Legends & Lore: The Many Worlds of D&D

[Plaguescarred]

The Many Worlds of D&D
Legends & Lore
By Mike Mearls

Best Of: The cosmology of D&D has morphed over the years. If you’re at all interested in how D&D Next plans to address this, this column is definitely one you’ll want to read.

 

[Farscape]

Thank god! The return of the great wheel. Also glad they are using older material as their source.

 

[Shemeska]

Edit: Nevermind, this is an old article. If anything changed from what it said before, it isn't updated.

I still hold out hope that they don't use Ravenloft the way this article talks about.

 

[XunValdorl_of_Kilsek]

Edit: Nevermind, this is an old article. If anything changed from what it said before, it isn't updated.

I still hold out hope that they don't use Ravenloft the way this article talks about.

I agree with you there about Ravenloft. I think the Domains of Dread should be kept separate.

I really wish they would drop the whole Feywild thing and just stick with Arvandor.

 

[Plaguescarred]

I like the idea of layers for the inner and outer planes. Also like that Planescape & the Great Wheel is retained. As for Spelljammers, i always liked that it connected to every game worlds's crystal spheres as inclusive rather than divisive. I think having it as a stand alone setting might not be the best for it because while spacefaring was a iconic component of Spelljammers, the fact that it connected to other worlds was the most notable feature IMHO.

 

[steeldragons]

I still hold out hope that they don't use Ravenloft the way this article talks about.

Seconded/Agreed.

The "negative energy border plane" to offset the "positive energy border plane that [they are making] Faerie", would/should be the Plane of Shadows.

Ravenloft is a demi-plane. I, personally, would make it a "bubble" in the Ethereal, but dif'rent folks could/might want to make it a bubble in the Plane of Shadows...or a bubble in Tarterus...or, even, a bubble off the Prime Material [of whichever world you inhabit].

The "Shadowfell" [tm] would be another, different, demi-planar bubble floating around in the Plane of Shadows, touching Primes hither and thither.

Like the Plane of Dream is, I think, a demi-plane. A bubble of Dream [altered consciousness] abutting the Prime...perhaps also adjoining Faerie in one part and Shadow in the other (for where nightmares -the "bad dreams" not the "demon horses"- are born). It might be a bubble in the Ethereal or, given its traditional "mind" associations [in the RW, not really D&D], the Astral...One Prime World's Plane of Dream is not/need not necessarily be attached to another world's plane of Dream, so, separate demi-planar bubbles.

Ravenloft, again, is one of these. you can tack it on anywhere you happen to be...but it doesn't have to be tacked on unless you want to use it/plan to adventure there. Demi-plane bubble.

 

[I'm A Banana]

My opinion hasn't changed dramatically. One True Cosmology is problematic, for reasons including the reasons Mearls even points out directly in the article (he points them out for Spelljammer, but it's true about the Blood War or the Nine Hells or Bytopia, too). And I don't know why a chain of volcanoes really needs a link to another plane of reality to be awesome enough to have Azer in it? Can't they just be volcanoes? Isn't that awesome enough?

 

[Brock Landers]

Yeah, calling The Plane of Shadow/Shadowfell Ravenloft is cheesy and daft, Ravenloft is a demi-plane in the Ethereal, not en entirely mirror plane of the Prime, lame.

 

[Gadget]

What I'm hoping for is a deemphasis on the cosmology as much as possible in the core books and an attempt keep it a bit more mysterious. While I would be fine with them not contradicting what has gone before, I would prefer that they leave things open as much as possible and stop trying to define the universe so much in the core books, or at least wait until certain supplements. This would allow them maximum flexibility and would cast a far wider net in terms of customer taste and preference. To me D&D isn't the Great Wheel, and it certainly isn't Planescape, I have used it in spite of those things, not because of them. So I would agree with KM above, no one true cosmology to rule them all please.

 

[steeldragons]

What I'm hoping for is a deemphasis on the cosmology as much as possible in the core books and an attempt keep it a bit more mysterious.

Yes, this is exactly what/how they should do. It's all we need...not to mention how the "planes" should be.Maybe some people don't want to use "planes" at all! Maybe some people want to homebrew a "heaven" and a "hell" and that's all (demons and devils beign the same thing in folklore/mythology, afterall). Maybe someone will homebrew a "World of a Thousand Planes" and only use some of the "D&D" ones. This apparent "need" to define the planes points only back to the branding iron. They are looking to "no one can use this without paying tribute to us." It is highly off-putting in this day and age.

While I would be fine with them not contradicting what has gone before, I would prefer that they leave things open as much as possible and stop trying to define the universe so much in the core books, or at least wait until certain supplements.

Yes, exactly. I can not fault them for a "Default" way of thinking about the multiverse...I am, I hope it has become obvious, a BIG proponent for the "default" in a lot of areas. But it's definitely not something that should be set in stone or built into races or classes or present in the MM other than in a "If you don't have other/better ideas, use this" kinda way.

This would allow them maximum flexibility and would cast a far wider net in terms of customer taste and preference.

Exacto.