they are not impressed



38 Furiosa Air and Fire

‘Civilisation cannot endure

The Thunderdome, pirates and misfits gather in a ruin of civilsation surrounded by other ruins and a single patrol well. Cars crash and race around it while salvagers pick through the ruins

42 Evermeet Life and Water

‘’Without change there is no life’

Frozen land with tall elven towers at the core. The grand monuments and tombs of an elven civilisation guarded by a few undead elves faithful even after death to their oaths