Please, tell me about your custom cosmology.

[Li Shenron]

I have a small notebook filled with notes & ideas that I have been writing more or less since I bought the Manual of the Planes a few years ago Every now and then the characters in the campaign I run have visited some other plane (usually an outer plane), but so far they have never been given solid knowledge about the entire cosmology. This is also because the DM (me) doesn't have clearly set ideas either The current adventure is going to move more on planar travels in a couple of months, so I'd like to collect more insight about what could I do.

At the moment the cosmology is heavily based on the MotP, but not the great wheel because the planes are arranged in a different fashion, for instance:

There is no focus on the Order/Chaos conflict in the campaign, and some consequences are that there are no LN/TN/CN afterlives. Mechanus just doesn't exist at all, while Limbo is the name of a type of region in the astral plane.

The afterlife is more simple:
If you were good enough, you go to the heavens, which are Elysium, Arborea and Asgard unified (they are the same plane with different regions to appeal everyone's taste).
If you were good but you have to be purged of a certain amount of sins, you first have to climb Celestia, which is only a temporary place for the dead. It works like a purgatory, and it's undeniable that the MotP Celestia was heavily inspired by Dante's Purgatory.
If you weren't significantly good neither evil, you're usually given the chance to be reincarnated.
If you were straight evil you go to Hell, which is Baator. Hades is the "ground floor" of Hell. The abyss is sort-of the toilet of the universe, and dead mortals are not sent there as petitioners.

I've been using some of the other MotP planes as alternate mortal worlds, each with its own twist: Arcadia (heavily magic-infused world), Beastlands (primitive world), Acheron (former world destroyed by going too close to Limbo), Outlands+Sigil, and the twin worlds of Bytopia. The Far Realms is also another mortal worlds, although it's not as crazy as usually, and it's the original place of Illithids.

Anyway, the architecture is still unknown by the characters, who only visited a few planes separately, so I'm going to collect other people's ideas and solution if they fit with the campaign.

You're welcome to post your general scheme, if you have modified the standard wheel, and add as much detail as you wish...

 

[jdrakeh]

Typically, I try to stay away from allegory based on real world religion in my games (which means that most planes of existence as they exist in D&D are right out). Likewise, when you die in one of my campaigns, you're dead. No afterlife. No resurrection magic. No reincarnation.

What about the undead and demonic creatures, then? Demons are, in most of my campaigns, manifest portions of the summoner's own subconscious minds evoked. That is, they're dark reflections of the summoner, their shortcomings given form. They aren't your typical horned baddies skulking away in a pit of fire.

D&D clerics (which are largely a fantasy version of the crusader knights of our own earth) are right out for a number of reasons. I have priests in most of my games, not spell-chucking, sword-swinging, holy terrors. Paladins are likewise out in most of my campaigns for similar reasons.

Gods, as a rule, don't actually exist in my campaigns - but characters usually don't know this. As far as characters are concerned, the gods are just as real as they are in a typical D&D setting, they simply don't mingle with mortals because they have better things to do (this is what characters believe, anyhow). Truth is, gods don't mingle with mortals because they don't exist.

And... ah... magic. I do use magic, but I implement a theory that (as I hinted at while I was talking about demons) recognizes magic as will given physical form, rather than some kind of mystical energy that flows from X.

 

[Yair]

How can I resist?

Actually, I'd just like to tell on my own little twist to the FR cosmology. Basically, I have Ao as the all-encompassing undivided and incomprehensible One that is existence. Minds cannot comprehend unity, they must divide existence and this creates two parts to everything: darkness and light, shadows and fire, evil and good - Shar and Selune. Everything is divided into these two parts according to it's nature.
Then there is the Impossibility of being in between - and this is Mystra, magic, the impossible, that which is not according to nature.
The most holy trio (Shar, Selune, and Mystra) are overdeities, they have few clerics and are not worshipped directly. Instead, they have Aspects that are served - for example, Talona (goddess of plagues) is an Aspect of Shar. And these could have aspects still, and so on. For example, the whole Elven patheon is an Aspect of Correllon Lorenthian.
This is where the planes come in: every god IS a plane of existence. Corellon's plane is the only place where he can manifest fully, but it is more than that - it is, in a sense, HIM. The more minor deities in the elven pantheon reside in "realms" within his plane, as they are aspects of him.
All deities reside in either the Good or Evil planes, the one being a manifestation of Selune and the other of Shar. The astral plane that impossibly reaches and connects all planes is Mystra, the impossibility in between the division.

The elemental planes don't really fit this division; they are another kind of division, really, a division into six elements that is in addition to the more basic, ontic, division of Shar/Selune.

You can read all about it in this little pdf I wrote, if you want. The first part is supposedly an account of Elminister meeting Mystra, and her revealing the inner mysteries of existence to him. It is based on a real philosophyical text, and is rather difficult to follow. The latter part is more plain.

 

[Ambrus]

My cosmology is based on the orrery cosmology described in the MotP except that all the other planes are visible in the skies as moons. Essentially, my entire cosmology is a group of moons orbiting a gas-giant called the Empyrean. The Empyrean is the elemental source of quintessence (the fifth element, i.e. Magic) and the home of the righteous gods. The sun, also known as Ignis is a moon that orbits the Empyrean, lights up the daytime sky and is the elemental plane of fire. Next is the moon Aer followed by the moon Aqua. The campaign setting is based on the surface of the fourth moon called Earth or Terra. There are also two tiny little distant moons that can be seen in the nighttime sky, Avernus and Perdition, where the demons and devils along with the unholy gods live. One is chaotically aligned and the other is lawful.

