D&D 5E The cosmology of the Wheel and the Aether

[Hoffmand]

What bothers me the most about these threads is that many think there can’t be competing cosmological models in the same setting. All people really know is this gate goes there or this spell takes me there. Everything else is debate for the sages. Look how many different competing models there are in our own world.

 

[dave2008]

What bothers me the most about these threads is that many think there can’t be competing cosmological models in the same setting. All people really know is this gate goes there or this spell takes me there. Everything else is debate for the sages. Look how many different competing models there are in our own world.

I agree, but I do also like to think of them from the prospective of those who know from time to time.

 

[Hoffmand]

I agree, but I do also like to think of them from the prospective of those who know from time to time.

I like to think of them from the perspective of those that think they know

 

[Fanaelialae]

What bothers me the most about these threads is that many think there can’t be competing cosmological models in the same setting. All people really know is this gate goes there or this spell takes me there. Everything else is debate for the sages. Look how many different competing models there are in our own world.

I like to offer competing lore as well, but also prefer to have an idea as to what is fact and what is merely conjecture. Sometimes it's relevant (such as when one theory ensures victory while the other ensures certain doom). Obviously, you could wait to decide when it becomes relevant, but I prefer to decide ahead of time so that I can seed hints at the truth throughout the world.

 

[jgsugden]

I keep all settings available - but each in their own separate Cosmology. I obviously do not use all of them, but if someone has a PC from Faerun that they want to move to my homebrew world, I can accommodate it. The entire cosmology of my world is very different than Faerun, so there are some things that they'd need to 'relearn', but this has been my approach since the 80s when a player that had been in a Dragonlance game wanted to bring their ranger into my Faerun game.

There is no reason to bring them together more than that... they're separate Cosmologies, they have their own rules, and only powerful magic allows them to cross - but it is possible.

 

[Hoffmand]

I like to offer competing lore as well, but also prefer to have an idea as to what is fact and what is merely conjecture. Sometimes it's relevant (such as when one theory ensures victory while the other ensures certain doom). Obviously, you could wait to decide when it becomes relevant, but I prefer to decide ahead of time so that I can seed hints at the truth throughout the world.

I Can’t even see where it would matter. This gate goes here this spell takes you there.

 

[dave2008]

I Can’t even see where it would matter. This gate goes here this spell takes you there.

Until it doesn't of course

 

[Fanaelialae]

I Can’t even see where it would matter. This gate goes here this spell takes you there.

A reasonable argument can be made for "why even have it if it never matters"?

Let's say that based on theory 1, every thousand years on Halloween all gates redirect to the Shadowfell, and that this event is supposed to take place 100 days into the start of the campaign. 100 days in, the PCs are in a bad spot, stuck between a portal into the heart of the Plane of Elemental Fire and an enemy they can't hope to defeat. One of the players suddenly remembers this throwaway tidbit, and tells everyone to jump into the portal. I think it's fairly pertinent to know whether they're instantly incinerated or transported to the Shadowfell, don't you?

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with deciding on the spot, but if you decided it works this way ahead of time you can include little clues to that fact throughout the campaign.

 

[Hoffmand]

A reasonable argument can be made for "why even have it if it never matters"?

Let's say that based on theory 1, every thousand years on Halloween all gates redirect to the Shadowfell, and that this event is supposed to take place 100 days into the start of the campaign. 100 days in, the PCs are in a bad spot, stuck between a portal into the heart of the Plane of Elemental Fire and an enemy they can't hope to defeat. One of the players suddenly remembers this throwaway tidbit, and tells everyone to jump into the portal. I think it's fairly pertinent to know whether they're instantly incinerated or transported to the Shadowfell, don't you?

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with deciding on the spot, but if you decided it works this way ahead of time you can include little clues to that fact throughout the campaign.

I still don’t see how this has anything to do with what I said. World tree. Great wheel. That doesn’t matter. The gates do it, omg the great wheel is right or wrong. Okay every 100 years all gates go to the plane of shadow. Cool as hell idea!!!

 

[dave2008]

I still don’t see how this has anything to do with what I said. World tree. Great wheel. That doesn’t matter. The gates do it, omg the great wheel is right or wrong. Okay every 100 years all gates go to the plane of shadow. Cool as hell idea!!!

What I believe @Fanaelialae is saying is something like (don't get hung up on the details, it is the idea that matters): if in the Great Wheel you take the astral plane to get to Olympus and in The World Axis you have to go through the ethereal plane, then someone is wrong in one of those cosmological view points. If the correct answer is the Astral plane, then a person who believes the world axis view point is never going to get to Olympus traveling through the ethereal.

The choices can have real consequences if you want them too.