Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="I'm A Banana" data-source="post: 6323076" data-attributes="member: 2067">So the benefit I see from that feature is that it encourages a "play whatever you want" vibe. Talking dog? Intelligent sword? Tinker gnome? Half-giant? Ninja? They can all appear in PS as characters because they're all part of the infinite multiverse! This is a cool thing. I see no reason that an emphasis on planar characters would disrupt that vibe, simply contextualize it and focus it on the setting's unique benefits. What faction does your talking dog join? Why isn't your Ninja just hanging out in paradise? What does your half-giant's changeable alignment say about their view of the world? How does your intelligent sword separate truth from lies? These things should be figured out during character creation. And the planar races are something of a shortcut to that. Githerzerai, bariaur, tieflings, etc. all sort of cut to the quick of it so you don't always have to figure out if your weird critter loves cooperation or prefers to go it alone. Point is that Planescape characters are planar characters, regardless of their origins. This means they are powered by belief, they aren't impressed by infinity, they work out of Sigil, etc. Their ties to the planar environment are tighter than their ties to Dark Sun, Feudal Japan, Krynn, the Forge of Moradin, or whatever.The reason to avoid it is because while this is a perfectly fine adventure hook for normal D&D characters and totally great for one character (and it doesn't need to be ignored), it misses the unique parts of PS as a campaign setting and kind of turns it into just another D&D adventure, but in a weird environment. Which is fine, but not really what makes PS special, since you can do that anywhere else, too. Hell, that describes the LotR scene in Bree pretty well, no planar jump required. So it just leaves the unique appeal of the setting on the table. Which is under-selling it, IMO. What I want from a PS setting -- or any D&D setting, really -- is the chance to do things that I really couldn't do outside of that setting. That's where the emphasis should be, IMO -- in the reasons you play THIS setting instead of some other setting. I can run "you're new to a foreign land and things are weird" in ANY setting. It's not special to PS. So it I don't think it needs to steal the spotlight. I don't think they do need to read about it, at least not independent of making a character for it. Like, imagine the 5e starter set characters, but in Planescape. At the most basic level, imagine, say, factions-as-background:The Harmonium ("Hardheads") Proficiency: You gain proficiecny in Persuasion and Intimidation Lets Work Together: You can use the Charm Person spell once per day. Notary: You serve the Harmonium as a guard on the streets of Sigil, keeping the peace and making sure no one causes trouble. You have access to the City Barracks in the Lady's Ward, where you can sleep and eat for free, access to the faction's library of laws, poetry, and approved fiction, and train in the immense courtyard. You also have access to the records the Harmonium keeps about arrests they've made and the faction's history. You are also welcome in the stronghold of Melodia, on Buxenus (the second layer of Arcadia), where you underwent training, and where the entire town is run according to the Harmonium way of peace and harmony. You know of a permanent portal near the Barracks that will get you there (and its key). Personal Goal: [INSERT PLOT HOOK HERE] ...imagine the write-up of race on those character sheets describing a PS race. Imagine the class write-up describing perhaps a faction instead...The Harmonium ("Hardheads") The Harmonium believe that a perfect utopia is one where everyone works together for the benefit of all, and they work toward this utopic society on the streets of Sigil, enforcing the laws passed by the Council by arresting lawbreakers and sending them to be judged and sentenced. They are a militaristic organization that views its members as soldiers, and trains them in the use of iconic red armor, and in the use of weapons, including nonlethal weapons like nets and mancatchers. They also train their members in the power of words, invoked with authority, which gives their higher-ranked members the ability to force others to obey them...for their own good, of course. That's not much reading to know a lot about your place in the setting and the archetype you should be embodying! You'd have to do just as much to understand any background or class description, and, like backgrounds/classes, you get to do stuff with it. Yar, and I've probably got a bit of a unique perspective on settings in general, because I would much much rather any setting just be more true to itself and not worry about putting off people who aren't into that than to have them try to bend and shape to be friends with everybody. It's like high school, man, no one's going to like you if you don't have the confidence to truly be yourself. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /></blockquote>

Verification