Planar Configurations; How Do You Design The Multiverse?

[Imaculata]

In my homebrew campaign there is the of course the prime material plane, along with:

The Eternal Depths: An ice cold realm for dead sailors (or those who died at sea). It is left open whether this is another dimension, or a location in the depths of the ocean itself. This realm resembles a frozen dark version of the prime material plane in an endless underground cavern, with a sea of lost souls.

The Cathedral of Lights: The temporary realm of the Lady of the Waves (a lesser deity) on the prime material plane, after she was banished from the Eternal Depths. Can only be found by mortals if the Lady wills it. The Lady watches over sailors from this realm.

The Realm of the Dead: Here resides the God of Death, who judges where souls travel.

The Realm of Shadows (AKA the mirror dimension): A side-dimension which some creatures can temporarily shift to, and which overlaps the prime material plane. It is dangerous to stay in this realm for too long, or you may not find your way back.

The Underworld: A dimension through which demon-kind travel. Openings to this domain can be created on the prime material plane by those who possess that rare knowledge. Connects directly to the demon city of Ylm via a massive underground labyrinth.

The God Realm: A dimension in which the gods reside. An ancient civilisation found the means to communicate (and visit) this realm.

The Void: When you travel through a dimensional portal with no destination, you become trapped in the void; caught between dimensions.

Saagarkaret: Genies can have their own pocket dimension inside what ever object they are confined. A genie can shape this space to his/her will. These spaces are often limited in size, but can contain just about any environment. Usually the space will be shaped to provide a high level of comfort to the genie and their customers.

The Path: A realm that only druids and fey can visit, when they 'walk the path'. This realm is a part of the forest that exists in its own pocket dimension, and is visited by walking along a hidden forest path that only druids and fey can see. This allows druids from all over the world to meet in one secluded spot in the forest. It is suggested in my campaign that some witch covens may also have their own pocket dimension that they can visit, similar to the druid's path.

 

[SkidAce]

Thank you everyone for your ideas, I had a vague notion that many people just used The Great Wheel, and I don't blame them! The Great Wheel is a wonderful cosmology. In addition, I would like to thank those of you who enlightened me to your planar arrangements.

P.S. Thank you Skidace for the wonderful Sci-Fi imagery. So... The Abyss is like Entropy?

Sorta...that is one of the things that is kinda nebulous (pun intended).

Demonic influence in my opinion is like corruption, or power. Or like nuclear energy, great stuff, don't want to get it on you...

So not specifically Entropy, but similar...with mutation, corruption, once you summon some of it to your world its "tainted", hard to get rid off etc. Eventually worlds have joined the Abyss (metaphysically joined the area of space)

The darkness in the sky just keeps growing....

 

[generic]

Sorta...that is one of the things that is kinda nebulous (pun intended).

Demonic influence in my opinion is like corruption, or power. Or like nuclear energy, great stuff, don't want to get it on you...

So not specifically Entropy, but similar...with mutation, corruption, once you summon some of it to your world its "tainted", hard to get rid off etc. Eventually worlds have joined the Abyss (metaphysically joined the area of space)

The darkness in the sky just keeps growing....

Awesome, I like the idea of a spreading, Abyssal taint.

 

[generic]

In my homebrew campaign there is the of course the prime material plane, along with:

The Eternal Depths: An ice cold realm for dead sailors (or those who died at sea). It is left open whether this is another dimension, or a location in the depths of the ocean itself. This realm resembles a frozen dark version of the prime material plane in an endless underground cavern, with a sea of lost souls.

The Cathedral of Lights: The temporary realm of the Lady of the Waves (a lesser deity) on the prime material plane, after she was banished from the Eternal Depths. Can only be found by mortals if the Lady wills it. The Lady watches over sailors from this realm.

The Realm of the Dead: Here resides the God of Death, who judges where souls travel.

The Realm of Shadows (AKA the mirror dimension): A side-dimension which some creatures can temporarily shift to, and which overlaps the prime material plane. It is dangerous to stay in this realm for too long, or you may not find your way back.

The Underworld: A dimension through which demon-kind travel. Openings to this domain can be created on the prime material plane by those who possess that rare knowledge. Connects directly to the demon city of Ylm via a massive underground labyrinth.

The God Realm: A dimension in which the gods reside. An ancient civilisation found the means to communicate (and visit) this realm.

