Planescape Planescape to languish in purgatory?

[Echohawk]

I'm not sure what you would want from a 5e planescape. You've got almost everything you need mechanically and the 2e setting material is easily available.

Except for the Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix I, II and III, none of which are available on DMs Guild, for reasons that I can only guess at.

 

[twofalls]

Out of curiosity - what do you want to see in an official 5E Planescape? Stats for the NPCs? Specific setting monsters? Repeating the lore of old or updating it to move it forward in time?

You know, now that I've made this post and have been reading and thinking on this (the OP was an impulse) I realize that I probably wouldn't like a more modern version of the classic settings. I'm a social conservative and am allergic to the dominant woke culture that WotC has wholeheartedly embraced. I'm not inviting nor will I engage in a political conversation here, people believe what they believe and have every right to do so, but I've stopped purchasing the newer books over it. Now I have to ask myself why I'm wanting them to revamp the old settings in view of their new philosophy, and the truth is I'd rather just play the old settings themselves.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

That's the thing, isn't it? The recent survey data indicated that 40% of D&D players are 25 and younger. They just don't have the nostalgia that older people do for old settings. Planescape was released in 1994, whereas Theros was 2013. A 25-year old wasn't even born then, but would've been a teenager when Theros came out - to them, that's their nostalgia.

I've talked to younger players and while some might be curious about older settings, they don't always have the same touchstones as older players do. In my one gaming group I talked about Expedition to the Barrier Peaks and absolutely no one knew anything about it.

Now, I think there's absolutely the case that there's room to bring these classic settings back to D&D, to make them relevant for new generations. I'd certainly love it, and love for the old settings and lore is threaded throughout 5e. But like you, said, there are easier wins and low-hanging fruit in newer settings.

Now - this board is almost entirely dudes in their 40s and 50s for whom publishing 5E versions of Planescape, Dragonlance, Greyhawk, etc looks like a no brainer and Magic: The Gathering and Exandria look like shallow cash grabs. That's a very biased assessment, however. Not just because the Ravnica, Theros, and Exandria books are all quite good (which they are) but because from a certain Gen X point of view - which is not the point of view of the D&D fanbase writ large - Planescape is this huge deal that everyone is clamoring for.

 

[Weiley31]

I'd probably only want Planescape and Council of Wyrms. You all can have everything else.

In regards to MtG settings books: Throne of Eldraine. Heck just do it as a Plane Shift article for a new Plane Shift 2021 supplemental line of lite settings, like they did before, and I'll be happy with that.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

A back door is possible, something like the 3.5 planar handbook.

Now I wonder about the petitioners from the infernal planes to run away toward the gatetwons.

The faction war is possible, but Sigil would be neutral zone, totally neutral by order of the Lady of the Pain

I guess we will see future sourcebook about monsters, one about dragons, other about undeads, maybe something like Fiendix Codex (I&II) for fans of Eternal Doom and grimm fantasy, and other about not-only infernal outsiders (planetouched races, petitioners, planar dragons and other creatures).

 

[jayoungr]

They keep teasing something with modrons coming up at some point, although they haven't talked much about it recently.

 

[Einlanzer0]

I think Spelljammer is long overdue for an update compared to Planescape, and I also think it would capture on the 80s future-retro craze that has dominated pop culture for the last few years.

 

[Bacon Bits]

I think the problem with Planescape is that while it's cool flavor and I love the setting, it's not the easiest setting to run. It's got three problems.

First, the factions don't work that well. They're basically defined by alignment, philosophy, and (often) an associated plane. There's tons of room for political intrigue, but since it's basically all based on alignment and philosophy it's like the most stock and uninteresting political intrigue ever. These factions don't appear to have goals. They just have beliefs and philosophies. Worse, they often feel like they just overlap. Xaositects, Anarchists, and the Cabal are like three different brands of the same flavor ice cream. There's like four factions that are just variations on nihilism. It's cool from 10,000 feet, but on the ground it just paints everyone with a fixed set of predefined stock beliefs that don't really lead to interesting characters. Yes, there's the faction war, but since factions are what people know about the setting it's really bizarre to suggest moving forward with a totally different set. It'd be a totally unrecognizable setting to the majority of players familiar with the original setting or the video game.

Second, the mode of travel to more interesting places than Sigil, or even more interesting places within Sigil, is portals. Sigil is like the World Serpent Inn expanded to the scope of a city. The World Serpent Inn was a fun contrivance for a few campaigns when you didn't want to bother with a narrative to connect the adventures, but it's difficult to construct a consistent feeling world when the world itself isn't consistent. The problem with portals is that you often end up just being pushed around by the plot from place to place. You lose your sense of location in the world and easily feel railroaded.

Third, the Lady of Pain is... not a good character for a campaign setting. Like she's the absolute authority that you can't do anything about. What am I supposed to do with this character as a DM? She's a combination deus ex machina and tarrasque rolled into one. Again, it's cool idea from a lore or narrative perspective, but I don't see how it serves the playability of the campaign setting to have the place run by Judge Dredd or Ultraman. Yeah, she's supposed to stay out of the way, but if that's the case why is she there? To explain why nobody has taken over Sigil? And if she's supposed to stay out of the way, why's she always getting involved with the PCs? It's just weird.

 

[Morrus]

Why invent new settings when the old ones are so beloved and playable if updated?

I prefer new things personally, rather than recycling old stuff over and over again.

Also see: Hollywood. And the television.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I'd also add a fourth problem, one shared by Spelljammer. Both benefited from an expansive product line (20-30 products apiece). That's sort of sprawling product line isn't really 5e's business model, and both settings become a little less when there isn't somewhere for you to go.

I think the problem with Planescape is that while it's cool flavor and I love the setting, it's not the easiest setting to run. It's got three problems.