thecasualoblivion
First Post
Forked from: 4E being immune to criticism (forked from Sentimentality And D&D...)
This almost sounds like it could be a discussion, so I'll chime in. I don't care for the Great Wheel, but I really like 4E's cosmology. One of the best things 4E has done IMO. The problem with the Great Wheel is that it is a metaphysical thing that is made to be read and thought about, but the too many of the places it describes really aren't interesting places to go. 4E's cosmology is designed around making the planes destinations that are interesting to actually go to. What use are the planes if it isn't interesting to go there?
What I really hate is the fact that it is also wrong to not enjoy the fluff. Guys... let's admit the fact that the Great Wheel was sort of... ehh... but that this whole Elemental Chaos/Astral Sea/Domain thing seems just as bad. However, the Wheel made a little more sense in a planar geography sense (you could 'cross over' to planes which are near, the use of portals) than the idea that the planes have become a Spelljammer's wonderland.
Yeah, the standard setting in 4e leaves quite a bit to be desired ("No sir. I don't like it."). But that's not really what I'd call a major issue, considering that you can slap a campaign setting on it and your problems are solved. I've got ten different homebrew cosmologies I could use, and none of them were ever impacted by the Great Wheel, so I doubt they'll be impacted by the new standard cosmology.
This almost sounds like it could be a discussion, so I'll chime in. I don't care for the Great Wheel, but I really like 4E's cosmology. One of the best things 4E has done IMO. The problem with the Great Wheel is that it is a metaphysical thing that is made to be read and thought about, but the too many of the places it describes really aren't interesting places to go. 4E's cosmology is designed around making the planes destinations that are interesting to actually go to. What use are the planes if it isn't interesting to go there?