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<blockquote data-quote="Mercule" data-source="post: 3805363" data-attributes="member: 5100">The Great Wheel isn't a sacred cow.&nbsp; Planar travel has become somewhat key to D&amp;D, but the specific layout of those planes isn't a big deal.&nbsp; To be totally honest, I think every setting should have its own cosmology and set of planes.&nbsp; The Great Wheel is Greyhawk's.&nbsp; Eberron has its own, as do the Realms (though they were once said to share one with Greyhawk).Dark Sun was explicitly set in a different multiverse, attempts to retcon it into working with Planescape or Spelljammer not withstanding.&nbsp; Dragonlance wasn't as explicit, but wasn't particularly warm to the concept.Lack of cosmologies for settings like Birthright is far from the same thing as implicit use of the Great Wheel.&nbsp; It's just that -- a lack of definition.Personally, I like the new cosmology.&nbsp; It doesn't take anything away from any existing setting that uses the Great Wheel -- those planes can all exist exactly as they do, now.&nbsp; Instead, it provides a common framework upon which people can build their own cosmologies (IMO, an important piece of homebrewing).&nbsp; That shared framework allows a shared language on the matter (and, no, the Great Wheel didn't).&nbsp; It also makes different settings more compatible without a particularly strong implication that they should be crossing over.Really, the Great Wheel was very characteristic of earlier editions.&nbsp; It was exclusionary and defined by exception.&nbsp; New rules had to be created for every new idea.&nbsp; I really hope this is an indication that the 4E developers are attacking that &quot;manage by exception&quot; concept and that it carries over to other aspects of design.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Mercule, post: 3805363, member: 5100"] The Great Wheel isn't a sacred cow. Planar travel has become somewhat key to D&D, but the specific layout of those planes isn't a big deal. To be totally honest, I think every setting should have its own cosmology and set of planes. The Great Wheel is Greyhawk's. Eberron has its own, as do the Realms (though they were once said to share one with Greyhawk). Dark Sun was explicitly set in a different multiverse, attempts to retcon it into working with Planescape or Spelljammer not withstanding. Dragonlance wasn't as explicit, but wasn't particularly warm to the concept. Lack of cosmologies for settings like Birthright is far from the same thing as implicit use of the Great Wheel. It's just that -- a lack of definition. Personally, I like the new cosmology. It doesn't take anything away from any existing setting that uses the Great Wheel -- those planes can all exist exactly as they do, now. Instead, it provides a common framework upon which people can build their own cosmologies (IMO, an important piece of homebrewing). That shared framework allows a shared language on the matter (and, no, the Great Wheel didn't). It also makes different settings more compatible without a particularly strong implication that they should be crossing over. Really, the Great Wheel was very characteristic of earlier editions. It was exclusionary and defined by exception. New rules had to be created for every new idea. I really hope this is an indication that the 4E developers are attacking that "manage by exception" concept and that it carries over to other aspects of design. [/QUOTE]

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