Planescape Planescape Pre-order Page Shows Off The Books!

You can now pre-order Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse from D&D Beyond. The set comes out on October 17th.

Scroll down through the comments to see more various peeks at the books!

Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse

An adventure setting spanning the infinite realities of the world’s greatest roleplaying game

www.dndbeyond.com

• Discover 2 new backgrounds, the Gate Warden & the Planar Philosopher, to build planar characters in the D&D Beyond character builder
• Channel 7 otherworldly feats, new intriguing magic spells & more powered by planar energies
• Explore 12 new ascendant factions, each with distinct cosmic ideologies
• Face over 50 unusual creatures including planar incarnates, hierarch modrons, and time dragons in the Encounter Builder
• Journey across the Outlands in an adventure for characters levels 3-10 and 17
• Adds adventure hooks, encounter tables, maps of Sigil and the Outlands & more to your game

This 3 books set comprises:

• Sigil and the Outlands: a setting book full of planar character options with details on the fantastic City of Doors, descriptions of the Outlands, the gate-towns that lead to the Outer planes, and more
• Turn of the Fortunes Wheel: an adventure set in Sigil and the Outlands designed for character levels 3-10 with a jump to level 17
• Morte’s Planar Parade: Follow Morte as he presents over 50 inhabitants of the Outer Plane, including incarnates, hierarch modrons, time dragons, and more with their stats and descriptions

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

The Outlands are infinite, but only the area on the Outlands map is explored. As you get further rimward, you run into more ruins of unknown provenance and very few have returned from there. I think later editions tied that into the Far Realms?

Regarding close to the spire: Tales from the Infinite Staircase also has one adventure set in a ruined Rilmani city in the first circle (no magic above 2nd level), exploring a magic library from an even older race while being chased by chain devils. Not much the city and its functions alas!

WotC, please hire me to write the next Planescape book. I will need to do it under a pseudonym, since we'll just be exploring the weird rimward regions of Outland. Please and thank you.

 

[Malmuria]

Sigil has never been a torus - its basically a half-torus (as the original box set said, like a tire without a hubcap or wheel rim). In the original box set, there were tales of people climbing up to the roofs of buildings on the edge to look at what was beyond (and being so freaked out they refused to talk about the situation).

I missed that and now I feel that my entire childhood was a sham. Or at least that one planescape campaign I ran when I was 13. Thanks

 

[Marandahir]

Do the Outlands extend only 1,000 (or 1,100) miles from the spire? Is it an infinite plane or a finite one?

If it doesn't extend further, what's the edge? Does it butt up against Oceanus and Styx? Is there a wall? Is there a drop off? And if there's a drop off, where do you go when you drop? The Astral Plane?

And if there's not an edge, what is life like 5,000 miles from the Spire? Do they even know of the Spire?

(Yes, if I were writing for Planescape, things would get weird and probably all the traditionalists would throw stuff and boo.)

The edge in a sense is that beyond the gate towns, the outer planes exist. But the Outlands also coexists beyond them.

When a gate town gets too close in alignment to it's corresponding outer plane, the town shifts into that outer plane and "expands" it. But the Outlands don't shrink as a result, and in fact, immediately a new town pops up in its place full of petitioners that are almost, but not quite in alignment to end up in said outer plane when they die.

It's therefore a sort of Purgatory or Limbo (in the Greco-Judeo-Christian sense, not the D&D-sense) - the super lawful petitioners of Automata want it to shift into Mechanus and thereby achieve their nirvana they so desperately seek to perfect. But some chaotic troublemakers usually keep Automata from getting TOO lawful and shifting over into Mechanus. Thereby the political "game" of the Gate Towns is trying to shift your population into another plane or else trying to keep it as it is in this border liminal space.

 

[Marandahir]

The Outlands are infinite, but only the area on the Outlands map is explored. As you get further rimward, you run into more ruins of unknown provenance and very few have returned from there. I think later editions tied that into the Far Realms?

Regarding close to the spire: Tales from the Infinite Staircase also has one adventure set in a ruined Rilmani city in the first circle (no magic above 2nd level), exploring a magic library from an even older race while being chased by chain devils. Not much the city and its functions alas!

I would make the areas beyond the gatetowns into variations on the Backrooms that slide further and further into uncanny liminality until finally you're in the Far Realms.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

The edge in a sense is that beyond the gate towns, the outer planes exist. But the Outlands also coexists beyond them.

When a gate town gets too close in alignment to it's corresponding outer plane, the town shifts into that outer plane and "expands" it. But the Outlands don't shrink as a result, and in fact, immediately a new town pops up in its place full of petitioners that are almost, but not quite in alignment to end up in said outer plane when they die.

It's therefore a sort of Purgatory or Limbo (in the Greco-Judeo-Christian sense, not the D&D-sense) - the super lawful petitioners of Automata want it to shift into Mechanus and thereby achieve their nirvana they so desperately seek to perfect. But some chaotic troublemakers usually keep Automata from getting TOO lawful and shifting over into Mechanus. Thereby the political "game" of the Gate Towns is trying to shift your population into another plane or else trying to keep it as it is in this border liminal space.

This feels very much like something from a book designed to be read, rather than a book designed for at the table play.

 

[Demetrios1453]

Do the Outlands extend only 1,000 (or 1,100) miles from the spire? Is it an infinite plane or a finite one?

If it doesn't extend further, what's the edge? Does it butt up against Oceanus and Styx? Is there a wall? Is there a drop off? And if there's a drop off, where do you go when you drop? The Astral Plane?

And if there's not an edge, what is life like 5,000 miles from the Spire? Do they even know of the Spire?

(Yes, if I were writing for Planescape, things would get weird and probably all the traditionalists would throw stuff and boo.)

Beyond the area near the Spire affected by the magic suppression, there's an indeterminate area where the true neutral gods have their realms, as well as additional, relatively normal landscapes. Beyond that is the ring of Gate-Towns. Once you get beyond the Gate-Towns, things start getting weirder the further you go, as time and space start warping in increasingly strange manners.

 

[DavyGreenwind]

Mind if I ask how so? I haven't read that one

An NPC was searching for a "time dragon," (in scare quotes). The adventure implied she was being duped, and that there was no such thing. Funny that they existed after all.

 

[TravDoc42]

An NPC was searching for a "time dragon," (in scare quotes). The adventure implied she was being duped, and that there was no such thing. Funny that they existed after all.

That's so neat! I'm very curious to see details about these dragons, then! Thank you!

 

[MockingBird]

The train reminded me of that Rick and Morty episode "Tickets please". The story train haha. I'll agree it was off putting but I could see why they used a train. It was one of a few reasons I haven't picked up that book.

 

[DavyGreenwind]

Oh, I am sure it's a great one for a lot of people. (The structural stuff sounds interesting, for instance.) Just not for me.

I enjoy twee and twee-adjacent, especially if it is blended with some darkness, fairy tale style. Wild Beyond the Witchlight is one of my favorite 5e adventures. I know Planescape is supposed to be grim, but I am looking forward to this Gaiman-esque version of Planescape with Yetis selling ice-cream.