The Void: When you travel through a dimensional portal with no destination, you become trapped in the void; caught between dimensions.

Saagarkaret: Genies can have their own pocket dimension inside what ever object they are confined. A genie can shape this space to his/her will. These spaces are often limited in size, but can contain just about any environment. Usually the space will be shaped to provide a high level of comfort to the genie and their customers.

Interesting, so your planes deal less with alignment and cosmic order, and more with the kind of messy, realistic domains of the various forces. Does that sound accurate?

 

[Imaculata]

Interesting, so your planes deal less with alignment and cosmic order, and more with the kind of messy, realistic domains of the various forces. Does that sound accurate?

Correct. Some planes can be very small, and many planes are completely uncharted and without alignment. Temporary planes may sometimes form, through magical or divine influence. For example, the Lady of the Waves was a lesser deity that was driven from the plane that she normally watches over. And so she created a small dimension of her own on the material plane, to hide from the evil forces hunting her.

Planes in my setting are not always completely different realities; they can overlap with the prime material plane, or be a part of it that has been hidden from sight. The Cathedral of Lights is such a plane; it is literally a part of the ocean that is hidden by a deity. The Underworld on the other hand is an example of a plane that partially exists in the material world (at least the entrances do), but the tunnels of the Underworld are another dimension. Upon the command of demonic forces, a stone gateway can literally rise from the ground, or form in the side of a wall, to provide entry to the dimension (almost like shortcuts between one part of the prime material plane and the other).

The Shadow Realm is similar in that it also acts as a shortcut, but it exists parallel to the prime material plane (you can see the real world while in the shadow realm). Magic-users can hop through it, to emerge elsewhere on the prime material plane. It shares some simularities with third space in Babylon 5, because like third space, exploring it is dangerous, and you could get lost.

I also like the idea that the gods actually exist somewhere on a plane that theoretically could be visited by mortals (although they might not be able to survive there). I don't have planes for every element and/or alignment, because I feel that is a bit formulaic.

And then there are portals.

Portals are a dangerous natural phenomenon in my setting, that is poorly understood. They share some simularities to tornadoes, in the way they can suddenly emerge somewhere and cause great damage. While most portals are stationary and temporary, there are notable exceptions. Some portals move while leaving a trail of destruction in their wake, and some portals remain as a permanent rip in time and space. They can appear on land, in the air or underwater. They can reroute rivers and cause floods, thereby permanently altering the local ecosystem. Not all portals have an exit (dead portals) and lead straight into the endless void. Countries have started to permanently station armies near portals, to prevent anything from invading the land. Some portals are encased in stone, and surrounded by steel fences, by the government. A portal can appear anywhere at any time, with no regard for any human structures that happen to be built there. It could cut a house clean in two.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

I add time spheres (idea from Chronomancer AD&D 2nd Ed), and the elemental planes are different. There are floating islands of "solid clouds", or "cotton sargassos" in the air plane. The water plane is a group of floating burbles linked with "rivers-pillars" and stars among them. The earth plane is full of "hollow spaces" with a "star" in the centre. The fire plane is like hot and shining, but not too much, with a special fireproof vegetation. The shadow plane isn't only white and black, only it is a place where the sun is "dark energy", can't be watched by our senses but something like photosynthesis is possible by the local vegetal beings. I add the "mirror plane", but it is an almost artificial demiplane and it can be visited by ghosts or wraiths.

In my universe when the time travelers or chrononauts change the past or timeline, the original doesn't disappear really, but it start to become a "dream realm", and sometimes "nightmare realms", a step closer to be something like the feywild, but also easier to suffer "planer shifts" from Far Realm or other planes. Sometimes theses uchronies fight each other to become "enough real". The losers can survive, but it is harder when planar barriers are weakers. In some "uchronies" the fey lords are the children from the factions who lost the primal titanomachy(= gods vs titans war).

 

[Yaarel]

Anyone who plays 5e and then appeals to rules as written has failed to actually read the manual. It's pretty clearly stated that the DM is in charge here. IOW, this is a player problem, not a problem with the books.

To be fair, players lack need to read the DMs Guide. Generally, players read the Players Handbook. The *Players Handbook* needs to 1) consistently refer to the DMs authority to change the setting, and 2) encourage the player to customize their own character concept (with the DMs agreement and integration).

