Malebranche now a demon

[Lurks-no-More]

If each of the single-element Inner Planes appears as a distinct and interesting plane in 4e, then I stand corrected. I was under the impression that there were no single-element planes in 4e, only an Elemental Chaos that combines half-a-dozen planes, completely abandoning the traditional concept of an elemental plane representing a single element in its purest form.

The problem with the old approach was that the single-element Inner Planes, although distinct, were damn hard to make interesting in ways relating to adventuring on them, instead of abstract, cosmological/metaphysical way.

And nothing I've seen mentioned about the Elemental Tempest does preclude there being vast areas of undiluted single elements (possibly at the "edges", as opposed to the Abyss in the "middle" of the plane), for those who like such enviroments.

 

[arscott]

I agree with you that it will be easy to import genies into the Elemental Chaos. I guess what troubles me isn't a lack of room for genies in the cosmos, but a lack of genie-specific home planes. The City of Brass loses something when, instead of being the predominant city on the Elemental Plane of Fire, it's just one of many demon, genie, githzerai, and other planar cities all lumped together on one generic plane.

I guess it just troubles me that the designers chose to ax the elemental planes because "no one was going there." Does this mean that designers are just going to cut things that don't work instead of trying to find ways to make them more interesting? "Oh, no one ever goes to that city, so instead of adding interesting details to it, let's just take it off the map and say that any city can be fit into that region..." That kind of thinking worries me.

I'd actually be happier to see the genies move away from the elemental planes altogether, and given their own place in the cosmos that better fits their natures.

Genies being scattered among the elemental planes makes as much sense to me as the arbitrary demon/devil split that 4e is eliminating.

I'd like to see them have either their own astral dominion, a place in the feywild, or a place on the prime material plane itself.