All the elemental moons orbit the Empyrean in a predictable fashion, each reaching its perigee with earth at specific solstices and equinoxes which delineate the seasons. When the evil moons are at their perigee they herald wars, pestilence and famine. There are also transitive planes that exist in parallel with the other planes that aren't visible moons but rather just alternate dimensions. The ethereal plane exists and is a buffer between the plane of light called the Aurora in which the faery realm exists (which replaces the astral plane) and the plane of Shadow, called the Umbra, in which the goblinoids live.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Older thread on the subject:http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=52011

 

[Psion]

I've always dug the great wheel as it appeared in 1e, and like some additions planescape added like transient planes (Yggdrassil, the infinite staircase, etc.), but didn't dig at all the changes spelljammer wrought on the conception of infinite primes.

But after 3e came about, the new material on the ethereal and shadow planes intrigued me, as well as the spirit world take in MotP and thid party books.

Since in MotP the ethreal became more of a local phenomenon, I decided the the ethreal was an entry lair to the spirit world, which is in itself a pathway that leads to the upper planes and positive plane. Similarly, I decided that the shadow plane was a bridge to the lower planes. The "planar waterways" of the river oceanus and river styx were merely aspects of the spirit world and shadow plane, respectively.

When I got Portals & Planes. the idea of the River of Worlds intrigued me, so I decided that it was my own replacement for the excreable concept of the phlogistoin for the prime planar cosmology. It also fit neatly with my concept of "planar waterways", as the spirit world corresponded to the river oceanus and the shadow plane the river styx, the river of worlds corresponded to the ethereal.

 

[Voadam]

Divine power is. Gods are worshipped, but it is only church propoganda that says gods power clerical spells. Cults to nongods such as demons or powerful dragons are also viable sources of clerical power as are godless clerics.

 

[The Lost Muse]

Largely based on Greek Mythology, the Bible, and Paradise Lost, but also influenced by Tolkien's work, this is the cosmology for all my campaigns (although it does not usually come up). If anything in here violates the Code of Conduct, I apologize and submit to the will of the moderators.

Universe - This is the physical plane of reality. The physical plane is divided into two halves: The Seen Realm, and the Unseen Realm. The Seen Realm is what most people comprehend over their lives. The Unseen Realm is the portion of the physical plane inhabited with Spirits, and where Angels and Demons usually manifest themselves. The false gods are prohibited by God from directly interacting with the Universe.

Paradise - Where people who are justified by faith in God and the future Messiah go when they die. Angels may enter here, and it's possible for mortal to get to the outer gate, but not to come in. Once the Messiah visits this plane, the mortals who died and live here can have access to Heaven.

Heaven - This is where the Temple and Throne of God are located, and where the Celestial Chorus resides. Demons and false gods have not entered this realm after being cast out by the Son of God.

Hades - Where people who reject the gift of righteousness offered by God end up. Demons and false gods roam around here, if they wish. When mortals are here, they are as though living without ability to die, but experience decay (when you get hurt, you stay hurt forever.) Many false gods have set up kingdoms here and there's a lot of vicious power struggles going on. There are vast fields where hacked up people - members of armies fighting in this realm - lie moaning and wailing, unable to move, never dying. It is whispered that the promised Messiah of the Universal plane will also descend here to redeem some repentant people that were previously lost.

Tartarus - This deeper portion of Hades is where demons are put to be imprisioned. After 1,000 years of imprisonment some demons are released, while others remain chained up for eternity.

Gehenna - This plane contains a lake of burning sulphur which is never extinguished. Satan and his forces landed here after being thrown from Heaven. They escaped to the Abyss; however, afterwards God destroyed the bridge between those two planes. Nothing that enters Gehenna may leave.

The Abyss - Originally a void of nothingness, the Abyss is now home to Pandamoneum, Satan's throneroom. Normal rules of proportion do not apply to beings inside Pandamoneum. An angel guards the exit to the Abyss. Anyone may enter, but most need permission to leave.

 

[Lord Mhoram]

I run a very strong "goody two shoes" kind of game. L vs C can start a barroom bralw. E vs G can start wars.

I generally keep the planar structure as is.

The biggest changes - Gods are untouchable by human means - I do not stat them out - no need to.
Supernatural good works for the betterment of the moral races.
There are no Evil gods. There are nuetral gods that can have evil worshippers, but no evil gods.
The power of evil comes through Demon lords and Devil Princes and whatnot - and yes they have stats, and a sufficiently high enough level PC could kill them.
All Divine magic flows through the gods and devils, and all Divine classed characters must have a patron diety.

It is pretty much a Paladin's dream world to play in.

 

[DwelleroftheDeep]

My d20 modern planar setting is a bit of planescape a bit of starwars some hitchhikers guide to the galaxy, more than a little indiana jones (tech level for one thing) and some biblical stuff to (mainly in the to main opposing forces of the cosmos). It's a myriad infinite planes structure based around a spinning core of null magic where the least magical aka mortal races worlds are located along with their shadows- Earth and other non-magic worlds.