Some posters here in Enworld refer to customization as ‘Advanced D&D’. Some suggest where D&D 5e lacks sufficient character customization by the player, Pathfinder 2 should emphasize it.



During 4e, I argued passionately that the designers needed to find out what the D&D community actually wants. The designers of WotC then launched an unprecedented survey campaign to find out what the player base wants. It was extraordinary.

I feel, even when the designers do something I dislike, it is because they are going with the desire of the majority of the player base. In this sense, I feel the designers are doing the right thing. In some cases, I happen to be in the majority (such as spontaneous spellcasting wizard), and in other cases, I happen to be in the minority (such as prioritizing the magic of the elf concept).

Nevertheless.

The minority needs breathing room, to make the D&D game their own. Indeed, it is fair to say that the majority of D&D players are in the minority − each with their own quirks.

So, when the designers go with a majority desire (or at least a plurality desire), it is vital to make customization as easy as possible − as part of the rules-as-written in the Players Handbook.



There was a time when the 5e design team would say things like, ‘We dont want the rules to get in the way’.

Well, guess what, sometimes this heavy-handed baked-in flavor with no reference to customizable options − often gets in the way of a DM who is trying to make the setting their own, or a player who is trying to make their character concept their own.



So, for example, if the majority wants dexterous elf, fine, make that the default. At the same time, add options for other significant variants.

 

[Jester David]

The mythology of my campaign setting describes the planes as a massive skeleton of the first primordial, which is floating the in great void of the Astral Plane.
In this great void, the starlike light of the Positive Energy Plane radiations onto the remains of the titan, bringing new souls, life, and magic.

The prime material plane and known worlds are contained within the skull of the unfathomably large being. The outer surface of the skull, the region closest to the Positive Planes, is the Faerie (aka the Feywild), a mirror of the skull itself but infused with more life and magic. The hollow interior of the skull is the Shadow World (aka the Shadowfell), shaded from positive energy and populated by the souls of the recently dead. Deep inside the skull, in the marrow of every world, is the Dreamlands, where sleeping minds venture.
(The Dreamlands is, of course, pulled from the Plane of Dreams, but has a bit more inspiration from Lovecraft's Dreamlands.)



The spine of the titan is a torrent of elemental forces, the Elemental Chaos, with each limb focused on a single element: Fire, Wind, Earth, and Water. Extending from the chaos of the spine is the ribcage, which comprises the outer planes. The upper ribs are chaotic, having a stronger tie to the spine. The lower ribs are more lawful. The right side of the ribs—the Dexter Planes—contain the homes of good gods, while the left half—the Sinister Planes—houses the Abyss and Hells. In the middle is the titan's sternum, which is the neutral plane of Concordial Opposition. A bone spur juts out from this realm, inward towards the "heart" of the giant, atop which is the city of Sigil.



The souls of the dead pass from the world, through the Shadow World, which is often known as "the underworld", and form a river of souls that runs down the skeleton's neck like great arteries to where its heart was. From there, they pass to the various Outer Planes, flowing as the many branches of the River Styx, depositing souls in the afterlife best suiting their character and deeds.

 

[Ratskinner]

I ran Planescape back in the day. That was the only time I really used the great wheel. Generally, other than near to or parallel to prime planes...the configuration really just doesn't matter. There's and excellent old supplement for the Primal Order called Chessboards. I can't recommend it enough for wurstions like the OP.

Currently, I just lump all the weirdness into a "never never" realm that is both near to the Prime, but also can be far away.

 

[pukunui]

I prefer 4e’s World Axis to the Great Wheel but I haven’t bothered to adopt it for any of my 5e games.

That said, my absolute fave is the cosmology of Thedas, the world of the Dragon Age games. There’s what we D&D players would call the prime material plane, and then there’s the Fade, an overlapping mirror world of spirits, both good and evil. The latter are referred to as demons and tend to represent various sins, like hatred and lust. Basic undead, like walking skeletons, are “powered” by these evil spirits. The “good” spirits represent virtues and things like justice. They can possess living creatures but rarely do so.

The Fade is also where human and elven minds go to dream. It can also be accessed bodily, although not by dwarves (who don’t dream).

It’s a lot simpler than D&D’s multiverse but it’s richly evocative nonetheless. Since it’s unlikely I’ll ever be able to convince my gaming groups to play the actual Dragon Age game, I’ve toyed with the idea of just using that cosmological setup, but it’s just too much bother at the moment.