D&D General The cosmology of your homebrew campaign

[cbwjm]

I've been reading the thread on the recent errata and a few people dislike the great wheel. I don't consider thos a problem, but it has made me wonder what kind of cosmology people have set up, if they aren't using the great wheel.

As an example, I have the following cosmology:

1. The celestial planes, home of the gods who belong to a celestial race that have to potential for godhood (literally the only beings in existence that can attain godhood). Think of asgard from marvel comics and you'll have some idea of what the race of gods/immortals is like. Angelic beings serve all of the gods, created by them as their favoured servants (meaning angels of evil alignment can be found serving gods of undeath and destruction).
2. The elemental planes, pretty much as they are described in 5e, including the elemental chaos.
3. The mortal realm, surrounded by the shadowfel and feywild, pretty standard with current DnD lore (I think).
4. The fiendish realms, a single plane that incorporates all of the fiends of DnD. The nine hells is a group of archfiends who have banded together to form a kingdom, constantly at Warwick the independent Abyssal lords who seek to expand their power. Another kingdom is that of the lords of sin. You can find fiends of all types serving the various archfiends, in other words, a balor might be found in service to Mephistopheles while a pit fiend could be found serving demogorgon.
5. Although some can travel through the planes using magic, other ways, such as the river Styx or elemental conduits enable movement between the planes.

I don't have any real cosmogony, the planes exist, I haven't really thought about how they were created, though the mortal realm was restored by the gods after they cast down titans, elementals, and dragon elders whose war had devastated it.

 

[Scribe]

Start with the wheel, but subtract the planes of conflict. I think its enough to have the basic 8 of LN/LG/NG/CG/CN/CE/NE/LE based, then have Ethereal, Astral, Fey, Shadow. I dont have a Positive/Negative planes, but source I guess, like background energy.

I think on top of the Far Realm you also need a Plane of Dream, I dont really understand why thats not more of a thing, but I guess some of its tropes get eaten up in Fey/Shadow Planes.

 

[Composer99]

In my homebrew setting, the material plane and divine realms are partly linked. The fey realms, elemental planes, and the Abyss can be reached by breaching the Veil of Reality.

I'm fine with the Great Wheel, but didn't want to use it for that setting.

Edit to add: The elemental realms are more like islands in a great Elemental Chaos, and the fey realms and Abyss are kind of "parasite" planes. If there are other material planes, or other worlds in this one, folk don't know, but it's implied by the fiends of the Abyss, who claim to have consumed whole worlds.

 

[cbwjm]

Edit to add: The elemental realms are more like islands in a great Elemental Chaos, and the fey realms and Abyss are kind of "parasite" planes. If there are other material planes, or other worlds in this one, folk don't know, but it's implied by the fiends of the Abyss, who claim to have consumed whole worlds.

That's pretty cool. I haven't really considered other material planes for my setting, but having the fiend's mention them is cool, sort of leaves it open. Have they actually consumed these worlds or are they trying to sow doubt in the minds of the current material plane inhabitants.

 

[Zardnaar]

Mostly irrelevant. If I need to go to the abyss or wherever I'll use it.

I'll probably use Midgards cosmology next game or a very simplified plane of light/darkness, astral, and elemental planes.

Something like that. KISS why create more work for yourself?.

 

[Scribe]

Something like that. KISS why create more work for yourself?.

Because when (if ever) you reach a state where it all locks together in a nice completed puzzle? Thats bliss right there.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

I just use the Inner Planes as well as a homebrew Plane of Dreams (not really like Dal Quor). No need for the Outer Planes, and the Shadowfell fills the role of the Underworld/Afterlife in my cosmology.

 

[cbwjm]

Mostly irrelevant. If I need to go to the abyss or wherever I'll use it.

I'll probably use Midgards cosmology next game or a very simplified plane of light/darkness, astral, and elemental planes.

Something like that. KISS why create more work for yourself?.

That is kind of why I reduced things a bit. Upper realm, lower realm, elemental realm, and mortal realm with shadowfell and feywild overlapping it. I wanted a rough idea of how things in the planes fit together without wanting a huge amount of detail. It let's me make those planar jaunts that much easier when I know how things fit together.

 

[Zardnaar]

That is kind of why I reduced things a bit. Upper realm, lower realm, elemental realm, and mortal realm with shadowfell and feywild overlapping it. I wanted a rough idea of how things in the planes fit together without wanting a huge amount of detail. It let's me make those planar jaunts that much easier when I know how things fit together.

Yep 3.0 MotP had variant cosmology. One had two planes.

 

[cbwjm]

I just use the Inner Planes as well as a homebrew Plane of Dreams (not really like Dal Quor). No need for the Outer Planes, and the Shadowfell fills the role of the Underworld/Afterlife in my cosmology.

Nice and simple, a good way to go. I haven't actually decided on what happens to the souls in my world, maybe the shadowfell is where they go too. Normally fiends get souls only if they have some authority of them, such as with a warlock pact or other contract but I don't think evil souls naturally descend to the lower planes or good souls ascend to the upper planes.