Please Place Your Tinfoil Hat Snugly Onto Your Head

[Sundragon2012]

Has anyone noticed strange and curious similarities between the new 4e designs and things they've been doing in their own homebrews? I have seen eerie similarities over the years to be sure from time to time, but it seems recently that these curious anamolies have increased in frequency:

Similiarities between 4e and my own homebrew:

1. Devils hailing from a deific netherworld (all my lower planer entities need to be summoned to enter the material world however)
2. Alteration of the Elemental Planes to make them more interesting and useful
3. The Shadowfell (the Plane of Shadow) and other planes being mystically overlayed onto the Material plane
4. The dumping of the Great Wheel
5. Dumping the Blood War
6. Demons being the masters of primal, chaotic destruction (if they look really lovecraftian in some instances I'll be even happier)
7. The imprisoned god at the heart of the abyss (though my demons aren't elemental beings)
...and various and sundry other little things.


And for a while I was wondering why I liked the new lore so much, it's like they're reading my mind. This may be the first time I am willing to DM a game without making major changes in cosmological assumptions at the outset. Oh joy!



Sundragon

 

[The Shadow]

Yep, me too. It's kind of eerie.

I've used something very like the Elemental Tempest for many years, though I called it the Ethereal. I relocated the githzerai there too! Didn't have the Abyss in the middle, though. For me, the "Elemental Planes" became a huge assortment of demiplanes of various sizes and characters, which seems to be where they're going.

I've also used Faerie, very like their Feywild.

Finally, I've dropped the Great Wheel ever since 1e and just said the Astral is full of divine planes in various configurations, which is exactly what they're doing now.

Haven't used anything like Shadowfell, but I like it very much. It has more flavor than the Plane of Shadow, and it seems very natural for undead to be tied to it.

 

[Nifft]

It's almost like they read my posts!

Cheers, -- N

 

[Anthraxus]

Apparently my hat is functioning properly, as none of those changes match the changes I've made.

 

[Wormwood]

My own homebrews have used the following:

1. Removed mechanical effects of alignment (at this point speculative in 4e)
2. Changed a number of per-day abilities to per-encounter.
3. Added an at-will casting mechanic to spellcasters
4. Dumped/ignored the Great Wheel
5. Bo9S classes
6. Action points (of a sort)
7. Paladins of any alignment
8. Various Demon Lords/Arch Devils promoted to godhood
9. Drastically consolidated/simplified skill list
10. Simplified skill system (max ranks as per UA)
11. Level up every two sessions (approximately)
12. No levels draining monsters
13. increased HP at 1st level (SWSA)

 

[Michael Silverbane]

Apparently my hat is functioning properly, as none of those changes match the changes I've made.

Is it a hat of d02? That could make all the difference in the world.

Later
silver

 

[Hairfoot]

As Mark Twain said "What a good thing Adam had. When he said a good thing he knew nobody had said it before."
No matter how cool your idea is, eventually someone else has it and publishes it.

 

[Arashi Ravenblade]

There ideas would be fine if they didnt mess with Game canon without a good reason.
They should have just come up with a bunch of new stuff instead of changing what we already had for the sake of change alone.
A new core setting is fine but leave the established alone without some story reason!

 

[Gundark]

There ideas would be fine if they didnt mess with Game canon without a good reason.
They should have just come up with a bunch of new stuff instead of changing what we already had for the sake of change alone.
A new core setting is fine but leave the established alone without some story reason!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry I was going to scream if I read one more post like that....

 

[RPG_Tweaker]

I may need to construct an actual Faraday cage. There are many parallels that are eerily like my own... and apparently others here as well.

FLUFF:
1. No Great Wheel (since 1E). Alignment is a mere broad descriptor of attitude.
2. Prime plane, paralleled by a vibrant faery realm and an oppressive shadow realm.
3. Astral plane full of pocket realms based on pantheons, ideals, etc.
4. Demon Lords and Arch Devils are more deific.
5. Demons are primal rapine spirits with Lovecraft ties. Devils are fallen celestials.
6. Trapped primordial entropy being seeking to end existence.

CRUNCH:
1. Consolodated skill list.
2. Action Points.
3. Paladins of any (Lawful) alignment.
4. Spellcasters have a per-encounter weapon-spell.
5. Spellcasters use implements to modify spells
6. Redefined how "save-or-screwed" effects and "level drain" works.